Shadow's Wild Part 6

Peace returned to the mansion for a time, until the dreary, rainy Monday when Sonic was awakened at noontime. The click and creak of the greenhouse door would have captured his attention at any time, since it always heralded the arrival of his favorite person, but Shadow never came this early, never interrupted his sleep.

He crouched within his treetop nest, listening, and extended his senses. The sound of unfamiliar, clicking footsteps met his ears. No... this was not Shadow's walk... not his breathing, not his scent– this person felt all wrong. A stranger had come. Sonic's face tightened into a grim mask as he stole away from the nest.

Rouge the Bat had returned to the greenhouse.

She strolled wistfully down the path, appreciating the greenery, surprised that Shadow had maintained the little forest. She wondered if he'd kept the place beautiful for her or because he didn't want an investment to go to waste. Probably a combination of both.
Rouge sighed and bent down to admire a waterlogged bromeliad, then fondly caressed the glossy green leaves of a creeping vine. She did miss this place. It was her special sanctuary, the place where she could go to escape from Shadow and find some peace of mind after their frequent verbal battles.

That was all in the past now, she reminded herself, or it would be if she could ever convince Shadow to let go.

As she approached, Shadow's collection of tropical birds exploded out of a nearby bush, streaking upwards and circling the vaulted glass ceiling.

"My god, are those new?" she murmured. "He actually bought new birds. How strange– he never showed any interest in the greenhouse before." Her eyes glimmered with despair as she watched them. "Is this another of your efforts to draw me back, Shadow? I'm sorry, but no amount of money you spend can change how I feel. It's over between us."

A barely noticeable rustle in the nearby bushes drew her attention, and she began to wonder if it was really her presence that had upset the birds.

"Shadow, is that you?"

The groundskeeper did say he'd been coming here a lot, she thought. She walked over to the bushes but found nothing. The birds overhead shrieked and trilled, growing increasingly agitated.

"Shadow? Come on, Shadow, I know that's you. Stop playing with me, you're making me nervous. Look, please... I brought the divorce papers with me." She held up her briefcase. "Would you please sign them? I'm tired of fighting over this; I'm not going to change my mind, no matter what you do. Shadow? Shadow!"

Rouge strained to listen, but heard only the sound of fluttering wings and pattering rain. But she could sense someone... sensed that she was not alone. Was it really Shadow? Hiding and stalking quietly was not like him at all– he preferred confrontations and loud, dramatic arguments.

'Where was he? Rouge spun around, hearing the swish of tall grasses to her left. Or was it a shaking of leaves in the trees above? Suddenly the greenhouse grew deathly still– not a rustle or a peep or sweep of feathers. The thick silence pounded unnaturally in her ears, and apprehension gathered in her stomach and seeped down her legs. She felt rooted to the spot. The cold, energizing fire of true fear seized her brain and instinct sent her an message, sounding so loud and so clear that all other thoughts vanished: Get out, NOW.

The white bat turned on her heel and dashed headlong down the stone path to the exit, never looking back, never stopping till she reached her car. Trembling from head to foot and covered in a sheen of sweat, the businesswoman cranked the gears into reverse and with a squealing of tires fled the estate.

'It was just my imagination,' she told herself desperately, 'It wasn't real...'

But no matter how she tried to convince herself, for that split second when she turned to run, she knew she'd seen a pair of hateful lime green eyes glaring murderously from the darkness beyond the trees.

Shadow returned from his day-long business trip after dark, in an unusually good mood. Rather than unpacking, he decided that his first task upon returning home would be to feed Sonic and the birds, and he enjoyed putting the meal together. But his efforts would go unappreciated that night: for once, Sonic was uninterested in food.

As soon as the door shut behind him Sonic swung down from the trees, slamming onto the ground in front of him with a violent thud. Shadow was shocked to find that instead of his customary smiles and gentle welcomes, the wild's face was contorted into a snarl of rage. Sonic let out a low growl and slowly straightened, his powerful form tensed and towering in a uncharacteristically intimidating manner. With every quill bristled, he appeared even larger than normal. Shadow could only stand like a statue and gape at his display. Faster than quicksilver, the wild snatched up his wrist, his grip almost painfully tight.

:: Who was that woman? ::

Shadow's brain kicked back in. "Who– wha– what woman?"

:: The woman who intruded here this morning, and woke me from my sleep. White fur, blue eyes, a bat. She was looking for you! ::

"Oh! Th-that must have been Rouge. Probably came here on her lunch break to nag me about those damn papers again–"

:: Who is she!? ::

"R... Rouge? Well, she's my wife. I've been trying to force her to come back to me, but she insists she's in love with that worthless Knuckles the Echidna, she–"

Sonic tossed his head in outrage, eyes feral. :: Keep her out of here! Keep her away from me! ::

Shadow stared in wonder. Is this how wilds reacted to intruders? He had no idea Sonic was so territorial. "Hey, look, I know Rouge's a spoiled pain in the ass, but she's nothing to get so worked up over."

:: Keep her out! Keep her away, or I'll take care of her myself! How dare she come here, when I've so clearly made my claim! ::

"Look, I'll just put a lock on the door to keep her out–"

:: I WANT HER TO STAY AWAY FROM WHAT'S MINE! ::

The wild's fist slammed down like a pile driver, pulverizing a decorative rock to powder even as his eyes never left his companion. Shadow jumped at the cracking and exploding sound and gawked in amazement.

"Holy s***!" he breathed. Before he had time to think anything else the creature grabbed him by both arms and shoved him to the ground. For a moment he panicked as he felt the weight of the beast on top of him, and he squeezed his eyes shut, fearing the worst. Sonic was going to kill him. The beast was going to tear him apart, he was going to break his neck, he was... nuzzling him? Shadow regained enough of his faculties to peek up at him.

Brusquely, almost frantically, Sonic not-so-gently butted heads, and rubbed and slid his head, face, and chin over Shadow's head and face, and also his neck and shoulders. Shadow winced in confusion. What in the world?

Sonic had rubbed and nuzzled him like this many times before, but it was never so forceful, so needy. He sat stiffly in his grip, frozen, unsure of what was happening or what to do. Finally after several long swipes where the wild pressed down especially hard, he pulled back and stared him down, those intense eyes full of meaning. Shadow's wide-eyed gaze locked with his, and he received the distinct impression that Sonic wanted to tell him something, but couldn't say it aloud.

Shadow broke the gaze nervously and turned to the side, attempting to get up, and to his great relief the blue male made no move to prevent him. He staggered over to the door and hurriedly brought the bundle of food over.

"W-well... Here's your– your food. A good meal calms the nerves, s-so why don't you go ahead and eat something..."

Sonic glowered at him for a moment, then prowled over and tore into his meal.

Shadow had to get out of there. "Ahem, so, you're obviously still upset, and I'm tired– I had several flights today and a stressful meeting– so I'll just go and let you cool down, all right? And I'll see you tomorrow. Bye!" He quickly turned and hurried out, fully aware that the wild still monitored his every step.

As Shadow strode up the dark hill to the mansion, the rush of adrenaline wore off and he began to shiver. The incident had him more shaken than he cared to admit. He ran his hands over his scalp and clutched at his hair in an effort to steady himself. Knees wobbled and gave out, and he sat, stupefied and reeling on the vast lawn under the stars.

"Good God...! What... What the hell was that? I mean, what the hell? I've never seen him like that..."

Sonic had never shown him true anger before. The fit he'd thrown after the vaccination incident had been more of a hurt and pouty fury, like the tantrum of a two-year-old. This however... He had become honestly terrifying, like an unstoppable force of nature, and had apparently stayed angry for hours on end until his owner returned. Shadow could almost see the force of his rage billowing around his form like a gold aura. And the destruction he was capable of...

What kind of control did he truly have over such a creature? Only the force of his word and his will. Sonic always called him "Shadow," or "friend"– he hadn't called him Master since the day they'd first met, and he had laughed as he said it.

Shadow shuddered and tried to purge from his mind the dreadful thought of what would happen if Sonic ever got out of his control. No, no, Sonic was crazy about him, loyal. He was just upset about the trespass on his territory. But now Shadow knew that he could be dangerous. If one of the servants ducked into the greenhouse on a whim, they would be in deep trouble. Not that he cared especially for the servants– they were a dime a dozen– but he still didn't want them killed, or Sonic discovered in his animal form. He would have to get a lock put on that door. A deadbolt. And a combination lock.

The ebony male glanced back toward the greenhouse. Damn, he'd left the lights on. Ah, who cares, just let them burn. He wondered if Sonic was still eating, or if he was destroying the greenhouse in lingering rage.

What was that nervous rubbing all about? All of Sonic's manhandling would have knocked him over if he hadn't been held tight. He sighed. At times like this he really wished he had a book or a website to refer to, to understand more about the wild's behavior. The shop owner claimed to have told him everything he knew about wilds. Shadow doubted that was the truth, but he felt there was no chance of forcing more information out of the bizarre man. The creature seemed an unusual mix of animals, combining the loyalty and friendliness of the dog, the intelligence of a primate, and the stealth and grace of a jungle cat. He wondered if any of the wild's behavior was shared by those animals.

Yes... yes, he remembered that house cats frequently rub their heads and bodies up against people and furniture, it was one of the most well-known feline traits. And Sonic purred too... Yes! Maybe if he read up on the behaviors of cats, it would explain a few things about his pet. Shadow sprang to his feet with renewed vigor and dashed off toward the mansion.

Within minutes he was seated at his home office computer, logging on to the Internet. He laced his fingers together and stretched them backwards to pop the knuckles as he made himself comfortable, and rolled up his sleeves. He noticed that his left forearm was already developing bruises underneath his fur from where Sonic had grabbed him.

"Why that crazy bastard!" he exclaimed, staring in wonder at the reddening blotches when he raked back his fur. He'd have to remember to tell him off for that tomorrow.

Turning back to the computer, he called up the home page to a popular search engine and thought about the best way to find what he was after.

"Okay... 'feral cats' is way too general… Feral cat behavior. No, let's try 'feral cat behavior' and 'rubbing.'"

He submitted these prompts, then congratulated himself when the links to several promising websites showed up on the screen. Shadow scanned the list, and chose the official website to a prominent and reputable humane organization that seemed to offer a wide range of information about dogs and cats.

"Great, okay. Cat behavior..." he scrolled down the page, quickly skimming the article. "Feline leukemia, no... teaching your cat not to jump on tables, no... always spay or neuter your cat; no, don't think the guy would like that... Hmm! Redirected aggression..."

He slowed down to peruse that section more thoroughly, reading aloud to himself. "'An aggression response directed toward an animal that did not initially provoke the cat. When a perceived threat is out of reach, a cat may redirect its anger on a more available subject. For example, a housecat sees a strange cat walking through the yard– what he perceives as his territory– and since he cannot attack the outdoor cat he may release his frustrations by attacking the owner or a fellow pet.' Hah! Isn't that wild; I had no idea cats did that. I wonder if that's what happened– Sonic was angry that Rouge was in his territory, she left, so he went off on me instead. Yeah, okay, we'll go with that explanation. All right, now to find 'head rubbing.'"

Half a page down he found exactly that: a section labeled "Scent marking (Face rubbing)." He grinned in triumph and continued.

"Alright, perfect. 'Rubbing of the body and head on objects is called scent marking, leaving an identifying scent mark upon valued objects within the cat's territory.' Heh! He values me.' 'Such markings are impossible for humans to detect. "Bunting," or head-butting and rubbing the head against one's face, denotes affection toward a person or animal and is usually never performed on inanimate objects. It is a gesture of family acceptance and love.' How flattering; that's kind of cute.' 'The meaning can often be unclear or double, however, as sometimes bunting can become indistinguishable from other types of rubbing and marking, which indicate...'"

Shadow's breath caught in his throat. "'...Possession.'"

A hot shiver rippled down his spine, making his quills stand on end; he felt paralyzed. Reading that one word was all it took for him to realize now that the wild had acted in a very possessive manner. But... but he... did that mean he thought...

Shadow shoved away from the computer abruptly and began to pace.

"W-well... He's a monkey-thing anyway, not a cat! Dumb, Shadow. What a waste of time. Stupid of you to lump some exotic creature in with the common cat! A-and even if he does think he's marked me as 'his,' it doesn't mean anything. Cats mark their owners and it doesn't mean anything, the owner is still in charge. No, doesn't mean a thing..."

Shadow found himself unwilling to sleep that night. Unable to take refuge in his weight room, he walked the halls of the mansion and the length and breadth of the estate in the dark, damp air, walking mindlessly until the dawn. Exhaustion pleasantly numbed his mind, purged away the nervous energy.

Abandoning work yet again for the day, he instead called the local home warehouse store to hire one of their handymen. By lunchtime, the strongest lock available was installed on the greenhouse door.