An anxious Frenchman /j || Antoine & Cyanide

do you think I’d be a good Frenchman /halfjoke

lol hopefully Antoine isn’t super stereotypical

Ant- -# The skies above Knothole had begun to darken far earlier than they should have. What had started as a pleasant afternoon was slowly being swallowed by layers upon layers of heavy gray clouds. The sun struggled behind them, its golden light reduced to faint streaks that barely reached the kingdom below- it was being swallowed and suffocated by the everlasting clouds. The wind carried the scent of rain and salt through the air, rustling leaves and banners alike. It was clear a horrible storm was on its way.

• Standing just outside the village gates was a coyote who stared upward, he shields his eyes with a single hand while he examined the sky. His orange brownish fur seemed dull beneath the gathering gloom, while his wheat colored hair, along with his whiskers and cheek fluff- drifted gently in the strengthening breeze. His ears twitched uneasily, his whiskers would— metaphorically— catch the salt within it, causing his upper lip to twitch it off.

• For some reason, something about this felt wrong. Very, very wrong.

• His stomach twisted with a familiar feeling he wished he had forgotten. The last time he had seen clouds like these… Knothole had burned. The kingdom was overtaken by Ivo Robotnik’s invasion.

• Feeling this way, deep into his thoughts, his grip tightened slightly on his saber at his side. His other hand holding onto his crossed belt.

• And for a brief moment, memories flashed through his mind. It felt like a flashback. The sounds of explosions, the panic, the fear, running away when he should have stayed. Failing when he should have protected the little, young Princess Sally. Even though she was saved by her family, he was given a task to shield her… and yet… he didn’t. Being in the moment, he felt like he was there right now.

• But he wasn’t. He catches himself from falling off the cliff of the never ending spiral of shame. And to him, he could swear he sees the spikes deep into the foggy ravine.

• Even after all these years, the guilt never truly left him. Antoine squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

No, no, non. Stop zat.

• He would say, his voice thick with a French accent. Despite living on the west side island and being surrounded by other English speakers, for some reason his accent never left him. And honestly, he didn’t want it to. He wanted to keep the past he enjoyed, he took his ethnicity with pride. And nobody could take that away from him.

• …Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to relax. His furrowed brows softened as he gazed into the moist grass.

• It is only a storm. It’s going to bad storm, perhaps.

• Nothing more…..Right?

Ant- -# The coyote let out a nervous chuckle, stroking his hand through his hair. The bangs only bouncing back to where it once was. And that in itself was a metaphor to how he’s gonna be like. No matter what pushes him back, he’s only gonna bounce back!

• As he did so, he looked up. And then shrugged. Moving his hand in a somewhat dismissive manner. Like he was swatting an unneeded thought.

Bah, it is nothing. Just a terrible thunderstorm, oui? What is ze worst zat could possibly happen?

• Trying to shake off the feeling, he turned away from the horizon and placed both hands behind his head casually.

Besides, look around!

• He said while spinning, his arms wide open like he was letting it all in. He’d dance in the rain if it was.

• He’d continue talking to himself,

Ze kingdom has grown so much since zose days. We ‘ave brave soldiers, strong defenses, heroes everywhere!

• Including him. He was one of the heroes after all. Alongside Sonic, Sally, and Bunnie. The three strongest people he knows.*

• As he spoke, a grin slowly spread across his muzzle. Clearly feeling better.

Any villain foolish enough to attack Knothole now would be in for a very bad day. Heh.

• He chuckled as his hand dropped from behind his head, clenching into a firm fist against his chest.

• Confidence returned to his eyes. A determined expression, it was like that coward little boy was never there.

And so ‘ave I!

• The grin widened, his brows furrowed but not for a negative reason.

I am not ze same frightened coyote I was before. I WILL FIGHT ANYTHING IN MY WAY!

• He snorted just slightly as he continued to face the forest in front of him.

• *Above him, thunder rumbled faintly in the distance.

• Unbeknownst to him, this was only the beginning, it was only gonna get worst.

))

Ant- -# The coyote nearly jumped out of his skin. One moment he had been alone with his thoughts, staring into the ominous clouds overhead. The next, a voice cut through the air from seemingly out of nowhere!

• Antoine spun around so fast he almost lost his footing. His arms and legs flailed upwards in a comical way before his saber was unsheathed and pointed directly at the stranger. All while his sky like blue eyes widened and his ears standing straight up like every alarm bell in his head began ringing at once.

• How long had this person been standing there? …More importantly… how did he know that? There had been no visible signs of Antoine’s thoughts. No muttering. No dramatic confession. Nothing. ~~Cough cough metagaming cough cough~~ Unless this man had been lurking nearby for the last several minutes watching him like some sort of creep, there was no logical way he should know what was going through his mind. I mean shaking his head and going “stop that” could mean anything!

• And if he had been watching him… that was somehow even worse.

• Antoine didn’t recognize him at all. Then again, Antoine rarely spent time with the Resistance these days. He mostly remained close to the Acorn Kingdom, occasionally assisting Sonic whenever things became particularly troublesome. Usually the blue hedgehog was more than capable of handling matters himself.

• Still, that did not answer the question of who this suspicious stranger was.

WHA—?! H-HUH?!

• He yelps out while in a comical scared pose, his tail puffed out slightly.

Aye! Who are you?!

• His arms calm down as both his legs are on the ground, but even so, Antoine would thrust his saber forward another inch multiple times but not actually getting anywhere. He was in a fencing position.

Stay back! BACK, I say!

• Taking a cautious hop forward rather than backward, as if trying to appear braver than he actually felt, he tightened his grip around the weapon’s hilt.

And ‘ow exactly do you know what I am thinking, hein?! Zat is very suspicious, mon ami!

• His eyes narrowed.

Speak quickly before I start believing you are some sort of weirdo hiding in ze bushes!

• Despite the threat, there was a very real chance Antoine was more startled than dangerous at the moment. Antoine was as harmless as a fly.