Knuckles smiled to himself as he used a pristine white cloth to wipe down the master emerald, diligently wiping away the small speckles of dirt and dust to ensure his precious large gem had an impeccable shine. The echidna was almost lost on another planet with how focused he was at his current task, careful with his strength and thorough at cleaning every inch of it's surface. In fact, he was so entrenched in the job he was doing, that he didn't hear the foot steps that were coming up the stone stairs behind him.
Shadow finally reached the top of the shrine and the metal sole of his shoe clanged upon the altar floor, prompting Knuckles to spin around and immediately glare at him with his fists up. Damn, that echidna was fast to go into warrior mode. Even though he didn't hear him until he reached the top, he was battle ready in an instant. Shadow nearly felt a shiver run through him as he could see the total confidence in Knuckles and how he stared him down before realizing who just snuck up on him. Then the echidna's expression shifted to one of surprise, his fists uncurling and lowering. "Shadow? What are you doing here? Is everything okay down there on the surface?"
The hedgehog knew his showing up unannounced and completely out of the blue might be strange and awkward, but he didn't think Knuckles would expect him to be a messenger of tragedy. However, it made sense when he thought about it, especially since he had only been to the island twice and never really spent enough time with Knuckles to know anything about him. He appeared to be quite noble with his immediate concern for his friends beneath the floating slice of paradise. "I apologize if my unannounced presence startled you into thinking I came with grim news. But I admire your concern for the others" This selfless echidna was the one Rouge so frequently disrespected and trash talked on their missions? Shadow almost felt guilty by association, and like perhaps he shouldn't be on the island at all. "It's..." The hedgehog sighed. "My coming here was foolish. I'll go." He turned around and started descending the stairway. This really was a dumb idea he hadn't thought through. He had no right to request the guardian the favor on his mind. They didn't even know each other.
Knuckles watched Shadow, drawing a blank at what just happened as the hedgehog lowered from view in his descent. But he only let him get down four steps before calling out to him. "Shadow wait!" Knuckles didn't know the hedgehog from atom either, but he seemed troubled by something and the echidna would always at least try to help someone in need if he could. "I might not think it's foolish" He went on. "You must have came here for some kind of reason. You can tell me"
Shadow stopped, only the back of his head visible from where Knuckles stood, still in his original spot. The voice of the echidna sounded concerned and it was a bit baffling to the hedgehog why someone who was essentially a stranger would even care. He turned his head over his shoulder and saw the evident worry etched on the red Mobian's face, seeing a genuine care that had him reconsider leaving so hastily. "...It's nothing serious" He replied after a moment and turned his body around, looking conflicted as he slowly moved back up the stone structure. "It would probably burden you. I don't want to do that" He said.
Knuckles took stock of the rare dejected body language of Shadow and how he sounded in tone and he knew there was something significant eating at the other. He huffed and gave the hedgehog a deadpan gaze, shifting his weight to his right foot with his right hand placed on his hip. He was looking at Shadow like, really? "Shadow. Sonic is a thorn in my side most times he's around me, but I tolerate it and we're still best friends." He made the point. "I'm pretty positive anything you come at me with can't possibly be as annoying as what I put up with coming from him."
Shadow reached the altar floor again and stood with his heels on the precipice of the landing. He folded his arms over his chest, consciously taking his usual posture after realizing he must have been looking downtrodden to the echidna. "I still don't see why you would care. It's not like you and I have shared more than a few words."
Knuckles' deadpan expression didn't alter as he stared at Shadow for a good long while, his hand on his hip and the wind blowing his long quills to the right of him. He sighed and eased into a more standard stance. "Look, I know we never said much to one another but ever since the ARK I've always counted you as a member of our team. To me that makes you a friend too, no matter what you may think." He was always honest and straight to the point with no messing around.
Shadow blinked, his stoic posture faltering a bit as he was struck with such words of kindness. He was taken aback, having not expected this from the notoriously hot headed guardian who spent his life in complete solitude. It seemed he owed it to him now to explain his reasons for coming to Angel Island. The hedgehog sighed, dropping his arms back at his sides before beginning to speak. "G.U.N can be very stressful, and everyone constantly wants from me." Chaos he hoped this wasn't coming out as pitifully as he thought it sounded. The last thing he wanted was to come across as a charity case. "I haven't rested in years." He went on explaining. "Being the ultimate life form, I don't need rest or sleep. But it doesn't mean I don't like to have a little peace and quiet after a while." Now he was finally to the main point of his arrival to the echidna's land. "Your island is..." He paused, searching for the right way to phrase what he wanted to tell the guardian. "I mean, I've never felt a place more serene than your island those two brief times I've been here." It still felt wrong to make the request he came to ask of the other, but he was cut off before he could utter another word.
"Shadow... If you want to spend some time up here and unwind, that's fine by me." Knuckles stated rather nonchalantly, feeling that was what the striped hedgehog was getting at. It was just unfortunate to him that Shadow felt like it was pointless to ask him a friendly favor such as this. He saw the confusion on his face at his blunt approval but stopped him before he could begin to question him. "Like I just said, you're part of the team so you're a friend to me. You can come and go as you please." He then mused playfully at the hedgehog. "Besides, I know I won't have to keep an eye on you like I have to Sonic whenever he comes up here."
Shadow's eyes opened wider, surprised again at how hospitable Knuckles was and how quick he had been to offer the approval to the request he hadn't even fully made. The thin straight line of the hedgehog's lips curved up in a slight smile, appreciative to the red male. He couldn't argue with the echidna's reasonings. "You're quite an admirable friend to have"
The compliment from Shadow made the echidna's muzzle tint a bit red as he smiled back and rubbed the back of his head. Hearing that from the stoic hedgehog felt special in a way. "Hey I mean, what are friends for, right? And heck, you being up here just makes the island even safer so what do I have to lose?"
"That's a good point" Shadow agreed, feeling much better about his unannounced visit. At this time he noticed the cloth in the other's hand and surmised what he must have been doing before he arrived. "Do you have another one of those cloths? I could wipe down the other side of the emerald." He offered, feeling he should do something to show Knuckles his gratitude.
The echidna blinked and then looked at the cloth before glancing over his shoulder at the emerald. "Oh. Actually I was just finishing up with that when you surprised me." He told him apologetically. "That's okay though. I would think you should get to work on relaxing anyway. I can't imagine the kind of stress your agency has you under."
Shadow stayed silent for a moment to think about it. Knuckles was right and he was thankful for the understanding given to him on the matters. G.U.N was burning him out and he needed to get away from it all before he ended up losing it and throwing someone at HQ through several walls. "You're right" He sighed. Relaxing is a strange thing to me though. I've never done it, so I'm not quite sure how to start" He admitted, feeling lost on the concept.
Knuckles frowned, feeling sympathy for the dark hedgehog. He always had a feeling there was more to Shadow than the exterior edge. The echidna should know, being someone who others often thought of as being made of unmoving stone to his very inner core. "Well, you can go explore if you want. There's a lot of interesting ruins all over the place. Waterfalls and babbling brooks and rives are all over too. Observing nature like that usually has a calming effect on most people."
The hedgehog took the echidna's words in and mulled the idea over in his head. He didn't honestly know if it would help him relax as much as he needed to, but there was nothing to lose in trying to see how the suggestions worked out for himself. He knew he could always come back to the shrine at any time and the echidna wouldn't mind his company, now feeling genuinely welcomed there. "I'm not sure it would work for me. But I'll see for myself." He smiled a bit more than the first time at Knuckles.
The echidna's muzzle tinted red again at the unmistakeable smile Shadow gave him before turning away and going back down the flight of stone steps. From all that he ever heard about Shadow, it was said that he was incapable of cracking a smile beyond that of a smug smirk. Something about seeing the hedgehog curve his lips at him like that caused a strange feeling, almost like his heart skipped a beat. There was definitely more to Shadow and Knuckles was curious just how wrong everyone was about him.
Fifteen minutes passed after his departure from Knuckles. Shadow walked through the thick jungle looking at ancient relics and structures he passed by, wonderfully intricate carvings and buildings of stone dressed in veins of vine on either side of him. But he never gave more than a passing glance as he traveled, more focused on reflecting on the recent moments just spent with the echidna. He knew it wasn't like himself to open up in any way to anyone he knew. But the guardian welcomed him so warmly despite the things he heard from Rouge about him being an angry standoffish jerk. The echidna was someone like him, a preferred loner everyone assumed had no feelings whatsoever. He felt like he could confide in him, knowing the echidna wouldn't go around spouting off about his inner workings to the others. He was incredibly grateful for the echidna accepting him on his island and letting him know he was considered a friend. It was kindness Shadow was led to believe he didn't need or even deserve.
As he walked deeper in no particular set direction into the jungle, the hedgehog's ears began to twitch at a sound they were beginning to pick up from the distance ahead. It wasn't too much further before he was able to decipher the noise as a flowing stream of water. He remembered Knuckles saying water was known to calm others down and decided to test that out.
Pushing some foliage aside he uncovered the sight of a glistening flowing river with large rocks all around either side. Shadow stood and stared at the water for a minute as if analyzing and processing it. He wondered what was supposed to be calming about a noisy body of water. But he wasn't going to turn his back to it too quickly. he knew he needed to give it a chance and right now there wasn't anything else to do besides trying to let himself unwind, as the echidna said earlier. Letting out a sigh, Shadow walked over to a firmly planted rock jutting out of the ground a bit higher than his waist. The hedgehog sat on top of it and allowed his legs to hang over the side, dangling freely as he stared out at the perpetually moving river.
Shadow took a deep breath and listened as he sat there, trying to block out all other thoughts from his mind to focus only on what he could hear. The river wasn't the only thing filling his ears, but now that he was listening intently to his surroundings, there were more components to take note of. The chirping noise of birds scattered about all directions in the trees high above, and the sound of wind occasionally blowing through the leaves over his head joined in, fluctuating in intensity. He felt the breeze brush through his quills as well, the cool air gracing him in the warmth of nature.
Nature. That's what he was hearing, what surrounded him entirely in this moment. There were no vehicles revving engines or honking, no bustle of busy streets or people and no planes flying by to disrupt the harmony of the clean green jungle. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, also noticing how undeniably pristine and refreshing the natural air was. No pollution, no litter and no one around to violate the sanctity of the island in those ways. Shadow was finally feeling it, the building calmness gracing his senses and beginning to lull him into a more relaxed state. It felt perfect, and as though nothing could interrupt to ruin the experience washing over him. He let out a light hum, relaxing more and more by the second.
That was until the sudden noise of frantic splashing made his ears flick and his eyes jolt open, his head turning to see what was causing the abrupt commotion in he water. As he looked it was hard to miss the sight of splashing water a short distance down the stream from where he was. He hopped off the rock to jog over and investigate what the disturbance was all about. What he found was a surprise when he happened upon a net made of vines stretched between two rocks in the river, and two grown fish caught in it wildly flapping around trying to get free. "What the..." The hedgehog scratched his head in wonder. Was this the guardian's trap, or was there someone else living on the island Knuckles didn't know about? All he knew was one thing for certain, that he had to cut his basking in nature short to make sure the echidna was aware. The instant his mind was made up, Shadow stepped into the waist deep river side and untied the makeshift net, trapping the fish in it and because of the possible seriousness of the finding, used chaos control to instantly warp back to the shrine.
Knuckles was caught so off guard by the blinding flash before him, it caused him to stumble and actually fall back with a startled shout."Wha-gah!" He quickly sat up on his hands to see Shadow, who appeared instantly apologetic about knocking him off his feet.
"Shit, I didn't mean to!" The hedgehog shut up and dropped the net of fish to flap around on the stone floor while he crouched down to pull the echidna back up. "Chaos, I'm sorry." Shadow told the other, lifting him to his feet with a grip on either forearm of the echidna. "I had to get back here fast because I found something I wasn't sure you knew about"
Knuckles could have been pretty annoyed by someone appearing out of the ether and knocking him on his ass like that, and he likely would have been mad at Shadow too. But the hedgehog being so quick to pick him up and apologize before he could even yell about it made the echidna go silent as his muzzle heated up a bit, bashful from the other's actions in handling him like that. After he was on his feet the other stepped back respectively to allow him his space and giving his brain a moment to process and catch up. He was almost speechless, stammering out. "Y-you... found something?" A glance down and he saw the flopping fish on the ground. "Oh, my fish trap!" He exclaimed and picked up the net, holding the bundle out in front of himself to examine his catch. "Nice and meaty ones too." He smiled, glad to have something to take him out of his confused stupor after the chaos control incident.
Shadow was relieved that Knuckles went back to good spirits and confirmed it was indeed his trap he had set up in that river. "Ah, so it is yours then? That's good, cause I was worried someone else might be trying to live up here in secret."
The echidna smiled at Shadow, grateful of the hedgehog's mindfulness to come alert him of a possible intruder. "Yup, it's mine." He went on to tell his guest. "See I don't like to risk spending time away from the emerald fishing for dinner every night, so I set a few net traps in the river. I can just glide there from here and collect my bounty, climb a tree and glide back with it in almost no time at all." Knuckles then licked his lips looking at the fish again. "Man, these guys are gonna be filling. Convenient catching two this time, since you're here! I'll cook them up real good for us!"
The resourcefulness of Knuckles was also a trait admirable in Shadow's eyes. "Or I could cook them" He offered on the fly, only wanting to repay Knuckles in some way for the generosity he had been bestowing to him since the moment he arrived on the island. "You've done a lot for me already, allowing me to stay here. It's the least I could do"
Knuckles blinked and looked at Shadow, unsure of whether he wanted to let the other cook them or not. Not that he thought the hedgehog was incapable, but because he saw what his work was doing to him and only wanted him to be able to relax while he was there. "I trust you know what you're doing when it comes to wilderness cooking. But you're my guest and I want to make sure you feel more than welcomed here." Being a gracious host to respectful visitors and good friends was important to Knuckles. "It would be an honor to cook for you."
Now Shadow's own tan muzzle developed a slight dusting of red across his face. There was something about the echidna that made him feel differently than anyone he'd spent time around before, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what that feeling was. Maybe it was because none of his allies and other supposed friends had been this kind to him. It was strange and still unexpected from the echidna. There wasn't a single remark or ribbing about him being brooding or edgy spat from the echidna's lips, like he would always hear from Sonic and even Rouge. "I... I suppose it would be rude of me to insist otherwise then." He took a breath, realizing he had actually been holing it for some reason. "Very well. I'll allow you to cook for me"
Knuckles grinned at that and let the fish hang down at his side. "Alright!" He beamed at Shadow with a gleam in his eye. I have a special recipe I'm sure you're going to love!" The echidna proclaimed confidently. "We can still hang out and chat while I prep and grill em up"
Shadow followed the echidna around to the back of the shrine where there was a wooden picnic table and a fire ring with a four sided wall of bricks surrounding it. There were long logs of wood on each side cut in half and each long enough to seat three Mobians. It made Shadow raise a brow curiously. "Plentiful seating back here for one echidna" He commented.
Knuckles set the net containing his catch down on a boulder to use like a counter top and opened it up, quickly dispatching the fish and ceasing their flopping with a sharp narrow instrument through the heads. Before going further, he looked up and at Shadow. "Oh, yeah the Chaotix hang out here and we have bonfires. Sometimes Sonic, Tails and Amy join us too. It's not an often occurrence though." He explained, then added while sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. "I tried inviting you a few times, but it's impossible to get a hold of you. I've even left messages for you with G.U.N."
The hedgehog frowned and his ears even drooped a little at what he heard from Knuckles. He normally wouldn't show that something like that could hurt him. He was just so tired from acting so one dimensional his whole life. He knew now the echidna really did think of him as a friend, so much that he even wanted to include a downer like him in his happy go lucky bonfires with Sonic and the others. But to know he wasn't receiving the messages left for him at HQ hit him kind of hard. "They've been keeping messages from me... to ensure I believed the only place I belonged is at their facilities." Some people were definitely going to be thrown through some walls when he decided to go back to work. But for now, he was finally away from that place and Knuckles was helping him to make the best of his time on the floating paradise. He sighed and his ears turned up again as he looked up from the ground at the echidna. "I appreciate you wanting to include me. I never expected to feel this welcomed here." He didn't want to dwell on the matter that just came to light.
Knuckles was frowning too as he learned just how cruel Shadow's employers were to hide messages sent to him from his friends. But he offered a warm smile when Shadow thanked him for trying to include him in the past festivities. "You're here now, with a friend you can relax around. That's all hat counts at the moment, Shadow. I feel awful for what you have to put up with and that's not right... You deserve a chance to be happy"
The wording of what Knuckles said to the hedgehog struck a nerve deep in his core and the sincerity offered in the echidna's eyes was the utmost genuine he'd seen in a really long time. A rush of sensations was felt flowing through him and he didn't quite know what to make of them all. "I don't know if I can even be happy." It should be sad for anyone to say something like that, but he was the ultimate life form, a breathing weapon of mass destruction. Any time he had given in to those feelings, it was followed by tragedy that tore his happiness away. He believed it was best to avoid it and it became an easy task with everyone telling him he couldn't possibly attain such a thing. His purpose was told to him over and over again, there was no happiness for a perfect weapon. No one had concern for a perfect weapon.
But after such a long time, this echidna he still barely knew was telling him differently and he really didn't know how to feel about it or what to say. His ears falling again, he turned his side to the echidna and looked down and away. This was liable to become a very awkward moment of silence if he couldn't find some way to change the topic. While scanning his eyes over the ground he caught the sight of a small wood bundle by the fire pit and thought of a way to divert the topic. "I'll get the fire going and heat up the grill."
Knuckles nodded in approval. He didn't mean to make things so heavy on Shadow, but it just proved even further to the echidna that he was right about there being much more to him, like a whole other hedgehog under his shell. "Okay, I'm just about done prepping. Just have to season them and they'll be ready"
Soon the fire was burning well and the grill grate over top was hot enough for the fillets of fish to be laid down upon it with a satisfactory sizzle when Knuckles laid them out carefully. "I used the juices of a sweet purple pepper and a special herb that will add a bit of zest." He informed Shadow, sitting down on the end of one of the sawed in half logs.
Shadow followed suit and sat down on the log perpendicular to the echidna. A gentle breeze blew the savory aroma of cooking fish in his direction and his eyes lit up at the scent. "They smell good enough to eat already." The hedgehog mused, feeling his mouth water up a bit. "I never would have thought you could cook like this."
Knuckles chortled. "yeah, seems we're both learning more about each other today than we thought we ever would." The echidna mused back, smiling at Shadow and brushing a long lock over his shoulder. "But I assure you, they'll be way tastier after they're finished grilling, heh. It wont take too long now."
Shadow smiled back at Knuckles. He didn't feel pressured to stay so stiff and stoic around the echidna, now knowing the other took him seriously as an individual and treated him with dignity. He truly had a lot to thank the echidna for and he was glad he made the trip up. originally he thought that the guardian would want to shoo him away from his precious gem and land. Then if he was permitted to stay, he figured he would be off on his own as to not bother the emerald's protector. But things had gone completely different from what he could have fathomed. Knuckles gladly accepted him as a guest with open arms and was now fixing up dinner so they could eat together. "I appreciate all you've done for me." He broke the silence as Knuckles was flipping the fillets over. "I don't believe I've ever felt welcomed like this anywhere."
"Well you're welcome here any time and I'm glad to have you." Knuckles replied and sat back down, his body slightly turned towards the hedgehog to better converse with him. "You've been nothing but respectful to me so I give the same back." He chuckled softly and went on to muse. "I only get annoyed if my buttons are being pushed, and mad if they keep getting pushed. I don't know if anyone actually gets that about me, cause most people seem to do it on purpose constantly."
Shadow snorted, shaking his head. "yes, it seems they just assume it's all fun and games because we're the stoic types and there's no depth to our personalities." He sighed and added with disdain. "It's all very tiring to put up with"
"Yeah... it is" Knuckles agreed solemnly and then leaned forward to get a better look at the fish on the grill. "But that's not important right now. Dinner looks pretty done to me, so lets get some plates and eat up while it's still hot!" Knuckles announced and took the grate by the safe handle to remove it from the fire.
Shadow watched and licked his chops, feeling his appetite making it'self known. "It looks really good. I'm honestly anxious to try it"
