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"Don't you ever do anything fun around here?" Sonic complained loudly. He was tearing up grass and kneading it between his fingers impatiently. Knuckles could see his leg twitch with pent-up energy begging to be released.
"I like to look at murals," Knuckles replied, though he felt Sonic's question was more or less rhetorical in nature. He sat at the base of the Emerald shrine, cross-legged. In his large, oversized hands, he gently held a bushel of flowers Tails had picked for him.
"But murals are so boring! " cried Sonic. "You can't tell me you, guardian of the Master Emerald , like to sit and just look at ancient drawings all day."
Knuckles scowled. Those murals were more than just simple drawings . They were prophecies, created by his ancestors, passed down for centuries, one day to become true. Hours of labor and patience went into them. They were relics of time.
But to Sonic, they were useless. He did not learn the same lessons from them as his echidna counterpart did. It was as much a bore to Sonic as they were integral to Knuckles' culture.
Knuckles felt a pang of bitterness creep into his chest at the thought. He'd tried to explain many times before, but it was no use. The hedgehog simply would not, or could not , understand. Maybe it was just an echidna thing.
"There are many other fun things to do on the Island," Knuckles said amicably. Sonic did not seem satisfied with this answer.
"Ugh, I can't believe you pass your time just sitting and watching this rock! Don't you ever want some adventure? Some excitement? "
Before you, Knuckles thought forlornly, This was my excitement. But that would be embarrassing to admit out loud, so instead Knuckles said nothing. He stared at the delicate little flowers in his grasp.
A long lapse of silence passed between them, and it was evident Sonic desired an answer, but Knuckles truly did not have one.
Of course, he enjoyed the rush of adrenaline as he aided his friends in battle, and the tired sense of accomplishment he felt afterwards, knowing he had done the right thing. Beyond those brief stints to the surface, though, Knuckles had only really ever known the Island, and his time was occupied setting traps and watching over the Emerald with the knowledge that he was the only one left to do it.
The silence burst in a sudden, "Come on," as Sonic rose from the grass.
Knuckles' confusion must have been transparent, because Sonic held out his hand (which was puny, in comparison to Knuckles' own) and said, "Just because we don't have any bad guys to beat doesn't mean we can't have an adventure of our own!"
Knuckles was not entirely sure what all that entailed, but accepted the proffered hand anyways. He refused to admit he was enjoying the hedgehog's company, even if he was asked silly questions and usually dragged off on foolish adventures.
"Get ready to run, Knux!" was all the warning Knuckles received, barely enough time to flatten his spines and push off of the ground, before the wind was whizzing past his face and the world became a blur around them. Sonic's grip was tight in his hand as they sped to the beach in a whirlwind of sand and excitement.
Knuckles stared at their surroundings feeling perplexed. What was so fun about the beach? It was just a few miles of sand, grainy little stuff that took hours to rinse out of his dreads and managed to show up in the most unlikely of places weeks later.
Feeling ruffled, he decided to watch what Sonic did before he made himself feel stupid asking what it was they were doing there.
His unspoken question was answered a moment later as Sonic dug his hands into the beach and started digging. Knuckles reluctantly trudged over to help, though he very much did not understand the hedgehog's intent. Digging? For what purpose?
Knuckles almost managed to ask what Sonic was up to, but not before Tails came bulleting in, crashing into the sand and spraying the petulant beige granules everywhere. Knuckles felt his nose scrunch in disgust as a few specs landed on his face.
"You guys are building castles without me?" cried Tails, but he did not seem nearly as angry as his outburst warranted. Instead he had a smile on his face, and Knuckles realized it was just a playful sort of thing.
"Shoot!" Sonic blurted, jumping out of the small pit they'd dug and hiding his hands behind his back. "Knuckles, hide the castle! We got found out!"
The echidna looked down to the tiny pit, inside of which he stood, and felt a frown form on his face. "There is not a castle here," he stated, wondering if Sonic was feeling well. "There is only this lump of sand."
He gestured to the sorry excuse for a castle with growing puzzlement as Sonic laughed in response.
Suddenly, sand exploded in his face as Tails jumped onto the heap of sand, shouting, "You will never have a castle now! Pay for your crimes!"
Sonic snorted and lunged for Tails. "How dare you destroy our hard-earned castle? That took me years to build!"
Finally, Knuckles caught on, and exaggeratedly stared at the beaten-down castle Sonic had built. He closed his eyes solemnly and bowed his head, as though grieving. "It was a work of art."
Tails lifted himself into the air with his namesakes, a mischievous grin on his face. "You will reap the day you crossed me, The Mighty Tails!"
Sonic stopped his struggle to reach Tails' feet, which were just out of reach, and said, "What, like The Mighty Ducks? Isn't that a little lame?"
Knuckles did not know what was so mighty about ducks, but he assumed it was one of Sonic's many 'Earth Things' he needed to learn about. Choosing not to dwell on the subject, he bent down and scooped up as much of the shore as he could, future Knuckles be damned, and tossed it lightly at Tails.
The ball of wet sand, though tossed without anywhere near as much strength as Knuckles possessed, smacked Tails with enough force to knock him off balance in the air and sail into the soft ground below. Knuckles could hear Sonic digging beside him, preparing to throw a sandball of his own concocting.
"Noooooo!" Tails screamed, not unlike Dr. Robotnik, as he laid down on the ground dramatically, his twin tails spitting sand in every direction. "My evil plight! Foiled again!"
Sonic sped over and held his own sandball (which was nowhere near as large as Knuckles' previous one), looming over Tails and grinning. In his best Batman impression, Sonic declared, "Your reign ends now , The Mighty Tails," and dropped the ball of sand mercilessly on the fox's head.
"Poison!" Tails shrieked, though his words were interwoven with giggles. "No! I've been sabotaged! Foul play!"
Sonic smiled. "No birds here, bro."
Tails stopped his onslaught of Robotnik impersonation, seemingly unamused, but Knuckles paid no heed.
"HA!" he barked, startling the other two. "Fowl! Like the bird!" he guffawed, amazed at Sonic's quick wit.
Tails sat up and put his head in his hands, sighing. "Only Knuckles would find that funny."
Sonic patted his kid brother's head disparagingly. "He just has a better sense of humor than you."
Knuckles felt the smallest smile quirk on his face, still chuckling to himself. Approvingly, he added, "You have quick wit, hedgehog."
Sonic beamed, Tails scowled, and Knuckles watched as the two raced each other back to the shrine, shoving each other along the way. Perhaps this was a good alternative to staring at those murals in his free time. Perhaps Sonic was right.
Fun , he belatedly realized. I am having fun.