Ritual Dance

I hope you like this chapter!

'Thoughts'
"Speech"

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Groaning, Yuugi stirred awake. Hazy amethyst eyes peered sleepily at his surroundings; he was subconsciously grateful that the sun wasn’t high in the sky, least it sting his eyes with its light. He shivered as a cool breeze trailed across his damp skin, causing him to curl up on the stone surface he had been sleeping on. Distantly, he realized that something didn’t match up. Wasn’t he just running for his life? Shouldn’t he be dead by now?

Yuugi rolled over onto his back, his face titled upwards towards the darkening sky. Wasn’t it already dark when he got to the Park? His eyes traveled over the towering trees and the flowering plants. Where was he?

Small, pale hands came to rub away the sleep from his eyes as he tried to focus his thoughts. It normally didn’t take so long for him to wake up. He cautiously contracted his stomach muscles, thankful that there was only a dull pain instead of stabbing knives, and pulled himself into a sitting position. Pausing momentarily for the dizziness to evaporate, Yuugi went over what he remembered last. Pain, was the first thing, and fear; he had been running from someone. But wh-

Ushio. Yuugi’s mind jutted to full awareness, his fears and wild emotions from earlier coming back full force. He looked wildly around him, searching for the one who caused him so much grief and turmoil.

He relaxed when no sign of the assailant was shown in his surroundings. Only a few weird looking birds roosted in the flowering trees, going about their business with only a few curious glances to the lone human.

Yuugi propped his hands behind him on the stone surface, only now realizing that he had completely no idea where he was. Of course, any place would be better that where Ushio had the chance of popping up, especially now that the delinquent teen knew his secret. The Ushio predicament put aside, he still didn’t know where he was and that could pose a problem with getting home.

Slightly trembling limbs scooted over to the edge of the stone ‘platform’ he was sitting on. It wasn’t too far off the ground, so he wouldn’t have to worry about injuring himself. He stretched out his feet over the side, letting them dangle while he supported himself with his arms, before putting most of his weight on them.

“Ah!” Yuugi half gasped half screamed as his knees suddenly locked and a burning fire drove through the veins of his calves and thighs. With tears in his eyes, he pulled his body back atop the stone ‘platform’ and rubbed the burning muscles with his hands.

“Heh.” Yuugi laughed bitterly to himself. “I guess I’m still sore from running so much.” He looked up at the curious sounds of those weird birds, still trying to sooth the pain in his legs. ‘Such strange looking birds.’ Yuugi thought. Bright red plumage, with alternating gold and blue bands made it look suspiciously like a parrot, but the non-curved beak and the peacock tail turned it into some weird looking crossbreed. Were the scientists experimenting again?

The birds soon went back to their mindless chatter; fluttering about the flowering tree and eating what looked like a miniature coconut.

Yuugi shook his head, wishing for one of those super pills that the doctor had given him yesterday-had it only been a day? -…Maybe the pills were the reason he was here. Could this all be some kind of hallucination? ‘No.’ Yuugi thought decisively. ‘There is no way a hallucination could hurt so bad.’ So that meant he was actually in a place he had never seen before without any recollection of how he had gotten there.

Thud

“-Ow!” Yuugi’s hand shot to the top of his skull. A rather hard object bounced off his head and landed on his lap. Still rubbing the forming lump on his skull, he glared at the offending object. At least, he did, but the glare was soon turned into a look of confusion. How on earth did one of those mini-coconut things land all the way over here? He wasn’t sitting under one of the trees.

An amused caw alerted him to the culprit. One of those red birds had flown over him and dropped one of those nut things on his head. …It must be one of those birds.

Settling for glaring at the bird responsible, he ran his hands over the mini-coconut’s surface. It had multitudes of bumps and the short fuzz reminded him of a kiwi and an orange. He pondered on whether or not to eat the strange looking fruit and finally decided to play it safe. He didn’t want to be unintentionally poisoned…even if the fruit looked delicious.

It was a while before he noticed the silence that had fallen over the clearing. The birds were roosting quietly in the fruit tree, making occasional chirping sounds, and the insects had suspiciously disappeared. A cool breeze stirred goose bumps into existence as it wafted across his skin. The sun was at its final stage on the horizon, its red light just barely showing above the treetops.

‘That’s strange,’ Yuugi thought. ‘Is someone playing music?’ Sure enough, it really did sound like someone was playing an instrument. Its tone was very quiet, almost to the point where Yuugi had to strain to hear it. It sounded strangely like a clarinet and flute, almost like the two instruments had been fused together. Yuugi’s eyes searched the darkening trees quietly. Where is it coming from?

He jumped in fright as a nearby stone suddenly began to glow a florescent blue. ‘What on earth?’ His eyes darted around the clearing as more of these stone lit up, their muted colors varying from a pale blue to a soft fuchsia. The soft glow coated the ground in a tranquil tie-dye and an aquamarine moon hung high in the sky.

‘Blue?!’ He had always heard people joking about a blue moon, but they didn’t really exist. Where was he?!

A subtle rustle in the nearby bushes almost went unheard as the strange music grew in volume. It was still rather quiet but Yuugi could now pick out individual notes and chords. The birds were ruffling feathers in excitement at whatever was going to happen.

He quickly hid behind the stone he was sitting on the moment he heard footsteps. Yuugi didn’t know what kind of people would live here, if the footsteps even belonged to humans. As an afterthought he carefully placed the fruit thing inside his pants pocket; he didn’t want to lose it.

Maybe he should have hidden behind some bushes; there was a really good chance that someone would see him where he was right now. The locals here might not take too kindly to strangers and he didn’t have any way to defend himself if it was a wild animal.

It was too late now. If he did try to make a mad dash for the tree’s edge he would most assuredly be seen. Yuugi peered over the top of the rock, trying to see just what was walking into the clearing.

Yuugi shook his head confusedly, blinking away the sudden drowsiness that had come over him. Why on earth was he so tired all of the sudden? It wasn’t really fatigue…it felt more like the laughing gas that some dentists used. Wait a minute…did the music change its tune?

He swayed uneasily on his knees, fighting against this weird influence. He definitely noticed it now, the music did sound different. It sounded more like a violin and a clarinet, weaving together to produce a searching and longing filled sound. But…why was it affecting him like this?

He pinched his arm to rid him of the sleepy feeling, only succeeding partially when the song got louder. There were more people drifting into the clearing like wraiths, billowing robes adorned their slim figures and decorative jewelry hung from every possible place. They reminded him of some fairy tale creatures, ethereal in billowing robes adorned their slim figures and decorative jewelry hung from every possible place. They reminded him of some fairy tale creatures, ethereal features and strange clothing very different from what he was used to. Did he end up on a movie set?

Quietly, he hid behind the rock as more of these creatures entered the clearing. His eyes felt heavy as the music continued to play and he fought against the drowsiness that surrounded him. He doubted that this was a movie set, there was no way the feel the music was spinning could be special effects.

The creatures in the clearing were eerily still as the music paused. Yuugi found a strange mixture of anticipation and fear build in his chest at what was happening in the clearing. The creatures had formed a pattern in the clearing, none of them getting within five feet of another and they all had their eyes closed and were facing the ground. A warm breeze fluttered through the air, toying with the tense figures as it went by.

Suddenly, without warning, a lone creature near the center of the clearing burst into dance. The music came back full force as the others joined in their own solitary dance. Feisty, warm, and passionate tones spun gleefully into the searching and longing music, turning it into a fevered and wild chase. Creatures danced near each other, seemingly trying to see whom they could get the closest to and who would be left behind in the fast pace. Some of the creatures paired off after finding another that matched their speed, and begun a completely different dance, this one more intimate that the desperate search it had been.

Streams of light flew out from the stones that littered the ground, encircling those creatures that had been paired off and shooting around the ones that were still dancing feverously. A strange wind blew now and Yuugi found himself unable to stop staring.

Yuugi was barely able to restrain himself when his body began to rise from his location. The music was vibrating to his very core, kindling foreign reactions that bade him to go and join the dance, to find one that he could keep up with. His instincts screamed at him to run, to flee before anything could go wrong, but he found himself unable to.

There seemed to be something occurring in the dead center of all the dancing creatures, and Yuugi’s attention was drawn towards it. It seemed like there was one of the creatures that the others seemed hell bent on gaining its attention. If the few glimpses he caught of this creature through the moving group were anything to go by, the creature was the best dancer here.

A sudden surge in the music’s tempo tore through his thinning resistance, brining life to the urges that rose in his muscles. Conscious thoughts were muffled behind this…need to dance with the creatures in the clearing. He shot front he relative safety of the rock straight to the edge of the crowd, his body moving in perfect sync with the music and he danced. If he had been aware, he would have been surprised at how well he was dancing. He had never danced like this before and it was entirely exhilarating!

The creatures didn’t seem too surprised or worried at his sudden entrance, like they had expected him to join them all along. They easily admitted him into the deeper circles of the crowd as they danced along with him. Strange emotions ran through Yuugi as he instinctively tried to find the right dancing partner. All the creatures that danced with him were completely unable to match his style and he was soon thrown into the inner most circle of the crowd.

He kept his eyes closed as he put his whole being into his dance, conveying completely just who he was by the way he moved. He danced out of the grasp of the creatures that tried to keep up with him, unable to keep tempo with any of them. The music seemed empty without that right partner and he blindly danced in search of something he couldn’t recognize.

Abruptly, something warm brushed against his arm in a delicate caress and a new creature began to dance with him. He danced away jut as quickly as he had with the others and was surprised when this one continued to pursue him. His mind whirled as this creature danced with him, intimately closer that the others. He tried to throw the creature off of his pace with a few swirls and was stunned when the other kept right in step with him.

The other danced right with him for a time unable to measure. A circle of other creatures danced around them, completely ignored by the pair in the center. Yuugi slowly found his body to begin to tire, despite how he felt like he could dance for much longer. He was stunned when the body that danced with him deliberately slowed to calm his fevered pace. His body did slow to match his partner’s tempo and he was utterly stunned when strong, warm arms circled around his waist. A well-defined chin came to rest on his right shoulder and something feathery brushed against his ear.

Foreign words were whispered into his ear as he was led away from the throng of the dancing creatures. In the seclusion of the trees, they danced a calm intimate dance, the music fading into a soft shade of passion. Yuugi’s heart thudded in his chest as he felt something wrap warm fingers around his heart, gently unfurling a part of his soul and guiding it to a warm, strong place that cradled and held him close.

The creature in front him led him in a slow waltz as a few of the stone-lights flew around them. Yuugi’s eyes fluttered open as his dance partner’s forehead was pressed against his. Tan eyelids hid his partner’s eyes from view. It was difficult for him to see any other part of his partner’s physique, but it didn’t really matter to him as they continued to dance.

His heart thudded in his chest at the sudden vibrant feeling that flooded him. Glazed eyes turned their attention to the dark splotches of color that followed their movements. ‘What is that…?’

Wings…

In a sudden burst of color, emotion, and light, two sets of ethereal wings exploded into being around them. One set arching high into the dark sky and the other wrapping around Yuugi’s dazed form. Something strange was happening to his mind and he just couldn’t put into words what he was feeling. Electrifying energy raced through his veins, leaving him weak and helpless when it left.

Blissfully, Yuugi’s bones ceased to support him and strong arms caught him as he sagged to the ground. His eyes sought out his dancing partner’s eyes, hoping to catch a glimpse of their color before this sudden burst of drowsiness claimed him.

Blood red. That was the color of his partner’s eyes. ‘How…strange…’

Exhaustion crashed upon him and Yuugi was instantly asleep, his mind oblivious to how the person with glorious black wings cradled him closer. Those blood red eyes were solely focused on him, and a content and triumphant smile lay on the person’s face as he gently carried Yuugi away.