Birds Of A Feather- Part 1

Birds of a Feather- Part 1

Summary: Later, Danny would say it started with an itch right below his shoulder blades, an itch that never seemed to go away. But in truth… the first sign was the corvids.

Prompt by @zomb1e-teethteeth Ever since the portal incident, most animals have been incredibly wary around Danny due to his pseudo-undead nature. Except for corvids, which have taken to flocking around him at all hours of the day. (PR395)

Words Count: 2,845

Also on AO3 and FF.net

“Fetch, Cujo!” Standing in front of the fountain, Danny threw the stick, smiling as the green puppy ran after it. His eyes followed the figure. Soon, it disappeared through the trees. Disappeared…

The boy blinked, brow furrowing. “Cujo?” He called. 

No response. Danny frowned. Maybe the dog did disappear, literally. It was a ghost after all. 

“Come here, boy!” He tried again.

A bark sounded, a panting form running out of the trees. The boy perked up. Except… shaggy brown fur, longer legs, floopier ears. This was a different, definitely not ghostly, dog. Still, the animal trotted forward excitedly, a stick in its mouth. It slowed to a stop, five feet from Danny.

The half ghost held his hand out, eyes flickering to the collar. “Hey, where’s your owner?” He took a step forward. 

But the dog shrunk back, whining. 

Danny froze, shoulders falling. “It’s okay.” He tried to soothe. 

The dog dropped the stick, before turning tail and running away. 

The boy sighed. “That keeps happening.”

Sam’s cat, every dog he sees at the park, the rabbits and guinea pigs at the pet store, even the cows and sheep when he and his friends went to the county fair last month…. Even since the accident, most animals have been warry, even incredibly fearful towards him. Something in Danny’s heart clenched, disappointed. This really shouldn’t bother him. He’s not an animal person, never really had been. He’d never been interested in working with animals. He didn’t live on a farm, like his mom had growing up or like his aunt did now. He’d never even had a pet. So it didn’t really matter. It wasn’t a big deal. And yet…

Danny flopped heavily down onto the stone border around the fountain, frowning deeply. From the trees, echoing barks sounded. Soon, a little green dog came running out of the woods. Cujo yipped happily, dropping his stick. Then the dog ran up to Danny. Hoping up on his back legs, Cujo planted his front legs in Danny’s lap and started licking the boy’s hand. 

His lips slowly stretched into a smile. He scratched the dog’s head with his free hand. “At least you like me.”

Cujo yipped again, before jumping up to sit on Danny’s lap. The boy patted his dog for a long moment. Yeah, at least, ghostly animals didn’t have any problem with him, even their living counterparts always ran away or cowered in fear.

Or so Danny thought…

So lost in his thoughts, the boy didn’t notice the ruffle of feathers beside him. Then… there was a chirp. The half ghost turned his head and… there, not a foot from him, was a young raven, its black feathers glistening in the sun.

Danny held his breath, waiting for it to let out a distressed cry, to fly away in fear. But instead… shiny black eyes fixed on him. The raven tilted its head, almost curious.

The half ghost’s brow furrowed. He tensed as the bird hopped forward. What was it doing? Another hop and…the boy gasped, surprised. Smooth black feathers brushed up against his arm. 

Danny looked down, gapping in surprise. The bird had sat down beside him. Beady eyes gazed up at him as well before blinking. The raven looked away, shifting slightly, as if to get more comfortable. One of its wings brushed his leg. A curious chirp, just like before, exited its throat. 

With wide, confused eyes, the half ghost looked between the dog and the bird. Cujo wagged his tail, having only eyes for Danny as the boy patted him; he hadn’t even noticed the bird. The raven chirped a third time. 

Danny’s brow furrowed. What did this bird want? It ruffled its feathers, instantly brushing up against him. And… the boy blinked. He had an idea…

Tentatively, so tentatively, he reached down. A finger touched the black feathers and… the bird instantly relaxed into the touch. It let out a low humming sound, eyes softly closing. It squeezed once, as Danny gently stroked its wings, before it kept humming.

Something in his core leapt. It sounded…. Happy, he thought. Danny continued petting the soft black, feathers. It looked like all living animals didn’t hate him after all.

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The raven stayed by his side long after Cujo hopped off his lab and started chasing his tail. The bird stayed until the sun went down and Danny had to go home. But the next time he came to the park, it returned. 

“Hey there.” Danny greeted as it swopped down, handing on his outstretched hand. He gently scratched its beak, eliciting a pleased thrum.

The raven hung around as he played with Cujo that day. Then, when he transformed, it flew with him back to his house, landing on the tree outside his window as he phased inside and turned back into a human. The bird stayed there all night, waking him up with loud caws in the morning. Danny glared out the window and… instead of one bird looking at him through the window, there were two.

That first raven had gained a friend, now a pair of birds that followed him on his flight to school. But soon, two birds became three, became five, became ten, became twenty. A whole flock. Soon, a whole flock of ravens and crows followed Danny wherever he flew.  Whenever he flew. And sometimes… when he kept his feet firmly planted on the ground as well.  

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In class, Danny slumped in his seat, a bored expression on his face. The lecture went in one ear and out the other as his eyes drifted to the window. It was such a nice day outside, sunny but pleasantly cool. A crow flew by, letting out a caw before it landed on the tree, joining two more of its brethren on the highest branches. 

The corner of Danny’s lip ticked up, watching the group. The newcomer flapped its wings, fluffing out the feathers. It titled his head, its cloudy unfocused eye now becoming visible to  Danny. The bird lowered its beak to each feather as it started grooming. That bird preened for a bit before hopping over on the branch and investigating something near the tree trunk.

The movement disturbed one of the other birds, both of which had been sleeping with wings sheltering their heads from the light. One bird suddenly poked its head up, letting out an undignified squak. It hopped to its feet and started chittering unhappily at the bird that had disturbed it. 

Danny slowly smiled at the antics. Man, those birds were something. Ever since they’d started hanging out around him, he’d started to notice little quirks of behavior. The bird that had just woken up, the one he’d dubbed Mango in his head, was very feisty when bothered. The cloudy eyed one, Cotton-eyed Joe, liked to bring him candy wrappers. And the last bird, the one who was still asleep… that was Vax. And Vax loved beak rubs.

The boy sighed fondly. Earlier, he’d thought he wasn’t much of an animal person but boy, did he love watching those birds. He loved discovering their personalities. He loved picking out silly names. Sure, being followed around when he was a human was stressful; at first he’d worried about his secret. But the birds never seemed to follow him into any building. Except, well…

A soft snore could barely be made out, coming from Danny’s bookbag. One bird had taken to following him much more closely. That first young raven to approach him, a juvenile he called Maggie, liked to snuggle up in his bag. Or on his shoulder. Or in his hair. 

Danny glanced down at the bag, smirking. Yeah, having to hide said bird from his parents and teachers was annoying but… his laughter as the small beak picked through his hair, a fond smile as Maggie snuggled against his cheek. It was definitely worth it. 

The boy looked out the window again. Yes, he really did love those birds. Not only was it nice to be around animals that weren’t terrified of him but… he watched as Vax poked its head up and with a caw, flew off the branch. Really, the best part was getting to fly with them.

Sure, it was annoying and stressful when they got in the way during a ghost fight, except… he held back a fond chuckle. Skulker had learned the hard way not to mess with his birds.

There were more caws as the other two birds lifted off the branches, flying away. Danny’s core twisted at the sight. It was such a nice day… he wished he was out there, flying with his birds. He wished he was soaring through the sky, surrounded by excited calls and fluttering black feathers, instead of land-bound, stuck in this classroom.

Danny glanced at the clock, just another hour. Then he could take a short flight before getting started on homework.

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“Hey, Danny? You wanna go to the Nasty Burger.” Tucker asked.

Well… he was gonna go for a flight. “Sure.” Danny shrugged. He’d just go later.

Sam joined the boys, the trio walking towards the doors. Danny’s backpack gently swayed with the movement. A chirp sounded from inside. The boy blinked, surprised for a moment. Then… oh, Maggie must have woken up.

Once the teens were on the steps, the half ghost took the bag off and gently placed it on the floor. Carefully, he reached inside and pulled out the bird. 

“Hey there.” Danny murmured fondly, scratching the bird right below the beak. 

Maggie hummed, pleased, before hopping onto its feet. With a flap, it moved to Danny’s shoulder, then his head. The half ghost chuckled at the action.

Careful to not dislodge the bird, he bent down to grab his bookbag. He swung the pack onto his back, addressing his friends. “Come on, guys.”

Sam and Tucker both glanced at the bird but didn’t comment, used to the new oddness. They did, however, yelp and duck when the trio were dive-bombed by a hurricane of feathers. 

Danny just laughed, grinning at the onslaught. Suddenly, two birds landed on him, one of each shoulder. “Storm, Luna.” He addressed, recognizing them. Each bird bent down, gently grabbing his shirt. The bird on his left shoulder started flapping. “Not now, guys.” He chuckled.

Another bird fluttered in front of him, cawing insistently. “I can’t go flying with you right now.” Danny waved the birds off. “Later, Poe, okay?”

The bird seemed to understand, even if it let out a sad warble and sagged in the air. Poe flew up, the two birds on Danny’s shoulders following. The half ghost tilted his head up, watching the flock rising through the air. His shoulders fell. Despite the fact he’d told them to go… his core still clenched uncomfortably, wanting to fly with them. 

“Man, they were really excited today.” Tucker commented with a chuckle.

“Yeah.” Danny said mildly.

Sam noticed the reaction, the wistful look in his eye. “What is it?”

The half ghost bit his lip, glancing at the retreating forms. “Oh umm.. It’s nothing.”

The goth raised a brow. “You sure? You’ve that look in your eye.”

Danny hesitated. Then… “I’ve just…. Been itching to fly since the beginning of last period.”

Tucker frowned, looking towards the cloud of black feathers. “Why didn’t you tell us? We can go to the Nasty Burger later.”

The other boy shook his head. “No, it’s fine.” He waved his hand, dismissing the concern. “I can alway go flying later.”

Even as he said the words, his core squeezed uncomfortably. The thought of staying grounded for the next few hours…. It made him suddenly feel almost unbearably heavy. He glanced towards the sky, one last time. He really did want to fly, just for a bit. A muscle in his back twitched oddly at the thought. 

Danny shook his head, dismissing the feeling. “Come on.” He walked faster, the movement jostling Maggie who lifted off his head and followed after the rest of the flock. The half ghost tried not to frown at the action; the bird would be back. “I bet you guys are starving, I know I am.” 

Later, there would be time to spread his metaphorical wings, for his head to get lost in the clouds. But for now… his friends were beside him, his feet planted firmly on the ground.

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Sadly, Danny didn’t get to fly anytime soon. Just as he was leaving the Nasty Burger, his parents called. They wanted him home asap; he needed to help his dad clean out the shed. After was family dinner. Then Jazz insisted on helping him study for his math test, refusing to leave him alone until he agreed. Before he knew it, it was time to get ready for bed.

Sighing disappointedly, Danny looked out the window. The clear, star filled sky. The wind, gently rustling the leaves on the trees. And…his birds. The corner of his lip sank down, as it almost always did these days, the tree in front of his window housed a large portion of the flock. Beady black eyes peered at him through the window. 

And Danny’s core clenched, longingly. The day had been long, almost achingly so. His body felt too heavy, too earth-bounded. He wanted to be outside in the sky, flying. 

“After Mom and Dad go to bed.” The boy whispered to himself. 

He couldn’t afford to get caught missing if his parents checked on him after he was supposed to go to sleep. But… he couldn’t go another night stuck on the ground. He needed to stretch his muscles. He needed to fly.

Danny laid down on his bed, with the lights out and waiting. 11:30. 11:45. Midnight. The lights down stairs turned off, the sounds of his parents’ voices quieting. Another fifteen minutes and…

The half ghost grinned, almost leaping out of bed. His powers tried to boost him, in his excitement. His core strained to lift him off the ground but he barely lifted five inches. He was much too heavy for that as a human. So the half ghost transformed. With a burst of light, he was light as air. Effortlessly, he lifted off the ground and phased through the window. 

Instantly, the birds on the other side noticed. They chattered excitedly in greeting. On another occasion, Danny would have shushed them, worried about the commotion waking his parents. But tonight, he beamed. This was going to be amazing.

“Come on!” The ghost boy took off, rocketing through the sky.

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Flying was Danny’s favorite power, his favorite thing about being a ghost. It always had been, even since he drifted up through his ceiling a week after the accident and realized he couldn't just levitate, he could fly. He could fly. And it was… breath-taking, freeing, incredible. 

Danny breathed deeply, awed as he took in the scene. His town, Amity Park, dimly lit and stretched out below him. The crystal stars hanging above him. It was awe-inspiring. Up here, so far away from the world, he felt free. Like he could go anywhere, do anything. For just a moment, his problems melted away, unable to touch him. He was free, just him and the sky.

The flutter of feathers pulled Danny out of his thoughts, his eyes drifting down from the stars to the air around him. The boy smiled softly. No, it wasn’t just him and the sky. 

Danny’s eyes drank in the sight. The sparkle in the birds’ eyes. Their excited calls. The way their feathers glissen in the moonlight. The bird swirled around him, loving flight just as much as he did. 

And yet it was so different from how he himself flew. As a ghost, flying was effortless. He was light as air, like an astronaut in space. He just thought about where he wanted to go and his body would move there. It was freeing, simple, completely natural. His ghostly body ignored gravity just as easily as his human body breathed.

But the birds… they have to fight against gravity. They pumped their wings, muscles straining, hearts beating wildly to lift them above the ground. They caught updrafts, moved with the wind to fly. The wind moved through their feathers, caressing their wings in a way it never did for him as a ghost. 

Danny floated, stationary while the flock flowed around him. They swooped and dived in a complicated dance. Ordered, carefully controlled chaos. Not ignoring gravity but defying it. 

His core sang at the sight. It was beautiful. So beautiful. And so different from how he flew. And yet, he got to share it with them, one of the few people who ever would. This freedom, this miracle, he got to share it with them, even if ghostly flight was different, a pale imitation even, of their flight. And yet….

The half ghost could almost imagine it, the sensation of feathers ruffled by the wind.

It was then, Danny’s back started to itch.