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Will didn’t like small spaces.
Well, that’s not quite true. He just didn’t like small spaces he couldn’t get out of. It was a known fact among the rats. Whenever Will got trapped in a cage, he was near tears when they rescued him. But he could deal with tunnels and caves and even voluntarily get into a cage, so long as he could leave.
This was not, however, a small space he could leave. This was a tiny ditch they had been stuck in during the storm and they physically could not escape because neither he nor Acho had their chisels.
”Oh no, oh no,” they murmured, pacing back and forth. The walls of the ditch seemed to close in on them, suffocating them. Will tried to breathe, but every breath felt shallow. Their lungs burned for air they couldn’t somehow grasp.
Paws gently gripped his own. “Will, it’s okay,” Acho chirped. “They’ll get here soon. Calm down.” Will shook his head, yanking away. Acho didn’t get it- the ditch was too tight, too oppressive. He couldn’t take more than a couple steps before hitting a wall, no matter which way he went. His heart pounded in his chest. Dread loomed over him like a rain cloud, pouring sorrow and misery down into him and it was suffocating him and there was no way out he was trapped he was-
“Hey, Will,” a voice called out, seeming far away. “Can you hear me? It’s Acho.” Acho. They knew Acho. Acho was nice. “Everything’s okay. Can you look at me please?”
They peered open their eyes, unsure of when they’d closed them. Acho stood a distance away, back pressed against the wall. “Hey Will,” they smiled. “Can you take a deep breath with me?”
Will shook his head, not trusting his own voice if he were to talk. He wasn't even sure if he could. “That’s okay. Can you focus on my voice?” Acho grabbed onto his formerly discarded bag. “I- I’m not sure if this will work with you, but it helped Apo when he was like this, so…”
Acho pulled out a letter. “I’m- Can you focus on my voice?”
Will nodded. “Okay, here goes.”
They tried to pay attention, taking a shaky breath of damp air, blood still rushing in their ears. What was Acho doing? How was that going to help? Will could barely breathe, and maybe whatever that had worked on Apo, but how did he know it would work on them? Tears budded in their eyes as they shook, shutting them tight. They couldn’t breathe, they couldn’t-
“Hello, my love. It’s morning as I write this, and things are looking clear today.”
Will paused. He knew that story. That was the letter they had read to calm them down, a long time ago. Acho continued, “No mobilization planned for the next few days, so we have some time to ourselves to recheck equipment and finalize plans before pushing- further eastwards.”
Oh yeah, he always tripped over that part, didn’t he? He always assumed it ended at ‘pushing.’ They took a breath. What was the exercise they had done with their mother? In for four seconds, hold for five, out for six.
“Thank you for your letter. It was wonderful to hear that our Aura enjoyed the capital.”
In for four seconds.
“A really shame that Izan had to be left behind, but perhaps it will teach him some manners.”
Hold for five.
“All the same, don’t be too harsh on him, no? I imagine he’s going through a lot right now.”
Out for six.
What was the next line? It went something like- “Hopefully, if this courier hasn’t spoilt it, there should be a cake delivered with this note.” Yeah, that. He remembered getting so confused, looking for a cake to deliver when there wasn't even a quest there to begin with.
What was Acho saying?
“…but I know how much you adore strawberries.” Will took a deep breath, nerves settling. The walls stopped closing in as much, giving him enough space to finally breathe. Over the dusty air of the cave, he could’ve sworn he smelt strawberries.
“Not a day goes by when I don’t think of you, darling,” Acho read. “and I can only hope this complicated mess is resolved as soon as possible so I can head home.”
Yours forever.
“Yours forever.” Will heard the letter crinkle slightly. “Are you alright?” They nodded, opening their eyes to see Acho still stood away from them.
“Thanks,” Will murmured. “That helped.” They took a seat beside him, leaning on his shoulder. How on earth was Acho so tall? What did he eat as a pup?
Acho smiled. “I thought so. It works on, uh, Apo and Oliver, so I just guessed it’d work on you too.”
“Yeah, you read that for me a while ago. When we were stuck in a cage.” He paused. “Do you think she ever got her cake?”
”Who- The mom?”
“Mhm. Do you think she liked it?”
“I think so?” Acho said, more of a question than a statement. “I hope she didn’t, like, throw it away. That’d be a bit mean.”
Will nodded and shut his eyes. When would their friends get here? Were they even- Deep breaths, Will, don’t panic. He clutched onto Acho’s sweater sleeve. Grandma had given them those, right? She didn’t want them to freeze to death in the cold. Will shivered slightly.
“Oh- Here,” Acho placed a lantern on the ground near them, radiating heat and light. The ditch looked a lot larger all of a sudden. Their breathing settled finally, no longer quick and shallow. They curled into Acho’s side, relaxing.
A voice caught them off guard- “Hello?” Somebody called. “We’re back, we got the chisels.” Owen? Will’s head snapped toward the now moving ditch wall, the one that had trapped them in a while ago. More voices joined- Trash-Rat, Apo, a few others. Dirt crumbled around them as sharp iron shined through.
“Will, Acho, come on!” Scott shouted. Not wasting another moment, he grabbed their hand and ran towards the wall, digging at it as a hole enlarged. The moment he could, Will slipped through and into the night. The crisp air swirled in his lungs in a way that the dampness of the ditch couldn’t. He took a few quick breaths, choking slightly on the air change.
“You alright Will?” Bek asked as Acho pulled himself out. They nodded. “Oh, good. How did you even get stuck in there?”
“We got buried,” Will muttered, futilely shaking rainwater off of them. “The storm was really bad, mhm.”
“We’ve got to get you two back to the treehouse,” Owen said, taking off into the forest. The other rats hurried to catch up. Will ran after them. This, at least, felt rather familiar.
”Are you okay?” Acho asked, suddenly beside him. “That was a lot.” They thought back. The dampness of the cave air still stuck to them, but it was being washed off by the rainfall. There was still a slight anxiousness in their chest, but it was slowly ebbing away, replaced by gentle exhaustion. Will smiled at him.
“Yeah, I’m good now.” Maybe when he got back to the treehouse, he could get Lizzie to bake some strawberry cake.