Title: Of Emeralds and Nymphs

Summary: (Mythology!AU) There are pressing matters he needs to take care of—Shadow is well aware of that—and yet he cannot bring himself to walk away, too fascinated by the strange nymph that just seems to love throwing him for a loop. [Sonadow]

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.

The Chaos Emerald has to be somewhere around here. I can feel it... Shadow frowns as he continues to walk through the forest, the legendary gem still nowhere in sight even though he has been walking around this part of the forest for at least two hours now.

The ebony hedgehogs huffs in frustration. It's been months since he set off to find these legendary relics known as Chaos Emeralds. So far he has obtained four, but currently holds only three of them in his possession; he let the so called 'strongest man among the mortals' Knuckles borrow one in exchange for a future favor, believing it might come in handy one day.

Or that's at least what he told everybody. But, honestly, he has done that mostly to finally get rid of the loud hero. He doesn't need to hear every day how he is the only thing separating Knuckles from finally finishing his twelve labors.

Shadow frowns as he feels the Emerald's presence growing stronger, accompanied by a strong presence of something—no someone else. The ebony hedgehog unsheathes his sword and pushes aside the branches blocking his way, prepared to fight any beast or person that might get in his way of getting the Emerald.

As he brushes away the wooden obstacle and steps forward, he barely catches himself from stepping into a pond which he hasn't noticed due to the thick vegetation. His scowl deepens as he looks at the inconvenient body of the water in his way and then around its shore, hoping he will at least see where the Emerald is.

And then he sees it. The green Chaos Emerald is motionlessly lying beside—"A nymph?" Shadow muses quietly with a raised brow, looking at the being kneeling beside the pond. This 'being' is a blue hedgehog, clad only in a light green tunic and with a right wrist adorned with one golden ring, which reflects the rays of afternoon sun in all directions when the hedgehog dips his hands into the pond to cup some water into his palms. The hedgehog brings his hands up to his mouth and in an unhurried manner sips the clear water which to Shadow serves as a sign that the hedgehog hasn't noticed him yet.

Crimson eyes study the hedgehog for a moment longer, noticing the deity's slender form and toned muscles suited for a dancer, which nymphs more than often are. This is one of the most trademark signs of nymphs, along with their other-worldly voices that produce beautiful enchanting melodies that easily hypnotize any mortal or immortal that is not used to hearing such wondrous sounds.

However, the ebony warrior is still not fully sure if the hedgehog is truly a nymph—he has met enough nymphs to safely distinguish them from the other deities by a appearance alone and this one definitely fits the norm—however, there is one big problem with this nymph.

It's a male.

And he has never seen or even heard of male nymphs.

But Shadow cannot determine what else the hedgehog could be if not a nymph—as all clues are pointing in this direction—thus he decides to simply use the same plan he would use if getting a gem from a true nymph; to silently approach the deity and steal the Emerald before the hedgehog even notices his presence.

The ebony warrior slowly slides his sword back in its sheath and then crouches down to be better hidden by the surrounding bushes. Taking small quiet steps, he slowly starts to make his way over to the deity, trying to move as silently as possible so he wouldn't startle the other; nymphs have a bad habit of running away when they think somebody is around, so being loud definitely would make things more difficult—with chasing the nymph around the forest or possibly having to coax the nymph to de-transform in case he is one with shape-shifting abilities.

But just then a dry branch snaps under his left shoe and the other hedgehog's head shots up, the nymph's surprised green eyes immediately locking with his own watchful crimson ones. The ebony warrior freezes in his crouched position as he waits for the other's reaction, already mentally preparing himself for a mad chase through the forest.

But instead of running away, the blue hedgehog just stands up and, with a genuine smile on his face, waves at him. "Oh, hello, there! Are you lost? I can show you the way if you need!"

Slowly straightening his back, Shadow presses his lips into a thin line, wary of the other's offer of help. Nymphs don't offer help. Never. But they are also never male. Maybe this is just another unusual thing about this nymph...

"...That gem by your feet, I've been searching for it."

For some reason this information brings a wide grin to the blue hedgehog's face.

"Oh! You must be the hero that is supposed to come challenge me for it! I was told you'll come pretty soon!"

The deity's green eyes immediately start to run him up and down, most likely to judge if he'll be a worthy opponent in whatever competition he's supposed to challenge the nymph in.

Shadow resist the urge to glare as the deity continues to study him and instead he clears his throat, planning to explain the nymph that he definitely isn't a hero in any way, but just as he's about to utter the first syllable, the deity locks their gazes, turning him dumb-stricken for a moment with the intensity of the joy shining in the deity's green eyes, and thus the cobalt male has the time to speak up again.

"The rules are simple!—If you catch me it is yours! All clear? Alright then, three, two, one—GO!"

Shadow barely has the time to blink before the cobalt hedgehog zooms off with the Emerald, gaining few seconds advantage thanks to this surprise start. However, once the ebony warrior's brain finally processes what the deity has said Shadow doesn't waste even another split of second and jumps into the pursuit of the blue nymph.

He dives into the forest after the other, mindful of all the dangers of rushing through an unfamiliar territory at such speed but refusing to slow down as it could give the other enough time to escape into the depths of the forest—where Shadow would have no chance of finding the nymph.

The ebony warrior brings up his hand to shield his face from the low hanging branches as he picks up speed to shorten the distance between him and the nimble nymph that seems almost as if he's dancing his way through the forest, the nymph's deep knowledge of the area visible in each move as he uses various twists, jumps and turns to travel through the forest untouched by a man—without tripping over a protruding root or even scratching himself on a low branch.

Crimson eyes intently watch the captivating show and for a moment Shadow actually forgets why he is even chasing after the nymph—the gracefulness of the deity's movements enthralling the warrior who finally realizes why some bards call nymphs the embodiment of elegance.

But when the cobalt nymph leaps over a giant boulder and disappears from his sight, the trance is destroyed and Shadow is able to focus on his task once again. The ebony warrior shakes his head to clear it, knowing he needs to stop getting distracted by the nymph if he wants to win the legendary gem.

He springs himself into the air and over the great boulder, his feet not having the time to even came fully onto the ground before he breaks into the run again, not allowing the deity the chance to get away when there is only few yards between them now.

At the heavy sound of his ironclad feet hitting the ground, the blue hedgehog looks over his shoulder—most likely to check how much distance is between them—a flash of surprise going over the deity's face. Shadow guesses that it is because the nymph has never met someone that could actually match his speed before; the blue hedgehog is definitely much faster than any other being he has met before.

Well, beside himself, of course.

However, just then the deity's lips pull into a challenging smirk and the cobalt speedster picks up his pace, his knowledge about the area making it easy for him to dodge any obstacles that are in the way even at this speed—be it a branch, a root or some other natural formation.

Unfortunately, Shadow cannot say the same, the few scratches on his face that he has gotten from low hanging branches, which he hasn't managed to exactly dodge, confirming this.

The obsidian hedgehog growls as he pushes himself to go faster, ignoring the twinges of pain as his body continues to receive scratches from the surrounding vegetation and instead focusing on finally getting hold of the blue and peach body before him.

However, the cobalt deity continues with making sharp turns and twists in random directions, the movements allowing him to escape the warrior's hold just a split of second before each possible capture as well as to continue with occasionally sending him a 'you need to work harder if you want to catch me' smirk.

But apart from Shadow the other hedgehog still has one disadvantage—he has no shoes. And there's only so fast you can go without burning your feet.

So when Shadow sees that they are heading in a straight-line towards an open plain he pushes himself to go faster and finally gets hold of the blue and peach body.

—And then is send flying when the other makes a second too late maneuver to escape and instead sends them both rolling to the ground.

But, fortunately for them, because this crash happened on a clearing and not deep in the forest, they only land on a patch of grass and not in a crown of a tree like they could have—though that still does not mean Shadow's whole body doesn't feel like if it just been hit by a horde of bulls.

Hissing, the ebony hedgehog pushes himself up, feeling pain jolt through his body as he pushes himself to sit up. He lets out a low pained groan, expecting the nymph lying beside him to do the same.

But maybe because the nymph loves to break his expectations so much the cobalt speedster instead starts to chuckle, his bubbly laugh soon echoing through the entire clearing.

Shadow just looks at the cobalt hedgehog questioningly, wondering if the other has hit his head at some point during their ungraceful landing or if he's simply missing some unvoiced joke.

As the deity's laughter dies down, the strange nymph looks up at him, peach lips stretched into a wide grin and eyes filled with mirth. "You know, you succeeded at something that even satyrs haven't managed to do! And they've tried a lot! You must want this pretty badly~" the blue deity jokes as he slowly, sensually, runs his fawn hands down his blue and peach-furred chest and then down his cloth-covered stomach, stopping only once they reach his lap.

Shadow snorts at the provocative gesture. There's no doubt now. The other is definitely a nymph. "I'm here for the Emerald. Nothing else," the ebony warrior replies as he gets up and makes his way to the green Chaos Emerald that has fallen few yards away from their landing spot as the cobalt speedster accidentally let go of it when he was knocked to the ground.

"Geez. Loosen up a little!" the nymph calls, sitting up. "This is your last labor, right? So, it's not like you need to rush somewhere."

"Labor?" Shadow repeats as he turns back to the nymph, confused by this random remark. A last labor? It's true that he sometimes sells his services as a freelance warrior but he isn't supposed to do any labors at the moment...

The cobalt deity gets up from the ground and starts dusting and smoothing his crumpled tunic. "You're the mighty hero Knuckles, right?"

Shadow blinks, little surprised by this question. So this was the last labor Knuckles was supposed to undertake? "...No, I am not. And Knuckles has already finished all his labors."

"What?!" the blue hedgehog calls out, his expression turning into one of pure surprise. "Then who are you?"

"My name is Shadow," the ebony warrior replies as he hides the Chaos Emerald into his head quills, knowing that like this the legendary artifact will be most protected from greedy hands and prying eyes of other people. "But I don't suppose you know me."

"Shadow?" A thoughtful look appears on the nymph's face, the expression clearly saying the hedgehog is searching his memory to find out if he has ever heard of him. But Shadow knows even without the nymph's next words that the answer will be 'no'.

"No, I've never heard of any god of such name. Of what are you god?"

However, this question is definitely not what Shadow has expected to fall from the nymph's lips. Dark brows furrow in confusion. "What gave you the idea that I'm a god?"

The cobalt hedgehog frowns in confusion, clearly not understanding why would he be asked such a question. "You outran me. You must be a god."

The ebony warrior shakes his head, chuckling. "I'm no god."

"Then are you in favor with gods that they gave you such ability?" the blue deity asks, clearly not believing his speed to be a natural ability. Which is to be expected—mortals aren't normally born with such talents.

But Shadow still has to shake his head as even this guess isn't correct. "I'm everything but in favor with," he says and the nymph raises an eye-ridge in a silent question, clearly wanting to know what exactly he means by this remark.

And so Shadow explains, "I've been cursed by the gods. I need the Chaos Emeralds to undo it."

"What did they curse you with? Inability to loosen up?" the cobalt speedster jokes as he bends down to plucks a white flower and then brings up to his nose to smell it.

"You need to stop sometimes and just enjoy the life. Otherwise it's going to slip right through your fingers..." the nymph explains as he places the plucked flower behind his blue ear, his green eyes turning to look at the ebony hedgehog.

"It is already slipping through my fingers. I don't have time to spare," Shadow replies with a frown, "I have only six months left until I die of old age because of the 'accelerated aging' curse the gods have placed on me. And because my age is already starting to show, you should understand I really don't have the time to fool around."

"You look pretty young to me," the nymph argues, walking over to him.

The cobalt speedster stops just a feet away from him and the nymph's green eyes focus on his face to study its features. A moment later one peach-furred hand reaches up and the obsidian warrior soon feels its warmth on his cheek, the deity's thumb softly running over the gradually forming old-age wrinkles around his left eye.

Strangely, he doesn't mind the nymph's touch.

Another peach hand is soon pressed against his chest—right over his heart, which the nymph must feel beating against his fawn hand, and somehow he doesn't mind this touch either.

The deity's emerald gaze slowly moves from his face down to his dark chest, the ebony warrior feeling the peach hand press into his chest a bit more.

"...You've got pretty strong muscles too," the deity muses aloud and leans closer. The blue hedgehog is now so close Shadow can feel the deity's warm breath ghost over his own lips, the sensation making him acquire sudden urge to lean forward and close the gap between them—which he, however, doesn't do.

And then emerald eyes move back up to his face. But this time they lock gazes with his own crimson ones and make him feel as if he is being drawn into their depths.

"Maybe you'd like to stretch them a bit?" the blue deity asks with lips pulled into a seductive smile, one of the nymph's hand now slowly sliding down his chest to his navel while the hand that was previously laid on his cheek is leisurely being moved towards the back of his head, peach fingers running along and slightly inside his sharp quills without getting harmed...

But despite the touch being distractingly pleasant, Shadow still doesn't let himself forget what exactly is the person before him. A nymph that is apparently trying to seduce him for some (for him definitely not a beneficial) reason. And so he says something he knows will discourage any nymph from trying to seduce him.

"I don't bed whores."

And just as expected the cobalt hedgehog immediately lets out an offended "What?!" at the same time making a big step back. The nymph's previously calm face is now tinted red with anger, the deity's displeasure about being called such a derogatory term very clear.

"Just because I'm nymph doesn't mean I'm whore!" the blue speedster growls and then turns his back to him, crossing his peach arms to show his indignation. "I was just trying to be sly about getting back the Emerald so you would have to race me again!"

The ebony warrior stares surprisedly at the nymph before him, fascinated by the cobalt hedgehog as he has never heard any nymph admit that their kind behaves rather promiscuous; Nymphs always strongly defend themselves—or their fellow nymphs—when anybody accuses them of such behavior.

This nymph is really starting to pique his interest.

Shadow crosses his arms over his chest, his crimson eyes studying the other in curiosity. "You know," he starts and one of the blue ears turns in his direction, "you could just try to ask..."

The cobalt hedgehog doesn't turn around yet, but his voice lacks it's previous angry edge when he speaks up again.

"...And would you agree?"

"No."

"See?! That's why I needed the Emerald," the deity replies and turns around, wildly gesturing with his right hand.

"And that's why you took my money pouch," Shadow responds, locking his gaze on the left hand of the nymph that is still curled into a fist.

"Oh, you noticed?" the cobalt deity asks and his peach lips pull into playful smirk as he uncrosses his arms fully and then opens his left hand, revealing a small leather pouch. "Well, unfortunately for you, I'm not exactly in a mood to give it back. It seems you'll have to work for it."

The blue speedster playfully winks at him, Shadow's eyes catching as at the same time the nymph slightly changes his stance to have a better starting position for running.

"There are only two rings in that pouch, not really something I would really want to get back," Shadow responds, the small remark immediately making the nymph's smirk disappear from his face. However, it is soon replaced by curious expression when the warrior decides to keep on talking, "...However, there are other things I would like to obtain..."

Crimson orbs shift to look into inquiring greens, Shadow unable to fight back the urge to smile at the clear eagerness in the other's eyes. "Like your name for example."

The cobalt deity returns the smile, though in his case it seems much more playful than in the warrior's. "You'll get it—but only if you catch me." And in a blink of eye the blue speedster is gone and thus starts an another game of catch-me-if-you-can.

The fact that at the end of the race Shadow learned that the nymph's name is Sonic should be enough of indication who won.