Chapter Text
Lanolin
My name is Lanolin.
And I’m on the verge of yelling.
“You’re leaving?!” I scoffed at Jewel. A beetle, Jewel was currently packing a suitcase and sorting through different files, mumbling to herself as she took flight flitting about the room like a bouncy ball.
“It’s important, Lanolin.” Jewel addressed me, the tight muscle shirt and cargo pants making me look more like a military officer than a restoration liaison. “Just because our HQ was destroyed, it doesn’t mean the restoration is gone. And if we want to rebuild Emeraldville we need resources. Food, shelters, construction materials, people.” The beetle pointed at me with a pen on each word. I turned my head away.
“I thought we were going to get this done!” I pointed out the window of the Warehouse. Situated on the far side of town, the Warehouse had been one of a dozen structures that had survived both the war with Eggman and then more recently, the impact of Clean Sweeps Shuttle. It had never been part of Restoration HQ, but with everywhere else destroyed, the place had been sturdy enough to get the reconstruction of Emeraldville started. By some miracle it still had running water and that plus a salvaged generator and skylink meant there was limited light and internet. A set of rusty stairs led to an upper loft with a set of four small rooms. An office where I was about to lose it at Jewel, a bathroom, and two empty rooms. One of which was where myself and Jewel had set out some cots and blankets to sleep on.
“Alone?” Jewel looked up at me, her mouth slightly agape. I said nothing and the beetle blinked at me a few times before her antennae stood at attention. “I thought you learned that you can’t do everything alone.”
“I’m not! We’re doing this together, and you’re just…what? Abandoning me?” I put my hand to my chest, feeling a sudden tightness there. What was I doing? Why was I getting mad at the only person I could talk to right now?
“What?!” The beetle had tried to get back to packing but was stopped by my outburst. “I am not abandoning you. Why would you think that? I can’t–” The beetle sighed, sitting at the desk across from me. She put her head in her hands. “It’s…it’s really bad right now Lanolin.” I crossed my arms over my chest and gripped at my upper arms. “We lost HQ. People got hurt. Physically and emotionally." I looked out the windows of the Warehouse but could feel Jewel’s eyes on me. “The restoration was built on the ruins of the resistance. Which was built on the ruins of a destroyed town. It’s not stable. There are good parts. You know there are…but we have to fix it. And it’s too big for any one person–” I opened my mouth. “–or two people.” I shut my mouth. “I need to reach out. Talk to liaisons in other towns. See what they can spare. Reconnect our Restoration Network. No one’s just going to fix Emeraldville out of the sheer goodness of their hearts. And we know people with some of the biggest hearts imaginable.”
An image of a bright smiled lemur flashed in my mind…and then the image soured. Tentacle wrapping around the image and squeezing…squeezing…crushed. I shivered.
“There’d be no point. No one lives here. It’s a ghost town. We have to make it livable first. Show people this is a place worth living. Emeraldville will be the core of the Restoration. Its reconstruction and rehabilitation will show the world that we can fix what was broken.” Jewel explained her face wide and pleading at me, her voice holding tiredness, but hope–a flower bursting through scorched rock.
“So to show people that living in Emeraldville is a good idea, you’re leaving Emeraldville.” I said after a moment. It was all Jewel could do to shrug. I scoffed and rounded my own desk, pulling open a file drawer and sticking my face in, hoping there was something there that she could use to grab my attention…a dead roach twitched in the corner…gross.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can Lanolin. We need help.” I said nothing more. “But I promise you it will come. I already asked around and we’ve already got a volunteer. He comes recommended and super willing to help. He’ll be here tomorrow morning.” A pleaser? I hated pleasers. They had no spine and would do anything for an ‘attaboy. Put any real work and they crumble, looking for the next piece of validation. “Sonic even endorsed him!”
Well that made everything 10 times worse.
Sonic the Hedgehog was the epitome of the phrase, ‘never meet your heroes.’ I’d thought he’d be a respectful and diligent caretaker. Someone who rushed in and saved the day…and he was…but then she’d learned about all the fallout. All the broken buildings, injuries, food shortages, water damage, remains of badniks, and so on and so on. And Sonic never stuck around for that. He broke robots, saved someone from falling debris, and then booked it. The hard stuff? It never lasted. Not when the hero couldn’t be bothered to stick around.
By the time I’d had turned around to respond to the beetle, Jewel was gone. And I found myself alone. Alone in an empty building, in a ghost town.
Sleep hadn’t exactly been easy that night.
I heard him early the next morning. His huffing and grunting was audible downstairs even from the office. I could tell he was on the younger side, maybe my age, maybe a year younger. There was a rasp in his voice and the slightest of squeaking, like maybe he’d swallowed a toy when he was younger and it’d never quite come out. The rusty warehouse doors slided on their hinges below and the grunting of the figure became louder as he ascended the stairs to the loft. From the office’s windows, I got glimpses of the figure. Bright red fur, like the deepest burn of a sunset or a ripe strawberry. A long tail swished behind him and tall ears stood up, swiveling this way and that. A wolf.
Closed eyes, stoic expression, strong grip. A rock. Dependable. Honest…hurt. Accusations. The tentacles again. Those black eyes. I shuddered and waited for my vision to clear as I noted the thick black glasses adorning the wolf’s face, closing in on the office. I looked down at my work as he approached, trying to ignore him in hopes that he’d get the picture and leave me alone. But as he opened the door to the office, I couldn’t help but notice his struggle.
My eyes drifted up as the wolf struggled around the doorframe, the tower of three large boxes in his arms nearly clipping the top of the frame.
“I got it! I got it!” The wolf proclaimed, but to who exactly I couldn’t be sure. I was the only one here, so it had to be me…right? And yet, the way the wolf continued to mumble aloud made me feel like I’d interrupted a conversation.
Finally getting through the doorframe, the wolf moved forward with confidence…right as the door shut on his tail. Now my tail’s short so I’d never gotten it jammed on anything…but I’d certainly gotten my wool trapped. And from the pained yelp the wolf just made, I was pretty sure it was a very similar feeling.
I winced at the sound, then tried to give the wolf a modicum of privacy by tilting my head away…but not far enough to watch as he shifted the weight of the boxes to one hand and then yanked on his tail with the other.
A few yelps later, the wolf freed himself and stumbled forward. In addition to the three boxes he had a backpack on that was just as large, sending the wolf this way and that. Nearly losing his tower of boxes once more, I tilted back in my seat and sucked in a breath, whole body clenching up as he did a kind of tribal dance in order to not lose his tower. He got dangerously close to my desk at one point and I noted his attire.
Loose fitting T-shirt, baggy jeans, flat brim baseball hat with a logo I couldn’t name. It didn’t scream Resistance Elite. But it certainly told me “endorsed by Sonic.” I felt a rise in my blood pressure and took a breath. Watching with tired eyes, I saw the wolf put down the boxes and bag next to the desk and straighten, putting his hands on his hips.
“Ohhh wow! This place is great! What a view!” The wolf cheered, scurrying to the large windows that were left of my desk, giving myself and the wolf a view of one of the main roads of what was once Emeraldville. Its smoldering craters and husks of buildings were a reminder of the multiple tragedies that had plagued this once pleasant town.
I gave myself the moment to look out the window, wondering what the wolf was seeing that I wasn’t. Did he like the destruction? Surely not. But I couldn’t be sure. I was in charge of him now. I’d have to keep a close eye on this…I couldn’t come up with a better word than rookie. Had Jewel stuck me with help, or a liability?
I didn’t want to assume…that…that had caused me enough headaches already it was just…I’d gotten pretty good at getting things done on my own. I didn’t want anything to get in the way of that. Even well meaning, but clearly clumsy wolves.
“Okie dokie.” The wolf nodded at the window and started to turn toward me. “Now just gotta wait for–” I assumed he’d finally spotted me, but I’d returned to the order form for several hundred bags of concrete and needed to get it out before the mail was picked up today.
“Do you need something?” I filled out the address on the order form.
“What-what are you doing here?!” The wolf seemed shocked that his boss would be working, his voice reaching a higher pitch than it had moments ago.
“My job.” I responded with a heavy sigh. Looks like it would be babysitting again for me…it wasn’t like I didn’t deserve it. I focused on the paper, my pen scratching at redundant forms. Repeating who I was and why I needed this over and over and over again. For a sheep, I felt an awful lot like a mouse running endlessly on a wheel.
“O-okay! But we don’t start until 7:30!...and I’m here thirty minutes early!” The wolf was admittedly right. But after yesterday, I had tried to sleep on my cot, thin blanket over me as hot air slagged through the warehouse’s windows bringing in a modicum of coolness, I found sleep wouldn’t come. Tossing and turning, Jewel’s words ringing through my head. Tangle and Whisper’s glances. Duo’s lying face.
Mimic’s…
I gripped the pen tighter. I’d found that it was pointless trying to get some sleep and instead had gotten up and started planning. Figuring out what they’d need and where they’d need it and all the steps in order to get there. And I’d fallen down a rabbit hole of unknowns and overwhelming challenges.
Now I was just trying to order some flippin’ concrete and I couldn’t even do it without this–this–this puppy making pointless remarks!
“You might not start until 7:30. But I’m in charge here while Jewel’s out. And my work day doesn’t end until I go to sleep.” Or lack thereof. I decided to push down that thought.
“Geez…okay…it’s just…I feel k-kinda embarrassed about showing up in my civies.” The wolf gave a nervous laugh showing off a big smile, one fang slightly bigger than the other. When he closed his mouth, the fang just poked through, giving him a kind of permanent lopsided smile.
I gave a grunt at his words, perhaps I’d been slightly quick on the draw when it came to his attire. Still, coming to work at all in something that wasn’t at least work casual was behavior that had to be corrected. They were doing the most important work here, looking half-assed wasn’t going to cut it.
“Quick. Go change. Bathroom’s just down the hall. I’m going to need a hand with some filing.” Hopefully I could at least trust this guy enough to deliver a stinking letter while I got some big girl work done. The wolf nodded twice, two quick jerks that had a rigidity to them. Not necessarily nervous, but more…practiced? Was that the right word?
“Yes ma’am.” Ma’am? Well I was a little young for that, but…it was nice that the wolf did have some formality. Even if he did end up being useless, at least he had decent manners. “I’ll be right back.” The wolf dug around in his bag and pulled out some clothing and–was that a bandolier? A toolbelt? Both? I gave him a single nod. “Oh! And um, I’m Gadget by the way. The wolf readjusted his glasses and gave me a lopsided smile.
“...Lanolin.” I spoke and the wolf was off, exiting the office and turning one way…then the other as he headed toward the bathroom. “Weird guy…” I shook my head.
Gadget came back in what I could only assume was work wear…and it was better than mine. Tall work boots that reached up to mid-calf, steel toed and rubber soled. Thick gloves that were rubber tipped and made out of a strong fabric. It was a bandolier, but also a toolbelt. All manner of tools were fitted in it. Wrenches, screwdrivers, levels, tape measures, hammers, even a large cordless drill was attached to his hip, ready to flip out like a gunslinger in the old west. The black glasses stayed on, apparently not a decorative part of his hipster attire from earlier.
“That’s…wow.” I blinked at the wolf, pleasantly surprised that he was proving my initial judgement of him wrong.
“What? Do I have something on my face?” The wolf padded at his face. “I knew I shouldn’t have had donuts for breakfast.” I raised an eyebrow and watched as Gadget’s face only got more concerned. “Oh no! It’s my tail isn’t it?! I should’ve brushed it!” The wolf turned to grab at his tail and missed. So he grabbed at it again and–missed. So he grabbed at it and–
I was officially watching him chase his tail.
I found that a warmth had built up in my chest. I shoved what would’ve been a laugh down, but was unable to stop the smile. I stood from my desk, keeping my face lowered until I could get my facial features back into position.
“You’re fine.” I brought a hand up like I was carefully approaching a skittish animal. “I’m just…surprised a volunteer like you is this…prepared.” The wolf stopped instantly, his body paused for an instant like a cartoon character before he straightened up, his spine ramrod straight. He was taller than me. Why did this goof have to be taller than me?
“Well I was a contractor before the war.” A contractor?! This doofy puppy was allowed around serious power tools? And more than that, he was willing to help rebuild Emeraldville…for free? And wait! How the hell did a contractor become ‘endorsed by Sonic?’ My head was spinning trying to acquaint the wolf’s lopsided smile alongside Sonic’s smirk and an excavator and it just wasn’t quite clicking for me.
“So wait Pu–Gadget…what kind of contractor work have you done before?” I looked up at him and felt the need to stand on my tiptoes. The wolf just grinned at me and began list off things on his fingers like it was a casual grocery list.
“Plumbing, electrical, laying foundation, kitchen modeling, window installation, HVAC–that’s heating and cooling by the way–” Gadget winked at me as he said that, like it was a little secret. “–I’ve worked with wood, concrete, brick, asphalt, fiberglass, glass, steel–oh! Once I helped my cousin put up a shadow box! Also I’ve–”
“Okay I’ve got it!” I cut him off. “You’ve done it all!” I pouted. Was he really that good? Surely not. Not if he was here. Doing a job that wasn’t worth doing. But the wolf just shrugged, not noticing my frustration.
“I mean not all. You should see me make gingerbread houses. That’s one construction method where I just crumble.” He was smiling. I was not.
“Who are you?” I narrowed my eyes at Gadget, but the wolf just smiled and blinked.
“I’m Gadget! It’s good to meet you. You’re…Lanolin? Right?” The wolf stuck out a hand and I stared at it. The wolf was still smiling, that fang making his smile all lopsided and doofy. The wolf wiggled his fingers a little, bait trying to draw out my own hand. But I was too smart for that.
“Yeah…alright.” My eyes traced up to the wolf’s once more. I found his big bright orange eyes somewhat distracting, little flecks of gold dancing in them as he smiled. “Let’s get to it then.”
“Of course! Thank you very much! I won’t disappoint you!” Wait…what? “I’ll meet you downstairs!” No wait they had to–and the wolf was gone.
This. This flippin’ right HERE! This is what I had been worried about. Another impulsive airhead that I had to babysit. And if this puppy got himself killed it would be on me. I stomped after the wolf and ripped open the office door, ready to tear it off its hinges and beat the wolf over the head with it. Only to find him already on the ground floor. What? How had he gotten down so fast?! The wolf waved up at me before turning the exit, his tail flicking behind him and almost getting trapped again as he left.
“PUP–Gadget get–RRGGH!” I pulled at my ears and shot for the stairs, taking them two at a time, my boots ringing out an angry melody on the steps as I arrived on the ground floor. I was so flippin’ ready to put this puppy in time out. I grabbed at the large doors of the Warehouse pulling them aside and raising a finger to yell at the wolf and–
Gadget was getting into a red pickup truck. The wolf had a car? I didn’t have a car. If the puppy had a car, could I get one too? No! Focus on yelling at the puppy!
“Come on! If you get in quick I’ll let you pick the music!” Gadget cheered as he shut the driver’s side door and rolled down the window. He was smiling at me again, his lopsided smile drawing me in.
I felt my feet pulling me toward the truck, a magnetism conjured by the flame-like red of the truck. I found myself circling the truck once, noting the couple of truck beds in the back joined by a half dozen 2x4s, a roll of reflective pink tape, and what looked like to me like a camera with a long tripod. But the camera was more vertical than horizontal, a kind of 'A' shape with the camera’s lens making the center bridge of the letter.
It was only once I was in the passenger seat and buckled that I realized I’d just completely followed what Gadget had wanted.
Stupid.
“Gadget we–” Gadget started the truck, the engine giving a single roar and settling. A lion showing its teeth before contentedly padding along, Gadget putting the truck into drive and pulling away from the Warehouse.
“So I know with all the towers gone we don’t get much service out here, but try flipping through the radio and maybe we’ll get some public radio or something.” Gadget pointed eagerly at the radio in the center of the dash as his pickup rumbled over the beat up and cracked roads of Emeraldville. I just watched him for a moment, his smile never going away even as he drove the truck around potholes the size of bathtubs left from falling debris, or made a detour because of a downed powerline.
“Gadget. Stop.” I told the wolf, his eyes flicking to me momentarily but always resting back on the road. “I’m trying to get supplies to put this town back together. I can’t go off on joyrides.” I spoke, while noting that the seats were air conditioned. Chaos! AC felt sooo good after the last few days of being stuck in a stuffy warehouse.
“Well sure.” Gadget waved a hand. “But shouldn’t we figure out what we need first?” I swallowed.
“Well…yeah so I was seeing about getting supplies.” The truck began to slow and despite the comforting air condition on my butt I was starting to sweat.
“I…don’t understand…was this for the Warehouse?” Gadget slowed the truck further, taking sidelong glances at me, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.
“No! For the town.” I laughed. Why did I laugh? That wasn’t funny. And why was this silly puppy making me feel stupid?! I felt too hot. Like when I hadn’t had my wool cut in a while. My body all stuffy and itchy. I’d felt this before…twice.
“Then…you already completed surveying? And what about demo?” Gadget fully brought the truck to a stop, putting it into park and fully turning to look at me. His eyes were fully on me, those oranges locked onto my face. I felt like I wanted to look away. I had his full attention…this was weird. I wanted him to fully pay attention to me, that’s what I wanted from the moment I met him but now? What in Chaos was happening here?! I just…I just…
I wasn’t certain I’d ever had anyone’s full attention before. And that was a concerning thought.
“I…umm…we didn’t…” Gadget just kept looking at me, his body completely still and calm except for the soft rise and fall of his chest, I was saved from his gaze by the occasional blink. “We…didn’t do any of that.” Myself and Jewel were military officers and paper pushers. When it came to building something with their bare hands? We were clueless. And right now I had to be clueless…alone.
“But…but I thought you guys were rebuilding this town?” Gadget asked calmly, a tilt of his head, his ears bouncing above his head, the top fluff brushing against the top of the truck’s cab.
How? How could this supposed jack of all literal trades be this naive? I didn’t know how to do this! There! I admit it! To myself.
In my head.
In a literal ghost town where the only people around were me and a naive wolf.
“We are–will!–going to!” I groaned and pulled at the seatbelt, hoping for it to give me some security and instead I just felt trapped. “It’s just–!” I stopped myself. The wolf wasn’t accusing back. He wasn’t judging me. He was just staring at me, his wide orange eyes blinking slowly. He wasn’t blank or critical he was just…
Open. Like he was taking in all the information at once. I had once heard that babies were extremely receptive to new information. Learning anything and everything and just absorbing it all. But that stopped by toddlerhood.
Except it didn’t seem like Gadget had gotten the memo.
“We…don’t…know how to do any of this…” I admitted with a sigh, leaning my head back against the well cushioned seats of Gadget’s truck. I felt a desire to pull the handle of the seat and lean it all the way back, letting my eyes drift closed as he just drove.
“Hmmm…” Gadget said after a moment. My well-founded cynicism telling me he was going to chew me out. That I was stupid for thinking I could help rebuild an entire town. And I’d have to admit to myself and him…he was right. “That’s a tricky thing when you’re doing what you’re doing.”
“...yeah…it is…” I tilted my head to face Gadget again but he’d shifted his attention forward, eyes on the remnant of road, hands gripping the steering wheel.
“People…people are going to tell you things…” Gadget spoke, his voice lowering, taking on a more ethereal tone, small and far away. I moved myself forward, trying to get a better look at the wolf’s face but it was still too far out of sight. “That you don’t know what you’re doing. That you’re out of your depth. That you are…” The wolf’s hands tightened on the steering wheel. “...insignificant.” He said finally. I noticed he seemed to shake at that last word, the chill of the truck finally getting to him.
“And?” I found myself saying. It was almost harsh, coming from a more angry part of myself. That bit that lashed out at what questioned me. The thorns raised like shield walls. But Gadget’s response was quiet, pointed.
“They’re wrong. You’re doing something few have ever done before. They can’t judge without having done it themselves and anyone who has…” Gadget gave a shrug and a breath, turning his attention back on the road. “...will respect you all the more for this.” Gadget’s words probed through my defenses, pushing aside my accusatory tone.
“Umm…okay.” I found myself saying. I wasn’t dismissing him, but I also couldn’t fully understand what he was saying yet. I was pretty sure his words scared me a little. “So then…then what do we do?” Gadget blinked.
“What?” I frowned.
“About Emeraldville? How do we rebuild it?” Gadget straightened in his seat, then slumped into it.
“Well to be honest, I was kinda hoping you guys would know. I was just gonna help rebuild all the buildings!” Gadget gave a laugh and rubbed at the back of his head. I did not laugh. Gadget swallowed hard. “O-okay then let’s just…just take it one step at a time.” I gave him a slow nod, my pale blue eyes on him the whole time. “So the first step in any construction project is going to be surveying. Basically checking out the build site. Slopes, ground density, distances, that kind of thing.”
“Okay.” I gave a nod. That made a lot of sense. I wasn’t a builder, but even I’d heard the phrase measure twice, cut once. A look before you leap mentality. Which was something I could get behind. “How do we go about…that?” I rolled my hand, the concept of surveying seeming simple while the actual practice was an unknown.
“Observation and recording.” Gadget told me, turning the truck left and guiding it downhill and over formerly cobblestone streets now turned to pebblestone. “I noticed you checking out my Total Station in the truck.” Gadget nodded and I gave a nod, feeling a little embarrassed that he’d spotted me staring.
“That’s the thing on the tripod?” Gadget nodded again.
“It’ll do all the measuring and calculations for us, we just gotta put it in the right spot.” Gadget told me, his hands never leaving the steering wheel as he drove.
“What’s the right spot?” Gadget grinned.
“You tell me.” His eyes flicked to mine for a moment and I felt the need to turn away quickly. “What do you want to build? And where?” I huffed and jabbed a finger in Gadget’s direction.
“See? This is why we plan things out before we go into the field.” I muttered at him, but I found there was a smile forming on my face, the wolf grinning back, that same lopsided smile full of life.
“Hey hey! Zoning is a part of surveying! We could measure whatever we wanted! I’m asking you ‘cause you’re the boss.” He’s darn right I am. Still I gave a snort and nodded.
“Okay well…Emeraldville–former Emeraldville is roughly split into four sections. Town square, the upper-class district north of main street, the lower-class district south of main street, and the industrial complexes to the west. Can we survey all that?” I tapped at my chin as I talked, noting that Gadget had snuck occasional glances at me. Why was he looking at me?
“Absolutely. But surveying just a single site can take a while and each of those sections has dozens if not hundreds of sites.” Gadget admitted to me. “I’m just one guy.” I closed my eyes and took in a breath. The phrase ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day,’ came to mind. I supposed a small town applied similarly.
“How long is ‘a while?’” I raised and eyebrow at the wolf. He mumbled something. “What was that?” I leaned over my seat toward Gadget and he shrunk a little in his seat.
“A few weeks.”
“WEEKS?!” I shouted loud enough to startle Gadget, the wolf’s hands flying over the wheel to try and get the truck back under control. “I can’t wait a few weeks for every single site, puppy!”
“I-I-I’m sorry! Tha-that’s just how it goes!” Gadget was so low I wasn’t sure how he could see over the dash. “I have to submit reports and get them tested and then get permissions back and go through–”
“Wait wait wait stop!” I waved my hands to cut the wolf off. “How much of this ‘a few weeks’ is boots in the field work and how much is paperwork approval?” Gadget turned his head for a moment and seemed surprised at my small smile.
“Uhh, well if we’re efficient, the actual surveying part might only be a couple hours per location, but that’s–”
“Puppy, you just take care of all the building work. If there’s one thing myself and Jewel can do, it’s turn the wheels of bureaucracy.” I jabbed a finger at my chest, hoping that Gadget didn’t notice me calling him a puppy out loud.
“O-okay. Yeah I can take care of that. Umm, did you just call–”
“Let’s start with the center of town, it took the most damage as of late so I want it to get fixed as soon as possible.” I spoke quickly, hoping the warmth I felt in my cheeks wasn’t on as display as it felt.
“Oh! Yes ma’am!” Gadget gave a nod and pushed the gas pedal forward, the truck heading toward the center of town.
“Not exactly the most comforting of work, is it?” I grumbled, wiping sweat from my forehead, my wool extra frizzy with the heat of the day. I was holding up a laser panel, letting Gadget’s machine thing mark their 3rd site of the morning. The sun now high overhead, beating down on the two of them, I was feeling the urge to pant. I’d caught Gadget doing it once or twice, his tongue lolling out of his mouth as the heat reached critical levels. I was pretty sure it was unconscious because every time he spotted me watching it, that tongue popped back into his mouth like the roll of a tape measure. The wolf grinning at me innocently each time, that lopsided smile doofier and doofier each time I spotted it.
It made me want to laugh.
“Nope!” Gadget told me, pushing some buttons as he hunched over the Total Station, looking like a grandma trying to figure out my phone camera. He adjusted his glasses and squinted, writing down some of the data the device gave back to him. “I much prefer doing it in the winter.” Gadget held up one of his arms, the fur looking well-groomed for the most part.
It was awfully sweaty right now. The fur matted to surprising musculature. I shook my head, wondering where that thought had come from.
“Please hold still!” Gadget asked and I went ramrod straight, holding the laser reflector still enough that it’d take a small earthquake to move it. Gadget had explained how the whole thing worked. The Total Station fired a laser, not an energy laser, or a beam laser, or an Eggman blows everything up laser, just…a light laser. One that was slightly more powerful that what was used to point things out on a white board.
I kept finding myself surprised these days whenever something mundane came into my life. Badniks and metallic viruses and cities that built themselves and spies had become so ubiquitous with my every day I forgot that lasers didn’t equal mass destruction.
The Total Station’s laser was just a measuring tool. It fired it at the reflector I was holding and it would reflect back to the Station where using its gyroscope it would calculate the distance and slope. Combined with other data it could calculate area and size. It was a pretty impressive piece of machinery.
When not compared to the things I had seen Eggman and Tails and Belle build. But this machine had never fired missiles or smashed houses or taken swipes with razor sharp claws.
“Yeah, the winter is so much nicer.” I told him, my mouth moving of its own accord. Don’t make small talk with the Puppy. I thought…and frowned. More importantly, STOP thinking of him as a Puppy!
Gadget was panting again.
Puppy. I grimaced.
“My fur/wool keeps me warm.” We two said at the same time. Gadget laughed and I dipped my face to keep my smile hidden.
“Snow must give you trouble though.” Gadget looked up from the Station again, realized he was panting and shut his mouth once more.
“Uhh, not really.” I furrowed my brows for a moment. “Why do you say that?”
“You’re completely white! You must vanish!” Gadget giggled and I rolled my eyes. It was probably best I not tell him that when it snowed I wore a bright orange vest just so people wouldn’t run into me. “Bet all that wool makes for an amazing angel though!” Gadget grinned and then his face froze. “Snow angel! Snow angel!” He quickly corrected and then disappeared behind his Total Station once more. It was definitely too hot out, my face felt like it was steaming.
“Uhh, I don’t uhh, I don’t know.” I really wanted to pant now, or at least fan myself, I was feeling very hot. “I’ve never made a snow angel.” Gadget froze.
“You’ve never made a snow angel?!” He popped up from behind the Station once more, a whack-a-mole mole bouncing out, completely oblivious to the hammer about to be brought down on him. My face twitched at the image, this silly puppy with a comedically large hammer brought down on his head, his tongue sticking out and that same lopsided grin on his face.
“No.” I told him, drawing out the word. Trying to put some anger in it to distract from the grin forming on the wolf’s face again. “It never snowed in Riverside. I only started going to colder climates once I was grown up.” I told Gadget and the wolf just cocked his head, ears flopping about.
“So?”
“So…I was too old to make snow angels.”
“You’re never too old to make snow angels.” Gadget told me, his smile so warm the heat of the summer suddenly felt cold in comparison. I forced a scoff, trying not to look at the puppy’s cute face.
The face he made was cute. Not that he had a cute face. That’s what I meant.
“Maybe you’re not. But I’ve got big girl stuff to do.” Nothing made me feel more like a child than saying ‘big girl stuff.’
“What’s ‘big girl stuff?’” Gadget asked, writing down a few more notes on his clipboard. Uh oh…he’d called this sheep’s bluff. I gave a half laugh and stared at the wolf.
“Things.” Gadget’s eyes drifted up, those orange orbs meeting my blue ones and just…stopping me. “It’s important Restoration efforts. Moving supplies, submitting action requests, coordinating teams of people. Working hard to help save lives.” I wasn’t sure why I felt like I was being attacked right now, this wolf just…got under my wool. Although it felt like an awful lot of people got under my wool these days.
“And that doesn’t ever leave time for snow angels?” Gadget tapped at his clipboard and looked up at me fully now, I stared back at him.
“No…it doesn’t.” I told him. Gadget held my gaze for a moment before nodding, starting to approach the Total Station again.
“Well, we’ve finished up this lot’s surveying. It’s well past noon. You want some lunch?” My stomach shifted and roared loud enough I was pretty sure it was trying to escape the confines of my torso.
“I could eat. I think there’s some eggs in the fridge back at the warehouse. We could scramble them up.” I lowered the reflector and approached Gadget, and the wolf began to shake his head. But he was smiling that lopsided smile again and I slowed my pace.
“Nope. Not on day one. Today, I’ve got us covered.” Gadget beamed and picked up his Total Station, jogging back to his truck. How could he run in this heat?
I found myself running after him.
Placing the Total Station back into the truck, Gadget got up into the bed and dug around in one of the truck vaults, pulling out a soft bodied cooler. I peered curiously at it, placing the reflector in the bed next to the Station. The wolf dropped his butt onto the edge of the truck bed and put the cooler in his lap. He tapped at the space next to himself and I paused for a moment before hopping up onto the bed beside me, his interest piqued as Gadget zipped open the cooler.
“Sandwiches?” I found I’d leaned over slightly, getting a peak in at the cooler as Gadget pulled out a pair of sandwiches, wrapped tightly in parchment paper. The wolf passed one to me and I got a strong whiff of barbeque permeating through the paper, the mouth watering stench unable to be contained by the paper. It was backed by a crisp, organic scent. Carrots? No…coleslaw.
I swallowed my saliva.
“Not just any sandwiches. These are the barbeque chicken supremes from the one and only Chirps Barbeque. Best sandwiches in Central City.” Gadget’s eyes lit up as he unwrapped the sandwich, his maw opening before biting down fiercely on the sandwich, his mouth coming away stained with barbeque sauce.
“How’d you know I’d even like barbeque chicken?” I slowly unwrapped my sandwich, already bringing it up to my mouth. Gadget raised an eyebrow and shot me a look. I shot him one back, eyes defensive even as I bit into the sandwich. “Holy crap…” I moaned aloud, the sweetness and salty of barbeque hitting with the crispness of the coleslaw and onions, putting a hand to my mouth just in case a single molecule of food thought of escaping my mouth.
“Ha!” Gadget laughed and I pouted, but didn’t push it further. “Who doesn’t like barbeque chicken?”
I loved barbeque chicken.
It reminded me of those summer evenings back when I was little. When the heat of the day finally began to break in the shade of the house filling the backyard. My father over the grill as the scent of barbeque lifted upward, spiraling over them all. My mother in a lawn chair, lazed with a book in her hand, sunglasses over her face, I unable to tell if she was reading or had fallen asleep. My brothers running about, bumping into one another. And me…just being a part of it. It was strange to think about how content I’d been. How ignorant of the larger world outside of that backyard.
The sandwich tasted slightly less good on the second bite.
“Mmm!” Gadget jumped in his seat, swallowing his bite hard before digging into the cooler once more and pulling out a pair of Chaos Colas. He tossed one to me and I caught it, the can almost sliding out as moisture condensed on the outside of the can. Putting the sandwich in his lap, Gadget popped the tab of the soda. I shrugged and opened my one-handed, bringing the can to my lips. “Hey hold up!” Gadget pleaded and I lowered the can, giving him a confused glance. “We should toast to something. Uhh, Emeraldville? A good morning’s work? Umm…” Gadget tapped at his lower lip, his eyes raised skyward as if he expected the answer to smack him in the face.
“What if we just quietly drink our sodas and eat our sandwiches?” I tried, but Gadget’s expression told me this idea wouldn’t get very far in his thought process. Still, he turned to me and looked at me for a moment. Long enough that I started to feel a touch of discomfort under his gaze. “Gadget?” I spoke and the wolf responded immediately.
“I know! Let’s toast to you!” Me? The last time the spotlight had been put on me it hadn’t ended well. I just wanted to fix what I’d had a hand in breaking. I didn’t need to be put on a pedestal and a ‘toast’ was just…undeserved praise.
“Pu–Gadget I…I’m flattered but…I really don’t need it. I just…just want to fix this town.” I turned to face the wreckage of the town. Toppled buildings, collapsed roofs, rubble in the streets…a crater where Restoration HQ had been.
“I get it.” Gadget shrugged. He looked at his soda and then took a long swig. “The spotlight’s not for everyone, huh?” He gave a tilt of his head, and I nodded along slowly with him, taking a sip of my soda as well. Sweet, cool, that hint of a tang that made you want another sip.
“Not to mention, you know what you’re doing. I’m lost with all this.” I floated a hand over the Total Station that sat between us. “I’m just going along with your lead.” I admitted taking a longer sip of my soda and trying not to think about just how out of my element I was with the actual reconstruction of a town. Gadget gave a half laugh and nodded, covering his mouth and then taking a big bite of his sandwich, the thing practically gone.
“Okay, tell you what.” Gadget said, mouth still full. “After we’ve rebuilt the town. And after you’ve decided you’ve done your part–then–” Gadget held up a finger. “–then, we toast to you.” I thought about this for a moment, then raised my cola up to Gadget’s. They cans gave a dull tap of metal.
“Fine. It’s a deal.”