[With Whiskey struggling so vigorously, Cardigan has an excuse to plunge deeper. Whiskey's nails rip out thin streaks of red that trail into nothing behind them. Cardigan knows their own lung capacity, and that they're approaching the limit where they're be able to make it back. They have to turn back—there's so much left to do. Three meters, two...

They break the seal of Whiskey's mouth with their own tongue, flooding both their mouths with water as they hit the limit, and try to kick off of Whiskey.]