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The impenetrable might of the glorious pillow castle was suddenly broken by an earth shattering knock.
“Kit?” Vanilla called sweetly, opening the bedroom door, “It’s time to get up. Breakfast is ready.”
The fennec groaned sleepily, and poked his head out of the mound of pillows.
“Five more minutes?” he whined.
“I’m afraid you’ve already used up that extra time. Now come along. You don’t want your pancakes to get cold.”
Vanilla left the door slightly ajar as she walked back to the kitchen. Kit mumbled incoherently to himself before he dramatically flopped out of the pillow fort and onto the floor.
Kit soon shuffled into the rabbit family’s kitchen with his backpack on, and took his seat next to Cream.
“Good morning, Mister Kit!!” Cream greeted cheerfully, “How did you sleep?”
“Fine,” Kit muttered, stabbing his pancakes with his fork.
“I’m terribly sorry to make you sleep on that awfully uncomfortable guest bed,” Vanilla apologized while she washed some dishes, “I hadn’t expected to need to use it again so soon.”
“It’s fine, ma’am,” Kit said simply, “I was comfortable.”
Vanilla smiled at the little fennec, “How are you feeling now that Surge isn’t around? You were quite upset when she left.”
Kit thought for a moment…he felt nothing…and not the good kind of nothing either. He felt empty. But he didn’t want to tell Vanilla that. He didn’t want to upset her, but he didn’t want to lie either. So…he just said nothing and began eating his pancakes.
“Miss Tikal invited me to help her in her Chao Garden again!!” Cream squealed, “Mother is busy today, so would you like to come with me, Mister Kit?”
“Chao Chao!” Cheese shouted next to her.
Kit raised a brow and stared at the young rabbit for a second, “What?”
“Miss Tikal! She’s a friend of Mister Knuckles, and a really great Chao caretaker!”
“No, I mean…what is a Chao…?”
Both rabbits' eyes widened, and the two Chao present gave Kit a strange look. The fennec looked around nervously.
“D-Did I say something wrong?”
**********
It was a comparably quiet day in the Restoration’s Chao Garden. Only a handful of little lively beings were playing and waiting patiently outside the kitchen. Tikal soon emerged from the door, holding a tray of fresh cookies.
“Be careful,” she warned as the slew of Chao took them, “They are still hot.”
Some of the little ones didn’t care, and ate their cookies whole without any care for their heat. Others nibbled a little corner, and started crying as it burned their mouths. Tikal soothed the poor babies, but couldn’t help but chuckle in an “I told you so” manner.
The bell above the front door of the garden rang out, and Tikal turned to see Gemerl leading Cream, Cheese, and a small blue fox into the garden.
“Hi, Miss Tikal!!” Cream waved wildly.
“Cream!” Tikal cheered.
The little rabbit ran up and hugged the echidna tightly. Cheese flew up too, and hugged the side of Tikal’s head. Both girls giggled until the hug was over.
“It’s so good to see you again! You too, Gemerl.”
The robot waved lightly. Tikal then shifted her focus on the blue kitsune hiding behind him. She gently approached him, keeping a warm and friendly smile on her face.
“Who might you be?” she asked, kneeling in front of him.
“This is Mister Kistunami!” Cream introduced, “But he prefers you call him Kit. He’s Miss Surge’s little brother, and he’s staying with me and mother while Miss Blaze brings her girlfriends to her home world!”
Tikal’s smile widened, “Well it’s nice to meet you, Kit. I’m Tikal the Echidna, caretaker of this Chao Garden.”
She extended her hand out to him. Kit stared at it for a moment before gingerly shaking it.
“Mister Kit doesn’t know much about Chao! Even after meeting Cheese and Chocola!” Cream explained, grasping Tikal’s other arm, “I wanted to bring him here to show him all the little cuties you take care of!”
Tikal chuckled warmly and stood up straight again, “Well, I’d be happy to show you around, Kit. Follow me.”
She led him further into the enclosed garden. Cream, Gemerl, and Cheese broke away to go play with a group of Chao by the plastic play place. As he went deeper and deeper into the garden, more and more Chao began to come into view. Kit’s mouth hung open in awe as he gazed at them. Watching them play and fight over their cookies, the little squeaks and babbles they made. It made him feel strange.
A little green one with pink accents wandered up to him. It tripped and fell right in front of him, but it laughed and looked up into his eyes. It was adorable. Kit smiled. He felt happy, like he was watching Surge have the time of her life. But she wasn’t here, it was just Kit and these little Chao. Not even remembering the absence of Surge could dampen his spirits.
Tikal smiled sweetly, seeing Kit just stare at her little babies like a kid in a candy store. She walked over and helped the green Chao back on its feet.
“It’s hard not to love these precious little ones,” she said calmly, “They ooze an energy of love and compassion that everyone gravitates towards.”
“I…like them,” Kit said simply, “They’re cute.”
Tikal chuckled, “They are. And you are free to visit them here anytime. They love meeting new people.”
Kit nodded while he watched the green Chao waddle away. Tikal glanced back at the little ones still eating their cookies. A cyan one was licking their nub of a hand, and was covered in crumbs and dough.
“Oh, you silly thing,” Tikal scoffed playfully, walking over and picking it up, “You need a bath, mister.”
The Chao laughed while Tikal carried it towards the pool in the corner of the room. She placed it in a shallow corner, and began wiping off the dough clinging to its face. Kit only started paying attention to her again when he noticed her hands weren’t on the Chao anymore.
Tikal had her palms up, resting them down by her knees. Her eyes were closed, and she had steadied her breathing considerably. She slowly lifted her hands, and with them rose a small bubble of water out of the pool. Kit’s jaw dropped, while Tikal moved her hands closer together and lowered the ball of water on top of the Chao's head. It giggled as Tikal rubbed the water over its head by holding her hand just above it.
“YOU CAN CONTROL WATER?!!” Kit exclaimed.
Tikal jolted and lost her concentration. The ball of water exploded on the Chao's head, soaking it all over. It was clean now for certain, but it coughed pitifully to get the water out of its mouth. Tikal jerked her head around to see Kit, which made the fennec flinch himself.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” he apologized shakily, “I-I didn’t mean to startle you, I’m sorry!”
“Oh, ha, no no no, it’s quite alright,” Tikal soothed quickly, “Heh, but you sure did startle me.”
“I-I’m sorry…It’s just…I got excited.”
Tikal smiled warmly as she reached over and grabbed a towel hanging on the wall, “It’s okay. I understand. Not many know of my hydrokinetic abilities. I’m sure it’s a surprise to see it in action.”
Kit clung to the straps of his backpack for a moment, just staring down at the floor. Tikal pulled the soaked Chao out of the pool and began carefully drying it off.
“Yeah…” Kit whispered, “B-But I also got excited because…I…I can control water too…”
Tikal perked up, and slowly turned to face the kitsune again.
“You can?”
Kit smiled meekly, and turned to the side. Gripping the strands of his backpack hard, water gushed out of it and swirled upwards. Tikal gasped as it formed into a copy of her. Same warm smile and all. It waved at her before all the water sucked back into the fennec’s backpack.
“That was incredible!” Tikal squealed, clamping her hands together, “You are a natural!”
Kit frowned as he turned back to face Tikal.
“Not really,” he mumbled.
“What? What do you mean?” Tikal chuckled in disbelief, “I can’t even make water figures like that! You are absolutely a natural!”
Kit looked away and slung his backpack over his shoulders.
“But…it’s not really me. It’s my backpack. I can’t…do what you did by myself…”
Tikal frowned as Kit trailed off. He looked down and held his backpack in front of him pathetically. She kneeled in front of him and smiled.
“May I see your backpack?”
Kit looked up at her surprised, but nodded and handed it off to her. Tikal held it carefully in both of her hands, inspecting both sides of the pack thoroughly.
“How exactly do you control the water in this pack? There doesn’t seem to be any buttons or control panels on it.”
Kit scratched the back of his head. He’d never really thought about that before.
“I-I just…whenever I wear it, it seems to naturally be a part of me. L-Like the water I control is another limb or something. I-It can even be tied to my emotions…if I’m sad or angry or stuff like that…”
Tikal hummed curiously.
“Sounds to me like you really are a natural at controlling water then,” she smirked.
“B-But I’m not! Not in the way you are…I mean, I can’t even control the water in my pack when I’m not wearing it.”
Tikal looked at a strange water droplet shaped piece of glass on the back of the backpack. It clearly showed all the water sloshing inside the pack, and would have come into contact in the middle of Kit’s back. Surrounding it was a gray outline with several darker gray dots spotted around it.
“Fascinating…” Tikal whispered before looking back up at Kit, “Would you like to learn how to control it like me?”
Kit’s eyes widened, “W-What? Really?!”
“Sure,” Tikal smiled, setting the backpack aside gently, “I’ve never taught anyone else how to use hydrokinesis, but the idea is enthralling! And it sounds like you are interested in learning.”
Kit froze up for a second, but nodded swiftly afterwards. Tikal smiled widely, and turned over to Cream, Cheese, and Gemerl.
“Could you three keep an eye on all the little ones?!” she asked, “I need a moment with Kit!”
“Affirmative,” Gemerl thumbsed up.
“Of course!” Cream exclaimed, “We’ll do our best, Miss Tikal!”
“Chao! Chao!” Cheese chanted.
Tikal nodded, and turned back to the pool. She kneeled down and patted a spot on the ground next to her. Kit walked over and both of them were now kneeling in front of the pool. The Chao that he had inadvertently soaked chilled out in its towel next to him, looking into the water.
“Admittedly, I was taught how to do this by a friend a very long time ago,” Tikal said, “And the details on how to do it are a bit hard to explain. I ask you to have some patience with me and with this learning process.”
Kit nodded dutifully. Tikal smiled, and took a deep breath.
“Steady your breathing, and hold your hands down at your base. Be one with the flow of the water, and you can bring it up and into your control.”
Kit did as he was told. His breathing evened out and he let his hands rest just above the floor. Unlike Tikal, who gently closed her eyes, Kit was staring at the water as if he was trying to study its rippling.
“Concentrate. When your hands feel like they are one with the water, lift them up and it will come with you.”
Kit did that too. He didn’t really feel like he was one with the water, though. He wasn’t really sure what that was supposed to feel like. When he lifted his hands upwards, no water lifted with them. Unlike Tikal, who was lifting another small ball of water. Kit panicked a little, and lowered his hands and tried lifting again, but nothing happened.
“That didn’t work,” he sighed.
Tikal opened her eyes and frowned at the fennec’s dejected posture. She gently let down her ball of water back into the pool.
“It’s okay. You can’t expect to get it right on the first try.”
The small fox’s frown only worsened. A pink Chao fluttered curiously next to Tikal and gazed at Kit. It glanced at Tikal, who gave it a concerned look back. She scooted closer to Kit and gently grasped his wrists.
“Here, this might work better for a beginner,” she said as she placed his hands in the water, “Close your eyes and try again with your hands already cupping the water. It will be easier to understand and feel your connection with it, especially when your mind and hands are more focused on it than your eyes.”
Kit nodded robotically again, and followed his instructions. He steadied his breathing again, and began to gently lift his hands up and out of the pool. He felt the water rise up with him, and began smiling widely.
“I’m doing it. I’m doing it!” he chanted before opening his eyes, “I’m-”
There was no ball of water floating above his hands. The water was just spilling out of the bowl shape he had made with his hands. He watched the water drain out through the gaps between his fingers, until it all had dripped out of his grip. He frowned again and flopped his hands to his sides.
“I’m not doing it.”
“That’s alright!” Tikal said cheerfully, “We’ll just try agai-“
“I failed you…” he interrupted quietly, “I couldn’t follow your instructions.”
Tikal‘s eyes widened. She grew an incredibly worried expression and put a hand on his back.
“Hey, it’s okay Kit. Don’t be upset. You didn’t ‘fail’ me. This isn’t something you will get right away.”
“But it should be…” he sniffed, “I’m supposed to be good at this exact kind of thing. I should be able to control water easily, I already can with my backpack…You said I was a natural…”
“And you are, but this is a new form of hydrokinesis you are learning. It’s not the same, and you need to practice before you get the hang of it. After all, it would take me weeks to learn how to operate a backpack like yours.”
Kit whined to himself and tucked his knees into his chest. The pink Chao and the wet blue Chao looked sadly at him. A white one with long, flowing hair walked up next to the group and looked up the pink one curiously. It fluttered down and began whispering to it.
“B-But…w-what if I n-never learn? W-What if my backp-pack breaks and I’m useless without it? I’ll never be of any use to anyone if I’m just being carried by a tool my entire life…”
He sniffled pitifully into his knees, but before he could even start crying Tikal had pulled him into a tight hug.
“Don’t say such things about yourself. You’re talking like you are nothing more than some kind of tool, but you are nothing of the sort Kit.”
She pulled away and smiled sweetly at the fennec, “You are a young, wonderfully talented boy. One who doesn’t need to learn new skills for the sake of being useful. You should be wanting to learn in order to grow. For your sake. Would you still like to learn for that reason?”
Kit stared for a moment. He wiped away the tears trying to escape his eyes and nodded. Tikal nodded too, then had an idea.
“Here. Let me try one more thing,” she said as she shifted herself behind Kit.
She grabbed his hands, and cupped them with her own.
“I’ll let my hands be your guide. Focus on your breathing and your concentration, I will do the motions for you. Perhaps you will be able to feel my connection to the water through your hands.”
Kit looked down as Tikal lowered their hands into the water.
“A-Are you sure that will work?” he asked.
“No, I’m not. But there is no harm in trying. If we do not succeed now, we can try again. There is no time limit on learning, and no shame in failure.”
“I…I don’t know…”
“Chao, Chao, Chao!”
Kit and Tikal looked over in surprise. The Chao sitting next to them, still wrapped in its towel, was giving the fennec a confident look. It chanted again and pumped its arm up with every utterance of “Chao!” Tikal smiled from ear to ear.
“The little one is cheering you on, Kit. He believes you can do it.”
Kit looked up and behind him and took in Tikal’s genuine smile. Then, the pink Chao next to Tikal began chanting too.
“Chao, Chao, Chao!” both Chao cheered.
Then the white Chao joined in. A dark Chao scampered over and joined in the cheer too. Soon enough, more and more Chao fluttered around the pair.
“Chao, Chao, Chao!” they all chanted, pumping their fists, “Chao, Chao, Chao!”
“You can do it, Mister Kit!” Cream called.
Kit and Tikal looked back to see Cream, Gemerl, and Cheese watching them.
“I believe in you!” Cream added, “Just keep trying!”
Kit felt overwhelmed by all the attention suddenly on him. But it also felt…good? All of these little people, his friends, all cheering him on to try again. Try and do something he already failed at. He smiled. If only Surge was here to see this.
He suddenly felt something bap against his leg. He looked down and saw the green Chao from before. It looked up at him as it leaned on his leg.
“Chaooaaoo!” it babbled happily, smiling widely up at him.
Kit sniffed, then grew a confident look and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath.
“I’m ready.”
Tikal nodded. She too closed her eyes and both focused on their breathing. She kept their hands under the water for a moment. It took her a second to feel it.
Kit felt something strange in his hands. A small tingling sensation. It felt like they had fallen asleep, except it was the area around them that was tingling like that.
Tikal began to lift up Kit’s hands slowly. The tingling sensation didn’t go away, even when his hands broke the surface of the water. He heard Cream gasp behind him. He really wanted to open his eyes, but he kept his concentration on his hands as Tikal stopped lifting them up.
“Kit?” Tikal said softly, “Open your eyes.”
Kit did, very slowly. He gasped. Floating just above his hands was a small ball of water. He couldn’t believe it. In fact, he didn’t believe it. He glared down at Tikal’s hands still holding to the bottom of his.
“You’re tricking me,” he accused, “This is your ball, you’re just making me think it’s mine.”
Tikal smirked and raised a brow at him. She wordlessly let go of his hands and held hers up. Kit looked back at his hands…and the water was still floating there. Kit’s floored expression returned, and he just stared at it for a moment.
He carefully stood up straight, still holding his ball as carefully as he could. He was afraid to move his arms. He didn’t want to risk breaking his hold on it. But…another part of him was curious. He glanced worriedly at Tikal, hoping she understood. She nodded, and gestured at the ball as if beckoning him to experiment.
Kit returned his gaze to the ball. His hands still tingled as he held it there. Both cupping the ball, just under it. He moved his right hand away slowly. The water ball stretched delicately as his arm moved. He stopped, and then returned to his initial position. He lifted his hands up, and the ball raised with them. Changing his hands from a cupping position to placing his palms together and stuck his fingers upwards. The ball balanced just above his fingertips, even spinning a little bit.
Kit started to laugh. He held his arm outwards and the water rolled along it. It ramped off his hand which he had pointed upwards, and came back down. He moved his shoulders so that it rolled around his back and went up his other arm the same way.
He swished his hands back and forth, and the water moved with it. Pointing his index finger allowed the ball to fly freely around the room. While he played with the ball in his right hand, he turned back to the pool and swirled his other hand over the top of it. A spiral of water rose out of the pool, and spun around in tune with his hand motions.
“You did it, Mister Kit!” Cream cheered.
“Most impressive,” Gemerl nodded.
The Chao all cheered wildly around the fennec. He looked around at all of them. All their little, overjoyed faces. He sniffed. A tear was threatening to fall out of his eye again.
“I told you, Kit,” Tikal said softly as she put a hand on his shoulder.
Kit looked over to her with a smile as she pulled in his water ball and held it out in front of him.
“You are a natural.”
Kit just smiled.
“Thank you.”