A young, yellow-orange fox stood outside patiently waiting for his hedgehog friend. Occassionally, his two tails would brush the ground, stirring crumpled, dead leaves. It was autumn, which shook the growth of prosperity and perhaps the Mobians themselves. That didn't stop the gatherings of friends, enemies, or even the neutrals. The fox looked from the sky to his watch. It is getting late... How much longer should I wait?, thought the two-tailed fox. Nasty, gray clouds covered the sky, waiting for the perfect time to release huge drops of rain. Frustrated, the fox plopped down onto the sandy ground. He gazed at the horizon. He felt betrayed. This wasn't the first time his friend broke a promise and will not be his last, but still he felt let down. He rose to his feet and began to walk away from the meeting spot. The wind blew the fox's fur and light sprinkles hit his face. He barely made it five feet when his friend appeared. Automatically, his eyes lit up with pleasure.
"Tails, what's up, dude?"
"Waiting for you."
"Oh, well," the hedgehog said simply. He obviously didn't care.
Tails, who was just very excited, frowned. He was quite exasperrated with the hedgehog's attitude. He believed he deserved better treatment. Tails looked around and finally let his eyes rest on his friend. Taking a breath, he irritably whispered, "What took you so long, Sonic? I've been waiting here ages!", Tails paused, his eyes resting intently on Sonic, "You were fighting Eggman's robots again! I know you were! Don't lie!"
Sonic, apparently taken aback, brought up his abnormally-large hand and rubbed his ruffled spines. He had been in a fight with the robots, though it was a long story. He looked around guiltily.
"Err... umm... No! I me-... So what if I did?! It's his 'bots for goodness sake!"
"It doesn't mean you should go looking for trouble! You're going to end up getting yourself-" Tails was about to say killed, but stopped. The thought sickened him. Saddened him. He never wanted to think anyone was going to die, let alone Sonic. Angrily, he continued,"Right now, there's no need to kill his 'bots! They've stopped for now. And, the Kingdom of Acorns never told us to search for them, so knock it off!"
"I. Don't. Care. What's a ten-year-old to know about these things? Anyway, what d'you want me for? Hope it's something cool!"
Tails, relieved of the subject change, smiled. "Just a little project. We, meaning you and me, need to fix something."
"What is it?"
"A surprise."
Sonic sniffed. He wasn't good at being patient. He wanted to know now. Sonic, jokingly yet irritably, added, "There better be a chili dog waiting for me at your place. I'm starving!"
Tails let out a grunt of amusement as the two friends walked side by side to Tails' house.