The Cave

It had been a few days since Sonic had resolved to make the best life he could in this new world, but it didn't take him long to figure out it was much easier to say than do. He didn't recognize most of the plants, so he had to find out the hard way if something wasn't edible. Luckily, he never ate anything too disgusting or too poisonous, though some mushrooms he ate gave him a really bad stomachache. He hated mushrooms after that experience and avoided all of them, even if they weren't the ones that had made him sick.

Then there were all the other animals in the forest to look out for, especially those that wanted to eat the young hedgehog. They were easy enough to run away from during the day as none of them were even close to matching Sonic's speed. But when night would fall and Sonic becomes sleepy, he was far more venerable to all those big creatures with sharp teeth and claws. He managed to find little hiding spots where he could sleep without too much fear of predators, but he knew it wasn't a permanent solution. He had to find a place that he could make his own.

It wasn't easy, as most good caves and other similar shelters had long been claimed by the animals already living in the forest or were places that seemed to be visited by the weird creatures that lived in the nearby town. But he eventually stumbled into the perfect place, quite literally in fact. He had been running between some thick bushes when the ground suddenly disappeared from under his feet. He instinctively curled into a ball as he fell, bouncing off a few hard surfaces before finally coming to a stop.

Sonic uncurled and just laid there for a while, catching his breath from the scare and assessing his body for injuries. He was relieved to find that he only to seem to have a few scrapes and a lot of bruises, which just left figuring out where he had ended up. There wasn't much light coming down the opening he fell through so it took a moment for his eyes to adjust enough for him to see. When he could finally look around, Sonic couldn't help but gasp in wonder.

The cave seemed huge to the young hedgehog and the perfect place to make his new home. The cave was dry and Sonic couldn't smell any trace of any other animals, meaning this place was unclaimed. A quick run around revealed another entrance, this one at ground level which was great, so Sonic didn't have to worry about having to climb out the top. It really was everything the young hedgehog needed.

Sonic immediately got to work on making the cave his own. He ran around the area where the entrances were so he knew where they were and would recognize the area when he came back from long runs. He moved bushes over to help keep the entrances hidden and to make sure no predators would find it. He gathered soft leaves and moss to make himself a bed. It wasn't much but it made it feel more like his place. Tired out from all the work he did, Sonic curled up in his little makeshift bed, feeling safer and more comfortable than he had since he first came to this world. He still missed Longclaw and the home he left behind, but he was finally starting to feel hopeful about this new world. When Sonic finally drifted off, his dreams were peaceful and filled with the possibilities of what the future may bring.