Slowly waking up and stretching this way and that, Scarlet yawned heavily as her mind gradually emerged from slumber.Something felt different. Not in a bad way, though.Somehow, in some inexplicable way, she felt light and free, in a way she hadn’t in years—and certainly not in the last few weeks.Additionally, Scarlet felt as though all the muscles in her body were relaxed and hadn’t tensed up like usual from the night’s vivid dreams.Taking a few more minutes to simply lie there, not thinking or planning, just enjoying the relaxed state she found herself in this morning, Scarlet smiled lightly to herself.Becoming aware of a weight on her belly, she carefully groped for it and came away with a bundle of something both soft and scratchy.Slowly lifting her head from the ground and wearily blinking at the snoring Gremlin head on her belly, Scarlet didn’t react as she usually would.Any other morning, she would have grabbed the still-sleeping Puck by the hem of his robes and thrown him aside, then tasked him with something truly strenuous. But not today.Gently running her hand over his brown and red hair, Scarlet tried to get to the bottom of her feelings and where they came from.Trying to get her mind to work on the issue, Scarlet finally began connecting the dots. There was no reason for Puck to sleep directly next to her unless he had done something here.And what could he have done but try to help her?Thinking back over the past weeks, Scarlet knew she had been anything but a good mentor to Puck during that time. But she simply hadn’t been able to.The excursions into the depths had stirred emotions and memories, rekindling fear and terror. She had tried to hide these feelings from Puck and thought herself successful. Apparently, she had been anything but.
Setting Puck’s head down beside her gently, she slowly got up before looking down at her snoring disciple again. After a moment, she bent down and took some more moss to place under Puck’s head to make him more comfortable.Checking his heartbeat and breathing, she found them both steady but strained and slow. He had seriously overtaxed himself. Deciding that making something good to eat would be the best way to repay his efforts in kindness, Scarlet got to work with a happy hum on her lips.
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Eyeing their final construct for the underwater journey warily, Puck felt fear rising. It had been a week since he’d tried to help Scarlet, and now they were ready to go.In the days since his efforts, both he and Scarlet had recovered and simply enjoyed their time together. Not only that, but Puck felt they had grown substantially closer, moving a little further away from the purely professional teacher-student relationship they had started with.Having seen the effect of his spell on Scarlet, Puck was thrilled and still felt a lingering excitement. Sadly, his overuse of his ideal meant he was still unable to use it again; there would be no help from it on their journey.Looking at Scarlet holding the construct he would be fastened to, Puck thought he could see real relaxation in her stance and expression.She had done the dive many times already, and his own help had restored her usual confidence.Puck was also confident in her; one way or another, she would get them to their destination.But could he himself hold his breath long enough? Would he be able to channel Zephyrian’s power as effectively underwater as he could normally?He wasn’t so sure.
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Stepping toward him, Scarlet skillfully packed them together in their construct of woven materials. Soon, they stood back-to-back, feeling each other’s heads and backs pressed close.Not in the mood for one of his usual jokes, Puck was surprised when Scarlet made one: “Don’t try anything iffy, alright? Even if we’re underwater, I’ll know if your hands go somewhere they don’t belong. You’ll get your date on the other side.”Moving his hand backward, Puck slowly reached for Scarlet’s. Feeling her squeeze his hand back, Puck started to prepare in his own way for the journey, allowing Zephyrian’s influence to help him remain calm.Getting some reassuring words from his friend, he sent a warm feeling back—they would do this!As he felt himself being lifted off the ground, Puck’s temporary confidence wavered, and only Zephyrian’s influence and his own desperate will to stay calm stopped him from moving erratically.Looking down, Puck saw the terrifying rush of water beneath them as Scarlet slowly began their descent, with Puck connected to her back.Stopping directly above the water, Puck felt his breath quicken despite his efforts to slow it down again.He needed to breathe—to prepare himself.He wouldn’t be able to breathe for the next several minutes.He needed air!
Closing his eyes as he signaled Scarlet to wait, Puck visualized his visions and dreams once more. Nothing but a few minutes of hardship stood between him and them.Looking up again, Puck saw Brock flying down and landing on his hand. Feeling the bird’s eyes bore into his, Puck felt a sense of certainty wash over him. He was a bringer of freedom; he would escape unharmed.With a small puff, Brock burst apart into tiny particles that homed in on Puck and were absorbed into his head.Together, they would do this.Apparently sensing what was happening, Scarlet began to count down from ten. At three, Puck exhaled fully; at two and one, he took in as much air as he could. Then, they sank into the raging waters and were swept away.