Weee! So I posted my first fic not long ago and currently I'm working on a longer one. While doing research for that story, I got this mental image which just wouldn't go away, so I decided I may as well get it written down to get it out of my system. This is just a little bit of fun with no particular backstory or such, just another little oneshot. It probably makes more sense if you're familiar with (feral) hedgehogs, so if something's unclear pay our friend Wikipedia a visit. Enjoy, if you can :P

All characters belong to Sega and I make no money torturing their poor virtual souls.

Tails watched in a sort of awed horror. He'd seen his big brother try many stupid stunts over the years, including some that had almost killed him. This, granted, probably wouldn't seriously hurt him, Tails mused, though going by the rather green look on his face, throwing up afterwards was still a very real possibility. He would have said that injured pride was another given result if his friend did choose to do this after all, but in a twist of fate this was already a matter of pride and not in a good way – indeed, he had no option but to do this thing he had promised he'd do, or Sonic would be declared the loser.

For being close to a potential victory, the hedgehog did not look all that confident, however. He shifted his grip and his eyes shone uneasily, looking left and right for potential escape. He was considering his options very carefully. He couldn't lose, that was a given. No way. He'd have to do this. He supposed. But what was the best way… to try to get it over fast and risk disaster in the process – he had no idea how his body would react - or take his time and get used to the feeling, but in return have to put up with it for longer? He swallowed, eyeing the offending object. Perhaps if he stared hard enough at it, it'd somehow disappear into thin air…

Only a few yards away, a black-furred hedgehog was feeling equally sickened, though he did a slightly better job at not showing it. He was used to looking uncaring in all sorts of situations and tried his best to pull off such a face here too. Still, a tan snout was wrinkled in disgust, his brow furrowed, one ear flicked back just slightly in uncertainty. Even he had his limits, after all. He snuck a glare at his opponent, very much unhappy about the direction this had taken. This was not what he had planned when he got up this morning.

Tails didn't have much pity to offer either of them – this was entirely their own doing. Or more specifically, Sonic's doing. He barely resisted rolling his eyes at their mutual discomfort. Had it been him, he'd quit long before it came to this, but he knew neither hedgehog would back down until one of them was unable to continue – knocked out, usually. There was no stopping them when they got started.

It had started like it always did when they happened upon each other. Usually, a race followed minutes after they had seen the other's spikey face. Whoever was first to trip, experience a case of random bad luck or, not rarely, be the victim to some dirty trick pulled by the other, would be declared the loser and they could go on with their lives until the next encounter. Brawls were another possibility, usually with similar outcomes. They'd fight until one of them couldn't stand and that was the end of it.

For some reason, this day things had taken a different turn. He supposed the usual "Faker! – No, YOU'RE the faker!" exchange had started it all. One of them, he didn't even remember who it had been any more, had said something about the other one not being a true hedgehog. That had set them off into yet another fight slash dare. A long, stupid dare at that which had escalated into a new task every time it became clear the two were evenly matched in everything they attempted. All of the tasks had been Sonic's ideas – not surprising, since he was far more knowledgeable in this field than his dark counterpart, though one could argue it wasn't knowledge as much as instinct at work. Shadow, with his sheltered, unusual start in life had perhaps been all the more anxious to prove his worth in this area and so had fought with a fervour that seemed extreme even for him.

It had started innocently enough, each of them spindashing each other. Pretty normal hedgehog behaviour. Well, normal for them, anyway. Tails didn't think he'd ever seen Amy try to roll up into a ball, come to think of it. Her normal mode when dealing with a threat seemed to be more of a running charge…

Either way, spindashing was only the start. After they had both grown tired of that, realizing they weren't making any progress since they were protected by their spines from each other, anyway, they had gone on to instead make a trial out of digging a hole. To Tails this seemed like an exceptionally stupid way to prove… well, whatever they were trying to prove, he wasn't sure, but he knew neither hedgehog would listen to him at this point, so he'd just watched quietly.

Digging a hole wasn't much of a challenge to the super-powered hedgehogs, though, so after once again making use of their spindashing abilities, except this time working vertically, the now rather dusty hedgehogs had instead turned to something Sonic had insisted was something only real hedgehogs could pull off – even though Tails could swear he'd never seen him do it before, ever, not even in the direst of situations – namely a loud, intrusive hissing. Sonic had been looking quite annoyed as he did it, or perhaps embarrassed, glaring daggers at the dark hedgehog, hands rolled into fists and quills bristling. Shadow had appeared slightly taken aback at first, perhaps suspecting the blue hedgehog of making a fool out of him, but worried about the prospect of losing, he had quickly caught on and produced a hiss of his own, though it sounded rather more like a growl in Tails' opinion.

So, after spindashing, digging and hissing, Sonic's next task had been even more stupid, as far as the fox was concerned, though for once it was a behaviour he had actually heard about. He had read about it once and distinctly remembered asking his older brother about it back then. Why would he even do something like that? Sonic had just laughed it away that time, not really offering any real explanation. Tails had put it behind him, since it had seemed so odd to him anyway. Surely that book must just have gotten the information wrong. He'd never seen Sonic do it and he didn't think he ever would either. Until today.

He was pretty sure Shadow had been as shocked as him when Sonic had, regretfully and sighing, announced the next task. He had started hesitantly and slowly, though Tails had noticed he picked up his speed considerably when Shadow looked all the more tentative and Sonic sensed an upcoming victory in the air.

Tails suspected Sonic's behaviour was somewhat modified compared to its feral origin, his sapient stature giving him a bit of an edge – namely in the form of hands – that his ancestors wouldn't have had. Still, he had watched with his mouth open in astonishment as Sonic had vigorously licked his hands and proceeded to rub them all over his quills. What exactly this was supposed to prove as far as being a real hedgehog went, he had no idea. Then again, neither had the book he'd once read, just having presented various theories as to what the point of that particular behaviour was but no certain answers. Tails would have to remind himself to ask Sonic again. After all, he'd just proven that he was indeed well familiar with the ritual, even if he had denied it previously…

Shadow has almost refused to do something so exceptionally dumb, but when Sonic had shot him a superior winning grin, he had bit down and copied the behaviour. Growling darkly all the while, muttering that if Sonic was just doing this to make him look stupid, he soon wouldn't have any spines on his back left to rub, as they'd be shoved down his throat. Along with some even more uncomfortable places.

When the dark hedgehog had finished copying yet another hedgehog behaviour successfully, Sonic had seemed close to panic. Evidently, he didn't have many trump cards left to play before running out of ideas. He had briefly considered what else he could try. What else was there left to do to prove who of them was the most authentic?

Sonic's feet were quick, as was his mind. He was used to thinking fast in dangerous situations and had come to trust his instincts. Doing so had saved him more than once. And so it was that once more his body reacted before his brain had kicked in with a well-deserved "wait, what, hold back a second now" and before he even knew what he was doing, his sharp nose had found a wriggling little creature in the ground below him, now held securely between his thumb and index finger, right in front of the black hedgehog's nose.

Smugly, Sonic had announced that a real hedgehog had a great nose, could find food under any circumstances, could eat almost anything and indeed he had just proven so, now holding one of his feral ancestor's most beloved foods in his hand. Shadow could never forage as efficiently as he could, hands down!

Unfortunately for him, Sonic still hadn't entirely considered just what he had offered to do. His brain was still busy getting over the ridiculous anointing ritual he had just performed.

And as Shadow, once more bristling in annoyance, had dove to the ground to retrieve a squirming worm of his own to announce proudly to the world around him, Sonic had just barely begun to consider what he had effectively volunteered doing.

"Err…"

It was at this time that Tails had crossed his arms, something like a grin on his features. He was pretty certain this was going to be the last task. And it looked like Sonic had finally found something that most likely, regardless of who did it first, the other one wouldn't really be willing to copy after all.

Shadow glanced at the blue hedgehog again, one brow quizzically lowered.

"Giving up, faker?" he murmured. Not sounding nearly as confident as he usually would.

"Never!" Sonic replied. Though his tone too sounded somewhat insecure.

All in all, Tails was beginning to think that perhaps this was a pretty good task after all. If nothing else, this ridiculous dare would soon be over, it seemed, and things could go back to normal. Finally, he could go back to the tasks he'd originally planned for today – truth be told he had better things to do than watch his big brother show off in front of his rival, but he had to admit it'd been entertaining all the same.

He wondered if Sonic's pride would be damaged once he'd attempted this challenge. Or if he'd actually be downright proud of himself. Personally, he thought he'd prefer the former. In any case, he surely hoped this would not end up becoming a regular part of Sonic's diet. Though going by his expression, this fortunately seemed extremely unlikely. Despite what some people might claim, going by his rambunctious behaviour, Sonic was not a feral creature, even if he was still evidently able to call on some of his more primitive sides when he needed (as was Shadow, he'd proven).

Still, it seemed the line had finally be drawn and Tails looked forward to seeing who would willingly cross it first.

The final task of the dare stood clear. Both having successfully foraged for a nice, fat, juicy earthworm, the winner would be declared soon – whoever was first to eat it.