Dragoncrest Cliffs a woman young and old

The girl was in too much pain to see straight, let alone notice that someone had come to her side. When she felt the paw on her shoulder, she mistook it for a specter – a mere want instead of something real – and she felt a stinging in her eyes as its voice reached within her and tugged on her very soul.

She obeyed, spewing more water – easier this time – as she did so. Oh! she gasped, feeling her lungs and stomach compress as the last of the sea was purged from her body. Her spine quivered as she made a hacking noise, sucking in her first full breath since leaving the shoreline.

The tide’s latest victim groaned and laid her head down between her paws, shutting her eyes in an effort to force the physical turmoil to subside. Nausea churned in her gut, but she became more aware of her body and the fact that someone was there assisting her. Still, she kept her eyes shut tight, just in case she was imagining things. Is… is someone h-here? Her teeth chattered.