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Shadow's entire body felt numb. There was a tingling sensation in his arms and legs that stemmed directly from his brain - that only made him hyperventilate more. He wanted to shake it off, tell himself to stop being so weak, but he felt as if he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't think - his thoughts were full of nothing but the thought that if he touched something, he might phase right through it.
He mustered up all of his energy to squeeze his eyes shut tight. Thick tears rolled down the sides of his muzzle and his sharp fangs dug deep into his bottom lip. He pressed his palms against his ears, trying to drown out the unpleasant buzz that erupted from them. It was unsuccessful.
He pushed his paws a bit further onto his head. Would he phase through himself, too? Was he even solid? If someone else looked at him, would they look right through him?
His breathing sped up a bit more. He shook his head as if it could shake the thoughts away.
He bit his lip harder, because if I bleed I might be real enough, I might feel pain this time. No blood came. He blamed it on his weak state.
He took shaky breaths, but kept them as quiet as possible. Rouge was asleep in the room across, and Omega was charging right in the living room-
He covered a pathetic sob with his knees. What am I doing? he thought, when the fuzz in his brain finally allowed him to think once more. Why am I crying? I don't cry.
He forced himself under his blankets as if it would keep out his bad thoughts; a childish hope, he knew, but at least the warmth was better than feeling nothing but panic.
His paws shook as he buried himself under it. It was like they could break any second. As if they could cease to exist at a single breath.
Shadow made himself stop breathing.
He didn't even like this existence, he mused bitterly as he turned onto his side. Why was he so scared of losing it if he never liked it to begin with? Why was he so scared of turning to dust?
He grasped onto the blankets with an iron grip. When one of his claws ripped a small hole through them, he shook harder.
Too caught up in his thoughts, he didn't hear his door open. He just barely heard the footsteps, and he almost didn't feel the placement of something onto his blanketed form. He peeked out from under his hidey-hole long enough to see a pair of feet walk away and the door close. Curiosity, for once, overruled his state of panic, even if only for a moment.
He glanced up to the object that had been placed onto his bed. It was a grey stuffed cat. It had cute dark stripes circling its head and limbs, and a sewn-on smile on its face. Shadow stared. He shouldn't take something so childish, but...
It had a nice presence. It provided a gentle, *real* warmth under its spot on the blanket, and when he took it in his trembling paws, he could feel the soft and *real* fur under his paw pads.
Reluctantly, he took the stuffed comfort item close to his chest, letting himself hold it. Only for a moment.