Though he'd only done it a couple times now, it was fairly easy to glide down the slope. At least simpler than it had been before. Danny leaped off the last edge, and when he hit the ground, he didn't quite process that it hadn't made a sound. But now he was down here, in the Underlands, where Daarin lurked.
A deer just a few yards away had spun around, wide-eyed, and vanished without a second thought. Of course, that wasn't important. What was necessary was finding Daarin. But strangely, there was not a single sight of the little mutant. Hadn't he been expecting him?
"Danny!" Daarin squealed from behind, giggling hysterically when Danny had yelped in surprise and toppled over in the dirt. "It's really you! You're back! Oh, I thought you'd never come back!"
Without warning, or giving Danny a second to process anything, he leaped onto his back with a light laugh. There was really no room to be upset. Daarin only meant well; after all, he was only a kid who lived alone in the woods. And it sure didn't seem like there were many friendly... friends to make around here.
"You did bring something to eat, right?" his small voice had asked, a bit less enthusiastically. The thought of it could've made anyone's heart clench.
"Yeah, I got that taken care of," Danny then smirked to himself. "Hey, is that why you wanted me to come back so badly?"
At this, Daarin gasped, seemingly taken aback as he wormed around Danny's shoulder as he struggled to sit back up again.
"Wh-what? No! Of course not!" he shook his head, ridding new thoughts that burn his rails. "Of course I wanted to just see you again! Ugh, it's been so lonely here, Danny. There's a scary monster around every bend..."
He pouted, resting his muzzle under the werewolf's neck. He'd remained silent for a second, and it was as if he was reminiscing in the moment. Danny furrowed his brows. Had he really missed him so badly? It'd only been a couple days.
He dusted off his pants, sitting up and letting Daarin slide off into the grass with a soft thud. "Like... what?"
At first, it hadn't seemed Daarin had processed the sudden question. But then it was obvious he was pondering over an answer. He glanced down at the grass, knitting his brows. And then he looked up, a blank slate.
"Oh, if you're thinking of killing him, I second your decision," he blinked up with innocent eyes, but the expression on his face was blank. And so was Danny's. "I'm kinda hoping you don't want me to handle him, myself. He could crush me to bits in a single swipe! You are gonna get rid of him, aren't you?"
"Wh-why does everyone always assume this?!"
To his surprise, Daarin giggled at this, glancing back at him with a matter-of-fact, teasing glance. "You're a werewolf, silly! That's what you do! What you're supposed to do...!"
Then he tilted his head, confusion crossing his features. "Why would you forget something as important as your nature?"
"My nature?" Danny parrotted, just as puzzled, and possibly a slight bit concerned. "What are--"
"You haven't met the other werewolf around here...?" his white-beaded eyes widened, as if he'd seen a ghost. "I mean, not here, but he... he lives on the High-Grounds, just like you! I guessed I supposed he was just a part of your pack, or something. But you suuuurely don't act much like a pack-wolf, huh? But you have been around real, human-people, right?"
Another change of expression, all of a sudden. His eyes lowered, and he cast a soft glance up at his friend.
"You're not... lonely, are you, Danny?"
There was an uneasy silence following, that made even the halfa check over his shoulder. Daarin hadn't moved. In fact, each passing second his demeanor grew more and more pathetic. It was strange, and in a way, sorrowful. But soon enough had Danny remembered that he was supposed to keep up conversation.
He shook his head briskly, Daarin unsure whether it was to emphasize his answer, or to rid the stillness.
"No, why?" He began, awkwardly. "I-I've been around people-- I told you that, remember?"
Daarin remained still, but nodded nonetheless. "Well... th-thank goodness! I'm happy for you," he dodged his gaze for a short moment, before springing back to his feet. A bright smile came over his face, as he motioned towards the sinkhole.
"Anyway! There's something I wanna show you! Follow me!"
In that same instant, Daarin had spun around and sprinted off towards the unearthly caves, Danny scrambling back up to follow him close behind. Only a second before he’d skid off the edge had Daarin decided to take a sharp left turn, giggling when he saw Danny nearly fall off the edge behind him.
He’d opened his mouth to call out, but panted for air, as his lungs apparently couldn’t keep up with his little body. Instead, he pushed ahead, nearly disappearing behind a new mound of hedge and brush that was colored a strangely bright orange. Daarin poked his head out from the bushes, still beaming brightly.
“Come on, silly!” Daarin laughed, vanishing into the trees again. “It’s just right over here!”
Once Danny had followed along into the sickly bright-tinted woods, Daarin had bounced up and down in excitement.
“Look, Danny! I live here, now!” he laughed as he said it, too. And Daarin couldn’t stop jumping for joy. “Isn’t it so awesome?”
He nodded silently, plastering a light smile over his face at the new view. From here, they could see just about the very end of the trail, that lead to the river. And these leaves were bright orange. Not like the kind in autumn, of course-- Ivor didn’t have trees like this back at his house. These were different-- and by a longshot. What was even weirder was that despite the ground being littered with crackled leaves and pinecones, the trees overhead still looked full and lush, as if it were only spring.
But brushing those thoughts aside, the teen glanced down in question, towards the mutant. “Yeah, I thought you lived in the caves?”
Daarin had been caught off guard. His bouncing ceased, and for a short moment or two, he’d widened his eyes as if in realization. Then he laughed again. “I live anywhere I want! Remember?”
“Oh, yeah.”
“Uh-huh!” Daarin squealed in pride. “The more territories, the better! And this place is soooo much better-- come on, I’ll show you!”
He pranced a way down the trail before digging through the brush again, somewhere near where the woods met the mouth of the sinkhole, but far enough away not to worry about falling into it at night. Behind here, was a tiny hollow, under a warm patch of sun that shone like a spotlight through the treetops, and a low canopy that made the seclusion feel much more like a cave.
But what really caught Danny’s attention, were the little jars of fireflies hung from the canopy. Of course, they were asleep, but he was sure what a sight it would be at nighttime. It was already getting kind of dull out and though he wouldn’t have wanted to admit it, Danny was certainly curious what the setup would look like at night.
“Did you make all this yourself?” he started, sitting at the mouth of the hollow and laying a hand over Daarin’s head. “And the fireflies...?”
Daarin crawled closer beaming up at his work. “Yup! It took a long time, but it looks really great! And the fireflies are easy to catch, too!” He chuckled quietly shuffling a foreleg through the leaves. Then leaning back into Danny, he sighed, and whispered,
“I’m... really glad you like it, too.”
“Ugh, stupid noxious berries,” Dipper grunted, throwing the brush under the pipe again. Twilight had popped up from behind, curious to just watch.
“What’s that?” Twilight inquired, furrowing her brows at the unusual purple stain that refused to leave Dipper’s vest. “And where have you been, anyway? I haven’t covered every plant species in this universe yet!”
“Oh, relax, it’s just fruit. It’s not gonna kill me if I don’t eat it.” He rolled his eyes, grabbing the tattered washcloth and scrubbing at the mess with that, instead. “I only went past the woods, is all. But now that you mention it, I haven’t really explored around here much. I hear there’s spirits from ancient cults who died during their ceremonies, here.”
His sudden frustrated demeanor had turned positive and upbeat in such an instant, it even scared Twilight a little.
“Well, although I would prefer you stay in eyeshot, I’d rather you not messing around with the paranormal.” Then she paused, looking a bit disgruntled. “But I suppose you’re still going out there, despite Ivor’s warnings to put yourself in critical danger, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, in a word,” Dipper shrugged, before the purple-stained rag flew across the bathroom and smacked the wall, leaving a violet mess behind. “But right now, the main priority is between me and Mr. Stain here. I’ll be gone in just a minute, can’t hang around spirits with attractant on my jacket. Oh-- did you know this stuff attracts ghosts?”
“Interesting,” Twilight hummed to herself, flashing a glance towards the door. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.”
Only once she stepped out into the rest of the house, despite the glare of light blurring her vision, the obvious presence of Danny was certainly there. Twilight blinked furiously, hoping to make out the silhouette any better.
“Daniel?” Twilight called, still unsure whether her eyes were playing tricks on her.
“Yep. I’m home. Surprise.” He’d tossed his bag to the floor, rolling his eyes, though a bit oblivious that Twilight didn’t note his sarcasm. “Heading to bed,”
Twilight furrowed her brows, still greatly confused the halfa had decided to return home, and still intact, from as much as she could see. Now the glare was fading away, and it was almost abnormal to see him without there being blood everywhere. In fact, he almost seemed serene.
“Strange,” Twilight muttered, giving him a challenging look. “Since when have you been so dedicated to come back home in one piece?”
Oh-ho-ho, Princess. You do really hate him, don’t you? I can feel your hatred, Princess, and your anger is so fulfilling!
Twilight hadn’t been listening. Or, at least she hadn’t wanted to. The mare faltered, when Danny had dove right into bed, ignoring her comment.
It wasn’t so easy to brush off; it was sort of worrying that Danny hadn’t taken the opportunity to argue back with a sharp quip, or even a glare. Instead, he crashed into bed, with his back turned, so Twilight couldn’t tell if he was really asleep or not. But he must have been absolutely bushed; He’d been out all day, and barely slept last night. Danny was tired. And it took only now to realize it.
You really did some damage on the kid, Princess! I almost feel some sort of sorrow for the pathetic little thing. Maybe I was wrong, Precious Stone. Maybe you’re not such a bad host, after all.