Down for a dip? (OPEN)

[Mary Forest]

The sun was getting close to setting, but it was still hot. far too bloody hot for Mary's liking. she'd take off her hoodie but she had a style going damn it and she couldn't just ruin it. her style was Murder-hobo and she pulled it off nicely thank you.

Actually she was joking, but yeah maybe she shouldn't walk into anyone with that blood stain on her clothes. stupid lizard being so squirmy and hard to kill, it only made things harder on itself refusing to hold still and get its head cut off. and then it was spiteful enough to not even taste good. "what was i thinking about?" she asked herself, having lost her train of thought..... taste. squirm. lizard. blood..... oh yeah cleaning her clothes.

Mary took a path that went downhill a ways until she came out at one of the prettier lakes in the area, one she'd been to every time she came this way. it was peaceful, plus she knew it was safe to drink the water so that was a life saver in these hills.

Soon she was stretched out next to the water, chewing on what meat was left from that damned lizard and tossing the bones into the water. if there was any fish there maybe they ate bones. hopefully not seeing as she was going to go swimming as soon as she was no longer in danger of getting cramps.

Until then she was going to get to the actual point of coming here, Mary pulled off her hoodie and smelled it, immediately scrunching up her nose. that's what weeks of walking through heat would do she supposed. really everything needed washing. So in short order she was down to her underwear, dunking her Jeans into the water, rubbing at the blood with a flat rock as best she could. man she needed to get a wire brush or something soon. or a maid.

despite the boring job, Mary was feeling good. she had no problems, a full belly, and a source of fresh water. Often she was glad to just get one of them so yeah. life was good. she really did want that swim though, damn she should have saved the food til after she'd worked up an appetite, stupid hindsight.

[Nadia Winters]

There was a positive to living near the lakes. While water was never an issue, just the sight of something other than mountains had made living in a shack nearby, made it all worth it. Nadia was thankful that she appreciated what others didn't and that was the environment, a scenery, something to look at and wonder about. Scenery let your mind jump start on ideas and it was often satisfying.

Nadia had been sitting near the lake this whole time, just not so close to the person who seemed to be on a laundry task. Taking a long drag of a cig, her eyes never really left the woman and especially now that she in nothing but her underwear. Apparently she was on a mission. The hunter exhaled, leaving a cloud of smoke dancing in front of that freckled face of hers.

"You know..." She finally spoke up, almost deciding to put out her cig but deciding against it. She'd had to make it last until she could get her hands on another pack. "You're really making it harder on yourself." Standing up from her spot, she slowly made her way over to the girl in this god forsaken heat. "I could get you a brush if you want..." There was an offer and Nadia didn't openly offer to help people she didn't know but seeing how she wasn't doing a damned thing right now. Why not?

She scoffed, letting out a chuckle as she took another drag. "Or you can stay beating at your bloody clothes with a rock."

[Mary Forest]

Mary jumped a mile at the sudden voice, having thought she was completely alone up here, her head whipping around so fast she almost got whiplash. her eyes flicked to where her jeans were laying well out of her reach, and where her knife was still sheathed. whelp, better hope this one was friendly.

as the woman approached, Mary stood up easily, having absolutely no shame or embarrassment about her state of dress she made no move to cover herself or the like. As a sign of good faith she tossed the rock in her hand back into the lake, setting off a series of ripples as it sank. "you're telling me." she agreed, "If there was an easy way to do this i'd have been sunbathing a while back instead of this nonsense." Mary paused at the offer of the brush, "oh. yeah that would probably be a much better idea you're right." well then she supposed this was rather serendipitous. "if you're looking for payment? the best I can offer is a few scraps of left over lizard. would have saved you the tail if I knew you were there."

Mary laughed along with the woman. "I'm betting I looked pretty stupid huh?" she asked, already knowing the answer. "It was working though. I swear it's better then when I started." she pulled her jacket out of the water and stared annoyed at the stains that were still a damp dark red that showed absolutely no sign of being cleaned. she grunted and dropped it in disgust. "Reality hates me. I finally have proof."

[Nadia Winters]

The woman didn't look like a familiar face and not that Nadi kept track of every single person she passed by, it was just human nature to put names to the faces you saw almost every day. Nadia so happened to eye the knife but if someone was a serious threat, she doubted they'd be near the lake trying to wash their clothes off.

Besides, it was a free country right? Despite how much of a country it currently was, it was still one that people could freely roam about. Which may or may not come with a few consequences. Nadia smiled somewhat as she glanced off to the side, taking another drag. A hand raised, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked back down. "No. Not looking for some kind of payment. "I've had my share of lizard... not too appetizing."

"Stupid wouldn't be the word for it... struggling, maybe." Taking a better look at the jacket that was pulled out, she gestured a finger towards it. "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Chuckling as she glanced behind her before looking back at the woman. She was feeling a bit nice today, "How about this. You can give your clothes a proper wash at my place, yeah? And a shower if you need one. Just as long as you promise that knife stays sheathed. I'd hate to be attacked on the only day I feel like being nice."

Dropping her cig to the ground, she stomped it out with the front of her boot. "Or you can stay smashing rocks at your clothes, nearly naked... in the sun." She added, chuckling at the sight.

[Mary Forest]

The funny part was that the woman probably lived around here and knew it well. So to imagine it from the perspective of somewhere you saw every day but usually not with the context of 'sudden almost naked lady' was pretty hilarious. Mary wanted to think about how her Grandfather would react to this and chuckled, probably a lot of yelling and him throwing a bible at her. Man if Granddad ever heard everything Mary had been up to lately she was going to get her ass kicked.

"you're telling me. that things going to be haunting my insides for days i'm sure." Mary agreed, not blaming the lady for not having any interest. she felt awkward just standing here, not because of her state of dress but that she didn't really have anything to be doing other then talk. she was used to be able to start fidgeting with whatever was in her pockets or her zipper when she was thinking.

Mary laughed along with the woman and shrugged. "Yeah struggling's a kinder way to put it. much appreciated." she agreed easily, actually enjoying the conversation, it was a nice change to meet someone easy to get along with. She didn't expect the offer and it showed on her face. "That's... that's incredibly kind of you, thanks." she accepted, briefly thinking she didn't need a shower before remembering it'd been. she blinked. yeah time was fluid and she didn't remember how long ago that last village was behind her. less then a fortnight more then a week. good enough.

"fair enough." Mary said, before crouching down and pulling the sheath loose from her belt, never even touching the knife she tossed it across the stones so that it landed pretty much at the other woman's feet. "I'll have it back when I leave." she said casually. Yeah that was potentially dangerous, but Mary was extremely self confident bordering on narcissism and believed she was perfectly capable of defending herself even unarmed.

Mary gathered the wet clothes into a ball, and slid her feet into her boots without socks or bothering to tie the laces. "Hey I was having fun with the rocks. got me in touch with our Neanderthal ancestors." she grinned, "but we moved out of caves for a reason, lead on Miss."