A sweet summer fling comes to an end - but not without something to show for it. The doe walking along the river is as swollen as its banks after the heavy rain the night before. She pauses for a moment when one hoof gets sucked into the thick mud, cursing softly as she tugs it free and then stumbles a little, her center of gravity off, though manages to catch herself before she falls.

Not exactly the picture of grace and seductive allure she usually portrays.

Sighing as she catches her breath, she glares out at the pretty scene before her, annoyed.

Her mother had told her about the legendaries of the swamp, but so far all she's seen are the same trees, bugs, and the occasional squirrel. Not to mention she's hot, tired, and hungry.

"Ugh....I could eat a boar."

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Trees, bugs, the occasional squirrel - and one brightly coloured bird, that swooped in from above and circled around her head with a warbling song. Then it flapped its way over to a large mangrove root, carefully avoiding the mud that the doe was currently struggling with, and turned into a glowing-eyed Kiokote.

“I wouldn’t recommend it,” Watch Me said, balancing delicately on the root, not at all interested in getting dirty today. “Boar meat is very tough. Pigs, however. Much more juicy. They cook wonderfully.”

"Son of a---!" The doe exclaims with a startled gasp, and, in the process, loses her battle with the mud and tilts over. Her eyes widen, and she utters something that sounds like the start of a denial - just before she plops wetly, and heavily, into the mud.

"Ugh...." Frowning sharply, she looks down at herself, and her ears drop as she seems to simply, if not exactly accept her situation, then at least resign herself to it. At least the mud is soft... and cool. It's starting to get hot.

Her annoyance, however, is largely thwarted by her surprise at having watched a bird just turn into a kin and, she realizes with a start, he's quite becoming.

"...Right. Well, honestly, I'd go for either at this point. I've been wandering all morning and I'm tired." She smiles faintly at him and wonders if the mud spoils the charm in it at all. "I'm not exactly at my best right now, you know. You *could* help a girl out, though. Please?"

She bats her eyes for effect.

@Ruriska

“Oh dear,” said the Legendary, giving a pleased little smile because it was nice to have that sort of effect on kin. The doe had been so stunned by his visage she had simply plopped into the mud and that was quite the ego stroke.

Watch Me had been around the Swamp a few times and enjoyed the company flirtatious does and bucks, enough so that her tone and the batting of her eyes was not missed. Unfortunately for her, he was entirely unmoved.

It wasn’t that she wasn’t pretty, it was just, well -

“I’m so sorry,” he said, as delicately as he could, “but you’re not my type.” He winced a little, for her sake. It was hard to let someone down but there was really no getting around it. Watch Me would hate to lead her own.

“Buuuuut,” he said with a very big wink and nod, “I can tell that you were someone else's type. So don’t feel too bad.”

Then he continued to perch on the mangrove root and made absolutely no attempt to help her at all.

@Owlsomniac

The doe gapes a little at that, and then she laughs. It's so absurd that she can't help herself, though it seems entirely in good humor, which is surprising - given her situation.

"Oh no -- you're very beautiful, don't get me wrong," she flashes him a quick grin, her eyes sparkling a little. "However, as you so clearly put it, I'm hardly in any state to go looking for someone to bed down with at the moment."

She sighs and then glances upward through the filtered light streaming through the mangrove leaves, then back to the buck.

"Though, if you'd be so kind as to help me out of the mud - I'd consider it a very gentlemanly act."

@Ruriska

Watch Me was glad she understood and hadn’t taken offence but he still wasn’t enthused with the idea of helping her out of the mud, simply because it meant he would need to get into it. He’d only just taken a bath this morning.

“I’m sure it would be very gentlemanly indeed but I am here for a higher purpose,” he told the unfortunate doe, hoping it would distract her from her predicament.

“I am here to bless your children!”

It was the sort of announcement that made him wish that he had a cheer squad following him around.

@Owlsomniac

"I... what?" Is this what her mother had meant?

"Well.... I suppose it couldn't hurt things, could it?" Though, it hasn't gone unnoticed that the buck has ignored her request for help getting out of the mud. Her eyes narrow a little in speculation, and she arches a brow at him.

@Ruriska

“It is my utmost pleasure to assist you and ensure that your unborn children arrive in the Swamp with the auspicious eye of the MotherFather upon them. I am one of her chosen, granted the power to beseech her for mercy, so that they may blossom to their full potential!”

This was all said with much gravitas and emotion, as he attempted to convey his importance and thus how demeaning it would be for someone of his stature to crawl about in the mud. Plus she was only pregnant. It wasn’t as though she couldn’t do it herself.

But maybe he did feel a little bad because he asked, “would you like anything in particular? Beauty? Musical ability? Is their father or any descendants an Acha? Acha children are a delight. Trust me.”

@Owlsomniac

A bemused smile greets the extravagant blessing, and the doe shifts awkwardly and finally manages to pull herself up from the sticky mud.

"Actually, my mother is an acha." She says simply. "My siblings are all acha as well."

After a moment, she considers his question. "Beauty is always useful, but more than that they should be strong of wit. After all good looks can only get you so far."

“Ah, perfect!” Watch Me would have spread his wings in delight but since he wasn’t a bird right now, he sort of just bounced a bit on the spot. “You have marvellous lineage!”

He looked somewhat doubtful about her next pronouncement - beauty had always done him well enough - but he had asked her what she wanted and he liked to please.

“Very well then! May your children inherit Acha traits as well as great beauty! And yes, some quick wits as well would be lovely, if you are feeling generous, oh great MotherFather!”

@Owlsomniac

"Oh, why thank you," she says, as she steps a little closer. "I do appreciate you finding me to deliver such a generous blessing, and as for the rest.. "

Her smile, then, makes her eyes gleam in an a way that is entirely reminiscent of a mischievous acha as she suddenly shakes herself, bodily, and flings mud everywhere. When she stops and meets his eyes again (the glow even more pronounced now thanks to the dark mud splattering his body), she smiles toothily.

"Well, as for the rest, it appears I was able to get up on my own after all."

@Ruriska

Watch Me was very pleased with himself. So very pleased that he really wasn’t paying much attention to the doe at all anymore. His blessings were clearly of the highest quality and -

“Aaah!” He cried, shying away from the onslaught of mud that splattered across his face and body, dirtying his mane and clinging to him as if he had some horrible disease that caused brown splodges. His back hoof slipped on the root and rather than make his predicament wose, he shifted.

He flapped up as a songbird, feathers covered in mud and gave her a reproachful squawk. How rude! Right after he had blessed her children! With nothing else to say to her, Watch Me flew away, indignant and in need of another bath.

She laughs, and watches him go, a lightness in her heart. Then she, too, turns for home (and a bath). At least the day has been a success, more or less, and she'll have a story for her family to tell.