♫ 𝄈 maybe the true horrors were inside us all along.
( AFFLUENCE, faith +1 )
elffin’s guess rings true: that first wave knocks them off their feet in a fearsome surge, stripping them of the air in their lungs and the light from their eyes. the world plunges into darkness, muffled in their ears, and the chill seeps deeper into their bones as the current pulls them in. even in such a frenzied state —senses on high alert and yet muddled all the same—dorothea makes out elffin’s desperate thrashing beside her.
panic is as contagious as the deadliest of diseases, and were her own distress not already through the roof, her companion’s fear mingles with her own. terror begot by terror, desperation by desperation.
she flails beside him, fingers clawing helplessly through never-ending water. for all the intentions of this assignment—in facing their fears—it feels as though they have not become any braver. all this for naught; it is primal fear that kickstarts her adrenaline. not bravery, but her desire to live.
dorothea kicks her feet forcefully, her arms flailing around to find elffin. when she makes contact, she swiftly hooks them around his torso and begins to kick. kick, kick, kick, willing them upwards. kick! kick! kick! lungs on fire, throat on fire, the entire world on fire despite being thoroughly soaked.
a loud gasp escapes she breaks the water’s surface, attempting to rapidly blink the water out of her eyes. she dares not let go of elffin as the water whips around them in large swells, prompting dorothea to look around desperately for something to hold onto.
ah, but what’s that?
overhead, a mysterious voice thunders. whatever it says exactly, she can’t tell, for her ears are too waterlogged, but whatever is said, the water obeys. its waves still gradually, leaving her and elffin bobbing as her muscles threaten to seize.
Should he had have had the mind to remain calm- as if anyone could have, swallowed so quickly by darkness and waves so powerful he could not recall which way was up- he would have relaxed himself to float to the surface.
But his lungs burned from the initial wave and any attempt to expel the water was only met with more- breaking to the surface is met with coughing so fierce he is half certain that his throat would burn forevermore.
Yet slowly, the waves recede, and then the water itself follows; just quickly enough that Elffins attempts to adjust to the newfound calm are unneeded, slowly depositing them onto damp stone. A booming voice seems to be speaking from somewhere overhead, but he could not make out the words- for the time being, he lets exhaustion take hold.
… Before startling awake in the wooden chair in the tent, the supposed guru snapping impatiently in front of his nose, then doing the same to his companion.
"- don't have all day!"
Blinking, disoriented, Elffin stands slowly- to the chagrin of their keeper. Glancing at Dorothea, once, twice (a double-take, that she seemed so dry, despite the fact that he was himself).
"Pardon," He murmurs- mostly out of habit, "Dorothea… shall we head out?"
One hand on her wrist, he guides her carefully from the tent, and then some. Despite everything that just occurred, he felt fine… to an extent. Though he guess the moment the tension settles, both of them would need some time to recover.
To a nearby bench, then, where he settles a little too quickly to be gentle, only careful enough to leave enough room for her.
Then, breathlessly, "… I think our fears were well-founded, actually."
[end.]










