Dry Aged Ortolan

Amy dabbed at her eyes as she giggled like a madwoman. She was dizzy with relief, drunk with the abrupt lightness. The great crushing weight of uncertainty and fear had been lifted so suddenly, she could barely process it. Why had she been afraid at all? Why hadn’t she thought of just talking to Shadow sooner? She could have come up with some way to get in contact with him, surely.

Oh, well!

She was too happy to be drug down by what-ifs and if-onlys right now. The future was a bursting orchard of possibilities, every fruit some new sweet experience, a cherished memory just waiting to be made. Her stomach fluttered in a bubbly sort of way, like she was full of champagne, corked and ready to explode in celebration.

She felt a heady rush as her imagination fed her a rapid highlights reel of moments: their first date, first kiss, holidays spent together, him proposing, their wedding, romantic exotic honeymoon, their first child, their second- all the way to them being a dignified elderly couple feeding ducks together beside a placid lake.

Her heart was pounding, but it wasn’t from fear for once. Was this excitement? She was looking forward to the future? I-Is this what normal people felt like?

Okay, Amy. Time to get a hold of yourself, girl. She placed a hand on her cheek and felt the heat burning there. Boy oh boy, she’d really gotten ahead of herself. Her hand ran down her face to her jaw and then to her shoulder and stilled, feeling the unscarred flesh over her scent gland. Now there was an event she hadn’t imagined. Being Claimed. Amy swallowed.

His hands running up her back as she presented. The pressure of his knot against her. The heat of his breath on her shoulder. The pain mixed with pleasure. Her scream informing heaven of their bond.

Yes. Amy shook her head. Yes, she was getting way too ahead of herself. Calm down. Take a breath. She reminded herself that she still had a job to do.

The black card in her hand didn’t seem real as she turned it over. Shadow Kintobor. No title needed. She’d never known someone to have personal business cards...or rather a calling card, she guessed? It wasn’t really a business card. Wait, weren’t calling cards for, like, visiting someone’s house way in the past?

Amy shook her head again. She was getting distracted. Back to work. She needed to get back to work. But first…

Fumbling with her fanny pack, she drew out her phone. Amy fingers trembled as she created a new contact. Amy paused at the name and her smile dimmed a shade. Sometimes she asked Sonic to do things with her phone, so he knew her passcode. Why did that make her hesitate? Sonic would be happy for her, right? And for himself.

Right?

Amy bit her thumb. She was being ridiculous. Of course she’d tell Sonic. He was her best friend. More than her best friend…Oh, but that was the problem, wasn’t it? The memory of Shadow’s eyes at the party flash in her mind, that deadly possessiveness that emerged at just the touch of another on her. Amy shivered, from fear or excitement? Probably a little bit of both. Her grip on her phone tightened.

How would Shadow respond when he learned how Sonic had helped her all these years? How would Sonic respond when he found out Amy lied about the night at Shadow’s home? Amy swallowed. Oh god… What about how Amy let Sonic goon over Shadow’s pictures? The cold of the ambient air pressed in closer as her heartrate picked up further.

No.

NO.

Amy shook her head, refusing to spiral right now. She’d would figure it out later. Was it selfish to just be happy for a little while? Amy had to have faith in herself to find a solution in the future or at least to weather the consequences of her actions. She had taken the card. Amy had chosen to be in this situation.

She labeled the new contact Zephyr.

Amy put her phone away and looked at the card. She sniffed it and found it smelt faintly of Shadow. Looking around to confirm she was alone, Amy pulled out the front of her dress and slid the card inside her bra, fitting it along the curve her breast near her arm pit. Oh, yeah, a little weird…but it felt nice to have Shadow’s scent on her, even just this little bit on a tiny part of her. Amy readjusted her dress and wiggled to find a comfortable position. The card quickly warmed to her temperature. Amy smiled again. It felt snug and comforting.

Even after returning to the reason she was in the hedge maze to begin with, Amy found herself a bit distracted. Her steps felt lighter. The smile she gave to guests as she took their picture wasn’t forced for once. The cold didn’t feel as oppressive. She kept glancing around expectantly, as if she’d suddenly run into Shadow again.

She exited the hedge maze towards the back of the mansion. Jacketed staff were dissembling the hundreds of white chairs around the bonfire and taking down the miles of carnation garlands. The blaze was still going, albeit much lower now. The heat had been intense when fire had begun. Everyone on the ceremony platform had retired upstairs to change out of their sooty, sweaty outfits into something more ‘party’ oriented.

Across the yard she saw a few men dressed in bulky yellow coats and jackets lounging against a small fire engine. Amy zoomed in. The local volunteer fire corps watched the controlled fire. Someone had brought them some cake and dinner judging by the stack of messy plates, cutlery, and balled napkins on the ground. Huh, now that she thought about it, there had to be some sort of permit needed to have a fire like this going during a drought.

Behind the fire was the rest of the expansive lawn and a gaggle of children ran around like loons under the watchful eyes of an eclectic grouping of aunts and older cousins. Amy smiled at the warmth she felt as she took action shots of little cats and echidnas chasing each other and rolling around in the grass. She turned lazily in place as she changed out her camera’s battery, scanning for her next target. A splash of monochrome caught her eyes towards the edge of the lawn. Her stomach clenched.

Against the wall of a brick groundskeeper’s shed, two black and white figures moved animatedly. Amy drifted closer and raised her camera. Through the viewfinder, she saw Geoffrey St. John and the cat Amy assumed was his wife. They appeared to be arguing. Amy frowned, but didn’t lower her camera. There was something captivating to her about the strange duality of both intimacy and separation of the camera lens. To be present with the subject in the moment, but completely absent as well.

Still, Amy should turn around and not risk losing her good mood. She didn’t want to think about the skunk or his brothers or high school or track meets or-! Her hands tightened on the camera, and her finger pressed down the shutter button. Her camera’s memory card began recording a stream of high-resolution images.

Lips pulled back over fangs. Hands gesticulating wildly. The cat backed against the brick wall, her posture folding inward, ears laying flat on her skull. This felt wrong to watch, to be a voyeur to this argument, to be an unknown third party violating their privacy. Amy had no context, no clue what the fight was about. Again, her body screamed for her to turn away-!

Geoffrey slammed his open palm across his wife’s face so hard she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

Amy shrieked.

Geoffrey whipped around and his stony, blue eyes saw her. Surprise and irritation transformed into confusion and recognition. Amy? She saw him mouth. Amy remained petrified, her camera finally lowering in her shaking hands. Geofrey’s gaze flashed to Amy’s camera, still pointed right at him, and his countenance warped back to fury. “Amy Rose!” He snarled, the voice she’d heard in so many commercials and radio ads sending a spike of fear through her.

Run!

He was approaching. Why wasn’t she moving?

Oh god, run!

The cat was pushing back to her feet, her stockings torn around a bloodied knee. She leaned heavily on the brick wall and tried to rub her frizzed fur flat.

“Hey.” The skunk was close, his bushy tail twitching behind him, and… had his hands up. Was he going to hit her too? He was smiling. “It’s been a long time, Amy. How have you been?” Amy had heard Rouge’s amicable public-facing voice enough to recognize the same in Geoffrey.

Fear compressed into a vile disgust. Of course, he was going to try to talk her into deleting the photos and convince her she hadn’t seen what she’d seen. And if that didn’t work? Well, Amy knew how he treated uncooperative women.

Amy bolted.

“Shit!” She heard him curse. “Amy stop!”

Clutching her camera tightly, Amy avoided the hedge maze because she was scared, not stupid. She ran the perimeter of the maze back towards the manor house, her sensible flats pounding the manicured grass. She was quickly back to the ceremony grounds. A few of the people working to break everything down looked up at her curiously. That was good! He couldn’t do whatever he was gonna do to her with witnesses, right?

Come on, think! What was she going to do? Her mind felt like an engine failing to turn over. It had been jerked back and forth through too many realms of emotion in such a short time. She needed help. Where was her Alpha? Where was Shadow? He’d know what to do. The card in her bra was warm and secure.

N-no. Stop! She gets Shadow’s number and suddenly she’s helpless? What would he even do? Protect her from Geoffrey St. John, duh, her body argued. He was big and strong, and he’d protect her with his life if she’d just let him! The truce between her and her instincts had been broken just like that.

Amy struggled with warring thoughts. Who (else) could she get help from? What about Geoffrey’s wife? Was she okay? S-should Amy have tried to stay to help her? But then she’d have been at Geoffrey’s mercy. A fresh spike of fear stabbed her.

This is your fault, whore! I bet you begged for it, you Omega slut!

No no no no no no, this wasn’t like back then. It wasn’t just her hiding behind Sonic anymore. She had made a new friend. A friend who knew what to do with the pictures she had and could make sure the skunk faced justice.

Rouge.

Curious gazes followed her as she ripped open the door to the ballroom. Her chest heaved. Amy slowed to a brisk walk and looked behind her. She didn’t see any black and white in hot pursuit. She swallowed and tried to take a few deep breaths. A sounding of doubt thrummed through the ebbing panic. Had she really seen what she’d thought she’d seen? Maybe it was all just a big misunderstanding. Boy, she sure looked like a nutcase right now.

Stop it! She chastised herself. Amy had proof right here in her hands. She needed to trust herself and focus on finding Rouge. Turning back to the ballroom, she scanned for a flash of white fur. You’d think the bat would stick out like a sore thumb in the sea of red echidna, but white just had to be one of the wedding colors.

As she searched, Amy spotted Shadow watching her from the bar and a wave of relief passed through her. Suddenly everything felt a little more manageable. He was far enough off that she couldn’t make out his expression however, if he saw her burst in, she suspected he was frowning with concern. Even so, Shadow stayed in his seat. Just knowing he was there, keeping an eye on her, was comforting. Amy would allow herself that, to have him as a failsafe, and that placated her baser impulses.

She returned to her search for Rouge.

Amy threaded through tables and clumps of chatting guests. “Is everything alright?” A voice asked and Amy twirled. Nicole sat at one of the large round tables, her phone in one hand and a glass of red wine in the other. The lynx smirked up at Amy with a mischievous glint in her eye, but she frowned when she saw the consternation on Amy’s face. Nicole put down her glass and pushed to her feet. “Amy, are you okay?”

“N-no,” She stuttered. “I mean, yes. I’m fine.“

“No! No no no no no.” Nicole clutched Amy’s arm and the photographer jerked away as her skin ignited under the touch. Nicole didn’t seem put off, her cheeks even more flush than before the ceremony. “I saw him come back in. He was smiling!” Nicole pressed forward, waving her phone, and Amy retreated. “Do you know how rare that is?”

“Umm…” Amy’s brow creased in confusion, but before she could ask for clarity, she spotted flare of dark wings near the back of the room. “Excuse me.” Amy darted away the crestfallen lynx. Amy didn’t have the brain capacity to figure out what that exchange had been about.

Amy attempted to pass through the thick of the ballroom. Milling bodies pushed towards her and she bobbed and weaved. The crush was nowhere near as thick as the party the previous weekend. She made good time towards where she’d seen Rouge. Arriving, Amy spun in place, but the former ADA had disappeared.

“Ames!” Amy’s ears perked and she turned. Sonic was making his way towards her with Silver in tow. The light-colored hedgehog had changed into a fresh light blue suit. Her best friend had an expression that made Amy groan. The ‘I’ve fucked up’ face. Oh no. Something else to deal with. She didn’t have time for this!

“Sonic!” She closed the gap. “What did you do?”

Ignoring her question, he searched her face. “Amy, what’s wrong?”

Amy swallowed. Sonic wasn’t likely to take the news well. It had been ten years, but the last time the two had been in the same room, Sonic nearly been expelled for damaging school property. “Geoffrey St. John is here.” Amy blurted.

Sonic’s face hardened immediately and his quills lifted. “What?”

“Who?” Silver asked.

“A massive asshole we went to high school with.” Sonic started looking around, his hands tightening to fists. His lip curled, revealing his fangs, “And his fucking brothers-“

“Sonic!” Amy’s voice came out shrill. She did not want to talk about that. Her nose crinkled at a whiff of her own distress. Oh god, now her scent was overpowering her sprays? “Just stop, okay?” She- she- she needed to- Shit! Sonic had completely derailed her train of thought.

“Shit, sorry, Amy.” Sonic rubbed the back of his neck. “He didn’t do anything to you, did he?”

Amy’s scalp tingled. Lie. Deescalate. Lie. The last thing she needed was to cause a fist fight. Lie lie lie lie lie! “No.” She didn’t sound close to convincing.

Sonic narrowed his eyes at her and Amy looked away. “I’ll knock his fucking teeth in.” Sonic growled, again casting his eyes around the crowded ballroom.

“Woah, hey now.” Silver placed a hand on Sonic’s shoulder.

“Sonic, no!” The last thing Amy needed was for Sonic to make a scene. “Please, just let it go, okay?”

“How can I let it go after-“ Sonic’s voice died when Amy gave him a withering glare, tears pricking at the edges of her eyes.

Silver frowned. “Weren’t we trying to leave?”

Sonic’s quills descended. “Oh, right.” He smiled meekly. “Uh, Amy, so we gotta leave.”

“What? Why?” It was Amy’s turn to narrow her eyes. “What did you do?”

“Hehe” He smiled nervously, “It’s not a big deal really.”

“Sonic…” Silver sounded nervous.

Amy found she didn’t have the patience for Sonic’s verbal confetti right now. “What. Did. You. Do?” She took a menacing step forward with each word.

Sonic backed away, his hands held up in surrender. “Okay, okay, okay! I may have said, uh, something kinda stupid to-“ Sonic paused and his face flushed. “Well, actually, it doesn’t matter who. The point is we were gonna bounce.” Sonic looked around, this time a little fearfully.

Amy’s shoulders sagged. “Sonic, I’m in the middle of a job.” Was that what she should be worried about right now? She looked away, out into the ball room, and, thankfully, didn’t see any skunks. Amy licked her lips and her hands tightened into fists at her side. Too much! Simply too much going on. Amy was struggling to hold it together and she felt a headache coming on.

“R-right.” Sonic rubbed his neck again.

What should she do? If she just left, Amy would be out of any physical danger…But what about Geoffrey’s wife? What if she was really hurt? “Okay, but I have to find Rouge and talk to her. Then I can ask Blaze if I can leave early.” Frankly, Amy was exhausted, even though there were hours left of the reception. Crap. She’d have to refund Blaze. Shit. No- Think about that later.

“Woah, Rouge is here too?” Sonic placed a hand on his hip. “Is that, like, legal for them to be at the same place at once? That’s wild.”

Silver cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

Amy pressed fingers into her temples. “You have heard of Rouge Baton and Geoffrey St. John, right?”

Silver’s eyes went large. “Wait. Aren’t they the guys running for Mayor? That is wild!” He looked around like he was trying to glimpse a celebrity. “

“I know, right?” Sonic gestured to Amy’s camera. “If you got pictures of them together, Amy, I bet you could sell it to a newspaper.”

Amy grimaced. She already had a few shots she could sell to a tabloid. She shook her head. “I really need to find Rouge.”

Silver crossed his arms. “I need to get my duffel from upstairs, anyway, so we can’t leave immediately. Why you don’t you do what you need to do and then meet us at front door?”

Amy nodded. “Okay, that sounds like a plan.”

“Would you like me to get your bag too?” Silver offered.

Oh gosh, right. “Yes, please.” She gave him a grateful smile.

“Oh hey, isn’t that her?” Sonic pointed. Amy’s head pivoted and she caught a glimpse of Rouge and an echidna leaving the room.

“I’ll be right back.” Amy darted off to follow.

The noise of the ballroom quickly died as Amy darted through the door. It turned sharply and followed the passage. Rouge was nowhere to be seen. A number of doors and entrances to other corridors lined the hallway and Amy bit the inside of her cheek, unsure of where to go. She tried some of the doors and found they were locked or opened into closets or other empty event spaces.

Amy’s skin was starting to prickle again as a growing sense of isolation filled the space left by the noise of the ballroom. Every turn or opened door might reveal Geoffrey grinning like something out of a horror movie. If that happened, would anyone hear her scream? She touched the side of her breast where Shadow’s card sat inside her bra.

Her thoughts were a jumbled mess. Geoffrey striking his wife mixed with Nicole’s strange distress and Sonic’s nervous smile. All Amy could hold firm was the need to find Rouge. She’d figure out what to say once she found her…

Amy was about to turn around when she heard voices up ahead.

“-mn it, Rouge!” Lieutenant Knuckles? Great! She thought as she rounded the corner. They were both together and that meant she-

Rouge had the Lieutenant pinned against a wall in the corner of a small vestibule. She leered up to him with a smirk, and he glowered down at her. Amy’s brow creased and then she froze when she saw Rouge’s hand snaking past Lieutenant Knuckles’ sash and down his trousers. His head jerked up and purple eyes locked with green.

“Shit!” He shoved Rouge back and the bat hissed.

The mayoral candidate rounded on Amy and her irritation melted. “It’s just Amy.” Rouge frowned. “Wait. Amy?” She asked incredulously.

Both Alphas’ noses twitched. Amy’s scent of distress must really be breaking through. “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry!” Amy squeaked and turned around, making a beeline back to the main ballroom.

“Honey, what’s wr-!“ Rouge’s voice faded as Amy rushed back the way she came.

Okay. This was fine. Fine. Absolutely. Fine. She could handle this. First, she’d go back to her camera bag and reapply a cloud of scent block. Then, she’d just wait for them to be done with…well, they were definitely canoodling. That was pretty bold of Rouge given how many of guests there were milling about. But, okay! They were adults so it was-!

Amy was panting. The logical part of her tried to scream at her that she was burgeoning on a panic attack, but the cacophony of other thoughts drowned the warning.

A wall of scent slammed into her as she entered the ballroom, further tightening her spirally thoughts. How had she not noticed this before? A DJ was presiding over a packed dance floor playing dance remixes of Echidnan music. She paused, momentarily overwhelmed. Noise. Smell. Panic. Where was-? Where was-?

Amy hadn’t realized she’d been looking for him when she spotted Shadow at the bar again. He was scanning the crowd, looking for her, and a wave of calm washed over her again. He was so far away, but he was there if she needed him and that’s what mattered. Deep breath. Slow deep breath.

Taking a steading breath, she turned for the door to the rest of the building. She needed to get to her camera bag. Once she got away from all the commotion, she could think clearly about what she’d seen.

A hand grabbed her forearm and she gasped. She tried to wrench away, but the hand held firm and roughly turned her around. “Ah! Amy Rose!” Amy nearly jumped out of her skin. Captured, her breathing coming fast and her heart racing, she found Geoffrey St. John leering at her. He was giving her the same massive, charismatic smile that was plastered all over the city and filling the streets with discarded fliers. “It’s been too long.” But his eyes were cold and his grip like iron. “I haven’t seen you since, oh, I don’t know, high school.”