Hushed Willows As the smile fell from your face, I fell with it

Prialux's hacking was muffled as Tambourine swooped forward to help her, but the young man did more than she could say. His ministrations encouraged her to cough, and that in turn expelled the water from her throat and lungs. She heaved once as it came gushing out, unaltered from how it went in. Prialux coughed several more times, clearing the last of it, then peered up at Tambourine with streaming, bleary eyes.

"Hi," she stuttered quietly, the only word she knew, but she injected as much heartfelt thanks as she possibly could into it. With a soft whimper she went to Tambourine's chest and pressed her face into the narrow junction where his arm met his shoulder, unintentionally wiping snot and tears on his greyscale fur in the process. Her tail swung weakly back and forth, and her body shivered lightly, but though fear and adrenaline made her feel woozy and unbalanced, it was thanks she meant to convey by seeking his embrace.