Sonic briskly jogged around the area that Sunset City was located in, gripping Venice's legs tightly as he carried the other around on his back. Leaving the HQ had been easy enough, he had been chatting cheerfully as he bounded across the halls and listened to Venice's hums in response to his babbles. As they reached the streets outside Sonic had blasted away at his usual pace, but it soon became clear that Venice had no hopes of keeping up with him, puffing and panting only minutes into the exertion. Realising they wouldn't get far that way, Sonic had offered to give Venice a piggyback ride, which the other accepted with a doubtful look on his face. But no complaints had passed his lips as Sonic hoisted him up, making sure to flatten his quills so he wouldn't hurt him.

As Sonic trotted over the paths, he could feel Venice bury his face firmly into the top of his head, clutching his arms around the speedster like his life depended on it. Sonic had to quietly laugh at that; he was going at a fraction of his normal speed, not worried about Venice's reaction as much as fearing Silver's wrath if he were to find out Sonic had pulled the same prank on his new friend twice. Luckily, Venice hadn't been yelling like the first time he had come into contact with Sonic's speediness, and occasionally he even lifted his head slightly to take a peek at the surroundings they passed. Sonic considered it a huge development.

He had been running around for some time now, seeing no people in need that could be aided. They could probably take it slow for a moment and find somewhere where they could chat. Gazing around, he saw a nice spot at the edge of the lake, sheltered by some trees and shrubs, to put Venice down. He really wanted to talk to Silver's friend, to learn more about him and his story. Most of all he hoped he would get an explanation as to why the two looked so alike. That couldn't just be simple coincidence, right? Maybe he could study Venice a bit more closely too, without Silver breathing down his neck. There were quite some things he wanted to get to the bottom of.

Lifting Venice of his back and putting him down, Sonic had to laugh out loud this time as the psychic's legs gave away under him instantly and he collapsed backwards on his bum, leering at the Blue Blur in a betrayed manner. Throwing himself down to the ground as well, Sonic grinned and laid down comfortably on his back, gazing lazily at the clouds that drifted by. Silence prevailed for a few seconds, in which he waited for Venice to say something, but realising that the other kept quiet he took the initiative himself.

"So, Venice." The recipient of his statement glanced at him, clearly on guard. He didn't seem as frightened as before though, so Sonic continued. "I was wondering, how did you and Silver meet?" After a few seconds Venice mumbled some things in response, from which Sonic could make out that Silver had found him somewhere in the ruins of the future and had taken care of him since. Humming in affirmation, Sonic thought over what Venice told him. There were quite a few gaps in the story: how had Venice survived in the future, and were his similarities to Silver merely happenstance? Clearly Venice was withholding at least a part of his full tale. Though looking at the youth next to him, who was fiddling nervously with his gloves and coat, Sonic accepted that he wouldn't get the answers he desired. He could always ask Silver later, he supposed.

Settling in the comfortable calm that followed, Sonic gazed up at the clouds. If he squinted he could make out some chilidogs in one, and another looked like a Chaos Emerald... he smiled at the childish activity. Wanting to ask Venice if he knew how to cloudgaze, he saw that the other was watching him intently. When he turned around his head to look back inquiringly, Venice averted his gaze instantly, nervousness fully back in his posture. Sonic rolled over on his side. "What's up?"

"'m..." The nervous fiddling with gloves continued relentlessly. Sonic waited patiently for Venice to find the words he was looking for. He had learned long ago that in situations like these it was best to take it slow. Eventually those words came out in a very tiny voice. "M-may I... ask you s-something?"

The innocent question and the frightened manner with which it was asked made Sonic smile dolefully. It reminded him of Tails the first time he had met him on South Island, and how years of being bullied and tormented had made the fox cub skittish and fearful. Just what had happened to Venice to make him so scared? Sonic made sure to make his response sound peppy, hoping it would ease the psychic's fright a little. "Sure, what's on your mind?" he inquired.

Venice kept silent for some time, his face scrounged up. When he answered every word was delivered strenuously and with great effort, as if he had practiced them over and over in his head. "W-when we met... and with Amy... you were staring at- staring at me, and I-I wondered..." Sonic waited for him to finish, not wanting to rush the other and accidentally make the situation worse, though his actual question sent another pang through his already pitying heart. "Is there something... wrong... with me?"

With Venice staring intently at the ground, Sonic allowed himself to pull a face at the stupidity he had displayed while back. He should have known that Venice would catch up on his staring, with all negative consequences that could come from it. Well, he owned Venice an honest answer now, if only to alleviate his fears.

Chewing on the inside of his mouth he looked the other over once more. Silver had proclaimed him a hedgehog, presumably due to their physical resemblance, but Sonic could see quite a few features on him that no anthropomorphic hedgehog possessed. Venice did not have the usual spiky ears and short tail, instead sporting rounded tips at the former and the latter being much longer and thicker than any hedgehog would have. He was built a lot slimmer too, missing the broad shoulders that Sonic, Shadow, and Silver all owned. Most notably he lacked the quills on his back, though Sonic knew that it was possible to have those removed. Amy had done it a few years ago, citing as reason that they kept getting in the way. Sonic had rolled his eyes at that, though he knew better than to say anything. But if Venice had lived his entire life in a ruined future, it would be near-impossible for him to get them removed or just lose them like that. On the other hand, the quills on his head that gave him his similarities to Silver did not lie. Was Venice perhaps a hybrid? Or was he some other species that Sonic never heard of before, but then why did Amy have the exact same reaction when she first laid her eyes on him?

Mulling over how to tackle the subject, Sonic went over his options. He could explain to Venice that, while it was possible for two different species of anthros to mate and have children, these children would exclusively be one species or the other with no mixing of different species-specific traits... but he doubted the other would understand much of it. Sonic himself wasn't too confident in his knowledge on genetics either, so he shot that idea down immediately. While the second idea was a lot more unorthodox, he considered giving that one a shot instead.

Picking himself off the ground and gesturing for Venice to do the same, he said: "Can you do something for me?" At Venice's surprised look he quickly added: "I'll answer in a minute, I just want to test something." With Venice standing fully as well, Sonic gestured at himself. "Can you try copying this move?" He curled into a spiky ball, a hallmark of every hedgehog. Even Silver had been able to do it flawlessly, despite living his entire life in a ruined city and having little knowledge on Spin Dashes and Homing Attacks. Tails had explained that being able to curl up into a ball was ingrained in a hedgehog's DNA. If Sonic wanted to see if Venice really was a hedgehog, this was certainly a good way to test it.

Uncurling so he could see what would happen, Sonic watched Venice intently. The other had frozen up, clearly thinking hard about how to proceed. Bending over forward, he awkwardly squatted on his haunches as he wrapped his arms around his knees and tried to put his head between his legs at the same time. Sonic chuckled as Venice leaned forward too much and promptly toppled over, flailing his arms as he flopped gracelessly on his side. To Sonic's surprise Venice was undeterred, scrambling up immediately to try it once more. His second attempt ended in much the same way, though this time he managed to catch himself with one hand. With his third try he managed to achieve something that could vaguely be recognised as a ball, if its spectator had a very warped idea of what a ball looked like.

His troubles had told Sonic enough, he started to become convinced more by the second that Venice was not a pure-bred hedgehog. Maybe he really was a hybrid between a hedgehog and some other species, no matter how impossible that was supposed to be. Maybe Tails had some way to look into that? Walking over to Venice, he made sure to praise him extensively. "You did great!"

Though his kind words had been truthful, Venice clearly didn't believe him. "No, I didn't," he sighed in response, gracelessly uncurling and flopping on the ground. Sending a sullen look in Sonic's direction, he continued. "You said you'd explain."

"Yes." Settling himself comfortably on the grass once more, Sonic glanced at the lake. "Silver says you're a hedgehog, right?" Venice hummed. "Well, some parts of you don't really... look like those of an anthropomorphic hedgehog, but then some parts of you do. Also, hedgehogs are able to curl up into a ball with no problem, like I just did. But to you it doesn't come naturally." It had been a statement, not a question, but Sonic was relieved to see Venice nodding morosely. "It just felt off..." the psychic muttered, staring at his gloves.

They sat quietly for some time, Sonic watching some willows in the distance that hung over the waterside, the waves lapping at their sagging branches, as he waited for Venice to process the information. "But if I'm not a hedgehog... then what am I?" the psychic blurted out unexpectedly.

"I don't have an answer for that yet, but I know some people who might be able to help. I'll ask them when we're back at HQ." Seeing Venice hunch into himself a bit more, Sonic quickly rushed to comfort him. "You're happy and healthy, right? Trust me, there's nothing wrong with you. You're just a bit different from others, and there's nothing bad about that. We all are, no-one's the same." His attempts at encouragement fell on deaf ears, Venice nodding evasively as he refused to look Sonic in the eye. Sonic hoped Silver would do a better job at making him feel better.

The psychic scrambled up, still looking very dour. "Let's just go back," he mumbled, walking away before abruptly stopping. Helplessness wracked his face, and Sonic quickly shot up so he could lead the way. He reached out to Venice as he passed in hopes of comforting him, but with how the other flinched away from his hand he deemed it unwise. It was probably best if they went back to HQ and let Silver tackle this.

Glancing over his shoulder once to see if his charge was there, Sonic set off towards the city at a moderate pace, a rarity for him. He was pretty sure Venice wouldn't appreciate it if he had to go on another high-speed trip. Sensing from the mood that the psychic had no desire to talk about anything, Sonic mind hit overdrive instead. That went way worse than he had hoped... And he hadn't even been able to tackle the possibility of Venice being a hybrid. Hopefully the more empathic Amy or the smarter Tails were better able to explain sensitive subjects like this.

Lost in thought, Sonic suddenly jolted when he realised something was off. Glancing behind him once again, he gasped when he saw the empty field stretch out from his view. Venice was gone! How long had he been mulling?! Any attempts to keep himself calm evaporated instantly when he saw where Venice had sauntered off to. Instead of following him, the psychic had clambered into the willows and was now peeking into the lake, intrigued by its shimmering waves. Oh, no... Knowing full well he had no means to save Venice if he fell down into the water, he released he had to act quickly to get him down from there.

Rushing over in less than a second, Sonic stopped at the base of the tree, just far enough from the lake so the small waves wouldn't touch his shoes. "Hey Venice, water-you doin'? I thought we were gonna make like a tree and leave!" His puns did nothing to calm his nerves, no matter how much he wanted them to. Venice didn't even seem to pick up on them, turning one ear towards Sonic while he let a hand trail over the surface of the lake. His gaze was filled with wonder and his mouth was open in a small O-shape.

"It's so pretty from up here..." he whispered, sounding utterly mesmerised. While Sonic would usually encourage people to look more into the beauty of the world, right now he was a bit too busy with trying to find a way to get Venice down without either of them drowning. While Venice wasn't too high up due to the branch curving down under his weight, it extended quite a few meters over the water. Even though Sonic could easily climb to the part of the tree where the psychic was perched, they would both fall down from there if anything unexpected were to happen. He wasn't even sure if the branch was able to carry their combined weights in the first place. Sonic dared throw a glance at the lake and gulped at the grey void it presented to him. It looked quite deep... he didn't want to fall into that for sure.

Calling out to Venice a few more times, he eventually caught the psychic's full attention. "Listen, Ven, I know the water looks very nice from there, but maybe you can... come down? On solid ground?" At the odd look Venice sent him Sonic knew that he didn't come across even half as confident as he had tried to make himself sound, but his image was less important to him right now than the desire to get both of them out of there safely.

"...Kay," Venice responded, clumsily turning around on the branch so he could scoot back. Body tense and hands clenched into fists, Sonic waited with bated breath for Venice to move away from the lake. For a second it seemed like Venice would be able to crawl back safely, but then...

"Watch out!" Sonic cried out as Venice's foot slipped from the branch due to his movement and he plunged into the lake with a yowl. Clambering up onto the tree branch, fear of water momentarily forgotten, Sonic yelled out Venice's name. His eyes passed frantically over the water surface, only seeing some rippling waves and bubbles. Where is he?!

Sonic hissed as he was covered with a spray of water droplets as Venice broke the surface, gasping and coughing. He awkwardly floundered in the water, with his arms lurching and legs kicking, and the water got extra disturbed due to the continuous jolts of psychic energy that the startled swimmer was sending out. To Sonic's great relief he seemed adept enough at keeping himself above the surface though, as clumsy as his swimming style was. But the speedster knew he had to get him out of there quickly.

"Venice! Swim over to the shore!" Sonic called out to him, reaching down a hand to guide him. He managed to grab the hem of the coat, which he used to awkwardly pull Venice across the length of the tree branch towards the shore. He couldn't tell if he helped or hindered the other, but at least Venice hadn't gone underwater again. With some issues he managed to get him close enough for the psychic to be able stand on the bottom of the lake, and for Sonic to pull him out fully. With both of them safely returned to actual solid land Sonic quickly turned his attention to making sure Venice was uninjured.

"What were you thinking?!" Sonic asked tensely as he rubbed Venice's back, the other having swallowed some water and now hacking his lungs out. "S-s-sorry... I didn't... I didn't know..." Venice managed to stutter out between coughs, trembling. Sonic couldn't determine if it was from the cold or from fear. He shushed gently and stroked the other's quills to let him know he wasn't mad.

"It's alright, you're alright," he mumbled over and over into the other's ears, until Venice had calmed down enough to stop his coughing and rapid breathing. Sonic grimaced as he looked the psychic over, seeing how his wet pelt was pressed against his shivering body. His quills had turned quite droopy too, and there was not much left of the initial poofiness of his orange tuft of fur. While Amy's coat and the gloves had survived the worst of it, his black shoes looked quite ruined. Chaos, what would Silver say?

Deciding to go over that conundrum later, Sonic turned his attention to Venice once again. "Uh, you need to warm up," he realised, having little idea what to do when someone had nearly drowned and was now presumably close to hypothermia. Should he take off the wet coat or leave it on? What was he supposed to do? First get him as dry as possible, he thought.

"Okay Ven, you need to do this." Sonic pressed his arms against his body and hunched over, Venice copying his movements. "And now shake!" Sonic swiftly shook his head and his torso, only to yell out when Venice accidentally splashed him with water once again. Sonic swore he could hear the tiniest giggle sound from next to him, Venice looking unexpectedly amused at his reaction, though Sonic couldn't blame him. The speedster grinned bashfully. Yeah, he probably deserved that.

"I'm still not dry..." Venice murmured as he stopped his rapid shaking and looked at himself, his now-poofy fur still damp. With his newfound fluffiness from shaking himself out he looked quite silly, and despite the circumstances Sonic had to laugh.

"We better get you inside then, don't want you catching a cold."

"I'm already cold..."

The slightly accusatory tone only served to make Sonic more amused, and he shot Venice his trademark grin as he turned his back to the other and gestured towards himself. "Hop on then, I'll get us back to HQ in no time!" With slight hesitation Venice jumped up on his back, Sonic reflexively hooking his arms under the other's knees. Suppressing his agony at the cold and water that instantly began seeping into his quills (he deserved that too, he sighed inwardly), he quickly checked if Venice was comfortable and then shot off, back towards the Restoration headquarters and Silver, who would probably be none the happier when they returned.