Oak Forest: Crossing Paths

[Leda]

Despite her instinct to rush, Sally navigated the endless sea of trees cautiously, taking extra care not to lose her bearings. If she got herself lost, it really wouldn't make any difference if she found help or not, since she wouldn't be able to lead them back to the ailing hedgehog.

The princess frowned, and hugged herself as a brisk breeze sent a shiver up her spine. Her hopes were all pointed at the prospect of managing to find the northern Freedom Fighter group they'd heard rumors about, but as with many instances in her life, her brain continued to get in the way. She'd told Sonic herself before they left that trying to find a group of people that survive via their ability to go undetected, in a massive given area, without the slightest scrap of information to so much as point them in the right direction, they may as well have tried to find a needle in a haystack -- maybe even a needle in a silo. Sally's own logic tainted her search, and the squirrelmunk let out a quasi-defeated sigh.

If I can't find anybody out here... We're going to be in real trouble, she couldn't keep from reminding herself. What if this doesn't pass on its own, and Sonic's seriously ill? What are we going to do if I can't help him..?

Sally clenched her eyes shut and gritted her teeth. "Stop it."


Around that moment, a rambunctious chameleon shirking his archery practice lingered sightlessly less than ten meters away, eyeing the lone ground squirrel with perplexed curiosity. He'd never seen her before; was she a friend of someone's in the village? Or perhaps she'd gotten lost. Maybe she was even a refugee from another safe haven that'd come under attack!

Espio's chest swelled slightly at that prospect. If it were Rob, he'd take her in and integrate her into the village without hesitation. Hell, he'd seen him do that lots of times! The chameleon beamed in his invisible glee over the opportunity to do the same himself -- just like the grown-ups do.

Rising from his seat on the side of a nearby tree, Espio planted himself directly in Sally's path, his colours returning as abruptly as his landing. "Hi!"


"WHOA!!" the princess exclaimed with a startled jerk backwards. Resting a hand over her racing heart, Sally said, "Excuse me... I didn't see you there."


"Of course you didn't," Espio replied, unable to withhold the tint of arrogance from his grin. "I was invisible."


"...Indeed."


Folding his arms behind his head, the teen inquired, "So, what'cha doin' all alone out here in the Oak Forest? I've never seen you around."


"That's just what I was about to bring up," Sally replied, the urgency returning to her expression. "I'm here with a close friend of mine, and we were searching for the Freedom Fighter group that's rumored to be in this area, but he's suddenly gotten sick. It's even more important now that I find the local Freedom Fighters. Is there any way you can help us?"


"No problem!" the chameleon replied brightly. "It just so happens you're not far from Meadowood. I can take you there right now."


A flood of relief spilled onto Sally's face, and she smiled with gratitude. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!! I just need to go back to get Sonic; he needs to see a doctor."


Espio's face scrunched at that. "Well, that I'm not sure how much we can help. Our resident doctor is away on some trip right now." Rolling his eyes, he silently added, And just when Rouge is trying to freak everyone out, too.

"But you guys are still welcome in Meadowood," the teen continued. "Maybe he just needs a nap and a glass of water?"


"I... don't think that would cure him, but, I'm sure he'd still appreciate it." The squirrelmunk turned and began to head in the direction she'd come, her pace brisk and just short of a jog.


"Hey, wait up!" Espio cried, sprinting to appear at her side. The chameleon grimaced and adjusted the quiver on his back; honestly, it wasn't exactly comfortable when standing still, let alone while running. However Rob did it so casually was beyond him -- but then, much of what Rob did escaped the boy's comprehension.

"Say, I don't even know your name," he suddenly piped up, just a few steps behind.


The princess paused and covered her mouth with embarrassment. "Oh, gosh, I'm sorry! I was so worried about Sonic I completely forgot." The ground squirrel resumed her pace in the hedgehog's direction. "My name is Sally; I'm the leader of the Knothole Freedom Fighters."


"Dude, awesome!!" the chameleon exclaimed. "My name is Espio!! I'm... I'm the leader of the Meadowood Freedom Fighters!"

Hey, she wouldn't know any better. And this would probably be fun.


"..." Sally gave the boy a sideways glance. This guy is the leader...? He certain didn't seem to have much in the way of common leadership qualities... But, even she could acknowledge that unorthodox methods could still be effected. Casting him an awkward smile, she eventually said, "It's nice to meet you."1

[Lans]

Meanwhile...

Sonic felt awful. His head hurt. His stomach felt ready to blow. His limbs felt like limp noodles. Heck he was sure even his quills felt out of sorts. He hadn't felt like this since...well he wasn't sure when. And of all the times too...

Come on, hedgehog, get it together! We've still got a mission to get to and Sal's counting on us! he thought, willing himself to get better. Of course, nothing happened.

Speaking of Sally, he hoped she got back soon...

[Leda]

Upon spotting the hedgehog doubled over in his agony, Sally broke out into a full-on run. "Sonic!! Sonic, are you okay?! I'm here, I'm here!!"

The princess immediately dropped to her knees and hugged him close. "I found someone from a village not far from here. You're going to get some help soon, just hang in there!"


Arriving on the scene a moment or so later, Espio folded his arms, his expression clearly giving away his reservations. "This guy doesn't have ebola or something, does he?"

[Lans]

As grateful as Sonic was to see her again...at the moment, he REALLY wished she hadn't hugged him...

"*BLARRRGH!*"

And a certain chameleon may want to consider changing his shoes.

"*Ulp* Sorry man..."

[Leda]

"Mixed" would perhaps be the best way to describe Sally's reaction to the incident. On the one hand, her worry for Sonic only intensified... But at the same time, it was a relief he hadn't horked on her.

In any case, the princess frowned and pressed her hand to the hedgehog's forehead. It was warmer than before.


Espio, however, felt nothing but irate anger. "OH GROSS, DUDE!!" the chameleon screeched, wildly kicking his feet to fling the vomit elsewhere. "NOT COOL!! NOT COOL!!"

[dice=6] (to see if any gets flung back onto Sonic XD)[rand=22397985613805893575091133493059522290069610949076585748835987413]

[Lans]

[dice=6]

Luckily Sonic was spared that indignity. "Said I was sorry, sheesh," he said, though it came out as more of a mutter. "This guy a freedom fighter?" he asked.[rand=50564264272436778782559890111291408354444878453079896536517048145]

[Leda]

"He's... their leader," Sally replied in an obviously unconvinced voice. "Anyway, do you think you can stand?" The squirrelmunk carefully pulled one of Sonic's arms around her shoulders and attempted to lift him to his feet.


Meanwhile, Espio occupied himself trying to somewhat clean his shoes. ... Somewhat.

Mostly, this process seemed to consist of kicking dirt onto the offending fluids, adding his own saliva via spitting, kicking on more dirt, and then scraping the poor shoe against the nearest bit of foliage. "Man, I hope they don't end up stinking because of this!!" Upon finding a stick, the disgruntled chameleon made a better effort at scraping off the vomit... then proceeded to poke at it.


Facepalm. "Um, excuse me... Could you help me carry him?"

[Lans]

Now feeling slightly better after emptying his stomach, he was able to muster enough strength to help Sally get him to his feet. "...He's the leader?" he asked her, not buying it either, "...How's that water poison work again? Cause I think we might be too late."

[Leda]

Letting out a noise that could best be described as a whine, Espio trodded back to the pair's side, looking none too excited to help haul the man that'd just vomited on his feet. "Alriiiiiight, alright..." Just as he was about to loop Sonic's free arm around his shoulders, the chameleon blinked at the spot where he'd been sitting. "Hey, don't you want your stuff?"


"There's no time for that!!" the princess snapped, shooting the "leader" of Meadowood a frustrated glare. "That can always be picked up later!! Sonic needs help NOW!!"


The teen flinched, and frowned in a mix of remorse and resentment. "Okay okay okay! Sheesh, ya didn't have to YELL at me over it." At last, the ailing hedgehog got assistance to his other side.

[Lans]

At mention of leaving their stuff behind, Sonic made an attempt to halt them. "Wait, Sal...the ring," he said weakly. They couldn't leave that sitting out in the woods.

[Leda]

The princess frowned, and gave a fateful glance to the packs. "Well... Yes, but..."


"I'll get it!!" their escourt suddenly piped up, unceremoniously dropping his side of the hedgehog, which nearly sent both he and Sally tumbling to the ground. Espio darted back to the discarded belongings and immediately rummaged through Sally's green backpack.


Gritting her teeth and doing her best not to completely drop Sonic on his face, Sally scowled at the lizard now rifling through her things. "STOP THAT!!" the squirrelmunk hollered, unable to keep her voice level anymore.

[Lans]

Too weak to do anything more appropriate to the situation, Sonic simply shot Espio a dirty look. "Hmph, some...leader."

[Leda]

At the growing dissent, Espio cast an equally disapproving frown back. "HEY, I'm a GREAT leader!! I'm just trying to help, you know!!"


"Then HELP us!" the princess grunted through gritted teeth. "Just... let me do it myself!!" Carefully lowering Sonic to the ground, Sally briskly made her way to the luggage, and after minimal shifting, removed the power ring from Sonic's brown bag.


"....Oh," Espio sheepishly chuckled.


"Just... help me carry him." Shaking her head with exasperation, the squirrelmunk looped the power ring around her elbow and returned to Sonic's side, gingerly pulling him to his feet for the second time.


Looking put off, the chameleon did as he was instructed and assisted in lifting the hedgehog. Espio scrunched his mouth and snuck a resistant glance at Sally. Who's she think she is, the queen of Mobius??

[Lans]

And Sonic...limped along with them as best he could so that they wouldn't have to completely carry him.

[Leda]

The group continued that way for quite a while, as their progress was slowed to a crawl due to the difficult circumstances. The chameleon did his best to assure his guests that home was not far off, but even to him, it felt as though they were traveling all the way across Mobius.


Eventually, the princess released a long breath and ceased movement. "Let's all rest for a moment. If we completely wear ourselves out, we're only going to make the treck longer." Settling onto the ground at the exhausted hedgehog's side, Sally pressed the back of her hand against Sonic's burning forehead. The good news was that his fever hadn't gotten any worse, but the bad news was that it hadn't gotten any better.


However, the chameleon remained on his feet, his expression scrunched with uncertainty. He wanted to get home. Not only was this incredibly bothersome, but Rob would probably assume he'd wandered off to play, and would make good on his constant threats to tan Espio's scales. The teen shifted his weight from foot to foot. "How long are we going to stay here?"


"Not long... Just a few minutes, until Sonic can catch his breath."


"Fine," Espio grunted, beginning to look anxious. "I'm gonna go for a walk, then. When I get back, we can finish getting to Meadowood." Sensing the princess was about to protest his decision, the chameleon sprinted off before she could get a word out, and camouflaged himself for good measure.

"Sheesh, what a nag," the boy mumbled once he was sure he'd put enough distance between them, dripping back into view and adjusting his quiver. "Man, that guy has the 'flu and you'd think he was dying from the way she's acting. Maybe once we get home she'll quit freaking out. Or just hover by his bed and leave the rest of us alone."

Suddenly a bit of grey caught the corner of Espio's eye, derailing the young freedom fighter from his grumpy train of thought by tapping in on his curiosity. The chameleon darted toward the mysterious mass, and as he approached, realized it was another person -- and furthermore, one he happened to know. "Cyril!!" he exclaimed, pouncing headlong on top of the prone figure. "Man, am I ever glad to see you!"

[DB]

@cyril@
The grey figure's ear twitched, and slowly he lifted his head to look at the rambunctious chameleon that had just awoken him. "Ah, young Sir Chamai," he started with a quiet smirk, "doing well, I see? How fortunate of me for you to come along. I seemed to of gotten a bit turned around on my way home."

That said, he covered his mouth as he gave a long yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn.

[Leda]

Pleased to see the missing medicine man, Espio contentedly stradled the binturong and excitedly wove a tapestry of tales Cyril had missed out on. "Man, it's been CRAZY around the village since you've been gone!! There was some new girl that passed through town for like... a day, right? And she and Manic thought it'd be funny to put a smoke bomb in Rob's hood! And then Rob and Rouge brought home an OVERLANDER! An' I was s'posed to watch it, but Lindy got me in trouble. And then Rob and I fought about it and I kinda got grounded... But Rob gave me a new archery lesson and I did better'n I usually do! Oh, dude, and get this: Y'know I said they brought home that overlander? It got lost or something! What sucks though is that I missed out on going to get it back. Oh, and then Rouge is like laying around all day and blowing us all off, and freaked us all out because she was preten'in' to be dead or somethin', I'unno. I had to go to the lookout tower. ... Except I kinda fell asleep up there. But it was Sue that woke me up, an' I think she's not gonna narc me out to Rob. Oh, and dude, I'm all practicing on the archery range and needed to take a break, right? And I run into this girl that said she was looking for us and-- Oh, dude, you've gotta take a look at that guy she's with, he's got the plague or something. The guy actually blew chunks on my shoes!! It was GROSS! And man that girl's a nag, everythings always gotta be HEEEER way! Oh yeah, and can you look at my arm for me later? Rob said I need some medicine for it."

Hey, no one said it was a good tapestry.

[Lans]

"He left...I almost feel better already," Sonic muttered as he leaned on Sally.

[Leda]

The princess sighed slowly and cradled her beloved hedgehog, gently petting at his quills. "He's going to be back, though... Whether we like it or not, we need him." Sally closed her eyes and leaned her head against Sonic's. Maybe she could use some rest during the wait, too.

[DB]

@cyril@
The older thrope listened to Espio patiently, absently smoothing out the fur of his face. Once the chameleon had finally finished (and taken a breath), Cyril slowly nodded, picked Espio off of him, and set him to the side.

"Of course I'll have a look at that for you, Espio. But first... where are the other two you mentioned?"

After all, one of them had the plague.

Or something.8

[Leda]

Oh, right. Them. "This waaaay," the chameleon answered with a less-than-subtle eyeroll. Yes, he'd told them he'd be back, but he'd planned on a longer break from Sally's nagging before heading back. Then again, maybe she wouldn't be so fussy with Cyril around; she seemed like one of those respect-your-elders people.

As he led the aging binturong toward their destination, Espio pondered over anything else he'd missed out on. There didn't seem to be much at first, until the teen suddenly tripped over what he considered a VERY important tidbit that'd somehow been overlooked before. "OH, MAN!! I can't BELIEVE I forgot this part!!" His energetic eyes returned to Cyril's face as he blurted out, "ROBCALLEDMEAMANYESTERDAY!!" The explanation of the tale quickly followed, but it was likely indistinguishable. Either that or Cyril wasn't paying much attention.

If not both.

[DB]

@cyril@
Paying attention or not, Cyril nodded along with the chameleon's story, occasionally punctuating it with a "I see", "Mm hmm", or a "Is that so?"

Eventually, however, they made it to the two strangers.

Nodding politely, Cyril extended a hand.

"Hello, you must be the two that Espio has been telling me of."

[Leda]

At the sound of footsteps, Sally's head snapped upright. Did I actually just doze off for a minute? she pondered with mild bewilderment. In any case, the chameleon was returning -- with someone else in tow. "Hello," the princess greeted, carefully leaving Sonic to support himself so she could rise and shake the elder's hand. "Are you also from Meadowood?"


"He's the doctor!" Espio triumphantly announced, folding his arms behind his scaley head. "Just happened to run into 'im while I was out."


At that news, Sally's face became much more endearing -- even pleading. "Oh, thank goodness!! I'm sorry for being so abrupt, but, my friend really needs your help!" The squirrelmunk's eyes sank back to the hedgehog at their feet.


Meanwhile Espio poked him with a stick.

[Lans]

"Ugh...Sal, five more minutes..." Sonic moaned deleriously.

[DB]

@cyril@
Nodding slowly to Sally, the binturong carefully made his way over to the hedgehog, leaning heavily onto his cane as he did so. Eventually right in front of the hedgehog, he kneeled slightly with a slight grunt of old age. Finally at the right level, he looked the hedgehog over carefully.

"My name is Dr. Cyril Forrester, but you may call me whatever you'd like. What should I call you, hm?"

[Lans]

"My names' Maurice Hedgehog," he said deliriously, "But I like Sonic better cause it's way past cool..."

[Leda]

"..." Despite slapping a hand over his mouth, the chameleon still snerked quite loudly. "Your name is MAURICE??"


Sally's brow furrowed in irritation. If this really is the 'leader' of Meadowood, I fear to meet his supposed subordinates.

[DB]

@cyril@
The elder nodded.

"Alright, Sonic. Can you tell me what's bothering you?"

[Lans]

And in response, Sonic let loose with another torrent of stomach contents.

[Leda]

"AUUURGH!!" Espio shrieked with a rather dynamic flinch backwards. Luckily, he managed to keep free of this wave.


"Sonic!!" the squirrelmunk cried at the same time, kneeling back at his side. Unlike the less mature teenager, Sally didn't particularly care at this point if she got any on her. Her distress clear on her face, she looked back up to Cyril and said, "He's got a high fever, stomach cramps, nausea, disorientation, and this is the second time he's vomited. He's been rapidly getting weaker, too, and can't even stand on his own anymore..."