Vaclaytion (9) : With rain brings mud, which on its own isn’t particularly worrisome in a place like Destiny City. Unless you find a strange, thick, mud puddle in a fairly odd place. On the surface, it seems pretty straight forward–it’s a dirty brown, clay-like sludge that smells like earth. It just acts like something else. Step too close, and it moves. It grabs. Out of the puddles and patches of dark clay, a near-human shape unfurls and reaches an arm-like appendage out for the nearest living creature. With impossible strength, it can pull anyone into its mucky form. A hard clay shell immediately begins to form, capable of fully encasing someone in a matter of seconds. People have been found fully trapped. The only way to break out is for someone to chip away the clay, to somehow manage enough force to break it from the inside, or to pray a hard rain will soften it up enough for you to escape. It’s a wonder no one has suffocated yet. No one seems to remember what happened clearly–or if they do, it’s too impossible to believe. Ultimately, it’s a horrible experience; even if your skin feels oddly refreshed, this is the worst mud bath you’ll ever have.
Lionel was not a spa guy. He appreciated that his boyfriend was, but it was truly not his thing; he got too fidgety laying around doing "self care." Self care for him, really, was time with his guitar or being elbow deep in a car engine trying to fix a problem. Massages and facemasks and...whatever else? Not his style.
Certainly, mud baths were not a thing he had ever thought to indulge in, especially since they seemed so contradictory. You were just....getting dirtier. Why even.
Unfortunately, the mud seemed to want him.
He hadn't even noticed the puddle until he put his boot in it, and by then it was too late. Something grabbed his ankle, holding him in place, no matter how much he tried to tug himself free once he felt the grasping thing.
And it was climbing up his leg, swiftly.
"s**t. Help! Please!"
He wasn't even sure if there was anyone around to hear him, or if it would matter, given how fast the mud was growing upwards. But some extra leverage would definitely help.
xxgenovianprince
Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2025 10:05 pm
Amateru preferred patrolling with someone, but patrolling alone wasn't bad enough to make him consider staying home instead. Someone needed to do it, after all. The civilians needed someone to protect them. The Negaverse certainly didn't, no matter how much they all claimed otherwise. He sensed the aura of another senshi nearby and he perked up, heading towards it eagerly—making a new friend was intimidating, but also nice. The more allies they had, the better, et cetera, blah blah blah.
Of course, the cry for help only quickened his step, and he sprinted towards the voice, arriving just in time to watch the mud finish its climb up the man's body and finish encasing him, hardening to create a shell.
"Stay calm," he said firmly, though somewhat breathlessly, as he got next to the mad statue that was formerly a man. "I'm going to help."
Alright. What to do? Ah, if only he had anything sharp... Taking a deep breath, he took hold of the senshi's upper arm and forearm, then, using simple brute strength, forcefully slammed the man's arm closed, going with the elbow joint because he wasn't a complete lunatic, and huffed in triumph when a bunch of the mud crumbled away. At least now he had an opening.
There was something nightmarish about finding the clay climbing and climbing, fast enough that before Lionel even really knew what was happening, it had covered him completely.
It was dark. Sounds from outside were muffled. And he couldn't even really struggle inside--there was a little room, but not much. And how much air could there possibly be in here? It wasn't airtight, obviously, but there couldn't possibly be enough--
Surely he wasn't going to die this way. Surely he hadn't escaped the Negaverse and worked his way out of near-suicidal depression just to die encased in ******** clay.
But there was help. A voice. Barely audible, but what Lionel could feel was his arm being moved, leveraged--and the clay cracking around it.
He was going to get out.
Lionel waved his arm, a little--not enough range of motion to start trying to help get himself out, but enoguh that he hopped it passed for a clear appreciation of the help given so far.
genovianprince
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2025 12:38 am
Well, that was confirmation that the person inside wasn't hurt. His tail flicked and he allowed himself a small smile of triumph. Snorting, he dig his fingers in between the mud and skin at the man's shoulder and continued ripping off chunks of mud, going straight up to try and release the poor senshi's face first, now that he had a good in. He fingers became more deft and gentle as he moved over the senshi's neck and up his face, gradually clearing enough of the mud that the person beneath would be able to breathe and look around. He still looked quite filthy, but the important bits were free.
"Howdy," he said pleasantly. "Don't reckon you're much enjoyin' this?"
As more and more of his body was freed, Lionel started to struggle some himself. With more room to move, he could start shifting inside his clay prison, beginning to crack things from the inside, and once his head was freed and he could breathe, the sens of relief was--well, something else.
It was also sort of a surprise to find himself at eye level with the man in front of him--at his height, he was sort of used to having to look down to talk to people. But, hey, no complaints.
Also, this was not a human. Ears, little horns, tail--one of those alien Senshi, like the ones Kiyoshi kept bringing home (not that Lionel could criticize his host's habit of bringing home strays when that was the only reason he had a home.)
"Not in the slightest," he said. "Thank you, it's starting to give more the more you pull off." And, he could actually help himself some--chunking off pieces of clay and letting them fall to the ground. And the more came off, the more he could move, until finally, he kicked one leg, then the other, and found the clay giving way there, too.
"s**t,t hat was awful. Lucky you found me in time, I don't...really want to think about what might have happened if I'd been stuck in there for too long."
genovianprince
Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2025 1:05 am
Amateru chuckled slightly at the response, enjoying the process of ripping the chunks of mud off. He stood back a little when the senshi realized he could start doing most of it himself and decided that perhaps the young man before him would like to be the only one touching his body now that he had the ability to rescue himself from the odd new magical mess that had sprouted from.. most likely, the ground, given the whole "mud" thing. Normally, he enjoyed mud, but this really took the cake, and he decided he never wanted to deal with it from the inside the way the senshi in front of him had to tonight.
"It's certainly not worth thinking about," Amateru said with a slight nod. "No use in silly what-ifs, especially when you're just fine. It was nice to meet you, by the way. I'm Amateru, Senshi of Cattle. I'm glad I was nearby and heard you—I'd already been on my way over anyhow, just to introduce myself, so I'm very glad I was hangin' 'round tonight."
