Transcendental Misappropriation (Book One of the Pentacle Series)

by Roharp17

  Danny held back a groan, as he turned to look up at the ceiling. He knew he wasn’t going to get any sleep now. Then Jade mumbled something about being quiet or he would wake Danny Jr, and then proceeded to use Danny’s arm as a body pillow. Danny looked at the willowy girl with more than a little worry.

  After a few awkward moments when the girls first woke up, they had breakfast and headed out. His team traveled to an isolated area on the edge of the Great Forest, calling for Phantom. Danny was starting to stress that she had been caught by a trap, or went ranging out too far to hunt, and wouldn't hear him. Then she suddenly leaped out of nowhere to tackle him. The girls screamed in surprise and started to reach for their weapons before they noticed who Danny's attacker was. Danny was laughing and trying to wrestle the now large pony-sized cat, with little to show for it.

  "I hate it when she does that," Jade complained.

  Brooke laughed, "What does he think he is doing, besides getting his clothes dirty?"

  Ivy looked up at the sun peeking over the horizon and yelled at the two wrestlers, "Come on you two, we are going to be late!"

  Danny got up from the ground, but not before Phantom swatted him playfully in the back, almost knocking him down again. Danny turned and connected with the cat mentally while talking to her. He tried to explain where they were going and who would be with them. The cat looked at him and moved forward to rub her head against his chest, knocking him backwards a step. He decided to take that as a, "Yes Danny, I will be a perfect angel at all times."

  They moved back towards the side of the town where they would be meeting up with the caravan. Danny was worried about the military's reaction to Phantom, "Hey, can you think of a way to make Phantom look less threatening when we walk up? I assume a lot of wizards do not have familiars."

  Ivy looked over at him and the cat, "No, it sounds like only the elven druids have familiars."

  Brooke looked thoughtful, "What about if you put a collar on her?"

  Danny shook his head, "She won't take one. Rips it off within seconds. Plus I am worried she is still growing."

  Ivy hesitated for a second, "She wouldn't appear threatening if you showed up on her back. Have you tried riding her since she got so big?"

  Danny slowly turned his head to look at Ivy with a big smile on his face. He looked like she had just told him today was Christmas.

  Ivy had instant regret written all over her face, "Oh no..."

  Danny looked over at Phantom and sent her a mental image of him riding on her back quickly through the field they were in. He could tell that she was always frustrated with how slow he was when they played. The cat stopped, then went over to Danny, nudging him. With the aid of her mental cues, he was starting to figure out her body language quickly. This one meant yes. Otherwise she would have just run into the forest.

  Danny tried climbing on Phantom's back but her skin was very loose and he ended up just rubbing her back. He eventually got her to lay down so he could just step across her back. Then she stood up, and Danny almost toppled over.

  Ivy piped up next to them, "Danny, we need to hurry. I know I suggested this but we don't have much..."

  Phantom must have sensed Ivy’s urgency or decided it was playtime, because she took off like a bullet. Danny had just barely grabbed the scruff of her neck and avoided falling off. When the cat had taken off, Danny could only think about hanging on for dear life. Danny had never ridden a horse, in this life or the last. He did remember all the advice he had heard on television and movies saying to not fight the animal's gait. He found he didn't have time to focus on his body position as he was only attached to the leopard by his hands. The cat raced around the three girls in a wide circle.

  The Trio started walking again towards their destination while Danny did his best impression of a human-shaped cape. As they made their first pass of the girls he could hear Brooke and Jade laughing, while Ivy yelled something at him. He was getting a little better at staying on. Instead of being afraid of falling off, he now was just trying to stop slipping constantly from one side to the other.

  Danny could see the town gate ahead and the caravan waiting nearby. The military platoon was lined up and looked ready to set out. Danny could see the Basalts standing over to the side. Danny noted there were multiple carriages and a few carts. That was all the view Danny got before Phantom decided it was time to leave the field.

  Trees suddenly appeared around him as they flew by. He could hear all three of the girls yell from behind him this time. Phantom leapt up to a lower branch and Danny fell sideways. She stopped once she got on the branch, and he shakily managed to finish slipping off from the leopard's side. Phantom gently pushed her head into his chest questioningly and Danny rubbed it, reassuring her. He decided that riding the cat was fun but he was probably going about it the wrong way. He doubted he could get a saddle on her.

  Then Danny had an idea and felt stupid for not considering it earlier. Well, he wasn't too upset with himself, as his first experience at riding hadn't exactly been a leisurely stroll through the field. He connected mentally with the cat and just left the connection on in the background for Cranny to deal with. He had her lay down so he could climb back on, then he asked her to start moving through the forest again. Phantom hesitated for a second before leaping down from the branch and gaining speed. She then began leaping from branch to branch. Danny's connection allowed him to know when she was about to jump. He started to recognize the muscles under him bunching in a familiar way before each jump. He hadn't been one for extreme sports before, but this was exhilarating! Through his connection he shared his experience with Phantom, which he could tell she enjoyed.

  Phantom jumped to the highest branch on a tree overlooking the Great Forest. The wind blew through Danny’s hair and he took in as much air as he could in a deep breath. Turning, the town of Crossbark didn’t look so big from up here. Danny realized he was alone up here and with a single request, Phantom would take him far away from here. He could go visit the elves on his own, or go see the dwarves in their mountain.

  Looking back, he thought about his family and the three girls waiting on him below. Danny sighed and looked once more into the vast distance of the forest before him. The peaceful moment lasted for a few minutes. Patting the cat's head below him he sent her a request to head toward the caravan as he was sure they were late.

  As they came out of the forest at full speed, Danny could see his Trio standing next to the Basalts. As Phantom approached the caravan, soldiers turned in alarm and raised their weapons. A handful of wizards on that side began preparing spells. Danny finally got Phantom to slow and stop at distance. He could see the soldiers' shock at recognizing Danny riding on the beast. Danny looked over to see the Basalts and his Trio conversing loudly with a tall woman in a military uniform. Finally, the tall woman yelled some orders and weapons were lowered and spells snuffed out. Arya reached up and motioned for Danny to head over. It took some convincing to get Phantom to move towards a group she now considered a threat. With Danny's soothing thoughts, she relented. They moved through the ranks of the platoon surrounding the caravan and stepped up to the Basalts and the tall woman.

  Arya spoke up first, "Danny, when I agreed to let you bring Phantom and you said we wouldn't even know she was here. I didn't think that would mean because you planned for the two of you to die in a blaze of fireballs thrown by a dozen startled military wizards."

  Danny smiled uncertainly, "Sorry ma'am, I thought that riding up on her would look less threatening, and Phantom took to the role a little more enthusiastically than I would have thought."

  "Mrs. Basalt, my apologies, it was my idea at the last moment for him to try riding the animal. I should have foreseen him sowing chaos with such a simple suggestion," Ivy apologized to Arya while smiling at Danny.

  The tall woman in the military uniform Danny had seen before stepped up, desperate to ask, "Is that really a ghost leopard?"

  Arya turned to the woman, "Yes it is, Lie
utenant Cove, and I apologize again for my husband’s apprentice. He has acquired this... pet recently and the creature refuses to be separated from him. It is very protective of him, so we have allowed him to keep it. I hope this doesn't affect our ability to stay with the caravan?"

  Lieutenant Cove turned to Danny, "Boy, what is your name?"

  "Danny, Ma'am."

  "How exactly did you come about getting the most dangerous animal in the great forest a pet?"

  "I found it as a cub, all alone, and raised it."

  Lieutenant Cove looked suspiciously at him for a second, "I don't know, your animal will only scare our horses and we don’t have ti..."

  A woman appeared from behind the Lieutenant and approached Danny and Phantom. Danny was shocked to see it was an elven woman. As expected, her beauty seemed to have come from another world and she moved with an unnatural grace he hadn't seen with the injured Leaf.

  "Ambassador, please do not get near the leopard. It is very dangerous and I cannot ensure your safety so close," Lieutenant Cove pleaded.

  The ambassador ignored the lieutenant and looked from the leopard to Danny. Reaching out, she smiled while extending her hand, "Young man, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I am the Elven Ambassador to your people, and am pleased to find one amongst you who has won the favor of one of the sacred beasts." The woman reached out with her other hand and pet Phantom, who began to immediately purr and push into her hand.

  Danny was a little overwhelmed by the elven woman's enchanting smile and sudden appearance. He took a moment before he replied, "It is an honor to make your acquaintance, Lady Ambassador. Please, call me Danny."

  The elven woman's smile brightened, "Danny, I would very much like to speak with you more on our trip. I especially would like to get to know more about your "pet" here."

  "Of course, Lady Ambassador, I would like that as well."

  "Ambassador, please we must get going," The Lieutenant urged.

  Nodding her head, she turned to smile one last time at Danny and Phantom before retreating to a carriage not too far away.

  Watching her go, the lieutenant turned back to Danny and huffed, "Fine, your animal can stay as it apparently would offend the Ambassador. Just keep it away from the carriages and carts. I don't want it spooking the horses!"

  Danny sat up straighter and replied sharply, "Yes, ma'am!"

  Watching Danny and the leopard for a second longer she walked away, towards the front of the Caravan.

  Arya walked up to Danny, "That was close, your pet there almost jeopardized our mission..."

  Danny looked down, "Sorry."

  Ivy stepped closer to Danny, "Ma'am, it really was my idea for him to try riding the leopard to make her seem less threatening. I shouldn't have asked him to try something new at that moment."

  Arya looked between the two of them, "Let's try and not make any more major disturbances for the rest of the trip. Danny you stay outside the platoon formation when you are with Phantom. That should keep you far enough away from the horses to please the lieutenant."

  Ivy and Danny both said, "Yes, ma'am!"

  Lieutenant Cove’s voice called out and the caravan started moving. Riding Phantom, Danny moved outside the formation. No one seemed to want to get too close to the two. Danny's Trio moved to walk next to him.

  Jade spoke up from his side, "Please don't wander off into the forest, Danny. I don't have the speed or my own ghost leopard to follow you on."

  "Don't worry, Phantom will keep me safe."

  Ivy shook her head, "Danny, I'm sure she can keep you safe from anything in the forest but I don't want to take that chance. Please."

  Danny was really starting to get put off by their over-protective nature. He understood their concern, but he just been given a mount that could move through the forest as silent as death. He sent Phantom a thought and turned to speak to Ivy.

  "I will do my best to rein in Phantom's impulses but she really like-" Danny's words were cut off as the cat leapt into the forest.

  He could once again hear the girls' outcries of frustration. He opened his connection to the ghost leopard and they started climbing through the forest. They moved through the trees with ease. Even with Danny on her back, Phantom was still silent. At one point they had climbed high in the canopy, only to jump across an open space to another tree. Danny got but a glimpse of the caravan as they flew over them. Seeing some of the troops pointed up at them, Danny just laughed. The trees of the Great Forest stretched high above and across the well-worn path.

  It was only mid-day and he was starting to get tired of hanging on. Phantom suddenly began to slow down and move low, in a crouched position. There before them was a small herd of seven beast boars. Danny knew that the pigs would only become hostile if they felt their territory was threatened. They were too close to the road and the advance of the caravan would more than likely cause the boars to charge. Danny could just see them charging from the underbrush and taking the caravan by surprise.

  Getting down off the leopard, Danny instantly felt his legs and arms protest from staying clenched for so long. Fighting back the groan that wanted to escape his lips, Danny imagined the two of them scaring the boars away. Phantom sent back that she was hungry and, of course, fixated on the largest one. Danny sent Phantom ahead to ambush the larger beast. Danny knew there was one surefire way to scare them and not have them recognize it as an attack.

  As Danny watched, the pigs rooted around the base of the trees. Using fire affinity, a wall of flames sprung up, surrounding the pigs, between them and the road. This was also opposite where Phantom was waiting. The pigs, seeing only a forest fire, ran away from the road. The largest boar took up the rear, between the threat and the rest of the herd. Phantom pounced as they ran past, taking down the largest boar with a bite to the back of its neck and a final twist.

  Danny had followed through the trees, and got there in time to erect another fire wall between Phantom and the retreating boars, before they could realize the largest boar was gone. After the herd of beast boars had fled far enough, Danny killed the flames before they got out of control. Then Danny sat down to rest and recover while Phantom ate her fill.

  A note from Roharp17

  Edite by SkrmnMrgsm

  *My appologies, the next chapter will not be until next week as I will be traveling out of town.*

  Chapter 38

  The caravan had halted for the day in a previously-cleared area beside the road. Years of use by other travelers kept this area from being reclaimed by the forest. They still had light left to travel by, but these clearings were placed a day’s walk apart. Danny and Phantom appeared at the edge of the area, near where his Trio and the Basalts had set up their tents. Danny tumbled exhaustedly off of Phantom and into the grass. She gave him a lick on his face, and he couldn't push her away. Phantom suddenly stopped and started licking her paw as if she had been doing that all day. Confused, Danny sat up only to find himself surrounded by three angry teenage girls.

  "Where have you been all day, and what was that loud noise a while ago? Did you have something to do with that?" Ivy demanded, her arms raised while looking around.

  "Just playing in the forest, getting Phantom lunch... stopping beasts from attacking the caravan." Danny mumbled the last part, but all three girls heard and immediately lost it.

  Brooke looked baffled, “Why?!”

  Ivy walked closer menacingly, "You didn't!"

  Jade reached over her shoulder, mumbling, "I'm going to kill him myself… Wait, where's my bow?"

  A red-faced Lieutenant Cove appeared behind them, "You! Where have you been all day? My scouts have been spotting you flitting around the forest all around us! Then there would be reports of smoke in a similar direction! Do you know that you could have attracted all manner of beasts to our caravan?! If something happens to the Elven Ambassador we could find ourselves without a crucial ally. Now, if the Elven Ambassador was not specifically asking for you all day, I would kick your whole
group out of this caravan right now!"

  The girls turned wide eyes on the military leader and remained silent during her tirade. Anya led the other Basalts hurriedly over and stood by the girls. She did not look pleased.

  "Excuse me lieutenant, but Phantom and I were doing the exact opposite. We diverted most of the beasts in the area away from the caravan. Phantom has some sort of uncanny sense of smell or sixth sense that allows her to find other creatures. I was using fire to drive them away instead of engaging them in a fight. Since I did it without them noticing me, they just thought it was a forest fire and not an attack," Danny explained.

  The lieutenant just stare at him in disbelief, before asking. "If that is true then what did you drive away today?"

  Danny rubbed his hand through his hair as he thought, "Let's see, first there was the herd of beast boars. Phantom ate the largest, of course. Then there was a rather large bear with cubs, I'm guessing it was their mother. Then a pack of wolves, who must have smelled the caravan, were rushing this way. We almost didn't intercept them in time. The fire I created also might have gotten a little out of hand trying to deal with the wolves, but there were a lot of them. Then lastly there was a giant lizard thing in the road ahead that just ignored any magic I threw at it, so I had to kill it by different means."

  The lieutenant looked at everyone that had gathered around and rolled her eyes dramatically. She called over the nearby sergeant in charge of their mounted unit and had her send a detachment to determine if there was a dead “lizard thing” in the road ahead or not.

  Anya used the lull to casually walk up to Danny and fiercely whisper in his ear, “We are going to have a serious discussion later about you going off to chase every beast within a kilometer of our position. Wait until…” Anya fingered the material of his duster, “Why are your clothes burnt like this?! Was it from when you said the fire got away from the wolves?"