Here's another chapter of 'Free Flight'.

Ryou: PhantomBrat wasn't satisfied with the chapters she had written out for her other stories in progress, so...

Yugi: She's decided that you've waited long enough for some sort of update.

Mokuba: Plus she's not had much time on the Internet. On the plus side, she's got up to chapter 19 written and proofread.

Malik: Here's the second chapter.

Joey: Enjoy!


Yugi refused to leave Atem's side and followed his human everywhere despite the leashed harness he wore. Atem had tried the last two weeks to get Yugi to pronounce his name correctly, but the hatchling refused to stop calling him 'Temu'. Yami noticed that Yugi had stopped developing mentally and was concerned for the hatchling. He stopped Atem in the halls after his studies were done for the day. "Little Prince, how fares Yugi Hikari?"

"Yugi hasn't gotten into any trouble lately," Atem replied as he looked down at his little dragon. Yugi stared at the ground as if it were the most interesting thing in the world to him.

Yami shook his head, "Has he spoken much lately?"

"He hasn't said much more than my name as of late."

"Yugi Hikari, what is on your mind?"

Yugi looked up at the semi-human dragon, "Yugi no dig, no bad. Dig bad, Yugi no bad."

Yami sighed, "This is not good. Atem, leave Yugi with me in the morning. He needs a lesson in being a dragon."

Yugi's eyes went wide in fear of being separated from his Bonded. "YUGI NO BAD!" He tried to take off but his harness prevented that from happening. His claws scraped at the stone flooring as he tried to get away from Yami, crystalline tears forming in his eyes for the first time. Atem dropped his scrolls as the hatchling began hyperventilating and thrashing around in panic.

"Yugi, settle down," Atem ordered as he knelt next to Yugi. He held the leash at the same tension to keep Yugi from getting out of reach. "You're alright. YUGI!"

Yugi fell limp from exhaustion, his tiny sides heaving for air. Atem reached for the hatchling, but Yami beat him to it. "Do not mollycoddle the hatchling, Atem. Yugi needs to learn just as I did that fine line between obedience and going against orders. He is stuck on one thing and needs to pass that in order to learn other things. I expect him to know more than double his current vocabulary in three days and to be past thinking he's a bad hatchling."

"What do I do about him right now," Atem asked his father's dragon.

"A little warm milk and egg should be given to him. When he's done, put him on his cushion to rest. He's exhausted himself. You'll also want to put a bandage on him as it appears that he's torn the nails to the quick. They'll heal in a few days." Yami headed out to the gardens and resumed his dragon form, leaving Atem with Yugi.


Atem had wrapped Yugi's claws and coaxed him into lapping up his milk and egg mixture. When Yugi managed to consume half of the liquid, Atem smiled at the hatchling, "Good Yugi."

Yugi's saddened eyes looked up at him, "Yugi no bad?"

"Yugi's a good hatchling."

"Yugi good? No bad?"

Atem nodded, "Yes Yugi, you're a good boy."

"Temu good? Yugi good." Before Atem could reply, Yugi let out a yawn and curled his head into the cushion. Atem watched as Yugi's amethyst eyes drifted shut and his breathing slowed in slumber.


Yugi awoke and began crying for food, startling Atem from his studies. Yugi's squeals and whimpers made his hunger evident and sent Atem to the door to call for a servant. "I need a bowl of ground chicken and milk for a pet and a meal for myself brought to my room." As the servant left, Atem turned to Yugi, "Settle down Yugi. I've ordered food to be brought quickly. I know you're hungry."

"Hungry Yugi. Food."

Atem couldn't help but smile knowing that Yugi was learning new words fast.


"Yugi want play," the hatchling demanded as Atem took him to the garden to meet with Yami two days later. "Yugi bored, wanna play with Temu."

"Actually, hatchling, I want you to play a game with me," Yami stated as he landed in the clearing. "I've buried a treat in the patch that we set aside for digging. I want you to find it."

Yugi looked at Atem questioningly. Atem nodded, "It's ok to dig where you're told. Just as long as it's outside and either Yami, Father, or myself tell you it's ok."

Yami nudged the hatchling to the spot and gently ordered him to dig. Yugi set to the task and moments later found a piece of cheese wrapped in leaves. He loved his reward and began digging in his assigned dig-spot in hopes of finding more. Yami laughed at his protégé's antics until a clod of earth hit his claws. "Yugi there are no more treats. You can stop now, little one."

"Yugi like dig. Dig outside. Where told," Yugi stated proudly as he shook the dirt from his white scales. Suddenly, he tensed up and let out a sneeze. Once more a tiny patch of frost layered the ground before him.

Yami shook his head, "Ra above, he's barely a few months old and frosting. I guess it's safe to assume that he'll be freezing things by the time he's a year old."

"Yami, what is it that you can do," Atem asked the older dragon.

"I am capable of using Shadows and Darkness to confuse or injure enemies or to send them to specified locations among other things. If Yugi's sire was a Darkness Dragon, then he might have control of Light as well as ice. But for now it is safe to concern ourselves with his ice attribute for now."


Yugi flapped his tiny wings, his body now as long as Atem's arm. Yami felt it time to stretch Yugi's wings to get them ready to bear his full weight. Yami praised Yugi's efforts and encouraged the hatchling. Yugi suddenly stopped and tensed. Yami knew that Yugi's frosting was becoming an issue as he was sneezing every few minutes. Every time Yugi tensed meant another frosting sneeze was on its way. As he was thinking about how it was the tenth time in an hour Yugi let loose another sneeze, this time frosting Yami's claws. Yami sighed, "Enough for today, little one. You need to rest."

"But Yugi want to learn how to fly," Yugi insisted as he sneezed once more.

Yami shook his head, "You are unwell and I should stop the lessons until you can go without sneezing for a while."

They walked by the pond and Yugi ended up in a massive sneezing fit. The lilies and cattail reeds ended up being frosted, but Yugi collapsed in a scaly heap. Yami then realized what Yugi was allergic to, "It seems that you, dear child, cannot stand cattail pollen. I will speak with my Bonded to see about getting them removed or finding us another place to train you."

"Yugi tired," Yugi sighed as Yami shifted to carry the hatchling into the palace.


Atem returned from his lessons and was relieved to see that Yami stayed with his dragon. "Yami, I was wondering when Yugi would be able to change shape like you do."

"That all depends on your Bond. Your father had a strong Blood-Magic which meant that I could shift when our Bond was about five years old. I have a feeling that with as fast Yugi is developing, his first time shifting could be even sooner. Have you seen his mixed form?"

Atem nodded, "Yeah. He looks like you, but with white scales and wings. His hair is nearly the same, but his blond hair falls into his face more."

"Since you have seen this, then he can shift when his body feels it is ready." Yami turned to leave, "Let Yugi Hikari rest as he's had a long day and came into contact with an irritant."


Yugi prowled around Atem's room, stalking the butterfly that had fluttered in on the breeze. Atem watched as the hatchling crouched and prepared to launch himself at the delicate insect. The second it landed, Yugi leapt at the wall and missed, his head hitting the wall. He landed on his chin and bit his tongue. Yugi began screeching in fear and pain. Atem sighed and went to calm Yugi down. "Shh, Yugi, you're fine," he soothed as Yugi let out a dragon's cry of pain, crystalline tears dripping to the floor.

"Hurt," the hatchling cried. "Hurt, hurt, Temu, hurt."

Atem sighed but got up. "Whenever you're done, we can go to the dining hall for supper."

Yugi stopped crying instantly, "We eat? Yugi get meat? Get milk?"

"Yeah, I'll give you milk and beef," Atem replied as Yugi scrambled to get up.

The hatchling jumped up and tried to land on Atem's shoulder, but missed and landed on the bed. Yugi huffed in frustration, a tiny patch of frost shone on the crimson linens. "Yugi missed."

Atem laughed as he picked Yugi up and placed him on his shoulder. "You're getting too big to ride on my shoulder much longer, Yugi."

"Then Yugi ride until too big," the hatchling replied smugly as he draped himself around Atem's neck and rested his head on the prince's right shoulder. "Then Yugi carry Temu."


Aknamkanon was surprised to see Yugi quietly sitting at the table. The little dragon watched patiently as the poison-tester sampled foods from Aknamkanon and Atem's plates. When he stepped back the hatchling huffed and looked pointedly at his own plate. Cooked chicken and beef slices lay arranged for the picky dragon to eat easily from his plate with a dish of cream next to it for him to drink from. The poison-tester tried to slip back into the kitchens but Yugi nudged his plate away and looked once more to him as if requesting that his food be tested too.

Aknamkanon nodded to the poison-tester, "Sample his food as well. I don't think that Yugi will appreciate being left out."

When Yugi's food and drink was tested, the hatchling happily ate his food. Atem shook his head at his dragon's antics, "What are we going to do with you, Yugi?"

Yugi looked up from dunking his chicken into his cream and dropped the piece of meat into the bowl, "Feed Yugi, carry, play, talk, teach Yugi."

Aknamkanon laughed at the hatchling's reply, "Yugi is quite entertaining. He must certainly keep Yami on his toes."

"You have no idea, father," Atem stated as they watched Yugi attempt to retrieve his cream-soaked chicken breast slice from the bowl. "Poor Yami had to dive after Yugi after he decided to leap from the highest point of the palace this morning. He claimed that it was fun and wanted to do it again. Yami threatened to have Yugi's wings strapped down if he did it again."

Yugi looked up from his dish, his face dripping with cream, "Yugi want to learn to fly fast! Want to be like Tura Yami."

"You certainly have high goals, Yugi," Aknamkanon chuckled.

Yugi huffed, his cream earning a thin layer of ice. The little dragon went back to trying to fish his meat out and squealed when he discovered that he had frozen his cream. Atem laughed as he and his father watched Yugi try to break the thin layer of frozen cream.

Yugi, frustrated that his human was laughing at him, stole the prince's spoon. Using his mouth and turning his head sideways with the stolen utensil, Yugi managed to knock the bowl over and spill the cream into Atem's plate. Shrugging his tiny shoulders, Yugi happily ate anything the cream drenched while Atem watched in shock. "Looks like you've got one smart hatchling," Aknamkanon stated as Yugi shoved his own plate towards Atem to replace what he ate.

Atem couldn't help but notice how smug Yugi looked as he returned to eating from his plate.


Translations:

Tura-Master. (Yugi has for some reason taken a liking to Elvish.)


Yugi: So I'm using HOW may languages?

Three. Egyptian, Dragon, and Elvish. But you're basically able to understand other languages IF Atem knows them as well. Thank your Bond for that.

Ryou: So if Yugi's a dragon, then what are the rest of us?

You'll find out later.

Malik: *Looks at Wikipedia* Hey PhantomBrat, if your real first name is three letters shy of Joey's full first name, then what other strange fact do you have about yourself?

If you take the twins from 5D's names and only use the first three letters of one and the last two of the others, you get another part of my name.

Yugi: Wow. Great word problem there.

Kaiba: The mutt won't be able to figure that one out even if you gave it to him straight.

*Pulls out Kuriboh and Multiply* I use Multiply on Kuriboh. Kuriboh, sic him.

Ryou: I guess she's tired of Kaiba picking on Joey.

You got that right.

Yugi: Please remember that while there are more chapters in queue, PhantomBrat is only posting one new chapter every 2 to 3 weeks in the event that she either doesn't have a new one for a different story in progress or isn't satisfied with one she's written.

Yami: In other words...Don't pester her for updates!

Mokuba: Until next time!