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"Breathe in," a voice demanded, though he couldn't place where. He forced himself to do so. The movement made his chest ache and heave. He wanted to cry, but he followed the command anyway.
"Breathe out," It instructed, coaxing him into a false relaxing lull. He shakily exhaled, this one hurting more than before. His chest uncomfortably constricting to release the air.
"Again," It commanded, forcing him to repeat the pained cycle once more.
His blood rushed in his ears, his skin felt cold as ice yet hotter than lava. His chest heaved and ached in every breath but he felt the weight lift off with each repetition. Every breath felt like it took every last part of him to complete and yet it soothed him. Tears flowed freely from his cheeks yet he smiled and said he was fine.
He was a mess of contradictions but all at once he was himself. Messy, pained, scared, happy, relieved, calm. It all washed over him. As his nerves calmed and he felt more steady, he picked himself up, and left his room. He ignored the purple on the floor or the tinge of blue stuck to his jacket.
Pushing open the door with blue stuck to the frame, Mind slept peacefully. Soul was envious of that. He next went to the window in the living room and stared. In the midst of the forest lay a pit, a pit where he knew his dear sibling to reside. He ought to check on them. Maybe food or something lest they die there. Still, not much of a lesson if he did. Perhaps another month, just one more. It wouldn't mean much to them anyhow. But one turned to two, and two to four, and four to six. Finally, on a drizzly day, Mind returned holding a frail shell in his arms.
Soul's help was neither necessary nor needed so he went back to his room. That all consuming ache filled his bones once more. The weight forcing his lungs to constrict painfully.
A voice rang out, one he knew too well, "Breathe, they're always watching, you know."