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Kindred Spirits	By : RedelliaValentinos Category: +1 through F > Danny Phantom Views: 206 -:- 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
- 18
- 19
- 20
By now, he should really be used to Vlad's overprotective nature. He's been coddled since he woke up. And watched like a hawk. From dawn to dusk, at every turn, with every step he takes and every meal he eats. It's almost smothering. Almost. And Danny knows he means well, knows he's just trying to cushion the blow as new twists to his new life arise. And the last several days are almost a blur to him. On this matter, in a foreign environment that Vlad knows far better, he's aware it would unwise to question the man's firmly rooted desire to be a human shield.
Danny peers around the edge of Vlad's cloak, curious to see what has him on the defense as footsteps approach.
What appears from out of the thicket is a great, white hulking beast covered in plush fur. And tall, too. Taller than Vlad by a good foot or so. With horns of ice. And its left arm, though reminiscent of a human limb, was made entirely of ice crystal and Danny could just barely make out the blurry outline of bones within. It wore a tattered blue cloak that draped down its back and a blue kilt with a golden belt. And a single jewel, he suspects a diamond, studded the belt. Not exactly what Danny pictured for a yeti.
"Vladimir," it grunts.
"Frostbite," Vlad acknowledges, keeping Danny close behind him.
The beast tilts his head, studying the halfa. "The last time our paths crossed..."
"You put me in my place. Yes. I remember."
"I recall banning you from my realm."
Danny's heart jumps a little. Are they in trouble?
Vlad nods. "You did. And given how...convincing you were in executing your order, I wouldn't normally be inclined to violate your ruling, but there are extenuating circumstances."
The yeti glances at a blur of movement behind the halfa's cloak. "I do not usually grant a second audience to trespassers. But you're not alone, are you?"
Danny gulps and ducks behind the older halfa.
Vlad swallows. "No. I've come seeking aid with a problem, of sorts."
Frostbite straightens and folds his arms. "And what kind of problem could drag you back to my borders?"
Vlad makes a faint sound, nervous in its effect and delivery. He shifts his stance, bringing Danny forward. And Danny goes rigid, not exactly sure if he's being offered up as a cut of meat or not.
The freezing beast stares in surprise. The entity, the child before him is puny. Barely a head past Vlad's waist.
"A rather scrawny little cub, isn't he?"
Vlad nods, though he seems to take the jab a little too close to heart. "I'm trying."
It's a bright-eyed thing, the yeti decides, and still has some growing to do. He leans down, sniffing lightly at him. He detects the scents of rain and snow, with a hint of ozone. He can smell at least one other prevalent individual, a female, and the fading signs of a small feline.
Danny holds still, unsure of what would be an appropriate response. He's seen enough cartoons as a little kid that he worries one well meaning gesture could be severely misinterpreted. Frostbite's eyes glow an unnatural purple as his head cranes slowly. He finally snorts and looks back up at Vlad.
"And he's not yours."
Vlad grips at Danny's shoulders a little too tightly. "I'm his guardian."
"Apart from a desperate need for a decent meal, what is the problem, exactly?"
Vlad huffs, trying to assemble an explanation. He glances over at a low hanging branch covered in snow. He sighs, snatches a clump of white fluff off of the branch and shoves it into Danny's face, partially up his nose.
"Agh! G-hey! That's cold-d-gh-ahCHOO!"
...a blanket of blown snow with a thin veneer of ice is all Danny sees when he recovers, right where the yeti should be. Danny gulps at the sight. After a moment, the ice begins cracking, until it bursts, shattering into dust and the hulking white mass underneath shakes the snow off. He looks surprised, staring down at the youngling.
He looks back up at Vlad with a smile, ''I see your dilemma.''
-
They're led into the village. And Danny observes that it looks more like an encampment, dotted with little caves and domes of ice serving as huts. The terrain is more rugged than he's used to. But he supposes it makes sense since it's just ice and snow. There's even a small center to it. A town square, if you like, with what appears to be a well, assuming the water hasn't frozen. And Danny then wonders if they even have running water. And if so, where is it and where does it go? Because, again, it's an island floating in an open void. It wouldn't be too far off in appearance if someone just lopped off the top half of Mt. Everest and built on it.
Multiple yetis are going about their business and conversing calmly and openly. There's active ice sculpting and carving, a few smaller beasts sit at attention while an adult scratches writing onto a wall of clear ice like it's a chalkboard. In another corner, what can best be described as a hovercraft sits propped up on frozen blocks. One yeti lies underneath fussing with components, yelling loudly in a strange tongue and throwing a wrench away while another hands him a different tool. Danny can only assume, from the eyeroll of the second that it's a cursing fit. A smirk forms and he bites back a laugh. It's funny. No matter where you go, you can always tell when a mechanic is having a temper tantrum.
A gentle tap on his shoulder catches his attention and Vlad motions him to follow into a large cave. The ceiling seems rather high, even for the people residing there. But the cave walls are lined with multiple screens and piping. Strange pieces of technology that he's never seen before hover past and dart over. Orbs and cubes with glowing details emitting lasers in greens and blues. Control panels stand and float, with buttons flashing in an array of colors and thin panes of ice hang in the air with numbers and equations etched into their surfaces.
Vlad is unfazed by the display of advancement. Danny is fascinated.
Frostbite leads them deeper into the dugout on a path that splits in two. They head for the right, into a new room that faintly resembles a doctor's office. There's a sink, cabinets and drawers, multiple monitors mounted to the walls, and a metal table that sits in the center of the room.
"Alright, pup. Up you go." Frostbite motions towards the table. Danny hops up and sits, hanging his legs over the side.
Vlad stands next to him, ready to interfere if something untoward occurs.
Frostbite pulls a drawer open that goes directly into the cave walls. "I'll start by scanning both of your cores."
Vlad blinks. "Both?"
"Both," the yeti replies.
The older halfa looks confused, but says nothing as Frostbite presents a small gray metal orb. It floats up towards them and emits a green laser, scanning Danny first. It scans Vlad a moment later, much to his discomfort.
When it finishes, it beeps twice and hovers back over to the yeti, landing gently in his hand.
"The data will be available in a few minutes." he places the device on a magnetic base that lights up upon contact. The screens begin showing code.
"Now then," the beast turns to the younger halfa, "to better understand what I'm dealing with, I'll need to perform a quick physical, and by then I should have the data from the scanner."
Vlad tenses slightly, but understands...until Frostbite looks back at him and nods towards the entrance. His muscles seize in retaliation. Is he being asked to-
"Out, please. It'll only be a few minutes."
Danny suddenly feels a tug on his core. An alert weariness to being separated by order. He stiffens slightly and gulps. Inside, his core spirals and twists against the grain, rubbing itself raw against its own energy. Outside, Danny's eyes divert away from both of them, pointedly taking a newfound interest in the marks on the ice walls that shaped the cave. Subzero frost creeps across the metal table and quietly crackles down to the floor below.
Vlad isn't paying attention. But he must sense at least general discomfort because he holds his position. "I don't think-"
"-I may need to ask a few questions that are potentially sensitive in nature. I doubt he'll want to answer with you present."
At this, the halfa concedes. Reluctantly. With visible hesitance, earning a raised brow from the snow beast. But he slowly makes his way out. Warmth boils to the surface of his skin and his nails sharpen as he curls his fingers out of reflex. An itch, though not necessarily an itch he recognizes, grates against his fire core. Like sparks and sandpaper. It's not distrust. He knows Frostbite would never hurt Daniel. But its a sensation he can't place and it manifests into pacing outside the cave mouth. Back and forth and covering his own tracks. He leaves hideous treadmarks across the ice.
He feels...feral. Wild. And pulled taught. Impatient and nervous and riled.
He's pacing a small pond before he realizes it, an elongated puddle perhaps an inch deep that freezes on one end just as he reaches and thaws the other. Steam hisses from contacting hot to cold. And the cycle repeats.
-
Frostbite's hands are so much bigger than his own. Danny notices right away as he takes his left hand and examines the ethereal fern trailing up his arm. Violet irises follow the path up to his sleeve.
"Does this go further?" The yeti asks.
"Yeah." The boy pulls his shirt off to reveal the rest.
"Hm," the beast studies the pattern, every branch of it, and how it curls over his torso just above where his heart would be, "It'll never fade."
Danny shrugs, "Ok."
He doesn't particularly care if the lichtenberg disappears.
''Tell me, how did you pass?'' Frostbite goes back to the drawer and produces what appears as a small rod. Holding it horizontally, it proceeds to emit a wide blue laser that scans down Danny's body more slowly than the orb did.
Danny physically slumps at the question. ''I pressed a button and got electrocuted.''
The scan finishes and a screen behind Frostbite powers on, he turns to look. Revealed is a 3d model of Danny's skeleton. The image of bones disturbs him. "You are torn in twain. Just as Vladimir is,'' he looks back to the young halfa, ''Your core is bound in your flesh.''
Danny pulls his shirt back on. ''If that's a fancy way of saying I'm half dead, then, yeah. I know. What about it?''
Here, the yeti hesitates, clearly unsettled. ''Lift your shirt for me, one more time.''
Danny does, and Frostbite gently taps a single frozen claw against the flesh of his stomach, just above his navel. Danny's brows knit together in confusion. The yeti stares at the expanse of skin for a few seconds and taps again. And again a few more seconds later. A fourth tap, a few seconds more and the yeti straightens and turns around to face a monitor. He taps on the screen and begins swiping though the read-outs.
''...is something supposed to happen?'' the boy asks and lowers his shirt.
''Yes, but... where is... Core temperature 2.7 Kelvins... Core weight 21 grams... AB-... for Clockwork's sake, where is-ah! Radiocarbon dating is 14.471 years, rather young...ecto-carbon dating is...2.466...months?''
Danny leans a little to the side in an attempt to see the monitor. Frostbite's broad shoulders block his view. ''Is something wrong?''
A sigh escapes the yeti and he shuts the monitors off. ''Not exactly, no. 'Wrong' would be the incorrect term to use in this instance... What is your opinion towards Vladimir?''
Danny blinks in surprise. ''Um...'' he shrugs, ''I don't know. I...he's taking care of me. He's helping me, he's teaching me how to be whatever all of this is,'' a motion towards himself, ''which I really appreciate. I could never do this at home or I'd end up on a table.''
Frostbite tilts his head in thought. ''But how do you feel?''
''About Vlad?'' and Frostbite gives him a nod.
Danny thinks. How does he feel about all of this? How does he feel about Vlad and the fact that he's helped so much so far? He's grateful. He's thrilled. Someone cares about his wellbeing enough to look past whatever obsessions they might have. He's eating three meals a day instead of scrounging through the kitchen for snacks because his parents forgot to go grocery shopping. He's sleeping through the night and waking up on his own clock. So, he feels rested, too.
His bed is more than comfortable. It's covered with constellations. It's his dream bed, in fact. Someone cared enough to notice his preferences. His room is cozy and secluded. Partially isolated. Not like his room at home, with a doorknob that's broken from being burst open so many times. He's not sleeping with one eye open. He actually gets to reach the dreamscape.
He may feel smothered on occasion, but he wonders, as his mind wanders through his memories, if what he's really been getting is proper nurturing. He gets some of the same sensations from Vlad's actions that he gets from his sister and his friends. He's looking out for him, trying to help him along. Help him grow. His parents are supposed to be doing that. He's already reached the point where he doesn't expect anything from them. He knows they love him. But he's always played second and third and even fourth fiddle to their inventions. He doesn't like being the center of attention. But a strange warmth descends upon him, like a blanket. Like he's being comforted.
His needs are being met, his stomach is full, his bed is warm, his door locks and his ceiling isn't charred by misfires.
But...is guardian really the right word? It doesn't sit right with him. Neither does uncle, or father, or friend. He has an uncle. He has a father. He has friends. Real friends, who don't leave him hanging. Legally, on paper, he's his guardian. But guardian just feels...wrong?
"I feel..." he rubs at his arm out of reflex.
Frostbite focuses on him, waiting for his answer.
"I'm... He's doing so much for me. He's already spent so much time on me... He's helped me a lot, he's being supportive... Honestly, I'm not really sure," he swallows a lump in his throat he didn't even know was forming, "I haven't really..."
Frostbite can practically hear his mind straining to find the right words. Can feel his core twisting and tilting awkwardly in confusion. "It's alright," he says softly, "Leave it for now. I only ask because of our biology."
Danny looks up at him. "Biology?"
"All ghosts bear what is called a vessel spell. It can be activated at any time. Usually, when we are formed, we are old enough upon death that the spell is already in place. But there have been a few entities that were formed much earlier in life. And so the spell was not present. In those cases, when the spirit becomes of age, it will appear."
"So, the poking was...?"
"You don't have yours." Frostbite reaches down and taps against his fur. A triangle appears, glowing in a strange shade of blue, and the tip of the triangle is pointed upwards. "A simple tap is all that's needed to wake it, provided the spell is present."
"So, what does it do?"
Frostbite tenses slightly and the triangle fades from view. "I think you may be a tad young for that knowledge."
"Well, you threw such a fit over me not having it, I just figured I'd ask."
The yeti straightens. "I do not have fits."
"What does it do?" Danny asks again.
"When you're of age, you'll know."
"And that's when, exactly?"
"With any luck, well after you're out of my hair," he guides Danny off the table, "Now, go on. Shoo. I have more data to study. Go start something. Start trouble," he gently pushes him through the medlab's entrance.
- 18
- 19
- 20
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Kindred Spirits