Chapter XXXI: Hunter

Yami had swum to shore and shaken himself out thirty minutes later. Yugi lay by the bank, watching as the hatchling darted about the shallows again, sniffing and biting playfully at the water. He began splashing about and smacking his paws so forcefully that mud slung across his face. His eyes were bright and glowing, the gem on his forehead shining. He paced about, head held high when he didn't nip at the liquid, and Atem finally came back to shore minutes later. He'd dove down at some point, disappearing from sight, and came back with a mouthful of fish.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" Yugi asked rhetorically. Yami spun on him, smacked his paws, screeched with pride, and bounded about the water again. Yugi laughed and shook his head, then looked at Atem with bright eyes. His mate shook himself out, drenching Yami who squeaked and sprang at him, and padded over.

Atem deposited a stash of fish in front of him and took a seat. Yami rushed over to investigate, wrinkled his nose when one of them flailed and thrashed among the pile, and then laughed when Atem butted his hip gently.

"You already ate."

"Well, maybe I'm still hungry."

"You barely finished your original kills."

"I got too excited to be hungry."

Atem snorted and tossed a fish at him. Yami caught it in the air, though it was big enough to knock him backwards head over tail. He tumbled, then jumped back up. Yugi was almost amazed he'd kept his grip, but laughed when he realized the fish was long dead. Atem had chosen it with the clear intention of knocking Yami off his paws. Their son was so proud of himself for catching the query that he didn't seem to care. Atem smirked and shook his head, turning to Yugi.

Yugi looked the pile over for a moment, knowing Atem was waiting for him to. He considered it, smelling the sweet scent of blood from each but confused as to which might taste best. He nuzzled a couple around for a moment, then selected one of the whiskered ones Yami had seemed to enjoy.

Atem selected one a moment later and they both ate quietly, dividing the pile equally. Yugi looked up and found Atem watching him, though he did not speak. He wondered what he was looking for, because he was clearly searching. Had he upset him?

"Atem?" he finally prompted when he couldn't think of anything the God Dragon might have wanted from him. Atem blinked and opened his mouth, then turned his head. Yugi followed his line of vision. Yami had caught another whiskered fish in the shallows. But it was almost the size of him and when it flailed Yami dropped it. It slapped him in the beak and managed to throw itself into the water again, though Yami sprang on it and bit more furiously.

"Let it go," Atem stated, getting to his paws. Yugi blinked as their son whipped around to look at them in puzzlement. "It got loose of you. Let it go. It deserves to live another day."

Yami sighed and glared at where the fish had gone. "I almost had him."

"Almost catching it doesn't mean anything," the God Dragon said more gently. "You tried and you lost. It won. Grace it with another day before its life ends by another."

He looked over again. "Do you do that when prey manages to outwit you?"

"It hasn't happened since I was much younger, but yes." Atem tilted his head. "If your prey can outsmart, maneuver, or fight you, you allow them their life. I did the same for Yugi when he challenged me. I used to do the same for prey."

Yami glanced at Yugi, sulking. "I was so close."

"You were," he agreed, "but it still got away all the same."

"I…" Yami sighed again and shook his head, then took a seat. "What if every piece of prey outdoes me? I'll starve."

Atem snorted. "Don't be so dramatic."

"But you had to weaken each of them for me to be able to kill them."

"Everyone needs a little help every now and then. You'll learn to fish on your own and hunt by yourself and you'll realize you don't need to waste your time worrying about such things." Atem stood and stretched, flexing his claws and straightening with a yawn. "None of us are born ready to kill and hunt on our own. You have to be taught, just as everyone else was."

Yami looked at Yugi. "Did your parents teach you the same way?"

"They lamed desert deer and water buffalo for me, but it was essentially the same. And if you asked Timaeus, he'd tell you his parents did so for him. And I know Atem's did for him. Every dragonet is taught how to hunt. It's not just…ingrained in them."

The hatchling perked up slightly at the mention of Timaeus and the idea he'd been taught the same. He grinned, then whipped around and began circling the lake's banks looking for fish in the shallows once more. Atem snorted and took a seat, watching him.

"I love him," he said quietly. He sounded almost amazed, and even around the slight hurt that went through him, Yugi felt a wave of happiness. He'd always known Atem hadn't lost the ability, no matter whether he said he feared it. "He's the perfect mixture of you and I."

Yugi smiled tightly when he looked over, a pang thudding through his chest. "He is," he agreed, and refused to acknowledge the puzzled look that crossed Atem's face. "He's perfect."

Atem opened his mouth, but Yami screeched, "Look, look! Daddy! Father, look!" and both of them looked up to find the dragonet rushing toward them with a much smaller fish in his mouth. Atem chuckled and Yugi shook his head as he watched their son race over.

"I caught him all by myself!"

"Congratulations, but he's not dead."

"Huh?" Yami dropped it and the fish leaped in the air but didn't quite manage to slap him in the jaw. Atem laughed at Yami's stunned face and Yugi remembered abruptly trying to give Atem that fish from the river. When it had struck him, Yugi had dropped it with a yelp and gaped as Atem grabbed it and put it back. "But he…"

"They play dead sometimes. Use your teeth, there along the spine."

Yami hesitated, dodged a slap, and managed to sink his teeth in. The fish squirmed once, then went limp. Their son dropped it and stared, mumbling, "Their eyes are so strange. Why do they stay open like that?"

"Fish can't close them."

Yami's head whipped around. "What? Why not? That must be so miserable! Doesn't the water burn their eyes? Do they dream when they rest, or are they stuck awake all the time because they can't close them?"

Atem snorted. "Yami, do I look like a fish to you?"

Yugi grinned. "Only when you're startled. Then you gape like one."

Yami burst out laughing and licked Yugi's face before snatching his fish up and parading away. No doubt he planned to show it off to Timaeus when they got to the den.

As Yugi had thought, Yami took off immediately for the den. His prize was held tight in his jaws as he darted away from them. Yugi shook his head, snickering, and went to follow.

"Yugi."

He spun around at the uncertain note in Atem's voice. His golden eyes were lowered to the ground and his head slightly ducked, expression unreadable for a long moment.

"Atem?" He bristled uncertainly, circling him and sniffing at every inch of flesh he had access to. There was no illness and he hadn't been hurt. Yugi took his spot in front of him again, tilting his head in bewilderment. "Are you all right?"

"I… You were upset earlier."

Yugi blinked in confusion. "I didn't want him swimming when he could get hurt."

"No, not…not that."

He tilted his head. "What then?" he asked, narrowing his eyes. "Why do you think I was upset otherwise? I don't…"

"When Yami ran off to try to catch another fish," Atem answered, slowly raising his eyes and peering into his. "I said I love him and you were upset."

Yugi faltered, eyes stretching wide. It was stupid, but he'd hoped somehow Atem had failed to notice. He'd wanted to ignore it and pretend he hadn't felt as if his mouth were bleeding when he forced that smile and tried to fake being okay. He opened and closed his mouth, then turned away and shuffled his paws. He circled several times, flexed his claws, bristled, pressed his wings into his sides, smothered a snarl of frustration, and then began kneading anxiously.

"Yugi?"

His voice was a miserable squeak.

"Just him?"

"I'm sorry?" Atem replied, voice bewildered. "Just him?"

"You love just him?" Yugi asked, voice choked with the knot forming in his throat. He looked away, more anxious than he cared to admit. "I mean, that's okay if you do. I'm glad you love him. I'm so happy that you love him. I just…"

"Oh." Yugi blinked when Atem stretched and yawned, flexing his claws and straightening as his back popped. His voice came out amused. "I forgot I had not told you as well."

Yugi stiffened, a surge of hope flooding through him. He straightened, blinking, and watched him warily even as he tried to tell himself not to get his hopes too high. It was entirely possible Atem meant something else. He didn't know what he could mean—there really was only one way to take the statement—but he was sure there could have been something.

Atem snorted, smiling and shaking his head. He yawned again, tucked his wings into his sides, and murmured, "I love you, Yugi."

Yugi was too tense to believe he'd heard him correctly for a split second. He bristled, cautious of the exuberance burning through him. Then he blinked, unable to quell the shaking that raced across his limbs. Atem opened his mouth, startled and losing his smile, and flinched when Yugi launched himself forward.

He licked him until his tongue was sore, then raced around him so many times his paws began to ache and his lungs hurt. He panted for air as he got to his original spot, tongue lolling like a hunting dog's, and trembled with elation once more.

Atem looked more amused now, though puzzled. "When did you turn into a runner when you got good news? You used to pounce around. Now you run laps."

Yugi trembled and tried for words, but failed. Instead he whipped around and darted in a circle. Atem watched him circle him so quickly his neck began to ache. Yugi kicked up enough dust it actually made him cough. Atem snorted and flapped his wings to dispel it and the Gandora launched himself at him again. He licked him until his tongue almost bled, then butted and nuzzled him everywhere he could.

Atem shifted his weight when he shoved him too hard, watched him when he ran again, and grumbled good-naturedly when Yugi licked him once more.

"I'm going to lose all the scales in my face."

Yugi panted, drawing back a few steps, and puffed a breath. Then he stood taller and shook himself out. He raised his head and turned to trot toward the den. "He loves me, he loves me," he sang.

Atem chuckled as he followed, shaking his head. Yugi stopped singing when he got to the entrance of the den, though he kept his noticeably light steps and pounced down from the ledge like a fawn. Timaeus looked up in bewilderment and Yami beamed at his parents, eyes glowing like twin suns.

"I see I missed something rather amazing," Timaeus teased.

"It was," Yugi agreed, plopping down and breathing a little harder. He sat up straighter and raised his chin. Atem smirked and shook his head again, padding past to take a seat and then lay down. Timaeus didn't press for answers, instead snickering. Yami gave Yugi an excited lick on the cheek and took his turn to dart around the two of them. Yugi watched him sprint relentlessly in circles, eyes wide and full of warmth.

"So, Atem."

He looked over from watching Yami. "Yes?"

"Yami said he caught this fish all on his own."

"Yes."

Timaeus blinked and peered at him in shock. "He managed it on his own?"

"He did." Atem looked at Yami again as the hatchling dashed about. "He lost a much larger fish but he caught that one all on his own a moment later."

"Well, I suppose we have a natural born killer in our den."

Yami halted and whipped around. "I'm a hunter, not a killer!" he snapped. He bristled a moment, scowling, then huffed and began darting around the den again. He didn't circle them now, however, and instead jumped up one side of the den to reach halfway to the ceiling and then ran to the opposite wall to repeat himself.

He looked like a caged cat, Atem realized, stunned. He remembered seeing it once, when he'd passed through the Wind Clan territory. The humans had caught one and it'd spent much of its time trying to get loose by way of throwing itself at the walls and darting up as far as it could. It didn't get free, and Atem was sure it'd been skinned for its magnificent striped coat, but all the same. Yami mirrored it perfectly now.

Yugi was watching him with a concerned look. "Yami, what…?"

"I'm not a killer! I'm a hunter!"

Atem watched him whip around again. "Yami, cease," he snapped, getting to his paws. His son stopped short and looked over obediently. "Why are you upset? He's only teasing."

"I'm not a killer," Yami said stubbornly, scowling. "I don't want to hurt anyone. I'm a hunter. I only kill what I'm going to eat."

Atem blinked and glanced at Timaeus and then Yugi and back. "That's not…something anyone can attain, Yami. Eventually you'll be forced to hurt someone. It's natural. Killing is an entirely different story. Most quarrels can be solved without, but it's necessary at times as well." He faltered and tilted his head. "But Timaeus didn't mean anything when he said it. When I caught my first rabbit, my parents teased me for days about being the best killer in the den. It's just a phrase."

"I don't like it. I'm a hunter."

"Well then, it looks like we have a tiny hunter in the den."

Atem watched Yami bristle for a moment, dissatisfied but rapidly calming from his heated stance. He sighed and mumbled an apology before taking a seat and huffing. Atem hesitated, then glanced at Yugi and found the Gandora just as startled as he was. They swapped looks for a single moment before Yugi went to nuzzle the hatchling and groom him into a more relaxed stance. Yami fell asleep soon after, purring, and Yugi paused to peer at Atem.

"What was that?"

"I…I don't know."

Yugi didn't look as if he didn't believe him, but his expression remained concerned and his stare was unrelenting. "I don't understand. Why would he…?"

"I don't know." He faltered, then narrowed his eyes. "I don't know, unless he was thinking of what Ironheart said."

Yugi fell quiet a moment. "So, is that what you showed him before? You showed him what Ironheart said?"

"He has a right to know what was being said—about him, about me. I don't know half of what Ironheart meant, but there's a chance Yami does. I don't know that it matters, but…" Atem hesitated. Timaeus was staring blankly, curious and bewildered. Yugi tilted his head. "Maybe it made him understand exactly what my reputation is. Even Ironheart insinuated I was dangerous."

"But that doesn't mean much. Every dragon is dangerous when they have to be," Yugi argued. "I've killed before. It's not something I enjoyed, but it was necessary. And you've only ever killed in self-defense as well. I don't…"

"It doesn't matter," Timaeus said abruptly, cutting them off just as Atem opened his mouth to snap at his mate. "The point is, Yami doesn't want to be called a little killer. It doesn't matter if it's because he knows Atem's past or if it's because he's afraid of hurting someone else. Now we know. Now we don't say it anymore."

Atem blinked, feeling oddly chastised, and nodded slightly. "Right."

He and Yugi swapped looks. The Gandora looked as if he wanted to say something, perhaps to argue with him, but it died. He smiled instead, apologetic, and beckoned with a slight jerk of his beak for Atem to go to his side.

"I have a surprise for you."

Yami immediately sat up, eyes wide with excitement. Yugi grinned from where he'd been chewing on the deer haunch Yami had polished off earlier. Timaeus studied them from the other side of the den, bewildered and thoughtful. Yami shuffled his paws, peering at Atem and trying to suppress the whine building in his throat.

But Atem didn't continue and Yugi merely snickered when he glanced at him. Flustered, Yami sprang to his paws again and blurted, "What's my surprise?"

All three of them snickered.

"Have you been practicing flying?"

Yami blinked and considered his dad with wide eyes. He glanced at Yugi and back, then shifted his weight. "Some, but not a lot," he admitted. He frowned. "Why? Is that a requirement for my surprise?"

"It is, actually." Atem tilted his head. "How is your vision at night? Still acute?"

He nodded vigorously.

"Well, the good news is that we'll be traveling tonight—we'll leave the territory tomorrow. But I want you to practice flying by the river. We're going back to the den you were born in, so we can have plenty of hiding places if someone wanders by." The God Dragon closed his eyes. "Then, when we're sure you've practiced enough that you can fly for at least an hour continuous at night, we'll travel tomorrow. It's at the far edge of the territory, toward the beach, so I want to make sure you can travel there at night so we can avoid any curious onlookers. We'll be going to the outskirts of the forest and flying from there, which means you'll need to practice taking off from ground level. Do you remember how?"

"Yes!"

"Good." Atem blinked his eyes open and peered at him a moment. "Then let's go."

Yami glanced over at Yugi, chirping with excitement. "Are you coming, too?"

"Of course I am," Yugi laughed. He got up, shook himself out, and yawned. "Timaeus is coming, too."

Yami almost quivered with excitement. He glanced at the Knight Dragon, standing straighter, raised and curled his tail into a slight hook formation, and then hurtled for the entrance. Atem caught his tail with his paw and Yami whipped around to peer up at him.

"Listen carefully, Yami. I want you aware of your surroundings at all times. Use your abilities while we're out." Yami blinked and bristled slightly, startled. Atem was staring at him with a sharp, expectant look. "We can't afford to be caught unaware. You've got the best senses of all of us and I need you to be hyperaware of every little thing. If Jaden or anyone else approaches the territory, you have to take shelter. I don't care if it's humans. I don't care if it's another dragonet. You will alert us and take shelter. Do we understand each other?"

Yami felt the smallest surge of fear in his bones. "Yes, Father."

"Okay. Good." Atem didn't lift his paw. "I don't know that anything will happen. But being cautious is never a bad thing. And I know Jaden will eventually return to see us for one reason or another. He was upset when Ironheart chose to dismiss him on his deathbed. I doubt that bitterness has passed so easily."

Yami nodded slightly. "Okay."

Atem lifted his paw and jumped over him to the ledge. He was gone a second later. Yami blinked and pounced after him, wondering for a moment if Atem was paranoid or on the mark with his caution. He was right that Jaden wouldn't have simply forgotten he'd been slighted by the Judgment Dragon in relation to Atem and Yugi. He was right to believe Jaden might be angry enough to enter the territory to find him. He had prior, when he'd demanded Atem join him to find the female who'd laid eggs during the eclipse, hadn't he?

It was amazing the things that came back to the mind when someone was jarred with thoughts they hadn't considered for a while. Yami hadn't thought of just how many reasons he had to be afraid of life until then. He hadn't thought of how much Atem could rely on him for his abilities. He'd never even considered that Atem might need to. The fact he'd asked was almost overwhelming, and a knot had formed in his belly as they continued walking.

He could hear Yugi and Timaeus behind them, speaking amicably about something or other. He wasn't trying to listen in on them, instead focusing on stretching his senses. Usually he saw straight ahead and further, especially monitoring where Atem went. Atem was the easiest to watch, because though he had such terrible defenses and kept Yami from prowling about his dreams or thoughts, he had the strongest connection to him.

Atem had laid his egg, had incubated him for the longest. He was, long and short of it, his easiest anchor when it came to his parents. His connection to Yugi was strong enough he could easily pick it up no matter the distance within the territory, but he could see past the edges when he focused on Atem. He'd seen the camps when Atem had left that first day. He'd heard him speaking to Honda and Aki, to Yusei about penguins and killer whales, and Jaden later when he'd grown infuriated about Ironheart.

If he had to latch to a parent, it was easiest to do so with Atem. He'd carried him and nurtured him even despite the cynical thoughts Yami was already dead. Yugi had been much brighter and warmer when he'd been allowed near the egg for incubation and Yami loved him just as much as he did Atem, but his connection to Yugi was harder to maintain with distance. He tried not to latch to either of them if he could avoid it, but he'd always subconsciously known and done so with Atem. When he forced his focus elsewhere, it felt like he had hollowed himself out and was trying to press the wound closed with mud.

Yami could feel the edges of the territory now. He felt the presence of various dragons scattered about, saw where the trees stretched to the human village or various small meadows. He saw the foothills, the valley where a herd of deer grazed, mountain goats scaling walls as if there were no force to keep them on the ground, birds flying overhead before diving for fish beneath the water. He heard a wolf call for its pups to join them, a bird cry for its mate to return to the nest, and listened as a mother explained to her hatchling that they must always recognize and abide by any God Dragon they encountered. He felt the air as if it were in his bones, soft and stroking along his scales, and the earth seemed to hum under his paws. The river whispered, the lake echoed as fish danced beneath the surface, and every moment life seemed to hiss and scuttle about.

He saw beetles with bright rainbow shells, and ants marching with leaves stolen from nearby trees. Sap dripped from the trunk of a tree where a human had struck their weapon, a flat but sharp shape not unlike his hatchling claws. A stick cracked and fell to the forest floor and a bulbous brown creature with a long flat tail swam about the river, gnawing at a tree trunk when it reached the bank. All of these things Yami sensed and felt, as if it were happening around but inside of him as well.

He shook himself out and padded more keenly behind Atem. He felt the clouds like mist or water droplets along his wings, soft and stroking like a gentle breeze. He thought of the small, split second rain showers Atem sometimes summoned to keep the air cool rather than allow the grass to wilt beneath the strong sun.

Yami could sense every dragon in the territory now. A hundred voices—hatchlings, parents and even elders—echoed in the back of his mind. None of it was focused, like a momentary hissing or whisper that had crossed through his ears. He could feel them as if he could scent them, all with individual temperatures of varying heat or cold.

Atem continued leading him along, pausing at the edge of one of the cliffs. He looked over and Yami blinked up at him with his head tilted. "You'll lead the way from here."

He blinked and shifted his weight, excitement coursing through him. "Okay!" He glanced back to see Yugi grinning and Timaeus smirking. When he turned back Atem was watching him with a slightly guarded but warm expression. Yami wiggled before he could stop himself and Atem burst out laughing.

"No wiggling if you want to leap properly."

"I know," he cried, "but I can't help it."

"This is your genes."

"Oh, definitely."

Yami wiggled again, then spun around in a circle several times to expel some of the excitement. Yugi and Atem were still teasing each other—Yugi said the spinning was all God Dragon because he would have gotten dizzy by then, and Atem kept saying the trembling was because Yugi was just too wound up constantly—and Timaeus was snickering as they continued. Yami finally expelled enough energy to quell his wiggling, then crouched and sprang.

Atem stopped short teasing and looked over. Yugi was watching him with wide, bright eyes, and Timaeus grinned proudly. Yami glanced at the three of them as he hovered. His father leaped after him and Yugi padded a few more steps before joining them. Timaeus shook himself out, stretched, and then became airborne as well.

"Do you remember the way?"

"Yes!" Yami nodded rigorously, yelping when he almost lost his balance in the air. Atem snorted. He caught his balance and grinned stupidly. His parents both laughed at his enthusiasm and Timaeus shook his head. Yami flapped his wings, grinned again, and then led them along.

They reached the den a few minutes later and Yami had to contemplate how to land for a moment. He'd forgotten a split second he would need to. He flexed his claws, straightening his legs, and flapped and tucked his wings. He landed elegantly and trotted forward, sniffing at the scent of a deer that had wandered past.

"Good landing," Timaeus praised.

Yami preened, raising his chin and looking over with a wide grin. "Thanks!"

Atem smirked. "Look at that lack of humility," he teased. "He's a God Dragon through and through."

"Don't you shame my son," Yugi laughed, butting his hip and wandering forward to lick Yami's head. "He just doesn't know how to be humble yet."

"Oh, that certainly sounds like a little God Dragon I nursed back to health."

"You shut your jaws. I was always humble."

Yami shook his head, grinning, and looked around. He wandered forward, still sniffing the trail, and followed it toward the river. It faded from there, so he guessed they must have jumped the water and landed on the other bank to continue traveling.

"Well, now that we're here," Atem announced, turning to him. Yami looked over and stood straighter, excitement coursing through him. "I want you to list everything you see, hear, and sense. I want to make sure no one is nearby. That includes humans, Yami. If there's no one near, we'll begin practicing flight."

Yami stood straighter and raised his chin. He considered his surroundings, sorting through the various sensations and noises until he could pinpoint where they were in the territory.

"The humans are hunting further into the valley, near the river where it splits and a fork forms to branch into the village. Some are gathering water from the lake, but most of the males are hunting a deer without antlers." He paused. "The nearest dragon is a mile or two south of us, and she's telling her hatchling that he's to always obey you and remember that this is your land and not theirs. She's telling him about you, Yusei, Jaden, and Leviathan in comparison but she's mostly talking about you. She said since you're the God Dragon of the East, he should always remember to remain vigilant and listen for any summons."

Atem studied him a moment, then slowly nodded. Yami saw Timaeus watching him critically from behind Yugi, who seemed stunned by the explanation. "Okay, good," his father announced. "Can you maintain that vigilance while you're practicing flight?"

Yami had never tried before, but he was willing. He nodded. "I'll try!"