There was nothing that registered in her mind except for the only thing it could grasp.

Heat. An all-enveloping, devouring, burning, sickly heat that held fast to every part of her.

How long had she been there?

Time meant nothing to her dazed mind. All she could do was draw in shallow, languished breaths of sticky, stagnant air. She couldn't move. Even if her hands hadn't been bound behind her back, she could not muster the energy. She felt vaguely sick, and any slight movement on her part made another wave of nausea roll over her. She kept her eyes pressed shut. She hardly even recognized that her left arm, trapped under the weight of her body, had long since fallen asleep, nor was she any longer aware of the rough, scratchy burlap fibers that made up her prison were chafing and sticking to her skin.

When she had originally come to, head throbbing and limbs aching, it hadn't taken more than a few seconds for her to begin thrashing. She felt like she'd been suffocating, and her instincts screamed at her to get free. But her efforts had only worsened her conditions, exhausting her energy and making the heat trapped in with her more unbearable. She vaguely remembered being roughly jostled with a jeering order to keep quiet.

She faded in and out of consciousness in the time since then.

A harsher bout of nausea rolled over her as the vehicle she was lying in came to a rather sharp stop.

Where was she now?

She hardly had the energy to whimper as she heard two vaguely familiar voices move closer to her. She heard the tones, but the words sounded like they were coming from under water.

Water…

Two pairs of hands none-too-gently hoisted her prison up and out of the vehicle, and she felt herself swing slightly, suspended. It made her head spin.

Water…

In the midst of her stupor, she was keenly aware of how her tongue felt dried to the roof of her mouth. The heat was unbearable. The ropes on her wrist mingled with the sweat that drenched them mixed to result in a sharp discomfort, but the heat was leagues worse.

Water…

She wanted to cry out. She didn't understand. Where was she? What was happening? Why was there so much heat? She… couldn't… breathe.

And suddenly, in a moment of lucidity, her mind made the connection. A dark, consuming aura like wildfire. Two leering faces coming closer. She'd turned to run.

A burst of raw fear tore through the haze, and she lashed out. She bucked and twisted her body, bound legs flinging themselves in any direction she could reach. Her feet met something firm, but yielding, and suddenly the air was knocked out of her as she landed on an unforgivingly solid surface, and starbursts danced across her closed eyes.

It only stopped her for a few moments before she was thrashing again, ignorant to the angered and alarmed protests coming from the two voices.

She had to get free. She couldn't breathe. She was going to die.

Air. Water.

Help.

But already, even through her adrenaline spike, the exhaustion was already beginning to reclaim her. Her movements were weak.

In her mind's eye, she saw a Magikarp flopping weakly on dry land under the gaze of an unrepentant sun.

If her body still had the moisture to spare, she would have cried. Her quick, ragged breaths were becoming more shallow, and she could feel her mind growing dim, limbs limp.

Help…

Dazzling brightness caused her to recoil slightly, eyes screwed shut. The heat was still present, but as a warm gust drifted past her face, it felt like a cool breeze. It was only a few moments later that she realized that she'd been pulled out of the sack of rough material, and she was gulping in fresh air as though she had been submerged this whole time.

The voices she heard were different than the ones she associated with cruel leers and suffocating heat. The words were indistinguishable, but something in them told her she was safe. One voice was higher-pitched and fretful. One was lower pitched and almost as worried as the first. The last was the quietest, a little rough, and held no fear, only stern command.

The world spun around her, but at a slower pace. A part of her mind recognized the distant sound of water.

Suddenly, relief. So sudden, it came as a shock. Something damp and cool- so heavenly cool- had been placed across her forehead, swiping the hair that had been plastered to her face aside.

The low voice spoke. It was inquisitive. She struggled to concentrate, and her mind fumbled to latch onto the words.

"..n….y.u…it…up?"

Face scrunching, she squinted her eyes open to peer up at a blurred form. Sandy yellow and dark blue. She couldn't make out much more than that. Her eyes squeezed closed again from the blinding light.

"…ne..d yo…to..rink th..s"

Her world tilted off-kilter as her upper body was lifted up somewhat, and something was held up to her lips.

"Water."

That word cut clear through her daze. The magic word brought her back closer to consciousness, and she fought to open her eyes again, squinting into the sunlight. A bottle was hovering in front of her, and the owner of the voice was looking carefully down at her with golden eyes.

What a bright color.

But she couldn't make out further details. She could focus on his aura better than she could see his face. It hung before his form like a thick heat shimmer. It wasn't evil or sickly like the dark one she'd seen, and it wasn't cruel like the ones flickering about the two men from before.

It was strange, it was unpredictable, it was strong. And something else.

Automatically, her mouth opened, and clear, fresh, cold, perfect water splashed onto her tongue. She craved as much of it as she could drink, and tried to gulp it down. However, the bottle was pulled back. She made a small noise of protest, but the golden-eyed person stared at her sternly.

"Small sips."

After realizing he was not taking away her source of relief, she acquiesced, taking in small mouthfuls of water and relishing the feeling of it rushing down her throat and cooling her from the inside. As she sipped, he spoke, but to the other voices. Focused on the water, she did not pick out the words that were said.

Finally, the bottle was empty, and she felt fatigue washing back over her.

More voices were approaching, but she was tired, so tired.

She managed to keep her eyes open a few moments longer, staring at the aura in front of her, trying to figure out what else could be read from it. Her lips lifted into a thin, weary smile. Rui's eyes closed, succumbing to sleep.

It was trustworthy.

(~)

Sorry for the wait. Lots of things have been going on in my life lately, good and bad, and I have been working every day of every week for the past couple months.

I hope that things will settle down soon.

Thought about having another chapter squeezed in before this from the POV of Trudly and Folly, but I scrapped it because it felt too unnecessary.
Poor Rui. I can't imagine what it would be like to be stuffed in a burlap sack in the heat of a desert for who knows how many hours. So her first meeting isn't exactly coherent...
Next chapter will be Wes again.

-Akira