Wolves, Witches and Ghosts

Chapter 5: Questions of Mortality and Morality

"We've managed to sort out a schedule for my tutoring with Vlad," Danny said excitedly as he flew circles around Dash, who was doing his best to keep up and maybe try and get the excited halfa to stop. "He'll be coming over on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays, and on Saturday he'll be there most the day. So we can still meet up here on the other days."

Dash finally managed to grab Danny's ghostly tail in his large, blocky hands. "Aha!" he exclaimed, before Danny just phased through his grip in wisps.

Danny floated more or less stationary, save for his ghostly tail, which flicked much like a cat's. He rubbed the back of his neck. "I was rambling again, wasn't I?" The halfa suddenly became really self conscious.

Dash waved off his concerns, despite thinking that Danny was rambling, despite his good reasons for being excited. "It's fine man, you weren't too much. I think it's great that you're happy."

Danny grinned and struck up a fighting pose with his upper body, keeping his ghostly tail. "Thanks Dash."

The two of them continued to let off steam, and Dash couldn't help but notice that Danny seemed to be much more comfortable in his ghostliness in an almost imperceptible manner. Perhaps it was the presence of his ghostly tail, which he usually fought off, favouring his more human legs, or maybe it was the general aura of happiness coming from the boy. Either way, Dash was genuinely pleased for him, if somewhat sad and disappointed at the fact that he still didn't have anyone quite like him in his life. It felt almost like Dash was losing some sort of special connection with the smaller boy, one brought on by shared experiences of isolation that was now dissipating as Vlad's influence in Danny's life grew.

A melancholy note hung over Dash's evening, and he wondered if he should, perhaps, look into networks of other changelings. It had been proposed to him previously, but it hadn't been until recently that he realised just how much he needed to be able to talk to those like him.

He pulled up the web browser on his computer, hunching over the blocky monitor as he typed a URL directly into the search bar. It slowly loaded, and he cursed his slow internet connection as the website slowly came into view.

A banner adorned the top of the website, with blocky text reading 'ICG forums'. Dash clicked to sign up, and runes twisted across the monitor, the runes' magical influence causing his eyes to flash amber momentarily before he was directed to input a username and password.

Upon choosing the username 'FootballBear', Dash was given access to the message boards and felt a rush of exhilaration. It had taken him years, but Danny getting a mentor was apparently the push he needed to join a community that would hopefully help him accept himself.

• • •

Danny's first official tutoring session with Vlad took place on the Wednesday, as the Monday had been more dedicated to working out how they would go forward, and establishing baselines.

Vlad had been impressed by the progress the younger halfa had made with his powers in such a short time, but noted how he was sloppy, vastly unpractised in comparison to the veteran halfa, in the use of his abilities, but he was somewhat skilled nonetheless. If Vlad was being honest, he was both excited and scared to see just how powerful Danny would become in time, with both the raw power of his core, which Vlad could feel the energy from whenever Danny shifted into his ghost form, and his aptitude with learning to control and use his powers.

Danny and Vlad sat cross legged on yoga mats in the lab, despite Danny's protests, and Vlad led the teen through the basic processes of telepathy.

"Telepathy isn't particularly difficult once you master the basics, and requires minimal energy exertion, but the initial learning can be a steep curve," Vlad lectured. "Since you already have experience with telekinesis, I suppose you are familiar with the basic principles of channelling your energy in a non-destructive manner. As such, I would like you to embed your thoughts that you wish to project with ectoenergy, much like how you would with an object, and will it to my own mind. Like this." Vlad said the last bit through telepathy, his words echoing oddly in Danny's brain, as though they were tangible in themselves, and yet not echoing at all at the same time.