The Sample Platter

Chapter 14

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It was another day under the ocean blue and Yugi was out doing a bit of hunting with Atemu. Things were peaceful in their little slice of paradise and Yugi couldn't be any happier. That is...until they hit. They started off small, barely there thoughts that had no rhyme or reason. They didn't bother Yugi none, the siren playfully chasing minnows and sardines around under Atemu's supervision.

Then, they grew into a buzzing cacophony of noise, voices that were drowned under a violent stormy sea calling his name. Faceless humans looking at him, calling, screaming, asking him to come home to land. It was too much noise, too much that a painful howl left Yugi writhing on the sandy floor, a half-eaten snapper falling from hands that went to grip at his head. Atemu was immediately at his side, pulling him from the sand.

"Yugi! Yugi, my dearest pearl, speak to me!"

Yugi only let out another howl of pain. The voices were blending together, overwhelming him and didn't know how to make them go away. He tried to focus on something else, yet they kept coming back like vicious hounds howling and barking to add to the discordant symphony. Why, he wanted to scream, why are you doing this?!

Yugi continued to scream even as Atemu took him from the spot they were hunting in. A siren's scream was a death sentence and Atemu wasn't about to allow that consequence to fall upon his mate. They had jumped over one hurdle of this type of backlash, this was just another that Atemu will make sure will be nothing but a passing memory. Back in the safety of their grotto, Yugi was a whimpering, shivering mess. Still lost to the whirlpool of nightmarish thoughts, Atemu settled him into the nest.

He gently pulled pale hands free from his head so Yugi wouldn't pull his own hair out, holding his hands in his own. The smaller siren was still lost to his thoughts, human and siren in a colliding battle of which was his true self. Atemu thought they had put this nonsense aside but clearly the human remnants still had fight in them. Well then...he would just have to fight back harder.

"You'll come back to me, won't you, my pearl?"

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Yugi was lost in a sea of darkness, the noise still swirling around him in an angry maelstrom. Then a voice called out, one so familiar yet not. "Come home, Yugi...come back home...to mama..."

"Mama..."

Yugi gazed about the darkness, seeing the faceless shadows again, one tall and one short. Their voices were static but one kept calling for him, telling him to come home. But wasn't he already home? Where was home? Yugi looked down at himself, finding that instead of the glorious lavender tail, he was looking at a pair of legs. Was this really him?

Eyes drifted back to the shadows before him, a hand reaching from the murky abyss, reaching for him and he was ready to follow until cold swept through him. Yugi..., the voice whispered. It was powerful and regal, silencing all around him as the abyss distorted, figures wrapped in darkness fracturing. Crashing waves and seabirds took over the silence then the softest hymn reached through the realm.

"Come back...come back..."

The distorted shadows tried to call Yugi but the macabre song overpowered them. Their figures continued to distort and fracture, Yugi collapsing on his own behind as his vision flickered. Legs, tail, legs, tail...

It was a terrible fight between two halves until scarlet eyes met his vision. Such a familiar shade of red. Yugi reached for them, hoping there was a body connected to those scarlet eyes.

Come back to me, my pearl...

The words were a switch, slamming into him with a familiarity that reminded Yugi who he was. He was a siren, one mated to a resplendent alpha who taught him everything and loved him with every beat of his heart. And his name was...

"Atemu!"

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Yugi gasped, snapping back to reality and struggled in the grip that was wrapped around him. "Easy, easy...breathe, my pearl." A voice whispered beside him, helping Yugi realize he was back in the grotto and Atemu was there beside him. He was no longer overwhelmed by the thoughts of the remnants but didn't feel happy about it.

It was a terrible side effect to memories he wanted to hold close and Yugi felt this won't be the last time. He turned in Atemu's embrace, burying his face into his chest. Atemu smiled, a tender smile that was rare on his face, reaching to pet his hair.

"Atemu, am I a terrible siren?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Because," Yugi lifted his head to look into the other's eyes. "These remnants, they're tearing me apart. Why are these human thoughts overwhelming me...did I...make a mistake?"

A rush of bubbles escaped Atemu in a quick exhale, arms tightening around him. There was no mistake and Yugi certainly wasn't an error in judgement. Atemu knew what he would obtain and for every uprising of those infuriating, personal human thoughts that never went away, he would squash them back to where they belong. He couldn't fault Yugi for keeping certain memories of his human life. Of beings that raised him, shaping him into the creature that charmed Atemu, but refused to let them coax him back to land.

Yugi was his mate, the one that lived outside the sea. The rarest gem of his collection and Atemu wasn't about to lose him to pathetic human nostalgia. He was being embittered, the siren knew that, but seeing his mate constantly overcome by things well out of his control did not settle well.

Atemu wanted Yugi happy with his new world, have him encompass every aspect of it til he felt like a true born siren of the deep. Atemu can ignore and allow the memories to stay but they will not take Yugi from him. He will continue to comfort and care for his mate, remind him what he was now and what he had no desire to return to.

"Yugi, my precious, precious treasure. None of your choices were a mistake. You are happy, are you not? And I am happy that your choices found you a permanent place in my arms." A hand reached, threading through the flowing strands of hair carried by the gentle current filtering through their den.

"You are my mate, my love and heart. My crown jewel to a vast wealth built upon my hands. You are a leader of this kingdom we share together and together, we will make it grow further. You may not be able to bear me children but that is a simple sacrifice to have you with me for as long as we roam, breathe and feast. Understand me, Yugi, that nothing will change your choices or mine."

Those soothing words meant worlds to the small siren, bringing a smile to his face and hugged the other, nuzzling into the dip of his collarbone which was met with a returning one against the top of his head. Sirens were never kind and fought with the force of a raging sea, but when at peace, they showed their sweeter side for their chosen. Atemu was no different, catering to calming his mate and pampering him with food, music and peace.

The remnants never bothered him again, a stretch of reprieve for the young siren who knew he would suffer their call again. However, they would have a returning fight for Atemu will always be there in the shadows, ready to devour the human thought trying to disturb their happy lives to return back to land.