The Sentinels gayatri

he cast her a dubious look, but dived under anyway, promptly smashing his nose against the seafloor. govinda surfaced, sputtering, a throbbing pain over his muzzle as he blinked the water from his eyes. just as cruel as the world inland, too, he remarked, perhaps to no one in particular, if lilia had not come back up yet.

still, she had a point. in the brief instant before the crunch, it had felt peaceful, the murmur of the waves above his head--but a quiet stillness to the water, a darkness that seemed more like a womb than a void. it reminded him of his conversation with hari, but in a good way, helping him to remember all the beautiful things about drifting from one life to the next.

govinda sniffed, wondering if the salt he tasted was brine or blood from his nostril.