The Crossing Destinies [OPEN Sonic the Hedgehog FF]

Shadows of the past (4/9)

"... Of course," the tenrec continued her story, "nothing was easy. Even when he entered The Order and became a discipline, he was a loner and easily angered. His temper was short and he felt at ease only when I was close." She made sad smile. "He was the first person not minding me reading his mind by accident. He actually preferred to talk that way. That made me... really happy," she wiped a tear pretending it was just some speck.

"He got better at controlling his hot head once I gained a permission to be his official guardian, that way we could spend all the time together. His study results skyrocketed, getting ahead of all starts student of his grade. His training was finished with flying colors, setting a new record for just two years and four months."

"How long it usually takes for an average person?" Amy was all the time listening and this was a really interesting piece of information. She could easily imagine what hell it was, studying night and day without a proper rest, even if he was called genius by others. Tho she wasn't pushed that hard, she always wanted to exceed everyone's exceptions. Guess it was just in her nature to prove her worth.

"At least six years. Only a handful of students finish the course in less than four years and they are already considered geniuses."

"That training must have been harsh," the girl pondered. She could think of one or two other types of "lessons" he had to take and sewing wasn't definitely one of them. The image of Silver trying to push the thread thru the small hole of the needle with the utmost concentration made her snicker in her mind, reflecting the mental state on her smile.

Gold involuntarily peeked inside the girl's mind, seeing the picture. Her face twitched and she quickly shooed that vision away, concentrating on her explanation: "The Order can't go easy on anyone. They have to be at their best when they leave, so they can fight with demons and other unholy creatures. That's the only way they can survive and protect."

"Guess I owe him an apology," the pink hedgehog said, jumping from the bed down. "Does he like cookies?"

This question came from nowhere, startling her. "I don't think he particularly dislikes them." He actually liked anything sweet.

"Then it's settled." She gestured with her tightened fist, bending that arm upward and putting the fingers of the other on her tiny muscles. "I'll bake him some."

"Can I help you?" Gold quickly stood up feeling excited. "I'm not good, but it's such a long time since I baked."

"But of course, it will be more fun," she smiled, grabbing tenrec's hand and together they headed to the kitchen.

While the preparations were underway, a certain adult hedgehog was lying on his bed, feeling utterly annoyed and frustrated. To push his most trusted partner like that and getting angry over such stupidity from a runt. It just showed him how immature he still was.

'I should apologize to Gold,' he thought, but his body refused to get up, reflecting the true state of his mind. He didn't want to see her... not anyone right now. There were times when he wished he could just close himself from the outer world and never getting out. At the same time, he knew that would be wrong. There was so much he had to do, but the results of his main search always stopped at a dead-end, leaving him gloomy and disheartened.

He entwined fingers on his chest, tapping them against the cloth, counting seconds. Once he reached a high number, he let out a sigh and sat up, sluggishly getting off the bed. His mood sank deeper when he noticed he actually locked the door of his room. He felt like some stupid teenager. He pressed the root of his nose. 'I'm sending that runt away as soon as possible. I have enough of her giving me headaches.'