Everything was dark. Shade drifted, his body tossed like the flowers he'd once thrown from a bank that felt a million years away. Or maybe it had been only yesterday. He wasn't sure. He wasn't sure of anything except for the fact that she would be caught and he would die, and he hadn't even learnt her name.

Something hard hit his paw, a stone, maybe. He didn't care, even as fresh pain exploded through him. It was nothing compared to the pain in his chest, the pressure in his lungs.

He kept his mouth closed, even as the water tried to force its way in. He knew, somewhere in his exhausted, water muddled brain, that if he opened his mouth, it would all be over.

But what was the point, anyway? What did it matter if he held on for one second or ten? It wouldn't change anything. He would still drown, and she would still be caught. He would die without ever learning her name, or he would live knowing he'd failed her.

The water rushed against him, his lungs screamed, everything begging him to give up, to open his mouth and breathe in the darkness. With each moment, it was harder not to.

Keep holding on, keep holding on. Just for another second, another moment, another heartbeat. But he couldn't. He just couldn't.

He opened his mouth a heartbeat before sharp teeth grabbed his scruff and dragged him up, up, up. Startled, he gasped, water choking his lungs. His head breached the surface and he coughed, spitting up water before air filled his lungs. Sweet, beautiful air. He gulped it down hungrily, somehow floating even as the river continued to rush around him.

He twisted his neck around, searching for an explanation. The teeth on his scruff let go, and paws grabbed him instead. It allowed him to turn, to see what had saved him. His eyes found a pair of lavender ones, and it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.