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“Don’t you give me that look!”
The furrow in Knuckles’ brow deepened and he uttered a soft growl as he peeked at Callie from his hole in the dirt. He blew out a little puff of air from his nose, sending a small cloud of dust floating away from his snout.
“And don’t you growl at me, either. Get your butt outta that dirt and talk to me like a man.”
“NO!”
He disappeared underground again, a small mound appearing in a line as he dug to a different area. Old Looney Tunes shorts came to mind, of Bugs Bunny burrowing through the soil and leaving a trail of displaced earth behind him.
Callie uttered a frustrated grunt. She hated when he did this. Whenever he was mad at her, he went to ground. She normally didn’t mind when he dug—he was an echidna, after all, and that’s what they do. Well, Earth echidnas, anyway. Knuckles seemed to sport many instincts and behaviors of the Earth creatures that bear his species name, but she was always surprised when a new one popped up.
But this time it wasn’t for enrichment or entertainment. He was doing it to piss her off.
And it was working.
“Damnit, echidna,” she muttered, fast-walking to the hole he’d just disappeared down. She went to her knees, and peered down into the crater. “Knuckles MacPherson! You get out of there, right now!”
“NO!” The refusal was muffled, the dirt absorbing his deep baritone. “You come in here and face me!”
An angry grunt. “You think I won’t?! I’ll go get the shovel right now and dig you up like a rotten potato! How would you like that?”
“Do it!”
Another grunt, and Callie pushed herself to her feet, stomping heavily around the yard. She had no idea where he was, and truly no intention of actually digging for him and he knew it. And the fact that he knew it pissed her off worse.
“Look, I’m sorry I threw away your little stick dolls!” she called out, crossing her arms as her brow furrowed. “I didn’t know they were important to you.”
The ground trembled to her right and a red-quilled head poked up again.
“They were not dolls!” he growled, his lip curled in a snarl. “They were totems of protection! To keep you safe when I’m not here!”
She turned, throwing her arms wide. “I didn’t know that! I never would have touched them if I knew they were an important part of your culture! You need to tell me these things, kid!”
He blinked, the snarl fading into a look of confusion.
“My culture? Echidna do not need protection totems. We are mighty warriors, such things are unnecessary.”
Callie blinked back, reflecting his confused expression. “Then why were you making them?”
“Because he said you would like them.”
“He?” Her face cleared as realization hit. “Sonic.”
Knuckles nodded. “He said they were a sacred Earth custom. Especially if you use very old sticks, and make them look as unpleasant as possible. Then you place them in locations that allow them to watch over the one to be protected. Usually in shadowy corners, inside closets, or on the back of shelves.”
She let out a long sigh, massaging her forehead with a hand. Of course Sonic told him that.
“Knux, hon . . .”
She sighed again, and curled a finger in a ‘come here’ motion. The boy cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing as if expecting a trick, but climbed out of his hole and came forward anyway, shaking off the bits of dirt that had stuck to his fur and quills.
“Did I misunderstand?”
“No, sweetie,” Callie said, sitting on the deck steps and patting the spot next to her. Knuckles sat, giving her a slight look of confusion. “It’s so sweet of you to want to make sure I’m protected. I’m really touched.”
He nodded slightly, the furrow in his brow deepening. “But?”
She pulled her lips tight. “But, what Sonic told you wasn’t true. While I’m sure some cultures do indeed have some sort of protection totem, it’s not exactly a custom known all over the planet. And it’s certainly not one I follow.”
The furrow deepened further. “He lied.”
“He lied,” she said with a nod.
“I will destroy him,” he said with a growl, fists clenched. “I will feed him his own quills. I will break his legs, then his arms, then punch him in the face so hard he’ll—”
“Hold on,” Callie said, placing a hand on the boy’s arm. “I’m sure he was just having some fun. No need to go all sparky throw down.”
“But he—”
“He played a trick on you. Not exactly a ‘beat him to a pulp’ offense. Besides, that would have Maddie here ripping me a new one, and I do not want to be on her bad side.”
He seemed to think about this before giving a small nod. “Fair. So I should simply be the bigger person and let it go?”
A little smile tugged at Callie’s lips. “I didn’t say that. He wants to play, we can play. Maybe he’s the one who needs some protection totems. As ugly and disturbing and creepy as we can make them.”
Knuckles blinked at her for a moment, before a little smile curled his lips. “Agreed.”