It's totally friday from my point of view.

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[It's well past sunset and even past moonset but the cold dead of night finds Atem wandering through the streets of Satellite, with his cloak pulled tightly around him to combat what he finds an unforgiving autumn climate.

Anyone that takes a closer look will notice that he seems pale -- for an Egyptian anyway -- and more than a little unsteady but determined all the same. He's looking for someone but not so focused that he wouldn't acknowledge a random passerby that just happens to keep these strange hours too.]

Comments

[stardustg2ma288]

[Yusei is flying in incubus form, his dark blood feeling much more at home in the night sky. He catches sight of that fluttering purple cloak and the gleaming gold jewelry even in the dim light, and he dives toward Atem. As he gets closer, he smells and feels the anxiety radiating off the young Pharaoh.] Atem?

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[Atem might actually appear a bit under-dressed in the gold department -- though no less noticable -- having donned only the diadem, usekh and of course the puzzle in his haste to get out. It serves to accentuate his agitated state.

He turns when he hears his name carried on the night breeze and looks a little shocked when he finally makes out who is approaching.] Yuusei...

[stardustg2ma288]

[Yusei lands several yards away and quickly walks up, shifting to his phoenix form. He's much warmer that way, and he wraps his arms and wings around Atem to shield him from the chill.] What're you doing out here in the middle of the night? It's freezing.

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[And suddenly Atem's not so cold anymore. He blinks, shivering a little and leaning into Yuusei because the chill was starting to settle in his body.]

I... was looking for you. I must say I expected it to take quite a bit longer. [He smiles at that but there's a unsettling look in his eyes that won't go away.]

[stardustg2ma288]

I couldn't sleep. Something just felt... off... tonight. So I went flying to wear myself down. [He cocks his head slightly, giving Atem a worried look.] Why were you looking for me, anyway? Don't tell me you were lonely.

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

As if I was? What would you do then?

[The way he laughs, quiet and restrained, says that he's... not lying but certainly not telling the true. But he's starting to wonder what made him think so strongly of Yuusei in the first place. Were it not for the remnants of that dream weighing so strongly on his mind even now, he'd probably feel ridiculous.]

[stardustg2ma288]

[And that feeling of subtle wrongness still nags at Yusei's mind. His face is completely serious now.] Atem, what happened? You're rattled, I can tell. Did someone try to hurt you?

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[Shaking his head.] No... no nothing of that sort. [And sighing.] It is going to sound quite inane I am certain... I had a dream. A perfectly awful one.

((Finally get to use that icon, huh? XD))

[stardustg2ma288]

A... dream? [He's not mocking, just curious. He knows how potent dreams can be, after all.] Sometimes what you see in a dream can be important. Do you remember anything about it?

XD I'm surprised I don't use it more honestly

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

All too well. It was incredibly vivid...

[And here he gets quiet because he doesn't really have an explanation for what he's about to say.] It reminded me of things you said... did... when we first met.

We need to give him more reason to facepalm more often. XD

[stardustg2ma288]

[... yeah, a chill just went up his spine. He doesn't like where this is going for some reason, but....] Can you describe it?

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[Atem nods.] It was extremely confusing however. The light was painfully bright... it was hard to make out much. And what I could... well... it was even more foreign than this world.

[For the record he is resisting a very strong urge to snuggle closer to Yuusei. He doesn't think he's felt this warm since he left Egypt and with everything that's happened tonight he could really use that small comfort.]

[stardustg2ma288]

[It's okay, Atem, because Yusei is hugging you closer to that feverishly hot body of his.] Tell me what you saw... maybe you had a vision of some kind. There's power in you, after all.

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[He rests his forehead against Yuusei's chest, breathing deep.] I don't know. Like I said, there was little that recognized. I was lying a table and I could hardly move and there were all sorts of... devices attached. I was scared too... though I don't know why... like I was not really feeling for myself...

[He has to pause as the memory starts to flood his mind again.]

[stardustg2ma288]

[Icy fear starts to gnaw at Yusei's guts as the memory comes back for him, too. He murmurs, his voice a little unsteady, almost talking to himself rather than Atem.] There was a line running down into your arm, and a bag with blood....

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[Atem looking up suddenly. The words are so exact that they could have come from his own mouth.] Yes... well... I could not be certain that it was blood but... Yuusei?

[stardustg2ma288]

[The confirmation leaves Yusei shivering, his eyes wide, his pupils contracted. If anything, he's more pale than usual, almost white.] ... the blood... it glowed like fire... it burned like fire in your veins... and you tried to scream but they had you muzzled like an animal....

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[Atem didn't want these memories, certainly didn't want them raining down him in a torrent. Witnessing them was bad enough. Hearing about them, knowing his intuition was correct is too much to bear so soon after and he's pushing away from Yuusei. He wraps his arms around himself with his eyes shut tightly, trying to regain composure.]

Stop... I said stop it!

[stardustg2ma288]

[Yusei's doing the same, hugging himself, his wings curled protectively around his body as he shakes. An honest-to-god whimper of pain and fear quivers in his throat, but at least he's not voicing any more of the memory he'd somehow shared with Atem. He looks sick beneath the pallor, nauseated at the thought of anyone, especially a friend, living the horror of what the Guild did to him.]

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[It takes more than a few ragged breaths for Atem control the images, now that they're not being fueled, and even longer to tuck them away in hidden corners for safe keeping. This isn't the first time he's been subjected to the horrors of humanity but never before was it felt firsthand.

Still shaking, no longer from the cold, he finally lifts his head again and when he sees Yuusei, this time he's overcome with sympathy because he knows. He's unable to penetrate the barrier the chimera has wrapped himself in but he brushes against his wings with a gentle touch.] Yuusei...

[stardustg2ma288]

[That light touch coupled with the sound of his name causes Yusei to let loose with a pitiful, keening wail. Atem might be free of the crushing weight of the memory for now, but the horror of subjecting someone else's mind to the trauma has made it come back full force for Yusei. The stress is actually making him shed a few feathers.]

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[And that's giving Atem cause to worry about Yuusei far more than himself right now, standing by pitifully as he watches Yuusei seemingly self destruct. He feels helpless to do little else.]


Yuusei... Look at me... Please! [He's not the type to throw that word around carelessly and it adds a desperate note to his voice, above the authority he usually commands.]

[stardustg2ma288]

[Yusei looks at Atem, and his eyes are a riot of blue and green and gold, swirled like marble. They've never done that before. He's shaking like a leaf, a couple more feathers falling out of his wings. Still, he recognizes that Atem is there in front of him, but he's so upset he has tears running down his face.]

[nesubityatem.livejournal.com]

[Atem knows that he hasn't done anything wrong, but he's still the cause of this recurrence of pain and that doesn't sit well with him. Actually it just about breaks his heart.

He's reaching out, perhaps wanting to embrace Yuusei, but he'll settle for framing his face between his hands and wiping some of those tears away if the other doesn't pull away. And his voice, it doesn't speak with words but that special hushed language that's usually reserved for mothers to keep nightmares at bay in the small hours.]

[stardustg2ma288]

[Yusei doesn't pull back, but he looks absolutely lost and heartbroken over hurting Atem. His wings unfold, even though he's still hugging himself, and start to curl around the Pharaoh before hesitating.]

... A-- Atem... I... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to... to show you that....