User blog comment:Wh!te$tar/ Training Grounds part 1: Writing/@comment-4949841-20121007172456

The rain hailed upon the wastelands like a torrential downpour and yet, for some reason, it felt as though it was a soothing surge of life through the body of the young echidna. With every drop that touched his soft, white skin he felt as though the breath of life had been fed through his pores. The smell of the damp air clenched to his nose but, as he drew one more breath, the scent of the humid climate malformed and twisted passively into the scent of red roses, soothing his senses to the point of light-headedness. A soft exhale he released as his chest relaxed, sinking in, enjoying the feel of it all. His eyes closed he could see only the grim shadows of darkness before him but, as his eyes opened to see nothing more than a blurred, obscured vision, the gentle light pierced through the distortion and bathed him in warmth. The Echidna could see clear in front of him to a man looming over him.

"Hello, my friend," the figure gestured in a voice of utmost purity, holding his hand to the echidna that lay sprawled on his back. "We meet again."

"It's been a while," the echidna replied with a small smile, extending his own to the figure's as he grasped upon his hand, hoisting himself up to his feet. "Where should we begin? Feels like forever."

The figure's face entered the echidna's view as the light behind him no longer produced a silhouette. The figure was of a hedgehog, blackened hair with gleeming green eyes. A gentle smile sprawled across his pale muzzle as he let loose of the echidna's hand. "Walk with me, Shou. Let's take a trip down memory lane."

The two mobians began to trek through a field of what was something out of a fairy tale; the sun shone bright over a field of emerald-green grass as flowers of varieties that Shou had never seen before; fields of poppies, roses, dandelions, sunflowers, buttercups as far as his eyes could see. And he had some good vision, too. The sky was painted of magnificent colors of blues and whites upon the world's canvas as the clouds whisked slowly through its portrait. It was like a paradise.

"So Shou," the hedgehog started as he turned his gaze upon his friend. "You remember that time when we had to fight off those giants in central city? Some day, huh?"

"With you doing most of the work it's hard to make much talk of it," Shou said with a small smirk on it. "Not as though I could do anything anyway; you said not to kill them."

"Well you only knew how to use a sword so all you could do was kill them."

"Not necessarily... I could have cut their legs off."

"Haha. Well, it was about time you had training in Taijutsu anyway," the hedgehog gave a small chuckle as the world around them began to shift and distort into darkened colors of violets, indigos, greys, reds and browns. After a moment the area seems to terraform into what was a stone courtyard outside of a temple that was reminiscent of asian architecture. Two figures stood in the center of the area; one was a large panda in a golden yellow robe and straw hate, while the other was a white echidna in an equally white robe. "You remember when you came back here to learn, right?"

"Yeah, I was nervous," Shou said with a small sigh upon his breath, He looked up to see what was himself training with his master. "It felt awkward coming back years later asking for more training. I felt as though I had let him down."

" 'To live is to learn, and to learn is to live'," the hedgehog said as he too gazed at the figures stood in stance. "That's what he always said to us. There's nothing to be ashamed of in learning all that you want and all that you can."

"You're right. A shame a never understood that until after the training was complete."

"A bit late to go back now I guess. But there's something else I need to show you," the hedgehog sighed as he waved his hand to one side and, like he was clearing the way with a cloth, wiped the scenery away to nothingness as they returned to the field of flowers but, where the sun had shone, only a gate stands; its gold and ivory decors surged forth a sense of power. The bars of light shone through the echidna as though it was piercing his soul with the intent of purity and warmth. "It's time for us to go, Shou."

"... is it really my time?" the echidna said as he looked back upon his friend, a look of disappointment upon his eyes.

"My friend, you have already lived and learned. The least you can do now is to rest in peace."

"I guess you're right."

"... Wanna race to the gate?"

"Pfft, if you can keep up!"