[SE] You really otter learn how to swim

He'd had to ask around to figure out what a Glotter was, but luckily he hadn't had to go far. As it turned out, they were recent additions to the Greatwood in the past year, and while they were big they weren't particularly dangerous. They just liked shiny things!

Tal had heaved an even larger sigh than usual upon learning that and asking his sisters for some bait.

Because of course they'd pointed out that the best way to get a glotter to actually hit his vest would be to make the Vest shiny.

So he'd been given a shirt decked out in tinsel and glitter and then returned to the Greatwood to sit beside the Stonesong, glaring into the water and daring a glotter to show up and have an opinion.

Boreal was sunning herself on a rock in the middle of the rushing river, which was why she didn't realize that the glotter wasn't coming from the river. It was on its way back, and when it saw Tal in all his shiny glory its little black eyes lit up and it gathered its muscles, wiggling with joy before launching itself down the hill and directly at the back of the courier as he was turning around to face it.

It hit him like a ton of bricks in the chest and knocked him back into the water before Boreal could get airborn. Tal let out a strangled: "Fuc--!" before water filled his mouth and the sound of thrashing water and desperate glubs filled the once-peaceful stretch of river as the glotter tried to drag him under.

The white dragon circled overhead in increasing distress, roaring and making aborted dives at the surface of the water, but unable to get her claws into the big beastie that was wrestling her human to a watery grave.

Sah

Sah

Sah and his wolves had been out hunting when they heard the roaring. The voice was familiar, but the distress was as new as it was haunting. Cold dread washed over the Abandoned as he took off sprinting, Lilly and Pad at his heels. As they ran towards where Tal and Boreal were clearly in trouble, Lilly let out a howl to let her friend know that help was on the way.

Skidding to a stop as he breached the tree line, Sah's eyes widened as he saw Boreal dive down and swoop over the water. There was thrashing water and the pieces fell into place in the span of a heartbeat. "Fuck!" Dropping his bag, Sah ran over and dove into the water, eyes scanning till he spotted Tal being dragged down by an unknown creature.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Boreal was frantic as she felt her human's panic through the bond. Although she was a capable enough swimmer on her own - as long as the water was shallow and calm - she wasn't good at diving and had no idea how to fight underwater.

Tal, on the other hand, had almost drowned once and hadn't been back in water deeper than a bathtub since.

After one flailing arm had bumped its nose, the glotter had darted around behind Tal and wrapped its short arms around his chest, out of the way of his thrashing attempts to drag himself back to the surface. Since he didn't know how to swim the efforts weren't particularly coordinated, and the bubbles rising from their battle were beginning to slow as the air in his lungs leaked out and wasn't replaced.

The glotter was swimming backwards, dragging him deeper towards its lair with cheerful disregard for the life it was ending in the name of shiny-hunting when Sah cut into the water like a knife. There was a flash of recognition in Tal's eyes and he redoubled his attempts to get free. One little paw slipped loose and the glotter looked back to reattach itself to its prey--

And, spotting Sah, it bared its teeth and began swimming away in earnest with its prey.

Sah

The creature had spotted him, and it clearly thought Sah was trying to steal its prize. It wasn't wrong, but the Abandoned could care less about the shiny vest. All that mattered was getting Tal. Silently baring his teeth back in response, he began to swim down as fast as he could, keeping his eyes on the courier the entire time.

Meanwhile, Lilly and Pad both leapt into the water, trying to circle above the creature's head and block it from moving away from the shore. If Sah could pin it against the rocks, then maybe he'd be able to grab Talyson before it dove too deep. He had no doubt that it could dive deeper than either human could survive. He needed to act before it came to that.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Tal cared about the vest, but at the moment he was caring about getting oxygen into his lungs a lot more. For better or worse, however, the magical garment was firmly attached to him and not coming off any time soon - certainly not while a glotter had deemed him part of the package deal.

It must have been his sparkling personality.

The glotter was going down, not across the water, so Lilly and Pad didn't bother it, but Sah's swift swimming - without having to battle a struggling human bigger than he was - was able to catch up, placing him conveniently close enough for Tal's grasping hand to latch onto the hunter, panicked fingers holding tight as his downward progress stalled but his vision began to go grey and hazy at the edges as his chest burned with fire in spite of the water surrounding him.

The glotter tugged against the humans and then eeled over Tal's shoulder to try and bite at Sah's fingers in possessive frustration, black eyes glittering with greed and annoyance at being denied the shiny thing it wanted.

Sah

Sah's hand shot forward and grabbed Tal's wrist, just barely missing the teeth of the pissed off creature. Once he made contact, the Abandoned forced his magic to cooperate with him. He'd never done something like what he was about to attempt, but he'd heard it was possible.

Calling upon his air and water magic, he felt the mageglass against his chest warm slightly. The oxygen in the water separated, bubbling around them until two life-sustaining bubbles incases the heads of Tal and Sah. Taking a much-needed deep breath, Sah snarled at the animal, and firmly tugged at Tal while trying to kick the glottor with enough force to make it let go.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

The bubble of air appeared around his head just as Tal's lungs gave out and he gasped in a great lungful of what he expected to be water. When it turned out he could actually breathe safely some of his panic started to subside, though he still moved his limbs in uncoordinated fits and starts, unsure of how to move beneath the water.

The glotter took Sah's kick directly on the nose and tumbled back in startled pain. Tal was released, at least for the moment, but he didn't seem to know quite what to do about it as he kept one hand wrapped firmly around his frenemy's wrist and the other flailing in an attempt to head up. His boots weren't helping his attempts to kick, and said kicks weren't particularly effective when he kept bending his knees and trying to find something to push off of instead of propelling himself.

Sah would figure out fairly quickly that Tal had no idea how to swim, though at least thanks to his air magic the courier was no longer panicking and drowning.

Sah

At first, Sah felt relief when Tal was released and the air bubbls worked. That relief quickly turned into incredulous frustration when it became clear that Tal couldn't swim. Letting out a 'tsk', the Abandoned quickly pulled on the courier's wrist, bringing the other man up against his chest. The hand that had been on Tal's wrist let go so that Sah could wrap an arm around the courier's waist.

Sah quickly then began to try and pull them to the surface, kicking strongly and cutting through the water with a single hand. As he focused on getting them out of the water, the Abandoned made sure to keep the air bubbles present, and an eye on the glotter below them. Actually...with a glare, he sent a telekinetic shove towards the creature, hoping to deter it from reapproaching.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Normally if Sah had tried to dance with him it would have been an immediate 'oh hail no' from the courier, but given the situation he only resisted for a moment out of reflex before letting himself get pulled close. It was a good thing he had the bubble helmet or there would have been a lot more panicked flailing, but being able to breathe had reduced him to a state of simple mind-numbing fear as he realized he couldn't get any traction and his thrashing combined with the weight of his clothes just seemed to be pulling him farther from the surface.

The glotter made one last attempt to reclaim his prize, little paws grasping onto the back of Tal's shirt just as Sah's telekinesis shoved at the big river hunter. The cheap fabric tore away and the glotter found itself with the shiny prize it had been seeking. Apparently willing to accept the compromise, it didn't even give the boys a backward glance as it dove to secrete its new treasure in its trove.

And with that Sah was able to bring them back to the shore where worried companions were waiting and Tal was able to cough out the water he'd swallowed without fear of more filling his lungs.

"...'anks," he wheezed out weakly after a rough minute, attempting to pat - or weakly punch? - Sah's arm and extricate himself from the embrace.

Though not before his feet could actually touch solid ground.

Sah

Lilly and Pad rushed to meet the duo. Pad stood a ways away and watched with barely disguised concern. Lilly, however, came up and began to circle them worriedly, resisting the urge to come over and nose all over the two men for injuries. Her concern through the bond however was clear and Sah sent both of his wolves a reassuring yet tired grin.

Turning to Tal, Sah's brow furrowed as he watched the other man catch his breath. Letting go of the courier, Sah waited till Tal was ready to speak. "You're welcome." His voice was sharp, yet one hand hovered hesitantly, ready to help smack any more water out of Tal if needed.

Once it was clear that Tal wasn't going to die today, Sah's earlier frustration came back, fueled by his concern and prior fear. "Just what the fuck happened?" Talyson was reckless, but this? This was too much.

"If I hadn't..." Sah shook his head, unable to continue. Anger at the other man's carelessness, fear over Tal's near death, and frustration over the entire situation battled for control. One fact was clear, however. If Sah and his companions hadn't been close by, close enough to hear the commotion, Talyson would have drowned.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Boreal's panic had subsided when Tal's had - once the air bubble had allowed him to breathe again and he was no longer drowning - but she was still flying tight, anxious circles just barely above the water until the men came out. She splashed down into the shallows and paced against the strong current until they were close enough for her to get her horned head under Tal's hand, crooning nonstop as he shifted from leaning on Sah to leaning on her.

Tal just wanted out of the water, and he waded to the shore and up onto dry land and kept going a little farther just to be safe before he collapsed to lean against the base of a tree and focus on breathing. Sah's fear sent a contrary prickle of defensiveness and warmth through the courier, melting a little of the numb shock that still cocooned his mind from the reality of how close he'd come to death.

Again.

"Ludo quest," he murmured, realizing with a bit of surprise that he was shaking even though he didn't feel cold. "Was tryin' t'lure a glotter out o'the water. 'Cept it came from behind an' knocked me in." He grimaced, wrapping his arms around Boreal and burying his face in her neck.

"Yeah," His gruff words in response to the sentence Sah couldn't finish were muffled but he didn't let go of the dragon as he reached out a hand, groping for Lilly's presence to try and hug her too.

It would be too weird to hug Sah again. But he could at least hug the hunter's companion.

"Fuckin' hail. Never want t'go through that again." A third time, he meant, though he'd never told Sah about the first.

Sah

Sah stayed silent as Talyson explained the series of events that led to his near death. The hunter's jaw clenched when he noticed the shivers that were still making their way through the other. Whether it was shock or cold, he wasn't sure. But Sah didn't like it.

Lilly let out a soft whine and nuzzled into Tal's side without further prompting. The wolf's nosed her way in so that the man's hand was in-between her ears, the prime spot for scratches. She only had to mentally nudge Sah slightly before the Wild Thunder was also reaching out.

Without saying a word, he sat down beside Talyson and wrapped one arm around the man's waist, pulling him into his side and resting his chin on top of Talyson's head, in a half-hug, half-desperate reassurance that Talyson was still breathing. Lilly remained where she was, letting out another soft whine at the tangle of emotions coming from the hunter. Pad remained crouched a small distance away, his attention on their surroundings as he guarded the others.

"Never again. I'm teaching you how to fucking swim." Sah finally spoke after a few moments, swearing both to himself and the courier.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?

Trembling fingers found soft fur and Tal obediently began to scratch even as Boreal stretched a wing out to drape affectionately over Lilly's back. With his face buried against smooth scales the courier couldn't see Sah moving and the blood was still pounding in his ears such that he didn't hear the other man, either.

He wasn't expecting the sudden tug into Sah's side, or the way the hunter half-wrapped around him. If he hadn't already been in shock the move would certainly have put him there. Though he froze in surprise the courier didn't resist, and though he might deny that any such thing had occurred later he needed the reassurance too much to even pretend to protest. After a few moments of uncertainty he leaned into Sah's side and rested his head against the other man's shoulder, though one arm stayed looped around his dragon's neck.

Boreal's crooning quieted as her human's shivers slowly began to subside and she laid down with her head in Tal's lap, wing still stretched to half-hug Lilly.

"...I guess..." came the very reluctant agreement, muffled against Sah's shirt. Sure, it was hard to argue against the necessity after what had just happened. But doing so meant getting back in the water and Tal was not excited for that. "When th'fuck did you learn how?"

Sah

Sah let out a soft sigh when Tal relaxed in his hold without complaint. When the other man went lax the hunter tightened his hold slightly, Lilly too, nuzzled closer, one of her paws reaching out to tap Boreal's claws. Pad, feeling a little left out of what had become a cuddle pile, slunk over.

With a grumble, he flopped down and curled up against Sah's hip, with a put-out huff. He refused to face the others and the bond with his pack was filled with exasperation and reluctant affection. The Abandoned reached out with his free hand to stroke the black wolf's back, suppressing his amusement.

"Good." If Tal had disagreed, Sah would have insisted until the courier was run down and out of excuses. His compliance saved the hunter the trouble thankfully. The question pulled a small chuckle out of Sah, "I learned how in my world. Somehow it translated over even though I don't have the same number of limbs anymore." Was he purposefully saying it obscurely? Yes. But even he wasn't sure how winged-wolf paddle translated to him being an adept human swimmer.

I think there for I am,
But what if all I do is bleed?