Shadow: The Origin Of A Legend

Chapter 58

Harsh sunlight bleeds into my eyes through closed eyelids as I hear the sound of curtains being shoved roughly aside; with a groan, I roll to my opposite side, confused and annoyed. "Shaaaaadoooowwww," I hear a voice coo, and I grumble indistinctly, my eyes involuntarily cracking open. "Ssssshhhhaaaaaaaddddooooowwwwww~! Wake uuuuup!" Rouge's face looms over mine, and my eyelids slide a bit further off my eyes as my vision blurs into focus. She's already prepared for the day, makeup on and everything, ready to go with her work uniform on.

"Hnngh?" I yawn, and she giggles, ruffling my spines with one hand. I reflexively bite my tongue to keep from purring--while her touch is quite nice, I don't think purring is cool at all. It's more like an embarrassing reflex, really.

"You were sleeping with your mouth wide open again," she says in a teasing tone as I rub my eyes with one hand, the chilly gold metal band grinding into my cheek. "Hurry up and hop in the shower real quick. We got another mission in an hour." With that, she turns and leaves, swishing her way down the hall quickly.

"Mm'kay," I breathe, flopping onto my back. The sheets of my bed are crumpled all around me, tangled around my legs, and there's a pillow strewn across the side of the bed I'm not on; stretching, I pause to stare at the ceiling, trying to collect myself. Surprisingly, I seem to have had a dreamless sleep, or at least dreams that I've since forgotten. For whatever reason, something feels a bit off--my mind is telling me I've missed something. Sitting up, I swing my feet over the edge of the bed, blinking down at my bare feet. Maybe I'm just still a bit groggy... Planting my clawed feet firmly on the cold hardwood floors, I shove off the bed, arching my back forward and lifting my arms above my head. A muffled moan escapes my mouth as I strain, popping several bones; after a few seconds, I relax with a contented sigh. Glancing about, I trot over to my closet, opening it and staring at my battered hoodie for a minute. It really was cold last night, I muse quietly, turning my gaze to rest on the window. Outside, snow gathers on the windowsill, drifting down sweetly from the heavens, and I smile softly, remembering the last time I saw snow. I miss Scourge, I realize suddenly, looking back to the jacket with a tinge of sadness. Gently I pull it off the rack, but then I hesitate. What if it gets ruined during our mission? I don't really want to part with it... But still... I need something to wear to keep from freezing, and I doubt any of Rouge's jackets would fit me. Biting my lip, I wrestle with myself, finally arriving at the conclusion that if it does get ruined I will try my best to fix it. Removing the hanger from it, I brush my way out the door, heading for the bathroom; in the kitchen I hear the sound of the coffeemaker, and the pleasant scent wafts to my nose. My stomach growls and I smirk to myself as I quietly slip into the bathroom. Today will be a good day.

After a rapid shower, I shrug on the jacket, pausing to admire my reflection in the mirror. My fur is ruffled and unkempt, but to my surprise I kinda like it. Tilting my head from one side to the other, I check myself out--after all, I hardly spent any time when I was growing up looking at myself. It's nice to have the luxury of vanity every once in a while. Sticking my hands in my pockets, I strike a pose like a surly teenager, but before I can even look at myself something in my pocket stabs me. Confused, I yank my hand out, inspecting it, but there's nothing there. Reaching into the jacket again, I gingerly feel around, puzzling over what could possibly be there. To my surprise, I pull out a package of chips--the crinkling plastic's edge must have caught my hand just wrong and sliced me. That's right, I kept a ton of stuff in here. Fishing around a bit more, I pull out some more wrappers, a roll of bandages, the atlas I used and the completely unexpected package of earrings I 'borrowed' from the jewelry kiosk. With a delighted gasp, I quickly pull the last remaining ring off its casing. Yes! Score! Quickly pulling the backing off, I turn back to the mirror to try and find the piercing's hole under my fur. Five minutes later, I'm still fumbling around, brows furrowed in confusion. Where the hell did it go? Running my thumb over my ear's edge, I come to the conclusion that my accelerated healing rate must have caused it to close back up. Sighing, I frown at my reflection. "Didn't wanna have to do this," I mutter to myself, "but whatever." Pinching my ear, I take a deep breath, biting my lip. You did it before, you can do it again, right? With one quick movement, I thrust the metal into my soft ear-flesh, chomping down hard on my lip to keep from yelping aloud. Spears of pain shoot through my ear and I wince as I put the backing on the piercing. Yowch... I remember it being less painful than that... Blinking rapidly, I shake the pain off, turning my head from side to side again, this time admiring my handiwork. A small smile snakes its way across my face. Back to the way it was when we were together. Fondness glows in my chest as I gaze into my reflection's eyes, mind wandering. Part of me wishes I could go back to that. The two of us against the world, on a mission to find my roots. Looking down, I chuckle softly to myself, turning around to open the door. Sounds like the premise to a cheesy teen movie.