starlightcafe | Give me one and give me two, cover me with muck and goo.

Entry tags:

Give me one and give me two, cover me with muck and goo.

The birthday campout hadn't quite gone as planned, but it had fueled Lexi and Gobo's friendship enough that, when the idea of a do-over came up, Lexi ultimately agreed to it. After all, she'd only spent a few hours outside on Gobo's birthday. That had been over a week ago, too.

And the first day of the trip hadn't been too bad, she had to admit. They'd picked a different place this time, a spot outside the Other Duckburg where Louie had suggested there might be arrowheads to be found that she could sell for a pretty good price. Sure, the craggy landscape had left Lexi a little concerned about sleeping comfortable, but once she was in her sleeping bag that night, she'd actually been out like a light.

She slept in late the next morning, too, even through several minutes of someone calling her for help... But when the cries did get through to her mind, she awoke with a jolt.

"Gobo? Oh man!" She scrambled out of the sleeping bag and made her way toward the source. It couldn't have just been a relaxed, lucrative little trip, now could it? Great.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gobo had woken up well before Lexi had, and it didn't take long for him to start getting restless. He'd be back before she actually did wake up, right? No harm in exploring around some.

That is, until he didn't see the drop-off over a ridge, thanks to the pre-dawn dimming the view. The good thing was, the actual drop was short. The bad thing, the very bad thing, was that it was into a natural ditch filled with bubbled up tar.

At least that was pretty shallow...?

After landing with what must've been the world's thickest splash- more of a splootch, really -he tried to get to his feet. It was a struggle, but he managed it after a short while. Panting softly, he looked up and assessed his situation. He was out here but Lexi didn't know it. He was up to his knees in tar, which was already covering over half of his body just from the landing. Any clear ground was too far away to grab easily, though perhaps he could struggle his way there...

That consisted of the first good while. Tugging and pulling at his feet, legs, and tail whenever it got bogged down, trying to get to the nearest patch of solid ground. Unfortunately, the sun was already several degrees above the horizon by the time he gave up, slumping down a little into the muck, breathing heavily. Okay, hope's not dead yet. He wasn't that far from camp, right? Lexi could hbopefully hear him if he called for help, which is what consisted of the next little while of his predicamet.

He was just about to give up that too, for hoarseness and breathlessness if nothing else, when he actually heard her in response. One more call, "OVER HERE!" and then he set about trying to get to his feet again.

Lexi's heart was racing. She skidded to a stop as she neared the drop-off, then looked over the ridge...

And despite everything, she breathed a sigh of relief. This was going to be a pain, for sure, but it was something she could figure out her way through. If something or someone had been actively trying to harm Gobo, it would've been way worse.

"Are you okay?" she called down, cupping her hands around her beak.

"Yeah, but I'm stuck!" Evidenced by either losing balance or one knee giving up, because he fell backwards into the muck again.

"And getting tired..." A sharp exhale, more venting to himself than anything else.

"You didn't get hurt from the fall?" Lexi checked in, already glancing about for any natural objects that might be useful, or at least a way down without falling in the tar, herself.

"No, I didn't get hurt. The tar caught my fall."

Dry? His tone? No, must be the exhaustion of trying to get out.

"Can you get a rope from camp, or something?"

"Uh, in a second I can," Lexi said as she took out her phone. She proceeded to take a few pictures of Gobo stuck in the tar, then carefully tucked her phone back away and grinned broadly, looking far too smug.

"So, you wanted a rope?"

Lexi's grin didn't falter at all.

"I'll be right back, Gobo!" she sing-songed, before she lost the willpower to hold back laughter. She did, at least, go to get the rope - coming back quickly, of course.

"I'll be here..." Another sarcastic mumble, and he settled in to wait. He was going to be bald after this, wasn't he.

When she returned and tossed him one end of the rope, he wrapped it around his arm and wrist, then grabbed on with both hands.

"Alright, pull!"

Lexi gave a single nod and started tugging, though it didn't seem to be doing anything. She kept with it all the same, until finally, something gave way. For a splitsecond, she thought maybe the rope had snapped.

Then she had to scramble away as she realized, no it hadn't, and she was about to get hit with one very mucked-up Fraggle.

"Oh, jeez-!"

The tar was reluctant to give up its prize, until it suddenly gave all in one and sent released Gobo into the air like a snapped rubberband. He let out a cry as he flew, and had enough time to brace before hitting the ground with a splorch and a brief roll.

"Great." He sat up with some difficulty, if only because the tar on the back of his head wanted to stay on the ground, feeling like it nearly took his scalp with it. "Now I'm covered in goo and sand."

"What, doesn't this kind of risk go with the whole explorer territory?" Lexi pointed out with a smirk, once she was sure he was alright, relatively speaking.

Well, that, and once she was hadn't wound up with any tar on herself.

"I'm not in the mood, Lex."

He struggled a bit to get up, failed, and fell onto his front, strands of tar splatting out on impact.

"It wouldn't be funny if you were," Lexi explained with a shrug. "I brought some mittens, you need me to go get those and help you out? I mean, the mittens will get ruined, but...." A second shrug, this one more genuine and less smug.

"No." A sharp exhale of a word, as he lay there panting. "Just... give me a minute to rest. I'll be fine."

The other words were breathed out too, mind. He was absolutely wiped, and it was still only mid-morning. There was a long day of cleaning the tar out of his fur before him, and on realizing that he closed his eyes with a low groan through closed mouth.

Aw man, the less he shot back with things, the less fun it was. Lexi sighed, feeling genuinely bad for her friend - because of the situation, not her taunts, but still.

"You want me to call Unca Scrooge?"

He opened his eyes some and glared ahead, weighing how much he wanted to be rescued versus being seen like this. In the end reason won out and he rolled his eyes before answering.

"Yes. Let's get it over with."

"Aw, come on, Gobo, I'm sure you've been seen in more embarrassing situations before," she pointed out, before taking out her phone to make the call.

He struggled against the ground, managing to get one arm up, then the other, with all the trouble- and roughly the sound -of peeling tape off a box.

"Just because there's been ones before doesn't make this aaaannnny easier to deal with."

While Lexi was busy with the phonecall he got to his feet again, and started trying to free his tail from the ground. Maybe if he worked bit by bit off with his fingers, he wouldn't leave much fur behind...

Once the call was wrapped up, Lexi tucked her phone away once again - and shot Gobo a disapproving look when she saw what he was trying to do.

"Dude, you're going to make it worse, stop it," she said - her tone actually quite gentle, even sympathetic... That was entirely genuine, too.

So was her satisfaction, though, when she remembered and began to hum a particular tune.

"I will not, I want my tail." He was pulling on it in earnest now, at least until he realized what Lexi was humming. Rounding on her, he gave her the sharpest glare he could manage.

"Don't you even start-!!"

"Don't start what?" she asked, feigning innocent. "I don't know what you're talking about, Gobo..."

A moment's pause, and then she went all the way, singing out the song - not only loudly, but intentionally off-key.

That sound that comes from him is one usually equivocated with angry cats, and if he wasn't so covered in slime and slate his fur would likely be bristling as well.

She couldn't help a snort of unruly laughter at that, as she took a couple of steps away from Gobo. Just in case.

"Well, you shouldn't have taught me the song, then!"

With a sharp glare he makes a lunge for her, which only unbalances him and sends him right back to the dirt. There he lay for a couple seconds, stunned, then snarled and beat his fists on the ground a few times.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject