Chasing the Moon

by YamiYugiPuzzleshipper

"I would be lost without you. All the stars in the sky could not light the path I wish to travel. I will always travel the path of the moon. No matter your choice, I will always follow. I chase the moon, not the sun." Fairytale/myth two-shot.

1. Part I

Okay, so I was going for a lighter, more fairytale-like story, but I also used the basis of Native American mythology for the spirits' symbolism.

In mythology, the wolf was considered wise and a very successful hunter and fighter. Many stories featured them teaching hunters the best ways to catch their food as well as solve problems.

The coyote was a trickster either greedy and ambitious with little to no boundaries or more righteous and set to help others. His stories varied and often portrayed him in entirely different lights.

The rabbit was considered a very successful trickster who was faster and wiser than a lot of the other animals but also equated with fertility and alcohol and (I believe) infidelity. The rabbit was mostly featured in stories that involved mimicry, cunning, and helping people to solve problems.

The raven and the fox were both tricksters and extremely cunning and were able to escape almost every consequence that would have come their way. The fox was considered to be the one to bring people fire in some cultures and was able to avoid any negative effects from his decisions. The raven was featured in stories that either praised him as a hero or used him as a representation of sin and negative emotions (gluttony, greed, impatience, etc.).

Since these are the main five animals, I'm only listing them.

Anyways, tell me how I did with the descriptions? I'm still working on finding my footing with the techniques. I have three (possibly four) multi-chapter stories that are going to require a better balance for me to write them without doing them extreme injustices.

Warnings: Mentions of attempted non-con, slight blood, minor death, mentions of death

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to Yugioh or sculpture "Question that Devours" in picture done by Beth Cavener.

Chasing the Moon

Part I

Beyond the woods, deeper than the seas, higher than the tallest of mountain peaks, past the clouds and the ever blue sky, there is the vast expanse of the heavens. There the forests are very thick and dark, the rivers run swift and strong, and so reside the spirits. The heavens stretch endlessly, eternal and ever-changing, with the spirits which guide the normal occurrences of the world beneath. The two exist in isolation from one another, separated by the thin veil of magic which the spirits use to find their paths into the realm of reality at any moment they see fit. It is said that birds are able to touch the barrier but cannot pass through to the realm of spirits. The only creatures with the strength to pass through such powerful magic are those which can wield it themselves. The spirits may tread the worn ways of the realm of reality as necessary but time in the world below must be limited for a being that remains too long becomes attached. Their magic begins to leave them the longer they exist beneath the heavens and cannot be collected to the realm of spirits again, banished only to be returned in death.

A spirit did not dwell in the realm of reality unless it was vital. No one wished to be trapped in the world below, where things were harsh and death was as common as the stir of a breeze. The spirits held with their existence of magic responsibilities bestowed upon them that could not be shunned for something so trivial as a chance to experience the wonders of the world beneath. There was the spirit of the sun, another of the sky, the clouds, storms, wind, lightning, the night sky and the galaxies that existed within it, the moon, and the rivers. Millions of the otherworldly beings worked in coexistence to sustain the world beneath as well as their own expanse of heavens. Balance was always to be upheld for fear of disruption among the two realms.

Few dared to test or alter the order of the realm in which they lived. Spirits that had existed since time had become an entity still held positions higher in the ranks among the heavens. The sky traveled with the sun and the place where its ever-moving territory overlapped with the night was painted with dusk. Beneath thin veils of colors of orange and pink and purple, stars with interwoven layers of silver and gold and white shown as pinpricks of light against growing darkness but lacked existence when against the rays of the sun. They grew and prospered in the night, began to paint the black of the sky with white dust like glittering diamonds. And all of them paled before the beautiful pale face of the moon that shown like a beacon in the encompassing blackness.

The moon spirit had been replaced several centuries before, from the coyote spirit that meddled in the affairs of each entity to the much smaller, more peaceful rabbit. Both animals were said to be tricksters but the current spirit was not malicious as the other had proven to be. Though the coyote remained in the heavens amongst them, it had been given a much lower status, accompanying the spirit of storms as the lightning that forked the skies in sheets of rain. The spirit of the night sky and the moon had been together for much longer in the sense of companionship than they had partnership.

There was no rule against the partnership among the spirits, although this pair was a particularly strange one to many of them. A pure white rabbit had somehow come to subdue a large wolf with fur possessing such darkness that it could drown those gazing upon it. Most of the other heavenly guardians did not bother to heed them attention, yet many thought it was but a simple game of status, and some disapprovingly called it foolish. It was called the latter more often as of late, because the human form of the rabbit was the most seen of him and the wolf remained so clearly in its pelt of never-ending darkness and sparkling stars.

The rabbit sat at the edge of the council table among the other spirits and the wolf was never far behind its partner, and so its deep red eyes were once again settled on the expansion of stone before them. The smaller of the two sat in his human form, a secondary shape shared by each spirit, and his eyes were locked on the show of dancing fire that the raven was putting on before them. Their trek to follow the sun and the morning sky that traveled with it so faithfully had been halted for the moment as the summer months meant longer hours of light and less of darkness. So the two rested, within their own original territory, and awaited the time in which they would have to circle the world beneath with familiar paths so often tread long before.

Relaxation was not something that came to the two easily. And because of its lacking appearance amidst their presences, the wolf became unusually restless and irritable. Though he was not fully paying attention to it, the human boy beside him was well aware, as he could see him twitching in the corner of his eye. His pelt would shift unnatural and occasionally the markings of dark blue, like stunning brushstrokes against the darkness, would shudder forcefully with his inability to remain still. It was distracting when curls of bright red like violent splashes of blood flared as if in warning and then vanished into the darkness as if they had not existed formerly.

But his eyes remained locked mostly on the shimmering orange and yellow objects which burst in his vision like glowing stars. The flames merged and shifted together, flaring with brilliance almost as if to rival the sun, then began to twist and shimmer into new shapes. Before his gaze, as he leaned forward with excitement, they began to pulse and twist into the forms of trees with woven branches like water rippling and frozen into clumps of glittering snow. The shadows jumped and twitched behind them, forming the shape of mountains, brilliant in the manipulation of their shapes as they pulsed with the flare of the flames before them.

The wolf gave him a cautious sideways glance, watching the way the flames danced across his cheeks. His long lashes were like black webs, glittering where the light touched them, and the flames were reflected in their entirety against his irises, merging with the beautiful shades that existed there to make colors almost like the splashes of color which littered his fur. The yellow blended into incandescent gold, shimmering and twisting to become the striking sapphire blue of his irises where his lashes shielded them of the complete display. The violet and amethyst which ran the outer layers there were given splashes of bright red like rubies, and the colors all glimmered and danced like light upon the surface of a pool. The effect of them was amazing to his own eyes and for a moment he could do nothing but stare, hypnotized as the colors splashed together and shimmered as if with glowing with life.

But it did not stop him from feeling the unease that always accompanied the presence of the raven putting such a display to use before them. His ears flicked, listening fully to his partner's soft heartbeat which began to triple in speed with excitement each time the image flickered and danced, changing forms. The gentle breaths which left his slightly parted lips made his own heart shudder and beat faster for a moment. His awe was focused completely on his partner, yet the other did not seem to notice in his admiration of the flames.

"Imori," the wolf growled in a long and slow drawl of the name. His lips curled back briefly as if the use of his voice giving it life left him with a disgusting taste in his mouth. There was a clear but soft, cold ferocity which carried his tone and the spirit beside him was abruptly pulled from his splendorous display to look to the canine. The raven had turned its head and the blackened eyes seemed almost to stare through him, the flames making them look hollow and transparent, as if they were but a mere illusion. The sight of it made his fur rise into a bristle and his shoulders began to tighten minutely beneath his pelt. His lips pulled farther back, his teeth bared to the bird, and the soft wrinkle of his muzzle pushed gently at his eyes to make them narrow in aggression. The flames flickered and danced, lighting the surface of each of his long teeth, casting them in violent spikes of cold gold and gentle russet. "Cease the show. I have grown weary of it."

The other spirit, unlike the many others cast throughout their realm, had yet to ever show its human form and so sat in its sleek plumage of feathers. The head tipped to the side and its beak glimmered, splashing with violent red streaks that faded into bright gold as if the flames had molded themselves to it. "You may have, Atemu," he answered in a deep, reverberating comment that made his throat rumble and the feathers shift before the wolf's eyes, "but your partner has not."

The wolf did not turn to look at the moon spirit beside him. The statement was not something that he had failed to consider before he had thought to open his mouth. He was so easily held in rapture when it came to flames and the images that flickered there, as if the warm lights whispered in his ears and made him unable to look away. Yet, fur bristling and tension building rapidly within his sharp shoulders, he could not find it in himself to appreciate the trait with which he had won his partner's attention several times.

Imori had not been amongst the heavens for summers now, several hundred of which he had been invisible and nonexistent to the rest of them. The fact that he was there to put on displays and watch him with those hollow-looking eyes did nothing but further infuriate him. His placement in their realm now seemed incongruous as the raven spirit had been passing back and forth between the two worlds in an effort to become immune to the loss of his magic. It had failed time and time again, yet the trickster had never given up until mere days before, something that he could not find it in himself to consider inconspicuous.

"To be quite truthful, Imori, I do not care for whether he has tired of it. It is the mere fact that you have found your way before me that angers me so," the canine snapped, baring his teeth and angling his ears forward as his lips pulled further back. His throat was rumbling, the fur rippling along his jugular, as the low snarl began to push out of his lungs. The bristle that he had known to exist along his shoulders solely began to pass forwards and back, the hairs along his neck and towards his tail rising furiously. His teeth glittered and danced with the firelight where it splashed in various hues, flickering and dancing, and his tongue pressed hard against the roof of his mouth. "You seemed so terribly determined to make yourself stronger than us and yet you have returned."

"Atemu," his partner whispered softly, his voice gently chiding towards his ferocity as he reached over to touch his braced shoulders. The wolf shivered, a jerky and sporadic movement of fur beneath his fingers. His red eyes shot towards him, the color of them shimmering and speckled with gold, his pupils enlarged in his anger, but then they flickered away again. The hairs quivered beneath his palm again, rising and falling as if they were mimicking the ripple of water in a slow-moving creek, and the snarl was still incredibly low.

"Yes, well, if I could not perfect it in six hundred years, then I shall not now." The raven raised its head so that the plume of its neck flexed and shuddered and its disgruntled tone grew sardonic and harsh. "But, surely Atemu, it matters not the reasons for my return this summer. It is what is done with that time that is of importance, yes?"

He wanted to chomp his teeth but rather let out a shuddering snarl, tapering the noise off, and raised his eyes to the ceiling. The alabaster of the stone overhead glimmered with the weak glow of pitiful orange cast by the flames which sat still within their haven of the hearth next to the bird. The air seemed almost to have thickened and it did not go unnoticed by either the spirit of the night sky or the moon seated beside him. He thought briefly of smoke drifting through the darkness, tendrils that were invisible to his keen eyes, and tossed a look to his partner instead.

"We have much more enjoyable things to occupy our time," he pleaded, flicking an ear to the side and then flattening them against his skull. The bristle fell from his fur but it still shuddered beneath his hand with his open desire to leave. "There are so many more enjoyable things, Yugi."

The lunar spirit blinked at him, surprised, but cast the bird a sideways glance. A small, puzzled frown began to tug at his lips but he dared not show it in front of the trickster whose feathers seemed to glow so vibrantly from where he was perched there. It was not his wish to leave the display, as it was the first time he had ever witnessed one, but he would not make Atemu so uncomfortable as to remain with him there. And the wolf would not leave his side. And the attention that the raven cast him with those obsolete black eyes, appearing bottomless and yet shallow all at once, did nothing to sway his growing unease.

He swore he peered at him as if he were waiting for something. He swore it was as if he was seeking out the perfect moment for whatever it was he so desired.

"Okay, Atemu." He kept his voice light but there was a shiver that threatened to race down his spine. The raven had tipped his long beak towards him, and though he was the larger and more powerful in this form, he still feared it for a moment. His first impulse when he was confronted with trouble was to use his natural form, to run and outwit a threat, but he was the prey of so many animals…including the bird staring at him so openly. As if he sensed his growing distress, the long nose of the raven split open and the edges tugged as if into a wicked smile, making his stomach clench. "Let us retire to our den…"

He was on his feet before he finished the statement. His long, glossy black fur shimmered and trickled with color, featherings of bright royal blue and vibrant red glowing briefly. He was stiff in movement for only a moment because of his former seating arrangement atop the raised stone that served as his seat. He trotted forward only a couple of steps, then spun around to face him fully with his tail parallel to his spine in an affectionate manner he knew would become a wag at any moment. His nails let out a loud clicking noise against the stone and Yugi could feel his heart mirroring it as it always had since he had partnered with the great canine. He pursed his lips as the wolf tilted his head and his tail began to fall in confusion and then got to his own feet and turned on his heel to follow him.

The stone cavern beside them glittered as they moved forward, the wolf's coat giving off both a dark shadow and the striking formations of bright gold and silver and splashes of blue and red. Violet sprinkled the walls in slow flickers of color, shifting and glimmering, and the small formations of crystals cast about the cavern walls reflected it gently against the earth. They shimmered and rippled as if rendered into liquid, and the walls looked almost nonexistent with their touch. Each crystal glowed faintly, as if absorbing the colors the wolf projected to them, and then spat them forward into strange formations that did not match his fur. It was beautiful and mesmerizing, and more than once Yugi had halted at the end of the tunnel to watch him trot forward and then turn around to wait for him to catch up. It was the most captivating thing in the world to him, and nothing compared in any way. Imori's dancing flames could never hold the devotion of which he always found himself watching his partner's fur cast such images across the cavern walls.

The council room behind them was the mere end of the tunnel, where a large slab of stone had been declared their meeting place. The seats were but upraised rocks which each could balance on gracefully and sit around to speak of matters at times. That was not to say that the more important spirits did not get higher stones than that of the others. Atemu's own was larger than many of the others, as he was one of the first spirits to exist and had so become all but a god amongst them. Anzu and Kris, the spirits of the sun and morning sky, and the seasons—the energetic summer Jonouchi, the more docile autumn Mai, the cold winter Seto, and the soft-spoken springtime Miho—held seats just as high as him. The seven of them held more power and leverage than many of the others and were often respected as deities rather than mere spirits.

And he knew that too had to be one of the reasons that so many were upset by their union, whether they ignored it or whispered of it or called it foolish loudly enough for him to hear. It was seen as his own effort to become more important than he truly was, which was so far from the truth of it all that he often could not form the words to argue against them. He was sickened at times because of his own inability, but how was he meant to tell them that he did not desire their attention whatsoever or his new status? He wanted nothing more than to sink away into the shadows and away from their scrutiny. But he was unable to and so he listened to their words and allowed himself to swallow his own dismay at the way they rattled in his ears.

Yugi shook the thought off violently and followed him until they reached the mouth of the cave. The wolf was several steps ahead of him as his eyes flickered across the last of the colors portrayed along the walls. And then he listened to his paws crunching the soft blades of grass and a stone being kicked forward gently when he pushed it aside. The long strands swept across his pale skin like gossamer fingers, gentle and pleasurable as his lover's, and he reveled in the sensation for only a moment. They continued until the trees came in large groves, their roots tangled and jutting from the earth, with branches that stretched forward into the sky which glimmered and pulsed with a silvery vein of magic. It was the core of their heavens, that shimmering spider web of soft light, and no matter where one went, it was there to watch them, to soothe frayed nerves and offer energy to the weakened.

The wolf only paused but for a moment to sniff lightly at a small but well-known, blooming purple flower that made his partner's belly twitch briefly. The meadow was a gentle, almost nonexistent slope of hill between all of the immense forest that seemed to stretch for miles and miles as if the trees were the very foundation of their realm. But at the end of this tiny meadow was a gently rippling creek which was about the size of Atemu's body at its full width but the water shallow and easily waded through. The canine paused in front of him for only a moment, raising his head to run parallel to his spine, and trotted forward across the dappled granite stepping stones that made the passage easier across the water. They were silver, glowing with the same pulsing light from over their heads, as if they too held their heavens together, and the water shimmered where it touched the edges of them. As he watched the wolf landed on the shore opposite of him and continued with a restless pace towards the den that they called home where it resided in the side of the mountain.

Yugi hurried forward and changed to take his true form. The smaller male was much lither and faster where the human lacked the lightness it required to leap across the stones without tripping into the water. Tiny droplets of the shimmering water pushed up at the flanks of each stone but did nothing to even wet his paws as he hopped quickly across to the other side. The white rabbit landed on the soft grass and loose sands of the other bank, twitching his soft pink nose and glancing around twice.

Atemu spun around abruptly. His tail rose as if in a bristle. Yugi tensed for a moment but then relaxed as he plopped down in front of him. His body was pressed into a bow before him, hindquarters high in the air as his tail wagged lazily twice. His long limbs nearly touched his smaller paws, his thick black claws sinking into the earth when he flexed his toes.

Yugi had always been sure never to take his true form around the other spirits. Most of them were predatory and could easily make a snack of him. The spirits grew hungry as easily as the living animals in the realm below though some had adapted to needing as little food as possible in order to survive. Atemu was not one to venture into the realm beneath but had on more than one occasion when his hunger was too much for him to ignore. He would slip away for a handful of hours and then return, belly full and lazy with contentment before they would have to go back to traveling. His meals were large and few between. And he, like many other spirits, would not venture to the other world unless it was for the necessity of food.

But he remembered when he had first been confronted with the task of becoming the spirit of the moon, he had heard of the owl eating the mouse. The spirit of the wildflowers had been replaced quickly, but Yugi had never gotten over his initial fear to stay in his animal form. And, after meeting Atemu for the first time, he had been sure to change into his second form as often as possible. Wolves feasted on rabbits in the world below and Yugi had seen many of his own family plucked in large jaws.

This fear had only grown upon their first few nights together. Atemu had been respectful and polite of him, patient enough to explain to him what was necessary, but he had often given him looks that bordered cold fury and hatred. He had come to know later that it was not he they were directed towards, but his former companion Akefia. The two had fought bitterly, resulting in so much bloodshed and constant tardiness of the sun setting that it had been declared within a meeting that they be separated immediately. He had been civil towards Yugi and even oftentimes he had bordered on genuine kindness, but he had been suspicious as well. And so, between his own fear and the other's reluctance, their first few attempts at working together had been rather weak. Yugi had heard multiple times as well, that Atemu had been mated with the coyote that he had come to replace. And so he had been even more fearful of the new position he had taken, regardless of who said it was but a lie and those who encouraged his state of distress.

The white rabbit had always been sure to stay as far away as he was physically capable without disrupting the balance of both realms. But the wolf had often crossed into his space more than Yugi had ever made the mistake of doing the same with him. He had often engaged him in small talk until he had grown bored and disheartened with the smaller spirit's obvious reluctance.

But still that had held no power to stop him or even slow his attempt at claiming his heart.

He'd been swift to court him in the way of flattery and compassion, showing them so brilliantly that at times his breath had been knocked from his lungs and he would become mesmerized by it all. The spirit of the night sky had often appeared to him in his true form rather than his human guise, later telling him that the wolf was his identity and he would not dismiss it.

The first night he had ever hinted at affection towards him, Yugi had been lying on his stomach and the wolf had taken to sitting beside him. It was during the winter and the nights were so long that they could rest for hours upon hours and not have to race even then to match Anzu and Kris in pace. The younger spirit had been watching the world with fascination as it became dark, the stars beautiful in the depths of the moon's softer beacon. He had been gaping at the image, looking at his own reflection which showed only that of the pale outline of his significance in the world below. He had not even realized that the wolf had been watching him the entire time, seeing his kit-like wonder and growing bolder by the second with his thoughts of courting him. When he had turned his head to open his mouth, the other had been scratching furiously at his fur, so harsh were the movements that his entire body was shuddering. He had been confused at first, until a little white star had fallen from his pelt and landed on the tip of his nose, shimmering with uneven pulses of white and silver and gold that made his heart pound. He had watched in amazement as that little star took on a new shape, growing in size, gentle and warm in color, and began to take the form of a tiny bunny only half of his own size. The rest of the stars that fell from his fur hit the grass in sprays like silver and white rainwater, touching the grass within his reach, giving off soft hints of yellow and silver and white like his fur. He had scurried closer, startled and amazed, and when he had touched it, again the little ball of light had begun to grow larger and then change shape before his eyes. Both of the tiny forms were pale, translucent, with shimmers of silver and gold while their chest pulsated with the perfect formation of bright stars.

He had failed to forget the way that those red eyes had sparkled with amusement and affection as he lowered his mouth to his ear and softly murmured, "Smile, little one. I like it when you smile."

Yugi could not pinpoint the exact night or the moment that he had been unable to resist him any longer and had grown so completely irrevocably close to him. He'd been shy in accepting any of the wolf's attempts before then, though he could not remember if it was that night or one of the later ones. There were so many that the wolf had spent lying beside him, curled up in the soft greenery of their heavenly home with his tail draped over the soft stones that were so often bathed in moss. He would shake and scratch himself until the stars would fall from his pelt at times and then he would watch as Yugi himself jumped and danced amongst them happily, listening to their beautiful song as they lay scattered about him. When he would look over he'd wag his long tail, head on his paws, eyes bright with amusement and something like wonder. Every now and then he would tremble, fighting off wide smiles so as not to scare him when he showed his teeth, and would press his chin further into the grass.

It could have been the night that he was dancing about and the little white bunnies were following him every step. Atemu had remained laying on that stretch of grass, tail over the edge, eyes locked on them with that same fond and wondrous expression. When he would wag his tail, it thumped heavily against the soft dirt. And whenever Yugi would pause to look at him, the other would tremble and flatten himself harder against the ground. He had paused after hopping and twisting in the air, the little stars following his lead, and glanced over at him more pointedly. The wolf failed to move then as he had each time before. But his tail thumped heavily and he was trembling harder than ever the longer he stared. At some point he had seemed almost as if he could not do more than shake before him, tail still wagging erratically. At first he had feared he was somehow cold despite his long coat as he himself was very warm. Then it occurred to him when he abruptly threw his head back and let out a loud, beautiful howl that he had been trying his hardest not to scare him by jumping in to join him.

Or maybe it was the night that he had taken a seat in the middle of the shallow pool to study his reflection. Atemu had wandered ahead for a few minutes and so had left him there to see himself as he looked from the world below. He had been so engrossed in the gentle shade of white and silver and the splotched shape of dark gray that made his own form of a rabbit seated on his haunches that he had almost missed his approach. He'd come from the side, curious as he watched him, and then he had circled him and asked, "Do you see that? There are no stars in the sky tonight."

Yugi had promptly raised his head, confused and concerned, finding that the other had completely shed them from his pelt again. But they were not around them for him to dance with and the little ones were long gone from sight. Only on his forehead was a bright pulsating red star, the core of his status as a spirit and the embodiment of the night sky. As he had watched it, the outer edges had grown blue and violet, then golden and white before becoming red again, the colors alternating in slow movements. But his eyes had lacked their usual luster, though they shone with specks of something that had still managed to make him shiver. The wolf had circled him again, lowering his head slightly, and then growled quietly, "The galaxies orbit your soul tonight, little moon."

Yugi had been drowning in the gleam that his eyes had held that night as they took in his much smaller form. He had not had to glance at himself to see the constellations stretched over his white pelt, beautifully lit and making his entire body shine brilliantly in the wolf's dark gaze. And then he'd noticed the smaller rabbits, taking form at his feet and peering at him with that same beautiful web of glistening white and silver-blue, the thin traces of bright gold.

"I want nothing more than to trace the birth marks like constellations on your skin. I long to explore all of you, Yugi. You hold my entire universe—all that I know and adore—within your heart, little rabbit."

He was familiar with the bright look to his eyes as he pressed his chin against the ground and growled softly. His tail was still wagging gently, his ears flattening against his head. He growled a little louder, narrowing his hypnotizing gaze. Yugi twitched his nose and hurried forward to weave his way beneath the canine lest Atemu get his jaws on him and carry him like he always made a game of. The canine dodged immediately to the right, leaping away. His longer legs carried him much farther than Yugi could recover. The rabbit wrinkled his nose again, watching him. The wolf had only ever managed to catch him once as the rabbit had proven himself his equal in wisdom and play. If Yugi could get to the den Atemu had made his home or slip beneath him and pretend to be his shadow, he would win. If the wolf could catch so much as a hair from his pristine white pelt he would be victorious.

"Not so fast," the wolf chided playfully, wagging his tail again as he watched him with those same vibrant red eyes. He fell into a bow once more and his entire rump waved furiously with the exuberance he displayed before him.

Yugi perched himself on his haunches, stretching his nimble form out. "I was close," he murmured teasingly, twitching his nose again before thumping his right foot against the ground for a moment. "All it would have taken was another step and I would have won."

"That would be far too easy, however, don't you agree, Yugi?" The wolf lunged at him as the last word left his mouth. The speed with which he propelled himself made the rabbit panic for a split second. He was frozen for all of a breath. Then he jumped away. He sprang forward once more, spinning around. The wolf landed gracefully where he had been. The rabbit's ears and tail twitched furiously in anticipation. "So I assume my shadow is your goal."

"And yours is more than just a hair from my pelt." He bolted immediately. Atemu shot forward. His longer legs propelled him without difficulty. Yugi sprinted and leaped. The movement was teasing, a dance in his running steps. The wolf followed faithfully behind him. He was closing in rapidly. Yugi zigzagged. The other spirit skidded before changing direction. He huffed loudly and the rabbit snickered.

For all of the length in the canine's slender legs, he could not maneuver as quickly. But that would not slow him down, the lunar spirit knew.

He led him twice across the creek. The wolf's nails slid and grated against the smooth stone. Then he sprinted back again. He circled a small grove of trees thrice, leading skillfully. Then he spun to dash across the water again. But the wolf shot forward from the other side. Yugi squeaked in shock. He dashed for his legs as his teeth closed.

He fell limp in his jaws. His tail twitched uncomfortably.

The canine panted and wagged his tail happily.

"I win, little moon," he announced. His tongue brushed the bottom of his soft tummy and Yugi squirmed. The smaller huffed quietly but allowed him to trot forward a few paces with him in his mouth. He knew that it was mostly for his own purpose of entertainment while for others it was a play at power. Some of the rumors still surfaced about Akefia being Atemu's before him, and the wolf would make a show of being around him at times. He made it very clear without words that he cared for Yugi, that the lunar spirit was his alone. "I told you I could keep up."

"You cheated. I thought you were chasing me around the trees," the rabbit sulked, shooting him a playful glare with wide blue-violet eyes. "You were supposed to chase, not take shortcuts, Atemu!"

"We never set such rules in stone," the wolf laughed happily, placing him on the ground for a moment. He panted, wagging his tail, and glanced around quickly. Yugi cast a small look at their surroundings as well, sniffing and jumping in surprise when the other plopped down noisily beside him. He gathered him in his mouth again, the touch so light and gentle that he almost could not feel it. But he knew how firm the grip was regardless, as he had struggled against it once to prolong their game and had been unable to do anything more than stretch his legs and glare at him. He was dropped gently in between his paws and before he could think to try to run away, a long pink tongue glided over his soft cheek. "And you were aware as I that I would win."

"You cheat," Yugi snorted, allowing him to stroke his fur clean where some mud from the banks and small patches of water weighed the white strands. He hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to phrase such a question. He struggled, flexing his toes, then resisted the urge to thump his right leg again. When he could think of nothing else to say, he asked, "Can we go to the gardens instead?"

Atemu's gentle tongue paused. "The gardens?" he echoed softly, nipping his ear to get a particularly rough patch of dried mud that coated it there. His paw came to rest on his back, holding him in place so that he could angle his jaws and clip the thin white hair. "You wish to see the lunar roses during the daytime?"

"Yes. I have yet to see them at this time of day," the lunar spirit pleaded, turning his head to gaze at him with wide, hopeful blue-violet eyes. He bunched his paws under his chest more comfortably and watched him. The large canine tilted his head curiously, watching him with an expression that spoke of open confusion.

"But…there is nothing to be seen within the sunlight," he murmured softly, perplexed. His tail curled briefly around his right hind leg and his ears flicked back and forth for a moment as he picked his words carefully. He tilted his head further, confused, and peered at him with those brightened red eyes. "They simply…sleep now. Why would you have any desire to see flowers sleep?"

"All right, but what about Mist and Dewdrop and Song and Cloud and Clover and Luna?"

The black wolf was frozen, eyes widening drastically in confusion as he blinked and then laughed. "Ah, the fallen stars," he chuckled, looking at him warmly and wagging his tail slowly in amusement. "I had not known that they had been given names."

Yugi wiggled his tail and squirmed out from beneath his paw to lay his own across the wolf's chest and press his nose to the canine's. "Of course I did! They are our children, Atemu!"

Atemu snorted softly and licked his chin affectionately, rising to his feet a moment later. He had never come to consider them as his children so much as he thought them to be his own flesh given a new form. But he knew it did not matter. "Mist, Dewdrop, Song, Cloud, Clover and Luna," he repeated, drawing each name out slowly and surely and tipping his head to the side. They curled along his tongue comfortably and his eyes grew somehow warmer as his tail wagged and he shook his head. "I shall endeavor to remember them."

"Mm," the moon spirit hummed, blinking curiously as he allowed him to grab him in his jaws once more. Atemu moved in a trot that made him twitch as his eyes widened briefly and he thought of the parade wolves sometimes performed in the other realm as they carried prey. He knew that the spirit of the night sky had done the very same several times in the realm below but never once had he been in his mouth. The parade seemed to be used for more than just one occasion but Yugi had never witnessed it outside of when he had finally accepted Atemu's attempts at courtship.

He still remembered the way he had thrown his head back and howled once before wagging his tail furiously. He had bounced back and forth on his paws. He'd kneaded the earth and trembled with exuberance. He had trotted back and forth around him for a few minutes. And he watched him, trembling himself with affection, as the other danced around him and howled a little louder. He was shocked, mystified, but had watched Atemu repeat himself thrice more and then settle enough to sit and speak with him. He had been unable to stop his own trembling, red eyes wide and mouth open in a grin that made the smaller spirit twitch his nose. His paws continued to knead at the ground in his excitement, but he had not danced around him anymore nor did he howl as he had before. He knew from watching that wolves in the realm below tended to wag their tails and jump from one forelimb to the next with happiness, their joy too much to contain. He had never witnessed them dance around as Atemu had, but he had seen them enough times to know what they were.

The garden was nestled in the clearing nearest their den, where the earth was flatter but rolled gently on the edges and fell into the trees once more. The grass was lower, softer, and the ground which the flowers themselves rested was a light almost silver grain like sand under moonlight. It was the magic, he knew, that kept the color so constant, and at night it glowed a soft but beautiful blue almost like cobalt.

The flowers were a mixture, buds of glorious silken white and the same shade of the morning sky. Amongst them were silver and gold, both of which stretched open beneath the moon and then folded into nothing in the sun. Each rose in large clumps amongst much longer blades of grass, which spiked upwards in sharp dark green like secluded clouds to pepper the silver soil. Yugi had come to know each of these flowers, enjoying the symbolism of the red-eyed wolf's affection.

From what he had come to know was that his partner had decided, despite his reluctance to venture to the world beneath, to make his way there to gather some freshly-bloomed roses. He had placed his own magic within them, giving them the same pulsing of white and silver and gold within their cores that each star in his pelt possessed. Planted in clumps in the earth that he had molded to his own desire, he had become indebted to the spirits of rain and spring in order to grow them properly to the form he desired. The first time Yugi had set foot within the garden, he had easily become overwhelmed, stunned when they revealed themselves before his eyes as Atemu manipulated their surroundings just enough to influence the sky. It had been the very first time he had taken his true form in front of the canine, prancing about the stalks of growth as the wolf settled a few feet away and watched him.

Atemu set the small rabbit on the soft grass, stretching himself out lazily as Yugi pressed his nose once to his and then took off to look at the folded blooms. The roses immediately before him were a shiny white that looked almost like peaceful water beneath the sunlight and the gleam they gave off made him turn his eyes away for a moment. His mate was about the size of one of the blooms when it opened to its fullest, and it stood at the height of his nose to the tips of his long ears. The dark green of the grass was deep and rich, and it reminded him of summer beneath the hottest of suns, though he would never admit such a thing to his partner. He hated the harsh heat of such weather and, as many of his species in the world below, relished in the chill of the winter when his fur was long and beautiful and moved like water upon his muscles.

He rolled onto his side lazily, stretching his legs out fully, and watched Yugi glance at him before wrinkling his nose and then disappearing into one of the large bushes of deep green. The roses continued to glisten and dance as if a wind had crossed through the area, but Atemu felt nothing stroke his fur as he closed his eyes halfway, waiting. With his ear pressed against the earth, he felt rather than heard their children come racing from the other bunches of flowers towards him. They must have greeted Yugi in the meantime, as they usually stuck to his side more than the wolf's for obvious reasons, and now burst forth like water breaking over stone after a long winter.

They were mute as they came forth and sprang upon him, climbing eagerly onto his fur and squeezing between his forelimbs to brush against his chest affectionately. One of them stopped to listen to his heartbeat, he knew, and he kept his eyes half-open at the pleasant sensation of them squeezing out from between his legs again before running to his face. They each brushed noses with him, and one of them wiggled and sneezed so softly that he snorted in amusement and reached a paw out to push it away gently. The others pressed small licks to his ears and he rolled himself onto his stomach to give them more room to run across his back as they were always so eager to do.

Lowering his head to his paws, he allowed them to jump onto his shoulders, burrowing their faces into the scruff of his neck and breathing pleasant whispers of air against his skin. He wagged his tail faintly at the sensation, loving it as he always had, and watched as Yugi continued darting about the thick fronds of grass. He eventually emerged long enough to poke his head out and look at them, eyes bright with laughter and affection, before he turned once more and disappeared into the greenery.

The hour of relaxation that the wolf had been hopeful to spend in their den, cuddling or making love, passed easily. The fallen stars had begun nibbling gently at his ears, occasionally causing him to bat them away with his paws, though their endless fascination with the thick fur inside of the cartilage brought them quickly back. When they grew to be too persistent he would roll onto his belly and toss his head to the side so that they fell away. Then he would bat them aside gently, growling eagerly when they grew to be too rambunctious, so that they ran away quickly and then raced back. Laying stretched on his side comfortably he shifted his tail so that they might jump over and away from the long appendage, using it as a starting line for their newest games. He was issued the obvious judge but their names were lost to him and so he simply declared them all victors, licking each of them on the forehead and ignoring the urge to watch Yugi instead. His younger lover came to him and all of them fled his side in favor of him, rubbing against him and earning nuzzles in return. Then they hurried into the garden's plants again and the two spirits made their way along for their nightly rounds.

As such the night went without any incidents. He and the red-eyed teen traveled the expanse of the heavens used to influence the world beneath them. They moved as they always did on summer nights, the rabbit at his sides, his pawsteps spreading the passage of nighttime through the sky. Ahead of them they knew Anzu and Kris were treading their own paths. The cycle of day and night, sun and moon, was endless and so the breaks that came with each season were especially coveted. Summer and winter were the only times that the two nighttime spirits managed to have time together without the threat of interruption.

The length of these nights was too long or too short, demanding more leniencies between the four of them. These times allowed them more room to relax, though they were still required to keep moving as the passage of time in the world below was constant. Naps were few and far between for the two of them, but with time Yugi had grown to embrace such sleeplessness and keep himself entertained with the presence of his companion. The other spirit had long since mastered the necessity of napping only when the sun was out, when Anzu and Kris were ready for him to continue moving about. But sometimes even he had slipped up in his timely responses. The rabbit had only realized he was not with him those few times when he had come to find that the stars were not blanketed beneath him and the blackness of the night was still pale blue. When he had gotten Atemu awake and running to catch up with his mistake, only then had he been given the knowledge of the harassment of the former moon spirit. Akefia had been rambunctious and wild, hard to contain among the heavens, still a being of absolute mayhem.

Yugi curled up with Atemu wrapped around him, snuggling comfortably into his side as his flanks moved gently with his even breathing. The black tail draped over his side and his cheek pressed against his gently. The den around them was a solid gray color from so long being exposed to their combined magic, the walls obviously scratched into place by the canine himself. There were still gentle grooves in smaller areas of the little space, making it clear that he had both sought it out and created it. The smaller spirit again found the solace he had grown so familiar with but always wistful of the moment they departed. The walls had become warm and beautiful in shade, pulsating with silver and white light that was overlapped with bright golden weaves that changed into bright blue and long tendrils of smoky red-violet. Each constellation rose and fell with his steady breathing, weak before the light of the moon but displayed easily when the wolf was curled up alone.

He spent a few minutes tracing the constellations on the walls as he did when he could not sleep, listening to the wolf's even breathing. He could feel his fur tugged and blown with the easy movements, and he knew immediately that the other was fast asleep. He looked at the familiar bunny shape there on the wall, a constellation of his own that he had drawn onto the other's pelt to make it look as if it were himself sitting back on his haunches. He had drawn the other into the image as well, so that Atemu was standing next to him, wagging his tail with his head lowered as if to sniff him. The design was so familiar that it made every little ache from whatever restless nights fade away into nothingness. It was even able to take the sting away when someone hissed at him that Akefia had been with Atemu first, that he was but a mere replacement who had not earned his place.

The moon spirit woke up alone but a deep breath revealed that it had not been so for long. The light, airy water and ice scent that made that of the wolf spirit's pelt was strong and the body warmth he offered still heated the stone around him. Atemu had possibly wandered off to hunt or get a drink of water and had not wished to disturb him. Yugi stretched himself out as completely as he could, then flinched. His left back leg ached with the movement. He looked the little limb over, finding only the smallest of mixtures to pronounce blood and dirt. He could not remember anything to happen to cause such a thing, nor did he recall waking up at any point.

He pressed his nose into the fur, separating it easily, and breathed in deeply. It was his own blood, but he couldn't identify what might have grabbed him. It was obvious, however, that something had, for the puncture wound was nothing he would have gotten otherwise. It looked small, though, he thought with wonder, curious. It was nothing that his partner would have made, as his teeth were too large and his grip always too gentle when he grabbed him into his jaws.

Yugi shook it off and padded outside of the den a few small steps, sniffing for any sign of danger, and spotted a small pool of blood but nothing else. He hesitated, flattening himself against the ground, and listened for a long moment before quickly taking his second form. The ache in his leg eased somewhat and the puncture wound looked like nothing more than a mere scratch given to him by a rosebush's thorns. He looked around uncomfortably, however, feeling uneasy as he continued forward. Whatever had come about, it seemed clear to him that Atemu had taken to the task of discovering more information or simply rectifying whatever the problem was. And he did not have a reason to worry as long as the wolf did so.

He picked his way into the direction of the gardens, comforted by the idea of seeing their children when he could not his partner. He listened closely, awaiting any noise that might alert him of his lover returning to his side. He paused, tilted his head, and hoped for the hint of a howl or the booming huff of a bark that he sometimes let out in greeting after a hunt. A small feeling of foreboding was creeping upon him, settling as the silence seemed to press into his body and smother any touch of comfort he had so desperately desired. He moved forward, for a moment thinking to take his true form and press himself as low to the ground as possible, and his eyes flickered about. He froze, horror making his entire body tremble.

His gaze had fallen upon the lunar roses. The once bright white and blue of each bud had been pulled and completely crushed. He blinked, horrified still, and noted that some had been uprooted. Others had been cut and ripped apart at the stem by teeth. Tendrils of white were smothered by dark brown and reddish smudges from the collision with the earth. Blades of grass had been visibly clawed and tossed about. Most of the dirt had been trodden over, shifted beneath someone's paws. The heavy smell of blood and semen and sweat made his head spin.

He remained frozen in place, listening harder. But the human's weaker senses made it harder to catch anything. He cautiously turned his head, still straining his ears. Anxiety began to build in his belly. No one was meant to know of the garden—or their den, for that matter—but he and Atemu himself. And, despite his weak senses, all he knew this smell to be, so undeniable in either form, was that of his partner. He could scent his blood, his semen, his sweat. It was all him. The thought made his body quiver. He paused, breathing in deeply, and attempted to sort through the various scents which lashed out at him suddenly. He could smell someone else, weakly, and then powerfully. He had only run across this smell several scattered times in his life.

Akefia was kept away from him aside from meetings amongst the spirits. The occasional statement was swapped, nasty and cynical, and utterly crushed when Atemu snarled at him. Yugi had never once been completely alone with him before. His partner had never allowed it. He found every excuse possible to be at his side should the other be nearby. He was careful. He kept him away from the other spirit at all costs. The wolf had placed himself between them more often than not, snarling and bristling in clear warning, guarding Yugi as if he were the most precious thing in his existence. Only once had Akefia drifted close enough that he had been lunged at, dancing away and laughing in delight when Atemu missed.

Yugi shook away the thought to take to the task of checking on the other occupants of the garden. He was a rabbit once more within an instant. He darted along swiftly, then ducked his nose down to sniff. His nails dug into the earth with the anxiety that coursed through him. It was the only thing that kept him glued there rather than allowing him to flee. He sniffed deeply, breathing in harshly and wishing his nose was as strong as his partner's. The wolf had always amazed him with his ability to catch even the smallest scent of something or other. But the only thing that he himself could smell was so much more blood, hot and sticky and disgustingly sweet. He dashed about, looking for any signs of them. Then he recoiled and took to his second shape.

His and Atemu's children…

They had been ripped open. Small tuffs of white fur were all that was left, the rest bathed in red blood. The puncture wounds were long and deep. And the way the fur was tossed about the area spoke of a canine. He recognized the kill form. Many times in the world below he had come across these scraps. It was not uncommon. A canine could easily be deterred from their meal if a larger predator came along.

"No…"

How had this happened?

"Humph. So then he has abandoned you."

Yugi was so pain-stricken by the sight before him that he almost missed the words. For a moment he could not look away. His eyes were wide, horrified, and his mouth had opened in a low moan once more. He blinked, resisting a shiver. Then he glanced slowly over his shoulder. The canine stood a few feet away, with a long and narrow snout that made him look even more devious. He was almost the size of Atemu, however, unusually large in build, but his form was more slender. And his pelt did not share the same gleam or vibrant darkness. Instead his was tawny beneath, with white around the face and cinnamon along the bridge of his long nose, and red ears that flicked every which way. His tail was shorter, his paws straighter, and the black and silver along his brows and back looked unnaturally unruly.

"Akefia," he mumbled, his distress making him nearly unable to hear and understand his own words, "what do you want?"

"I merely came to check on you and Atemu," the coyote stated simply. His ears flicked and pricked forward. His eyes darted to the limp forms at Yugi's feet. Then he laughed loudly and looked up. His jaws opened wide to show his teeth but the other did not shudder. He had seen Atemu's teeth many times. He opened his mouth completely when he yawned. If he had wanted, he could have stuck his entire body the length of those massive black jaws and still had room before his teeth closed around him. Akefia's sharp and narrow muzzle held nothing for him to fear. "I suppose he was not trying to fool me then."

"What?"

Akefia stayed silent for a long minute, then changed into his human form. Yugi did not bother to look at him again. His eyes shot back to the bodies of his and Atemu's children. The former moon spirit's white hair and sharp purple eyes annoyed him. Even after all the time he had spent as a lightning spirit, he still retained some of what had made him the moon before. He knew it was simply because of his position as the moon spirit for long before him. But it only reminded him more and more of the rumors and the fact that he had only been brought to the spirit realm to replace him.

"He has such passion, does he not?" the older spirit purred, lips twisting up into a smug smirk. The other spirit did nothing but stare at the ground before him. "He said I mustn't tell you. But that, which you see before you, is the effect of our lovemaking."

His head turned immediately, his breath stolen from his lungs. Angrily he blinked at him, then shook his head sharply. "Atemu has never even glanced upon you," he spat coldly, narrowing his eyes. "You are lying, trickster."

"Am I? You might think to wonder if you are just far too blind, Yugi. The night is said to cast a powerful spell upon any beneath it," the silver-haired boy whispered silkily, smirk growing. "I would not doubt you have been ensnared by it. After all, what is the moon without the night sky? You are nonexistent within the light. It takes the darkness to give you value."

He fought back a flinch. "Just as it takes the storm clouds to give you any form," he snarled softly. "Lightning is nothing without the clouds to carry it. And you are a fool if you consider it otherwise."

Akefia bristled visibly, annoyance sparking in his eyes. "Surely even in this weak form you must smell it. It still taints the air if you give way to your second skin," he hissed, smirking when Yugi faltered noticeably as his eyes widened. "Ah, so I see you did come upon it when you entered the garden. Was it hard knowing that I have been inside of your precious little night sky?"

The smaller spirit recoiled sharply and glanced at the crushed lunar roses at his feet. He had smelled them. He had smelled their essences, intermingled with Atemu's blood and the sharp musky scent of sweat. But it all still seemed so implausible to him. And it was all so foolish for him to consider it. His partner had never so much as glanced at the others among the heavens.

But how could one collect such scents if it were not true?

"Perhaps, if you do not believe it, you should look upon your little 'children's' broken bodies once more," the other spirit spat, smiling widely as Yugi cast an uncertain glance at him again and then faced him. "Did you really come to believe that those tales of Atmeu and I were false? Were you ever so foolish to believe them? Of course he would deny such things in order to court you. But, as you are well aware, the true moon belongs with the night sky. You have taken my place for long enough, have you not, little Yugi?"

He backed up a step. His eyes flickered to the dead bodies. They stunk furiously of Atemu as everything else in the garden did. His attention turned to the coyote again. The spirit was baring his teeth in amusement. Yugi stepped back once more.

"Your legs seemed shaky. I guess that is where he sunk his teeth into you, yes?" he continued, smiling wider. "He must have lured you into a deeper rest. As is the gift of the spirit of the night sky, wouldn't you agree, Yugi? Too bad that he did not think to finish his task. Then again, I suppose it might be better this way…"

The moon spirit waited until Akefia sprang. He lunged and landed on white paws. He sprang forward with speed like that of the wind. The coyote snarled behind him, stumbling and tripping when he maneuvered in a zigzag. So what Atemu had told him before was true. He had been told that, in a fight between the two of them, the wolf had torn the other canine's shoulder open. The wound had healed nicely but the bones he had crushed between his teeth had never grown well enough for him to run properly again.

Yugi sprinted through the trees as fast as his paws would carry him. Akefia stumbled behind him, several yards back and trying in vain to gain ground. The rabbit leaped over a small uprooted tree and crawled through a bramble thicket. The coyote snapped his teeth and hurried to the other end of the thorn barrier but Yugi had used this little place often. The hole at the roots of the tree beside him led to the realm beneath and though he always feared going back, he was not about to return to the heavens should he have the choice.

Akefia clawed furiously at the thorns. He let out a scream and whined pitifully. Yugi glanced back over his shoulder. The coyote had a slender paw but it was still too large. He would not dig him out. But if he braved it, he could definitely tear the thorns apart and attack that way. The small rabbit drew in a deep breath, lungs quaking. Then he sprang and fell into the hole beneath the roots. It was small in the entrance but opened as wide as the gaping jaws of death the further he fell. He felt the air lifting the fur on his cheeks and chest, his paws. The tumble beneath was endless, infinite sky and air, and then he felt his paws touch the ground again. It was dark and the sharp scent of wet earth met his nose in a rush. Small roots scratched his pelt as he pulled himself forward a few small steps.

The rabbit pressed his paws against the opening of the entrance, sinking his nails in as best he could, and then lifted himself out. Dirt clung to his fur and his back leg ached as he stumbled forward a step. The sunlight burst forth like prickles of warmth. His eyes ached with the furious beams. His fur glittered like fallen snow in the direct rays. As he sniffed the air, there was the harsh stench of dung and the more earthy tone of that of a red fox. Flowers let out a soft, alluring scent that was heavily overclouded by the other two tones.

The natural smells were nothing he was unused to even after all this time, but it made his heart hammer anyways. He had never truly ventured into the world again after being selected into the heavens—or at least not alone. Those few times he had, Atemu had accompanied him and Yugi had feasted well on clover while he kept watch. No predators were foolish enough to approach the spirit, even bears, as the very gleam of his eyes made them feel fear creep through their bellies. He had seen many of them take off when he so much as moved to get to his feet, his silence enough to unnerve them. And the one time he had come on his own, he had wandered only several steps, eating quickly whatever greens were around, and then fled back as he knew Atemu was looking for him.

He blinked a few times, sniffing intensely, and listened as hard as he was able. He supposed now that he had the great black wolf to thank for the new speeds he could travel with his paws. He thought he also owed him for the new means of evasion he had developed through their endless games. He knew he could comfortably name him the reason for his new technique of hiding in even the most open of spaces.

He brought his hind legs almost completely to his front, breathing in deeply as he scented the air once more. His eyes darted about as he crept forward as quietly as he could manage. He needed to find a place where he was certain Akefia would not come across him, as he was sure that the coyote would give chase of him eventually.

The rabbit shivered as he approached the fox dung, glancing around at his surroundings and then towards his pristine pelt. He had always prided himself in such a beautiful coat. It had gained the envy of many long before when he was still part of this realm. But that would have to change. There was no way he could pass up an opportunity to hide himself just for the narcissistic affection he felt for his own pelt. The acrid stench was the only possible source strong enough that he would be able to hide his own soft scent. Yugi leaped into it before he could rethink his course of action. He rolled in it, forgetting for a moment to breathe, and then sprang to his feet and leaped away as the sound of a twig snapping met his ears. He caught the falls of paws behind him, but as he sprinted they began to fade into nothing and so he circled back carefully to check.

Only when he did not see the other animal did it sink in.

He was completely alone in the world beneath the heavens again.

During the time in which Yugi spent making his way into the realm of reality and seeking shelter, Atemu worried himself to find him. The wolf had spent hours chasing the fox spirit Mai throughout a human village. She had woken him from his light slumber when she had grabbed Yugi by the back leg and attempted to drag him out of their den. And so she had woven her way in and out of the realms with magic that he could not truly fathom. She had led him along for so much time that she had rendered him exhausted. And then she had seemingly disappeared within the smoke of one of the human's fires as he struggled to give chase once more.

He returned panting and anxious, checking the den only to find that his partner was nowhere to be found. Nose to the ground, the black wolf caught his scent faintly among the harsher smells that clung to the air. He could smell his own blood and hints of another's, cold and familiar, which burned in his mind as he tilted his head to the side. Akefia's blood; he recognized it from their fight before, when he had split his skin to the bone and crushed his shoulder when he had first attempted to bed him against his wishes. He also knew the other two scents that burned the air like the smoke with which Mai had seemed to so effortlessly disappear within. Akefia had made his desire for him no secret while they were still forced to work together and Atemu had often caught the smell of his recent pleasures clinging to his fur like thorns. He knew the sweat and the essence, as they were always blended together, and the wolf hated the fact that they were burned so violently within his memory.

Disgust crossed his features but a new, terrible, aching realization swept across him. That smell in the air, mingled with it, was that of him. The wolf turned his head, horrified, and smelled again as if it might change the results to something else completely. But no, as his fur lifted across his shoulders and his tail came up as a signal of pure aggression and hatred, he knew it was still his.

Akefia must have been playing a trick. He lowered his head, growling softly, but the bristle remained and he could not shake the hatred that made his blood hot like liquid sunlight within his veins. He could hear him, as he angled his ears, and the coyote was nearby, licking at wounds he wished he had inflicted on him. Angrily, raising his head high, the wolf took off in a trot, snarling as he charged the other canine.

The lightning spirit just barely ducked out of the way of his teeth, slithering like a silver-skinned snake in order to avoid him. Atemu spun on him, his lips drawn back to their fullest, eyes glinting like distant reddened glaciers.

"What did you do to Yugi?" he spat furiously, squaring every muscle in his body. He would kill him if he had harmed him. He would rip his throat out and leave his carcass for the rest of the spirits to pick off of. He would soak in his blood happily and use his coat to line the stone of his den.

"To Yugi?" Akefia snapped, giving him a wide-eyed and false innocent expression that made him snarl louder. His purple gaze blinked in surprise and his narrow jaw opened as if he were stunned to be placed under such an accusation. "What would I have done to Yugi?"

Atemu moved forward, pressing into what little space they held between them. His incisors glinted and Akefia whined at the sight of them, remembering all too well the power with which they had delivered his limp. "Answer me, Akefia," he snarled quietly, running his tongue over his nose as if he already tasted his blood and enjoyed it. The coyote lowered himself slightly towards the ground but held himself there, careful not to corner himself in such a submissive position. Atemu could and would kill him if he got it into his head. "What have you done to Yugi? Where is he?"

"It is not my job to be the keeper of your mate," he snapped, bristling faintly and then whimpering and springing backwards when teeth chomped in his face. "Easy, Atemu! You don't want to cause unjust fights here—"

"Anything concerning your throat torn out is fair and just as far as everyone else is concerned." He paused, sure he heard something moving nearby, but when he flicked his ear to listen more closely, the sound ceased all existence. "Listen to me and hear me well, Akefia; should anything have happened to Yugi, I will kill you."

"Why don't you take it up with him then? He is the one who fled to the human world because he could not stand to live a lie any longer," the lightning spirit spat furiously, snarling when the wolf pressed closer to him and seemed to loom over him angrily. His tail was still raised high over his head, and Akefia could see every bit of muscle in his narrow chest and powerful bones.

"What did you just say?"

"I said that he fled. He left the heavens. He abandoned them before he was forced to break your heart. He could not handle the stress of pretending any further," the smaller canine snapped, and his tail moved in a small wag as if he could not contain the exuberance brought by his own words. The spirit of the night sky stared at him for a moment, red eyes burning as he snarled softly in utter outrage. "He ran away because he doesn't love you anymore. And you finally left him alone for a moment."

When he moved to run his tongue over the wolf's cheek, Atemu twisted away. His teeth clamped into his cheek violently. Akefia screamed loudly, struggling to pull away. A toss of his head sent the smaller predator skidding across the ground. Immediately the coyote got to his feet again, bristling as his tail fell between his legs. His lips pulled back to show his teeth, his ears flattened against his skull, and he lowered his head towards the earth until his chin nearly touched the ground.

The wolf stared at him furiously, and a shiver spread through him, his rage unsuppressed and clearly on display. His muscles quivered, his pelt rolling atop them with the movement, and his lips pulled further back. The snarl built up into a roar of a noise and he sprang at him. Akefia jerked away, but realized belatedly that Atemu had not fully aimed for him. Rather he landed a small inch from where he had been formerly.

"He seized his opportunity and he ran," the coyote snarled, taunting him as they glared at one another and the wolf struggled to keep from tearing his throat out that very second. "You were stupid to ever suppose he loved you. He used you, you stupid pup! Do you still not understand that the only one who ever loved you was me?"

Atemu turned away, spinning violently and snarling furiously once more. He trotted forward, spun around to face him angrily, and then breathed out so roughly that his entire body quaked with the exhale. "Whatever you have done, Akefia, you had best hope that it can be repaired. I will have your head!" he spat, turning again and taking off in a brisk trot for one of the many entrances to the world below.

Akefia watched him go, a bitter fury making his lips curl back completely. Every fur along his back rose in a bristle and he growled softly as he breathed roughly outwards. Atemu was a fool. He was the most stubborn of fools, pathetic beyond sense. Watching him trot off to find that miserable moon spirit, the coyote felt blood drizzle down his cheek. He could already see the tuft of fur that had been ripped out by the other canine's teeth, though it was nothing more than a smear of silver in the corner of his eye.

He growled again, tossing his head upwards, and watched a large black shape ascend from the skies. The raven landed on a branch nearby, watching him with beady eyes that he wanted to squash between his teeth. He snarled, looking up at him fully, and then moved to take a seat.

"Well that could have gone much better," someone else greeted them, voice husky and full of amusement. Akefia listened to her soft steps with his ears flattened against his skull. He turned his head only enough to eye her as she came forward, purple gaze black with the rage that dilated his pupil. The red fox paid him no attention, circling around him once with her long, bushy tail in the air, the white tip dancing like a will-o-wisp before his eyes. Her slender black forelimbs were graceful as they carried her in a brief circle in front of him before she took a seat as well, facing him with narrow, gorgeous eyes the color of unearthly gems. Her black ears tipped towards him, her sleek muzzle pointed towards the ground only slightly, and her eyes burned into his. "He's pretty resilient."

"He thinks that useless rabbit is worth his time," the coyote spat, bristling furiously. "And yet, I, his equal, am worth nothing?"

The raven's feathers fluffed upwards as it craned its neck, facing him fully, its beak glittering. "His equal?" it mocked laughingly, spreading its wings for a moment before clicking its large bill. "Why do you even attempt to humor yourself with such notions, Akefia? Atemu is younger than you. He is also somehow wiser. And you had to enlist our help to even get this far beneath his flesh."

"Imori, I will do to you what Atemu threatened to do me," he snapped angrily. "I will tear your head from your neck and pop your skull within my jaws, you worthless bird. Had it not been for me, you would still be banished from the heavens, would you not? You are lucky none of them are the wiser for the magic it took to draw you back in here. And was it not you who wanted revenge before me?"

"You both battle as if you have any right to the things you desire," the vixen laughed softly, her tail rising and falling in a twitch of pure amusement. She gave them both a wicked smile, showing off her glittering white teeth, and her paws were tickled with the length of her long tail. "Atemu wants nothing to do with you, Akefia. And you don't deserve your place among the heavens as it is, Imori. You lost that right when you tried to eat Yugi for breakfast the day he was brought here."

Both of the spirits swung their attention on her, ruffled by her nonchalance and the way she gazed at them with such strong laughter.

"And you are the one who wishes to return to the world beneath," Akefia sneered, leaning forward to bare his teeth in her face. She did not so much as blink and instead tilted her head to the side as her mouth pulled up wider, her beautiful ginger and white face more amused than ever. "And what for? To die when your immortality ceases to exist any longer? How pathetic of you, Mai."

"I fear nothing, unlike you, Akefia, who hides in the shadows and wishes for attention you are so unworthy of," she stated, flicking her tail again as she eyed him with a glint in her gaze that warned him to pull away immediately. "I want pups, with the same beautiful pelt as mine, and gorgeous eyes like summer winds. You would not understand such a thing, you mongrel, for you chase a spirit with love that will never be yours. And, as for you, Imori, remember your place, dear. I brought you here and I will cast you out again. Speak as if you are above me again, and you will find that your trees offer you no shelter and your wings will give you no freedom."

Thanks for stopping by and reading. I'll explain more about the story and the myths I read in the second part's author's note. Part II will be posted (hopefully) on or around the 26th.

All reviews are appreciated, constructive or not.