Though it really shouldn't have, Shadow's move caught Espio by surprise, and he tensed up at the proximity and threat - fear - but he glared down wordlessly until he was released. He knew all to well what Shadow was capable of, even if this was an as-yet-unknown variant...

"You call that sneaking?" he wondered aloud as he was pushed back, stumbling a little before regaining his balance. A small part of him hoped that 'sneaking' was Shadow's main concern - it dampened the threat. "You did notice I'm a chameleon, right? But..." And here, he shrugged. "We'll see. You might end up with a bit more to worry about than that, or... you might not. It really depends, Shadow, but let's just say we have something of a history."

Now Espio was just testing him. Wanted to see if he did actually recognise him, or whether he could trigger some curiosity.