Thus the reigning king of that time made the practice forbidden, that anyone who used magic to bring this practice back to life would be met with the false siren killed and the offender punished for their action. However, Atemu did not care for laws of the past if it would benefit him obtaining a proper mate. He brought Yugi into his world and promised to teach him all that he needed to know to become a siren worth his tail but even he cannot deny there was some truth to the old stories...
0 Atemu was never frightened easily. He came to the open ocean alone with no escort, left home with nothing but a simple pack of personal things. He scared off far larger sea life with just his presence alone. Taking on any stubborn ones with tooth and nail until their ravaged carcass was left to rot on the seafloor after providing him mere sustenance to continue finding a permanent home.
Yet there was one moment that had cemented itself into his mind, made him fear his very life and understood the stories written in the sacred steles to cover centuries of siren history. It started off simple enough, Yugi awakening to his new life once the magic settled, disoriented but breathing. Atemu took care with him, knowing it would take time for Yugi to adjust to his new body swimming and using his gills more prominently. Things were going well, Atemu almost denied how rash their decision to never use the transformation spell to turn ground dwellers until it actually happened to him. It started in the morning, Yugi waking him for the morning meal. The hunt was simple enough, a couple fish to sate their hunger before continuing on with the exploration.
Yugi was fine physically, nothing seemed wrong to Atemu as they swam through the deep blue. Then he asked for more food and Atemu hunted for him. It repeated constantly before Atemu began to see the signs. By then, it was too late. Yugi demanded more and more, wandering off to pick at anything that moved. Crustaceans, small fish, even seaweed swaying in the currents.
Yugi went at the barest movement with a ferocity that was uncommon even for him. The behavior began to worry Atemu yet the moment he went in to engage, the smaller siren whirled on him, baring his teeth in a voracious snarl. "Yugi!" Atemu snapped, prostrating himself in hopes that it would make the siren stand down. It only irritated the other siren, launching him into a frenzied attack.
The roar was deafening even underwater, Yugi lunged for Atemu and tackled him into the sand. Atemu winced, dodging teeth and claws as Yugi tried to skin him alive. A lucky strike caught him across the chest, making him hiss as blood escaped the marks, making the frenzy worse when Yugi caught the scent. Sand flew around them as the two struggled, Atemu trying to keep Yugi at bay. He was surprisingly strong, making the siren worry that he would die at his mate's hands.
No...he wasn't going to lose his life or his mate. Not when he had everything he could ask for. He earned the right to his freedom and choices when he transformed Yugi and wasn't going to let aged lessons of his people ruin this for him! Atemu snarled in response, manhandling Yugi and pressing him into the ground, hands grasping his wrists, obsidian tail weighing down the lavender one.
Yugi was wild eyed and frothing at the mouth, trying to snap at Atemu but he kept him pinned well. One mistake here and it would cost him. It was heartbreaking to see what his mate was reduced to, the lessons of the past trying to decide the only option that would free Yugi of this burden. Atemu knew Yugi would feel nothing but guilt if he hurt Atemu in any way, if at all. Rabid false sirens were always executed so no one knew if they could be freed of this side effect.
Atemu never planned to give up.
Yugi had stopped the growls, looking at Atemu with deadly intent. He couldn't move but the moment Atemu loosened his grip even slightly, he would pounce. Atemu frowned, leaning closer to his mate with whispered sorrows of what he had become. This isn't you, he uttered, fingers tightening on Yugi's wrists when he tried to tug them away. "Please, my darling pearl, remember what you are. What you mean to me. This is not you and I know you can overcome such a cursed state. Prove my ancestors wrong about false sirens and that you are as genuine as any other born naturally. Magic does not define who you are."
The closer Atemu got, the more Yugi began to recoil til he was baring teeth in warning once too close. He didn't snap, which was a good sign for the action Atemu was to take next. Shooting forward, leaving no window of opportunity for retaliation, Atemu captured Yugi's lips in a deep kiss.
The moment their lips touched, Yugi fell limp in his grasp like a puppet with its strings cut. He did not move or bat an eye to the human gesture that sometimes became routine to show off their affection. When Atemu pulled back, he gazed into those blood-lusting eyes that lost their fire, hoping the action Yugi familiarizes himself with snapped him from this curse that tried to demand sacrifice for its fallacy.
"Yugi? Are you back with me? Please, my dear pearl...respond to me."
Yugi didn't say a word for a stretch of time, making Atemu fear the worst before finally, a groan escaped his lips. A slow blink and the shuddering fluctuation of his gills told Atemu enough. Yugi was back and whatever spell cursed his body from the magic to bless his form finally receded. "Oh, my pearl, you've returned to me."
Yugi found himself enveloped in a tight hug, a startling case when it came to Atemu, but only went to wrap his arms back around him. He didn't know what happened, his mind drawing a complete blank since the moment he woke this morning. He pulled back in alarm when the scent of blood registered to his senses, looking down to see the jagged marks clawing Atemu's chest.
"What happened?"
"Nothing to concern yourself with right now. What matters is the stories told from the past were faulty at best. Clearly my ancestors took no time to find a solution. The fools."
Yugi wanted to ask what he meant, perhaps understanding the sudden black out to infiltrate his mind but Atemu only guided him back to the grotto. You need rest, he admonished, promising that the explanation will come to him soon. Yugi hardly doubts such a thing, Atemu good at keeping secrets for an extensive amount of time til it is dropped. The rest did sound nice. Yugi felt bloated, like he had eaten a bit too much.
Hand pressed again his back urged Yugi along, the smaller siren swimming along with his larger partner right beside him. His stomach groaned painfully with each move of his body, the statement "green at the gills" truer every second. The siren whimpered and whined at the discomfort, embarrassed if he felt the need to lose the contents of his stomach, a fact that Atemu hardly felt repulsed by.
"Uncoordinated sirens fresh to the hunting scene would expel their stomach contents to rid themselves of bloat when necessary. If they can't handle large prey, there's no shame in swimming away. My pearl, don't let humiliation be the reason for your—"
Atemu hardly needs to finish the sentence for Yugi to follow his suggestion. He felt much better but mortified by just how much undigested matter had been expelled to make him feel even slightly better. Atemu reassured him again that this was natural, ushering him back to the grotto and promptly to bed. There was so much for the older siren to unpack but for now, he had to be there for Yugi.
He only hopes that for all the trouble caused by ancient ramifications for a spell made for the ground dwellers, that Yugi was blessed with forgetfulness. It would break his heart if he knew what he'd done under the spell's backlash.