[ Five's effort to get in front of Lan Wangji was stymied by the constant onslaught of the tiny sharp-toothed fish. They shouldn't have been more than an annoyance, but they were vicious things that worked themselves into a frenzy the more he tried to bat them away. He doesn't have time to twist out of the grip on his wrist when he's launched upward out of the darkness before it could take him.
The massive body of another fish is another story. It comes at him like a tank, and Five narrowly avoids slamming face first into its side. Ironically, that may have been a different story if he'd been in his adult body, but at least then he'd have better odds of not being swallowed up by the thing.
Luckily despite its size, this one doesn't seem as interested in eating him, and just slaps him with its tail as it swims past. He tumbles backward in its wake, but he rights himself and tries to wave away the spray of blood that clouds the water around him.
Realization comes late that Lan Wangji intentionally pulled him out of danger. He looks below him, but the white cloth is harder to make out at a distance. Barely a flash that's quickly swallowed up in a sea of black. Teleporting there now is out of the question; he needs enough space to calculate the mass displacement, and fuck...
The man tried to kill him. Why would he risk himself to save him?
Frustrated without an answer, he decides that he just wants to get out of the water before he runs into any more surprises. He kicks his legs and keeps traveling upward until he finally breaks the surface. It's strange that there's not more transition between breathing water and air, but he manages to swim his way to shore without further harm.
Once he's there, he crawls out and collapses at the edge. He's tired and panting, and covered in a thousand little cuts and bite marks that sting in the night air, but instead of inspecting them he just sits and watches the lake as it stills. Waiting patiently for it to break.
Oddly, he's hoping that he emerges. He's killed people in many creative ways before, but some things are too undignified even for him. ]
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The massive body of another fish is another story. It comes at him like a tank, and Five narrowly avoids slamming face first into its side. Ironically, that may have been a different story if he'd been in his adult body, but at least then he'd have better odds of not being swallowed up by the thing.
Luckily despite its size, this one doesn't seem as interested in eating him, and just slaps him with its tail as it swims past. He tumbles backward in its wake, but he rights himself and tries to wave away the spray of blood that clouds the water around him.
Realization comes late that Lan Wangji intentionally pulled him out of danger. He looks below him, but the white cloth is harder to make out at a distance. Barely a flash that's quickly swallowed up in a sea of black. Teleporting there now is out of the question; he needs enough space to calculate the mass displacement, and fuck...
The man tried to kill him. Why would he risk himself to save him?
Frustrated without an answer, he decides that he just wants to get out of the water before he runs into any more surprises. He kicks his legs and keeps traveling upward until he finally breaks the surface. It's strange that there's not more transition between breathing water and air, but he manages to swim his way to shore without further harm.
Once he's there, he crawls out and collapses at the edge. He's tired and panting, and covered in a thousand little cuts and bite marks that sting in the night air, but instead of inspecting them he just sits and watches the lake as it stills. Waiting patiently for it to break.
Oddly, he's hoping that he emerges. He's killed people in many creative ways before, but some things are too undignified even for him. ]