All Cute Guys Look Like Puppies, Right?

Lito's POV: The surface of the river enveloped me into its chilling embrace as I crashed unceremoniously into it. Water made its way into my mouth and nose, trying to flush me from the inside out, as I choked on its slippery concoction. I peeled my eyes open to watch the world swirl into darkness just as a figure hovered before me to reach out its hand. An angel has come for me. Please, wait, hold on. I'm coming. For all my might I could not make my hand reach out towards it to take me into the sky above. My eyes drifted shut just as it became larger. That's fine, just come to me.

Koko's POV: I watched as the water consumed him from the riverbank. Where is he?! Where is he?! The water wasn't very deep and the current was calm for this time of year. However, as I continued to watch the rippling waves from where he disappeared, no head appeared.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no!!!!! I kept on chanting in my head as I slipped off my shoes and tunic, leaving my undershirt on and dove into the dark surface of the river. He landed on his side so he'll be further past my end of the river. My legs kicked and propelled me forward as I pushed through the inky darkness searching for him. I knew I had reached his side when my arm reached forward and felt warmth. One more kick and I was on the Day Sky Kingdom territory. Swimming on their side was a lot like swimming in the basin that I filled with hot kettle water. It warmed and revived you from the inside out until you felt goosebumps on your arms.

I pried my eyes open to look for him. The water rushing in felt uncomfortable but I didn't have much of a choice if I was to find him. There he is! He floated just slightly below me. His mouth partly open as he stared at me through narrow slits. My throat and chest were starting to get tight as I swam farther down to get him. The pressure in my ears grew heavier until I felt as if someone had plugged them up. Finally, I reached close enough to him to wrap my arm around his torso and grip the front fabric of his shirt. Jeez, what do they feed the guys over there?

I was going to have to resurface on his side because I was running out of the air and he was even worse off then I was in the air department. Maybe the sun poisoned his brain. No one gets that close to the river without knowing how to swim. I couldn't help but roll my eyes in the back of my mind at his foolishness.

I broke the surface of the water. I hissed between my teeth as the sun blinded me for a moment. My chest rose and fell quickly as if it were trying to remember how to filter air through my lungs. The sun warmed my cheeks as I floated on my back and kicked myself to shore with my arm wrapped around him. Once I passed the line and entered into the night Pearl Kingdom I felt as if I could breathe again. The moon shone brightly and brought sweet relief from the sun's burning rays.

My feet hit the shore and I walked backward as I lugged him underneath his armpits to lay him on the sand close to the dirt steps. I dropped to my knees and placed my fingertips under his nose. For a while, I felt nothing but the briefest of puffs came through his nose and tickled my fingertips.

"Oh, thank goodness! He's not going to die." Although he did look a bit pale, well as pale as someone with his dark skin can get.

"He probably has water in his lungs, " she mused allowed. "I've seen this before when a man almost drowned this year when the water was high due to a heavy storm." Just strongly breathe four times into the mouth while pinching his mouth and then put my hand on his chest for any sign of his chest rising and falling. She silently repeated the mantra over and over like prayer as she began to breathe into his mouth.

One.

Still no movement.

Two.

Please don't die on me.

Three.

Maybe I didn't remember this correctly?

Four.

Come on...come on...

I placed my ear over his mouth and laid my hand upon his chest. All of a sudden his back bowed and a gurgling sound came from his throat as his eyes flashed open. I pushed him to his side and his fingers dug deep into the wet sand as he coughed up all the water he had consumed. I watched as his body shook as he lay breathing heavily.  He must be cold but I have no extra clothes except for my tunic which would barely even cover his large frame. I tried not to stare but you'd have to be blind not to notice. His body was lean but not wiry. His muscles were defined and shaped to catch the moonlight just so against his dark skin. He must do a job that requires quite a bit of manual labor for both his arms and legs to be that well built. So lost in her thoughts was she that she didn't realize that he'd turned his head to stare at her. Idiot. Ask him if he's alright?

"Are you alright?"

He blinked for a few moments at her and his mouth opened and closed several minutes as if he didn't figure she could talk.

"I think I'm doing good for someone who almost drowned, " he said, the corner of his mouth lifting up. He shook out his hair so much so that she had to stifle a laugh for he looked akin to a dog at that moment. As she watched him take stock of the state of his wet clothes she realized something that she hadn't thought of to ask until now.

"Umm..." she began. He looked up and tilted his head at her, waiting. Oh my goodness it's like a very big giant puppy. "A cute puppy that is." Shut it. Stop thinking about it.

"Ahem, uh, what were you doing this close to the border?"