William snapped back into awareness, suddenly acutely conscious of being slightly cold, weary, aching from being on the hard floor and possibly whatever his body had been doing while he'd been out of it. Gabe was very close, and William flinched before he could stop it, confused by the abrupt drop into reality. His hand flailed a second later and caught Gabe's robe, hopefully to keep him from going far. Although... He blinked, trying to clear his head and shake loose from the dissipating aftermath of the drugs. Was Gabe holding his hand?
His mouth tasted like copper; apparently he'd bitten his tongue at some point. He struggled up as far as a sitting position, using Gabe for support and leverage, and took a wary breath. His eyes found Gabe's, searching dazedly and fighting against the strange double-image of an Arabic guardian in the desert. He dragged in a deep breath, and his voice rasped slightly in his throat when he cleared his throat to speak. "Did it work?"