Prompt X: Magic
"Yami," Atem requested immediately upon entering the den. The hatchling lifted his head and blinked, then hurried over to his side, fighting the urge to yawn. He scrambled to his father, surprised when Atem plucked him off the ground and turned to carry him from the den. Yugi looked more confused and startled than Yami thought he did, but he didn't object even as Timaeus called Atem's name in a bewildered tone. The God Dragon did not pause, nor cast a glance over his shoulder. He carried him diligently and without pause through the entrance.
In a matter of seconds he deposited Yami to the ground, beneath the nearest outcrop, and bristled as they considered each other. Yami could only sense a frantic energy, as if Atem were nervous and unsure of himself yet excited as well.
Yami tensed for a single second, wondering at his expression. He could hear Yugi and Timaeus talking, Yugi bewildered but showing his ever-present faith in Atem by saying that whatever he'd taken Yami for had to be important.
"You see my memories and traverse my dreams sometimes," Atem said slowly, voice edged with urgency. Yami nodded slightly, startled by the glint in his eyes and the way his voice dipped with a hint of a snarl. "Do you experience them or merely see?"
Yami blinked, eyes stretching wide. "I… I-if the emotions are strong enough, I'll feel them sometimes—but only with memories, not…" He blinked. "Daddy?"
"So should I show you something, would you be able to pick out what I am asking of you? Should I memorize a feeling and attempt to show you, will you be able to experience and memorize it yourself?"
Yami blinked again, tilting his head in bewilderment. "I…I don't know," he whispered, unsure as he considered. "I've never really…tried."
"Would you be willing to?"
He studied his face, noted the tension in his muscles, and bristled faintly as he wondered. He wanted him to use his abilities and test them? He'd always been so reluctant to even admit he had any. He knew it was only fear, that Atem was afraid for him, rather than outright denial. He wanted so badly to claim otherwise, to tell anyone who saw him or heard a whisper of his existence that he didn't.
He wanted Yami to be normal, so that when Jaden and the others realized he existed, he could deny it wholeheartedly that he'd ever shown abilities. But he had never even suggested but for once that he even so much as pretend otherwise. He'd embraced the fact he had them, even if at times he really seemed to wish he could shun them.
"If that's what you want," he said softly, searching his face. Atem looked so…agitated. Why did he seem so afraid? Yami couldn't wrap his mind around it. It was unusual to see Atem so nervous in any manner, and it felt almost as if the world were tilting beneath his paws. Why should he have been so nervous or scared? Yugi was okay. Timaeus was okay. Yami was okay. Atem was okay…
"Then we're going to try. I want to teach you something."
Yami blinked. "Okay…"
"I'm sorry, Yami. I know I'm scaring you. I just… I shouldn't have waited this long to do this. I should have done it sooner than now. I…" Atem fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know how much time we have before Jaden hears about you—especially now."
He almost flinched. "Right."
"So, I…" Atem shook his head again. "Here. I'll dig up the memories and the sensations. Just…focus on me and see if there's a way that you can memorize them as well. I need you to…do the best you can."
Yami opened and closed his mouth, startled, and searched his face again. He could hear him whispering to himself, Don't fail, don't fail, don't fail as if the mantra might somehow give him guidance as to what to do. Yami blinked and suppressed a shiver, horrified by the frantic and estranged energy Atem seemed to project.
Was he so afraid for him?
Yami felt sick to his stomach, heart twisting in his chest. Had witnessing that female kill her hatchlings truly struck such terror in him? From what he understood, Atem had seen only the aftermath, as the female had killed them to prevent Jaden finding them. It had horrified Atem. There was no question about that. He'd witnessed it and seen flickers through his memories when he sometimes glanced at him, as if he were worried he might look over and find his broken body.
"Daddy," he murmured, forcing his voice to come out firm despite the fear lapping at his insides. Atem immediately focused on him again, blinking, and Yami stepped forward to bump beaks with him. "I'm okay."
Atem blinked, staring at him for a long moment, then butted his shoulder and licked his cheek. "Yeah," he answered, and Yami was pleased to feel that the fear wasn't as tumultuous as it had been. It was still there beneath the surface, but he was not so consumed any longer. Atem hummed and butted him again, and Yami purred.
You're okay.
Yami trembled with excitement as Atem relaxed and licked him again, though he pulled away all too soon to study him. "What did you have to teach me?" he asked, forcing himself to sound eager. "What did you want me to learn?"
Atem shifted his weight and leaned forward, eyes locked with his. After a moment the usual barrier he possessed, full of thorns and mist, dissipated. An image came immediately after, of the golden-scaled Prime Material Dragon Yami knew from memories to be Jaden. The God Dragon was motionless in the memory, but a bright and burning burst of warmth came through him, as if the sun had dropped closer and threatened to incinerate him. He shivered, drawing on his senses to isolate the feeling until he swore he'd never forget it.
"Okay," he muttered, nodding, and his father shifted his weight. A dragon with brilliant white scales and patches of blue, with dark glowing eyes like sapphires came to his mind. Yami felt something like ice and snow and galling winds this time, making his entire body cold before it subsided as yet another image formed.
The dragon in question was taller and far more serpentine, with dark scales and a salmon-colored underbelly. Its mouth was wide and framed with feather-like scales, and Yami felt the strangest sensation of bewilderment creep through him. Somehow he'd thought the Leviathan more dangerous than he appeared, with more of a signature than the draw of crashing water and roaring waves.
And then came a sudden burst of energy, like lightning contained in a single location, a swirling mass of power that startled him. It wasn't accompanied by an image, because Yami didn't need to have one projected to know his father's signature. His heart was racing in his chest when Atem blinked and the connection broke between them.
Yami frowned and tilted his head. "Father?"
"In case something happens," he said quietly, "you should know mine as well."
Yami faltered and then shifted his weight, unsure. "What would happen?"
Atem shook his head and licked his cheek. "I just want you to be able to recall all four of them, should anything happen. Promise me you'll remember them."
Yami blinked and nodded. "Okay."
"Good." Atem licked his face a few more times, then grabbed him once more to carry him to the den.
