I got a question why Dakuso didn't have the Millennium Scales and Tauk with him last chap so let me explain. Dakuso does have them but I think a guy like him would hardly wear something like the Tauk cuz I think it's more for girls and the Scales would probably get in his way all the time so he just left them at the palace or something.
Anyway, I'll stop rambling now and just let you guys read the next chap, R&R people!
--: 7 :--
Separation
'Cold… so cold… need heat…' That was about the only thing flashing through Jou's mind. Ra had set completely about an hour ago and they were lying in a small oasis that Atemu had spotted. When they had arrived, Teana had immediately claimed the bag with clothes and was now lying on the grass covered with all the robes, sound asleep.
Atemu had pulled Yuugi close to him and had draped his warm cloak over the two of them. They were sleeping peacefully on the grass as well and didn't really seem to be bothered by the cold at all – which was probably because of the little shadow magic that kept the cloak so warm, but our dear Jou didn't know that.
As far as he could see, Seth was staring up at the stars absentmindedly. He didn't seem to be bothered by the cold either.
So why was he?
He sighed as he turned to his other side and tried to ignore the cold so he could catch some sleep. Needless to say, he was failing miserably at it.
"If you keep thinking about it, you'll be cold all night." a voice said.
Jou turned back to see Seth looking at him, "I know but it's hard to think of anythin' else when you're dis damned cold." he closed his eyes but snapped them back open as he felt someone lie down next to him, "Seth? What da…?"
"You want to be warm or argue?" Seth looked at Jou with a raised eyebrow.
Jou let out a sigh, "Be warm." he said. Not that he really minded Seth lying so close to him, but he'd die before he'd admit that out loud.
Seth smirked and draped his cloak over them both, "Thought you might say that." He closed his eyes but felt Jou shiver next to him after a moment, 'He's still cold? Oh no! Nonononono! I am not doing this like Atemu! I am not holding the Mutt in my arms!' After feeling another few shivers next to him he gave up his inner battle, shifted closer to Jou, and pulled the blonde into his arms.
Jou's eyes widened in shock as he felt Seth shift closer and then pull him into his arms. What the hell was going on! Seth kept calling him Mutt and yet now he was holding him like Atemu did with Yuugi – and Jou knew all too well that the ex-Prince had feelings for his little buddy, "Seth?" he whispered questioningly, but leaned against Seth's chest slightly nonetheless.
"Just go to sleep Mutt." Seth murmured, already half asleep himself. He had to admit that lying with Jou in his arms felt pretty comfortable, but he'd never admit that to anyone out loud. He felt Jou lean against his chest completely, resting his head on Seth's chest and softly sigh ina way that actually seemed to be content. He subconsciously tightened his hold on his pup – not that he'd admit that to anyone either - before falling asleep completely with a soft smile on his face.
A few moments after the four guys were asleep, ocean blue eyes snapped open and glanced around suspiciously, before Teana got up from her makeshift bed and exited the small oasis. After walking a few minutes so she'd be out of earshot, she saw a man on a black stallion waiting for her, "Well it took you long enough." an obvious male voice growled.
Teana just bowed before him in respect, "They weren't all asleep until just now." she replied.
"What news do you bring?" the rider asked uninterestedly.
"Nothing of importance. Seth has located the temple on the map and we're on our way there." Teana replied, "He thinks we can get there by tomorrow.
"Good, Master Dakuso will be pleased to hear this. Return to the group." The rider then turned his horse the other way around and galloped off, leaving Teana to stand there.
Teana quickly made her way back to the group and made herself comfortable in the robes again before she too drifted off into slumber.
Seth felt something next to him shift and groaned softly. He subconsciously held on tighter to what was in his arms so to make it stop moving. 'Wait… something in my arms…?' His eyes snapped open but he had to blink a few times against the bright light of Ra's rays before he could focus on his surroundings. He glanced down to what he was holding to see Jou snuggling close to him with a soft smile on his face.
Seth blinked but then remembered what had happened the night before. He quickly glanced around to see Atemu, Yuugi and Teana still asleep, and let out a sigh of relief; if his cousin ever found him like this, he'd seriously never hear the end of it.
He let go of Jou and slowly moved away from the blonde, making sure not to wake the other. He held his breath as Jou groaned softly and shifted, missing the warmth of Seth's body, but didn't wake up. Seth got up and walked towards the small pool of water in the middle of the oasis.
He heard someone else walk over to him as he washed his face and saw Atemu's sleepy reflection in the water beneath him, "Good morning Atemu." he smirked as he looked at his friend, "Sleep well?" he asked innocently.
Atemu was still to sleepy to retort to such things as teasing right now, and just kneeled beside his cousin to wash his own face, choosing to ignore the widening smirk on Seth's face.
"I'll take your silence as a yes then." Seth said.
"Jealous?" Atemu asked just as innocently as Seth had. The cold water had woken him up enough to start taunting and teasing Seth as well now.
Seth rolled his eyes, "I'm not the one with a crush."
Atemu just smirked knowingly before getting up and walking back to Yuugi so he could wake the other up, "Go wake up Jou and Teana, we should leave as soon as possible."
"Yes your Majesty." Receiving a fierce glare in reply, Seth smirked and walked over to Jou.
"Hey Mutt, wake up." he said indifferently as he shook Jou. Jou let out a groan once again before opening his eyes groggily and glaring at Seth.
"Stop callin' me dat and do I really hafta get up?"
"Our all powerful Prince has ordered it." Seth said, loud enough so that Atemu would definitely hear.
Atemu glared at his cousin once more before sitting down next to Yuugi and gently shaking him, "Yuugi, wake up." Yuugi groaned and turned around, not wanting to wake up yet. Atemu let out a sigh and pulled Yuugi up a bit so he was sitting in his lap.
Yuugi immediately opened his eyes to look at what was holding him. He blushed as he saw Atemu gently smiling at him.
"It's time to get up, we're leaving." the Prince said. Yuugi just nodded - still blushing - and got up to wash his face as well.
After about half an hour they were all done and ready to leave again, off into the scorching hot desert.
Atemu tried to use his shadow powers to keep everybody cool this time, but the Millennium Puzzle had yet to recover from the day before and a little of the night, so after a few hours, the power was gone and the group was left at Ra's mercy.
There was no oasis in sight where they could rest up and the fact that it seemed even hotter than the day before wasn't really helping either.
There didn't seem to be any cities nearby either. Seth glanced at the map before groaning.
"What's wrong Seth?" Jou asked.
Seth sighed, "We're getting close to the temple." he muttered.
"Isn't dat a good ting?" Jou couldn't understand why Seth was cranky about this. Wasn't it the point to get to the temple?
"No, it also means there will be no more cities and we need somewhere to rest."
"Well then we'll just have to hope there's an oasis along the way." Atemu grumbled. He was glad they were almost there, but he knew they needed rest. More important to him; his little one looked about ready to faint. Yuugi's eyes were only half opened and his vision was unfocused. He was sweating all over and Atemu could see he was having trouble with just sitting in the saddle without falling out.
Not only that, but the wind was picking up and if Atemu looked very carefully ahead, he could see the sand raging.
"And I think we should worry more about the sandstorm up ahead." he muttered.
Seth peered ahead and his eyes widened, "Shit, and there's no shelter here."
"We're screwed." Jou groaned.
The sandstorm reached them quickly and soon, everyone was having trouble going forward or even seeing a few inches in front of them. The horses were already tired from the long walk in the desert and therefor had almost no strength left to fight the sandstorm.
"We have to stick together!" Seth called out to all the others, hoping his voice would reach them over the storm.
Atemu glanced at Yuugi again to see the teen almost dropping off his horse. Atemu reacted quickly and – not caring about what would happen to him – jumped off his horse to catch his little angel. Of course this meant that the sandstorm was pulling even harder on him now. He could hear Seth's faint voice yell at him, but he couldn't even make out what his cousin's words were as he felt the storm push him away from his friends.
He tightened his hold on Yuugi, hoping against hope that even if the storm separated him from the others, Yuugi and he would at least still be together. He heard his horse give a loud whinny and gallop past them before his entire world went black.
"Fuck! Atemu's gone! I can't see him anymore." Seth yelled.
"Well I can't see a ting so dat doesn't say much." Jou yelled back.
Seth glanced around, looking for the female brunette of the group, but couldn't find her anywhere, "Teana!" he called out, hoping she'd call back, but he didn't get any response, "Ra-damnit! Teana's gone as well!"
"What?" Jou asked, fear evident in his voice.
Not ready to lose the last of his companions, Seth led his horse - with great difficutly - towards Jou, and grabbed the blonde's arm.
At the sudden contact, Jou yelped and lost his balance. He fell towards the person who had just grabbed his arm and could feel himself being pulled onto an other horse, "Relax Mutt, it's only me." he heard Seth murmur as strong arms encircled him.
"Thanks Seth." Jou said before he was thrown against Seth's chest as a gust of wind and sand hit them both, and they fell off the horse. Hearing the frantic whines of Seth's black mare and Jou's brown one, they looked up to see their horses galloping away.
"Dis is so not good!" Jou cried out frantically. He clung to Seth so they wouldn't get separated in the sandy blizzard, as Seth also tightened his grip on the blonde.
Atemu groaned as he slowly opened his eyes and blinked against the bright light of Ra once again. He looked around expecting to see his friends there, but only sand met his eyes. Then it hit him, 'The sandstorm! Yuugi!' Frantically searching his surroundings for his little angel, he got up and walked around, not caring where he was or where he was going. All he knew was that he had to find his little one.
After what seemed like forever to Atemu, he saw a speck of black tipped with violet in the middle of all the sand. He quickly ran over to what he knew to be Yuugi, to find the said boy unconscious and breathing heavily, 'He needs water, and he needs it now.' Shot through Atemu's head. He took the bottle with water he carried with him - not even wondering how it managed to survive the sandstorm - to see it was almost empty. Not really caring, he took Yuugi in his arms and made the younger teen drink the last of the clear liquid.
Yuugi slowly opened his eyes to meet worried crimson rubies staring at him. He groaned as he pulled himself up into a sitting position and grabbed his head as he was hit by a dizzy spell, "What happened?" he muttered, trying to see straight again.
"A sandstorm hit us and we got separated from the others." Atemu answered, "Are you alright?" Yuugi looked at Atemu and gave him a slight smile.
"Yeah, I think so. I'm just feeling dizzy." Yuugi shook his head to get rid of his dizziness, but it only got worse, "Any idea where the others are?"
"No, but we'll find them somehow." Atemu said confidently. He cast worried crimson eyes on Yuugi once again as the other was still holding his head, "Can you walk? You really don't look too good."
Yuugi tried to get up and stand on his feet but fell back into two strong arms as soon as he stood 'straight', "Ugh, I think that storm hit me too hard." he muttered, leaning against Atemu's well-toned chest.
"Well you weren't exactly looking good before the storm either. Maybe you have a sunstroke or something?" Atemu pulled Yuugi close to him. Yuugi still had unfocused vision and was obviously dizzy, holding his head to try and stop his world from spinning.
Yuugi groaned, "Well I haven't seen any illusions ye-" Atemu glanced down to his little angel to see the other staring into the desert, "I take that back," Yuugi muttered, "I just saw the old Pharaoh doing a happy dance in the middle of desert."
Worried, yet slightly amused at what Yuugi had seen, Atemu picked his little one up bridal style, "We need to find an oasis or something so you can cool down." he said and started off further into the desert. Yuugi just leaned his head against Atemu's shoulder and closed his eyes, instantly falling asleep.
Atemu sighed worriedly before once again begging the Puzzle with all his might to lead him to a place where they could rest. To his great surprise, the Puzzle lit up dimly before guiding him in a derection. Atemu just followed the pull of magics, still slightly amazed at how much magic the Puzzle actually held to still be helping him.
Seth slowly opened his eyes and looked around him, not really paying attention to the form in his arms. Sand… only sand. He groaned; this was obviously not his day.
Hearing a groan near him, he glanced down to his arms and saw his pup slowly opening his honey brown eyes, before blinking cutely against the bright sunlight, "You okay, Mutt?"
"Would ya stop callin' me a Mutt." Jou grumbled, sending a glare to the ex-High Priest, "And yeah, I think I'm okay… Where are we?" he asked.
"Somewhere in the desert and probably far away from that damned cousin of mine." Seth muttered. He glared at the yellow sands surrounding him with such force that if sand could die, it surely would've done so now.
"Come on Seth, he was only tryin' ta save Yuug and ya know it," Jou grinned, "the two are just in love." Seth's glare turned to Jou who immediately inched away from the blue eyed brunette. He would've run for his life but the tall brunette was still holding him, 'Ra, it's like da guy has two personalities or somethin'. I think I like da personality of last night better dan dis one.'
"Love is not important right now. If my cousin wants to bed Yuugi so much, so be it, but now is not the time for that." Seth snapped. He released Jou from his hold and stood up, straightening his robes as he did so.
Jou glared at the brunette and stood up as well, "Don't talk about Yuugi like dat." he hissed. No one spoke so disrespectful about his little buddy. He didn't care if Seth was stronger, more powerful or better; he'd defend his friends no matter what.
Seth was slightly taken aback by Jou's reaction and thought it was kind of cute in it's own way – though he'd never admit this and his appearance didn't show it. Of course, he quickly recovered and his temper flared. Nobody spoke to him like that! High Priest or no High Priest, he demanded respect!He raised his arm and swiftly slapped Jou across the face making, the blonde take a step back and wince at the contact. Seth glared even fiercer at Jou as the said boy softly rubbed the sore spot on his now red cheek, and stared at Seth in shock.
"Now shut up and let's go find that damned cousin of mine." Seth said – well more like demanded – with a glare, before taking out the map he had with him and trying to find their location, not even noticing the hurt look Jou gave him.
Jou just stayed quiet as Seth tried to find where they where on the map. He couldn't believe Seth had actually hit him. Sure, he had seen that the brunette could have a temper, but to hit him… he couldn't help but feel hurt. For a short while he had maybe thought Seth liked him, not only as a friend but maybe as more…
As Seth began to walk in the direction he obviously thought Atemu would be, Jou just followed, not even looking at the brunette anymore. If this was what Seth was really like... He shut his eyes tightly at the thought, ´No, don´t think like that!´ He kept following the brunette while trying his best to convice himself that the Seth of last night was the real Seth, not this one.
"Slave! Wake up!" a rough male voice sounded as the owner roughly kicked the form on the ground.
Teana slowly stirred and winced at the pain in her side, but didn't utter a word as she had already recognized the voice as it was the man Dakuso had send to her.
"Finally awake huh. Good, then you can get some water for me because I'm thirsty." the man said with obvious distaste sounding in his voice.
Teana looked around her confused. Where were Jou, Seth, Atemu and Yuugi? What happened? She racked her mind to remember the sandstorm that hit them, Seth yelling at Atemu for some reason and then… darkness. She figured she had fallen off her horse or something like that but still, shouldn't she be getting back to them?
"Uhm… Where are the others?" she asked quietly, trying to sound as respectful as she could.
The man snorted and glared at her, "Master Dakuso created that sandstorm so the group would be separated. He ordered me to get you out of there. When those idiots get back together you'll be placed back." he smirked, "That is, if they can find each other again. Master Dakuso hopes they'll all die before that happens." He looked at Teana again and his expression twisted in disgust again, "Now where is that water I ordered you to bring me! There is an oasis in that direction." the man growled while pointing to his left where a small pond was, not even 10 feet away from them.
'Lazy ass henchman.' Teana thought but went to the pond with a bottle to get some water for the man anyway. After all, this man was her boss for now and who was she to go against his wishes… even if he was just being lazy right now.
She handed the bottle filled with cool water to the man and sat down in the shade on a big rock, waiting for the next thing the man would need her to do. Sighing, she stared into the desert impassively, 'I wonder what the others are doing right now…'
And than was it for now guys. Ain´t I being nice to my chars? °sees readers shake their heads° Ah what do you know. I've got far worse things for them planned °looks at script° See! I've got this and this. OH! let's not forget about that! Anyeay, I hope you all enjoyed the chap and R&R!