[ ko would’ve been taken beneath the lake’s surface too, had he not taken his gun, and, without the inhibition of fear to paralize him into expanding hesitation, put it to his head and pulled the trigger. vines and grey matter were left spewed on the floor of his bathroom, and half of that mess ended up staying when he saw the others out the window of his studio’s workplace as he twisted a red soaked cloth dry. they’re following . . . something. one, two, maybe more. shouting out the window doesn’t get the attention of their hive minds. so, he follows. he doesn’t know to where and hopes that by the time he’s out the door, he doesn’t lose them. managing to catch one, a young man plagued by these bitch weeds, ko ends up wheezing once he manages to the edge of the lake cain has walked himself into— exhausted by the takeaway of manna to reset, but still forcing his hands to clap at his knees and shout out. ]
Hey . . . Hey!
[ his heart leaps when he sees bubbles, when he sees that the other doesn’t come up, neither does he seem to make an effort to swim beyond splashes and— no one does that unless—
ko hardly wastes time in removing his clothes, even his shoes, genuine concern ravaging his heart into action to jump into the water with a shattering splash and pull the other man back up. he just had to find him . . . having not noticed he could breathe down here, ko still holds his breath as he navigates beneath the water and how goddamn dark it is, even with his eyes open. something pulls him anyway, a change in flow and the sound of gargling.
he promised himself he’d be there for anyone who was in need after the first time he died alone and lacked the company to find him, and take him to a hospital— he wouldn’t let the same happen with this guy, much less by drowning. even that, ko knew what it was like to inhale water until you asphyxiated with the burning from the inside. it’s that level of determination that finally gets him to brush into something at the bottom of this damned thing.
another race his heart is put into in an instant. water weeds, or the person? he hasn’t needed to inhale, and feels around for a limb, or a shoulder, or head, in that same spot, uplifting dirt into rising clouds as he did. come on, he was running out— ]
[After that, survival overrides all other reason, to a point where the hands on him lead to an animal scrambling that hinders more than it helps. Underwater, he latches onto the slippery body of someone else, grasp finding shoulders to cling to with bloodless terror. The water is dark with disturbed silt; he can't see anything.
It isn't the first time he's faced his own death. In some sense, he had faced it every day with the Alliance, each time he buckled himself into the starfighter and put his hands on the controls. But that always felt like an even gamble: he could fight his way to victory so long as he was skilled enough. He had a chance. It was that razor's edge he appreciated most, splintering hot and vital through every nerve and bone, because it taught him to value how hard it was to keep himself alive against all odds.
This isn't a fair match. It's simply drowning, dying, lungs filling with water to replace all of the air that was there before.
Cain clings to the other body like a child, arms wrapped around broad shoulders and legs intertwined, desperate not to be alone as he drags his would-be savior down with him.]
[ oh, damn it— how was he supposed to say “calm down” down here? as relieved as ko was to finally feel something human latch back onto his underwater probing, overwhelming ease began to twist into a grand panic. he’s trying to swim back up regardless, free some of his limbs from the vice gripe, just enough to get them both closer to ascending.
but it takes a horrid amount of effort to feel like he moved an inch out of place, and that if he did. ko’s chest burned for air, and he could only blow bubbles out in protest. if he died down here, would he come back with enough air to bring them up—? by the time he desperately thought that (which was a stupid idea, he’d just keep drowning until he hardened into a crystal), ko was frightened to the brim when his brain forced him to inhale—
he was waiting for the same painful ache amongst this agonizing splashing around, but what he gets is clean oxygen. he doesn’t inhale water, but the particles of air within it much like a fish. how, is asking the wrong person. being simple-minded has its perks. for one, even amidst the surprise and frenzy, he thinks, stupidly:
[ we all know he meant CPR, which is the worst idea someone could think of doing to a conscious drowning person, but. unfortunately (or, fortunately), ko never got to doing first aid in school.
this might be the worst kiss to start off, too, in cain’s distress. here’s some dude he can’t even see right, feeling for his shoulders, his head, and once he’s got a good grip on his from both sides, ko seals the other’s lips tight, tries to blow in to no avail because there was actually nothing to blow. his chest, where his gem is embedded wants to shine and only trickles with fissures of light giving cain an emotional outreach to openly take just as quickly as he’d grapple for him earlier. something does happen, and how wouldn’t properly be explained beyond the realization that when he’d breathe again, it wasn’t water killing him.
it would pull what he’d inhaled out of him like a sponge, replaced with comfort, soundness, and freshness just like the air over the lake’s surface. ]
[It doesn't even initially register as a kiss. More than anything, it feels like survival, a tease of air after choking seconds without, the burn in his lungs at an unbearable point as unconsciousness begins to prickle black in the corners of his awareness. This is the last chance. Cain latches onto it automatically, fingertips gouging into broad shoulders in a bruising grasp as their mouths seal together and he inhales, even if there's nothing to swallow. It doesn't matter; soon, the brutal cage of breathlessness eases around his lungs and he begins to breathe again, filtering particles through thick lake water. That blue gem is an eerie glow in the murky darkness, but it causes his eyes to blink open in bewilderment and focus on the boy he's desperately clinging to.
Who… the fuck?
Even as Cain's head goes back like a horse trying to shake off some persistent itch, relief washes clear-headedness back in. He's not dying. He's not going to die. His mouth opens in a burst of bubbles to impulsively try to speak, voice a low warbling vibration that forms no intelligible words.
Then, in the corner of his eye, he sees a dark shape streaking toward them. Cain's foot comes out to kick it on the head(?) reflexively—a slow, inarticulate movement but enough to stun the creature and send it lashing off in a different direction. One of his arms waves wildly after, the other still wrapped around the boy's shoulders, legs kicking uselessly, still not knowing how to use his body to swim. He tries to mouth words through more bubbles:
[ ko was nearly beaming with relief to the point that his teeth were so close to exposing in the warm glow in using manna— a crooked smile that doesn't last when water sloshes around their ears with movement. a fish? the dude just kicked it, and the accelerated beat of his heart had made ko forget the stinging around his shoulders when the vice grip clamped around it.
he could barely make out what it was, but it wasn't in their interest to stick around long enough to find out. its what ko hoped for when he nodded curtly secured his hand around the other's to emphasize keep his grip on him before using all his limbs: forward, thrusting back, and kicking to cut through the water in the way and move. not only does he swim, ko manipulates the flow of water in his favor, with each flag and swipe of his arms, or kick of his legs.
that makes for quite the fast swimmer, but so was the beast lurking just at the corner of murkiness in their eyes. by the time its gained the same bursting momentum, it's already upon them with a whack—
one that ko tries his best to evade with flexibility at best, but always, go damn always making sure he's the shield in between. ]
[He sees the smile through the murky water, squinting with incomprehension, but all of that slides away as he's pulled forward by that unnaturally powerful momentum. Cain didn't even know somebody could swim so well; he wants to ask about it, but he doesn't have the mental wherewithal after what he had just endured, let alone the ability to speak underwater.
Unprepared for the next assault, he makes a choked gurgling sound of shock and protest as the other boy gets between them, making himself the most immediate target. Sound is far away and muffled—still, he can almost hear the sound of flesh tearing, something dark clouding the water from a source he can't see, everything confused and turned around as soon as the chaos of movement happens. Unthinking and acting only on instinct, he kicks another leg out in the direction of that black shape beneath them, feeling the sole of his foot to come into contact with something firm and slippery.
They're free again, and this time Cain is also desperately trying to kick his way to the surface while clinging to his savior. As soon as heads break through lake water, he's gasping to breathe normally, hair pasted across his eyes.]
What—the fuck— [half-choking, lungs an after-burn even now that he isn't drowning,] who… are you…
[ ko spits the water that clings to his lips out in hasty exhales when they burst to the top, finally able to wade through the thinning surface and can collect his feet on the lake's eventual shore (it takes some kicks, though). even if their clothes were drenched and heavy, he made sure to keep fucking walking, or better yet, run, until the water went from their necks to their chests to their shins. splashes pounce to the mud and grass, and once ko's knees can finally hit earth, he lets the other go from his piggy-back hold and rolls sideways onto the forest ground.
it's only now apparent that the torn fabric sticking to his stomach bleed with a deep black color that webbed and dripped like paint. in the light, it'd be red, having yet to feel the full impact of pain while adrenaline took the wheel of sensation. ]
Ko, hell, [ if he's heaving, it's because of the workout, and not because of the air, he had plenty, for one. man, the dude— the dude had the thing (helpful; he means the sickness). to help the sputtering from cain, ko claps his hand against his back. ] you okay?
[As soon as Cain lands on solid ground, he twists away, rolling across dirt until he's hunched over his own knees in a curl. His whole body is shaking. Feverish chills cut through him in waves, sick with the illness that has plagued him, nausea roiling in his gut. With a heave, he empties the contents of his stomach--just sour, clear bile and lake water, last meal he's had already several hours ago. The vines are still embedded in his flesh, but they appear to be wilted from the struggle if not completely gone.
His head aches. He can't seem to think clearly. The last few minutes of pure adrenaline and survival have briefly washed out whatever had hold of him, but he can feel it beginning to creep back in, like a dark shroud. Coughing violently, he can't yet respond to the boy next to him.]
Shit… something's… wrong…
[Cain manages an animalistic snarl before a rush of power courses through him, driven by his overactive gem, fists punching the ground in bursts of fire to leave scorched marks behind. In pained warning:]
[ the acrid fumes of vomit is easy enough to ignore with a lift of his head in the opposite direction, cradling his side and tipping his weight to and extending arm to stand. of course, ko intends to trek towards his new friend (yes, he thinks so already!) and offer some help in getting up himself, or at the very least with intention to place his hand on his back.
he startles backward from the flash of light more than the warning, but immediately brings both his heads up in harmless gesture; one shines clean with the wetness from the lake, the other is dirtied red. ]
S'alright, Hey! I'm the water one, [ he needs to focus and tries to with a purse of his lips, flitting his tongue over them and squeezing his eyes shut just a little harder. his manna, on the other hand, was beginning to wane, but he manage the rise of the droplets from their drenched bodies into the air for a straining few seconds— before they pelt the earth at once, like momentary rain. ] see? Water sizzles fire.
[ that's one way to put it, but he feel confident enough to approach and reassures it. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cw mentions of self harm + suicide
Hey . . . Hey!
[ his heart leaps when he sees bubbles, when he sees that the other doesn’t come up, neither does he seem to make an effort to swim beyond splashes and— no one does that unless—
ko hardly wastes time in removing his clothes, even his shoes, genuine concern ravaging his heart into action to jump into the water with a shattering splash and pull the other man back up. he just had to find him . . . having not noticed he could breathe down here, ko still holds his breath as he navigates beneath the water and how goddamn dark it is, even with his eyes open. something pulls him anyway, a change in flow and the sound of gargling.
he promised himself he’d be there for anyone who was in need after the first time he died alone and lacked the company to find him, and take him to a hospital— he wouldn’t let the same happen with this guy, much less by drowning. even that, ko knew what it was like to inhale water until you asphyxiated with the burning from the inside. it’s that level of determination that finally gets him to brush into something at the bottom of this damned thing.
another race his heart is put into in an instant. water weeds, or the person? he hasn’t needed to inhale, and feels around for a limb, or a shoulder, or head, in that same spot, uplifting dirt into rising clouds as he did. come on, he was running out— ]
no subject
It isn't the first time he's faced his own death. In some sense, he had faced it every day with the Alliance, each time he buckled himself into the starfighter and put his hands on the controls. But that always felt like an even gamble: he could fight his way to victory so long as he was skilled enough. He had a chance. It was that razor's edge he appreciated most, splintering hot and vital through every nerve and bone, because it taught him to value how hard it was to keep himself alive against all odds.
This isn't a fair match. It's simply drowning, dying, lungs filling with water to replace all of the air that was there before.
Cain clings to the other body like a child, arms wrapped around broad shoulders and legs intertwined, desperate not to be alone as he drags his would-be savior down with him.]
(1/2)
but it takes a horrid amount of effort to feel like he moved an inch out of place, and that if he did. ko’s chest burned for air, and he could only blow bubbles out in protest. if he died down here, would he come back with enough air to bring them up—? by the time he desperately thought that (which was a stupid idea, he’d just keep drowning until he hardened into a crystal), ko was frightened to the brim when his brain forced him to inhale—
he was waiting for the same painful ache amongst this agonizing splashing around, but what he gets is clean oxygen. he doesn’t inhale water, but the particles of air within it much like a fish. how, is asking the wrong person. being simple-minded has its perks. for one, even amidst the surprise and frenzy, he thinks, stupidly:
”i can do CNN!” ]
(2/2)
this might be the worst kiss to start off, too, in cain’s distress. here’s some dude he can’t even see right, feeling for his shoulders, his head, and once he’s got a good grip on his from both sides, ko seals the other’s lips tight, tries to blow in to no avail because there was actually nothing to blow. his chest, where his gem is embedded wants to shine and only trickles with fissures of light giving cain an emotional outreach to openly take just as quickly as he’d grapple for him earlier. something does happen, and how wouldn’t properly be explained beyond the realization that when he’d breathe again, it wasn’t water killing him.
it would pull what he’d inhaled out of him like a sponge, replaced with comfort, soundness, and freshness just like the air over the lake’s surface. ]
no subject
Who… the fuck?
Even as Cain's head goes back like a horse trying to shake off some persistent itch, relief washes clear-headedness back in. He's not dying. He's not going to die. His mouth opens in a burst of bubbles to impulsively try to speak, voice a low warbling vibration that forms no intelligible words.
Then, in the corner of his eye, he sees a dark shape streaking toward them. Cain's foot comes out to kick it on the head(?) reflexively—a slow, inarticulate movement but enough to stun the creature and send it lashing off in a different direction. One of his arms waves wildly after, the other still wrapped around the boy's shoulders, legs kicking uselessly, still not knowing how to use his body to swim. He tries to mouth words through more bubbles:
Fucking go!]
no subject
he could barely make out what it was, but it wasn't in their interest to stick around long enough to find out. its what ko hoped for when he nodded curtly secured his hand around the other's to emphasize keep his grip on him before using all his limbs: forward, thrusting back, and kicking to cut through the water in the way and move. not only does he swim, ko manipulates the flow of water in his favor, with each flag and swipe of his arms, or kick of his legs.
that makes for quite the fast swimmer, but so was the beast lurking just at the corner of murkiness in their eyes. by the time its gained the same bursting momentum, it's already upon them with a whack—
one that ko tries his best to evade with flexibility at best, but always, go damn always making sure he's the shield in between. ]
no subject
Unprepared for the next assault, he makes a choked gurgling sound of shock and protest as the other boy gets between them, making himself the most immediate target. Sound is far away and muffled—still, he can almost hear the sound of flesh tearing, something dark clouding the water from a source he can't see, everything confused and turned around as soon as the chaos of movement happens. Unthinking and acting only on instinct, he kicks another leg out in the direction of that black shape beneath them, feeling the sole of his foot to come into contact with something firm and slippery.
They're free again, and this time Cain is also desperately trying to kick his way to the surface while clinging to his savior. As soon as heads break through lake water, he's gasping to breathe normally, hair pasted across his eyes.]
What—the fuck— [half-choking, lungs an after-burn even now that he isn't drowning,] who… are you…
no subject
it's only now apparent that the torn fabric sticking to his stomach bleed with a deep black color that webbed and dripped like paint. in the light, it'd be red, having yet to feel the full impact of pain while adrenaline took the wheel of sensation. ]
Ko, hell, [ if he's heaving, it's because of the workout, and not because of the air, he had plenty, for one. man, the dude— the dude had the thing (helpful; he means the sickness). to help the sputtering from cain, ko claps his hand against his back. ] you okay?
no subject
His head aches. He can't seem to think clearly. The last few minutes of pure adrenaline and survival have briefly washed out whatever had hold of him, but he can feel it beginning to creep back in, like a dark shroud. Coughing violently, he can't yet respond to the boy next to him.]
Shit… something's… wrong…
[Cain manages an animalistic snarl before a rush of power courses through him, driven by his overactive gem, fists punching the ground in bursts of fire to leave scorched marks behind. In pained warning:]
Get the fuck away from me!
no subject
he startles backward from the flash of light more than the warning, but immediately brings both his heads up in harmless gesture; one shines clean with the wetness from the lake, the other is dirtied red. ]
S'alright, Hey! I'm the water one, [ he needs to focus and tries to with a purse of his lips, flitting his tongue over them and squeezing his eyes shut just a little harder. his manna, on the other hand, was beginning to wane, but he manage the rise of the droplets from their drenched bodies into the air for a straining few seconds— before they pelt the earth at once, like momentary rain. ] see? Water sizzles fire.
[ that's one way to put it, but he feel confident enough to approach and reassures it. ]