The next weeks went by in an eventful blur.
Yami learned about the dragon's hunting and sleeping schedule, so he had to change his sleeping pattern to adapt, but the dragon stayed awake for days at a time, making it difficult to keep up. He tried his best nonetheless.
The most cleaning required of him was sweeping–sweeping dust off the landing pad, which he realized was the entire large room he'd first entered in.
Then he had to shake out the fluffy rug over the edge of the cliff and drag it back inside so it would feel clean for the dragon to step on when he returned from a hunt.
There would be food in it for him, which the dragon would take to the 'roasting area' to clean and cook it for them both with his lighting breath, and leave his portion there atop the blackened furnace.
Finding that dining area took navigating the maze several times on an empty, growling stomach enough times for Yami to remember the jagged twists and turns.
The sheer maze inside the lair was wildly intricate, with dips and ramps and odd shortcuts carved by past humans, Yami was slowly learning how to find his way around.
He didn't want to get caught, pinned under another sharp pillar of rock, so he stayed close to the curved pathways and avoided the formations.
His X's on the walls faded after a few gusts of wind blew through the tunnels, so he used animal bones as markers, spending his free time stabbing them into the ground to make solid markers…for signs.
His grand scheme was to ask for paper, then he could write to Yugi.
After seeing the dragon in his half-human form, Yami was sure he could convince it to give him some paper and a pen, but it was hard to catch the dragon alone.
The dragon was oddly elusive in his enormous lair, and Yami was often exhausted by the end of the day, having finished sweeping the three large rooms they inhabited the most–his room, the landing pad, and the dragon's private room.
Weeks dragged into months and Yami felt the wind grow colder when it blew in through the mouth of the cave.
It was possibly fall, or almost winter.
The air was crisp, and it stung his cheeks and ears when he took too long sweeping the landing pad.
His thin summer shirt and pants were growing tattered.
He needed new clothes but couldn't even find the dragon to ask.
Some days, he'd wake up to find the landing pad streaked with dirt and dust, or sometimes blood from a hunted animal at the very edge.
The sight made his stomach turn and he reminded himself of his goal. Staying alive for Yugi.
Other days, he'd wake up and never want to get out of bed, feeling crushing despair weighing on his chest so much, he couldn't get up. He tried to test this boundary with the dragon by shirking work, but his own guilt had him up and sweeping, every day, even if he spent what felt like 6 hours wallowing in bed, with his stomach grumbling and a thirst scratching the back of his throat.
His bed was a rather nice one, because it felt new, with freshly carved four posters and a silken covering to keep the dust and bugs out.
The dragon seemed to have made accommodations for him.
It felt nice until the crushing depression got to him again and he'd cry himself to sleep, feeling hopeless about everything.
He hadn't even seen another human.
He hadn't seen the dragon in a few days.
Yami sat up out of bed and decided to venture into another part of the lair he'd never been in.
The forbidden line he wasn't supposed to cross–the one hallway that led upwards–to other dragon's lairs.
The chances of him running into that black dragon who wanted to kill him were high, but Yami was beyond caring as he shoved his feet into his shoes and trudged out of his room, thinking he would find himself pen and paper from another dragon's stash.
If he got killed for it, so be it.
There was nothing here to live for.
Taking a small dagger and a chalk stone with him, Yami set off towards the sloping incline to explore the upper levels.
They were in the middle of the cliff, so there were tunnels above and below them.
Yami dragged the chalkstone against the wall as he walked, drawing a firm arrow pointing back to Seto's lair, and then continued forward, listening for screams of pain.
He climbed until his thighs ached, but then he found a human-made shortcut that led him sideways. Almost forgetting to draw an X at the entrance, Yami huffed as he dashed up a curving set of stairs and found himself in a beautiful wonderland where multicolored crystals sprouted from the ground.
Amazed, Yami touched the nearest one and marveled at it. Magical! Were this naturally formed?!
He continued through the crystal-laden floor and reached an dragon-sized arched doorway that was open.
Sneaking through it, he saw human-sized stairs that were clean and well-kept, so he took them without thinking and paused when he saw something glint.
Backtracking down the steps, Yami saw through a little window carved into the stone…a magnificent tower of gold and gems. His eyes and mouth watered.
Rumors about a dragon's stash or hoard were true!
One gold coin from that pile could feed Yugi for a year!
Tilting his head and seeing if he would fit through the window, Yami thanked himself for being small and skinny as he wiggled his way into the opening and landed on his feet on the other side, elated.
Shimmering towers of gold, gems, clothes, weapons and silverware were scattered all around, so Yami wasted no time finding himself a new outfit.
Did these come from dead humans?
He didn't have time to worry about that.
The weather was growing colder, and he couldn't rely on his dragon master to do anything for him. Hell, some of the meat the dragon cooked with its breath was still red and bloody, completely inedible.
In the treasure pile, Yami found a clean tunic, a poncho, and several pairs of shoes that fit him until he settled on boots. His feet would thank him when ice blanketed the mountains, even if it meant he would be somewhat hot in them now.
A pair of wing-shaped earrings caught his eye, and Yami pocketed them absently. Dare he fill his pockets with gold? No. He'd take one gold coin, but he'd have to smuggle that in a letter somehow. Better to take none and come back for it later.
Taking out the earrings, he left them regrettably atop a porcelain plate, hoping they'd still be there when he revisited.
Yami fought with himself for a minute and decided to take them.
Whatever.
No one was using them.
He wanted something nice for himself in all his months of suffering.
Running back to the window to fit through the hole, Yami wiggled his way through and continued on his way up the steps, pleased with himself for findingloot.
His joy was short lived when he heard painful gasping coming from the hallway up ahead, and he froze, touching the dagger to his hip and realizing it would do nothing to hurt anything because it was too small.
It sounded like…a human was being hurt.
Inching up to peek around the corner, Yami saw a large door open so he ducked down and crept towards it to look inside, his blood running ice cold when he couldn't comprehend what he was looking at.
It was…a man with blond hair and black wings, black claws and a matching black tail–the red-eyes black dragon! Yami realized, then his eyes refocused on the second man on the bed, being…pleasured… from the back, by a long, ridged length that had a pointed tip.
The human was face down in the pillows, his legs trembling while he let out cry after cry after being entered, and Yami was so grateful he couldn't understand the language, but the sounds made his face burn, his stomach swooping while his legs turned to jelly, melting him onto the spot.
So glad my dragon isn't doing that to me! Yami backed away from the door and heard a soft gasp behind him.
He turned around to see a human girl with frightened eyes, her dark hair piled high in a messy bun atop her head while her eyes darted back and forth, clearly hearing the same things he was.
Trembling from head to toe, Yami raised a finger to his lips and shook his head. No screaming.
She nodded frantically and pointed behind her, then shrugging, making a cutting gesture across her throat, looking like she was about to burst into tears.
Yami shook his head, wondering what she was trying to say when he felt the ground shake with the rumbling footsteps of an angry dragon.
"HANAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" The dragon's voice rasped through the hallways, and Yami acted fast, darting forward to grab the girl's arm to hide her in the stairwell he'd just come from.
She ran with him, keeping her hand clapped over her mouth while tears streamed down her face, and Yami grimaced, trying not to let it affect him.
They stumbled through the narrow staircase together and Yami pulled her down the steep ramp he'd climbed, and aimed for the bathing pools.
It was the deepest part of Seto's lair, and no dragons would dare enter Seto's territory, right?
Yami froze on the spot when a trickle of horror snuck through him at his own actions for helping this stranger.
His dragon master might think he was having sex with this girl–nope! He'd never seen this girl before and she was clearly traumatized.
She followed him silently until they arrived at the shallowest part of the bathing pools, and she fell to her knees by the water's edge, her shoulders trembling with repressed sobs.
"...Hello…" Yami ventured, slightly afraid of her and wondering what she would say. "This is my first time meeting someone–"
"Is there a cliff on this side?" She asked with a sudden, dark look in her eyes, it gave Yami a pang of fear. She spoke English with a heavy accent and Yami's heart pounded harder when she pressed him in a hostile tone, "Well? Speak! You were talking earlier!"
Blinking rapidly, Yami composed himself and shook his head to lie, "no cliff. My…dragon leaves through a hole in the cave, somewhere, I don't know."
The girl blinked once and then turned to kick the water with a furious shout, "UGH! Those LIARS!"
Stunned by the sudden outburst, Yami decided to keep his distance, but he had to ask… "who are liars?"
"The annoying family of humans who live on the 2nd floor," She rolled her eyes with a huff and gave him a disdainful look. "Never met you before. What's your dragon's name?"
Yami wondered if he should even tell her, but he was desperate for a friend, so he had to reply, "...Seto."
"Suicide Seto," she replied ruthlessly and Yami felt his knees weaken. W-WHAT?!
"So I'm on the right floor, and you need to take me to his cliff, which I know exists," she said with a monotone, half-lidded stare. "You're so helpful, so what's stopping you? Let's go."
"One moment," Yami held his hand up shakily and tried to find the right questions, his heart bursting with confusion. "I won't help you with that…. And did you say my dragon's name began with...s-suicide…?"
"Seto, yeah. All the other dragons call him that," she said with a cold snap, her eyes roaming up and down the empty bathing area. "Alone, no families under his belt, and his lair is an absolute travesty, with no treasury, kitchen, library, or entertainment lounge. I heard you could die from stepping off the wrong path here. Brides who are tributed to him win the lottery. They get to die whenever they want! So? Why are you still here then?!"
Yami blinked again, wondering if his understanding of English was slipping. Did she say 'brides'?!
"I have…family to live for," Yami began, and she scoffed at him.
"Keep dreaming, loser," and she stomped off on her own to find the exit.
Yami shook his head and watched her go, his heart wrenching with fear at what she might do next. He felt bad but he might need to tell Seto that this human needed a doctor.
Turning on his heel to run up through makeshift stairs he'd discovered weeks ago, he aimed for Seto's bedroom, wondering if the dragon would even be there.
He had to try.
Skidding on his heels to make a sharp turn and jog down the long hallway towards the enormous doors, he kicked the barrier and shouted at the top of his lungs, "SETO! ….Seto?! Are you in there? Please wake up!"
The ground shook underneath his feet and Yami tensed. Uh oh.
Seto didn't hear Yami's shouting, but he heard Bakura screeching for him through the walls.
"SETO! WHERE ARE YOU! My human got into your lair! If this one jumps, I'm taking yours!"
Bolting upright in bed and palming his face in agony, Seto threw the sheets off himself and dashed to pull the doors open with magic, shocked to see his human standing there, beside himself, his cheeks tinted pretty pink while his yelling blended in with Bakura's thunderous screams.
"Seto! A girl came in and she wants to jump!" Yami didn't want to say that he'd let her in by accident…but it appeared Seto couldn't hear him over the other dragon's roaring.
Pushing the spiky-haired human aside, Seto leapt upwards to take flight and began to scour the twisted corridors of his lair, furious with Bakura for letting his human out, and then furious that this trend was starting again, when his human servant was barely a year fresh.
Once a human saw someone jump, they would all try to follow.
What is it about my cliff that makes humans want to jump?! Seto cried as he ran face-first into Bakura's back, and the dark purple dragon whirled around to snarl in his face.
"I swear, if this one dies because of your stupid architectural choices, I will take yours!" Bakura spat, aware that taking Seto's brides rarely did any good, because they always found a way back…to jump.
It wasirritating!
"Because that has always worked so well," Seto scoffed, and he heard a loud shout from his landing pad, and his heart clenched with dread. No. No.
"NO!" Bakura shrieked as he dove through Seto's hallways, his wings crashing into a few rock formations and making them crumble.
Sighing in exhaustion, Seto followed wearily, and sure enough, he emerged from the doorway to see an unfamiliar human hanging onto the edge of his cliffside lounge while his spiky-haired human was trying to talk her down.
"Don't jump! Look, you have lots to live for!" Yami was desperately trying to list it. "You'll miss the view of first snow! It'll be beautiful from up here!"
She turned to look over her shoulder at him and saw a dark violet blur come zooming for her, and her face contorted with rage before she took a step forward and disappeared off the edge.
AND FUCK! Seto zoomed after her and felt Bakura outpacing him, flying faster only because he was more distressed.
Yami sat down when he felt two bullets breeze past his cheek so fast, his hair whipped into his eyes, and he saw two tails disappear off the edge of the cliff after her.
His heart beat painfully in his chest as he struggled to breathe.
S-So the dragons did care to keep them alive…only to torture them.
Dare he look over the side?
Jogging forward and then falling on all fours to peek over the edge, Yami couldn't help but marvel at the sight
The two dragons were neck-to-neck, diving towards the girl who was free-falling down the side of the cliff, yelling at them while she thrashed in mid-air, "Stay the fuck away!" and Yami winced, sitting back on his heels and hearing more dragon calls vibrating the air.
He couldn't watch anymore.
This made him sick.
He sat down to dangle his legs over the edge and stared out at the view of mountains, seeing his city glimmering like a tiny puddle in the distance.
'Keep dreaming, loser'. Her harsh words kept echoing in his mind.
Well, if he jumped now, Seto wouldn't catch him in time.
No, Yami, don't do that, Yami berated himself and tucked his knees to his chest, readjusting his goal to write Yugi a letter before the end of winter.
Yugi needed to hear from him or he would lose hope too.
Author's note:
D: