L: A particular raven had heard of an aquatic city some time ago, and had always dreamed of living there since. After a good amount of breath holding training, he got a ticket to ride one of the city's diving bells down there, finally leaving the surface behind. Eventually, the diving bell comes to a stop, and the raven smiles. "Finally, it's time..." With a deep breath, puffed cheeks, and a firmly shut beak, he dives into the water, ready to begin his life in the submerged city.
G: It's quite a while before he would be allowed out, showing how deep it is. Despite this, the pressure doesn't hurt.
Outside of the bell, there were a bunch of other species, albeit most more aquatic than the raven was, and they all seem fine, no matter if they were frogs, or penguins, or fish, or... Well, really anyone.
Near where the diving bells dropped him off, there would be a puffin swimming around the city, with a purple hue around his beak, trying to ignore the nearby air pocket that's available.
L: Relieved he's not the only bird around, as he was a bit worried about standing out, the raven swims and looks around, pausing for a moment as he looks up toward the surface only to not see anything...
Then, the breathless puffin catches his eye. "I guess some people down here like pushing themselves...", he thinks to himself, just watching them for now.
G: Eventually the puffin gives into his need as he surfaces in the air pocket, taking loud, deep gasps. Though they're hard to hear in the aquatic ambience of the city.
After a bit, he'd submerge himself, seemingly proud of his long hold... before looking to the bell station and seeing a strange bird. One he hasn't seen visit the depths...
L: Having been noticed, the raven waves to the puffin and swims to them. "Hbli! You lookbled like you weblre really pusblhing yourself thblere!" In his preparation for moving here, the raven had done quite some practice with underwater talking as well as breath holding. While he isn't perfect at it, he's confident most people can understand him.
G: The puffin smiles and waves to the raven, swimming over to meet up. "Mblm... Ybleabl, Ibl wblabls. Wblanbltebld prablctiblce." He bubbles back. Being aquatic clearly didn't mean being able to communicate perfectly when submerged. Then again, puffins normally don't live underwater. "Whblablt blriblngs yblou dowbln hblere?"
L: "Well, I hbleard about this plblace a while ago, anbld it sounded reblally cool! Plus, I reblally like water, sblo I figured Ibl could come liblve hblere!"
G: "Ohbl, mboblvbling?" He looks to the raven and smiles. "I cbloubld shblow yblou arblound, iblf ybou wanblt. Mayble hblelp you wblith hblolding your blreath."
L: "Yeah, Ibl'd appreciate thblat! And yblou must knblow all sorts oblf tricks for loblnger breath hblolding from living hblere! My reblcord's 4 minutebls right now, bublt I bet it's goblnna get a loblt better."
G: "Mblm! Nboblt bad!" He seems rather impressed. "Mm... I'd sblay I cblan lablst 10. Wblas hblarbld tblo get thblere, thblough..."
L: "Woah... Oblh, but you're abl puffin, oblf course you'd dblo well. Still, gonblna do my best tblo reach a tiblme like thblat!"
G: "We'bll hblave tblo see..." He smiles, before swimming away from the station while inviting the raven to come along. Interestingly, the puffin's only kicking his webbed talons to go through the water...
L: The raven has to also stroke with his wings to be able to keep up with the puffin, a bit jealous of them being more aquatic than him. "Air pocblkets liblke that onble you weblre at arble common hblere, right?"
G: The puffin nods. "Iblt has tblo be iblf ablir breablthers like ubls live hblere." As they swim, they not only saw water breathers, but pure air breathers in different states of their breathholds, too. A frog calmly holding, a seal struggling... The puffin giggles at the sights.
L: The raven looks around at everyone as he swims with the puffin, though his own need for air is gradually increasing over time. "Hblaven't quiblte figured oublt where exablctly I want tblo live aroublnd hblere... Any recoblmmendations?"
G: "Mblm... Wblell, iblf you wblant, yblou can stblay wiblth me. Ibl hblave room fblor you." The puffin suggested, slowly kicking to stay afloat as he stops in the middle of town.
L: "That'd woblrk for me!" The raven stops beside the puffin, starting to look just a little nervous as his urge to breathe is getting a little uncomfortable.
G: The puffin looks to him, realizing that the raven will need a breath, soon. "Iblt's not fblar." And then he grabs his wing, swimming down a path towards another building...
L: The raven goes with the puffin, little bubbles rising from his beak increasingly often over time. He doesn't say anything, conserving his air.
G: The puffin also stays quiet as he eventually stops in front of an apartment building. "Hblere wble are. Iblt's ublp on thble tenblth fbloor." Just a bit longer... He swims up the side of the building, still holding the Raven's wing.
L: With a nod and a little whine, the raven follows them up, his chest now heaving every few seconds from how much he needs air.
G: Soon... they make it up, with a door on the outside. He opens it up and pulls the raven in.
Thankfully, half of it is an air pocket, and he brings the raven up... but doesn't surface, himself.
L: The raven gasps, panting to catch his breath. "Th-thanks... G-guess you're pushing yourself again, huh?"
G: The puffin nods, playfully grabbing one of his legs to drag him back down.
L: Just barely managing to get a gasp of surprise before going under, the raven smiles at the puffin. "Yeah, I oublght to get usbled to pushing myblself too~"
G: He turns the raven around and holds his wings, slowly floating beneath the pocket above that'll soothe the slight burning in his lungs...
L: The raven closes his eyes and relaxes, calmly holding his breath for now.
G: The puffin does so, too, calmly sitting down.
If his math is right, there should be about 6 minutes left in his hold... but hopefully he can push it...
L: The raven focuses entirely on holding his breath, hardly even any bubbles leaving him as he sinks to sit down as well.
G: Every once in a while the puffin opens an eye to check in. He's happy to see him so calm, waiting for a while...
L: For a while, the raven stays perfectly calm... But after a couple minutes, his need to breathe becomes clear, his bubbles gradually becoming more frequent as his chest heaves every now and then.
G: Soon, there were light pulses in the puffin's chest. He can last a while longer, but it's getting tough... "Yblou oblkay?" He asks, trying not to lose too much air from it.
L: "Mmhm." The raven nods, trying to save air just like the puffin is. He's getting quite uncomfortable at this point, but is still fine with continuing.
G: Holding the raven's wings, he wants him to push him as far as possible... "mmm..."
L: At this point, the raven has returned to the same degree of breathlessness he'd been at before using the air pocket in the puffin's home. He's getting a little nervous about being held in place, but he trusts the puffin not to drown him.
G: The puffin smiles, keeping the raven down for a bit longer...
And, of course, if he does get pushed too far, the puffin has... a few minutes to help. "Mm... Mm..." But it's starting to hurt, a red hue around his beak.
L: The raven tries to cover his beak as he starts getting a slightly purple blush, but he can't with his wings being held. He starts instinctually squirming in the puffin's grip, struggling to keep holding on.
G: The puffin lets go of one wing... then puts a wing against his chest as it kept hurting!
L: As soon as he's able to, the raven covers his beak with that wing, whining as bubbles slip past his feathers regardless.
G: He watches closely... eventually letting go of the other wing before gripping his beak. "Mmmf!!!"
L: The raven is clearly approaching his limit, now gripping his beak with both wings as he starts kicking about in the water, his blush going blue... But, he doesn't go for the air, seemingly still wanting to push himself.
G: The puffin keeps a close eye, though his red cheeks slowly turn purple... "Mm...?" He whines in worry for the raven.
L: Shivering, the raven whimpers before a cloud of bubbles erupts from his beak as he reaches his limit. He scrambles for the air pocket, thankfully getting there in time and gasping so desperately that the puffin would be able to hear it from underwater.
G: The puffin giggles, hearing the cute little gasps... but bubbles escape him as he does, eventually forcing him to flap up to the surface! He looks more desperate than before... and adorable because of it!
L: While he's panting heavily, the raven smiles as the puffin joins him in the air pocket. "K-kinda fun... H-holding my breath... W-with a friend..."
G: The puffin smiles, gasping and panting with him as he surfaces. "Hah... g-guh... It... really is fun... to do with others..."
L: "H-ha... Even in my usual practice... Don't really push myself like that... All that often..."
G: "Usually... just push myself... to the limit every once in a while... Not often, though..."
L: "Makes sense... Can't afford to strain your lungs too much when everything's underwater, right?"
G: "Well... drowning's still a common sight around here..." He blushes. "...so don't worry. Someone will rescue you... eventually."
L: "Guess there must be a lot of lifeguards around the city, then. Don't think I noticed any on the way here..."
G: "Well... anyone can be one, really. It doesn't really matter. You're always safe when you drown... At least, every time I drown, I haven't had any risk of dying..."
L: "Glad the only real danger with that here is just passing out, I'm probably gonna end up drowning a few times myself..."
G: "Well... Everyone that needs air needs to drown, eventually..." The puffin smiles. "Anything you want to do, next?"
L: "Not really sure, still don't know much about this city... What sort of stuff do you like doing? I could try something of that out."
G: "Hm... Let's see... Well, we could take a swim out in the city. If I find anything interesting, I'll let you know."
L: "Yeah, I ought to do some more exploring anyway, gotta learn more about the city I'll be living in! We'll head out whenever you're ready."
G: With a few more gasps, he dives underwater with the biggest breath he could hold as he swims back out of the room.
L: The raven quickly prepares as well, before diving down and following the puffin back outside.
G: He swims down to the bottom of the building, kicking while waiting for the raven to come down.
L: Descending all the way down, the raven idly kicks in place in front of the puffin as he waits for them to keep going.
G: He's calm, ready to get going. He leads the way with some slow kicks.
L: The raven follows after them, looking around as he does in the hope of finding something interesting. Even if he doesn't, he's happy to be hanging out with his new friend.
G: There's absolutely something to find around here... It's a pretty big city, however. They arrive near what seems to be some kind of train station of sorts. There's a map here that they could read, at least...
L: The raven motions for the puffin to stop. "Gonna hblave a loblok at this mablp, hblang on..." Thankful he's able to see just fine underwater, he begins looking over the map.
G: The puffin nods and waits for him to see what he wants... Of course, he also checks for anything interesting.
L: "...Says hblere there's a reblstaurant close by... Ibl may as welbl try out eablting underwater, riblght? If youbl're okay with pablying, I don't hblave much."
G: "Rblighblt... It's bleen a whbile since Ibl ablte..." The puffin simply nods as he swims off for the restauraunt with the raven.
L: After a stop at another air pocket, the two arrive at the restaurant. "Wonder hblow things arble gonna woblrk hblere..."
G: Wanting to be at the same level as the raven, the puffin refused to breathe. He enters the building, and thankfully they seem to be the only ones in the waiting area.
L: Because of that, it doesn't take all that long for them to be seated, and the raven looks over the menu. "There's more obln this thblan I expeblcted!"
G: "Thbley arble surprblisingbly good cblookbls dowbln hblere..." He smiles as he reads through the menu.
L: "Good thbling I'm a fabln of seafoblod!" After about a minute, the raven has picked out what he wants.
G: Same for the puffin, and soon they're able to order.
L: "Hblopefully itbl's not gonna tablke too long fblor our food tblo get hblere, with breblath being an isblsue."
G: "We cblan alwblays sblurfablce in the bablck." He points to a sign that says "Air".
L: "Ah, dibldn't notice thblat. May as webll see hblow few breathbls we'll nebled for oublr food to ble ready, rigblht?"
G: "Mblm. Always a good place to practice." He smiles happily, calmly kicking in the seat.
L: The raven idly looks around at the other customers, noting that he and the puffin don't seem to be the only ones planning on pushing themselves.
G: The puffin does notice this, too. Maybe it's bad to worry others. "...shblould we wblait to prablctice?"
L: "...Yeah, leblt's give our lublngs a break foblr now. Plus, dobln't want to worrbly anyone aroublnd."
G: The puffin calmly holds his breath, but having not taken one with the raven, his lungs are burning lightly.
L: The raven is still pretty much fine for now, though he's feeling a slight urge to breathe at this point.
G: He waits a little, wondering when would be a good time to go get a breath. But at least they're fine. Maybe they can get their food before their lungs hurt more.
L: "Earlier, yoblu said you'd drblowned before... Whblat hblappened? And what wabls it like?"
G: "Weblbl..." He thinks for a bit. "It dbloes hurblt a lblot... Anbld evenbltually, it gbloes ablway, and then... jblust calmbl... Abls for hblow I dblrownbled... Jblublst wblaiblted too lblong anbld cblouldn't sblurface inbl timble."
L: "Hblope I dobln't end up mablking the sablme mistake... But Ibl suppose I'm prbobably going tblo find out hblow it feels fblor myself evenbltually, hbluh?"
G: "Iblt'll be fbline." The puffin smiles as he calmly kicks. "Ibl canbl alwaybls accomblpany yblou abls yblou drowbln. Willinblgly drblowninblg ibls qublite commblon."
L: "...If you'll hblelp me through iblt, yeah, thblink I want tblo try out drblowning after thblis. Hblopefully it's noblt awful."
G: "Sblamble." He nods in response, smiling while still waiting. "...mm... Aiblr..."
L: "Are you sublre you don't wablnt to breblathe? It might stibll be a whblile until our foblod's ready." The raven is starting to get a bit of strain himself at this point, but he doesn't really mind it yet.
G: "...Mgbl..." He does wonder how much longer it'll be, but he pushes away from the table and begins swimming for the back. "Mmm!!!!"
L: "Y-yeah, mble too..." The raven swims from the table and heads to the back to breathe as well.
G: The puffin looks rather adorable when stressed like this... He soon reaches the back and swims up to get a breath...
L: Smiling at how cute the puffin's struggles are, the raven follows them up and starts catching his breath.
G: The puffin gasps heavily, flapping a little to help. "Hah... hah..."
L: "G-glad this isn't too far away, we're probably gonna have to come back here during our meal... Well, I'LL probably have to, anyway."
G: The puffin smiles. "Well... unless you're fine with grabbing some air from me..."
L: "...I-I've never done that before... But I guess I could give it a try." The raven blushes.
G: "I've... done it a few times, so I have practice." He blushes and dives under, again, with the deepest gasp he could.
L: With another full breath, the raven dives down to join the puffin again, starting to swim back to their table.
G: He waits patiently for the food. "...hmblm... Nblormalbly it doesnbl't take thblis lonblg..."
L: "Probably notblhing to worry ablout, I don't miblnd waiting thblis long. The noveblty of an undblerwater resbltaurant hblasn't really woblrn off for mble yet."
G: "Mblayble yblou'rble rblighblt... Jblust neebld to waiblt."
L: The raven keeps on waiting, starting to get a bit low on breath again in the process.
G: The puffin swims closer to him, ready to help when needed. "Iblt's OK... I'm hblere..."
L: "Right, shblaring air..." The raven blushes as he looks at all the people around. "I-I'm fiblne for noblw."
G: There's another couple that seems to be doing the same... Of course, the puffin ignores it, sitting back down...
L: Gradually, the raven starts to struggle more and more... Eventually, just before he starts feeling he needs to cover his beak again, he looks at the puffin. "N-need aiblr..."
G: The puffin blushes and nods before pulling him in, locking beaks as he exhales into him. "Mm... Mmgbl..." It did feel... lovely, though.
L: The raven blushes at the kiss, but gratefully inhales from the puffin. He does at least find himself warming up to it some...
G: The puffin enjoys the feeling after a while. But as soon as he gave enough, he would pull away and sit down.
L: "That wabls a lot bebltter than I exblpected... Glad I'm acbltually gonna ble enjoying it whblen we do it ibln the future." The raven settles back into his seat.
G: "I lblove it, tbloo. Lblet me knblow when yblou need anblother kbliss." He puts his wings on the table, smiling.
L: The raven almost sighs in boredom before remembering that wouldn't be good here. "This reablly is taking abl long time..."
G: "...Mm... Whbly...?" He wonders what's happening... He doesn't want to complain, but he'd rather not have to breathe again before eating...
L: "Maybe we shblould ask sombleone what's takbling so long? Sublrely this isn't a norblmal amount of tiblme, right?"
G: "...Mm... Ybleah." He nods before swimming off the chair, again. But he ignored breathing, again.
L: The raven hops off his chair again as well, putting aside his returning need to breathe as he looks for an employee to talk to.
G: "umbl... hblello?" The puffin calls out lightly, looking for an employee... "Isbl... everyblthing okaybl...?"
L: Soon, a swordfish that seems to work there addresses the customers. "Sorry about the delay, folks. The head chef pushed themselves too far and ended up drowning, but they've been revived and it shouldn't be much longer."
Raven: "I was soblrt of thinking thblat hblad hblappened..."
G: "O-Ohbl..." He laughs a little, but then the puffin starts struggling. "...Mmgbl... Lblet's go bablck..."
As they spoke, there were others speaking. "Again?" "Wish I could've seen that." "Ablt least Ibl wasn'blt the firblst to drown, thblis time..."
L: "You sublre do enjoy pusblhing yourself... I'll problably start liblking that too ablt some point." The raven swims back to the table, returning to his seat.
G: The puffin smiles as he swims back to the seats, as well. "Mm... Mblm..." He blushes brightly, wanting to wait a little more before refilling his emptying lungs.
L: The raven feels like doing the same, trying his best to ignore the slight burning beginning to form in his lungs as a few bubbles leave his beak.
G: A concerning amount leaves the puffin, especially with his chest heaving quite often. Would drowning be fine if even the head chef did so...?
L: Though he knows he'll be safe if he drowns, the raven is concerned about how drowning might feel, and starts feeling a little unsure about continuing to push himself...
G: He swims closer to the raven, smiling and holding his wing. "Yblou don't hablve to... but I'mbl here..."
L: "M-mayble later... Kind of wablnt my first tblo be with onbly you aroublnd..."
G: "...Mmblm... Mm..." He nods in response, swimming back for the air pocket. "mm! Mm!"
L: The raven starts swimming there as well, getting the faintest hint of purple on his face as he does.
G: The puffin struggles to surface, gasping heavily for breath inside the pocket, once more.
L: Just a moment later, the raven surfaces as well, gasping alongside the puffin, the purple on his face quickly fading away.
G: "Hah... hah... A-At least... we won't need to wait much longer...
L: "Y-yeah... Gotta be soon, finally... Wonder if we'll be able to... Eat it all on one breath..."
G: "Hah... M-Maybe we can..." He smiles as he dives down with a full breath.
L: The raven gasps a couple more times before holding his breath, going back down with the puffing and heading back to his seat once more.
G: The puffin sits down with him, again, sitting close by while waiting for the food.
L: Not too much later, their food is finally brought to them. "Again, sorry that took so long," the waiter says.
G: "Iblt's OK. We abll drownbl sombletimes." He chuckles as he gets the food he ordered.
L: "Never trblied eating underblwater before, this'll ble interesting..." The raven carefully starts eating.
G: "Iblt takes prablctice." The puffin eats it carefully, but he's more experienced at it.
L: "Nice that wble don't reablly need to geblt a separatble drink with thblis, hbluh?"
G: "Nblot really. Easbly to drink whenbl you neebld to blreablthe." He jokes, continuing to eat.
L: "Suppose it cobluld be called thblat, it does stblill get liquid ibln you, hbluh?" He chuckles out some bubbles.
G: The puffin smiles as he eats. At least 10 minutes is plenty of time to eat it all...
L: 4 minutes, though, not so much, as the raven starts straining to hold his breath during the meal.
G: Noticing the struggle, the puffin nearly jumps off the chair to help. But stayed back, continuing to eat.
L: The raven manages to keep going for another 30 seconds or so before his blush starts to tint purple again. "C-can yoblu give me aiblr again?"
G: The puffin nods before pulling him into another air kiss, sharing enough to hopefully make it through the rest of the meal.
L: "Thblanks." The raven resumes eating, and after another minute or so he's done, relaxing in his seat again. "Whblo would've thoublght food made unblderwater could ble so good..."
G: "Iblt feels sblo stranblge... but I canbl't imaginble eatinblg in aiblr." The puffin calms down a little, despite his lungs burning from the air sharing.
L: "You mublst hblave been living hblere a pretty loblng time then, hbluh?"
G: "Ablt lbleast... 2 months? Noblt that lblong, bublt still..."
L: "Man, not gobling to the reblal surface in thblat long... Thblat's gonna feebl weird for mble too."
G: "Iblt is stblranblge... Air pockeblts make it feebl a loblt cloblser than it ibls. Sometimbles even trbly swimming up tblo the rbleal surblface."
L: "I can tebll it's gonna ble hblard to get usbled to not sebleing the surfblace when I loblok up outside, toblo..."
G: "Ablt lbleast it's a gblood way to prblactice freediblvint. Cabln alwaybls surblface with thoblse diving bellbls."
L: "Yeah, I sublppose so. Thblink it's about tiblme we got goiblng, what about yoblu?" The raven is starting to feel some strain again, but he tries not to show it.
G: The puffin simply nods, feeling slightly worse off compared to the raven. After settling the bill, he would flap and swim out of the building. "Mm... Whblere elbse...?"
L: "I-is there a goblod place where Ibl could go foblr my first drblowning? I feblel ready to fiblnd out what itbl's like..."
G: "Mblm... Cblould alwaybls go bablck home..." He suggested. "...unbless you'bld rablther gblet... Mmmf..."
L: "Th-think I'd rablther do it... B-bacblk at your plblace..." The raven holds a wing to his beak as he looks around for an air source.
G: There's one nearby. The puffin wants to breathe badly... but he isn't sure if he wants to hold off on it...
Another heave made him reconsider, and he swims for it with both wings against his beak.
L: Despite his intent to soon let himself drown, the raven heads for the air pocket as well, not quite ready for that yet.
G: It's a bit of a swim back to the building. He doesn't say anything and simply dives back under as he heads for his room.
L: The raven follows, looking a little nervous as he thinks about how he's going to intentionally drown soon...
G: It'll be fine, since he won't be alone...
Back at the apartment, the puffin would smile as he cautiously relaxes on the bottom.
L: The raven sits down on the bottom as well, looking up at the air pocket... "Do you hblave some way tblo keep me frblom going up anbld breathing? Ibl doubt I'll ble able to stop myblself..."
G: The puffin nods and smiles, swimming back to grab some cuffs to put on their talons and lock them against a railing. He keeps the keys to himself and smiles.
L: "Alright, thblanks... C-can't beblieve I'm doing thblis..." He tries his best to relax, but he knows that no matter what, the next time he inhales he'll be flooding his lungs...
G: He smiles at the raven. But the puffin would be by his side. He held the raven's wings with a smile.
L: The raven gives a nervous smile back as he feels his lungs beginning to strain. "Mm...Mmmm..."
G: The puffin urges him on... but wonders if they should drown together... "...mblm...?"
L: Not really knowing what the puffin means, the raven focuses on putting off his inevitable gasp for as long as possible, not wanting to intentionally inhale.
G: He eventually gives some air to the raven, enough to balance them out...
He knows the raven wants to drown... but maybe having someone drown with him will also help.
L: Getting what the puffin has in mind, the raven accepts the air, glad he's not going to be the only one to drown once that finally happens.
G: Of course, he's glad to be willing to drown with his new partner. He holds the raven's wings once again.
L: The raven smiles at the puffin and hugs them, already feeling quite a bit better about what's coming.
G: Thankfully, they are close enough to hug each other, and it's quite comfortable. A red hue appears on his face.
L: The raven is blushing again as well, trying to stay calm as his need to breathe returns over time.
G: Same for the puffin, as his body shakes. He nearly let go and try to swim up, but stayed down. Not like he'll be let up, anyway, with the cuffs locking him down.
L: Unable to relax, the raven puts both wings to his beak to try to keep himself from losing air as his blush turns a little purple, though it hardly helps.
G: The puffin whimpers and eventually does the same, kicking his webbed talons with desperation and a want to breathe. But he refused to grab the key to let them go. He's going for as long as he can...
L: The raven soon starts squirming as well, kicking about as he approaches his limit. He still doesn't try to surface, for what it's worth, but his burning lungs can't take much more.
G: He whines and flaps his wings, wanting to breathe so badly! His face turns blue, and he's starting to lose his will to hold his breath!
L: More and more bubbles leave the raven... Until he can't hold his breath any more. His beak opens wide and bubbles pour out as he frantically tries to swim up, but the cuffs successfully hold him in place. All he can do now is hold back from inhaling as his own face goes blue as well.
G: The puffin whimpers and flaps as he exhales the rest of the air in his lungs! Soon, he grabs his beak, still kicking in a vain attempt to escape and breathe!
L: The raven squawks with the last of the air in him, before he gasps the water! His wings now moving to his neck, he chokes and thrashes as he keeps trying to get loose, still not going anywhere.
G: Suddenly, the puffin would gasp and choke, too, flapping even more desperately with a muffled cry... It hurts so much, but... but the pain would soon calm...
L: Soon, the raven's choked gasps turn to calm breaths, his flooded body sinking onto the floor as he tries to stay conscious, blearily looking around.
G: The puffin smiles, sinking down to the bottom while barely counscious. He holds the raven's wing with a slight smile while trying to stay awake.
L: The drowned raven smiles back, just barely able to focus enough to say something. "...thhanksss..." Despite his best efforts to not pass out, he's quickly losing his strength, hardly able to move.
G: The puffin smiles and weakly breathes. he's able to stay awake for a while to help comfort the raven, but even he can't last on breathing water forever. Soon, he slowly fainted with a weak hug to the raven.
L: Not too long after, the raven's awareness fades away entirely... And he goes limp, unconscious and still hugging the puffin.
G: After a while, the two would eventually wake up in an air pocket...
The puffin coughs and gasps heavily...
L: The raven hacks up the water from his lungs as he comes to awareness as well, not managing to open his eyes just yet.
G: The puffin looks over and smiles, his vision barely coming into view as he breathed heavily...
L: The raven manages to smile back a little. "H-how... H-how are we... O-okay?"
G: He laughs a bit. "W-We were... rescued... h-hah..."
L: "H-hah... A-alright..." The raven lays on his back, focusing on just recovering for now.
G: The puffin smiles as he gasps, hugging the raven with one wing lightly. "It's... hard to get used to..."
L: "Y-yeah, I can tell..." The raven hugs them back, looking around for whoever it was that saved the two.
G: Looks like a turtle helped the two. She smiles as she comes in to check in. "You two OK?"
The puffin nods. "Thanks for helping."
L: "Think I'm fine, yeah... Thanks, was sort of wondering how it works here when someone drowns."
G: "Well... I'm not sure why, but you can practically stay drowned forever and be fine..." The turtle would say. "But I actually run the apartments your friend lives in. I don't usually barge in, but we have sensors to detect anyone who fully drowns..."
The puffin blushes. "...sorry for that, heh..."
L: "Glad to know I'll always be okay! And yeah, sorry for putting you out a bit like that, but I imagine you're used to it."
G: "oh... very much." She laughs as she leaves the two.
"...Well... it still felt nice to drown with someone else..." The puffin blushes as he looks to the raven.
L: "Even with that being my first, yeah, I can tell having a partner for it makes it a lot better!"
G: he smiles at the raven. "It's a bit tiring, though... Heh... Still a little shaken by it."
L: "Definitely gonna need to be careful for a while, two drownings in a row is probably gonna make me feel awful."
G: "It probably would. We can rest at home, for now."
L: "Yeah, drowning really took a lot out of me... Kind of saw it coming, but not really to this degree."
G: He laughs a bit. "Let's head back, then. It's not a long swim, and I can help you up."
L: "I'll probably be fine, if it's not very far. Thanks, though."
G: "Oh, no problem." The puffin smiles as he heads out the exit, back out into the main city submerged beneath the water
L: The raven follows with a held breath, though he can tell he won't be able to last quite as long as before with his lungs still sore.
G: Thankfully, like the puffin said, it's not a long swim back towards their home. Just a swim up and they're back inside. With a huge air pocket above.
L: After swimming up to the air pocket, the raven exhales again. "Think I'm really gonna like living in this city..."
G: "I'm happy to be with you!" He smiles. "I do have a bed, up here in the pocket. It's the only room in here that isn't submerged."
L: "Makes sense, we're nowhere NEAR being able to sleep underwater. Ha, wouldn't it be cool if we could?"
G: "Oh... I wish I could." He laughs a little. "Even our turtle friend can't last a whole night underwater."
L: "Yeah, I doubt anyone that needs air would be able to do that... Maybe we'll find a way someday, who knows?"
G: "It'll take a lot of practice..." He heads into the room, leading the raven inside.
L: The raven ruffles his feathers as he follows, drying himself off some.
G: The puffin does the same as he leads him to the bedroom, yawning. "It's been a long day..."
L: "Yeah, it was a long trip for me to get to this city... Gonna be nice to finally head to bed."
G: He shows off the guest bedroom. Decently roomy and a good place to live, at least. Next to it is the puffin's main bedroom, which isn't much different.
L: "Alright, thanks for showing me around, I'm gonna head to bed." The raven starts heading for the guest room, and yawns. "Good night..."
G: "Good night." The puffin smiles as he heads to his own bed, too.
L: The raven lays down on the guest bed. So exhausted from both the day and his earlier drowning, it's not very long before he falls asleep.
![[RP LOG] The unexpected monster encounter](https://va.ib.metapix.net/images80/overlays/writing.png "[RP LOG] The unexpected monster encounter"){kind=small}
