Mud, mud glorious mud

[sluttylyingliar]

Wet can be sexy. Rachel's been doused in enough water as a model to know that. Drops of water running down the body just so. Maybe even a little mud smeared here and there. Totally hot.

This, this is not hot. This is weeks of soul-crushing, hair ruining, roof leaking horror. You know what else is not hot? Trudging around in rain boots and giant rain

Comments

[angriestman]

He's never been anywhere with rain so persistent. The rain pours down, bouncing off the brim of his hat and his boots squelch, and he's never been so grateful for a good pair of boots. He hears her cursing before he sees her and then he stops. Dead.

To his credit, he doesn't so much as crack a smile.

"Need a hand there, sweetheart?"

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel hates everything.

She chokes down a few more creative swears before fixing him with a wet, pissy glare, about as effect as a wet kitten.

"Don't you laugh," she warns, pointing a muddy finger at him.

[angriestman]

"You see me laughin'?" asks Raylan, checking his footing before he walks closer, heels sinking deeply into the mud. Against her better judgement, he offers her his hands.

"You pull me in, I'll spank you," he says, with an easy grin.

[sluttylyingliar]

"You know that's not actually a reason not to, right," she scoffs, lifting her dirty hands up with a long-suffering sigh. "I would pull you in, but I respect the hat."

[pitythetrumper]

Freddie hadn't thought until this very moment that there was a benefit to days and days and, well, weeks of water. That changed when he saw the woman in the mud. It didn't entirely make up for getting soaked every time he decided he needed to eat, but it did make up for much of it.

He was two parts gentleman and one part rogue as he leaned over, offering her a hand. "You really should sell tickets if you're going to do that, you know," he suggested. "You'd make a killing."

[sluttylyingliar]

"Then you have seriously low expectations, buddy, if this look does anything for you," she grumbles, eyebrow raised as she takes his hand, feet already slipping as she tries to push up.

[pitythetrumper]

"You, another woman, the mud, they have an entire sport devoted to that," Freddie said as he grabbed her hand. His own feet as he neared the pit weren't as stable as they should have been and, as she slipped, he lost his balance. The only thing that could have been said for him was that he didn't land on her. Only next to her.

Karma was biting him on his ass.

"That didn't work out like I'd planned on."

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel's mouth drops open as she blinks at him, finding herself back on her ass and now with company. "Well shit," she finally says. "Now what do we do? I mean, I guess if we get enough people in here we can crawl over them."

[backward]

The splash and ensuing screams (audible even over the persistent sounds of rain) lure Effy off the path quickly, her curiosity piqued as she makes her way over wet ground paved with soggy leaves. She moves slowly, carefully, but with more purpose than she had just a moment ago, when she was only wandering.

When she breaks through the clearing, Effy freezes in place. Hold one, two, three, up to ten seconds, maybe, and then she starts laughing. Hard. "Oh wow," she coughs, nearly choking on her own words. "You look like you're swimming in shit."

[sluttylyingliar]

"Would you like to join me?" she asks, arching a brow as she tries unsuccessfully to turn over. "Fuck. I hate this place. Fucking....mud."

[backward]

"Careful," warns Effy, tilting her head to one side. "You never know who's listening. Or what. It looks to me like the island already has it out for you."

She doesn't yet buy into the theory that this gigantic slab of land and rock is somehow responsible for all the weird shit that occurs, but she's more accepting of the possibility than some others. At the very least, she's willing to be proven wrong.

Effy crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you gonna ask for help?"

[sluttylyingliar]

"Give me a second, I'm still seething with rage," Rachel mutters, finally flopping over to her knees. "Frankly, and I don't imply this very often, I'm afraid if you fell in here I might accidentally crush you to death."

Seriously, as much as it pains her to admit, this British chick is tiny.

[brookesmart]

Brooke tops the other side of the ridge at almost the same moment, neatly sidestepping sudden spray of mud kicked up as Rachel goes down.

For one long moment, Brooke only stares, her mouth wide open, and then she begins laughing so hard she has to grip her knees for support. "Oh my god," she gasps. Rachel's hair is plastered down over her ears, her eyes wide and mournful. "You look just like that little mouse from An American Tail! Wait, you're not dying are you?"

A quick glance tells her that Rachel is not sinking deeper like Artax, and she's free to laugh again, which she does, long and hard until her tears mix with the rain.

[sluttylyingliar]

"Fuck you, you fat ass," Rachel grumbles, mud seeping into her socks and panties. "I hate you. Come get me out."

[brookesmart]

"Says the girl whose underwear is full of mud," Brooke chirps, finally managing to right herself. "And not! Until you ask me nicely. It's okay."

She plants her hands on her hips. "I'll wait!"

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel really doesn't want to do that.

"Brooke, I think I might've seriously hurt my ankle," she says in a small voice, blinking a few times before fixing her with a scared look. "I'm not fucking around."

[makethem_notice]

The rain was kind of horrible, but somehow, Tom had managed so far to come through it without completely drowning his good mood. That same stupid smile that had been plastered on his face for weeks, now, was still there that morning, and still there when he heard a shriek and a splash up ahead of him on the path.

He managed not to laugh, managed to look sympathetic, but that smile was still threatening to break loose when he said, "Whoa. Hey, Rachel. Uh, need some help?"

[sluttylyingliar]

Rachel spends another few moment fuming at being found by someone in this completely ridiculous position before pouting up at him. "Yes," she grinds out. "I think I'm stuck."

[makethem_notice]

In the face of all that pouting, Tom couldn't help but laugh, making sure his feet were secure on relatively solid ground and then leaning down to give her a hand.

"Come on, I'll pull you up."

[sluttylyingliar]

This seems like a bad idea, but she reaches a slippery hand out anyway. Maybe Tom can do some pirouettes or something to get her out. "You're gonna have to pull really hard," she warns, trying and failing to tug a boot free. "Don't land on me when you fall in."