Crashing waves.
Flowing rivers of water.
There's an ocean tide beneath him, a salty spray that leaves a taste in his mouth, crystalline tides speckled with dust and dirt and fine little speckled dots that seemed to catch the sunlight like suspicious little stars he hadn't yet learned the meaning of.
He should've reacted. He should've frozen it and been done with it. But he pauses instead and that single second of distraction and second guessing costs him more time than he realizes. Enough for someone to take advantage.
"I- I can't believe what I'm seeing here, folks, but it seems like-"
He can feel his eyes widen as something sharp, thorny and like a whip rips up from the waves to wrap around his ankle.
"-students are teaming up?!"
It drags him back down to earth.
Into the tidal flow.