WEDNESDAY 12 PM (NOON)
They reached Sam's rooms without a hitch. Sam wasn't entirely certain if that was a good thing or not. She'd about half hoped to run into Briar or Dora or even Danny, just for there to be an outside force that could help keep Undergrowth accountable. But they ran into absolutely no one. The halls seemed to be deserted.
Sam guided Undergrowth to continue into her small side room, which had a table and some chairs. It wasn't nearly as glamorous as Danny's but it could very well serve the purpose she needed. Undergrowth deposited Sam gently into one of the chairs.
Just to test him, Sam asked something of Undergrowth.
"Could you get my first aid kid from the bathroom? It's on the counter, a white box with a red plus-cross on the top." She requested. He didn't deserve a please.
His expression went vacant again, for a moment.
"Humans are such fragile creatures." Was the response. But Undergrowth slid back through the doorway and to the bathroom, so that was that. It looked uncomfortable watching him move across a ground that wasn't natural. His vine-y bottom half writhed around like snakes to move him across the ground. It was kinda gross-looking. Small leaves trailed behind wherever he went.
Sam's muscles tried to cramp again, and she wished for a moment that Danny wasn't so busy. His ice would feel much better against the injury than one of her half-melted ice packs, but it'd have to work. And he had a good reason to be busy. She didn't need to distract him for such a small thing.
Sam braced herself against the armrests and tested her ankle. She stood up slowly, gradually putting more weight on the injury. It was fine for a moment, but soon disagreed with the action in the form of a sharp white pain that left her muscles spasming in the aftershock. Sam got the protest loud and clear. She fell back against her chair.
Sam held out her leg and, through the pain, attempted to move her foot. It hurt horribly, but she still had full range of motion. It was most likely she had just pulled or sprained something, no breaks. Or at least she hoped so. She stole a cushion off of the other chair and pulled it over to rest her foot on.
Undergrowth returned shortly, and set the First Aid kit on the table. Sam readied herself by disinfecting the various scrapes she'd encountered. 'Who knew what kind of infections a human could get in the Ghost Zone?' Undergrowth just sat there and watched as Sam continued her medical process. Hopefully these will heal before long.
Only once Sam was satisfied, did she really acknowledge Undergrowth.
"You said you wanted to explain?"
WEDNESDAY 12 PM (NOON)
"As you know, there are portals all over the GZ to different places and more importantly, different times." Ghostwriter had broken out into another lecture. Danny tried his best to listen but found his eyelids drooping. What time had Briar woken him up this morning?
"As such the Realms aren't entirely tied to the current era. Some live in the perceived past and some live in the future." Was it 5 or 7 when Briar pulled him out of bed? 6?
"Your position and title specifically, especially with Mattingly's involvement, are just stuck in an era from the past. When monarchies were at their high. It can be difficult to wrap your head around, but over time you just get used to it."
"Is that why you changed your outfit?" See? He was listening! …mostly. He'd had his etiquette lesson first today, which turned out to be a nightmare. They spent the day working on ballroom dancing, for whatever reason. Danny's feet hurt.
"Mostly. I also just enjoy this type of clothing. One of the upsides of being in an ocean of time periods, you have to dress real wacky to make people look at you weird."
"Like a hazmat suit?" Danny snorted.
"Like a hazmat suit." Agreed Andrew.
"There certainly is a lot about the realms you don't know." Andrew said offhandedly.
"I only half-died like two years ago. Coming up on three month after next." Danny replied with the same tone of blasé. He picked up the bottle of ink and spun it around. In doing so it took a moment longer than socially acceptable to notice the pained look on Andrew's face.
"Uhhh, did I say something wrong..?" Was that a taboo he didn't know about? Andrew didn't ask, he offered it. Danny didn't really care about who knew when he half-died. A full ghost thing?
"You're only three years dead?" Andrew said, like he couldn't believe it. Um.
"Yeaahhh?" Danny was tense. What was wrong about that? Andrew looked constipated. He ignored Danny and pulled a book out of one of the stacks. His hands got the barest purple sheen about them and the book slammed open rather violently. Andrew's eyes glazed over the proffered page.
"You- you're a baby in ghost terms. A child. By all known standards you shouldn't even be formed yet, anyone else would still be floating around as a cloud of ectoplasm held loosely together by an emotion. It's- it's unheard of, especially at your power level, and King-" Andrew continued to ramble about how Danny was an impossibility, as though he wasn't already aware. Danny needed to put the poor guy out of his misery.
"I'm a halfa, remember? That's like, the main thing about me. I already had a human body for all the ghostly stuff to form around, so that did most of the heavy lifting. After the accident it took like a month for my ghost form to really solidify." Ghostwriter still looked like he'd accidentally swallowed a lemon.
"DANNY!" The door slammed open. Danny jolted and a foot sank through the ground before he managed to compose himself. He whipped around to see Tucker standing in the doorway. He looked haggard, and was panting horribly. He looked like he'd just run a mile.
"You look like death! What happened?" The pun was only half on purpose, but Danny still enjoyed Andrew's indignant gasp.
"It's Sam- we had an argument, but now I can't find her anywhere." Tucker bit his lip.
"She wouldn't run off, would she? I don't- Where would she even go-?" He worried.
"What happened?! Where'd she go?" Danny's brows furrowed.
"We fought by the entrance, I think maybe she ran off to the garden? But I got lost in this big maze and now it's been hours since I saw her last!" His hands fidgeted.
"Did you check my room? Maybe she slipped by when you were searching?" Danny offered. Tuck nodded.
"I checked. She wasn't in the main area and the bathroom door was open, so was the one to the closet."
"What about Sam's room?" Danny stood from his seat. He grabbed Tucker's hand to keep him from biting at his fingernails.
"I didn't think she'd be there." Tucker facepalmed.
"I should've tried it, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have bothered you." He tried to turn for the exit and pull his hand from Danny's grasp. But Danny didn't let go.
"Nah, you're getting me out of lessons. Let's look together." Danny nodded determinedly. He offered one final wave to GW as he and Tucker made their way out.
"See ya!" The door swung shut behind them.
The 'Writer ran a hand through his hair and collapsed back in his seat. The book before him fluttered to a different page.
"Three years dead…" He mumbled.