"... You broke my fishing pole."

"I- uh…"

"... Worthless."

"...!"

"C-Come now, Rock. It isn't broken, see? It's just a dent."

"Dented my fishing pole, then. He's still worthless."

"Rock! That's too cruel!"

Rock turned up his beak in disgruntled expression, watching as Shirogane ran from their retreat with his tail between his legs. It didn't really matter what they were doing - fishing, eating, even relaxing… Things were prone to end with the cowardly wolf in tears. It ticked him off, to put it mildly. If the wolf couldn't keep himself together, and couldn't be bothered to take care of the equipment in his charge, then he shouldn't come along in the first place. And Rock told him so.

"Shirogane, wait!" Yukisada called after his companion, his eyes darting between the two. "Shirogane is really sensitive, Rock… You know he didn't mean to do any harm, right?"

Rock grunted. "Then he should say so himself. I'm not gonna fish with 'em again."

The resounding wail told him that the wolf had been listening. The sound really grated on his nerves.

Yukisada gave him an apologetic motion before turning to follow his friend. Rock didn't mind the owl so much - he made good fishing company from time to time. And he, at least, made an effort to be courteous and considerate of his surrounding.

Rock huffed into his line, tugging roughly but not too roughly. Hopefully something would catch and improve his day, if marginally. If not, his temper was cooking up a storm.

"R-Rock-"

The penguin turned to give Yukisada the evil eye. If this was about that cowardly wolf again-

He paused.

He'd been inclined to scoffing, if not giving a few jabs, but there was something about the expression on Yukisada's face that struck him as intensely sobering. Real fear and confusion - though Rock narrowed his eyes at the thought that it might revolve around Shirogane.

Again.

"O-O-Over there-!"

If the wolf was drowning because he hadn't looked where he was going, that was his doing. He wasn't planning on getting involved. But Rock's wayward glance eventually wandered in the direction the owl was pointing.

His beak clicked in agitation.

A bloody lump was groveling in the ice. It was crawling like a massive red worm and Rock immediately disliked it - whatever it was. Giant, ugly, bloody worm. An angry rattle built in his chest.

"W-We need to help them!"

Rock begged to differ. He simply watched as the owl rushed to the worm, fussing over the mess it was making. As Yukisada propped the worm up over his shoulder, however, Rock saw it was not, in fact, a giant worm. Rather - something vaguely more of anthropoid in nature than vermicular. Still, the penguin found himself unable to reconcile a positive image of the thing after it had behaved as a worm. First impressions were a total flop.

Yukisada was, by this time, half carrying, half dragging the wormlike creature. The owl planned to take his worm-burden to his clinic, no doubt. Not the best idea. There was considerable distance from the fringe where they fished and the village centre, and a thick trail of blood was oozing from his patient. From the looks of it the thing was even missing a limb or two.

"... Hey."

Yukisada's chest was rising and falling heavily from his efforts, but his wide eyes glanced Rock's way.

"..." Rock's expression twisted. "... Leave it."

"W-What?"

"... It's almost dead. There's no point."

Yukisada's lip trembled. "I-I can't do that."

Rock held his gaze for a moment. Even if it came from books, the owl was the closest thing to a doctor as they had on the island. In all likelihood, he knew just as well as the penguin that this one was a goner already. There was no merit in dragging the prone form into his clinic, no point in dwelling over a life that would be snuffed in short moments. Rock had seen various drifters like this one wasted by the orca. They rarely survived.

The owl hadn't budged. Rock muttered something darkly under his breath before roughly shrugging. "... Fine."

His patient did not awaken that day.

Or the next.

Or the next.

Although her eyes opened, curved pupils flexing under the light, there was no sign of consciousness from within. She would not rise to greet anyone, her mouth only moving mechanically at the presence of food, and she did not respond to outside stimuli. Tidings did not phase her, whether they came in gentle prodding or heavier handed threats.

Word had spread quickly, as it was inevitable that it would on such a small island, and the residents had each taken turns investigating this new oddity. Most went away disappointed, finding the shell dull and uninteresting. A few lingered, thinking of new and creative ways to provoke an interesting response. But still, the stingray did not stir from her deep and dreamless sleep. Yukisada was nearing his wit's end trying to care for his lifeless patient, and the urging of his neighbours to drop the project hung heavy in the air.

Yukisada collapsed over the mattress he had pulled from storage, hoping for a snatch of sleep to ease his nerves. His stomach growled miserably in response, protesting his daily forgetfulness. With eyes closed, all he could see was a warm, freshly baked lemon poppyseed muffin.

"... On second thought, maybe I won't rest. I'd rather not have another lemon poppyseed dream." He mumbled the words more to himself than his patient. He had taken to such little things as speaking to her, even as she refused to speak back. It made the long hours seem a little less harsh, and the silence a little less solemn.

"I told you about the last lemon poppyseed dream, right? The one where the muffins had wings and sharp teeth." Yukisada shuddered at the thought. "They ate everything… Even my house. I thought I'd never want lemon poppyseed muffins after that, but here I am, craving them again. I guess I like them a little too much."

Her breath faltered. Yukisada whipped his gaze over her, a desperate hope flaring in his eyes. He waited with bated breath.

A moment, two… Three… Four, five...

Her breath steadied. The constant rasp he had first found reassuring, and now eerie. His shoulders slumped. Of course… Of course, she hadn't recovered. Yukisada rolled over, facing the wall opposite to her, not wanting to look into her lifeless eyes any longer.

The silence was deafening.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"I'm sorry. I…" His voice faltered, and Yukisada pulled his arms over his face. "... I don't know if I can save you. I want to. I really want to. But… I..."

"I know."

Yukisada shot straight up, wincing as his head violently resisted the sharp motion. He clutched his head with one hand, eyes darting over his patient. He hardly believed it himself, but he swore he saw a faint glimmer of life in her golden eyes.

Had he imagined it?

Was he starting to hear things? See things?

But then it came again, a rasping voice like steel scraped over ice. "It's alright."

He watched, with his very own eyes, as her mouth parted, the sound accompanied by a helpless shrug. And in that moment, his jubilance overcame the solemn atmosphere her demeanor projected. His hands clasped hers, eyes illuminated in delight.

"You're alive! You're really alive! All this time, I thought you might-" he coughed, breaking his hold as he caught his bearings, "I- ah, I mean, I knew you were alive. But not alive, alive. I-I mean, of course you're alive, I didn't mean it like that, but-"

Even if it sounded strange, he couldn't contain the feeling. After a week of sleepless nights, and an ever overbearing sense of dread - if not despair, crippling any positive light… His emotions had swelled to unprecedented heights, and they bubbled over what restraints might have kept the tide at bay.

"- I'm so glad you're alive!"