L: Out on the shore of the ocean, a robin wearing only swim trunks waded through the water to get to a deeper section for a swim. As he gets farther out, he occasionally dips his head under the surface to see if anything interesting is around.
G: On the bottom is a fox, seemingly also wearing swim shorts of his own. He thought to himself as he sat on the bottom, and though he debated on bringing goggles or flippers, those would've weighed him down on the way here. Besides, he's learned to go on without them.
L: The robin soon notices them, and with a deep breath in his lungs and cheeks, dives down and swims toward them. He doesn't say anything, keeping hold of his air, but gives them a friendly wave.
G: The fox would look up and wave with one of his forepaws, another one holding his slightly heaving chest. It does suck they can't speak, but having a freediving partner to hold breaths with is always a nice thing, especially for someone who can hold their breath forever... somewhat.
L: Sitting in the sand next to him, it quickly becomes clear to the robin that the fox had already been holding their breath for some time. He nods to them, and relaxes, the tiniest bubbles leaving his nostrils as he watches the surface for a while.
G: The fox smiles and pets the robin with a smile, some larger bubbles leaving his body as he debates heading for the surface. He's been here for a while, but he wants to stay for as long as he can stand it...
L: The robin smiles and happily blows some bubbles as he's petted. Over time, though, it starts getting obvious that he's not all that good at holding his breath, being a bird, and his puffed cheeks get a bit bigger as he starts to blush from a bit of strain.
G: The fox fared a little better, but he would feel the more desperate need to breathe after another minute, kneeling down and whimpering while holding his paws against his nose
L: Unsure he wanted the fox to know about his ability just yet, the robin takes off for the surface as he starts losing air in bursts of bubbles, having trouble keeping his beak shut.
G: The fox didn't want to worry the robin, either... It's about time he headed to the surface, anyway... Although it's hard to stay focused enough to start swimming. "m... Mmgbl... mmmmf..."
L: The robin reaches the surface without all that much trouble, gasping and catching his breath, and looking down to see the fox following him up.
G: He would eventually kick off the bottom, frantically pushing all four paws to swim up and finally gasp for breath, panting quite heavily and treading with him.
L: After giving the fox a moment to recover, the robin finally speaks to him. "Always nice to hang out underwater for a while, right?"
G: He nods in response, still panting heavily. "Y-Yeah... Gets lonely in the water, s-sometimes..."
L: "I kind of like the solitude of it, just relaxing on the bottom with no one else around... Wish I could hold my breath longer."
G: "It is, and I... kinda wish the same. Hard to stay under when your chest hurts after only a short amount of time, heh..."
L: "Maybe we could practice together? That's always easier when you have a partner to encourage you to keep holding your breath."
G: "Yeah. I'd love to have a partner. Haven't swam with a bird, admittedly." He smiles, holding the robin's wing lightly.
L: "And I haven't swam with a fox before!" The robin pats the fox's paw with his free wing.
G: The fox would take a deep gasp before diving down, pushing further out into the ocean and even deeper.
L: The robin holds his breath and allows the fox to pull him along for now, looking up at the surface growing more and more distant as they dive deeper.
G: It's certainly more stressful, although he's been down here, before. He didn't know how far the bird went down, but the fox made sure to keep an eye on the robin in case they need to stop...
L: Still appearing to be doing just fine, the robin smiles at the fox and points down, wanting to go all the way to the bottom.
G: The fox would nod, swimming down there. Although swimming back up would be difficult, and the robin would need air sooner than the fox...
L: At this point, the robin was starting to show signs of needing air, blushing again. While he knew he'd be fine no matter how long he was under, he didn't want to worry the fox... He wouldn't tell them to bring him up just yet.
G: The fox would worry, himself, wondering if they should stop... Could the bird even swim back up by himself? Still, though, he would dive deeper and deeper, until his paws touched the bottom.
L: Had he actually needed to breathe, this likely wouldn't be a depth the robin could return from, at least not with dry lungs. He lets himself sink to stand on the bottom, likely over a hundred feet underwater, and looks at the fox a bit nervously.
G: The fox would worry for the bird, knowing the depths would be too deep for the robin's smaller lung capacity. For now, though, he'll make sure that he's OK...
L: The robin tries to relax for a little while, mentally repeating that he's going to be fine, but eventually his "need" to breathe starts forcing out bubbles again as his little lungs start to burn. He awkwardly tries to cover his beak with his wings, but it hardly accomplishes anything.
G: The fox would hold a paw against the robin's chest with a smile, albeit with a slight need in his own chest. It didn't burn, but he still debated coming back up for breath... especially with the robin's wings covering his beak.
L: Apparently still not wanting to surface yet, the robin nervously smiles at the fox, before tightly shutting his eyes and trying to rebreathe by sucking in his cheeks and puffing them back out as his blush starts to tint purple.
G: The fox only had red cheeks, but he still struggled to stay calm as his cheeks puffed out a little more. He held his paw against his own chest as he nuzzles the robin.
L: The robin starts to shiver a bit from strain, but oddly, it almost seems like the progression of his lack of oxygen just stops. He's certainly still in a bad way, seemingly at his limit with a purple blush, but he doesn't seem to be getting any closer to drowning.
G: the fox would offer to give help, before suddenly letting out some bubbles and holding his paw against his muzzle. Though he wouldn't see the strange telltale signs that the robin isn't fully drowning...
L: Not aware that the fox shared his ability, the robin taps them and motions toward the distant surface, trying to tell them they should get air.
G: The fox nods a little bit, seeing the Robin's desperation for air. He helps bring him onto his back before swimming up, ignoring the heaving in his own burning lungs.
L: The robin squirms in discomfort as little bubbles trickle from the end of his beak, though he stops covering it to hold on better, trying not to hurt the fox with his talons.
G: The fox would stop in place as he eventually held his muzzle close, again, sinking to the sea floor! Eventually, his heaves would... stop growing in intensity? He's still not fully used to it, but he knows with enough effort, he can make it up! Hopefully...
L: After another few seconds, the robin notices the fox's struggles aren't getting worse. "...Does he have it, too?", he thinks to himself. Despite his own intense strain, the robin starts trying to watch them more closely.
G: They didn't seem to grow worse... and judging by the fox's reaction to the robin's state... He knows about this strange condition the two have... and somehow they both share the same thing. It makes him slightly less stressed, but his body still wants air. Super badly.
L: "He does!" The robin nervously smiles as he realizes the fox doesn't truly need air either. He flaps his wings while holding onto the fox with his talons, trying to help swim, though the size difference between the two meant that he didn't really do a whole lot in that regard.
G: The fox would kick his hind paws much more forcefully, wanting to breathe air and end the pain so badly! But he kept holding his muzzle, because he'll breathe water, even with his "endless" breathholding...
L: A bit of water slips into the robin's beak, which he resumes holding shut as he gulps. He'd briefly forgotten that his body will try to breathe eventually, even though he never actually needed to. Still, he manages to keep one wing free and paddling, for what good it would do.
G: It's too difficult to stay focused long enough to surface, but he'd rather not drown and be stuck on the bottom waterlogged! Especially not when he's trusted by another freediver! But after some long pushes beyond his burning lungs... his head finally pushed above the surface. "HWAAAAAHHHH! H-Gaah! HAAH... haah..."
L: Bubbles trail from the robin's beak as the two ascend, and he starts to consider just inhaling and getting it over with... But, he holds out long enough to get to the surface. "GHAAAAHH!" He pants heavily as he slowly goes back to his normal colors. "Huff... Y-you don't need air...huff... d-do you?"
G: "H-Hoh... N-No... I don't... But I still want it... so badly... after a while... hah... I... think you're the same...?" The fox smiles and looks up, panting and refilling his lungs.
L: "Y-yeah, actually... I've never met someone else that had this... A-ability, I guess. I can't imagine discovering it was much fun, i-it certainly wasn't for me..."
G: "H-Hwah... hah... No, it really isn't... Wonder if even non-swimmers can have it... It makes me wanna swim more, funnily enough. If I can ignore it enough..."
L: "D-does it force you to breathe eventually? That happens with me after a few minutes... Was actually getting pretty close to that point, down there."
G: "I... It does. And it's not the most comfortable. Even... if breathing water does... surprisingly tone down the pain a little... heh..." He blushes as he kept paddling.
L: The robin hops off to swim on his own. "We should head somewhere more shallow if we're gonna push ourselves like that, then. Once I take in water I can't swim any more, and I imagine it's the same for you."
G: "It is. I assume we act under the exact same conditions... even if we don't have the same breath times." The fox nuzzles the robin. "I can try my best to help you. It was difficult to get to the time I have." He would say to reassure him.
L: "Don't feel bad if I never do that well at holding my breath, okay? Most birds don't exactly do very well in water, and that extends to breath holding, too."
G: "I mean... I know that, but I know it's possible... I heard at least some non-aquatic birds practice breathholding for a long time and get really good at it."
L: "...I hope I can get there, then. I'm certainly better off than most, since I don't actually need to breathe, it just happens eventually." The robin's eyes widen for a moment as he gets an idea. "I bet we can get better at delaying that!"
G: The fox would simply nod. "We just need to trick ourselves into keeping ourselves from breathing. Even when we really want air, we won't give in."
L: "Right. Let's head under again, around where we met. This time, we're not going up until we inhale, no matter how much we want to. Maybe we could go for an underwater walk as well, might help distract us a bit?"
G: "Right. Something just feels relaxing with an underwater walk..." The fox said as he swam towards the shore.
L: The robin follows them, having a bit of trouble keeping up at first, but he manages to grab onto the fox's tail so he can just let himself be pulled along instead. "Once we're down there, you're gonna need to take it slow so I can keep up with you."
G: "Oh, uh, sorry!" he nods in response, stopping in place and preparing with some deep gasps.
L: The robin lets go again, and after some gasping of his own he dives under, letting himself slowly sink to the bottom.
G: Soon, the fox would dive down, landing on all four paws on the ocean floor, smiling and letting out some bubbles.
L: Smiling between puffed cheeks and looking up at the fox, the robin watches their descent. Once they land, he nods to them, and starts walking along the bottom. His small size means his progress is rather slow, making it clear why he'd asked the fox to keep pace with him.
G: The fox would smile and nod as he walks along the bottom, letting out some air so his paws can stay down. He can't really grip the sand like the robin can with his claws, after all.
L: Some time passes as the two slowly stroll along the seabed, taking in the sights. Once again, the robin is the first to show any need for air, the little bubbles that occasionally trickle from his beak starting to be more frequent as little grunts of strain become audible.
G: The fox would smile and kneel down, petting the robin's chest to keep him calm. Though it wouldn't be too much longer before he starts whining for a breath. He didn't want to swim up, though. He wanted to push himself to the limit.
L: The robin still wanted to push himself as well. After all, he'd acted so determined before, it might've been a bit embarrassing to go back on that now. He smiles at the fox, tries to focus on something other than the increasing breathless feeling, and carries on.
G: The fox nods in response, adorably nuzzling with his head as he continued across the ocean depths. The burn in his lungs intensified every passing second, eventually causing pulses. Then more violent pulls.
L: Soon enough, the robin covered his beak with one wing again as his cheeks puff a bit bigger and his chest heaves. His steps get a bit shaky because of his struggles, but he tries to stay calm, rubbing his feathered chest with his free wing.
G: The fox would whimper and cover his own muzzle, not wanting to breathe water, but refusing to surface. He want to fight and get used to it. He has to. His chest heaved more violently.
L: With his lungs burning and a purple blush on his face, the robin can't force himself to walk any more, just standing in place instead. Both wings now hold his beak as his urge to breathe stops increasing, though his body starts to shiver in his struggles.
G: The fox soon shared the same struggles, at the max that his body will struggle for breath. He would cuddle up to the robin, hoping being together will help them cope a little more.
L: The robin briefly glances up at the surface. Any time he wanted, he could just swim up there in seconds, and this would be over... But, with the fox encouraging him, he stayed on the bottom, burying his beak into their fur to see if it would help him keep his air in. It didn't, but it still felt nice, so he kept it there for a little while.
G: He nods in response and smiles, helping to try and stop the robin from breathing for just a few extra seconds. He keeps repeating to himself in his head. He doesn't need to breathe... He doesn't need to breathe...
L: Bubbles start trickling from the robin's beak, and he quickly realizes they might be tickling the fox, so he steps back. His beak visibly trembles as he rebreathes in his cheeks again, whining and taking a wing off his beak to squeeze the fox's paw.
G: Admittedly, they kinda were. It made it slightly difficult for the fox to stay focused, so he would relax some more when they finally stopped rubbing against him. He cupped his paws and rebreathed from his cheeks, grabbing his stale air and pulling it back into his muzzle to breathe it back in! Hopefully he tricks his mind into thinking he has more...
L: Despite all the effort, it seemed the robin was approaching the limit of his willpower, lowering his head as bubbles now start to spurt from his beak instead of there being a slow trickle. He whines and jumps off the bottom, but quickly remembers not to surface, and lets himself sink back down as he intensely struggles.
G: The fox would sit on his haunches and hug the robin close to his chest, letting out a cloud of bubbles before putting a paw against his muzzle! Though he would keep the robin in the cute little hug...
L: The robin squirms in the fox's grip, though he does appreciate the hug, and his bubbles stop as he runs entirely out of air, not even enough left to puff his cheeks. He accidentally takes in a bit of water, but swallows it to keep his lungs dry.
G: The fox would stop leaving bubbles from his nose, whining before looking up again to the surface! They have no breath left, but he still wants to stay! "...ngh..."
L: After so much time underwater, and with burning, empty lungs, the robin couldn't take it any more. His beak finally opens, and the fox would hear a desperate slurp as the bird inhales a lungful of water. He starts thrashing in the fox's hug, frantically trying to get loose and swim for the surface while painfully gurgling.
G: The fox whines as he felt the bird thrash and kick, causing him to push off the bottom and towards the surface... "Mm... Mmk... Mm..."
...but then he would gasp water, too, causing painful gurgles and struggles as he tightened his grip on the robin in his grasp!
L: While unable to get out of the fox's hold on him, the robin was at least being squeezed to the point that he couldn't inhale, so his choking had paused for the moment. His beak was still wide open, though, repeatedly trying to suck in more water as he shakes his head.
G: The fox didn't realize he was helping him avoiding gulping water, but his grip would weaken after a few more gasps of water filled his lungs, cutely pawing a little bit!
L: The robin painfully floods his lungs again, and with a bit more struggling, he manages to get loose. He tries his best to swim up, but with the extra weight in his chest and his growing lack of coordination, he slowly starts sinking as he pants at the water.
G: He would gasp and pant water heavily in his own lungs, exhausted while stuck on the bottom of the ocean with his friend.
L: Over time, the robin's panting slows down into calm breaths as he starts looking a bit sleepy. As his blush turns fully blue, his weakening stops, leaving him tired and drowned, sitting on the seabed and almost seeming to hiccup every few seconds as his body tries to force out the water.
G: The fox slowly panted water, letting out a few coughs as he fully lies on his stomach with his hiccuping buddy. He nuzzles the robin some more, at least glad that they'll both somehow live. For now, he should take a rest and keep breathing water...
L: The robin gives the fox a dazed smile and leans against them. He tries to pet them with a wing, though has some difficulty as he's gone partly numb. While getting to this point was certainly unpleasant, now that he was fully waterlogged, the robin was sort of enjoying himself.
G: It felt strangely relaxing to finally get past the first gasp of water... Though he could barely stay awake and move, he vastly preferred this over the heaving chest he had to deal with. He lightly hugged the robin, cheeks a deep blue.
L: After another hiccup, the robin tries to say something, but isn't quite able to focus enough to form the words. He tries a couple more times, eventually just giving up and relaxing into the hug. The fox could feel the robin's breaths of water brushing against his fur.
G: The fox would smile and nuzzle the robin, again. Being together like this makes the feeling of being drowned on the ocean floor more relaxing...
L: Eventually, the robin decides it was about time he and the fox resurfaced. After a brief struggle to stand up, he starts awkwardly walking in the wrong direction, before quickly correcting himself so he's actually going toward the shore.
G: The fox would look over and weakly get up. His grip nearly slips a few times, but he's able to start walking back to shore.
L: The robin was almost disappointed that he'd soon be leaving his pleasantly drowned state... Without too much more trouble, though, he and the fox got close enough to dry land that the fox could get his head above the water. Because of the size difference between the two, the robin still had some distance to go.
G: before he surfaces, though, he would drop down and help the robin onto his back with a smile. It's difficult, but he'd rather not breathe air if his partner is still stuck sucking down water beneath the surface. Even if it is so tantalizingly close...
L: The robin almost just walks off the fox, taking a moment to realize he's been lifted to the surface. Water pours out of his beak, and at last, air flows into his mostly-flooded lungs. He quickly goes into a coughing fit as he wakes up, hacking up water onto the fox's back, his blush slowly fading back to purple, then red.
G: The fox would help him stay above before walking further and quickly coughing out all the water he gasped. It takes all the energy to avoid falling back under the water and gasping water again, and coughing out everything still took way too long. As his body regained its normal color, the fox would walk further onto shore.
L: While he'd still cough and gasp, the robin seemed to have gotten pretty much all the water out of his lungs by now, to the point that he managed to hold off coughing long enough to talk a little. "Y-you okay?" His question was immediately followed by a bit more coughing.
G: The fox would look at the robin as he walks onto land, finally collapsing. "h-Hah... I-I... I'm OK..." He would say as he kept coughing out water from his flooded lungs.
L: Now laying down on the fox's back, the robin continues panting and occasionally coughing for a while, slowly recovering from his drowning. "Th-that felt... Weirdly good..."
G: "H-Hah... I-It... did... admittedly..." The fox would continue panting for a while as his lungs tried to make up for the air it was denied, before.
L: Eventually, the robin hops off of the fox and onto the sand, still breathing a bit heavily but not coughing much any more. "I wish getting to that point... D-didn't hurt so much." He ruffles his feathers in an attempt to dry off faster.
G: "...I... I wish it didn't, myself... H-Hah..." The fox does the same, shaking off the water off his fur. "I think we should at least take a break before going diving again... But I'm always willing to swim."
L: "Definitely no diving for now, but yeah, I'd be up for some more swimming soon. Just want to relax for a little while first." The robin sits down on the sand, looking out at the water.
G: "Heh... If you want to... We can come back another day... I enjoy swimming out in this ocean almost every day, after all!" He would lie down and look out with the bird.
L: "...Yeah, maybe some other time. My lungs are still kinda sore." The robin cuddles up to the fox and happily sighs, nestling into their fur.
G: The fox would nuzzle into the robin and curl a little, yawning a little bit. It's getting late, too.
L: Before too long, the robin falls asleep, still leaned against the fox. It seems that, even without any danger, drowning had gotten him more tired than he'd realized.
G: The fox would smile, nuzzling up and curling around the robin before falling asleep. No doubt that they're already becoming good diving buddies.
![[RP LOG] Sealed temple](https://va.ib.metapix.net/images80/overlays/writing.png "[RP LOG] Sealed temple"){kind=small}
