Chapter Text
After Danny agreed to join Valka and her dragons to their sanctuary, the woman had smiled the widest smile she could possibly make and began to hurriedly prepare the dragons for the trip. As she swung her rattling staff around, her dragons started to rise to the air. Her earthy brown owl-faced dragon easily hefted her onto its back, gracefully rising into the sky.
Three odd looking and burly dragons hovered right above Danny. With another signal from Valka's staff, the dragons lowered themselves and strategically gripped onto the halfa's streamlined body, lifting him precariously into the air. He briefly wondered how heavy this body was before his body tensed up at the feeling of gravity trying to regain its grip on him.
Danny took a moment to try and settle his nerves before looking down at Cujo, the little-big dragon watching with wide, calculating eyes, tracking the dragons and seeing what the likelyhood of them dropping Danny for Cujo to save is. The halfa felt a wry grin cross his elongated lips as he faintly wondered the same thing.
"Cujo," the ghost immediately focused his attention to Danny as he spoke, "Go ahead and fly. Unless you want one of these other guys to carry you if you can't." He couldn't help but smirk as he saw Cujo visibly reject the idea in the form of a bafflingly disgruntled expression. He shook himself off and quickly tested his large wings, before doing a great leap with a grand flap to achieve shaky airborne. His tail seemed to be tricky for him to get control over and tended to over balance him or tip his body too far to one side.
It makes a bit of sense. Cujo has a short tail as a dog and doesn't need to use it to balance himself. As a dragon, it's long and somewhat thin, with a heavy weight on the end.
The other dragons stood clear of Cujo's trajectory, almost as if they know the hazards of young dragons learning to fly with tail clubs.
Valka put her helmet back on, swung her staff above her head, and pointed towards the direction of the sea. The flock all roared and turned to where she dictated and started to fly in tandem. The three dragons carrying Danny flew in between the group in a strategic protective circle, with Cujo flapping a ways beside Danny's right side, enough space between them for the ghost to get the handle on flying and avoid smacking a dragon with his new tail.
With Valka and Cloudjumper in the lead, the group quickly travelled a great distance over the vast ocean, passing several large and small islands in their flight.
Along the way, Cujo had gotten used to his new body and no longer seemed to struggle with keeping up his wing beats. He even got a hold of how to properly fly with his tail, with it not being such a major problem as before to the point that the other dragons are willing to fly closer.
Danny himself dealt with the throbbing pain in his shoulder by gazing wide eyed in every direction as they flew. He had never been anywhere outside of Amity Park in his half-life, besides Lake Eeriee and that one camp his class had been to over the summer. He hasn't even gotten the chance to go to college yet, too busy dealing with the responsibilities of ruling the Ghost Zone as High King. The Ghost Zone itself has some places and kingdoms from old eras lost to time but they're not quite the same as traveling to those specific places in the living world.
They passed islands full of vegetation and towering pine trees, vast, clean oceans that would occasionally hold a wooden boat or several with sails far off in the distance, other dragons flying through the air and breaching the water below. Danny was even sure he saw a village full of interesting looking wooden houses on one of the islands further out to sea.
Danny was so distracted by everything they were passing that he didn't notice their destination until white snow started to cover the rocky gray land below. He turned his head forward and felt his breath catch in his lungs at the sight before them.
There, in the distance and approaching quickly, was a grand mountain-looking structure of jagged ice. It seemed to be made of a green-tinted ice that rested on a great land of rocks emerging from a heavy, white fog. There seemed to be entrances to the sanctuary that spilled out more of the fog to the sea and land below. The ice itself reminded Danny almost of those still pictures of water exploding in sharp spiked patterns. The absolutely giant mountain was half surrounded by land completely covered in snow and cold mist, giving the place that much more of a mystical, awe inspiring aura.
They got closer and finally flew in through an opening in the rocky part of the mountain. The mountain of ice was even bigger than Danny could imagine up close. The opening was large enough for several dragons to fly straight in side-by-side, probably to accommodate Danny, and the rocks had a strange look to them, like endless rows of long, cylindrical pillars grouped together to create land to walk on. Ice was still thrown about in some places, and a few rows of the pillared rocks seemed to have been knocked over to create space. But soon enough, their flight through the tunnels ended and they emerged from the exit into a bright light.
After quickly getting used to the sudden light, Danny's jaw dropped at the absolutely stunning scene before him. There were large beams of light shining through the ice high above them, highlighting the beautifully green surroundings below. There were those clumps of rocky pillars and pure ice rising straight to the high ceiling, holding the icey roof up. The pillars, platforms, and walls around them were a metallic, rocky grey nearly completely covered in green moss, plants, and those fuzzy curtains of vegetation that are most iconic for being in jungles. The walls surrounding the entire mountain towered high in a strange yet beautiful amalgamation of pillared rocks and jagged ice, stretching in all directions, giving the place a feeling of infinite space despite being inside. Below them were large and small bodies of water covered in icy mist, and even steam from a few pools that seem to be hot springs. Numerous waterfalls pushed out of crevices in the rocky walls, adding to the mist spray and faint fog within the mountain. There was a chill to the air that felt amazing to breathe in but was not overbearing to a normal human body or detrimental to the life of the plants that thrive here.
It all combined to give the whole place a sense of ancient, serene nature, completely untouched by the living creatures that call the earth home.
Of course, it wasn't as untouched as it looked, as countless dragons of different shapes and sizes and colors flew through the wide area and beyond freely, and rested amongst themselves and the vegetation. Some were even swimming or lounging in the various pools and lakes below them. Danny thought he saw something large and white with gradients of black hidden deep underneath the water, but couldn't be sure as the group were headed in the opposite direction.
Before long, Valka landed her dragon down on a large, raised platform of rock and greenery above the misted-over water but easily within a hop, skip, and flap away. The dragons either dispersed to do their own thing or joined her. Cujo and the ones carrying Danny landed behind them, in a fit of frantic flapping to prevent a crash and gentle, careful hovering, respectively.
The moment the dragons let go, Danny immediately got up to stretch as much as he was able to and attempt to reorientate himself with his new body all over again after the hours long trip of doing nothing but swing his head around to view the sights. Cujo did the same as he worked out the kinks in his wings and dropped his heavy tail to the ground.
A crowd seemed to slowly be growing as Valka approached the two ghosts. The watching eyes made Danny a bit uncomfortable but tried not to show it. He was King of the Ghosts. He couldn't show weakness or the more malevolent ghosts or humans would take advantage of it. But it's still pretty unnerving to be watched so intently. I've never really dealt with attention well since it was mostly ever negative at home.
Danny stood straighter with his head held high to portray his false confidence. He debated for a second but lowered his wing so that both were on the ground, trying not to look weak, that a mere branch would cause him such pain. It shouldn't hurt as much as it did. He's dealt with worse in his fights against the other ghosts. But he supposes being in a completely different body would make things confusing and oversensitive.
Valka stopped a reasonable distance in front of the two, seeming to respect their personal bubbles at the moment. "Will you allow me to treat your shoulder?" She pointed at the branch stuck in his flesh and he made a bit of a show of acting like he was thinking it over. He didn't need to think to know he needed help with getting it out. Himself or Cujo aren't the best options for removal and treatment in their new bodies.
Danny nodded and went to lay down with access to his shoulder, throwing his wing over his back. The action caused him to pull his muscles, which tugged against the branch painfully. He hid his wince as Valka stepped over to a closer look.
Several dragons leapt off the platform for a few moments before reappearing with their wings acting like bowls to hold steaming water. One dragon hopped up and slowly poured one wing-bowl's water above the wound. Danny couldn't help but flinch at the feeling, having the water clear away the topmost layer of blood and seeping into the gash. Usually Danny can handle pain worse than this, but there's something different about having hot water slide into the cut and abuse the edges of his exposed nerves in an overwhelming burning heat.
After pouring the other wing's worth of water, the dragon stepped off to the side and joined the crowd. Cujo stepped up close to his head to watch over the halfa and prevent any further injury. The brunette then began to gently prod her hands against his shoulder, testing how deep the branch goes. All too soon, she wraps her hands around the thick branch and prepares herself to heave.
"You might want to hold onto something." Valka warns before working to pull the offending item out as quickly as she could.
Danny's eyes went wide and he threw his head back in pain, barely aware of the anguished howl coming from his throat. He doesn't notice the small bursts of blue flame flickering out past his draconic lips, too busy focusing on the unique pain being inflicted on him. The feeling of something so jagged leaving his flesh, at times leaving behind more bark to get stuck inside against the walls, all the thin needle-like splinters seemingly appearing out of nowhere to stab his insides. It all painted a very unpleasant removal.
Another dragon carefully approached to dump more water into and around the wound, making the removal slightly easier, preventing more splinters from separating from the branch, and washing away the new dribble of blood.
The halfa struggled to calm his thrashing legs and lashing tail, clawing at the ground and holding it tight. After running out of breath, he lowered his head to bite on a protruding cylindrical rock in an attempt to quiet himself to grunts and whines, tasting the moss and grass rising from it but preferring that to howling or biting a close by dragon in his pain.
Once out, the branch was thrown to the side, leaving a slight bloody trail from where it bounced and skid across the floor. Valka immediate got to work getting rid of all the bits of visible bark still within the wound. More water was poured, igniting his nerves a bit, but was overtaken by the violent throbbing he felt in the muscles around the injury. He heaved deep breaths as he worked through the discomfort and pain as Valka meticulously removed every piece of bark and splinter from his body, occasionally getting buckets of water dumped to clear out the blood and help loosen some stubborn bits.
After what felt like hours but most likely wasn't even close to 10 minutes, Valka works on closing and bandaging up the wound with large leaves and ropes of vine. It seems they didn't have much here in the sanctuary to act as stitches for tough-scaled dragons who are bigger than humans.
Finally beginning to relax, Danny stiffly let go of the rock he was biting. He started working out the kinks in his jaw and rubbing his sore teeth with his tongue as he looked down. He noticed all of the harsh scrapes and deep gashes in the rock and grass, wincing to himself at the visible proof of how much the pain bothered him.
Danny looked towards the brunette to see her washing off her hands with the leftover water in a dragon's wings. She caught him looking and gave him a gentle smile. Cujo distracted him by bounding up to aggressively snuggle against his neck, giving it a few licks.
The halfa shivers and lets out a quiet, gruff laugh at the sensation. "Cujo, stop." He reached his head down to rub his scaly and horned nose against the ghost's back and side, tickling him. What ensued was a cuddle war, one ghost attempting to rein supreme over the other in their affection.
As the two ghosts chased each other around and tackled the other with love, Danny didn't notice how the pain seemed to melt away the more he played. He also didn't notice the awed yet fond smile of Valka watching over them.
•••
The next day showed itself in the form of singing dragons, rambunctiously loud baby dragons, green and blue tinted sunlight, and Cujo trying to choke Danny out in his sleep.
Danny woke up with a start to sunbeams in his eyes and the ghost dog sprawled across his long neck, snoring away to the heavens. He wheezed as he attempted to move the dragon off of him without waking him. With a struggle, he managed to wiggle his neck from under Cujo by gently shoving him with a wing.
Once standing, Danny began to stretch all the minor kinks out from sleeping on a grass bed. His wings and tail kept knocking into the cave walls, and at one point, his horns scraped against the ceiling. He huffed at the interruptions and turned to leave his and Cujo's 'room'.
Danny continued to stretch on his way to the large lake down a few paces from the cave entrance. Once at the edge, he takes several large gulps before noticing his new face.
Leaning his head back to look at himself more clearly, Danny inspected the dragon staring back at him with wide eyes. His nose had two jagged horns protruding from the top of his large nostrils, and spiked eyebrows reminiscent of Horned Lizards or a certain species of desert viper sitting upon giant toxic green eyes. His elongated snout had two rows of teeth, one on each jaw. Said teeth seemed to be mismatched in length and pattern, with two longer teeth on the top row that resembles fangs, while the front bottom teeth seem to stick out to frame the outside of Danny's upper lip. There was even a pair of shark-like teeth tucked towards the back of his upper jaw, in the way they are unnaturally large and have three points.
Tilting his head to the side reveals a great set of double horns on each side, protruding from behind his eyes and skull. They curve upwards in a sort of wavy motion, and come together almost looking like his crown is still sitting above his head. There were also three pairs of smaller spines poking out from his bottom jaw.
All in all, Danny's dragon form looked rugged.
At least I look cool. It's a bit ironic my horns look like my crown, though. Can't escape my Kingly position, it seems, no matter what crazy world I get dropped into.
The sound of footsteps approaching catch his attention. He turns his head to see Valka without her helmet or armor and her owl-faced dragon walking towards him with keen expressions. Standing up straight to show he isn't a slouch, let alone feeling awkward about the upcoming one-sided conversation, Danny faces the two completely.
After a moment of Valka looking the halfa over, trying to determine if he is doing well, before giving him a gentle smile, "Good morning, Silver Phantom. I hope you enjoyed your rest. May I check on your wound to see if it is faring well?" She politely asks as she points to the slightly askew makeshift bandage wrapped around his chest.
Danny looked down at his shoulder briefly before giving the woman a firm nod. He settles down close to the ground to allow her easier access while keeping his chest a few inches above the floor in case she needs to remove the leaves.
Valka set to work immediately, pulling apart the leaves and vines to take a look underneath. A sudden gasp caught Danny's attention. He abruptly turned his head to glance at what had Valka so shocked.
From what the halfa can see, the injury seemed to have healed a good third of the way overnight. The edges of his open wound seemed to be stitching back together with pink scar tissue in an almost starburst shape. The exposed inside was closing up well it seems, as it is now half as deep compared to when the branch was first taken out. A lot of the wound has scabbed over as well, further closing it and adding a dark red to the future pink starburst scar.
Danny was confused about Valka's reaction to the healing process, so he tilted his head to the side with the best quizzical look he could muster on his face, hoping to express his questioning intention.
Looking up at his face then back to the wound, the woman put a hand near her lips in an intrigued manner. "I've never seen regeneration in a dragon this fast before... It's amazing..." Ah, there's the reason. He forgot that not everyone had the same increased healing that he did. He had assumed that dragons wouldn't be all that different to ghosts in that way. "It looks like the worst of it has already been healed. Dragons certainly have a faster recovery compared to humans, but never to this extent. At this rate, you should be completely rid of your wound, possibly by tomorrow."
The young king shook his body just a bit at having one of his ghost powers be exposed so easily. He stood up to hide his nerves, and proceeded to stretch his wing out. The wound stung, but for the most part has healed the most troublesome of the pain overnight. He spots a bright splash of green out of his sharp peripherals and turns his head to see Cujo stumbling out of their shared cave in a sleepy daze. He lets a small grin cross his face at the sight.
"Do you think you can fly, Silver Phantom?" Danny's gaze was drawn back to Valka, who looked vaguely excited. "I would like to show you someone." Her words and smile were cryptic, but Danny trusted the woman enough to think she wouldn't backstab him. At least not entirely. So he gave her a quick nod.
Looking back to Cujo, who seemed more awake and splashing in the lake, he made his decision, "Cujo," The puppy paused to stare intently at the halfa, his tail wagging in the water, "We're gonna go meet someone. Are you coming with us?"
He didn't need to ask as Cujo immediately started hopping out of the water, flinging water droplets everywhere as he ran towards his ghost boy. "Yes! Follow Partner!"
As soon as Cujo reached them, he violently shook out the water from his body and wings, splashing Danny, Valka, and Cloudjumper with cold water. The halfa chuckled as he tried to shield himself from the onslaught.
Staring straight at the giggling woman and her calmly disgruntled dragon, he let out a rumble from his throat in a way he hopes she'll understand as 'lead the way'.
Valka boarded Cloudjumper and gave the two ghosts a gentle smile, "Well then, let us go and meet the Alpha."