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Kindred Spirits Complete	By : RedelliaValentinos Category: +1 through F > Danny Phantom Views: 507 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, I don't own any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from writing this story, I write this purely for the enjoyment of writing. It's just me and a keyboard and my wild brain.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
It's 3:30 in the morning when Danny collapses, falling into his sister's arms. There's sudden bags under his eyes. He's ready for sleep. The ethereal glow that had been covering his form is gone; he's human, again. After spending twenty grueling minutes searching for that strange sensation in his skeleton, he manage to switch back. And Vlad made him do it repeatedly, making sure he had a firm grasp over his body. He can't run the risk of going ghost in the middle of class. He's changed a total of twelve times. His legs can't support him anymore. His eyelids feel like they weigh a ton.
Vlad reaches forward, carefully untangling him from Jasmine's hold and scooping him up into his arms.
"Now we can go to bed," he says to the girl. The redhead fusses at her brother, being held bridal style and completely out of it. He lets her fret; she pushes his hair out of his face and feels his forehead, even if all she'll feel is cold. She tugs at his shirt, righting it and giving some of his dignity back. After a solid minute of letting her be a big sister, he carefully starts walking.
"I don' ffffeeeell right," the boy slurs. He's so drained he's unaware he's even being carried.
The older halfa winces. "You've burned through your core energy and then some. I'm sorry I pushed you so much. But it was necessary."
Danny groans softly and his head drops against Vlad's arm. "Issis gonnnna hap'n everrry time?"
"No," Vlad says softly, "no. Not at all. This is just the result of changing your form so many times. It happened to me, as well."
Vlad gets him to his room and tucks him back into bed. He gets the star speckled comfortor pulled up and is about to close the curtains on the canopy when he looks back at the bed one more time. He's propped the boy up against the pillows, similar to how he was in the hospital bed. Human and pale, he almost looks dead. His ears know better, and the smaller heart beats faintly in the silence.
The night has gone well, he can hear Jasmine making her final ascent of the stairs for the evening. He'll be doing the same, shortly. But this mess, this disaster of clueless parental making that he's taken on without hesitation... Vlad's been broken inside in numerous ways, into several pieces. if his heart were glass, it would be dust. It's been stone for two decades, but it's been fractured everywhere.
Against his better judgement, he reaches a hand out and brushes the back of his fingers against a pale forehead. Frightening cold sears his heated skin and his core gives a hard beat to heat his frostbitten apendages back up. He pulls away and studies the pattern of snowflakes that's been freezer-burned into the skin. It'll heal, it'll fade. But the halfa picks up on a quiet warning in his brain.
'No control.'
And he knows right then and there, he won't be able to help with Danny's temperature management. He knows who can. But while he draws the curtains shut and exits the nest he's built for his ward, the thought of taking him into the Ghost Zone so soon worries him. The boy is still fragile. The Ghost Zone is flooded with entities that could tear him to shreds in his current state. And Vlad, after all the work and time and freezing he's put into this mess, would never forgive himself if something were to happen to him. After all, he's supposed to be the guardian.
A huff of frustration escapes as he makes his way up to his room. He'll need to procure further protection for the boy. His own strength is remarkable, but Vlad knows better, and to assume that he'll be enough to shield Danny from the various threats of the Zone is foolish. He can handle himself, yes, but he's never gone into the Zone with a curious teenager trailing behind him. But, before he can even approach that idea, Danny needs to know how to fly, first.
-
Danny wakes to his sister nudging his shoulder.
''Morning, sleepyhead!'' Jasmine chirps.
Danny sits up and stretches with a yawn. ''Mm. What time is it?'' his stomach rumbles loudly.
The redhead laughs. ''Eleven thirty and time for you to eat, apparently,'' she shoves his blanket aside and pulls him to his feet, ''Come on! Vlad has your breakfast ready!''
Danny manages a tired grumble and lets her nearly drag him from his room. He's walking a little better, today, he notices. His legs are less wobbly than they were last night. He still doesn't feel fully recovered, but he's getting there. So he leans on his sister as they make their way down the hall. Jasmine lets him. She knows he's not very steady on his feet, yet. As they make their way out to the foyer, Danny is confused to see pillows and cushions everywhere.
''What's with the extra padding?''
"Your flying lessons,'' Jasmine grumbles.
''Really?!'' Danny darts off to the kitchen, weakened legs be damned. He practically throws himself at the island to avoid falling as his calf muscles yell at him. Vlad jumps a little at the display, the boy lying on his chest on the surface, fingers scrambling for a grip so he doesn't slide off.
''I get to fly today?!'' A huge grin is plastered on his face as he looks up at the man, eyes bright and eager. It's intoxicating.
A chuckle pulls itself free and Vlad places a hand on the marble. With a touch, he turns the island intangible, and Danny falls to the floor with a resounding OOF. It doesn't deter him in the slightest, scrambling back onto his feet and leaning against the counter instead. He grasps the edge firmly to hold himself up.
''Your energy is something else,'' he places a plate and fork on the island where Danny was previously laying. On the plate is buttered toast and a single cloud egg. ''You need to eat, first. Then we'll start.''
Danny eagerly takes the fork into his hand and begins to eat. Mercifully, he maintains the sense to eat slowly.
Once he's finished, and Vlad forces some orange juice into him, they relocate to the foyer. Jasmine sits on the stairs to monitor. It's not that she doesn't trust Vlad, she just doesn't trust her brother to not do something stupid. She'll never tell him, but it's why there's extra pillows everywhere, even though Vlad insisted he'd only need one.
''Now. Flying is really quite simple once you get the hang of it. This shouldn't take long.'' He guides the boy to stand on one of the numerous cushions. Then, gently, he grasps Danny's hands in his own.
''Don't I need to be a ghost to fly?'' he asks.
''Not necessarily. It certainly makes things easier. But I want you to learn in your human form, first. So. I want you to focus on your skeleton.''
Danny blinks. Ok, he can do this. He remembers the sensation in his bones from transforming. He closes his eyes.
''Jasmine,'' he says, ''Tell me. What allows birds to fly?''
''Their bones are hollow, which reduces their body weight,'' she replies, ''but, our bones aren't hollow.''
''Yours aren't, no. As I said before, there were anatomical adjustments to my body. Daniel will have undergone the same changes.''
''You have hollow bones? Really?'' She sounds like she doesn't believe him.
''Yes, my dear. Really. Ghosts don't weigh much, and are already predisposed to flight. I'm still half alive, half human, in a sense, and to merge the two states would render the human skeleton hollow so that both forms can coexist. If you will, the ghost hides in the skeleton. But the two forms are forever intertwined.''
Jasmine stares, completely confused. "That doesn't make any sense."
"Sure it does. What else would enable the human form to float? Have you never played 'Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board?' Our bones are strong, but still light enough for flight," his voice lowers and turns serious, "That said, due to the porous design, any X-Rays taken will appear a tad fuzzy, no matter what. Closer examination will give everything away. So, from here on out, human hospitals and doctors are out of the question."
Danny blinks his eyes open. "What if I get sick?"
Vlad looks at him. "Any illness you catch will be beyond the scope of human medicine. Trust me. If you do fall ill, it won't be due to a living ailment. At that point, you will come to me, and I'll get you to a qualified doctor."
"So, are you immune to human diseases, then?" Jasmine asks.
Vlad nods. "Yes. And Daniel is, as well. If you ever held any concern over him pursuing... extracurricular activities, rest assured, there's no need for that, now."
Danny tilts his head in confusion. "Extracurr-"
"-Never mind!" Vlad cuts him off, "Focus!"
Danny rolls his eyes and closes them again. "Ok, now what?"
"Now, if you're really in-tune, you should be able to feel those hollow spaces in your bones when you breath. With birds, their bones are filled with little air sacs that allow for more oxygen absorption, which helps them take in oxygen while breathing in and out, and provides the extra energy needed for flight. Technically, you and I don't actually need air anymore. But breathing is still a good practice to maintain, if for no other reason than to avoid startling the living."
Danny breathes, long and deep, feeling the way his muscles move. Feeling how they move over his skeleton, and dipping further. He shivers when he feels a rush of cold air inside, and a burst of frost coats his hands, and Vlad's as well as he's still holding them. But the man ignores the chill. Even as more frost proceeds to trail up Danny's arms and down, down his legs to the floor.
"Ah. You've found them, then. Now. Another breath, slowly, as deep as you can. If it helps, picture a balloon inflating with air. That is, in a sense, what you're trying to achieve."
And he breathes in. Dragging air in slowly, feeling his bone structure as if it were his skin. Feeling the air rush through, nearly hearing wind in a tunnel. The balloon analogy helps, sort of, but he finds the wind tunnel method much more to his liking. He can almost, no, he does feel it. He feels the inside of both of his tibias and fibulas expand, like the marrow is being pushed aside and widening their centers. It's very strange. Akin to dipping his fingers into jello to see if it's set, only it has but doesn't retract.
It travels up, into his femurs, into his pelvis. Up his spine, his ribs, his arms start to feel...fluffy? Floaty? There's the sensation of being literally light-headed, and his mind strays to feathers blowing in the wind...
"And there you have it!" Vlad announces.
Danny's eyes snap open. Vlad still has his hands grasped tightly in his own, not ready to let go. But, is he shorter, now? He looks down, and, no! He's off the ground! Hovering above the cushion he was just standing on!
Jasmine sits on the stairs, wide eyed and covering her mouth with both hands in a mix of fear and surprise.
Danny can't help the nervous laugh that slips out. He's flying! Well, floating. And Vlad kicks off the floors coming up to hover in front of him.
"I told you this wouldn't take long," he chuckles. He lets go of the boy's hands, allowing him to just levitate like that.
"This is trippy." Danny leans, can he lean? He leans back, and finds that he can tilt easily. A little too easily, actually. He's upside down before he can stop himself. "Vlad!"
"Go through the motions, lad." He gives Danny's leg a nudge, sending him into a slight spin. It's not enough to give him motion sickness, but blood is rushing to his head.
"Come on. Feel for those air pockets, again. Give and take air as you need. You've had science classes. Have you ever seen a balance scale?"
"A what?"
"Think of the scales of justice. That scale," Vlad floats around him, trying to keep him calm, "imagine adding weight to one side. What happens?"
"The plate drops."
"Correct. In this instance, it's the reverse. Imagine your legs as the plates and take some air out of the pockets in your bones accordingly. The weight of your skeleton will readjust your position."
Danny concentrates again, and this time the feeling comes to him much easier now that he knows what he's looking for. And suddenly he rights himself, albeit with a slight drop of altitude, but he manages it.
"There. See? No need to panic."
Danny laughs, and gives another lean. With the cold of his core, it really feels more like being a lava lamp except that he's controlling when and where the globs of wax move. It's just that those globs of wax are actually air. Once he realizes that, something clicks. When he corrects himself again, he gives a small kick out into the open space...and moves several feet to the right.
Vlad watches. Listens to the giggle that follows.
"Oh, I get it, now!" And he gives another kick, this one a little harder, and shoots straight up. Vlad follows him. If they had been in any other building, Danny would have hit the ceiling. But he manages to stop, just inches away from face planting the stone work.
The smile that's been working Its way onto his face breaks into a Cheshire grin and he twists around to face Vlad again. "Can we go outside?" He's about ready to burst.
Jasmine breaks her stunned silence. "Wha-No! You just started! Vlad!"
The man can't fight the eager blue eyes. He'd be remiss if he tried. And it's an opportunity to show the youngling halfa a view that he'll never forget. He holds out his hand again for Danny to take. "Don't let go."
He leads him intangibly through the ceiling and numerous floors of the manor, despite his sister's protests. Out. Out into the daylight. Ignoring the depressing fact that this is the first time Danny's seen the sun in months is easy. Danny keeps a firm hold on Vlad's hand as they dart straight up into the sky at a speed only the undead can handle. A human body would fly apart, he thinks. But he follows without another thought or an iota of fear. Into the clouds and higher still.
"Close your eyes. You'll love this."
Danny does. They keep flying upwards, at the same break-neck speed, for what seems like hours. And Danny just soaks up the breeze and the brush of the clouds and the chilly air the increasing altitude brings. Briefly, he tilts his head a smidgen to listen. A tuft of cloud whips past his nose, tickling his sinuses, but he fights the sensation back.
"Almost there, just need to get above the cloud cover," Vlad softly calls back.
Danny becomes confused. They're going straight up. What's there to see?
"Alright," They come to a sudden stop, Vlad gently guides him up a little more, "Open your eyes, *ребенок."
Danny blinks them open slowly, still feeling a tad windswept from the vertical climb. What he sees steals the air from his lungs.
Nothing but stars. His heart is fit to explode at the site. He can see every constellation known. Sagittarius and Scorpius and Libra and Virgo and just...so many stars.
"As I understand it, you've always been a stargazer."
Danny floats, stunned into silence. When he asked to go outside, he never expected...
Vlad looks out into the dark. He's made this flight before. Numerous times. He's always enjoyed the view, devoid of human activity. It's always a beautiful sight. His first flight, it felt like he had flown into the heavens. After that, the thrill wore off, but the appreciation remained. He can't imagine what it's like for a boy who's always had his eye on the night sky.
"How high up we are?" Danny gasps out.
"Just under fifty thousand feet. Just enough to get above the clouds. If you look down, you'll see that our feet just touch their outer edges."
A sniffle escapes Danny as he continues to just soak in the starscape. He's heard of people weeping before sheer beauty before, but he always thought it was a literary tool. Not literal. He fights the urge to cry back.
"I'm sorry. When you asked to go out, I just wanted this to be the first thing you see. I didn't mean to cut the lesson off."
Danny just hovers there. He sniffles again, "It's fine, Vlad. It's fine. I just never thought I'd...I'd-dd-g-ghg-ahg-"
Vlad's heart stops, "-Don't tell me you're going to sneeze."
Danny rubs hard at his nose, "I'm-m-tryig-n-not to-to-ta-"
"-Daniel, No!"
"Aa-CHOO!"
A blast, a bright, blue cold ring of energy propels Vlad away. The blast begins to disperse across the sky, coating the cloud cover at their feet.
It takes Vlad a moment to get back to him. "Daniel!"
Danny rubs at his nose again, chasing the last of the itch away. "Sorry! I just couldn't hold it in any longer!"
Vlad doesn't sigh or grumble. He can't be mad at a basic bodily function. But he looks out over the clouds. Danny follows his line of sight. The blue ring of energy goes a bit further before it starts to fade.
"Well, that'll be on the news in the morning."
Danny looks up at him in confusion. "What do you mean?"
Vlad laughs. "You just seeded the clouds, Daniel."
"I wha-oh. Oh. ...Oops."
Vlad snickers and ruffles his hair. "I hope you like blizzards in May."
-
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*ребенок (rebenok) = child
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- 15
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Kindred Spirits Complete