literature

Reflections - 8

Deviation Actions

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Shadow tied the final knot on the gauze that was firmly wrapped around Black Doom's shin, exhaling a sigh of relief. "There," he muttered, leaning back. Both hedgehogs, now, for the most part, clean, had applied fresh bandages to their wounds. The entire process had taken them nearly an hour to finish, but in the end, the pair certainly felt better than they had before.

The alien blinked, staring at the white bandage around his bare ebony leg. It was such a disgusting contrast; it almost hurt his eyes. He crossed his arms loosely in his lap, baggy sleeves keeping him warm. Since washing himself with the cold water, he found his shoulders trembling often in intervals. Without proper clothing, Black Doom grumbled, Earth was undesirably cold.

Shadow took note of the shivering hedgehog. "It's almost winter. The curious thing is, the sun isn't farther away from the Earth, it's – "

"I know what it winter means." Black Doom interrupted, shaking a shiver off of his spine. "I've read about it. This planet is tilted on its axis."

The black blur blinked, half-stunned that Black Doom would have bothered to read up on Earth's physical characteristics, let alone the planet itself. Come to think of it, Shadow thought, Black Doom knew a lot about Earth; he must have done extensive research on it. A strange move on his part, considering he hated Earth in its entirety.

"You…read about it?" Shadow questioned.

"How else do you think I gather my information?" Black Doom muttered, casting his eyes to the side. "You don't really expect me to invade a planet while ignorant of its nature, do you?"

Shadow narrowed his eyes at the hedgehog, irked by his own curiosity. While this was true, Shadow had a feeling there was something more to Black Doom's prior studies of the planet; it didn't seem unusual for aliens to study their enemy's environment, as many science fiction novels had depicted, but Black Doom was openly stating his knowledge of Earth. It seemed so unlike him.

"Once Sol – your sun, I mean – vanishes beneath the horizon, the Earth's temperature drops." Black Doom's eyes now gazed upward. It was clear that he was looking in the direction of the sky, but his eyes appeared to be reaching toward something in particular, recalling something familiar. "Not deathly freezing, but cold enough. Correct?"

After a moment's pause, Shadow nodded, his eyes fixed on the ground before him. "Yes." He swallowed the knot in his throat, allowing himself to carry on a peaceful conversation with his adversary. "Around here at this time, it can get mildly cold…around forty degrees Fahrenheit."

"Great," Black Doom growled sarcastically, struggling still to keep himself warm. If his calculations were correct, the Comet's average temperature was around seventy-five to eighty degrees constantly. To him, it was a very rude climate change.

For whatever reason, be it the alien's shivering, Shadow's pity, or an unconscious thought rising up from Shadow's mind, something was said that left both the hedgehogs drowned in silence.

"…I can make a small fire if you want." Shadow offered.

Black Doom froze, blinked, and stared up at his creation. He could tell by body language, not facial expression, that he had said that by accident. Although any other time he would have jumped onto the opportunity for Shadow to do so and chuckle to himself about how submissive he was, the alien couldn't conjure up any of his sadism at that moment. Shadow was so serious. Shadow, the very being that cursed Black Doom every chance he could and was eager to take the life from him, was ready to actually do something for Black Doom without question.

This entire day seemed too surreal. Shadow was helping him – so much so that he would have been dead if it weren't for him. And to this time, all he had done was push him aside and offer no thanks…

A sudden shiver down his spine snapped him out of his thoughts. Finally, Black Doom said something.

"If you could." he mumbled. "It's difficult to retain heat in this small form."

Could it be, they both thought, that something was clicking between them?

Without much time at all, Shadow silently gathered nearby sticks and piled them between he and his father. Once he sat back down, he took a small breath and held his palms above it. His hands lit up, a pale green glowing about them, and slowly the sticks began to smoke from the energy's heat. A few seconds later, the wood ignited and chips of wood began to gather into a small ember. Its soft crackling about the pile was strangely comforting to Black Doom. He moved himself closer to it, beginning to feel a small amount of heat radiating off of the fire.

"Resourceful." The alien noted. Shadow made a small noise that signified something of thanks.

It was not long that Black Doom's temperature began to resume its normal state. Although he was still slightly cold for his liking, he admitted that he was grateful for this small fire, no matter how small and pitiful it was. He glanced up at Shadow, who was keeping his distance from the fire, not fazed by the coldness as of then. He frowned, almost hoping that the reason he was avoiding the flame did not have anything to do with Black Doom himself. Nonetheless, he looked back at the crackling flame, focusing on its heat.

Something did, however, make the alien commander look back up at Shadow, particularly at his forearm. The bandage wrapped there was beginning to loosen, most likely due to the activity of gathering the material for the fire. He couldn't turn his mind away from thoughts of the bandage falling off during the night and Shadow's wound worsening.

He hated himself for thinking that way. He tried to distract himself by glancing toward the darkening horizon. He tried to think of his home, his soldiers – anything that was not related to Shadow. If he let himself worry over the traitor, Black Doom wouldn't know what to do. But yes, he realized; he was a traitor. Shadow was a bastard, a rebel, a murderer. All he had to think about was how much he hated this hedgehog and those thoughts would die off in no time.  

His perfectionist attitude, however, would never die off. Instead of worrying about Shadow's safety, he could not stop thinking about that goddamn loose knot…

Without realizing it, Black Doom was leaning over the fire, reaching out for Shadow's arm. He had pulled the loose knot tight, but in doing so, he broke through Shadow's personal space. He was touching him.

The hybrid stared down at him in awe; this was the same alien that was attempting to wipe out an entire planet. This was still the Black Doom that tried to kill him. This was a simple gesture, but a gesture of kindness nonetheless, which floored Shadow. Moreover, the spontaneity shocked him. This was not natural…

"Erm…" Shadow trailed off, trying to overcome the wad of emotions that had formed in his chest. "Th…thank you."

Hell had frozen over. The alien suddenly retreated, crossing his arms and tossing his head back.

"I-It was bothering me." Black Doom scoffed, casting his three angered eyes away. His cheeks were tinted the lightest of pink. Clearly he had realized what he had just done, and he quickly began to regret it. He nearly thought to insult Shadow in some way, but for some odd reason, he resisted.

This was, Black Doom decided, his way of thanking him…for now. It made both of them uncomfortable, but Shadow even moreso.  

"I'll…go find more wood for the fire." Shadow announced, standing up. His mouth was dry, stomach twisted into a knot.

Both of them knew that the black blur was not going to wander off for sticks and twigs. He merely wanted away. The alien couldn't blame him, either; he wanted away as well. If anything, Shadow was the nicer one for fleeing, as Black Doom could not walk.

Once Shadow was gone, Black Doom lowered his eyes to the small, flickering flame before him. Indeed, it was running low, growing dimmer. In order to provide any more substantial heat, it definitely needed to grow; he wondered if Shadow's little trip would take as quickly as he hoped it would. With the luck he had with Shadow's small journeys that day, it probably wasn't going to be.

He reached over, feeling something on the left sleeve of the stolen jacket; a patch, one with the military's symbol on it. He knew it had been there all that time, and it felt as if it was burning through the very fabric. He was wary of removing it, however, because Shadow had always been by his side. For some reason, the idea of ripping it off while he was there bothered him; perhaps it was because Shadow himself hadn't noticed it was on the sleeve to begin with. Now that he was gone, he realized, it was the opportune time to rid himself of it.

The alien wedged his thumb between the stitches and underneath the patch. In one swift movement, the threads snapped, and the patch was cleanly torn off. Now with spidery threads dangling off the edges, Black Doom stared at the insignia grimly. His hatred began to boil up, and at its peak, he tossed it into the flame.

The G.U.N. insignia crackled and melted into the golden heat. The scent of burning and melted wax filled the air.

The sky was slowly turning a deep indigo, and upon this, a single glowing orb could be seen. It was not a star, he knew, but Venus, Earth's neighbor. He cringed, realizing his knowledge about Earth was exceeding his comfort zone. Perhaps his reading on this pitiful planet was too extensive, Black Doom thought.

He looked to the direction Shadow had walked to, ears falling slightly.

What was happening to them?
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HIATUS IS DONE, 'NUFF SAID.
I apologize...so muuuch ;A; THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING SO PATIENT!!!
© 2012 - 2024 LazloTitan
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Morning-Strawberry's avatar
:wow: I love this!
Especially when Black Doom was looking out for Shadow. :aww: That was so sweet! I love how you describe those moments between them! :love: