emerald

🍀 - It was tough getting everything arranged on time, especially in the middle of a war, but it was worth it to see Knuckles get his gift. Leslie smiled as she stealthily watched him accept the flowers from outside of his office.

,,,,im thinking i should make leslie a little younger, when making this blog i legitimately forgot that 12 years old is like. beginning middle school and i want this kid to be. a kid

the good platonic stuff | accepting

🍀 -  Movie night. Leslie’s favorite night of the week, she never let Shadow miss it once, and every time they watched a princess movie. Tonight, it was Tangled, which she knew was Shadow’s favorite, even if he denied it constantly. She never understood why he always seemed to be embarrassed of liking the movies they watched together, but she was too nervous to question him. He surely had his own reasons.

Halfway through the movie, all the way through the bowl of popcorn they’d made, and Shadow was fully focused on the screen in front of them. Leslie was getting a bit antsy. She wanted to have something to do with her hands, but the only thing she could do at the moment was fidget with her blanket. She glanced at the hedgehog beside her, and an idea came to her. 

“’Scuse me--” The pup cautiously stood up and walked over to Shadow, only to plop herself directly down into his lap and lean back to rest her head on his chest fur. She hoped he wouldn’t mind, but deep down she knew that he wouldn’t move her. Leslie grabbed his hands and held them over her own chest, forcing a hug.

It was his second offering, however, that really caught her attention. ‘Do you want a hug’. Not a single person had offered her that since she’d arrived here. She hadn’t been hugged or held since she last saw her parents-- over 5 months ago. Leslie’s lip quivered as she stared at the other’s open arms. She was on him in seconds, burying her face in his chest fur and letting out a loud, albeit muffled sob, followed by a few more. Any tears coming out at this point would be soaked up into Shadow’s fur, as if she didn’t feel bad enough already, now she was getting him wet. She would turn her head to the side, resting a floppy ear against his chest now. The sound of his heartbeat was soothing to her.

After what felt like minutes, she broke away from the hug. The canine still looked shaken, but she felt a little better at least. Was her tail wagging behind her? And a small grin on her muzzle? It appeared so. After dusting herself off a bit, and wiping a stray tear away, she extended a shaky paw to the hedgehog.

“I’m here because-- uh...because I think this is my home now?” She spoke as if she wasn’t quite sure herself. Her home was pretty much entirely destroyed, but she didn’t know if the resistance would let her stay in the base after the war. Time would tell.

“I-I mean it might not be, I dunno at this point...d-do you want me to leave?” Her tone began to waver. She hated thinking about the future. All she wanted to do was stay safe in the base forever, not needing to worry about scary jackals or robots or what would come next. Her breath became shallow and her shoulders hunched forward. She didn’t want to cry, not now, not in front of a stranger, but memories, terrifying and horrible memories were flooding her thoughts. Leslie looked down at the floor and gritted her teeth, trying to summon enough force to stop herself from letting it out.

“I...don’t want to go to capital city...I’m scared of Infinite, if he’s there, I don’t know what i’d do! Wh-what if he sees me? If he remembers me, i’m gonna be in big trouble, have you even SEEN how scary he is?” She twiddled her thumbs nervously as she spoke. Just mentioning Infinite was enough to give her chills. She grabbed the handle of her wispon, pulling it into her lap and gripping it tightly.

🍀 - Green eyes dart nervously around the room as Leslie examines the bustle surrounding her. Mobians walking in and out, checking computers, grabbing gear, having chats with each other, the usual. The pup’s gaze occasionally wandered to one particular hedgehog who appeared to be...looking back at her? She didn’t recognize this face, but he didn’t look to be the most friendly hedgehog around. For a moment she’d wonder exactly why he was doing this, but it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Leslie didn’t quite fit in with everyone else. She wasn’t even 3 feet tall, of course she’d stick out to somebody. 

After a few minutes, the room was empty aside from the two of them. Being the polite child she was, Leslie raised a paw and offered a shaky wave to the stranger.

starter call ig? i don’t want to fall into the no motivation hole bc im too self critical to write so like this for a Green Dog to say words at your muse