So it was that Tzirret's plans had to change again. The momentum of Ma'tanza's underwater tackle left Tzirret unable to find traction. Ma'tanza's arms wrapped around him and his initial reaction was to try and kick through the water onto his feet. With Ma'tanza countering that, he was suddenly reminded of his urge to breathe. He wasn't quite panicked yet, but difficulty breathing tended to be a trigger for his claustrophobia. He did not want to panic in beast form.

With all his strength, Tzirret wrenched his arms free of Ma'tanza, wrapped her entire middle in a tight hug to trap her arms, and found the riverbed with his feet. Thankfully, he still had his bearings, so he kicked towards the shore with enough force to reach there in a couple of seconds. The water slowed them, but they slid to a stop when Ma'tanza's back was beached on the silt of the shore. They both had their heads above the water, so Tzirret gasped in a fresh breath of air. He almost forgot about Ma'tanza being trapped under his body weight, he just closed his eyes, laid the side of his head against the side of hers, and attempted to catch his breath and calm down.

[hr]
After leaving Peiter to his own duties, Sabine had been wandering the camp in search of Meesei. Sabine hoped that she had not taken too long and was late for her lesson. In fact, that worry seemed to supercede the still visible claw and bite marks over her body. They had healed to the point of scabbing already, thanks to being a lycan, but they wouldn't disappear for another day or two.

Fortunately, Meesei was spotted patrolling the camp and Sabine was able to wave her down. She jogged up to Meesei and looked somewhat apologetic. "Sorry if I'm late, Meesei," Sabine said, "Time flew with Peiter. Shall we have a lesson now?"