Getting Down to Earth
A sequel to Darkness Downstairs, also starring Carmilla Casha//arisu.sofurry.com/" title="arisu"> arisu and the goofy stuff he likes. While labelled as "clean", it's ambiguously naughty but not explicit. I should've done this sooner. Enjoy!
It was a warm, beautiful morning after a night of pouring rain. The sunlight streamed through the trees and the rising mist, every sound was accompanied by a faint splish, and the wet, earthy smell of growing plant life could calm just about any worried person who loved the outdoors.
Unfortunately, one of the people who didn't relax was a tall, strong Lapine woman on her morning run. Carmilla Casha, still distraught after some creepy pantsless guy had broken into her home for no reason, had a head of short brown hair that couldn't really stream out behind her as she ran; her tan fur covered a body of strong, gym-built muscle, but ever since she'd found that she'd been neglecting endurance, she'd taken to skipping rope and jogging in the mornings. Because of the warmth and her discovery that creepy gawking types tend not to get up and outside early in the morning, she'd even bought a pair of dark green sports shorts and a matching top for the occasion. She found the rush of wind on her arms, legs and midriff soothing, and the outfit made back sweat less of an issue.
Despite doing everything that could possibly relax herself, she was still too busy worrying to keep her feet on the path. Her bare feet (like many others, she didn't need shoes) felt the asphalt give way to wet grass, but she'd stop when she'd get tired. Slipping between trees, getting rid of the used air for a fresh breath, ducking a low branch, gradually feeling the sensation of her legs beginning to tire, brushing aside leaves with each swing of her arms, beginning to relax - after all, with a physique like hers, maybe some people would be more intimidated by her than she was by them -
One leg sank up to the knee in something thick, and she came to a sudden halt.
A different worry fell on her as she finally looked back down. Ew, great, she thought to herself, I'm lost and can't hear where anyone is, and how'd this puddle get so big? Surrounded by thick trees, Carmilla had stepped in a mud hole so big that if she'd fallen in, flat on her face with her arms outstretched, she thought she wouldn't have been able to reach both sides. The thought of coming out with one leg all muddy, then the mud drying, put a big, melodramatic frown on her face. Leaning to one side, she tried to hop out, but the soreness in her legs stopped her from bringing her full strength to bear. Instead, she slipped, wobbled around to catch her balance, and sank further, up to her thigh. With a startled yelp, her other foot swung around for purchase, and sank as well.
"Uh, hello?" she called out. "Can anyone give me a hand? Or a rope, or something?"
Splish.
_ Perfect. Just perfect. I had to get the shorts that didn't have a pocket big enough for a phone, and now they're gonna get ruined_. Pausing to catch her breath a bit more, she tensed herself up, and the kind of strength that came from finding an almost meditative calm in the smooth motions of lifting weights, she churned up the mud to turn herself around.
Unfortunately, churning it up just made even more of it give way: by the time she faced the direction she assumed she'd came in, she found herself sunken in right up to her navel. With a frustrated grunt, she threw up her hands (sinking up past her abs in the process), and shouted at the puddle, "Fine! I'm gonna have to ruin my expensive, trendy-looking clothes, and swim my way out!"
Carmilla thrust her arms into the mud, sinking all the way up to her shoulders, and suddenly found her toes touching solid rock. "Huh... Okay, I guess I'll just get myself muddy and wade out." She was just about to take her first step up and forward, when she realized how quickly her frustration and worries were fading. There was nobody around within earshot, only the faint sound of water dripping from the trees to the ground to hear, and being stuck up to her neck in thick mud actually felt relaxing somehow. It wasn't as slimy as she'd first assumed it was; instead, it felt sort of like standing between two big, squishy mattresses or bean-bag chairs. Or maybe one big one. Maybe this is why there are spa treatments like this, she thought to herself. "Hah, if only I'd brought along some... algae cream, and a cucumber!"
Splish.
With a happy sigh, the Rabbit closed her eyes and let herself relax, listening to the gentle sounds around her, and in case anyone came by to see a Lapine woman's head sticking out of the ground. The puddle did look big, and it probably wouldn't dry out any time soon...
_ Oh, why not. I've already gotten it all over the rest of me_. Calling upon all she'd learned in her three attempts at yoga, she took as deep a breath as she could in four seconds, and leaned back. The mud gently enveloped her head, but didn't get up her nose. It felt almost as if she was floating in space, only instead of being empty, it was full and warm. For a second or two, she wished she had a boyfriend to whom she could show this place, the next time it rained. Besides, mud's easy to wash out, and they're only clothes. It gave her the idea of showing up again, with a little backpack. She'd bring a phone, just in case, a bottle of water if it wasn't wet enough or if she was thirsty, and a towel too, then she'd put her clothes in it and hide it somewhere before wading in and spending the morning in her own, private, outdoor spa... Unless someone else had found it and wanted to do the same thing on the same day. Then she'd have to ask whoever it was to back off to let her get dressed and leave first.
By the time she'd made up her mind, she was starting to need to breathe again. Pushing and pulling herself, tensing and flexing against the wet earth that had enveloped her, Carmilla's head broke the surface, and she took a deep breath of the wet, warm morning air again. Shaking her head, flicking droplets and clumps out of her hair and eyelashes, she looked around to find herself as alone as she was when the whole mess had started. Smiling, she slowly stretched her arms outward, then pushed them out while taking a long step forward. She easily waded to one side, the mud giving way to her strength, and reached up with one arm to grab at the edge of the pit. The ground failed to crumble at her grip, and with the help of a nearby end of a tree root, she easily pulled herself free. Looking down to see her body covered with an even coating of drying mud, she gave herself an idea.
_ I bet if I had a picture taken of myself now, I'd look naked_, she almost giggled in her mind. She stood and waited, letting the mud dry into a thin shell around her, before reaching up to the sky and flexing her musculature all at once. The shell had already started cracking at her first stretch, and fell to the ground in pieces as she shook it off of her. All that remained was the odd little patch or two that hadn't dried out fully, and the last little bits on her clothes. While that last little bit had made her feel powerful, even mighty, the whole thing felt like she was a new woman, having shed her worries with that dirt shell, after emerging from a pit that wasn't actually that big of an issue after all. With a newfound surge of pride, she ran back home to shower off.