The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 17: Ghostly Introductions

{This chapter takes place right after the previous one.

We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.}

      The flight back to Camp Half-Blood was a quiet one; Danny was not in the mood to talk, and Thanatos didn't seem like he really wanted to either. A couple of hours into their trip, Danny began to slow down. He was still tired from shadow-traveling, and flying at around 70 mph for two hours straight was not helping his energy levels.

      Thanatos slowed down so that he was flying next to Danny; the halfa hadn't even noticed that the god had passed him.

      "There's still about an hour left until we reach Camp Half-Blood," Thanatos informed him. "Do you need to rest?"

      "No, I'm fine." Danny replied, stifling a yawn.

      Danny could tell that Thanatos didn't believe him. "Then why did you yawn just now?"

      "'Cuz I do that sometimes." Danny grumbled. "Doesn't mean I'm tired."

      "Uh-huh. And you are slowing down because...?" Thanatos trailed off, an eyebrow raised in question.

      Danny hadn't even realized he had slowed down to the point that the cars below them were moving faster. "Maybe... I am a little tired." He admitted, coming to a stop in the air.

      "More than a little I think, Daniel." Thanatos said, glancing over at him. "You've expended a lot of energy today."

      Danny nodded, thinking of all that had happened in the past few hours: Mr. D had confronted him before breakfast, then Danny had shown Hestia his mark, and then Annabeth had seen it during their duel. And then he had ended up in the Underworld, all on his own. How has it only been about six hours since I woke up this morning? Danny wondered tiredly. He felt his energy levels waver, and he fell a few feet in the air before he caught himself.

      Thanatos looked at him worriedly. "You need to rest before we continue to camp." He grabbed Danny's arm and led him towards the ground below.

       "No, I don't need rest." Danny tried pulling his arm free, but Thanatos' grip was firm.

      "Yes, you do, Daniel." Thanatos stated as they landed near a gas station; the parking lot was empty, but the lights were on inside the building. "I can't have you falling out of the sky due to exhaustion."

       Danny grumbled in protest but transformed back to his human form. Thanatos' chiton shifted into the same suit he wore yesterday, and his wings morphed into his jacket, but his hair remained loose around his shoulders.

      Danny raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that suit a bit much for going into a gas station?"

      Thanatos shrugged. "I like to dress nice."

      Danny rolled his eyes tiredly at his mentor's response, and together the two of them walked across the parking lot and into the gas station. The only person in the store was a cashier. He looked to be in his early 20s, and was leaning against the front counter as he played on his phone. He didn't even look up as the god of death casually strolled over to the hot-and-ready food displays at the back of the building.

       Danny dragged his feet as he followed after Thanatos; he really wanted the day to be done and over with.

      Thanatos gestured to the food under the heat lamps. "Take your pick," he said. "I suggest something high in calories."

      Danny's eyes scanned over the food; hot dogs, churros, pizza slices. "I'm pretty sure everything in this store is high in calories." He commented sarcastically.