The sound of joyous giggling filled the busy hall as two figures rushed past, one significantly faster than the other. Maria called toward Shadow that he wasn't being fair, that she couldn't keep up, but it was all in good fun. Giggles only followed her call as Shadow flipped around to stick his tongue out at her, narrowly avoiding bumping clear into a wall as he hurried to regain his balance.

Many scientists quickly shuffled out of the way lest they were bumped at the hip by an overly excited hedgehog and his human sister. One chastised them on being far too reckless, but it fell on deaf ears as the two kids continued their game of chase. Maria did wave behind her, passing more and more bemused staff as some peeked their heads out their offices to see the childish chase, before she ducked away and left Shadow running by himself.

Shadow slowed down to round a corner just for Maria to show up in front of him, so he squealed in surprise as he was grabbed in a rough, tickling hug. "No fair!" he yelped, kicking and flailing uselessly as his sister only held him higher off the ground. "You know this place better than I do!"

Maria only laughed it off, letting him go to sprint past him. "Home territory!" she shouted over her shoulder at the downed hedgehog, trying to suppress the burning in her chest as her legs pumped harder. Her breathing was more of a rasp, but she ignored it. This was the most fun she had this week, finally strong enough nearly a day after her and Shadow's last blood transfusion.

It didn't last long. Shadow slowly gained on her, taking extra care to lag behind as she wasn't nearly as fast as him and he was having far too much fun to care about winning their endless game. He dodged people, staff, scientists who were now simply trying to get work done with ease, ducking under tables and waltzing around suddenly opening doors as he continued to try and map out the place in his head. Sure, he would be more in tune now, but there was rarely a time he had the chance to really explore. Shadow glanced at the ground, noticing something quite out of place on the pristine white floor. He'd only seen it for a split second, but it caught his eye. A singular red dot. Was it a spill? He should clean it right away, it could stain and probably bother them for the rest of their life, or even grow some sort of mold or bacteria from it.

There was a familiar cough, and Shadow poured energy into his legs, far more than he should have, as he sailed past his downed sister and crashed bodily into the wall. He rebounded off, crumpling to the floor with a wheeze and hiss in slight pain but gathering to his knees within seconds to rub Maria's back, her body shaking with heaving gasps and coughing fits, tiny sprinkles of blood droplets spraying from her mouth into her delicate palm and onto the floor. It built steadily, droplets dripping down her pale hand and between thin fingers. Blue eyes were squeezed shut in an effort to calm her screaming lungs back down much to no avail, but she did gladly accept Shadow's comfort.

"Too much?" He asked.

"Too much." She agreed between breaths, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

Shadow sighed and sat down, belatedly realizing just how much he was sore from slamming into the wall nearly top speed, and looked up to the wall in question just to grimace at its state. "Oops."

Maria slowly looked up, chest still barely grasping what it felt like to breathe again, then wheezed out a hoarse laugh at the clear Shadow-shaped indent in the metal wall.

"Hey, I was worried!" Shadow blushed and looked away sharply, one arm wrapping around her side to hug her protectively. She felt warm to the touch, and instinctively he nuzzled against her cheek. "I would fix it if I knew how to control myself."

"Hmm," she smiled and snuggled into his warm side, thinking loosely on how soft and nice the other's fur was. She and Shadow didn't hug often, be it because testing left his body too sore to bare any sort of contact or her own fits of sickness causing her to become too weak to even open her eyes without straining, so she savored the moment. A simple cold could leave her bedridden for days at a time, but there was rarely a moment Shadow wouldn't be right at her side.. "That's fine, you're still learning. Don't beat yourself up…"

The sound of running drew Shadow's attention away from her response to stare at the large figure approaching from across the way, and he lifted his free hand to wave.

Maria looked up, too, just in time to see the look of pure exacerbated bewilderment on her grandfather's beet red face. "Hello," she spoke, raspy but cheerfully. "How's it going?"

Gerald slowed to a stop a few feet from her, hands on his knees and hunched over to catch his own breath. Based on just how sweaty he was and the fact that he still had on his thick lab coat and gloves, he was rather busy before he was called out.

"One day," he sighed, fully ignoring her joking question and standing up just a bit taller to look at the messy red liquid dripping down her chin "You're going to be the death of me." he removed his gloves to pull a handkerchief from his side pocket, leaning down to wipe her chin clean. He paused long enough to dry off her hand, but it was clear she'd need to properly wash up.

Maria chuckled again while Shadow frowned. "No, no, it was my fault. Blame me, I was the one who made her play! It was too soon and--"

"You're too humble for this world, son." Gerald laid his hand over the small hedgehog's head, gently scratching him before pulling away to stand straight again. He eyed his now ruined handkerchief, then folded his arms behind his back to regard Shadow. "Just help us out some, and get her back to her bed, okay?"

At the order, Shadow stood up tall, scooping up his much heavier and much taller sister into his arms with a firm nod. "Yes sir!"

Before either had time to correct him, he was gone. Racing through the hallways smoothly, his speed unmatched by anything as he effortlessly traversed the maze-like colony back to Maria's favourite bed. He'd always know that path like the back of his hand.

All the while Maria giggled and grinned lively, waving hello to everyone they passed, though she was clearly afraid. Her other hand was wrapped tightly around his neck, her fingers curled into his fur as she feared falling. He even slowed down a tad, but she was still afraid. Of what, he didn't know anymore and figured he'd drop it, knowing she'd tell him if she was ever uncomfortable.

He'd have to wait before he could visit her again, he supposed, briefly thinking that he should double back and claim he got lost just to spend a few more seconds with her, but when she began to cough again the thought went right out the window and he slid to a stop outside the door. She paused, looking down, then turned to him to press a kiss to his forehead.

"Maria!" he whined, and, after chuckling at his demise as he was unable to do anything with his hands full, she lifted her clean hand to the panel and let it scan her fingerprints. A soft hiss let them know that they could enter, and Maria wiggled a bit to get out of his grasp and climbed onto her bed herself.

The room was full yet bare at the same time. Most things there being little nick nacks Shadow either made or found that he thought she would like, many framed pictures of him, Maria, and Gerald along with other staff as well, and plenty of papers scrawled with puzzles, notes, letters, homework and drawings. Not to mention little desk toys he snatched from new shipment issues before it could be checked for non-essentials. On one wall laid a large window, the glass so thick it became somewhat foggy towards the corners, where you could clearly see the Earth and many, many stars littering space itself.

"Don't blame yourself."

The soft voice caught him off guard and he looked up, finding Maria smiling at him. "Pardon?"

"I said," she wiped her face and hands and tossed the sanitizing wipe away, leaning over to scratch his ear. "don't blame yourself! I knew I shouldn't have headed out so soon after getting another refill, and I knew I should have stopped when I didn't feel so good. None of this was your fault."

Shadow didn't complain when he was lifted up and placed next to her, but did give her a look that said 'you know I can't be in this bed with you' whilst continuing to enjoy being hugged and pet. It was hard for Maria to realize that he wasn't exactly a "pet", but he didn't mind the attention. Maria hummed in surprize a slight buzzing feeling she felt coming from Shadow, but smiled and dismissed it as him purring.

"If you say so-- OW!!" he yanked his head away, whining and rubbing the ear that had been suddenly pinched "What was that for!?"

"For not believing me!" she snapped back, though it was said with a smug smile.

Shadow didn't get much time to reply before he noticed Maria looking above and behind him, and he was lifted under the arms and set on the ground.

"You're getting heavy," Emily remarked.

"I'm a growing hedgehog."

He didn't need to be told to know that he had to leave, but he didn't want to right away either.

"Ms. Emily, does he have to go?" Maria whined, but the nurse didn't falter for a second. She simply nodded and smoothed her jet black hair back and over her shoulders, wrapping it in a ponytail with a blank expression. Not even Gerald could persuade her unless absolutely necessary.

Emily had been Maria's nurse/doctor for a while now, and she was never one to just allow something to happen. She was very nice, yes, but the only times when Shadow was allowed inside was during a blood transfusion (or as Maria liked to call it, a refill,) or helping Maria calm down if she began to panic. Other than that, it was a no go. Apparently, he needed a deep cleansing bath every single time because his fur easily collected dust and other mites that could cause Maria's condition to worsen. Apparently. That was entirely untrue as he physically could not harbor any bacteria on his body, but he had no say in that fight.

"Emiiiilyyyy," Maria whined, looking off sadly to her half-brother. "B-but--"

"No buts young lady," the woman sighed, looking back over her shoulder and waving for Shadow to leave already. She turned right before his quills bristled in anger. "You're going to be taking medicine anyway, and it'll make you sleepy. Not sure why you would want him here for if you were just going to sleep."

Irritated and not wanting to hear more, Shadow turned away from the woman and her hazel gaze, sticking out his tongue pointedly at her just as the door began to close, just to quickly realize that she had again looked back at the noise and saw his expression. He turned tail and ran just in case she had anything to say about that.

Great. Maria was in bed again, and while she would deny it for as long as the sun stayed bright, he still believed he was to blame for it.

"Good afternoon," he heard in passing, and so he glanced up to see a young man crouched down, hand outstretched with small brown pellets nestled in his palm. He looked a bit concerned and worried, as Shadow had ran a good few steps past the door as if he was ignoring the other. Shadow grimaced but faked a smile, backtracking a bit to entertain him.

"Good afternoon," he spoke politely, inwardly grinning when a colleague smacked the other upside his head and chastised him on how Shadow wasn't a pet. The man quickly stood, apologize, and looked at the treats he held in slight awkward confusion. Clearly, he had no idea if his offer was offensive as well.

To throw the other a bone, as he really didn't mean to be rude, Shadow extended his own hand and took the treats from him. "Thank you. Have a nice day, Dr. Johnson, and I wish you luck in your studies." he popped one into his mouth, still hating the taste and texture just the same as the last time this happened.

Apparently, there was a dog or some other creature before him that gladly accepted these treats, but now that it was gone and he replaced it, they had an abundance that they needed to get rid of still.

It wasn't like he minded much. True, he didn't want to be treated like a pet, but then again the treats still existed, and everyone was still missing the idea of having a pet on-board. There were a few times he had to sit and have his ears scratched and head pat while staff distracted themselves from work, but that was fine. He liked the touch. Small acts, showing that the other staff knew and acknowledge that Shadow indeed was alive and lived on the ARK with them. That they did care for him, even if it was small, mundane, or simple muscle memory or a habit to offer the remaining treats to the creature that would roam the walls in hopes that they would eat and enjoy it. Simply distracting themselves or thinking that the other enjoyed being pet and touched by another. Small acts really added up.

Especially since he wasn't… Entirely liked.

Unable to think of what to do, and not wanting to go to testing just yet as he had another good hour or two before his next session, he set out to find Gerald. See if he needed some help, which he almost always did. Gerald was one of the head scientists, with select few on top of him and even fewer on the same level, but that didn't mean he didn't need help.

Shadow was still learning many things, but he could tell certain things apart by smell and sight alone, and was extremely strong for his small size, and had a temper to boot. The perfect combination used for testing.

And he hated it.

Shadow waited until he was out of sight before promptly spitting up the pellets he had placed into his mouth and tossing the rest into the nearest bin. The can closed shut right after, and it was gone from view. He still needed some time to get used to that. He didn't even know where the trash went, but he was sure every time that shute opened, it smelled faintly of something burning.

The pellets tasted like pure cardboard spritzed with the scent of meat and seasoned with salt, something he was unsure how dogs would ever enjoy. He'd also eaten cat food before, and freeze dried crickets and mealworms back when he was first released and no one had any idea what he'd eat. Surprisingly, the crickets and mealworms were edible. Crickets had a slight meaty flavour while the mealworms taste like cheese, which didn't actually make sense. The cat food? He wasn't going to lie, it was edible. Not the best, but he willingly ate it whenever it was time for him to eat.

Cat food seafood delight with cricket meat and mealworm cheese became a delicacy to him for a long time. Until he tried a sandwich, then he fell in love.

Well it was just lunch meat, a slice of ham torn off from a sandwich from Gerald, but it was still heaven. Seeing Shadow eat normal food was such an eye opener for the lot of them, and that was when they realized they had been feeding him almost nothing.

--

hello and welcome to my relaunch of Maria! Not very much has changed, but the plot has been changed significantly. This will go up on ao3 as well.