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“This is a hoglet,“ Sonic says slowly, the words sounding foreign and heavy on his tongue as he stares at the little hedgehog in front of him.
He shouldn’t be surprised at this point- Percival looks like Blaze, Smithy like Tails, Gawain like Knuckles, Lancelot like Shadow, and Nimue like Amy. Lancelot wanted to introduce him to someone, so he should have expected a familiar face.
And, well, this is a familiar-ish face. Light gray fur, piercing golden eyes, weird front quills- this is undoubtedly Silver the Hedgehog.
Silver the Hedgehog, who is very much not a angry young adult and is instead a very serious-looking baby. Sonic holds Silver the Hoglet out at arms length, watching the baby squirm in his hands.
“Baby.”
Baby Silver gives an annoyed grunt as he pushes against Sonic’s hands, “This is a baby, Lancelot.”
“Yes,” Lancelot’s answer is direct and short, arms crossed over his chest as he watches Sonic hold the baby impassively, “Galahad is almost two years old.”
“This baby… is yours?” Sonic says uncertainly as he scrutinizes the hoglet closely. Silver the toddler with stumpy little arms and legs and quills that seem to be too big for his body but scrunches his eyebrows the same way normal Silver does. Sonic can’t keep himself from sounding absolutely mystified, “Your hoglet?”
Lancelot’s mouth quickly quirks up into a smile at Sonic’s tone and phrasing, and there is a definite proud undertone as the black hedgehog nods again, “My son.”
Galahad. Lancelot’s son is Silver the hedgehog. Silver is indirectly Shadow’s son, here. Sonic’s head is Galahad exploded if he thinks about this any more.
The hoglet wriggles impatiently again, legs kicking at the air as he thrusts his arms out in Lancelot’s direction. ‘Galahad’ makes a very loud, very displeased sound, “Mgh!”
Silver the baby was reaching for his Daddy, Shadow-
“In his dislike of captivity, Galahad takes after me,” Lancelot makes an appeasing gesture, a little wave-pat that has the hoglet deflating like a balloon, “He has developed a most disagreeable habit lately. If you would be so kind as to release him...“
“Oh, sure-“ Sonic isn’t sure what exactly Lancelot is trying to tell him, but it’s clear Galahad wants down. He gently sets the little hedgehog on his feet, slightly surprised at how quickly the toddler can run.
Galahad makes a beeline to Lancelot, saying something Sonic can’t quite make out that sounds very upset. Lancelot sighs, apparently understanding the baby gibberish, “I know, child, be patient.”
“So, uh, what bad habit is that?” Could babies talk yet? Was Galahad cursing? Sonic can’t think of any other bad habits babies could pick up. Maybe the hoglet was flipping people off constantly?
“The worst use of his teeth-“ Lancelot kind of leans down as Galahad comes closer, like he might pick the child up himself, but the little hedgehog is done with being manhandled.
Galahad curls up into a prickly little ball and kinda rolls in a wonky, sad imitation of a spin dash at Lancelot’s legs.
“Boy-“ The big hedgehog ends up lifting his foot so Galahad won’t crash into it, balancing on the other as his son scampers behind him.
“Especially if he doesn’t want to be held,” Lancelot explains to Sonic as Galahad glowers up at him dolefully, clinging to black and red fur, “He has started biting when he wants to be left alone.”
After a long moment of staring, Galahad turns his angry look upwards at Lancelot and… bites his father’s calf.
“Bites if he’s mad, too,” Sonic points out, dumbfounded, watching as Lancelot tries very hard not to react. He doesn’t do a half bad job, but the little guy did not hold back and it’s clear that hurt.
“…Yes. A very bad habit he is going to stop if he wants to keep his teeth,” Lancelot gives the child an equally sour look, lightly bonking Galahad on the head.
Lancelot had obviously not trying to hurt the little hedgehog, but Galahad lets go with a loud yelp as he immediately falls over.
The hoglet remains on the grass, cradling his head like he’s in terrible pain- but Lancelot is impassive, “You are completely unharmed, Gilly, stop it.”
He nudges the hoglet with his shoe gently, sounding tired and unimpressed, “Get up.”
Galahad whines out a loud sound of complaint, glaring up at Lancelot with a sullen pout, “No.”
This kid is weirdly silent- shouldn’t a two year old be like, screaming and crying or something?
Lancelot sighs deeply as he crouches down, grabbing Galahad by the scruff of the neck and lifting him off the ground. Lancelot keeps the kid dangling there as he forces eye contact, “Galahad.”
The hedgehogs just stare at each other silently until Lancelot says, very quietly, “Behave.“
That tone sends a shiver down Sonic’s spine, managing to be a stern command, unspoken warning, and subtle reprimand all in one. Sonic is grateful it wasn’t aimed at him- even if it’s also weirdly kind of hot.
“You’ve already met Sir Sonic, Gilly,” Lancelot continues in a normal tone as he puts a much more subdued Galahad back down, “He is my dear friend, known as the knight of the wind. He uses Excalibur now. He helped us defeat a strong foe.”
Sonic is torn between being touched that Lancelot, freely and unprompted, called him a friend… and incredibly annoyed that his ‘dear friend’ simplified his actions to ‘help.’ The baby understood ‘foe’ but the best Lancelot could come up with for this whole thing was ‘help?’ Sonic usually doesn’t care about something as silly as credit, but hey, as long as someone with Shadow’s face is doing the unimaginable, might as well go for broke, right? Admitting Sonic saved the day isn’t that much of a leap, right?
“Greet your new king, Galahad,” Lancelot shifts so he’s lightly holding onto Galahad’s shoulders, tone taking on a warning edge, ”Properly.“
The ‘don’t you dare bite him’ remains unspoken but very, very clear to all parties. Galahad’s mouth twists into a frown before he thrusts both his little hands out expectantly, palms up.
“Hi baby,” Sonic isn’t sure what the hoglet wants from him, gingerly offering his left gloved hand, “Don’t listen to your daddy, I’m no king. It’s nice to-“
Galahad pushes Sonic’s hand away with a loud huff, looking incredibly annoyed as he points at the gauntlet instead. It’s weirdly endearing to see Silver’s intensity on a small face so round with baby fat.
“Oh, sorry, buddy,” Sonic tries really hard not to laugh as he offers Galahad the right hand, watching in confusion as the hoglet grabs it with both hands, “I’m Sonic-“
Galahad kind of headbutts his hand and licks the back of his gauntlet, tongue still poking out as he looks up at Sonic expectantly, “Hi King.”
“Um, yeah, hi…” Sonic grimaces, taking his hand back gently and looking at the little spot of saliva in disgust. The little guy couldn’t bite so he licked Sonic’s gauntlet instead?! Gross, who knew what kinda dirt and germs were on this thing. What is he supposed to say and do to that?
Sonic and Galahad turn to look at Lancelot at the same time for different reasons. The knight looks equally surprised, but after a moment of ambivalence, seems to take it as a win.
Lancelot pets the top of Galahad’s head, scratching behind the hoglet’s ears gently, “Good boy. Polite boy.”
Galahad seems to really enjoy the gentle affection and affirmation, smiling for the first time this entire morning. Aww. The hoglet is really, really cute when he smiles, too bad he inherited his daddy’s resting bitch face.
“His coordination and manners leave something to be desired, but he makes up for it with enthusiasm,” Lancelot turns to look at Sonic as he continues to pet Galahad, who is now back to leaning against his father’s leg. Not clinging or hugging this time, since he’s using his hands to keep Lancelot’s hand in place and keep the scritches coming, “That was supposed to be a kiss.”
Sonic wrinkles his nose at that, “Kiss my hand? Why?”
Lancelot did not strike him as a particularly touchy-feely guy, though not as repressed as Shadow. Galahad definitely inherited that standoffishness and definitely wouldn’t be the kind of kid to do that unprompted. So, if baby and daddy didn’t seem super keen on this, why bother doing it at all?
“It is a symbol of fealty between knights and lords,” Caliburn’s deep voice speaks out from his scabbard, comfortably strapped to Sonic’s back, “A sign of esteem and loyalty. You should be honored that such an accomplished and illustrious knight holds you in such high esteem!”
Caliburn can’t see Sonic’s side eye, just like he can’t see the hoglet standing there, but hopefully the sword can feel it, “It was an ‘esteemed and illustrious’ baby that just /licked/ my hand, actually, Cal.”
There is a beat of silence as Caliburn processes that information, but he’s unfairly quick on his feet… blade? The sword quips back smoothly, “Even more of an honor, then. There are many other things the child must learn, and yet your loyal knight believes honoring you is chief among them!”
Sonic sighs deeply, slinging the scabbard off his shoulder but holding it in such a way it doesn’t face Lancelot or Galahad, “Uh-huh.”
He narrows his eyes as he stares at Caliburn, one hand resting on his hip, “And what loyal knight would that be? You’ve go 33.3 percent chance of getting it right if you guess.”
“I do not need to take stabs in the dark!” Caliburn says haughtily and without so much as a smile at that (accidental?) pun. But Caliburn’s eyes keep trying to look past Sonic and behind him, “It is clearly…”
“Lancelot, Kingmaker,” Lancelot, the traitor, calls out to the sacred sword, not looking particularly apologetic at the glare Sonic gives him, “How are your wounds?”
“Lancelot!” Caliburn’s voice goes from confident to delighted, doing his best to twist in his scabbard to look at the knight, “Your blacksmith has a remarkable talent for mending blades, I feel like I was recently forged!”
Caliburn turns his stare up at Sonic, definitely not smiling now, “If you would be as so kind as to remove me from my scabbard and put me down.”
Sonic shakes his head with a loud sigh, lifting Caliburn higher up to level the sword with an unimpressed look, “You had no idea it was Lancelot. You know, you know I know, and I’m never ever gonna let you forget it.”
Sonic takes his sword out of the scabbard with no additional fanfare, ignoring Caliburn’s protests and claims to the contrary. He puts the sword blade down on the grass before slinging the scabbard over his shoulder carelessly like a backpack, hand resting on his hip.
Sonic glances at Galahad to see what the kid is doing, and has to stifle a laugh. The hoglet’s eyes are big as dinner plates, mouth open in a perfect ‘o’ as he stares at Caliburn. Daddy’s pats are completely forgotten as looks the sword blade to pommel with an excited sparkle in his eyes.
Oh, man, this was gonna be /good./ Sonic grins to himself as he gestures at Galahad with his head, cutting Caliburn off mid-sentence, “Hey, Mr. Manners, aren’t you going to introduce yourself to Galahad?”
“What?” Caliburn looks up at him irritably before following Sonic’s line of sight to little Galahad, “It is not yet his time. What are you-?”
Caliburn is unfairly good at keeping cool and collected in most circumstances, but seems to be visibly surprised. The sword doesn’t exactly have eyebrows, but Sonic gets the distinct impression they’re raised, “…Ah. Hello, young man.”
“Hi!” Galahad chirps back enthusiastically, reaching out to the sword with both hands, saying another string of nonsense that ends with, “Gilly!”
“No,” Lancelot stops the hoglet before he gets too close, grabbing both of those tiny hands and using a loose but firm grip, “Look. Don’t touch.”
Galahad, predictably, doesn’t like that very much.
“Very young man,” Caliburn continues like Galahad isn’t trying wriggle out of his father’s hold. The sword looks Galahad head to toe, too, but doesn’t seem to be nearly as impressed with what he sees in the hoglet, “I must say, I was not expecting our encounter until at least another decade and a half.”
Lancelot’s ear twitches at that comment, but his face is impassive when Caliburn looks up at him. His voice is neutral, but there is a definitely an undercurrent of reluctance that means the knight very much doesn’t want to talk about it, “Simply because destiny is immutable does not mean the path there needs to be.”
Lancelot dips his head in Sonic’s direction, something very difficult to place in his tone, “As you have proven yourself, Kingmaker.”
It is absolutely hilarious to see the most serious guys Sonic has /ever/ met have a stare down over an increasingly fussy toddler. Galahad really doesn’t like being restrained, thrashing like a worm on a hook with all the strength in his tiny body.
“King!” Galahad shrieks out, face growing red in anger and exertion “King!! King!!!”
“Kingmaker,” Lancelot corrects Galahad blandly, not particularly phased by Galahad’s desperate wriggles, but apparently more bothered by his volume. Lancelot shifts his hold so he has Galahad’s back crushed against his chest, one arm looped around the hoglet’s stomach so the other can press against the kid’s mouth, “Silence now.”
Galahad’s volume somehow becomes louder even as it is muffled by Lancelot’s hand, much to the older hedgehog’s embarrassment.
“Shh, Galahad-“ Lancelot glances up at Sonic and Caliburn, tilting his head in a way that is mean to be an apology and sign of respect, “
Please excuse the child. If you would grant me a moment to explain the situation to him-“
Explain what? Sonic tilts his head to the side, not really understanding as he shrugs, “Sure. Do what you gotta do, man.”
“Sir,” Lancelot twists himself and Galahad away so they are not directly facing Caliburn and Sonic, but aren’t giving them their back either.
“Stop, stop, listen-“ Lancelot puts his mouth right next to Galahad’s ear so he can speak against it quietly, keeping his hand on the kid’s mouth to muffle the yells turn to shrieks, “Gilly, quiet, shh, shh-“
Galahad let’s out another loud shriek of laughter, ear twitching wildly as Lancelot speaks directly into it, “Are you going to listen? Shhh. Are you going to be a good boy? Shhh.“
Apparently the little hedgehog is rather ticklish, since Galahad now pushing against Lancelot’s face between peals of helpless laughter. It’s really unexpected to see Lancelot being openly affectionate like that, but also really cute. Galahad looking and sounding so happy makes Sonic’s chest feel light and warm. Like he wants to laugh alongside the hoglet.
“Good!” There’s a desperate quality to those giggles now as Galahad’s squirm intensify, “Gilly good! Gilly listen!!”
“Good,” Lancelot pulls back so he is no longer speaking into the hoglet’s ear, expression serious, “That is the sacred sword Caliburn. His job is to select and test all king’s candidates. Only king’s can touch the kingmaker.”
Lancelot is the last person he’d ever think would be suited to fatherhood, but it looks like the knight’s instincts are good. Silver didn’t have a very happy childhood, so it’s nice that this little guy with his friend’s same face is going to, at least.
If Lancelot is willing to be this casually affectionate in front Sonic and Caliburn, Gilly must have the black hedgehog wrapped around his finger when it’s just the two of them. Sonic shakes his head fondly as he crosses his arms over his chest. Still really weird but making more sense the longer he looked at them.
“You are not the king. Sir Sonic in the king. Only Sir Sonic can touch Caliburn. Do you understand?”
“Why?” Galahad asks instead of answering, frowning at Caliburn and clearly unsatisfied with that answer, “Gilly want.”
“They cut off your hand,” Lancelot moves so Galahad’s feet are back on the ground but the hoglet is still being held in that restraining hug. The black hedgehog shifts to grab Galahad’s hand and cover it with his fist, “No touching ever again. No fingers. Do you want that? No hand?”
That comment makes all the warm feelings vanish instantly as Sonic’s heart plummets to his stomach.
Galahad shakes his head violently, quills bouncing wildly and smacking Lancelot in the side of the face. The older hedgehog instinctively turns his head away, tilted downwards so that the ends of his son’s quills are resting against his helmet. This obviously happens a lot.
“That hurts. I don’t want that either,” Lancelot presses his mouth close to the shell of Galahad’s ear, whispering again, “So you need to be good. Be a proper little boy. Use your manners.”
“Mm!!” Galahad nods seriously, arms tight around Lancelot’s arm and looking a little frightened, “Gilly good! Gilly proper!”
“Good boy,” Lancelot half twists so he’s back to facing Sonic and Caliburn, the hoglet looking down at his feet in preparation of being put down, “Tell Sir Sonic and Caliburn you’re sorry-“
“Hang on, Lance,” Sonic moves to squat in front of Lancelot, arms resting on his knees. He looks the knight in the eye with a frown, “None of that stuff is gonna happen. No one’s gonna be losing any fingers, especially not babies who are still exploring the world.”
Sonic looks down at Galahad with a frown before looking back up at Lancelot as he solemnly promises, “I’m not gonna let anything like that happen. I’m not gonna let anyone hurt your little guy.”
Lancelot and Galahad blink at him as Sonic offers the older hedgehog his hand, pinky extended, “I promise, Lance. Don’t ever worry about that kinda thing anymore, okay?”
Lancelot shakes his head fondly with a sigh, shifting his hold so Galahad is being held up by only one arm. The knight hooks his pinky in Sonic’s without any hesitation, “A promise is unnecessary, my lord, for I know you to be a man of your word. But I am grateful.”
Lancelot looks down fondly at his son, brushing his quills back, “Thank you for your indulgence of this spoiled boy.”
Heh. Lancelot thanking him and finding him trustworthy makes Sonic feel really good. Kinda funny since it’s only natural, but maybe it’s cause Shadow would never in a million years confide he trusts him, even if both hedgehogs know it’s true.
The moment ends as quickly as it started with an impatient huff from Galahad, who struggles to push his daddy’s hand away from Sonic.
Sonic briefly wonders if it’s a sharing issue until the hoglet tries to take Lancelot’s place, “Gilly time, Gilly time!”
Lancelot’s face takes on a tired, pinched quality as he opens his mouth to protest-
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Sonic literally waves the black hedgehog off as he offers his pinky to Galahad, “Your turn, buddy.”
It’s clear that finger coordination isn’t the hoglet’s strongest point. Gilly doesn’t give up, though, although it’s less a pinky promise and more of a pinky grab. (Minus Galahad’s pinky, ironically.)
Sonic grins at the little hedgehog as he gives their hands a solid shake, “It’s a promise with you, too, Gilly.”
“Mm,“ Lancelot finally puts the hoglet down on the ground, keeping a loose hand on his son’s shoulder, “Thank Sir Sonic-“
“Aw, come on, dude,” Sonic playfully pushes Lancelot’s hand away as he shakes his head, giving the knight a big grin, “Ease up, I don’t care about polite and stuffy kinda stuff. Just Sonic and there’s nothing to thank me for.”
“We know,” Caliburn says dismissively but there’s no heat, and the sword almost looks fond as he says it, “Your mannerisms are on par with an infant’s.”
Before Sonic can quip back, Galahad is moving again. The little hedgehog twists so he’s facing his father, small face squished against his father’s bicep in a hug, “Dada.”
Dada. It’s stupid- of course a little boy who was still learning to talk would call his dad something along the lines of dada or daddy, but it’s… Shadow never struck him as the ‘dada’ type. Someone with Shadow’s face wasn’t the dad type at all, maybe a formal and long ‘Father.’ But definitely not a Dada.
This feels more and more like a fever dream.
Sonic sits down on the grass heavily, watching Galahad warily as if expecting the little hedgehog will vanish into thin air. Then he looks at Lancelot as if expecting the knight is also going to disappear.
“Dada,“ Galahad repeats insistently, looking at his father with an expression Sonic cannot see but can imagine is pleading given the way Lancelot immediately looks uncomfortable, “Gilly good. Good boy. Yes?”
“…Yes,” Lancelot answers warily, helplessness quickly shifting to suspicion, “Why?”
“Kiss king. Kiss sword!” Galahad declares passionately, adding in some explanation that just sounds like gibberish to Sonic.
“Gilly good. Gilly kiss!” Galahad concludes dramatically, and as if worried Lancelot won’t understand him, demonstrates by ‘kissing’ his father’s arm. It seems like the temptation to bite is still there, but the little hedgehog doesn’t give in, “Dada, yes. Gilly go.”
“Gilly…” Lancelot’s eyes furrow together as he sighs, looking very conflicted. He glances between Galahad and Caliburn, “Even with no punishment, it’s no good. Swords are sharp. Dangerous. You could get hurt.”
“Yes good! Gilly good!” Galahad purses his lips into a frown, inflating his cheeks so he looks like an angry little puffer fish. He doesn’t say anything else, just glowers up at his father dolefully as he continues to cling to Lancelot’s arm.
“Boba green in,” Galahad says (or something that sounds exactly like that) with the solemnity of someone invoking an ancient promise, “Boba greening, Dada.”
Lancelot doesn’t say anything at first, just looks at Galahad carefully and obviously evaluating how likely the little hedgehog is to stab himself. After only a few moments deliberation, Lancelot inclines his head just as solemnly.
“I cannot argue with that logic, sir, especially not after Sir Sonic has given his blessing,” Lancelot gently pulls himself free, turning so his weight is on one knee while keeping the other between baby and blade like a low gate, “Proper greeting.”
Blessing was a strong word for it, but whatever. If that’s what it took for Lancelot to let the kid
have some fun, Sonic was fine being the excuse.
“Baba greening,” Galahad repeats enthusiastically, bouncing on his feet in excitement his little body can barely contain. Oh, with a smile like that and an excited sparkle in this big yellow eyes, no wonder Lancelot folded so easily. Sonic grins to himself at the adorable sight, glancing at Caliburn who seems much more anxious.
“Stand up straight, ears up,” Lancelot lets go of Galahad to poke at different spots in time with his directions. The hoglet doesn’t seem as upset at this kind of manhandling, following the instructions quickly like it’s a game, “One arm in front, fold. One in back, fold. Forward lean.”
“Sir Lancelot,” Caliburn looks at Galahad like he’s some sort of dangerous enemy, voice surprisingly quiet, “I am not certain this is the wisest course of action.”
“Perhaps not,” Lancelot agrees absentmindedly, but does not stop moving Galahad until he has the boy posed in a polite bow, “But Galahad is a clever boy who knows the difference between the sharp and dull side of the blade.”
Galahad stands stock still when his father moves away, eyes trained on Caliburn like a predator about to pounce of his prey. Since Galahad is so little it’s mostly cute, but given that Silver had looked at him like that back in that 'Iblis Trigger must die' phase… Yeah, Sonic’s glad he isn’t on the receiving end of that look.
Caliburn and Galahad lock eyes, staring at each other with a quiet tension that is almost palpable. And which Lancelot seems oblivious to as the older hedgehog sits back down, not the least bit concerned, “And if not, then pain and experience teach valuable and memorable lessons-“
Caliburn runs. Well, Caliburn doesn’t have any legs, so it’s really more of a hop-dash. All three hedgehogs watch as the sword books it.
“No!” Galahad let’s out a loud gasp, turning to look at Lancelot with bewildered outrage. He stomps his little foot in the ground, fists tight by his sides, “Dada! Sword bad!!”
Lancelot turns to look at Galahad, equally surprised at this turn of events and unsure what exactly the toddler wants him to do about it. The knight gestures at the sword after a moment, very much not getting up, “Then you must catch him.”
Lancelot leans back so he’s lying on his back in the grass, “Use everything you have learned and everything around you. Godspeed, my son.”
Galahad brightens up like Lancelot handed him a giant lollipop, running after the sword with all the might in his tiny legs.
“Stop!” The Toddler calls out loudly, grabby hands outstretched like a particularly tiny zombie, “Boba green in! King sword! Stop! Boba green in!”
“Galahad, cease this behavior this moment!” Caliburn has a frantic edge to his voice Sonic has never heard before, “It is most unbecoming for both of us!”
Galahad must have his dad’s same dark sensibilities because he giggles at Caliburn’s pleadings, answering with an excited babble of words that sound like more nonsense.
“This is very dangerous behavior!” The sword continues to try and reason with the little hedgehog, who is still not particularly receptive to the whole ‘swords sharp, baby squishy’ idea. Caliburn sounds even more stressed out about this than he did about the whole fake King Arthur thing, “Young man, please, be reasonable!”
The chase is surprisingly evenly matched. Caliburn is not particularly fast, but Galahad is not very good at navigating uneven ground, and neither seem to have the lead. Caliburn pulls ahead every time Galahad trips on a plant, and Galahad nearly catches Caliburn twice when the sword hits a rock at an angle that leaves him wobbling.
It’s so surreal and ridiculous that Sonic can’t help laughing.
“You know,” the blue hedgehog starts conversationally, glancing down at Lancelot who seems to have made himself very comfortable on the grass. Sonic picks up a dandelion to twirl between his fingers, “This might be the most unbelievable thing to happen here so far.”
“What a peaceful place your home must be,” Lancelot has his eyes closed, an amused tone to his drowsy voice, “If children causing mischief and playing loudly is notable. More so than dragons and phantom kings and talking swords.”
Sonic shakes his head as he snorts in amusement, keeping a close eye on the baby-sword chase. Just in case either side needs a quick rescue from the other.
He settles into the grass next to Lancelot, enjoying the warm sunlight and cool breeze, before glancing at the hedgehog beside him.
“Hey, Lance?” Sonic asks after a moment of listening to the sounds of the chase, hands folded behind his head, “Can I ask you a question?”
Lancelot doesn’t answer immediately, and Sonic wonders if the serious hedgehog has fallen asleep, but then he hears a sigh. Lancelot’s ear flicks down and he opens one eye to look at Sonic, “If it is about Galahad, I would rather wait until he exhausts himself into a nap. I…”
The knight cuts himself off, opening both eyes to look up at the sky. It takes him a while to finish that sentence, “I do not want him want to hear something he does not need to know yet. He is still so very young-“
“I understand,” Sonic cuts Lancelot off, swallowing the million burning questions he wants to ask and asking instead what he /can/ ask right now, “So, aside from chasing swords, what’s the little guy like doing?”
“As is befitting the son of a knight, Galahad has a keen interest in weapons of all kinds,” Lancelot immediately perks up at the question, obviously a topic he himself is interested in, too, “He shows remarkable skill in identifying them, too, far superior to others his age-“
Huh. Sonic rests his head on his hands, elbows resting on his knees as he listens to Lancelot ramble. Guess all parents were proud of their kids- and it’s hardly any surprise that someone with Shadow’s face would care more about the kid being able to tell weapons apart than something more basic like shapes or colors.
Sonic settles into the grass, arms crossed behind his head as he listens to the sound of Lancelot’s voice, Galahad’s laughter, and the heavy thunk of Caliburn’s blade on the grass.