Rosy Skies (Otayuri)

Dawn

Yuri could soon tell that the odd shadow was being cast by a small rowboat. He broke the surface a ways from the craft, and pushed the wet hair out of his face. He squinted at the person in the boat, and gasped at what he saw. It was Viktor, there was no doubt about that. But his long, fairy-like, argent hair that had once looked like spun moonlight was gone. Instead, roughly chopped and uneven locks of hair stuck up all over his scalp.

As if being tugged by some unseen force, Yuri moved closer. Viktor noticed him, and let go of his oars. If there hadn't been oarlocks, they would have drifted away forever. He leaned over the side, arms outstretched, and the boat swayed dangerously. Yuri allowed himself to be embraced.

"Yura, Yura," Viktor whispered softly, and ran his hand down Yuri's sopping hair as if to comfort him. "I went to see Yakov, and he told me everything." He squeezed Yuri tightly. "I'm so sorry that you had to go through this alone." Yuri sniffled, brow furrowed as the tears came fast. "I visited Yakov today, and he said that he sensed that your time was almost up," Viktor murmured to him. "I cut off my hair, and he made this with it."

Reluctantly, Viktor let go of him and pressed something into his hands. Yuri took the object, and a shiver rolled down his spine when the moonlight struck it. It was a knife, as shiny and silver as Viktor's hair had been.

"Listen to me." Viktor took his shoulders, and Yuri raised his eyes so that they met his pleading ones. "Before the dawn comes, you must plunge the knife into your merman's chest and through his heart. Once the blood passes through your gills, you shall become a human once more, and you can return to our kingdom and live out the rest of your days."

Yuri lowered his eyes, heart fluttering. He could feel his pulse in his fingers and temples.

"Please, please do this." Viktor's grip on his shoulders tightened. "Now hurry, the sky is already starting to grow lighter." It was true, the firmament was fading from black to indigo in the East. "Our grandfather is very sick, he misses you so much. He won't last much longer in the state he's in." Yuri felt his belly clench, and tears spilled from his eyes. "Please, please promise me," Viktor sobbed.

But Yuri could not, and he slipped beneath the waves with the weapon clutched to his chest. Above him, he could see the wavering shadow of Viktor's arms, still outstretched. Yuri ignored the terrible feeling in his stomach and dived down to the seafloor. Heart racing and adrenaline coursing through his system, he approached the cave where Umia and Oabe were sleeping. Taking a deep breath, he entered.

Yuri's plan was to try and kill Oabe as quickly as possible before he could think, but he froze when his eyes rested upon the merman. Umia was snuggled into his chest as he laid there, perfectly at peace. Yuri glanced at the cruel, sharp knife, hands trembling, then to his prince. Oabe whispered his bride's name as he dreamt.

Yuri forced himself to lift the blade, and he poised it over Oabe. He moved to stab him, but his arm collapsed. He tried again, but he just couldn't kill the man that he loved. Sobbing quietly, he threw the weapon. It floated down to the sand. Yuri kissed Oabe's forehead, then turned to leave. He shot one last yearning, heartbroken glance at him and then swam out. From above, light was starting to filter down.

Yuri pumped his tail until his head burst from the water. On the shore, he could make out the shape of Viktor's rowboat. He turned to face the East, where the sun was beginning to rise above the horizon. The sky was a symphony of rosy pinks, golds, and lavenders. As his body began to shut down, he thought about the lullabies that Viktor used to sing to him when he was a child. About his grandfather's worn hands. About his precious garden and the little plants within, and his cat's sweet disposition.

He remembered Oabe's nickname for him, his smile, his touch. How kind Umia had been, even though she unknowingly had caused his death. As he considered all of these things, he smiled and stretched out his arms to embrace the warmth of the sun on his skin. The brilliant rays shone through his eyelids, and then vanished as everything turned dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Viktor looked out to sea, restless. He prayed and prayed that Yuri had gone through with it and turned back into a human. His eyes were red and swollen and puffy from crying, and the salt air burned them. He shivered in the morning chill, pulling his robes more tightly around himself. The sky was already light, and Viktor could see the sun coming up above the sea. It climbed in the sky, dissolving the cold mist.

Viktor waited, hoping, and it was excruciating not to know. Was his Yura alright? He had to be okay, and Viktor refused to accept anything else. But time dragged on, and Viktor had to pull up his hood to protect against a sunburn. The fabric felt so strange against his head. He felt like a sheep that had been shorn of its fleece.

He stood up, legs wobbling from sitting for so long. Carefully, he scanned the beach to see if Yuri had swam to shore. There was nothing to his right, but... A huddled shape was lying in the sand. Heart hammering, Viktor jumped off of the rock. The impact hurt his knees, even though he'd landed on soft sand, and he began to run. A dreadful feeling began to settle in his belly as he drew nearer. No... It just couldn't be. This had to be a nightmare.

But it became undeniable that the form was Yuri. His golden hair was wet, knotted, and wrapped around his body. His eyes were closed, and his striped tail was limp and tangled in tendrils of seaweed. Viktor's heart dropped, and several glittering tears dripped from his eyes. If he still had a tail, then that meant...

Viktor fell to his knees and desperately tried to shake Yuri awake.

"Please, please," he whispered. But Yuri didn't budge. Viktor watched his chest for breathing, checked his wrist for a pulse. Nothing. Weeping, he lifted up his dear cousin and cradled him in his arms. Yuri Plisetsky was dead.

As the sun beat down on them, Viktor rocked his Yuratchka back and forth and sang him broken lullabies.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Down in the sea, Oabe and Umia had awoken. Arm in arm, they blissfully started making their way back to the palace. Oabe wondered where Little-One-Who-Was-Found had gone, but figured that he had gone to their room to sleep. However, he wasn't there when they arrived. Panic rising, Oabe and Umia looked in all of the places than the little mermaid could be. Frantically, they scoured the castle from the top floors to the bottom ones, and then looked on the royal grounds. They then swam through the streets of the town, calling out his name and having to push through throngs of well-wishers.

He was simply gone, as if he had vanished. Desperate, Oabe ordered search parties to be sent out. He feared that Little-One-Who-Was-Found had been kidnapped to be held as ransom, but no demands were ever made. Everyone looked for months, but they all turned up empty. Oabe was filled with sorrow, but he had Umia there to comfort him. They held a funeral for the little merman, although no body was located.

Together, Umia and Oabe tried their best to continue living their lives. They had many litters of mer-pups together, and they all loved their parents dearly. Oabe always thought that they would have liked Little-One-Who-Was-Found like an uncle. Umia and Oabe became wise and fair leaders, and grew old and gray together.

The little merman never returned. He had left as out-of-the-blue as he had appeared. Oabe always missed him deeply, and never forgot his dear friend with the expressive eyes.

The End