Atem startled awake as a soft boom disrupted the sand around them. He slowly eased himself away from Yugi's still sleeping form as the sound came again, this time accompanied by a series of bright lights so far above his head that he had initially thought the stars were falling into the sea. A series of soft pumps of his tail carried him upwards through the dark water, shivering slightly as the temperature dropped the closer he approached the surface, the sounds of cheering and music filling his ears as he tread so that the water reached his shoulders. His amethyst eyes widened in awe as the sky lit up as though it was daytime, the multicolored explosions earning more cheers from the ship not too far from him. "Fireworks?" he whispered, his head tilting slightly. They were literally miles way from any shore, why would this ship be so far out to sea and be shooting off such loud things in the middle of the night? Whatever was going on aboard was earning several disgruntled looks from the nearby marine life who were passing by and just as he was about to turn away when a something twirled high within the air upon a salty breeze. His interest piqued, Atem hurried to where the object would land and blinked as he held up a blue ribbon that glittered with tiny gems full of rainbows. The fabric was unlike anything he had ever felt before as it brushed against his tanned skin when the wind attempted to take it from him.
"Oh, no, the ribbon mom gave me!" His amethyst eyes rose from the object in his hands as a feminine voice called out, spotting someone leaning over the ship's banister so far that they might fall into the water. He had been so caught up in catching the mysterious item that he hadn't even noticed that he was now close enough to the ship that he could practically reach out to touch it! All thoughts of swimming away to safety and even the many warnings he had heard from his grandfather grew silent as he gazed up at the figure. It was too dark for him to see their features clearly, especially with the lights coming from behind her, but the moon was just bright enough to reveal a female figure. "I can't believe I lost it," she huffed, bringing her head down to rest upon her folded arms. "It's my favorite one…"
His gaze drifted back down to the object in his hands. If her words were true and it had been a gift from her mother, it was wrong for him to simply keep it or release it out into the open sea. The ship had to be several whale lengths high, meaning it would be near impossible for him to jump and risk losing it with a toss, but what else was he supposed to do? With great care, as if he were handling an infant, he brought his cupped hands just far enough down into the water so that his palms held just enough so that a few drops formed upon his tanned skin. "Bulla," the water between his palms formed a bubble with the ribbon safely contained within. "Ortum," it levitated, floating upwards through the air with his eyes carefully watching it as he maneuvered it until it was just above the figure's head. "Rupti sunt."
The figure jumped slightly at the popping sound but they were quick to catch the ribbon as it fluttered near their eyes. "What in the…"
He quickly ducked back into the shadow of the ship as she leaned forward again, her head swiveling every which way as if she were searching for him, and held his breath until she righted. The law strictly forbade merfolk from surfacing but there were harsher punishments for those who were spotted by the humans who walked upon land. The merfolk had once held good relations with the land dwellers, where they could coexist peacefully. That was ancient history though. One day the humans had begun hunting the merfolk when it was found that their scales could bestow healing properties and made the perfect materials for jewelry making. He and Yugi had heard several such stories from the elders of Atlantis, earning reprimands when they spoke of how their father had attempted to establish a cooperation with the humans near their own kingdom. Many had called him a fool but none could change Atem or Yugi's opinion of the merman. The amethyst eyed prince stifled a chuckle when she called out across the ocean, demanding that whoever had returned the ribbon to show themselves, and was surprised when her voice grew softer.
"Thank you, whoever or whatever is out there. You have no idea what this means to me…" She honestly had no idea how the ribbon had come back to her but she was grateful nonetheless. Her eyes scanned across the dark waters below, blinking when a flash of amethyst was followed by gold, then there was nothing. What looked like a fish fin seemed to wave in her direction before it disappeared out of sight. "You're imagining things," she belittled, shaking her head in dismissal as she turned away from the ocean. The footstep she took towards the hallway that lead to her quarters stalled as she took note of the lingering warmth within the ribbon, noting that it wasn't nearly as cold or soaked as it should have been if it truly had been lost at sea. "Or maybe not…" She hurried the rest of the way to her room, throwing her weight against the porthole window and leaned as far out as possible. "I want to thank you somehow! I'll be performing for the rest of the cruise length so please come back!"
The golden tailed merman paused, turning briefly to look up at the ship when he heard a muffled shout. "Come back", is that what she really said? He mused that the water might have distorted her words but his interest had been piqued. Even as he resettled next to Yugi, Atem couldn't calm the racing heart within his chest nor the thoughts within his mind. She wanted to thank him for returning the ribbon to her? "I wonder how she plans to do so." he muttered, eyes drifting closed as the soft current lulled him to sleep.
. . . .
Quick Note: the spell that Atem used was "Bulla Ortum Rupti sunt"="Bubble, rise, burst"