Chapter III: Dens

"Well?"

Atem glanced over at Jaden, mildly frustrated as he stepped forward. The three God Dragons had taken residence in the middle of the camp, and Jaden had been watching the entrance of the nursery likely the entire time. The Sky Dragon ignored the various stares he'd gained from the other Lightning Dragons in the camp. Some of them lounged about on the scattered ledges of limestone along the sheer walls, others hovered about on the ground yards from the deities, and the majority of them seemed suspicious as to their presence.

Atem wished he could have reassured them in some manner their presence meant nothing malicious. But he didn't know. If he were honest with himself, he didn't think for a single reason all four God Dragons should have ever been congregated like this unless under threat.

"Well what?" he asked, careful to keep his voice even. "What do you mean to ask me?"

Yusei looked at Atem with an expression he couldn't quite read. "Was the nest healthy?"

The Sky Dragon wanted to snarl they stank of rot and death. He wanted to spit and snarl and glare, to demand to know why none of them smelled it. He wanted so badly to plead they tell him if he was crazy somehow, or if he truly smelled something. But the impulse died as he looked away.

"Yes," he said instead, dipping his head more respectfully in an effort to show gratitude toward the question. He wondered if he smelled of fire and ash and moisture. "There are five healthy little dragonets, born the day before."

Jaden stood. "I'd like to see them."

Atem wondered why he had not thought of an excuse to slow him. Could he claim they were exhausted? They were newly hatched and that was always a possibility, but these were Lightning Dragon hybrids and they were never exhausted. It was like they summoned energy from every little fiber of their being and each other's. He wondered if he could claim Kisara and Seto were too new as parents to allow further visits, but he was sure they knew already this was their second clutch together—Kisara's third, if the rumors were correct and Keith had managed one with her. He knew at least that he'd forced himself on her in the time Seto had come to beg Atem for help.

He had no excuse.

"If you would like—"

"You stay here," Yusei snarled, snapping his teeth at Jaden when the Fire Dragon looked at him in surprise. The white male shook himself out, royal blue eyes flashing like chunks of ice, and looked to Atem. "You have enough trouble with Atem. You do not need to further it by bringing his family into it because you have trouble acknowledging the limits of your control."

Jaden looked as if he wanted to box him upside the head but Yusei did not cast him a glance. He looked at Atem, dipped his head, and then turned and trotted away. Atem watched him go, stunned by the outburst, and then turned back with a small smirk. Jaden shot him a withering look and the Leviathan covered his muzzle with his paws as he snickered.

"I'm assuming you argued about something or other while I was gone," he murmured, taking a seat and wrapping his tail around his paws. He cast a glance over at the entrance of the nursery and hoped to the gods Yusei would not figure out what they'd done. He didn't want a fight to break out. And he didn't want more blood on his paws. It was harder sometimes to forget what he'd done to protect himself than it was to remember he'd been forced into those positions. "And I'll assume once more it was about me and you're still rather sore about my inclusion at all, yes?"

Jaden locked eyes with him, unblinking. "Perhaps. But it is not your inclusion that worries or angers me."

Atem snorted. "You can't control me. That's where your anxiety stems. I'm aware. I was never blind to it."

The Leviathan turned his head and stared at Atem, an unreadable expression on his face. The Sky Dragon wondered for a moment if he was angry the Fire Dragon's empathetic tricks did not work on him. He could not sway his emotional stance. He could not force his will over him. And he knew it further aggravated him that he could not manage it against Yugi. Between the two of them, Jaden had to be extremely unsure. Atem wondered if it was his own influence or not, but he remembered Yugi telling him Yusei had said he'd been unable to see him the moment he'd entered Atem's territory. He'd watched him as part of his duty of overlooking the Gandora species as a whole, though he'd become enamored with Yugi due to his gentler nature, but had lost sight of him when he'd made contact with Atem. It had to be Atem himself. It was the only logical explanation, but he still didn't understand how.

He shouldn't have been able to block them. He shouldn't have been able to blind Yusei, or deny Jaden's control. He should have been just as easily spied upon and managed as any other dragon. Yugi gained avoidance of each technique through Atem as well, and that should have been impossible.

Cold claws gripped his primary heart.

Was Yami immune?

If Jaden focused and used his ability to see things in the water, would it make Yami visible to him?

Atem fought a bristle, fear trying to claim his senses. He'd die before he let Jaden lay a claw on him. He'd rip them all to pieces if they got within a yard of him. Yugi would lay his life down for him as well. He knew that. If they managed to strike Atem down, Yugi was the next obstacle. And Atem didn't think they could kill him if he got it into his head that he had to win.

He just had to hope it never got to that point.

"You are a blind spot, which makes you a problem. If I cannot control you should something go wrong, then what is the point of my own existence?" Jaden sounded amused, but his expression was anything but. His eyes flashed, brows furrowing and gaze narrowed. "If I do not know what is going on with you if things should reach a peak, do you understand that I cannot help you?"

"I do not need your help." Atem tilted his head and stared at him. "I have never needed your help before. I shall not need it in the future. Barring some terrible omen coming to pass, I shall never need anything of the three of you. God Dragons are not meant to control each other or others. We are meant to maintain the balance. My balance does not involve the three of you. It involves myself and Yugi. And, unless something should happen to disrupt that, you are not free to encroach upon my territory or my life or anything of that matter. Do you understand that?"

"We are responsible for everyone should something come to pass, Atem. You fall in line with that. Even if you do not like the idea of relying on us, it is a necessity to keep the balance."

"I've done well enough on my own. The world hasn't ended yet. And I have only just come to cross paths with the three of you."

Atem ignored the small voice in the back of his head that reminded him it had not always been that way. He'd wanted to find Jaden when he was younger, when he'd been wounded and left the nest prematurely. He'd been hurt so terribly he did not think it would heal. Seto had clawed his side open so horrendously, as Bakura and Marik held him down, that Atem had fled before Seto might kill him. He'd been afraid enough to imagine it might happen. So he'd fled and he'd never turned back.

But he'd thought Jaden would discover him or that he might find Jaden instead. He was supposed to sense suffering and be able to find the worst wounded. The fact that he hadn't had felt like an utter betrayal Atem had never quite gotten over. The fact Jaden could not sense him made the anger he'd once felt dissipate. But it did not keep him from growing aggravated with his stance now.

"I will not allow you to tell me my separation from the three of you has caused problems."

Jaden tilted his head, staring at him with a disapproving expression. "You do not need our help and you do not believe your isolation from us has caused any issues?" he drawled. "And, yet, had we known where you were, we could have stopped Keith long before he came to find you."

"You cannot blame that solely on me," Atem snarled, baring his teeth and bristling. "You had every opportunity to investigate the rumors of a God Dragon's existence in the eastern region. You had every opportunity to investigate why Keith seemed to disappear from your visions the moment he entered my territory. You all had every opportunity to figure it out before war could come to pass. And it is not as if you were necessary then, either. I killed Keith. You did not."

The Leviathan looked between them, thumping his tail when Jaden snarled. The movement made the Fire Dragon falter and turn his head. The Water Dragon huffed a breath and turned to Atem. "You're right. We did have the chance to do it. We had the right to look into those rumors whenever we desired. Jaden never found a reason to believe in it, because you're a Sky Dragon. We all thought it was just because you were an unusually violent Sky Dragon and so everyone saw you as some kind of…legendary creature."

Atem blinked. He might as well have been; Slifers were still so rare as it was, and he had two mouths. Both of these made it unusual, unnatural, and beyond the realm of possibility much of the time. He was sure he was still a legend in some places, especially for anyone who had not come to the gathering or seen him personally. A Slifer shouldn't have been a God Dragon. Everyone had to feel that way. They were volatile and deadly and nasty little creatures, a species enigmatic against everything a Sky Dragon was known for. They waged wars and they populated quickly and they were vicious and terrible.

Sky Dragons were not usually God Dragons, but his species as a Slifer just seemed to make everything that much harder.

"Right," he agreed, because he had nothing else to say. He looked away from the Leviathan and refused to glance at Jaden. In the corner of his eye he saw what looked to be Rafael wandering about. He almost snarled, a sharp pain entering his chest for a single second. He did not want to think about him. He did not want to acknowledge him. He wished he had not noticed him.

"I make no apologies for not investigating what seemed to be a bunch of rumors."

Atem looked over at him, scoffing. "Why should you? It is over and done with."

Everything seemed over and done with. There was some strange finality that seemed to have slipped over them. Jaden would not back down. Atem would not back down. The Leviathan had no stance on the matter. Yusei was still in the nursery. The Clan was listening to them fight as if it were entertainment. Somehow the silence that came over them now seemed suffocating.

They refused to look at each other then. Jaden turned and stared at the nursery. Atem looked toward the sky, studying the clouds as if it might bring some kind of relief. The Leviathan stretched out and put his chin on his paws as if he might sleep.

"It's as Atem said," Yusei announced from behind him; Atem whipped around with wide eyes to find the Stardust Dragon a few yards back. He approached them at a leisurely pace, making eye contact with Atem briefly. It only lasted a moment, but Atem swore he saw determination glinting in his gaze. "The nest is healthy, hatched the day before, and there is nothing to worry about."

Jaden looked annoyed, but did not further argue. He turned away and got to his paws. "And any other nests?"

"The others have not hatched yet but for one six moons ago. They've already cleared out of the nursery. So there's no reason to find them." Yusei looked at Atem sideways and then away again. And Atem saw it then. Yusei knew. Yusei realized what Atem had done. He knew exactly what had happened in that den before Atem had come out. But he was not one for mindless bloodshed. And so he would keep his mouth shut. He would not tell Jaden they were born under the eclipse. He would not tell him Atem had attempted to mislead them. He would not say a word against Atem's decision. "Are you excited to have more siblings?"

Atem felt his stomach twist and writhe and all six of his hearts squeezed his chest. "I suppose so," he said finally, unsure what else to say. He wanted desperately to ask him if he smelled the rot. He wanted to beg and plead. He wanted so terribly to ask him if he sensed it. But then he swallowed it away, mouth threatening to flood with saliva. Stress made his limbs harden. "I likely will not see them often."

When Yusei smiled at him and turned away, Atem wondered then if he had expected more. He wondered if Yusei had assumed he'd lied and done this to be able to save them because they were family. And then he wondered if Yusei felt the same about the superstitions, if he went along with them at the end of the day to be able to keep Jaden docile.

"Then I suppose we shall move to Wind Dragon territory," Jaden announced, voice sharp with irritation. He looked at the Leviathan and the Water Dragon stared at Atem with an expression he still could not quite read. The three of them looked at each other, then Atem.

The Sky Dragon felt shaky as he nodded, surprised he didn't tremble with relief.

Yami was still fast asleep, tucked into the groove between his left back leg and his belly. He had been asleep since he'd woken at one point to squeak quietly, glancing around and seemingly growing disappointed. Yugi had heard his stomach growl, low and quiet and long, but Yami had not tried to run away or eat anything on the ground. He did not put dirt in his mouth or chew on Yugi's leg. Normally a hungry dragonet was an extremely cranky one, biting at anything and everything it came in contact with. He could see Yami was hungry, but tired and cold as well.

Yugi's own body heat had gone down due to the chill in the den. The eclipse seemed to have caused the weather to become colder somehow. Wind kept nipping at the entrance, sometimes whistling and other times silently caressing Yugi's flesh. The Gandora had curled up around Yami, using his wing to shield him, but the cold had begun to drain him as well.

He found it hard to keep the position. He wanted to sleep; Gandora Dragons were prone to hibernation in cold climates—if they made it that far. Many died from exposure if it went on long enough. Yugi was torn between shielding his dragonet and simply falling asleep, stretched out on his side and snoring. Curling up so tightly was uncomfortable for long periods of time. The cold made it extremely hard to focus. He became stiff the longer he remained. And his hearts ached each time he had to move, because it made Yami stir and he'd look over and chirp and then hunch together and shiver and stare at him as he moved around.

It was too cold to leave him to hunt. Yami would freeze to death before he even caught wind of something to stalk. He couldn't risk taking him with him, as it would only make it worse. Yugi didn't know, either, what Yami could eat. Would he be okay to eat red meat or would he need fish? The river was not too far away so it wouldn't have been a problem—if Yugi were built for fishing.

Unfortunately he'd only been able to catch them as a human, with a net rather than as a dragon with his claws and paws. Atem was a Sky Dragon; he was capable of catching it without a problem. And he could do it within a handful of seconds if he was patient enough. Yugi did not have that capability.

He looked at the hatchling again.

They both needed something to warm themselves. Otherwise he'd fall asleep and fail to protect him should something happen.

Yugi got to his paws, shaky and tired, bones grunting with the effort and head sluggish with the need to rest. He tucked his wings into his sides, lowering his head to nudge Yami gently in the side. The hatchling chirped, looking up with a questioning expression, and slowly stumbled to his paws. He stretched, then plopped down and looked at him again. His head tilted and his golden eyes peered up at him in bewilderment. Yugi saw so much of Atem in the little dragon it almost made his heart burst.

"Get behind my tail, little ruby."

The dragonet blinked up at him, puzzled, but got to his paws again. He yawned, stretching once more, and then hurriedly scrambled behind his leg and to his tail. He plopped down, then scooted forward to put his paws and chin on it. He closed his eyes, squeaked, and then looked at Yugi in bewilderment. Yugi smiled at him, searching his face.

It had to be Atem's genes; there was no other way this little dragonet could understand what he was saying. He smiled a little wider, then turned away. He flattened his paws against the ground, scraping his long claws along the dirt and stone, and shoveled a little toward himself. Yami watched him with growing interest, chirping, and Yugi ignored him to force his mouth to the point of overflowing with drool. He let it drip from his jaws, then opened his mouth wide. Spit dripped slowly from his teeth and wet the pile of dirt he'd shoveled to himself.

When it was soaked through and the grains looked stained black, he shifted his weight, flattened the pile to the stone again, and lowered his head. He opened his mouth, drew in a sharp breath, and forced his fire lungs open. He reveled in the warmth it produced, then exhaled. A few small sparks burst forth, touched the dirt, and lit instantly. Yugi blinked, watching as it spread a little further along the ground where his saliva had landed, and then sparked and danced before him.

The core was pale silver, the edges a deep blue, with red sparks that danced about in the air. The smoke was white like mist, and the crackling noise was harsh and popping. Yugi exhaled a breath, looking over. Yami scrambled to his paws, chirped with excitement, and sprang forward. He got to the edge where it seemed warmest, and plopped down, purring and kneading his paws. Yugi relaxed and lay down before it, stretching himself out. The warm air made his entire body tremble with relief. He felt as if the cold were being shed from his scales like snow melting.

Yami squeaked at him, golden eyes huge, and Yugi swore it sounded almost like "Thank you" but he thought he was being a little too wistful. He smiled as the hatchling stretched out on his side and closed his eyes, belly to the flames and a contented breath leaving him. Yugi watched until he fell asleep, then closed his own eyes.

He wondered where Atem was. Was he okay? Had the other three turned on him? Was he safe? How far had they gone? He wondered if he'd seen Seto yet, if Kisara had welcomed him as generously as she always seemed to or if Seto had embittered her to him. He tucked his paws to his chest and wondered if Atem was scared or tired or anxious to get back.

The thought made him feel cold again, but it soon faded.

His eyes fell on Yami again.

Atem would have to wait. For the moment he could do nothing to help him. He could not worry himself to the point of attempting to follow. He'd done so more than once in the past, but now he had other responsibilities. Just as he'd been forced to sit with Yami's egg after they'd gotten into an argument and Atem had left for an entire night, he had to remain in the den. He could not leave Yami there alone. If there were nearby predators, Yami would be eaten alive. If he was not there when the fire went out, Yami might freeze to death. If he was not there to protect him, Yami would die.

He knew that.

And Yugi would not risk that.

He wouldn't risk hurting him in any manner whatsoever.