A snake and dolphin were arguing over who could hold their breath longer, and decided to settle it with a breath holding contest. Both of them got the biggest breaths their lungs could hold and dove underwater, settling onto the bottom with puffed cheeks and relaxing as much as they could. They were both incredibly capable at holding their breath, which led to it being quite a while before anything significant happened.
After 28 minutes underwater, both the snake and dolphin were blushing from the increasing strain, and while the snake was starting to struggle, the dolphin wasn't. They were much more used to holding their breath than the snake, and this was still a fairly casual hold to them. They opened an eye to peek at the snake and watch them squirm and bubble, then closed it again.
54 minutes in, the dolphin's calm demeanor had finally dropped, and they now struggled just as much as the snake, bubbles beginning to leak from their blowhole. Both of them had purple-tinted faces and cartoonishly large cheeks by now, but neither made a move for the surface. They simply continued to fight the urge to breathe, which at this point was starting to burn at their lungs.
The 1 hour mark came and went, followed by another 8 minutes. Bubbles streamed from both the dolphin's quivering blowhole and the snake's nostrils, but their determination to outlast each other kept them at the bottom, even as they now had blue faces and were starting to grow lightheaded. 5 more minutes passed, and it seemed both breathless animals were just about at their limit, with their breath holding contest about to reach its end at any moment. Still, they refused to give up, despite the fact that they probably should have, as they were still deep underwater.
Finally, the winner was decided. The dolphin's body spasmed, and their mouth and blowhole shot open to gasp at the water! The poor mammal could feel their lungs flood, and the sight of their inhalation momentarily distracted the snake from their own need for air. The dolphin exhaled and gasped again, and as the snake's body reminded them of their own plight, they followed suit, sucking in a lungful of water themselves.
Seconds later, the dolphin's head breached the surface, a loud, hoarse gasp ringing out before water erupted from their mouth and blowhole, interspersed with choked hacking as the water was purged from their soaked lungs. Not too long after that, the snake surfaced as well to do the same. The dolphin panted and watched the snake, relieved that they would be okay, though still disappointed that they had won. Perhaps they should have done this closer to the surface?
