i'd give you my lungs so you could breathe

 open to one or two others <3 

---

"Laith."

There was a voice calling someone - distant, beckoning, vaguely familiar in nature. For some reason, he wanted to call back, but he was just so tired. His mind was foggy, suspended between wakefulness and sleep, but there was a stab of guilt deep within his chest that told him that he should be doing something. They needed help, didn't they? Help that he was the only one who could provide. They needed...

Who were they? 
 

"Laith."

The voice was louder now - closer, more insistent, perhaps even a little desperate. He wanted to tell them to quiet down, to let him sleep in peace, but both his mouth and his eyes remained stubbornly shut. Had he ever been so tired in his life? This was a bone-deep exhaustion that threatened to dig its claws into him and never let him go.

It was difficult to breathe. Fire licked at the inside of his lungs, flaring whenever he inhaled any deeper than the shallow gasps he was currently managing. It was a familiar pain, they knew, but it seemed worse now, somehow. 

He wanted it to stop.
 

"Laith, please..."

Guilt gnawed at him once more, almost more painful than the lungs that were currently suffocating him. There was a job he was supposed to be doing - they needed-
 

"We need you."

That was right. They needed him. But he was so tired, and it was hard to breathe, and he'd worked so hard, and surely they wouldn't mind if he slept for just a little longer...
 

"Laith..."

Just a few minutes. He'd get up in just a few minutes.

"Laith."

Numbness overtook his limbs as the enticing pull of sleep dragged him slowly back into unconsciousness.

Just a few minutes, and then he'd get back up and...
 

_________

 

"Laith."

Laith's eyes snapped open and immediately he was choking on corrupted air. He wheezed as he tried to steady himself, eyes wide and body trembling against the frozen ground. His chest was on fire, he couldn't get enough air, couldn't breathe-

But then he inhaled, and his lungs fully inflated for the first time in...

In...

How long had it been since he'd breathed normally? There was a residual burn when he inhaled too sharply, but it was bearable, and Laith wanted to cry from relief.

For a while, it was all he could focus on. Nothing mattered except the feeling of sweet, clean air in their lungs. It was several minutes before they felt steady enough to surveil their surroundings. It was a beautiful day, the sky blue and dappled with puffy white clouds. There was ice underfoot - a frozen lake, perhaps. But that hardly made sense - hadn't it been summer just moments ago? And where were the others?

Laith paused, brow furrowed in confusion.

Others?

That was right. Someone had called his name to wake him up, hadn't they? A pang of guilt tightened his stomach, and Laith glanced around, seeking out whoever had needed him.

"Hello?" he called, getting to his paws and scanning the shoreline. It was so quiet, and empty, and that felt wrong somehow. 

Had he been dreaming? Where was he? And where was...

...

His mind blanked once more, and he let out a frustrated sigh. Was there really any point in racking his brain over and over for information that might not even be there? Memory loss was a problem, of course, but it would likely come back over time, and forcing it would do Laith no good. 

They stood and shook out their fur, took a blessedly deep breath, and made their way to the bank. Ice was something their body seemed unused to, paws slipping gracelessly every few steps, but at least there was no one around to witness their plight. 

It took them longer than they'd care to admit to reach the pebbly embankment, but they managed. It was nice to have solid ground underfoot, at the very least. And after a moment of deliberation, Laith simply sat down, momentarily allowing themself time to breathe and consider their options. It wouldn't be good to wander totally aimlessly. Perhaps they were there to wait for someone. Perhaps they'd slipped on the ice and hit their head, and that had caused them to forget.

Something told them that wasn't the case, but they needed to consider all of their options before making any rash decisions.

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Ice.

His lips curled. He hated the ice. He hated the cold. Conversely, he hated the heat, too. Goldilocks preferred it just right and anything else was miserable to him. So why he lingered here was anyone's guess, really. All Abraxas knew was that his lonely travels had brought him to this frigid place, and he had every intention of leaving it behind sooner rather than later.

For now though, he watched in general apathy as the woman struggled to make her way across the ice. A very slight, amused smile wound its way across his face as she slipped and slid, glad that it was her and not him. Of course, he would never step foot on the ice anyway.

And of course, he was the one to greet her when she finally made it to the 'shore', though he did not get up from his sphinx-like position upon the ground to do so. “Took you long enough.” Ah, yes. Typical Abraxas.

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Laith jumped a little at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, ears swiveling and head turning toward the stranger. He was dark against the snow, pelt made up of the night sky itself, with bright blue eyes glinting in the dim light.

Surely this wasn’t the one calling his name…?

The words the man spoke finally registered in Laith’s mind, his body heating up a little in mild embarrassment. But he wasn’t one to let a little shame ruin his day - instead, he chuckled a bit, mentally shaking it off. “Didn’t realize anyone was waiting on me,” they replied, offering the stranger a sheepish smile. “I have to admit, I’m not quite used to the ice.”

Laith took a few hesitant steps forward, still unsure of what was going on. “Sorry to ask, but do we know each other?” the healer asked, brows knitting together. “I can’t seem to remember much of anything.” This man didn’t seem familiar, but Laith doubted anything would at this point.
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He ignored the embarrassment; he didn't care for such emotions and saw no point in wasting time pointing it out. He did give a simple reply, however: “I wasn't. Only watching from afar.” The Silent Prince was honest, sometimes brutally so; it was not something that was always appreciated, certainly not her brother, nor his parents. “Ice is a pain in the ass. I avoid it when I can.”

An answer to his question: “No. We've never met. You were not of my kingdom, as far as I can remember.” For he, too, had awoken cold and alone, though certainly not in the middle of a damn ice lake. Thank the heavens for small favors. “I am Abraxas. You are...?”

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There was something nearly refreshing about the way this man spoke. So straightforward, no-nonsense, and right to the point. No, he hadn’t been waiting. Yes, ice fucking sucked. And he wasn’t making fun of Laith, either.

“I generally prefer to avoid it, too,” he said with a huff of laughter billowing steam from his maw. “I’m no ice skater, as you’ve seen.”

No, they’d never met. This was both a good and bad thing, Laith supposed. Bad because they were alone, and good because they’d hate to have forgotten a friend.

A kingdom? That was interesting. Perhaps he’d woken in someone’s space, and was intruding. But no. The man had used the past tense - perhaps his kingdom no longer existed.

The man offered his name and prompted his own, and the healer smiled a little in return. “My name is Laith,” they responded, tail swishing behind them. While this wasn’t the warmest of welcomes, they certainly weren’t going to complain. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Abraxas.” A pause, then, before they continued, “Do you have a title you’d like me to use? I’ve never met anyone from a kingdom before.” He didn’t want to slip up and cause any undue disrespect - better safe than sorry, after all. From what he could remember, Laith had never met any kings or queens before.

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Did he have a title that he wanted to be used? The question was one that the man had never really been asked. His brother had always been the type to want, no -- to need such acknowledgment from others but Abraxas...

"Repeat after me: your highness," His brother sneered. His muzzle was already beading with droplets of blood from Marvos' admonishment of Abraxas' refusal to say such words. The acidic ire the had bubbled in his throat then, a venomous bile he'd have preferred to spew over his littermate's face...

Even just the memory made the man's hackles shift and raise, his nose wrinkling involuntarily. “No. Abraxas is fine.”

His head tossed a touch, trying to make himself settle back down after such an unpleasant flashback. “Kingdom is just another word for somewhere someone lords over everyone else and never lets them forget it.

Why were you out on the ice?”

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