𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒓 𝑭𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑: 𝒮𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓈 𝑜𝒻 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉

      Once upon a time, in December, and maybe in January, in very distant and hot countries, where there is almost no snow and winter, in one village in the middle of the forest there lived a lonely but loving family, consisting, although not of relatives, but still beloved mother and son. Fiona the fox and Tails the fox, who is already about seven or eight. The kid was looking out the window one night, looking at the forest and missing his friend, a huge snake hedgehog, with whom he had once become friends and parted for some time, about a year or two ago. He didn't forget about him. He remembered his existence and his acquaintance with him. But most importantly, he still didn’t understand. If he is so huge and scary naked, like everyone else, then why didn’t he eat it? And most importantly, why did he save him from another naga then? At this time, mom returns home. — Tails, I'm back! The boy ran to his mother for a hug. — Aren’t you bored here without me? — No, I was just thinking. — Again you looked towards the forest through the window and thought about your imaginary friend? — Fiona asked. — Yes. But not like the fictional one... He... I still can’t explain it... Tell me honestly, would you approve if I was friends with someone who is not like other Mobians and people? ... Even if he looked like... Well, let's say... A monster who seems scary and evil in appearance, but inside himself is kind and does not wish harm to anyone... Even me or you, for example. — Certainly. If you had just such a friend, and despite the fact that he is a monster, he would be kinder at heart, then I would never be against it. And judge for yourself! You are also not like all the Mobians. You have two tails instead of one, but this does not mean that you are a monster or some kind of mutant, but on the contrary, good. I’m also good at heart, but at the same time, do you know that everyone is afraid of me? — Yes. Only I don't understand. Why is everyone afraid of you, but I’m not afraid of you. Fiona smiles in response and kisses her son on the cheek. — Because you are my son, and I am your mother. Relatives can love scary people too. — That's not what I'm talking about! — Tails excused himself. — I’ve been wondering for a long time why everyone is afraid of you and avoids you. What did you do to them that was so bad? — It's not my fault. Do you understand, Tails? Once upon a time, when you were not yet in my life, I was about your age. My father was also quite kind on the outside, but evil at heart, just like me. I myself was somehow raised like this. It really even hurts me to remember this now, but when I first moved here to live in this village and started living here, neighbors sometimes pestered me and pestered me with stupid questions like: Hello, are you new? How long have you been with us? Hi, how are you. I hated when everyone bothered me and in order to finally leave me alone, I sometimes used what my father taught me. I had to scare all the neighbors away from my house so that they would leave me alone. And one day, when a couple of hooligan children came to my house and started playing around, I not only had to drive them away, but in addition I even grabbed one of them and almost killed him. Well, more precisely, I lightly spanked his ass as punishment. After that, they became afraid of me and gossiped to everyone to stay away from me. At first I loved this reputation and I liked living like this. But over time, remembering also how my mother raised me so that I would love everyone and respect myself, I began to realize that being like my father is bad. Then some more time passed and I became bored of living alone, since everyone was afraid of me. It’s not just that there was no one to talk to, there was even no one to share your house and farm with wealth with... Then then you appeared with me and began to live with me. It’s as if Chaos itself heard my prayers and sent you to me. If it weren’t for you, I would probably have died of boredom or simply gone crazy from loneliness a long time ago. It's good that you came into my life. — Do you really think so? — Tails asked. — Well, of course, son. — Fiona answered and took a gift out of the bag. — I almost forgot. I brought you a gift. Here. — the gift turned out to be a samurai dagger, real, iron. — He's really not real. You will need to sharpen it first, then it will be real and you will be able to chop and slaughter all the monsters. You still dream of becoming a naga hunter, like those heroes from the fairy tales that I told you about before going to bed? — Yes, but... — What's happened? — I’ve been delving deeper into this dream lately and thinking, maybe... This isn’t necessary?... Do you think maybe the nagas, about whom everyone also talks, are in fact not all so evil and gluttonous?.. Maybe among them there are good ones who don’t eat us?... Think for yourself. Even among all our Mobians and people, there can also be either good or bad and this is difficult to understand. So for some reason there can’t be the same among the nagas? Maybe it’s the bad ones who deserve what the hunters do, but what will happen to the good ones, who didn’t even want to attack us until we attacked them first? After all, maybe they are not guilty of anything, and then we kill them too, without even thinking that maybe they themselves have families or children... Tell me, have you thought about this? — No... But I... I doubt that even among the nagas there are both good and bad. It's not for nothing that they are called monsters. I personally believe that there are always only one bad monsters, and there is not a single one who could become good. Therefore... If I were you, I would rather not be so naive and not think about it. — Fiona explained and handed Tails his gift. — It’s better let’s think about ourselves and how we will survive if suddenly these monsters dare to come to our home. If we train day by day and use our guns wisely, we will no longer be afraid of them. The nagas themselves will be afraid of us, despite the huge difference in size, and will stay away from us. In addition, with this sword we will not even be afraid of a robber with an ax or a revolver. The son, after thinking about his mother’s words, decided that she was probably right. Putting the gift aside, he hugs his mother again. — I love you, mom. — I love you too, son.

***

      Late at night, after midnight, when the whole village had gone to bed, including Fiona and Tails, who were also sleeping, a half-black, half-naked, half-naked hedgehog with red stripes, like a tiger, crawled out of the forest into the village itself. Having crawled to the house where Tails lived, the giant lightly tapped the claw of his right index finger on the window where Tails was sleeping. This made him wake up. He did not understand who was knocking on his window. Seeing a huge claw on a huge finger, he immediately realized that perhaps one of these monsters had snuck into his home. Rolling out of bed and taking out a samurai sword, he stood in a fighting stance and said: — I’m warning you, naga monster. I am armed and I am not afraid of you. — he lied slightly. He was afraid just the same, but he tried to at least intimidate the monster, hoping that it would crawl away, deciding not to mess with him. However, he heard a familiar voice shush him, placing his index finger against his fanged lips. — Keep it down, Tails. It's me, Shadow. — Shadow? — The fox widened his eyes and lowered his sword to the floor. He opened the window and climbed out through it. — What are you doing here? You are so huge compared to the village. They might see you and attack you. — I know. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that. It’s just... We haven’t met for a long time, and sometimes I looked every night from my cave on the hill to the place where you and I parted and thought about you for a long time... In general, I really missed you. — You?... Did you miss?... Me?... — the little fox was surprised and nodded. — I’m sorry, I didn’t think I’d be so late... But... To be honest, I missed you too, thought and looked at the forest every night, wondering how you were there without me. — Really? — Nag smiled. — Then, if of course you are not busy, in the mood or are not yet sleeping, then won’t you come with me? — Where? — How to where? Let's take a walk in the forest together. You will look at my world through my eyes, you will learn more about my world and maybe we will talk to each other. The little fox scratched his chin, thoughtfully and said: — Basically, you woke me up anyway, and at the same time I’m very glad to see you, so... Yes, perhaps I’ll take a walk with you... I hope we can get back here before the morning, before the roosters crow and wake everyone up? — Of course, don’t doubt it! - the hedgehog puts his large right palm on which Tails stands up and places it naked on his left shoulder. The naga then rises and leaves the village, heading into the forest with his young friend.

***

      Shadow crawled very far this time, both from the village and from his own home. They came out into a large and open field of reeds and grass, containing almost no trees. Deer usually came here to eat grass. Now, since it was night, there was no one on the field except the naga himself and the fox cub. At that time, the stars were shining brightly in the dark blue sky, with a very bright and white light. Even better was the large and full moon shining in the sky. — This is... The field? — Tails asked. — Yes. This field. — Shadow answers and puts his hand on his shoulder to help the little fox go down. At the same time, he continues to say: — I sometimes crawl here every night when I feel sad, bored, or when I just want to be alone and think about something or about the eternal. Before that, my father brought me here every night to show the crickets in this field, and at the same time to listen to how they make their beautiful sounds when they fly. I also often listened to the singing of night owls, the croaking of frogs and the chirping of grasshoppers. They are so pleasant to listen to because they calm you down and allow you to relax. — Is it true? — the little fox didn’t believe it. — Certainly. — Shadow answers and he himself suddenly heard how the grasshoppers first began to chirp and jump across the field. With his right index finger, placing it against his lips, he asked the little fox not to make a sound and whispered: — Listen! Tails took a couple of steps forward, a light breeze blew on his ears, and he focused on his own ears, listening to the chirping of crickets. The strekach sounded so pleasant, quiet and relaxing. I even caressed my ears. Then another strange sound was heard and small green flying lights appeared from somewhere. — Shadow, what is this? Stars? — he asked in a whisper, seeing the lights. The nag looked where the little fox pointed and answered: — No. These are fireflies. They make the sounds that you just heard after the sounds of grasshoppers. Like? — Very. I actually wanted to sleep while listening to it. — Tails says, stretches his arms up and opens his mouth. — Wo-o-ow. But I’m still interested in what else there is here that I didn’t know about. — Have you ever looked at the moon and stars in the sky? — asked the naga. — It happened. True, I did it a couple of times only in the village, near the house. — Near the house, and especially in the villages, it is difficult to look at them with such light from torches, candles and lamps, but here in nature the sky can be fully seen. Especially how beautiful it is when your eyes fully adjust to the darkness. Nag lay down on his back and looked up at the sky. — Are you ready to go to bed? — Not really. I lay down to make it easier to look at the stars and the moon. Try it too! — he advised the little fox, and he also lay down on the grass, looking at the sky. It turns out that the night sky in the forest really looked more beautiful and a little brighter. After all, although the sky, moon and stars are the same, the sky itself is no longer black, but a little blue, but just as dark. He really liked it. — Do you see? And look how beautiful the moon is from here! — I know. The moon attracted me more there too. I wish I could visit there someday. — the little fox noted and imagined how he, wearing a spacesuit made from a samovar instead of a helmet and various rags, was jumping on the surface of the moon. He jumps, and then plants a red flag there and proudly looks at the planet Mobius itself from the moon, saluting someone from the moon, as if someone from Mobius is looking at him through a telescope and is proud of him. — But in nature, the stars and the moon look more beautiful in the night sky. Especially with fireflies flying around while listening to their sound. — added the naga. — Yes... My mother often said that since there are monsters and creatures like you, naked, it is quite possible that other otherworldly creatures and their own lives exist somewhere out there, on the stars. Even on the moon itself it is quite possible. This means that our brothers and sisters in mind could quite possibly live there somewhere. And it is quite possible that someday, sooner or later, we will meet with them, establish friendly contacts and work together, uniting in something like an empire. — Empire? — Shadow didn’t understand. — Mom said that an empire is essentially also a country, only very huge and large compared to other countries around the world. It is so big that it probably contains several other mini-countries that have united together and are working together to make it easier, more convenient for everyone, and so that everyone lives happily ever after, so that there is no hunger, robbers, homeless people, poor people, diseases, etc. other bad things in life. — But all this is very difficult to achieve. To do this, you need to have patience, live amicably next to others and work almost through sweat and blood not only for yourself, but also for the sake of others, as well as for the sake of your descendants. — That’s how we do it. I read somewhere in a school textbook that not far from us there is a palace where the most honest and wise king rules. His distant great-great-great-grandfather also came up with the idea of hunting nagas and exterminating them in order to protect other palaces, cities and villages from various monsters. And it helped. Many people and Mobians trained long and hard in martial arts, evasiveness and mastery of both melee and small arms. Such hunters were sometimes called the most courageous and fearless warriors, who are not afraid of death at all and are even ready to die for the sake of others. And yet, some of them were able to find and behead several nagas. At the same time, the hunters themselves remained alive. Unless only a couple of them died, by accident or because they didn’t have enough strength and thought that they could handle it alone. However, otherwise they are very experienced and can even stand up for themselves if some monster even dares to attack them. — While Tails was talking, he suddenly heard snoring and saw that Shadow had fallen asleep while listening to him. — HEY!!! — Tails shouted as loudly in his big ear as he could and the naked man immediately woke up, standing up. — A! No! Not sleeping! I am not sleeping! — Did you fall asleep while you were looking at the sky? Did I ever tell anyone about hunters? — asked the little fox, and at that moment a butterfly with wings of seven colors of the rainbow landed on his nose. Shadow put his right index finger to his lips and asked him to be silent and not scare away the butterfly. Tails turned his attention to her. - Wow! What kind of butterfly is this? — It’s not just a butterfly, Tails. This is one of the pieces of the soul of Mother Nature herself. She sat on your nose, which means nature has recognized you as one of its own and trusts you. — Really? — I didn’t believe it and lightly pressed my right hand to my nose to shake off or at least remove the butterfly itself from my nose onto my index finger. The nag immediately stretched out his arms and became agitated. — No no no! Don't scare me away! Otherwise you will make nature so angry. This is a lucky butterfly of fate. One of them somehow sat on my hand when I wanted to catch you unnoticed. That was the first time you saw my hill with my house at the top, when you found yourself alone in the forest. Do you remember when we first met? It was nature that forbade me to touch you. — But... Why did you want to eat me even before that, and now... Suddenly... You just want to be friends with me and... Communicate... Do you have double standards? — Tails looked slyly at Shadow. The nag fussed a little, slightly dirtying the claws on the fingers of his right hand and grinding them. How can he get out of this situation? A little thoughtfully, scratching the back of his head and not understanding what to say, he explains: — Um... No, I... It's just... It's not that I wanted to eat you at first, but... It's just... When I first saw you, you looked... To me... So I liked it. — Did you like it? — Tails didn’t understand. — Mmm... You don’t understand this yet, but... It’s just customary among the nagas that before you get to know each other and make friends... You must first taste it... True, now I’m the last time I begin to realize that this is probably a stupid custom of all nagas and that it’s probably time for all of us to abandon it long ago... After all, you can greet him normally and calmly, and even be friends with him. Yes, and you don’t have to try it. — So, even then you wanted to make friends with me, but at the same time you wanted to try me and eat me at the same time? — Tails asked and imagining such a picture at the same time laughed at such stupidity. Then he calmed down, laughing properly. — Sorry! I thought it was funny. But how were you going to be friends with me if you suddenly decided to eat me? — So I would just taste you and then spit you back out. We are all naked and can do this. Moreover, you would not have suffered, because all nagas have two types of stomach. — Yes, I read in one book about your study of anatomy, when the hunters killed the first naga. But I don’t understand why you need two stomachs? Doesn't that make you eat and feel twice as hungry? — asked Tails. — No, our stomachs differ in their roles. One is normal and is located deeper in the stomach, where all food is digested. The other acts as a bag or backpack. Unlike the first one, he does not digest anything at all. Shadow slowly and calmly swallowed his little friend, as he himself asked. Oops and Tails got into the stomach, where there was nothing digestive. Having risen to his feet, the little fox felt disgusted, feeling a pile of saliva around him. — E-ew-w-w!... — he said first, raising his right leg and shoulders with his arms. Having looked around, where it was still very dark and realizing that he was safe and sound, he nevertheless calmed down. — O! Wow! I'm alive? — he was happy, but then again began to resist the fact that he was covered in mucus. — But still! Ew-w-w! Naked himself at this time looked with excitement at his stomach, which had become a little larger, and then spoke: — Tails?... Are you alive there?... Of course, the little fox heard him, took a candle from somewhere in his head and lit it to illuminate the stomach, inside of which he was. Having looked around it, he was amazed that the stomach looked exactly as it was described in the books. Of course, there were no digestive substances or acids here. This amused him. Then he shouted upstairs as loud as he could: — I AM FINE!!! — he shouted and at that time the naked man himself sighed with relief, wiping his sweat from his forehead with his right hand. — THIS IS A STOMACH THAT DOESN’T DIGEST, I THINK??? — He is. — I LIKE IT HERE... IT’S A LITTLE WARM HERE... AND SO SOFT, AS IF I WAS LIEING UP AND WRAPPED IN A TOO SOFT BED. HERE IT WOULD PROBABLY BE COULD TO BUILD A SECOND HOUSE... TRUTH, ONLY ONE WILL PROBABLY FIT AND IT WOULD BE CROMPED. — the little fox shouted and Shadow laughed a little at what was said. — OKAY, SHADOW. LET'S NOW PUSH ME INTO ANOTHER STOMACH, WHICH DIGESES!!! — Are you sure? Should I just spit you right back out? — DRAG ME TO ANOTHER STOMACH, I SAY!!! — he almost ordered each other. Without arguing with him, he first strained and the little fox was pulled, as if by the wind, back from his stomach to his throat, and from there he began to be pushed back again. This time the path opened to another stomach. Once there, the little fox landed on a large piece of cutlet, like a pebble. After looking around with the help of a candle, Tails was convinced that this stomach was digesting food. There was so much food inside and such a strong smell from various foods that he held his nose. — Ugh! SHADOW, IT STINKS SO MUCH!!! WHAT DO YOU EVEN EAT??? — M-m-m... Today I think I ate navy cutlets, a couple of deer, a little chicken, pizza, the hottest noodles, half a sandwich with cucumbers and carrots, three glasses of lemon juice and a little more chocolate. Basically I try to eat less of what is big and more of what is small. — CLEARLY, THAT'S WHY THERE ARE SO MANY STRONG SMELLS FROM LARGE AMOUNT OF FOOD!!! — Tails shouted with his nose pinched and, barely able to stay on the cutlet, almost stepped on the acidic slurry. — THAT'S ALL, I LOOKED LOOKED!!! YOU CAN SPIT ME OUT!!! Nag himself was already happy and strained himself again. He pushed the friend from his stomach back down his throat and into his mouth, after which he spat out the little fox onto his hand, stained with drool. He stood up again in the same disgusting position, uttering: — Ew-w-w! That's disgusting! — Sorry! Don't be offended, but it's just... When I put you in my mouth and felt it on my tongue, you... It seemed so delicious that... I couldn't resist and slobbered all over you before swallowing. I just always do this when I eat. — Everything is fine. The main thing is that I am alive and unharmed... But it’s still disgusting! Ew-w-w! — Nothing! Now let's go to the waterfall and wash you off. — said the naked man and crawled towards a high mountain, holding his friend in his palms. — Weren’t you really scared? — No. I was very interested in what your anatomy is, and through my own testing experience, having seen it myself, I was convinced that you were right. This is why you need to experiment. They say that science, like beauty, sometimes requires sacrifice. The main thing is that now I am convinced myself and can believe that one stomach digests and the other does not. And also the fact that you can spit out what you swallowed at any time. I can only say thank you. — My pleasure. — the naga answers, grinning.

***

      Having crawled to a high mountain, the nag crawled to a large waterfall from where water flowed. Stretching his palms with the little fox into the waterfall, he swept it away as if in a shower. The naga's drool was washed away under the water, although the fox itself became wet and the fur began to fall slightly down. The little fox liked to wash himself under the waterfall. Then the nag took air into his full cheeks and began to blow on the little fox to dry him. The wet red fur dried out in such a wind and stretched out to the sides. The little fox became shaggy, like a very soft ball. From what they saw, the baby and the monster laughed at it at the same time. Afterwards, he lowered the baby to the ground, allowing him to get off, and he shook himself off and stroked all his fur with his hands, evenly. — Your world with your people is so big and mysterious. I am very curious and interested in learning even more about you. Maybe in the future, when I grow up, I could find a way to bring us all together and put an end to this war between our races. — But how will you do it, Tails? You are so small, and we are so naked and huge! How can you even reconcile our two races and make friends together? This also takes into account the fact that we are naked, just like you, and we are divided into two types. Good and bad. The good ones, like me, don’t even want to conflict with you, but the bad ones, like Luz Bucket, sometimes hunt you out of nothing to do and eat you. And also considering that hunters hunt and kill each of us, without even thinking about which of us is good and which is bad... How can you, given all this, try us on? — Shadow asked out of curiosity and a little doubt. — Nothing, Shadow. I'll think of something. — the little fox answers, and then confidently jerked his right hand clenched into a fist. — Even though I’m small, I’m also remote. Shadow grinned, looking at such a confident boy and lightly patted him on the head. — You are so naive! — Nope. I am cunning and think a lot before I act on something. — Listen. Do you want me to show you the places where my people live? — suggested the naga, put his palm and Tails stood on the palm again. Afterwards the monster also put him on his shoulder and they crawled on.

***

      Having crawled further away from the village, the naga took the little fox to a very large cave and showed him his village, which is even far from his home. It was a little reminiscent of Tails's own village, only the houses were larger, since most nagas are large giants compared to humans and Mobians. The houses themselves were made not of trees, but of stones and boulders. So far, all the nagas were sleeping in their beds and resting in the same way. Crawling closer to one house, Shadow showed Tails a family of nagas in the window of one of the houses. There were two nagas in it that looked like a white hedgehog and a purple cat, and next to them on a small bed were their three children. They smiled in their sleep and were so happy. It seems that Tails was right in doubting the majority opinion that: Are all nagas such soulless monsters who think only about filling their bellies? — Do you know who they are? — the little fox whispered in his naga’s ear, and he also answered in a half-whisper, so as not to wake anyone: — Yes. We knew them. These are Silver and Blaze, and their children are in bed. Pulse, Fire and Flyer. They are very happy and love each other. They care about each other, but it’s hard for them to survive in the forest, since hunters have appeared and they don’t want to face them. They are very afraid of them and do not want to meet them, thinking that they, like real monsters, will attack them, kill them all and not even think twice about it. Even I am afraid to meet them. — I know. They are not to blame for anything. But how could we know that there are good and bad among you too? We used to always think that you were all soulless monsters and the same, and you couldn’t be divided into classes of good and evil... M... No offense! — Everything is fine! I have already heard this many times from other passersby and Mobians. For example, those who traveled along paths from one city in a chariot to another. Do you like my city and people? — Very. You helped me open my eyes and look at all of you differently, from your side. — I am very happy. When they left the cave, they saw another naked scorpion moving through the trees through the forest. — Oh no! Luz! — Shadow said when he saw him. — Why isn’t he sleeping? — He is one of the evil nagas. — But why? — Tails didn’t understand. — You don’t know why he became like this? Unless of course he was always like this. — But he wasn’t always like that. — Shadow explained and began to retell the story from the youth and childhood of this naga.

Memories

      Long ago, when he was still very young, his father was Reflection. A nag almost exactly like me, but with a different coloring. Previously, they, too, were quite kind and peaceful. Luz Bucket, even as a child, was good, harmless and even a little naive. I knew him like that. Although he was bigger than me, he appreciated those who were smaller than him. He even loved me like an older brother. And most importantly, he always helped everyone who was weaker than him. And when his father told him about people, they seemed nice to him. Not in terms of taste, but in terms of the fact that he wanted to meet them personally, face to face and talk to at least one of them. This used to be the dream of his whole life. When he turned fifteen, he still looked about the age he would have been when you were five or seven. But by that time he himself was already an adult and his father trusted him that he could now decide for himself how to live and where to crawl. He then firmly decided that he wanted to go out into the public eye for the first time and get to know them. At first, his father was against this idea, because at that time our people were secretive and tried to keep them away from people so that none of them knew about our existence. However, Luz convinced Bucket Sr. to allow him, because he had few friends, and would like to have more friends, at least among a different race. After all, even animals are afraid of him, and you can’t make friends with them. — Hello everyone, people! — he said then, waving his hand and standing in the way of the king’s carriage, guarded by a pair of soldiers. — Ah! Monster! — then one of the king’s guards got scared and began to fight him off with a spear. Although Luz didn’t even think about coming too close to him, much less attacking him. The poor kid himself did not understand why they attacked him, although he did not even know that it was he who frightened them with his appearance. After all, people had never seen creatures like him before. And the soldiers kept pointing with spears and shouting: — Go away! Out! Away! Get out, monster! We are not afraid of you! When he was cornered near a boulder, there was nowhere to crawl. It seemed as if people would thrust spears into his heart and kill him. However, at the very last moment his father appeared and exposed his body to the blows of the spears. The soldiers themselves were even surprised to see the second one, who was larger and clearly protected his child from them. — DAD!!! — he then shouted to his father, but the latter, dying, lost consciousness, looking at his son for the last time. Luz Bucket became a completely different person that day. It was as if something had broken inside him and he became angry at the whole world, deciding that all people were such cruel and dirty killers who deprived him of himself, his beloved father. Although in fact he himself was to blame for this. — I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!!! — he then shouted in rage, took their spears from the soldiers and broke them, then slammed the soldiers themselves with his right fist, like mice with a sledgehammer, flattening them into pancakes in one go. Together with the armor, slightly denting and breaking it. The horses carrying the carriage were so scared that they turned around and wanted to run away. However, Luz caught the carriage with all his might and did not let go. He was so angry and screamed so much with anger. — I HATE PEOPLE!!! I HATE MOBIANS!!! GRA-A-A-ARGHH!!! MAY YOU ALL BURN IN HELL!!! It was a terrible day then. He personally broke the roof of the carriage and ate the king himself, and also slammed the horses and coachman with his fists, crushing them out of anger. After his revenge, he lay next to his father’s corpse all day and mourned him.

End of Memories

Having finished the story about the childhood of the naga scorpion, the naga hedgehog sighed heavily. He himself partly felt sorry for him, but he also hated him because he essentially did not realize his own mistake. After all, he himself is essentially to blame for what happened, that he lost his father. And he became so angry and hated everyone, even those who were not at all to blame for anything, in vain. Taking revenge on everything and everyone around you will not do any better than the person or naga himself. Tails also felt sorry for this monster after hearing about his tragic childhood. This same half-scorpion was walking straight in their direction and was about to come out of the forest towards them, next to the cave. — Oh no! If he sees you, he will immediately eat you. He won't even listen. We need to hide you, but where? He can easily smell and find you by smell. The little fox scratched the back of his head, thinking about how to get out of it, and he seemed to have an idea. — Then eat me again so he’ll think you found me and ate me. Without thinking long, much less arguing, the hedgehog confidently took the little fox in his hands and put it in his mouth again, after which he swallowed it again without having time to chew it. Of course, he also took care of its safety and directed it only to another stomach. When Luz himself came out from behind the forest, he was surprised to see the hedgehog. — O! Shadow! Why aren't you sleeping? — I wanted to ask you the same thing when I saw you in the forest from here a couple of minutes ago. — the black and red one answered. The purple one grinned. — You're funny, though, Shadow. You know that I always go out at night, look into villages and cities, eat people and Mobians. It’s only you, unlike me, who live peacefully and sleep in their own beds. Although you don’t even understand that enemies live among us and if we don’t get rid of them in time, they will sooner or later get to us. Then they will kill us all. — the scorpion-like one explained and suddenly sniffed the air. He smelled the smell of a fox and the smell ended near the naga hedgehog’s mouth, and then in his stomach, where he lightly hit with his fist, as if into a pear. The little fox inside himself almost gave himself away from such a blow and shaking. He covered his mouth in time and fell silent. Luz asks with a smirk. — Did you eat a stranger? — It's none of your business, Luz! You have your spoils, and I have mine. So don’t meddle in other people’s spoils! — Shadow asked a little rudely. — I can’t even ask you. - said the big man and sniffed even harder. — M-m-m... This is a Mobian... Fox... About ten years old... Boy... Are you really so kind and naive?... But for the first time in my life, I attacked a living person and ate such an animal him?... You usually only love wild animals and vegetables! Is not it? — What do you care? You hate vegetables and always prefer to eat people and Mobians, you shameless one. Luz slapped Shadow on the right cheek out of anger and said: — Do not say that! They have themselves to blame. Because of them, I lost my mother and then my father. I became convinced long ago that they are all bad, unlike the rest of us. On the contrary, I am trying to save you all from them. I offered all of you an alliance with me and to join me, so that you would help me attack them all, in all the villages and cities, and then destroy them all to the last. Then we will all be safe without them. And you all spat in my face. — Because you're crazy, Luz. Even Mother Nature admits this and personally asked you, as a happy butterfly of fate, to give up your revenge, which you are fixated on. However, you pushed and scared the butterfly away, spitting in nature's face. That's why no one began to support you. You don't love nature like we do. No one will ever follow you or support you. Because we are honest and kind nagas, and not soulless monsters, as you became like that because of your stupidity. You still don't understand anything. — Shut up! I don’t want to listen to your lies and excuses about these scum. I can get rid of them all myself, alone. Whether you like it or not. I advise you, since you ate one of them yourself for the first time, to think about my words and still join me. Together we will get rid of humanity once and for all and they will forever become a thing of the past behind the dinosaurs. Then only all of us will remain on this planet, together with you. — With these words, Luz extended his hand to the hedgehog, but he turned his back to him and crawled away from here. — Listen, Luz. I made my choice a long time ago. I was the only one who felt sorry for you and was the only one who did not turn away from you, but tried to help you cope with your pain. But nothing can get through you. It’s immediately obvious that you are an incorrigible monster who will never understand anything. I'm not the disgrace of the entire naga race, Luz... But you! Luz, with bulging eyes, stood thoughtfully in place and followed him with his gaze.

***

      When Shadow returned back to that same field with the reeds, he, of course, spat Tails back out again, releasing him into the wild. This time it was absolutely clean, as there was no drool. — Are you okay? — He was a little worried about the baby. — It's okay, Shadow. It was warm and soft inside you that I almost fell asleep. — he explained to him and the snake smiled back at him, after which he sat him on his shoulder again. — Come on, I’ll take you home! The two-tailed one bent down and lay down on the monster’s neck. — Thank you, Shadow. — For what? — the naga didn’t understand. — Because you have already saved me from Luz twice and shown your safe stomach twice. — Please! — the monster himself answers. — Listen, would you really like to sleep in that stomach and spend one night there? — Well, like this. For the sake of experiment, I wanted to check it out. If you don't mind of course. But if you are still afraid for me, because you have already worried about me so many times, then okay. Let's not do this. We’d better go home as if we’d never met and go to bed in our own beds. — It's right! While they were talking, the nag had already returned to that village, carefully walked around all the houses and sticks with torches that had already been completely burnt, and escorted the little fox to the house, putting him through the same open window into the bed. — Good night, Shadow. — he tells him, closing the window and covering himself with a blanket. — And you! — the naga whispers smiling and leaves the village, leaving only his traces in his place.

The next day

      When the entire village woke up, everyone was shocked to see that on some of the roads there were tracks left by some kind of giant snake. Everyone immediately realized that they were probably naked. Everyone began to panic and count the villagers and livestock in the village. Fortunately, there were no losses, because the number of residents, their children and livestock, as well as some stray animals such as cats and dogs, remained unchanged. On the one hand, everyone calmed down from this news, but on the other hand, they then began to think. If there were naked people here, then why didn't they eat any of them? After all, everyone knows that nagas always come to their villages and cities to kidnap them all one or two at a time and eat them, after which they crawl away without leaving a trace. Besides, if you meet a naked person yourself, then consider yourself a corpse. For you cannot escape from them, no matter how fast you run. Unless of course you are a naga hunter who is physically prepared. Tails was as scared as the others, fearing for Shadow, for he knew that these were his tracks. As if the inhabitants of his village would not pick up the trail of his monster friend. Fiona noticed that her adopted son was worried about something, so she came over and hugged him. — Well, hush, hush! Don't be afraid! I promise you that these monsters will not eat you. Let them only dare to come to our house and I myself will personally tear these giants to pieces. — of course, she just lied a little to calm her son down a little, so that he wouldn’t worry. Tails understood this perfectly and, hugging her, thanked her in return. Although in reality he was even more worried in his heart. After all, what will she think when she finds out that he is friends with Shadow and will she accept his friendship with him or will she not approve? — Well, there must be at least some way out to help all two races at once and make them friends together without war and conflicts. I have to find this way out, sooner or later, but how?