New Beginnings

Undergrowth

Fire snickered lightly, her tail flicking back and forth as she swung gently in her hammock. It was funny, really. She'd suggested that Phantom work on making rope from ice which eventually evolved into, "make a hammock". It was funny because the few times Phantom had managed to actually make the hammock, when he sat down he fell through it.

"Come on, don't be so tense." She said, idly throwing a ball of ice up and catching it. "Rope isn't that hard to make. Think of it like a slightly more complex whip. Same principle." The wolf continued. They'd been at this for about an hour now and she was ready to move onto something more fun, but the ghost prince was as stubborn as a mule when he wanted to be.

Phantom took a deep breath, raising his hands in front of him and closing his eyes in concentration. His hands glowed blue and he opened his eyes, sweat pouring off of him. His black vest had long since been discarded along with his gloves and any other distracting accessories, leaving him in his net shirt, leather pants and boots.

Rope once again floated in front of him, looking like a will-o-wisp as Phantom narrowed his eyes, trying to imagine the rope, and in extension the hammock, taking form in front of him. The rope wove itself in a tight and elaborate pattern, slowly taking the form of what he wanted. When the hammock solidified between two trees, he sat on in, keeping his concentration. The hammock stayed solid, but the minute he relaxed the rope stiffened and shattered like fragile glass, making him fall on his ass again.

"Clockwork dammit!" He exclaimed as he jumped to his feet, "Why can't I get this?! This is my mother's legacy and I'm squandering it!"

Fire's ear flicked and she sighed, "You're not squandering anything." She closed her eyes with a hum, "It took me about a year to learn how to make solid contructs like this. The fact that you can make a hammock and rope now is pretty good."

The wolf girl stood up and shattered her hammock, "You just need to relax." She walked over to him, "Don't beat yourself up too much, it takes time and patience to learn this kind of thing."

Phantom sighed, rubbing his eyes with two fingers, "I guess..." he grit his teeth, "I just don't understand; I can make some of the sharpest blades and strongest mallets, but I can't make substantial cloth or rope without concentrating none stop?"

He growled and fired an ice beam in a random direction, "This is so stupid!" He yelled before slumping tiredly, "Maybe it's because of my upbringing? But if it is, then my mother wouldn't be able to craft clothes or tapestries like she does."

Fire rolled her eyes, "Patience is the key here and you have none." She rolled her shoulders with a sigh, "Cloth is more complicated than you make it out to be. It requires a certain balance of concentration and relaxation. In other words," the wolf girl smacked him upside the head, "stop being so damn tense!"

"Ow!" Phantom rubbed the back of his head and glared at the wolf girl, "like you're one to talk, you've been on edge for the past few da-"

A low rumble interrupted him, the ground rocking in a strange way. Phantom looked around him, "What the hell was that? Please tell me that was your stomach or something..." 

Fire's ears fell slightly, panic flitting across her expression, "I would make a joke if I weren't worried that I know what caused that." Vines slithered across the ground and the wolf's flame nearly went out.

"Fuck! Phantom, go find Danny and make sure he doesn't leave his body." She barked harshly. The vines were moving faster, creating a giant brain then wrapping around it to create the one ghost she never wanted to see again.

"I AM UNDERGROWTH!!" the ghost shouted.

"Holy fucking death!" Phantom gasped before flying off in the direction of town.