The meadow was golden and wide. Rouge watched Knuckles chase a wasp away from a bright blue butterfly.
Rouge waved. His tail wiggled. She pressed her nose into a dandelion and sniffed.
Rouge practiced in a hollow log. Hello. Her voice cracked. She tried again. H-h-hello.
She took one step. The grass rustled. Rouge stepped back behind a toadstool. One. Two. Three.
A ladybug landed on her head. Rouge froze. A ladybug landed on her head.
Rouge marched. One, two, three steps. A pebble tugged at her toes. She looked down. Then up.
Knuckles sat on a flat stone. He noticed her. He tilted his head.
Rouge walked right up to him. Her quills trembled. She breathed out. Hi, Knuckles.
Knuckles grinned so wide his eyes squinted shut. Hi, Rouge!
He held out a golden clover flower. Rouge took it with both paws.
They sat together on the stone. The meadow glowed around them.
Rouge smiled. It was enough.