"... Of course," the tenrec continued her story, "nothing was easy. Even when he entered The Order and became a discipline, he was a loner and easily angered. His temper was short and he felt at ease only when I was close." She made sad smile. "He was the first person not minding me reading his mind by accident. He actually preferred to talk that way. That made me... really happy," she wiped a tear pretending it was just some speck.

"He got better at controlling his hot head once I gained a permission to be his official guardian, that way we could spend all the time together. His study results skyrocketed, getting ahead of all starts student of his grade. His training was finished with flying colors, setting a new record for just two years and four months."

"How long it usually takes for an average person?" Amy was all the time listening and this was a really interesting piece of information. She could easily imagine what hell it was, studying night and day without a proper rest, even if he was called genius by others. Tho she wasn't pushed that hard, she always wanted to exceed everyone's exceptions. Guess it was just in her nature to prove her worth.

"At least six years. Only a handful of students finish the course in less than four years and they are already considered geniuses."

"That training must have been harsh," the girl pondered. She could think of one or two other types of "lessons" he had to take and sewing wasn't definitely one of them. The image of Silver trying to push the thread thru the small hole of the needle with the utmost concentration made her snicker in her mind, reflecting the mental state on her smile.

Gold involuntarily peeked inside the girl's mind, seeing the picture. Her face twitched and she quickly shooed that vision away, concentrating on her explanation: "The Order can't go easy on anyone. They have to be at their best when they leave, so they can fight with demons and other unholy creatures. That's the only way they can survive and protect."

"Guess I owe him an apology," the pink hedgehog said, jumping from the bed down. "Does he like cookies?"

This question came from nowhere, startling her. "I don't think he particularly dislikes them." He actually liked anything sweet.

"Then it's settled." She gestured with her tightened fist, bending that arm upward and putting the fingers of the other on her tiny muscles. "I'll bake him some."

"Can I help you?" Gold quickly stood up feeling excited. "I'm not good, but it's such a long time since I baked."

"But of course, it will be more fun," she smiled, grabbing tenrec's hand and together they headed to the kitchen.

While the preparations were underway, a certain adult hedgehog was lying on his bed, feeling utterly annoyed and frustrated. To push his most trusted partner like that and getting angry over such stupidity from a runt. It just showed him how immature he still was.

'I should apologize to Gold,' he thought, but his body refused to get up, reflecting the true state of his mind. He didn't want to see her... not anyone right now. There were times when he wished he could just close himself from the outer world and never getting out. At the same time, he knew that would be wrong. There was so much he had to do, but the results of his main search always stopped at a dead-end, leaving him gloomy and disheartened.

He entwined fingers on his chest, tapping them against the cloth, counting seconds. Once he reached a high number, he let out a sigh and sat up, sluggishly getting off the bed. His mood sank deeper when he noticed he actually locked the door of his room. He felt like some stupid teenager. He pressed the root of his nose. 'I'm sending that runt away as soon as possible. I have enough of her giving me headaches.'

He exited the room smelling something nice. He wondered what it was as he was walking down the stairs. From the small kitchen walked Amy with a plate of freshly baked cookies and a glass of milk. She frowned a bit, asking: "Do you want some?"

"Yeah, why not," he answered, not showing he was actually eager for them. The smell was delicious and his brain screamed sugar! Sugar! Not to mention when was the last time he had freshly baked ones? She put the plate on the coffee table in the living room. Silver sat in the armchair, taking the glass.

"I apologize for what I have said earlier." The girl slightly bowed, but turned around, not waiting for his reply.

'Well, she can be decent,' he thought with a smirk taking a sip of the milk.

"But you are still a jerk!" she shouted at him over the shoulder.

The startled exorcist coughed as the milk got in his nose. The girl left the room with a satisfied expression. Gold witnessed the scene from the hall and was silently giggling. There was a tray in her hand.

Meanwhile, int the other room, the blue boy heard them. He was already awake, but he didn't bother to check the clock or leave the room. He didn't care... nothing mattered to him now. Everything felt gray. He thought he was fine without his parents, that he can manage, but now... it hurt so much. Someone slowly opened the door. He twitched, pretending he was still sleeping.

It was the tenrec agent checking on him, silently putting a tray with a sandwich, glass of milk and freshly baked cookies on a night table. She left, not speaking a word. The youngster would continue to lay down, but the delicious smell soon reminded him he was getting hungry. He sat up, eating the simple meal. After a while, his face expressed a sudden urge. "Uh oh." He stormed out of his room.

"What's this?!" shouted Silver who only saw blue blur running all around. He dashed out of the living room, trying to catch it, but it was no use. The blue streak ended in... toilet cabin. The sound of flushing and loud sigh were heard a few moments later.

The exorcist's face... had a strange mien*), it was a mix of 'I have no idea what just happened' and 'are you kidding me'. Sonic exited the WC with a happy smile, noticing the silver hedgehog after a few steps. The blue boy crouched a bit, unsure what to do.

"The toilet seat, did you close it?" asked the psychic.

Sonic winked, then he turned into the blue blur and returned. "Yup."

"Good," was the bare answer.

The silence was awkward.

"Sonic, how do you feel?" asked Gold saving the situation, who came out of the second floor.

"I'm fine," he nodded.

The psychic hedgehog left them, returning to his seat in the living room. "Hey!" he shouted. "Who ate my cookies?!"

The blue prankster jerked, clearly pointing at the culprit. "Gotta go," he sprinted into his room.

Silver looked from the room, red in the face. His partner smiled. "There are still some in the kitchen," she jolly called at him, hardly hiding her amusement. She never saw her partner fuming in such cute way. She knocked on the boy's temporary room door. "Sonic? Can I come inside?"

The door slightly opened with the lad peeking out, he nodded.

"Thank you," she replied and entered the room, closing the door and sitting on the bed. "I know the last night must have been hard for you. I'll try to answer your questions the best I can," she gestured him to sit next to her.

Once he was seated, he barraged her with questions: "Why was my dad's gun there? Who are you? Who is that wacko with messed up quills? What are you doing?" He was hardly taking any breaths and the tenrec had to stop him before his face turned too purple.

"That man is Silver and my name is Gold." She snickered in her mind, that remark about her partner's quills made her crack a smile. "I apologize for lack of proper greetings. Silver found the gun at a certain place, but the previous holder... was priest Shadow."

"Father Shadow? How come? Did he meet my dad? Why he never said so? Where is he? What about those demons?" more questions rained down.

Gold had to gesture him to stop, sadly shaking her head. "Regarding the priest, I can't tell you, there is still an investigation going on. The demons... I can't be specific either, but they are still alive. But I can tell you about us. We are special agents of The Order. Our task is to protect people and solve difficult cases involving unnatural phenomenons."

He looked at her like she told him a fairy tale, but his own experiences were too wild to deny her. "Like demons?" he asked after a short pondering.

"Yes, that's how it is in most of the cases. Amy told me you are amazingly fast," she quickly changed the topic remembering their chat during the baking. And she didn't want to lie or create half-truths.

"Amy? She is here too?" The blue ears perked up, forgetting the questions and the fact he actually heard her screaming. But his own mind was so preoccupied with his own worries he let it slide away.

"Yeah, she is in the kitchen. We baked these cookies together. It was a lot of fun, but I think she is tired. The last night was too long for everyone. You should take some rest as well." She stood up, signaling the answers will have to wait for another time.

"Where's the gun now?" he asked, jumping down the bed before she could leave the room.

Gold turned half-way back. "It's with Silver. I'm afraid you can't have it since it belongs to The Order."

"It's my father keepsake!" he argued with clenched fists.

"But it's still a dangerous weapon, having it would bring you too much trouble." She gently touched his quills. "Please, take a rest." She left the room.

*) Expression