I'll be at the concert tomorrow in Lyon! I'm so excited, even though I'm starting to get anxious; it's my first ritual. If you're going or if you have any advice, don't hesitate to let me know. 🫠
words: 3080
CW: short mentions of Phantom hitting himself on the head (1 happy, 1 panic), panic, anger(?)
Phantom jumps when the loud noise breaks him out and turns to leave the store, but he bumps into someone who was standing really close behind him. He hisses, not being able to hide his ghoulish behaviour at this point and hurries outside.
A/N: I’m sorry I guess? My head had other ideas again. I might’ve added a little too much drama but karma came and gave me lots of panic and anxiety while writing some parts. Good things are happening soon.
Tag alert: @samaellevampire @cheerycherrycandy-resurrected
Read under the cut or on Ao3
When Phantom almost falls through the door of the Ghoul’s den everyone jumps up, worried looks on their faces but they quickly turn to shock when they see an excited Phantom all alone… well… not exactly because everyone quickly notices the rat on the quint’s shoulder.
“Aeth! We need to head to the pet store!” He yells as he runs over, forgetting to turn his volume down out of excitement “I need to buy Phantom things for when he can come visit!”
“Did Papa say he co- Alright!” Aether laughs softly when he doesn’t even get to finish his question before Phantom nods so hard he worries he might hurt himself.
“You can go now, but it would have to be with someone else. Yo-”
“A-alright” He cuts Aether off as he looks around, stopping when he sees Cumulus and Cirrus “Will you come?”
Cumulus looks at Cirrus and smiles softly as she nods “We will join you. Do you have your headp- Oh, don’t do that Dazzle,” Cirrus grabs the quint’s hands as Phantom hits against his head hard with his fists, the big excitement being a little too overwhelming for him.
She gently runs her thumbs over his hands as everyone watches Phantom calm down even faster when the rat on his shoulder nuzzles his tiny face in Phantom’s neck.
“oh no…” Phantom pulls his hands from Cirrus’ when he finally feels the tiny monster on his shoulder and gently picks it up.
“I-I stole him… and I left my headphones with papa” He blushes as he scratches Rat Damon behind his ear gently
“You better bring him back before Papa has thrown his office upside down looking for that thing” Dewdrop says quietly, making Phantom look at him.
“I don’t want that… I-I’ll go bring him back” Phantom walks towards the door, having everyone shocked when they think he goes out alone again.
Just as he’s about to walk out he turns around “Can you come with me Lus?”
“Of course! It’s on our way out so we can go to the pet store right away” She smiles and waves at the rest before she walks to Phantom, followed by Cirrus.
When they arrive at Copia’s office, Phantom knocks nervously on the door, scared that Papa really did turn his office upside down and that he’s angry.
When the door opens though he sees a smiling Copia and all his fear slips away.
“Ah! vampirello, I was just about to come find you”
“I-I’m sorry papa, I accidentally took Rat Damon, I-I didn’t mean to” He says quietly as he holds the rat op for his Papa to see, ears flat on his head and a sheepish smile.
“It’s all fine my ghoul” Copia gently takes the rat from his hands “You could have watched him longer if you wanted.”
“No, I can’t… Lus and Nubis are taking me to the pet store! Can I have my headphone please? And Count Flapula?”
“Si! I’ve got them here” Copia smiles and grabs both from the table next to the door.
—-
When they arrive at the pet store, Phantom hurries inside, forgetting his headphones in the car out of excitement. Lucky for him though, Cumulus thought about grabbing them just to be safe.
As soon as he is a few steps inside he stops, right in the middle of the path, almost having someone bump into him and irritating a few impatient customers.
The quint doesn’t realise though, already lost in his head, falling right into the beginning of his panic.
He flicks his fingers, pushing his knuckles against his cheek harshly as his breathing picks up.
Phantom looks around as he hits his head before hugging himself tightly, squeezing his side tightly as he rolls his head.
There’s just too much going on… so much more than he’s ever seen in the dark and peaceful Abbey.
The lights above him, far too bright and buzzing, like bumblebees flying from flower to flower.
The music, shouting from the speakers around him, almost drowning out the loud talking around him.
He doesn’t like it how bright the store looks because of the lights, making him see everything. All the colorful items, from collars to toys, treats, and hundreds of animal food.
Out of nowhere, there’s a loud scratchy noise before something’s being called over loudly, hurting his ears.
Phantom jumps when the loud noise breaks him out and turns to leave the store, but he bumps into someone who was standing really close behind him. He hisses, not being able to hide his ghoulish behaviour at this point and hurries outside.
Cumulus, who was standing right behind him and was the one he bumped into, looks at Cirrus worried “We should’ve warned him…” she says quietly before they follow Phantom out.
The ghoulettes catch up to Phantom shortly after, who’s now standing stiff against the car, eyes moving around bewildered like he could be jumped at any moment.
Even though she knows he needs space, Cumulus still moves to put his headphones on his head, wanting to help him calm down. She stops when he lunges forward and spits at her, unglamoured ears flat on his head.
“I’m sorry Phantom, I just want to help… Can I put the headphones on? It will make everything quieter” Cumulus says gently as she and Cirrus stand in front of the quint, hiding him from the people walking outside. They couldn’t risk them seeing Phantom unglamoured.
It takes a few more minutes before Phantom finally wiggles his pinky, something he uses with Aether for when he can’t talk, to show them they can touch him or put the headphone on.
As soon as Cumulus notices she steps forward gently, places the headphons on his ears and pulls the hood over his head as well “This will make you see less around you”, She says softly before she steps back to give him space again.
“Is there anything we can do to help you, Dazzle?” Cirrus asks “I know you only want Aether at moments like this, but I heard we give amazing hugs as well” She smiles, trying to cheer him up.
Phantom smiles a little at that and gives the tiniest nod, that human eyes would miss. He did learn that she gives the best tight but soft hugs so maybe Cumulus would too?
Both ghoulettes step closer and wrap their arms around him tightly “You just let us know when you’re done alright?” Cirrus whispers.
They feel him relax slowly, feel him start to breathe more normally and after not even 30 seconds they feel his arms gently wrap around them, tightening them once he’s sure they won’t tell him off.
Another minute or 2 go by before Phantom starts to loosen his grip “C-can we get things for Phantom?” He whispers.
Even though the store is so overwhelming and almost feels like the pit to him, he feels the need to go back and get his friend everything he needs.
Cirrus looks down at him “Are you sure? We can come back another time when it’s not as busy.”
“No, he needs it now” He mumbles and pulls away all the way, glamouring himself while he does so.
“Let us know when you change your mind alright?” Cumulus says softly before the three of them head back inside.
For the next hour they walk around, Cirrus pushing the cart as Phantom takes his time checking everything out.
The panic he had earlier mostly forgotten as he now felt mostly excitement to get his best friend everything he needed.
Near the end Phantom had picked an overpriced orthopedic bed, because a worker gave him unasked advice on how this kind of bed can prevent conditions like arthritis and keep the dog more pain-free and of course he had to get it now. He got many treats, bones and toys because he isn’t sure yet what his friend loves and he can’t risk letting him down.
While Phantom is looking at leashes and collars, Cirrus gets a text from Mountain, asking how much longer it’s gonna take because lunch had been ready for the last 30 minutes.
She let’s him know to save some for them just as Phantom holds up a collar “Look at this!” he grins, showing them the leather leash with lots of spikes on them “This would scare everyone away from him!” he smiles and adds it to the cart before he grabs a black leash to match with it.
“I think I have everything for Phantom…” Phantom says while thinking, “Yup, I got everything” He smiles.
“We can go pay then, but we need to make one last stop. Papa asked me to get some food for the rats” Cumulus says “But I can do that alone while you go to the check out with Ci.”
“Can I join? I’d like to get some toys for the rats” Phantom smiles and walks next to Cumulus towards the rat food.
What he didn’t know yet is that the pet store also sells animals, like rabbits, guinea pigs and rats. So when they arrived at the spot he got distracted by them right away.
“Ready to go?”
Phantom jumps lightly and turns toward Cumulus “yes” He smiles as he follows her and Cirrus towards the checkout.
While checking out, Phantom is bouncing on the spot from excitement, but still hugging himself tightly. The drive home he’s incredibly quiet and almost hiding in his hoodie.
It isn’t until they arrive back at the Abbey that they realise that the hugging and him hiding in his hoodie was with a different reason than they thought.
Because when Cirrus goes to open the door for Phantom, she spots a tail coming out of Phantom’s sleeve and he suddenly seems to have a big lump on his arm.
“What’s in your sleeve Ant?”
“I took a rat home” Phantom smiles and takes it out of his sleeve, not knowing that what he did is actually stealing.
“You can’t just take them, they are there to be sold”
“But I couldn’t just leave him there,” he looks down at the rat in his hands “He looked so sad and the store was too loud for him and the tiny human’s were scaring him too.”
“That doesn’t mean you can just take him,” She sighs softly “We need to tell Papa and then take him back to the store before they call the police.”
“Maybe Papa will keep him… “ he says quietly, hearing the worry in her voice.
They walk to Copia’s office and shortly after knocking on the door it opens.
“My ghouls, How was the shopping trip?”
“It started a bit rough for Phantom, but in the end he had a lot of fun… we might have a problem though Papa” Cirrus says softly and looks at Phantom.
“You bought me a rat?” Copia asks surprised when he notices the rat.
“No Papa, I didn’t buy it… I saved it from the loud store.”
“Saved it?”
“Yes, as in we didn’t know so didn’t pay for it… Lus and I only found out when we got back here” Cirrus sighs “We need to bring it back Papa. Before they call the cops and… Imperator will send him back to the pit when she finds out what he did”
At that Phantom’s head shoots up “No! I don’t want to go back t-there… p-please don’t make me go back” He whimpers as he starts to back away, his breathing picking up.
Before Copia gets to tell Phantom he won’t let that happen, he is taking off, wanting to find a place to hide so whoever that Imperator person is, won’t send him back.
He doesn’t get far though because in his panic he doesn’t see what’s in his way and he bumps into something big but soft, someone…
“Phantom? Hey, Astral” Aether says as he grabs Phantom before he falls back on the ground.
“What’s wr-”
“I-I don’t want… pit” He sobs and gasps for air as everything bad that happened in the pit plays in his head.
“You’re not gonna be sent back” Aether says as he uses his quintessence to calm his brother down, but this time it really doesn’t help.
The only thing he can think of is calling for Omega for extra help so they can hopefully calm Phantom down before he makes himself sick.
Just when they get him calmed down enough to move him to the quiet ghoul den, they hear footsteps quickly coming closer. Before Aether can get Phantom away, Copia and Cirrus come running around the corner.
They stop as soon as they see Phantom almost hanging in Aether’s arms “Satanas, Aether… we d-”
Aether looks up at them angrily, cutting his papa off.
“What happened? Why does he think he’s being sent back?”
“That would be my fault… Phantom took a rat from the pet store and we only just found out. I-I was scared the cops would be called and that Imperator would find out…” Cirrus looks at him with tears in her eyes, feeling horrible for making the youngest quint so upset “It was just my worry and I know now it was a mistake to say this out loud, I didn’t mean to upset him”
Aether shakes his head, “she has been in a mood lately, we better take care if this quick then… I will go back with Omega and Phantom because even though he had no idea what he was doing, I do think he needs to tell them and apologize…” he sighs and looks down at Phantom.
“After he apologized I’d like Phantom to buy the other rats as well, if there are more. He might’ve done it the wrong way, but he is right… A store is no place for those helpless creatures” Copia looks at Aether.
“We will do that. I will bring Phantom later for lunch” Aether says before he and Omega leave with Phantom, back to the pet store once they took the rat from Copia.
Once back at the store, Aether makes sure to use his quintessence to keep Phantom calmer while they wait in the line for their turn.
Phantom stands like a statue, holding the rat close to his chest as he scans around him. He feels like everyone is looking at him, that everyone knows what he did. That they’re all angry at him and that he’s gonna get in big trouble.
The youngest quint’s mind still tells him that he’s being sent back to the pit, keeps repeating Cirrus’ words to him while in reality he knows that he’s safe with his brother, his pack.
The shorter the line gets, the more quintessence is used to keep Phantom calm and by the time it’s his turn he’s shaking as he feels the panic fighting to get through Aether’s magic.
“Hello, my little brother has something to say” Aether says with a smile as he squeezes Phantom’s shoulders, no longer using his magic.
Phantom looks at the lady behind the register and swallows hard, tears forming in his eyes as his entire body screams at him to run, to hide and never go back out.
Then he feels the rat nuzzle against him, lightly biting his hand and he knows he is here to safe this one and the other rats too and that gives him some strength.
“I’m… We..” He starts and swallows hard, looking down at the rat in his hand “I saw-”
“You were here before, we saw you stole our rat” The lady cuts him off when she recognises him.
“I-I’m sorry! I saw him and and he looked so scared and I wanted to safe him. I didn’t know I w-” Phantom gasps for breath in panic as his tears fall.
“He didn’t realise that they were for sale or that what he did was wrong” Omega steps in, feeling bad for the quint, “We are here to pay for this rat, we will even pay double the price for the trouble.”
“well… we were about to the call the cops, but I guess if you pay for the rat now we will let it go” The lady says.
“Thank you, Tommy does have something else to ask” Omega looks at the lady.
“Of course” she looks at Phantom.
“C-can we… Papa asked if we could buy the other rats?”
The lady smiles softly as she nods, her whole appearance changing from irritated to happy, “Of course, I will have my colleague get them and put them in a box.”
Phantom nods, confused by their sudden change “Thank you” He mumbles and watches Omega pay for the rats.
Once Phantom gets the rats, he thanks them and hurries outside “I-I’m never doing that again!” He says while he climbs in the car.
“Good, but I'm so proud of you for telling the lady what you did and apologized to her. I know it was scary but you did so well” Aether smiles proudly at his little brother.
“Let’s go home… Lunch is waiting for you” Aether says softly as Omega drives off, back to the Abbey.
On the drive back to the Abbey, Phantom cuddles with all the rats. For some reason animals just really seem to love him and at the same time they all seem to help the quint in return.
When they arrive back to the Abbey, Aether takes the rats from Phantom when they get close to the Ghoul den.
“I can hold them Aeth!” He whines, upset to let them go.
“I know… But it’s better if I hold them for now…” Aether smiles as he pushes the door open.
“I can hold them just fine” Phantom mumbles as he walks in the den, looking down at his feet.
That is though until he hears an excited bark and then running.
He looks up and his frown turns into the biggest grin when he sees his four legged friend running towards him.
“Phantom!” Phantom says excited as he falls to his knees to hug his doggy friend, “What are you doing here?!” He asks as he scratches behind the dog’s ear gently.
“He missed you” The owner walks over to him, standing next to Aether.
“We thought… maybe you’d like a sleepover? He could stay with you for a few days and you can go on adventures with him” Aether smiles.
When I arrived at the cinema I was shaking because I was so excited and afraid of what could happen at the same time.
My theater didn't have bucket and cup so I'll have to order them from their site.
The quality. The images of the ritual with the exclusive things that happened in LA. The rest of the lore plus some details on what we already knew.
I got chills, I laughed and my throat was tight with emotion. I thought I was going to cry when Copia left to the same music he arrived to. How dare they!? At the end of the movie everyone in the theater was like "oh the little bastards..." lol.
My little brother really liked it too. Obviously I went with a Ghost t-shirt and my Ghost bat jacket. I also went with my 3 plushias and they were happy to see their peers on the screen.
I can't wait to read all the theories and everything people have to say/draw about it.
And above all...I SAW THE GHOULS AND COPIA ON THE BIG SCREEN!!! They were less feral than usual but still beautiful.
How I imagined Phantom running away at the end for some reason
words: 2163
CW: Mention of panic attack/meltdown, rats.
Swiss and Aeth talk with Papa about a secreta- no service dog
A/N: Phantom will be there. The part about the instagram is about a few things that my psychiatric service does for me. Most of the things I write is based on Blue and I, I'll let you know what bits are. Feel free to drop in my inbox with questions if you have them.
Thanks to @jazz-bazz for thinking with me about the names Papa gave the service dogs..
tag alerts: @samaellevampire @cheerycherrycandy-resurrected
Read under the cut or on Ao3
After agreeing to talk about it in the morning, Swiss heads back to the ghoul’s den, but instead of going to his own room, he walks to Aether’s to tell him about his thoughts. Once he’s up-to-date and agrees with it, the multi ghoul heads to his room and spends the rest of the night finding everything he could about the Psychiatric Service Dog.
—
Copia looks over at Swiss and Aether, sitting on the other side of the table in the ghoul den. “So you’re saying there’s a kind of Secretary dog that will help Phantom with everything?”
“It’s called a Service dog, Papa.” Swiss chuckles lightly.
“That’s what I said, no? Sergeant dog.”
Swiss stays quiet for a moment as he thinks about if he should correct it again, noticing Aether’s shoulder shake lightly in the corner of his eyes as he laughs silently at his Papa.
Deciding to leave it for now, Swiss starts explaining.
“yes, alright… there are so many kinds I learned about, but there’s this one… The Psychiatric Service Dog who helps with so many things like Autism, Nightmares, anxiety and panic attacks, depression and so much more.” Swiss shows Copia his screen so he can see the entire list.
“And how does this dog know exactly what to do? or when?”
“The dog notices the changes in behavior and emotions before anyone else and will step in and do what it needs to help the owner. The trainers will teach those dogs what they need to do exactly but every dog does it just a bit different, learns what works best with their owner.
I’ve found this Instagram account about a service dog. Her owner shared how the dog being with them already helps them be less scared to go out in public, gives them less panic and anxiety. How the dog comes over as soon as they get high in emotions and jumps up against them or on them to break through this… I even saw a video of the dog on a bus, not allowing the owner to stop petting and she would not break eye contact with the owner because they were scared and close to an anxiety attack. She even shows the owner when they’re too tired during a walk and should go home! There’s so much those dogs can do! Stop them from hurting themselves, wake them up from nightmares, be the pressure they need to calm down” Swiss chuckles “Now look who’s info dumping,” He mumbles and shakes his head “I just really think this would be amazing for Phantom… If they teach the dog the right things it will be able to get him out of his panic attacks and give him the confidence to go out alone again… He’d get the life he deserves”
Aether looks at Swiss “I really think this could work, I want him to feel better and be able to do things without needing us. I mean, we will all help him anytime he needs, but I know how badly he wants to be able to go into this world alone… I’m scared for how bad it’s gonna get” He clears his throat to push away the emotions rushing in.
“Phantom’s not doing well Papa. He’s had a good day after he met this pitbull, he was happy and carefree, but this morning… He’s not coming out of his room, keeps having meltdowns and he barely talks and I-” Copia gently takes Aether’s hand and squeezes it lightly.
“I have seen the struggles he’s having and I want the same as both of you, but I’m not sure a servant dog will be a good idea,” He watches the sadness form on Swiss and Aether’s face when he talks.
“This isn’t a No. I need time to do my research and think about it. It’s a big decision that brings in a lot of changes,” Copia says gently, not being able to handle the sadness in his ghoul’s eyes.
Swiss sighs lightly as he nods. He tries his best to push the sadness away, but it feels like his idea to help Phantom got shut down when all he wants is to take care of his pack, make sure everyone is happy and safe.
He doesn’t even have it in him to laugh or correct Papa on having ‘service dog’ wrong again.
“Now, what is this with the pitbull? No wait, do not answer my ghouls, I would love to hear all abo-” Copia tries to distract his ghouls but stops when they jump up, both having caught the sickly sweet scent of cotton candy coming from Phantom’s room.
“Phantom needs me,” Aether says as he hurries to his brother's room.
Copia looks after Aether worried before he turns to Swiss “Is he okay?” He asks as he, without thinking, plays nervously with his glove.
“I… I’m not sure? It might be another meltdown or maybe even a panic attack” Swiss sits back down with a sigh, knowing it would be too much for Phantom if he followed as well, but he wanted to help so bad.
“Please think about it Papa, I know it’s a big thing and probably a mess with touring, but I don’t even think he can join us if he’s like this. That dog changed him, he went out with Cirrus with headphone on and not being able to talk and when he came back he couldn’t stop talking. He was happy, relaxed… his eyes were alive. He had this bright lavender color in his eyes instead of the normal dark purple, almost black. We’ve never seen him like this. That dog gave him energy an- What if you see it for yourself?”
Copia nods slowly as he listens to the multi ghoul ramble “I will head back to my office and do research. I’m not so sure about seeing the… eh… dogs don’t like me so i’d like to stay away” He stands up and puts his gloves back on.
Just when he’s about to leave, Aether walks out slowly with Phantom hiding behind him, noise canceling headphone hidden underneath the hood of Aether’s hoodie he’s wearing and his bat tightly in his arms.
“Papa? Do your rats need company?” Aether asks.
Copia’s about to say no when he spots Phantom, clearly fresh out of a meltdown or panic attack. He knows how much the rats helped the quint in the last few weeks and doesn’t want to say no even though he’s far too busy.
“Si! Si, I have been incredibly busy lately, Poor rats have been all alone and I think they’re a little angry with me… I’m sure they’d be so happy to see you again, my vampirello.”
Aether turns to Phantom “While you go with Papa, I will ask Ci if you can see Phantom again soon, okay? Maybe you could ask Papa if Phantom could come visit here?” He says quietly
Copia watches in confusion. Why does Phantom need to ask if he could visit? He lives here, no?
Swiss notices the confusion on his Papa’s face and chuckles “The dog’s name is Phantom.” he tells him quietly.
“Ah… Si, Si… I knew that.” He mumbles, face turning slightly red in embarrassment.
After getting a bone crushing hug from Aether, the way he needs it sometimes, Phantom leaves with Copia.
They don’t talk as they head to Copia’s room. It’s a challenge for the Papa to stay quiet, because he wants to know about this Phantom dog and if his ghoul is okay, but he can tell Phantom needs some more time to get back to himself.
Once in the office, Phantom takes his hood and headphone off before he goes to get comfy, while in the meantime Copia gets his rats.
This time he walks out with all four of them “They all want to see you. I know it’s a lot, but sometimes I just let them walk around the office… When they want cuddles they come over and climb up my leg” Copia places the rats in Phantom’s lap.
“So no worries if they walk away” He watches with a smile as Julius Cheesar crawls up towards Phantom’s neck right away before it curls up in a ball. The rat’s tiny nose pressing against the ghoul’s neck.
“Would you like me to sit with you while I work? Or do you want some space?”
Looking over at his Papa, Phantom bites the inside of his cheek as he tries to make a decision. He wants space but he also wants his Papa close. Would he hurt his Papa’s feelings if he asks for space? Would Papa find it annoying if he’s asked to sit here?
“You can choose what feels best for you, I only want you to feel good” Copia says softly when he notices the battle going on in his ghoul’s eyes.
“S-space?”
“Of course. Let me know if you want me to join. I’m proud of you for telling me what you need” He smiles as he gets up and walks to his desk.
An hour goes by where Copia does his research on the Psychiatric Service Dog, it might’ve taken him a while to actually find it since he kept googling about the servant dog but once he does, he tries to find the perfect school to get information about the dogs.
He looks over at Phantom a few times to check if he’s doing okay, finding the ghoul with the rats in different places of the room every time.
The next time he looks up, Copia jumps when he finds Phantom standing right in front of his desk, staring down at him nervously with his ears flat against his head.
“Satanas…” He mumbles as he places his hand over his racing heart and takes a deep breath to try and calm down. He could swear he saw the rat on his ghoul’s shoulder enjoy the scare.
“Sorry Papa” Phantom’s ears and cheek turn a darker purple “I-I didn’t mean to scare you…”
“Oh no, it’s all fine my ghoul. Is there something I can do for you?” Copia smiles gently.
“I…” the quint bites his lip as he picks up Rat Damon from his shoulder to be able to hold him closer.
“I-I… C-can Phantom come to visit?”
“Ah, I heard from Swiss and Aether about your new friend, who’s also named Phantom? Is that who you mean?” Copia asks and when Phantom nods he smiles.
“I’ve been dying to know about him. How about you tell me a little about him first?” he smiles as he stands up, leading Phantom to the couch where they take a seat.
Phantom bites his lip as he pets Rat Damon gently, trying to find his words as it was still a bit difficult.
“He doesn’t like people…” He whispers and stays quiet for a little longer “S-So I’m really happy I’m a ghoul. He’s really nice to me… he loves to play and run around. He’s a little silly but I like it. I played with him and ran around with him, he’s not scared at all… jumped right over the biggest ditches! I threw sticks for him and at one point he got so excited that he didn’t see a tree, but he was fine, just shook it off and kept going.”
Phantom smiles the entire time while Copia watches his youngest ghoul light up the more he talks about the pitbull. That is until he talks about the pitty shaking it off, his smile slowly fading.
“Maybe… if he can visit me sometimes, maybe he can teach me that… how to shake it off when people are mean and just keep going like nothing happened” he whispers.
Copia smiles sadly and wants to take Phantom’s hand to comfort him, but instead he just lets it hang above it for a bit before he pulls his hand back.
“How about you ask if he can come visit you and you can have all the fun you want.”
Phantom grins at that “Really? Oh! I can’t wait to show him around! It will be so much fun” he gets up “I need to get him stuff, like a bed for if he needs to nap and… and a waterbowl! Maybe a toy? because I read sticks aren’t safe, they can hurt themselves! I gotta go, bye papa!” he runs out, yelling a quick thank you as he closes the door behind himself and without realizing what he’s doing, Phantom runs all alone through the halls of the abbey.
They’re right about this dog helping him… Copia thinks as he gets up and heads back to his desk to keep going research. There was a lot of work to do for Papa.
Phantom tries to listen to all the conversations while he eats his dinner but he really wants to share what he found out about his new friend. He’s able to fight it for about half his plate until it gets impossible.
A/N: My dear people… I’ve had 5 hours of research about pitbulls and I hope that I got everything written right in my own words. I really struggled with my DLD while writing down all the facts so if things are wrong, you know why… Feel free to kindly inform me about it and I will happily change it.
I'm trying my best to work on the next chapter but I'm stuck and been trying for weeks to fix it.. because of this I don't know how fast chapter 5 will be up.
read under the cut or on Ao3
The day after the bullies got scared away, Swiss had tried to get Phantom to walk alone which had resulted in an almost panic attack from just the thought, but Swiss was quick in calming him down.
For the rest of the week Phantom was guided from one place to the other by one of the ghouls to help him.
On a Saturday morning Phantom walks in the living room with his noise cancelling headphone on his head and Count Flapula tightly in his arms.
Before he gets to take a step further he feels a hand on his shoulder. Looking behind him, he sighs softly when he sees Cirrus and right away he turns around to hug her tight.
“Hello Dazzle” Cirrus smiles as she wraps her arms around the quint tightly to give him the right amount of pressure she knows he needs.
“In need of a quiet day?” She asks and places a light kiss on the top of his head when Phantom nods.
“That’s okay, How about I make you some breakfast and maybe we could go out for a walk then?”
Together they walk to the kitchen and the ghoulette starts on breakfast with Phantom right by her side, not giving her much space to move. She doesn’t mind having him close. She knows he needs it right now and it warms her heart that he trusts her like that.
After breakfast they head out towards the forest, knowing the park is too crowded for Phantom right now.
A few minutes into the walk, Phantom takes off his headphone and without asking, Cirrus takes it from him to hold it.
“I know a spot that I think you might like” Cirrus says quietly “It’s a lake” she adds, knowing how important it is for Phantom to know what’s gonna happen right now “Would you like to go?”
Phantom nods “Yes…” he whispers his first word of the day as he takes her hand.
Quietly they walk towards the lake as Phantom looks around. He takes in all the different colors green of the leaves, the different trees. He listens and looks for the birds, taking in all the different scents.
He has so many words flying around in his head, words that he tries to put in sentences to ask out loud but no matter how hard he tries, it just won’t happen.
When Cirrus looks at Phantom she can tell he’s battling with something when she notices the frown on his face and the silent tears that are falling.
Lightly, she takes his hand that he was clenching, squeezes it gently “I can’t imagine how hard it must be to not be able to make the sentences, but it’s okay… If you’d like you can tell me when they come back okay? Even when we’re back home. I’ll answer every single one of them.”
Phantom relaxes slowly and looks up at the ghoulette “Thank you…”
Soon they arrive at the lake and Phantom’s eyes widen as he takes in the surroundings.
In front of him is the biggest lake he’s ever seen, surrounded by so many huge trees and a wooden path that stretches over the entire right side of the lake. On the left side is a grass field with a picnic bench underneath a beech. (tree)
It’s quiet, peaceful until suddenly there’s a woman yelling “Tommy! Phantom get back here now!!”
Jumping lightly he turns around to where the voice is coming from. fear takes over him as he hides behind Cirrus.
Who is calling him? Why does the voice sound irritated, what did he do wrong?He starts hearing barking and a few seconds later he sees a beautiful silvery-grey dog running towards him. Before he has time to react the dog jumps up against him, making him lose balance.
Falling to the ground with a thud, the dog stands over him, wagging his tail before he moves in to give Phantom a giant wet lick over his face. Phantom laughs and pets the dog’s head lightly.
“Hello Phantom, I’m Phantom too…” He smiles as he keeps petting the dog “You’re so handsome and cool, Do you want to be frie-?”
“Oh my goodness, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what’s taken over my boy, he normally always stays with me” The lady interrupts Phantom as she pulls the dog off of him.
“It’s okay, I don’t think he minds, looks to me like they’re friends already” Cirrus smiles as the dog gets back to Phantom before the lady has time to leash the dog.
“It seems that way” the lady smiles lightly “Phantom normally never likes other people so he scared me a little when he ran off towards you”
“What kind of dog is he?” Phantom asks without taking his eyes off the dog.
“He’s a pitbull, I know they are called dangerous but really they’re all sweethearts” The lady smiles.
“I don’t think he’s dangerous, I like him” Phantom says softly as he’s still petting the pitbull, who is now laying over his lap.
“Would you both like to join us on our walk? We just started” The lady asks and Phantom looks over at Cirrus right away, eyes big and begging.
“Yes of course” Cirrus smiles and together they go for a long walk.
Phantom plays a lot with his name-sake and goes on adventures together off trail, his bat now also with Cirrus.
He laughs his real laugh for the first time since the day he first saw Aether again.
He talks to the dog like it actually understands him and by the time they get back to the lake he’s full of energy and his eyes shine with happiness.
“I think it’s time for us to head back now, Dazzle” Cirrus says carefully, not wanting to upset the ghoul.
“I know…” Phantom says sadly and turns to the pitty.
“I will see you again okay?” he hugs his new friend, laughing when he gets a big lick on his cheek in return.
“I know, I know, I had fun as well. I’ll be here again next week, ask your human to take you here again okay?” he grins when he gets a bark in return.
They head back to the Abbey after saying goodbye and Phantom sighs sadly when they walk inside.
“Thank you Nubis, That was a lot of fun… I hope I’ll see him again”
“I’m sure you will, You both have a special bond” Cirrus says softly as they head towards the den.
When they walk inside, Phantom heads to his bedroom but is stopped by Mountain “There you are. I was getting worried that the forest held you captive, Lunch is ready” The giant says with a smile.
“A forest can’t hold me captive Mounty, it doesn’t have arms” the young quint says as he follows Mountain towards the kitchen to eat lunch.
Mountain chuckles and shakes his head as he takes a seat “That’s true, you’re right. Did you have fun in the forest with Ci?”
“oh yes! I made a friend, You’ll never guess his name!” Phantom grins as he takes a first bite.
“hmmm… was it… Sprout?” Mountain asks before he takes a bite.
“No! It’s Phantom” He giggles.
“That’s funny, What’s Phantom like?”
Some people might call it a big mistake, asking Phantom about something like this but everyone at the table couldn’t be more happy because for the first time since the young ghoul was summoned he talked their ears off and looked happy and excited.
Phantom spent his entire lunch telling them all about his new friend, while he flaps his hands and rocks back and forth with a grin on his face, Only taking bites whenever one of the others remind him to.
After lunch he rushes to his room, grabs his laptop and jumps on his bed where he starts doing research about Pitbulls.
The hours pass by but he never takes his eyes off the screen, doesn’t move anything other than his hand that he uses to scroll and type.
He doesn’t react when someone comes in to check on him. He hears himself say ‘yes’ at one point, as an answer, but he’s too much into his fixation to hear what he’s just asked. It’s not until someone closes his laptop that he’s brought out of it.
Looking up, he’s met with Swiss’ golden eyes. “There you are, been trying to get your attention” the multi ghoul chuckles “Are you ready for dinner?”
Phantom’s stomach grumbles just then “but I just had lunch?” he says confused, making Swiss laugh quietly.
“You’ve been in here for hours. It’s 7pm, c’mon, dinner is getting cold.”
The bigger ghoul picks up the plate with cookies and the still full glass of water that Rain had brought in before and leads Phantom to the dinning room.
Phantom tries to listen to all the conversations while he eats his dinner but he really wants to share what he found out about his new friend. He’s able to fight it for about half his plate until it gets impossible.
“Did you know the locked jaws with pitbulls aren't real?” he bursts out and quickly follows up with ‘sorry’ as his ears turn a darker purple in shame as he takes another bite.
Swiss looks at Phantom with a smile “I did not know that… How does it work for them then?”
Kicking his feet a little underneath the table in excitement, Phantom starts “Pitbull jaws are just like any other dogs… They don’t lock, they just have a strong bite and are really good at holding on. So their grip is more because of their tenacity, determination, and instinctual drive.”
Humming softly as he listens, Swiss smiles lightly “I did not know that… Thank you for explaining.”
Phantom nods “you’re welcome” he smiles and looks around the table as he bites his lip, trying his best to keep the rest of the information in.
After dinner, Swiss turns to Phantom and can’t help but laugh a bit when he sees the way the younger ghoul is sitting restless in his seat, clearly holding back whatever he wants to share.
“Come with me, Tommy” He smiles and heads to the common room.
Taking a seat on the couch, he pats the seat beside him “Tell me everything.”
That’s all Phantom needs to hear and he starts talking before he’s comfortable on the couch.
“Did you know Pitbulls were developed as fighting dogs in the 19th-century in England, Scotland and Ireland? They were bred from bulldog and terrier for hunting.
The name ‘pit bull’ actually refers to a type of dog. Especially ones with short coats, muscular build and large, square heads.
When people mention Pit Bulls, it could be one or a combination of different kinds… like the American Bulldog, American Staffordshire Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers and a few more!” He rushes out and lets out a relieved sigh.
It stays quiet for a while as Phantom tries to get everything in order in his mind. There is so much he wants to share that the words are all running through each other, making it hard to make sentences but even harder to figure out what to say first.
While giving him the time he needs, Swiss takes in how happy the younger ghoul looks. He notices Phantom’s eyes shining brighter, that he looks so relaxed, carefree and like he for a moment, finally isn’t struggling.
He thinks back to what Cirrus had told the rest of the pack about Phantom’s reaction to the dog. How he completely changed in front of her eyes, that his eyes shined the entire time and how open he was to everything, like the dog made him feel protected and gave him the confidence to do everything.
Realizing how much that dog did for Phantom, Swiss can’t help but look at the ghoul with his toothy grin. All he hopes for now is that Phantom would be able to see his friend more often so he’d be able to feel like this forever.
“How did Phantom look?” he asks when the quint is still battling with what to say.
“Oh! He is beautiful. I found out his color is silver-grey. I got a picture of the color. I’ll be back!” he gets up and runs to his room to get the laptop.
“I got it! There are so many colors!” Phantom says loudly as he runs back in the room,falling down on the couch again before he opens his laptop “This is Phantom. Well… it’s not really him, it’s a dog that has his color” he smiles as he shows the dog with the same color “It’s called Blue”.
“And this…” he shows the next dog that has a silvery-blue sheen “is a blue fawn color” he looks at Swiss “There are so many colors! I found like 17! This is my favourite though!” he grins and shows Swiss a dog that has half of his face white and brown, just like his body “This is actually called Red instead of Brown… I don’t remember the official name though… there’s just too many”
“Those dogs look really handsome and I get why that’s your favourite color… but, they look a little scary” Swiss bites his lip.
“They’re not scary” Phantom says, offended. “They’re actually really sweet… they pass the temperament test better than most other dogs. They just get ruined by the owners, they’re very loyal and love to make their owner happy”
Swiss nods and hands Phantom a cup of tea that Rain brought in a few minutes ago, the quint not even having noticed that everyone came to join them and are listening to him as well.
He takes a sip and sigh softly “It’s so sad… they’re named as bad in the news but they’re so sweet when with the right owners, like Phantom. His owner is really good for him!
Did you know the discrimination against the pit bull-type dogs began in the 1980’s?” he takes another sip before he puts his cup back down.
“Drink all of it Tommy” Swiss mumbles.
“It’s so sad that news has been treating them like that, making people scared of those dogs… Every dog is good, there’s no bad dog”
“Right?! It’s sad… I wanna hug them all and tell them I love them.”
Swiss smiles softly and rubs Phantom’s back “You’ve got a big heart…”
Later that night, when Swiss was alone, he did some googling himself. He wanted to see how it could be that a dog helped Phantom so much better than the pack could and he found something that could be life changing.
Not being able to wait, Swiss hurries to Copia’s room and knocks. A few minutes later the door opens to a sleepy Copia.
“Have you ever heard of a Psychaitric Service dog?”
Tuesday I cried because I thought the Ghovie wasn't going to be shown in a movie theater near me.
When suddenly on Wednesday (day on which cinemas release new films on screens in France) I saw that it was going to be shown in the town near my house (not even in the city center lol).
I have the honor to announce to you that I managed to get 2 fucking tickets because we can buy them in advance even though the ticket office opens at 3 p.m. in France.
The film won't be playing in one of the big cinema halls and at the moment there aren't many people who have reservations. So, I know there probably aren't many Ghost fans in my town but it makes me sad. I don't have any friends who are fans of this group so I'm going to drag my little brother with me to accompany me.
Anyway, in any case I'm super happy, I keep jumping up and down and shaking my hands while hitting things around me (it's just my autistic stim don't worry).
~~~~~~
I hate you Tornado Fungus, it doesn't help my disorders what I'm experiencing here, with all the love of Satan of course <3
words: 2464
CW: short moment with bullies, panic, anger, swear words.
“Of course you are a real ghoul. What makes you think you’re not when with County?” Cirrus looks at him with soft eyes “Did someone tell you this?” She asks and when he nods she feels her anger rise inside of her.
A/n: I'm sorry it's been so long since I posted an update.. Life's been hard.
I had plans for this chapter… but my brain had other idea’s. I hope you all like it… I promise it will all get happier after this chapter!!
It’s NOT stupid or childish to walk around with a stuffed animal.
Read under the cut or on Ao3
In the two months Phantom’s topside things have gotten better. Phantom has started to be a bit more chatty, Dewdrop and him are closer and he’s playing guitar better than Aether if he has to believe everyone else's words.
Phantom starts learning to walk around the Abbey alone in week 2.
It goes well, Phantom would walk wherever he needed with Count Flapula tightly in his arm. His stuffie giving him the comfort and safe feeling he needs… that is until one morning, 7 weeks after he’s summoned.
While walking to his first task of the day, he overhears a few brothers of sin laughing and catches them saying his name while walking past them.
“Can you believe the new ghoul needs a stuffie to walk around everywhere?” the first brother says as he watches Phantom.
“I don’t think he’s a real one? Aren’t ghouls supposed to be strong and fearless?”
“Don’t think he is, it’s just childish.”
Phantom whimpers when he looks down at his bat. He’s a ghoul… he’s strong and fearless… right? He’s not childish… is he?
While he continues walking he starts looking around at the rest of the siblings and whenever he sees them look at him it looks like they’re talking about him while laughing at him, they’re not but his head screams that they are.
He can’t stop hearing the words of the brothers and he doesn’t understand it when he suddenly feels like he can’t breathe. Why he feels sick, his body aches. Why he feels shaky, his mouth feels dry and there’s this feeling of dread falling over him like a weighted blanket.
He tries his best but it doesn’t go away all morning. If anything it only gets worse and at one point he feels like he’s stuck in this feeling. Everything in him screams to hide away in his room but he can’t get himself to move, he’s frozen in place.
During lunch he slowly calms down when he’s with the pack. Jumping lightly when he feels an arm being wrapped around him, he looks over to see Mountain’s kind moss-green eyes.
“You okay? You seem a little… spaced out” Mountain smiles gently, trying to hide his worry.
“D-do you think i’m strong?” Phantom groans quietly, that’s not what he wanted to ask. Why can’t he just answer yes or no? Why did he have to ask that and bother Mountain with it? Why isn’t he strong enough to keep it t-
“Of course you’re strong… I think you’re the strongest ghoul I’ve ever met” Mountain says, pulling Phantom from his thoughts. The giant means every word of it. He had heard a little from Aether, the things the younger quint had gone through in the pit and there was no doubt in the earth ghoul’s mind that Phantom is the strongest ghoul he would ever meet.
All Phantom could do is nod as an answer, his thoughts making it hard to believe Mountain even though he wants to. Deciding to just save his energy instead of forcing an answer out, he stays quiet the rest of the lunch, leaning into the giant to try and calm down more.
The calmness doesn’t last long. While everyone leaves, he moves to grab his bat, but finds out it isn’t with him anymore.
Black spots form in his vision as panic starts taking over right away. He tries to remember where he last saw Count Flapula but the panic makes it impossible to think straight.
His breathing picks up and it starts getting harder for him to stay standing. Dropping to the ground, he lets out a sob as he tugs on his hair while he curls up. Losing his bat when things are already hard, his safety, pushes him right into a meltdown.
That’s how Rain finds him, curled up in the middle of the dinning hall, unglamoured and broken sobs leaving the quint’s lips. For a moment he freezes, having never seen Phantom this way and not sure what to do.
Quickly Rain jumps into action when another sob leaves Phantom, ordering one of the siblings to get Aether as he rushes to the quint’s side.
Getting on his knees next to him, Rain places his hand on Phantom’s shoulder. He hopes it would calm Phantom down, show him he’s not alone, but the water ghoul forgets about the fact that Phantom hates getting touched.
Letting out a hiss when Phantom’s claws come in contact with his arms, he quickly pulls away “shit, Tommy… It’s okay, i-it’s me… Rain. Just wanna help…” Rain bites his lip as he looks over towards the door.
“What the hell is taking so long?” he mumbles, the minutes feeling like hours as he waits helplessly for Aether.
A few minutes later Aether hurries through the door, pushing his quintessence over Phantom right away to try and calm his younger brother down.
“What happened?” He asks Rain as he gently taps Phantom’s knee 6 times, his way of letting his brother know he’s there when Phantom’s too far in his head.
“I’m not sure… Copia asked me to look for Phantom when he wasn’t at band practise and I found him like this” Rain says quietly as he notices Phantom wiggle his pinky finger just before Aether pulls Phantom into his arms and holding him tight.
Aether looks up at Rain as he purrs quietly, the vibration helping Phantom calm down as well “Can you grab Count?” he looks down when he hears Phantom whine softly.
“yeah…” Rain looks around for the bat and frowns when he can’t find it “It’s not here, I’ll go find it. Do you need me to bring the back up bat first?” he asks.
“please… It’s on my nightstand.”
When Aether meets Phantom’s eyes after a few more minutes, he smiles a bit “Rain is looking for Count Flapula… I know it’s not the same but he brought you Mystic for now”
“W-we go?” Phantom whispers as he clings to the black bat.
“Of course… “ Aether helps Phantom up and together they quietly walk back to the den where they spend the rest of the day in Aether’s room.
The next morning Phantom walks in the common room with Count Flapula tightly in his arms, more relaxed now that his bat is safely back.
He sits quietly between Swiss and Aether as he eats a bit of his breakfast, playing with it mostly because he was too exhausted from the day before.
Swiss looks at him worried, “Are you okay Ant?” He whispers and all he gets as an answer is a small nod.
When it’s time to head out he brings his bat back to his room before he heads out, getting worried looks from Cirrus and Mountain when they see him leave without his stuffed animal.
A few minutes later Cirrus follows after Phantom, everything in her telling her something is wrong and how right she is.
As she walks into the hallway towards the infirmary she’s hit by the sickly sweet scent of cotton candy seconds before she hears siblings tell someone to ‘get out of the way’.
Picking up her speed she hurries over “Get away from him!” the normally calm ghoulette growls as soon as realises they’re talking to Phantom.
When she finds him, her heart breaks. He’s crouched down, covering his ears as big fat tears fall down his face. She notices how hard he’s shaking as she kneels down in front of him.
“It’s me… Cirrus” She starts, not wanting to scare him more.
“I’m gonna take you back to the den okay?” Cirrus gently taps Phantom on the knee like Aether explained to them all last night.
She gently grabs his elbows to help him up after she notices the pinky finger wiggling. She wraps her arm around the quint and starts leading him back to the den, letting out growls as a warning to the siblings in their way.
Once back in the den she takes a seat with Phantom on the couch and gently rubs his back “You’re okay Dazzle… Can you look at me?”
Phantom slowly lifts his eyes to meet Cirrus’, her aura calming him down slowly.
“There you are…” She smiles softly. Without thinking Phantom throws himself at her and hugs her tightly, something about her just made the quint feel safe and protected.
Cirrus takes out her phone and texts Mountain, asking him if he could get Phantom’s bat and a few minutes later he walks out with it, quietly handing it to her with worried eyes.
Lightly, Cirrus squeezes Mountain’s hand to tell him she’s got it handled and knowing she'll fill them all in later, Mountain walks back out.
It stays quiet for a while, Cirrus giving Phantom the time to calm down. She watches the quint as she lightly rubs his back while with the other hand, she lightly plays with his hair.
“Do you want to try and go out again?” She asks quietly when he’s calm and is met with a whimper and a harsh shake of his head.
“Not even with Count Flapula?” She smiles small as he brings the bat up to his face.
“N-No… I can’t take him anymore…I’m a real ghoul” He says quietly, just as Aether and Swiss walk in.
They’d both heard from Mountain that something is wrong with Phantom and had to see for themselves if everything’s okay. They stay back though when both ghouls hear him talk to Cirrus, not wanting him to stop sharing what’s on his mind.
“Of course you are a real ghoul. What makes you think you’re not when with County?” Cirrus looks at him with soft eyes “Did someone tell you this?” She asks and when he nods she feels her anger rise inside of her.
“Oh dazzle… You are a real ghoul.”
“N-Nobody else needs a stuffie…” Phantom whispers “They’re right, I’m not strong enough to be a ghoul” He looks behind Cirrus when he hears two low growls and is met with the angry eyes from his brother and Swiss.
“Fuck them Ant,” Swiss walks over, eyes getting softer. “They don’t see the things you’re fighting against every day. They don’t know shit, should just keep their mouth shut because you, Tommy, are the strongest ghoul the Abbey has ever had.”
Swiss sits next to Phantom and gently takes his hand “You’re also the smartest, most talented ghoul. Papa told me that he’s never known a ghoul that could learn the songs that easily.”
The multi ghoul stays quiet as he notices Phantom getting overwhelmed “We’re so proud of you,” He whispers after a while.
After a bit of silence, Phantom leans into Swiss “Thank you Swissy,” he whispers and hugs his bat tighter to him as he looks at Cirrus “Thank you Nubis,” he whispers.
Just when Cirrus wanted to say something after a while, the door opens and in walks Dew and Aurora “There you all are! We’ve been waiting for you, band practice started 20 minutes ago,” Aurora says as she walks over, taking a seat next to Cirrus.
“What happened?” She asks when she finally reads the room, noticing the way Phantom is clinging to Swiss and his bat and the way the quint still looks upset “Who’s ass do I have to kick?” she asks, making a small giggle escape Phantom’s lips.
“Nobody, you know Imperator wants us to behave” Aether says softly as he gets up, the thought has crossed his mind. Nobody hurts his little brother.
“Let’s go before Papa comes to get you all himself,” he chuckles and watches everyone get up.
When Phantom goes to lay Count Flapula on the couch he is stopped by Cirrus. “Take him with you,” she smiles.
Biting his lip as he looks down at his bat, he can’t stop the comments from the brothers the day before to start playing in his head again.
His breathing starts picking up as he gets stuck in the thoughts and everything he’s been feeling ever since that moment. Suddenly there’s a calmness falling over him and after another moment he opens his eyes, which he had apparently closed when he got stuck, and he’s met with Aether’s warm lavender eyes.
“Astral, hey, try and stay here,” he says softly “We’re all walking with you and won’t let anyone get to you okay?” Aether says softly as he wipes some tears from his younger brother’s cheeks.
Taking a deep breath with his brothers help, Phantom nods “O-Okay” he whispers, taking Aether’s hand.
What nobody knows is that Aether saw the brothers in Phantom’s head when he had to pull him out. He knew who hurt his little brother and let's just say that he had plans.
Walking through the Abbey towards the practice room, Phantom feels safe. He walks between Swiss and Aether, Who both walk so close to the quint that they keep bumping into him. Normally Phantom would hate this but right now, with the anxiety bubbling up inside of him, it keeps him grounded.
walking in front of Phantom, are Cirrus and Aurora, holding hands as they make sure nobody accidentally touches Phantom. Whenever someone turns to look at them they show their teeth, making the siblings quickly look away.
Behind Phantom walks Dewdrop, who himself doesn’t like big crowds so he’s happy he get’s to walk behind. He makes sure nobody comes close from behind.
As they’re walking Phantom keeps his eyes on the floor, trying to block all the noise out, acting like he isn’t there. That is until he hears the voices of the three brothers that he ran into the day before.
Aether looks at Phantom when the scent of cotton candy catches his nose and finds him staring. Following his gaze he finds the brothers looking at Phantom with a smirk.
“moth-” He starts in anger,about to go after them but he calms down a little when he feels a smaller, warm hand on his shoulder.
“Now is not the time Aster” Dewdrop whispers “Think about Phantom, let's get him to Papa.”
Taking a deep breath Aether nods and squeezes Phantom’s hand a little tighter. He lets out a toothy snarl at the brothers and as soon as the rest of the pack catches on what and why it’s happening they join him.
Phantom hears the pack at the same time that he feels 5 tails wrap around his arms and legs, and watches the three brothers hurry away with fear written all over their face.
A warm feeling washes over him. It wasn’t from Dew, it is the realization that, for the first time in years, he really is loved and protected by a pack, his pack.
Mountain was always the tallest, even when he was a child. Sometimes the other ghouls used him as a ladder to climb to reach places too high for them. The ghouls then had fun climbing everywhere thanks to him even if he didn't always agree.
When one of the Papas or Sisters caught them in the act they got into arguments, even Mountain because he is considered an accomplice.
My plushia has finally arrived. It's my son. He's so ugly, I love him.
He's good but he scares me a little, maybe I should lock him up somewhere? I am sure that he has bad intentions and that he is preparing a revolution with his colleagues.
