burning versus drowning

Deluge's spirits seemed higher than Dread's, despite her torn up face. Truth was, she was more focused on keeping him putting one paw in front of the other, distracting him from what must have been a burning pain on the side of his head. The swim was the hardest part and when the errant wave swept over him and he didn't come back up, an unexpected panic settled deep in her bones. Maybe things were just a little more serious than she let on?

Holding her breath and diving down, she spotted him. A swimmer from birth, it didn't take her long to grab his scruff, to haul him up and onto the sand. The salt water stung her wounds but she could push through it, her priority was making sure the Dread didn't drown. Spent from her own fight, she dragged him beyond the lapping waves and collapsed down on the ground beside him, calling for Morwenna with what little energy she had left. She rose a feline paw to smack at his stomach and ribs, to bring up any water he might have inhaled, resorting to stabbing with her nose when her limbs began to fail her, "Don' chergo quittin' on me now."

"speech"