Guess who forgot what day it was?
... That's right, it's me.
...
Again.
Oops.
.
.
.
Chapter 194: Forests
.
Danny was getting hungry. Yes, he could, technically speaking, absorb as much energy as he wanted from the air, and he could survive on that. His human half still got hungry. Especially when he was bored.
He rarely got to experience boredom-related hunger, but he did experience it.
The anxiety about all the things he should be doing (protecting Amity Park from the GIW, saving his parents from trial, figuring out what this 'King' thing really meant for him, learning what happened to his friends after he left them) was an unwelcome addition. Was anxiety hunger a thing?
Either way, this was not fun. Cuddling was nice, but this was too much. Helping Clockwork was good, but he wasn't sure this was helping. He was just being an oversized, living body pillow, and-
Oh, Ancients. He had done this to Clockwork, hadn't he? He did this to Clockwork all the time and this was payback.
Great. Cool. Alright. Clockwork had a sense of humor. Danny liked that. On the other hand, he usually had knowledge of future events to go along with it and knew when to stop playing around. Unlike now.
Now he felt guilty. It wasn't Clockwork's fault. Clockwork needed help and comfort, too. If Danny was having a hard time, Clockwork was having a terrible time.
But he was hungry. And bored. And anxious. And trapped.
But he was comfortable. And safe. And loved. This wasn't the worst situation Danny had ever been in. Clockwork had to wake up at some point. Then, Danny could start to get a handle on his problems, and Clockwork could snuggle and pet him as much as he liked while he did it.
(Danny sort of liked being petted. Just not being stuck.)
He squirmed and went limp again. His arm was falling asleep. He wished the rest of him would, but he was too keyed up. Too anxious. Also, not sleepy enough, not after all the naps he's been taking lately.
Anxious, anxious, anxious. He was hating the word. Why was he like this?
Clockwork stirred and groaned. Danny held his breath, hoping he would wake up, but still not wanting to force him awake.
Wake up, wake up, wake up.
Clockwork rolled over, onto his back, and blinked his red eyes open.
"Was I asleep?" he asked, voice uncharacteristically rough. He released Danny to rub his head.
"Yep," said Danny, sitting up. "You were asleep. Totally, one hundred percent. No doubt."
"Ah, did I trap you?" asked Clockwork.
Danny shrugged. "Not really."
Clockwork raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, maybe a little bit." Danny stretched, and rolled his shoulders, popping them. "Ow."
Clockwork shifted and began to rub Danny's back. Danny hummed, but turned to face Clockwork.
"Grandfather," he said, "I'm sorry to ask but… Can you show me what's going on in Amity Park? I'm really worried about what's going on there."
Clockwork blinked at him, slowly. "Show you… What?"
"Amity Park?"
"Yes? You know, the town I'm from?"
Clockwork frowned. "But you have always been from here. Since several thousand years ago. I remember that. Since the beginning of time and space."
"Oh," said Danny, sagging. "Cool."
"You remember that, too, don't you?"
"Not really," said Danny.
"Very good." Clockwork patted Danny's shoulder and looked around. "We have many things to talk about today. Many things to talk about yesterday. You have your crown?"
Danny reached up to touch the hairclip the crown was currently disguised as. "Yeah."
Clockwork also reached out to touch it but stopped a hairsbreadth from actually doing so. "A crown of ice. The Crown of Ice. Very good. Very good. We have many things to talk about. Many things." He got off the bed and rubbed his hands together. "Many things. Where's my staff?"
"I, um, I don't know," said Danny, frowning. When was the last time he had seen it? "I think you might have dropped it, when you were fighting with Nephthys? Well, right after you stopped, actually."
"That can't be right," said Clockwork. "The only thing Nephthys and I fight about is my oven."
That statement was such a lie Danny didn't even know where to start.
Clockwork muttered and tugged at his hair, clearly agitated.
"Never mind. I will find it, eventually. Eventually." He flicked his hand. "It isn't as if anyone else can use it, anyway. They'd need, oh, they'd need…" Clockwork trailed off. "Never mind. We have many things to talk about. Many things. You are to be king! King of All Ghosts. King of the Infinite Realms. Little prince. Lord of the floating islands." He ruffled Danny's hair. "My precious little one. Cherished child."
Was… Was Clockwork tearing up?
(Danny was not prepared for this.)
"Many things to talk about. Many things. You must be prepared! So many things you don't know… So many things. We need…" Clockwork spun. "We need the library! Come along, come along."
Danny slipped off the bed, grabbed the lens and mirror, and followed Clockwork, his walk turning into a run as Clockwork's speed picked up.
Well. Maybe he'd get one of the four things he was worried about taken care of. Maybe. If what Clockwork was about to tell him was anything like accurate. Which it might not be, considering Clockwork's current mental state. He might give Danny information from some timeline that diverted from this one before Rome fell. He might give Danny information from five thousand years ago. He might give Danny information from five thousand years from now.
Well, at least it would be interesting.
(But there were so many other things he needed to do.)
He flashed into ghost form to keep up with Clockwork.
"Grandfather? Why are you going so fast?"
"Many things to do, many things."
.
.
.
Heat. Heat and humidity. Heat, humidity, and horrible biting insects. True, whenever one bit Dan, it shortly erupted into flames, squealing for a second before expiring, but they were annoying, taking a tiny chunk of his ectoplasm each time.
None of them bit Nephthys.
Movement caught Dan's eye, and he turned, glaring. He couldn't see anything among the neon colors of the foliage.
That didn't mean there was nothing there.
"Careful," said Nephthys, pulling him away from a clump of red flowers. They stood in clumps on long stems, velveteen leaves evenly spaced on their stems. "Letheblossom itself isn't terribly dangerous unless you eat it, but they may be wet."
Dan recovered his arm with a jerk. "I know. Did you see that?"
"You are going to have to be more specific," said Nephthys, cheerfully. "I see a great number of things here. Jaguars, and blue lightning macaws. Harpies and maned monkeys. Glass and razorwing butterflies. Twelve-toothed frogs. Needle throwing flowers. They are almost all deadly. Or at least painful."
"Wonderful. That makes me feel so much better."
"Pain brings change," said Nephthys. "Almost as much as death does." She brushed a hanging flower with a finger. "But we're barely halfway into the canopy. Wait until we get to the understory, or the forest heart."
"Forest heart?"
"It isn't as if there's a floor in there, after all," said Nephthys.
"It isn't going to be beating or anything, is it?"
"Did you know, some people call the other river, not this one, the Artery?"
Dan squinted. Was Nephthys making fun of him? It certainly seemed like it.
"We aren't going to get attacked, are we?"
"You never know," said Nephthys. "No one was stupid enough last time I came by, but, well, things change."
She was far too cheerful about that. Not that Dan was nervous, or afraid, oh, no. Not a chance. He could fight anything she could. It was only that it was ridiculous to hope to be ambushed.
Except, he had done that, hadn't he?
(What had been wrong with him?)
Unsettled, he put a hand to his chest, feeling subtle pulse of his core. It hadn't been all that long ago that he would have started a fight with some forest dweller just for the heck of it, that he would have reveled in the idea of a violent encounter. That's what he had been doing, fighting the Observants back at Long Now.
But he'd had a reason for that. He'd relish a fight with one of them, even now.
(What was wrong with him?)
"Hey," said Nephthys.
Dan jerked back. When had she gotten so close?!
"Existential crises are normal after large changes," said Nephthys. "Particularly when I am the one causing them. This is not, however, a good place to have one."
"I'm not having an existential crisis!" said Dan, deeply offended. "I don't have existential crises. I know what I am."
"You've had half a dozen or thereabouts since I came to get you from Mattingly," said Nephthys. "You don't have to be ashamed about it. If our location wasn't what it is," she gestured at the jungle around them, "I'd even encourage it."
"What happened to 'we have plenty of time.'"
"Oh, we still have plenty of time. I just don't want you to jump in river. You'd probably get eaten coming out, and I'd be rather put out if that happened."
Dan snorted. "What, because you need me to do something else for you? Beat up some Observants? Be a pawn in whatever game you're playing with the old man?"
"No," said Nephthys, quite calmly, eyes deep, dark holes behind her veil, "because I've grown rather fond of you, all things considered." Her voice grew dry. "I can't say why, of course. You are one of the most irritating and troublesome people I have ever met. Rude, too."
"You can stop worrying. I'm not weak enough to get eaten. What would eat me, anyway?" Cannibalism was as much frowned upon in the Ghost Zone as in the human world, and there was no way a stupid animal would see him.
"Cannibalism is not as common in the Realms as it historically was in the human world," said Nephthys. "But human imagination leaves its mark. They imagine cannibals in the deep and trackless jungles, and so here they are. But, more specifically, the jaguars. They are cousins to the tigers, and they are on the High Council. Take that as you may."
"They couldn't kill me," said Dan. "I've faced them before. I destroyed them before."
"Not in the midst of a breakdown you haven't," said Nephthys. "But if you're over it, come along."
Dan bared his teeth, a hiss curling on the back of his tongue, but he followed Nephthys.
She couldn't possibly be serious about being 'fond' of him. It was a ridiculous and transparent lie. She needed him for something.
Or did she? There wasn't any reason for her to need him for what amounted to a fetch quest. Dan's face twisted as if he had tasted something sour.
(How long had it been since he had actually tasted something sour? He didn't physically eat often, after he became a full ghost, not unless he wanted to make a point, or disgust someone. Once, he had eaten a handful of worms and grave dirt to creep out Valerie. Admittedly, it hadn't worked very well.)
"We are getting closer, I think," said Nephthys. "It won't be long. Another few hours, perhaps."
"How the heck do you know that? Earlier, you hadn't any idea where Memento was."
"The leaves," said Nephthys. "They're changing. It would do you good to learn more about the world around you."
"Whatever," growled Dan.
