Work Text:
Ish didn't fear for his life. Since he was mortal, all threats of death would lead him to his family. Hopefully. He wasn't quite sure how it worked yet, but it was a somewhat comforting thought as he sunk further and further.
He held his breath, flailed around a bit, then resigned to crossing his arms and waiting. He'd either die or get saved and he'd like to do both as calm as possible. He could pray, but who would bother? Ish had betrayed them and this was meant to be a punishment. And in many ways, it was.
But it felt less like discipline when Ish laid his ever-closing eyes on white hair.
-
It was a nice day on Yggdrasil. Many civilians were outside, rather than hiding from blistering heat. Still, not many went on the coast due to most of it leading to boiling water. Therefore Saparata never expected to find the telltale bubbles of someone losing their life before him. The only reason he was on this part of the island was the search for Fluxion. While Schpood hadn't particularly cared about the whereabouts of the conniving man, he was interested in getting the talented members of the Covenant to fight to the death.
In good spirits, Saparata volunteered for the search, claiming to know Fluxion better than anyone. And yet, all the spots he's checked so far have been less than promising. Since he figured the majority of islanders didn't venture in the water, Saparata thought Fluxion might hide out in the only safe liquid around the island. However, there seemed to be an islander in his stead.
"Ish." Saparata cried. "What the hell."
He panicked for a few seconds before rolling up his sleeves---for no apparent reason---and diving into the warm water. He swam erratically, but reached the civilian just as they started inhaling water. They were about his size, so Saparata linked their arms around his neck and kicked like there was no tomorrow.
Upon tumbling into the grainy red beach, Saparata began to panic again. "How do I even save you?"
"I don't know CPR or mouth-to-mouth or any of that." He paced around the limp body. "I've... seen people do it? Maybe that's enough?"
He stopped pacing and leaned onto the chest of the---oh thank Ish---living islander. The heart could be heard pumping blood at a steady pace. The water within the lungs would have to be dealt with.
"Here goes nothing." Saparata put his mouth over the islander's and exhaled.
He pumped along with the chest, hoping to work some oxygen into the bloodstream.
A torrent of coughs cut off Saparata's attempt.
"Holy-" He jumped up, hands on his head in shock. "I can't believe it actually worked! Thank Ish!"
"Yup, that's," another round of coughing, "me." The civilian stood up and dusted himself off, although it was clear the water was keen on keeping him dusty.
Now that Saparata wasn't involved in the loss of civilian life, he recognized who it was he'd saved.
"You fell from the sky and your name is Ish?"
"And you said you didn't believe." Ish said, glancing around nervously.
As much as he would love to stand with Saparata, he'd nearly died. Something that never happened when he was a god. He felt...pitiful. Sure, Saparata didn't believe that Ish used to be a god, but he was sure to judge him for being so useless.
"What were you doing out here anyway?" Saparata asked. "How'd you even know it was safe?"
Ish kicked some sand around before grumbling, "Clearly it wasn't."
"I meant from the water, not from yourself."
"It's not a hard thing to check." It was a vague reply, but he couldn't reveal he used to know everything about this place. It wasn't a well known fact among the people; Saparata might become wary of him. The last thing he wanted was for Saparata to actively avoid him.
Once it was clear Ish had no intention of continuing, Saparata broke the silence. "You didn't answer my first question."
"Well..." Ish fiddled with his wrinkled fingers and mumbled, "I was trying to swim."
"Trying?" Saparata choked on a laugh.
"Hey, next time you fall from the sky, let me know if your proprioception is still in order, okay?"
This time Saparata let his laugh ring free. "My what?"
"P-R-O-P-R-I-O-C-E-P-T-I-O-N. Proprioception," Ish stated, silently cataloging his creation's laughter. "Knowing where your body is in space."
"Right, were you the god of vocabulary or something?" Saparata joked.
"If people knew which god I was, they wouldn't have called on me so often." Ish headed toward the water, "I always tried my best to be as cryptic as possible."
Saparata situated himself on the beach and before Ish could go any further in, he spoke.
"If you feel yourself drowning, just flail around." He pointed to himself dramatically, "I'm happy to provide my services once again."
As Ish turned back to respond in an equally cheeky manner he had to pause. The sun was high and the orange of the sand was reflecting off of Saparata's light tone. He looked as though he hadn't sat down like that in ages and it's Ish who's given him this chance to relax. He returned to his senses and sent a double thumbs up Saparata's way.