Prompt XII: Mourning

Yugi looked over as Atem took to a shadowy outcrop to block himself from the sun. The God Dragon glanced skyward, considering the heat rising from the reddened earth, but made no comment as Yugi watched him. He hesitated, wishing for a moment he could do something to make him feel more welcome, but Atem was capable of weather manipulation. He could have summoned a storm or brought about cold winds if he'd so wanted, if he'd been irresponsible enough. Yugi knew enough from the way Atem fretted at times that he couldn't just change the weather or the temperature of areas without repercussions in others.

Yugi wasn't sure if it was a responsibility for all Sky Dragons or if it was dictated by the territory the dragon in question possessed. Atem had never elaborated, and Yugi had rarely seen spots of showers in random areas of the territory. He assumed what happened, in truth, was that the weather Atem summoned to maintain his territory drifted to others and granted the same reliefs, rain or snow or heavier breezes…

It was why the desert region got such heavy winds once a year, why the northern territories got strong enough sunlight to melt the ice for a couple of moons. It was why the western territory didn't dry out and got plenty of rain throughout the seasons, but especially in summer. Atem controlled it enough that the world seemed to prosper for it. He assumed it was mostly Atem to do it, because he didn't recall ever hearing or seeing anything from other dragons, though he was sure his species as a whole had some kind of ability to manipulate it.

Atem had taken to laying down on a nearby boulder, one that seemed oddly etched with random indents and scratches across its surface. Atem lay his chin across it, as it wasn't large enough for him to drape upon, and closed his eyes. Yugi watched him, hearts hurting at the clear division between the two of them in just that simple display. Atem couldn't handle hot weather like this, and the shade was his only friend in a territory that dried his scales out.

Yugi turned to make his way forward, studying the immediate area. Jonouchi knew to meet him at the Badlands. They hadn't chosen a time exactly, but it was almost dawn and that was the best time without overlapping too badly into Jonouchi's sleep period. Had it not been for Atem, he'd be nocturnal as well, but one of the many things he'd changed to become more compatible and compromise for the sake of courting Atem had been his sleeping habits. He'd learned to sleep at night, though he sometimes still struggled, and wake with the sun so he could spend more time with him.

He looked around again, then whipped around when he heard Atem growl.

He bristled, tensed immediately to launch himself, but the Sky Dragon was on his paws, staring at the boulder he'd been resting his chin on. Yugi blinked, bewildered, and almost burst out laughing. The etchings on its surface had been the markings of a turtle shell; the huge animal had gotten to its feet and its head was stretched out to stare at Atem in mirroring confusion. The two of them eyed each other, the Sky Dragon losing his startled aggression to leap to his paws. The land turtle was barely big enough to come up to the joint of his paws, where a fifth claw lay inward facing to help better grip his prey during hunts.

Atem was still bristling, but it was no longer aggressive. Yugi could see the delight in his eyes now as he lowered his head and flicked his tongue to scent the animal. He was almost bowing before it to be able to properly investigate, and when it turned to wander away Atem followed immediately. He circled it, sniffing and flicking his tongue and opening his mouth to draw in more of its scent. The land turtle stopped and stared each time Atem cut its path off, but did not so much as bite at him. It seemed as bewildered as Atem had been when it'd first moved, blinking and staring as the Sky Dragon circled and sniffed and all but trembled with excitement.

Yugi smiled, tilting his head, and ignored Jonouchi when he muttered, "Is he planning to eat it? Cause those shells are painful to bite through."

He watched Atem circle and sniff it a few more times before licking its head. The land turtle immediately withdrew into its shell and Atem dropped to lay in front of it, studying the unmoving animal. Yugi almost laughed at the intense look on his face as he stared unblinkingly at it.

"He's just…playing with it," Yugi said after a moment. Jonouchi had come to his side to better see what Atem was doing, head tilted and eyes narrowed in bewilderment. His eyes shot to Yugi's and then back to Atem.

"Playing with it? Why?"

Yugi almost bristled at the incredulous, nearly condescending tone. He huffed and watched Atem stare at the animal, waiting for it to come out of its shell again. "Because, Jonouchi, he never got to experience a lot of the things he should have as a hatchling," he growled, unable to smother the rage in his voice. And he'd probably never had the chance to mourn his time as a dragonet, when he'd been forced from the den after all the abuse and the jagged cut on his side Seto had inflicted. "And it's a land turtle. They grow a ton bigger than the ones in our territory."

Jonouchi grunted, noncommittal, but gave him a sheepish look when Yugi glanced at him in his peripheral. He immediately looked back to Atem again, ignoring the Red-Eyes, and would have purred if he'd been able still. Atem was licking the land turtle again, which looked so annoyed with the affectionate harassment that it seemed almost to glower.

Yugi snickered when Atem nudged it with his beak and it turned tail. It moved so quickly Yugi was amazed its heavy body could speed away like that. Atem watched it go, glanced skyward again, and retreated to the shade once more.

They locked eyes for a single second. Atem looked as if he wanted to say something, but it died when he seemed to remember Jonouchi was there. Despite the lack of animosity between them, it had always been a clear divide between them. Jonouchi was Yugi's friend, so terrified of Atem he almost peed himself just to be in his presence. Atem found it amusing, as he'd never given him reason to fear him like that, and Yugi loved to tease Jonouchi about it but the God Dragon refused to egg him on. He wouldn't poke fun at it in front of him, but did snicker and smirk in private when Yugi pointed it out.

Yugi glanced at his friend and wondered how he could still fear Atem when he'd just bounded about like a hatchling to investigate a land turtle. How did that make sense to anyone? He wanted to ask, almost to sneer the words, but the impulse died.

He turned to Atem. "That's the turtle that almost broke my teeth!" he announced, rushing over. "I ate one when I was younger and decided never to do it again."

His mate smirked and shook his head. "It tasted of dirt. Why would you ever desire to eat one?"

Jonouchi tilted his head, eyeing them almost suspiciously, when Yugi glanced back at him. The Gandora wondered if he would take the hint and come closer, or if he'd once again make it clear he thought Atem deserved to be ostracized just for the rumors that so often surrounded him.

Yugi turned back and plopped onto his belly. "I was hungry and it was there," he laughed. "He broke my teeth in reprimand, but it didn't stop me finishing what I started."

Atem snorted. "You must have been much younger."

Yugi nodded. "Definitely younger," he agreed. Now his teeth would have hurt, but they wouldn't have broken as they had. He was sure he could break a land turtle's shell far more easily now than before. "But he tasted yummy."

His mate snorted incredulously. "Did he now?"

"Oh yeah. He was delicious. I was actually surprised by how good he tasted." He paused and looked Atem over for a moment. He wished the turtle was back and Atem was jumping about as he investigated it again. He wished he'd seen more of that when he was younger, that he'd gotten to witness moments like that before Atem had disappeared. "But I'm glad you didn't eat that one. He looked grumpy."

Atem snorted and shook his head, laying his chin on his paws. "A grumpy turtle for a grumpy God Dragon."

Yugi laughed and pounced forward to lick his face. Jonouchi had come closer but still sat far enough away to avoid making eye contact with them or even slightly gaining Atem's attention. "No. You're not grumpy. You're adorable."