[written by Ellis and Mira]

Having maintained her grades for the week along with Elaine's permission to use the Jeep as she pleased, Kiara cracked her knuckles and set about preparing to drive into the wilderness outside of her new home in Saskatoon. This would be her first solo adventure since moving here, a prospect that made her both nervous and terribly excited. She asked Elaine several times if it really was alright to take the car and the camera, afraid she'd be leaving her roommate-turned-friend out of the loop, but Elaine was firm in her refusal to go along this time. She had her own grades to think about, or so she told Kiara. Frankly, Kiki wasn't convinced this was all Elaine wanted the time alone for - the blonde had been unusually dark-eyed from lack of sleep the last few weeks. She was always ahead of schedule for her assignments, so it couldn't have been homework she was concerned about. Whatever the case, Kiara didn't pry. Grateful to have the car, she was largely preoccupied with getting back outside. Her feet had begun to ache for the bare grass again, her hands for the fresh soil and the leaves and well, all of it! Making money felt like a bonus she didn't deserve; wasn't work supposed to be painful and difficult?

The only really difficult part of being a glorified porn star (she'd thought with much amusement, even if Elaine didn't find it funny) was dealing with various requests from some of her viewers. She'd been smart enough to lock the requests behind a paywall (some photos were set to a free status, giving possible customers a taste of her tanned toes or repurposed photos of her sculpted legs on the beach), and although not afraid to say no to anything too weird, she was still concerned about satisfying the people who parted ways with their money for her.

Chief among these requests was often for something penetrative, and this was always met with a gentle suggestion to pick something else. What followed next was either speaking directly to a customer, or an often shy plea for her to record herself in a place outside of the bedroom. That was how Kiki found herself in the wilderness that first time with Elaine. Giggling over the possible locations one night, huddled in the dark over a shared computer, they chose the best out of a list that included such things as the public library and outdoor cafés.

"It's good to be back," she sighed, rolling down the window and inhaling the fresh scent of grass and rainwater. Her reminiscing had taken her to the first place she and Elaine had set up the cameras, though any passive onlooker would never know they'd been out there. Gently rolling by, she passed the spot with a smile and continued on, looking for something new and quiet. Living in Miami had been good preparation for the level of moisture in the air and the surrounding wetness of the river, although Saskatoon was decidedly less humid. Shuddering in remembrance of the never-ending thickness of both heat and rain, Kiara was only too glad to be away from Florida. Sure, she loved the beaches and the crabs that roamed freely and the bizarre assortment of animals one could find in their yard, but strictly speaking about weather, it was a wonderful thing indeed not to be so toasted all year round.

Of course, winter here was an entirely different story, but she wasn't worried about that right now.

Finally finding a place to park that wouldn't damage any of her surroundings, Kiara stepped out of the Jeep with a smile. The sun had already begun its descent down the horizon, but was still high enough to cast brilliant rays of light over the leaves that surrounded her. Dew and puddles alike shimmered - she was in another world, out here. Too eager to fuss with the camera, she ran out, her shoes flying back into the Jeep as she moved. The yearning to dig her toes into the earth was irresistible. Kiki ran until she was out of breath, whereupon she threw herself down and slid her fingers and toes into the wet ground, relishing in the sensation.

Having indulged her childlike ecstasy, Kiara got to her feet and jogged back to the Jeep, not bothering to brush the dirt from herself. She took care to wipe her hands on a towel hung on the door, though, before assembling the all-important recording equipment with keen professionalism.

Her heartbeat slowing, she took the site at a walk, scouting out likely places for a shoot. It was a clear day, so there was plenty of light to work with, but she stepped into the treeline just the same. In their brief forays into paid content it seemed their videos filmed in partial shade did markedly better than those in full sunlight.

Perhaps it was the moodiness people liked. This place certainly had a pleasant atmosphere to it, the cool air under the canopy positively succulent. Kiara inhaled hungrily, exhaled with a grin. She would gladly find any excuse to come out here. So long as she relied on the Jeep, though, she'd need something to show for it. And fair enough—she and Elaine needed the money.

With a reluctant but no less delicious sigh, Kiara opened the camera and began peering through the viewfinder to test out possible angles. She wandered like this for several minutes, never quite satisfied in her experiments. Suddenly, her foot plunged away beneath her and she stumbled forward with a yelp. Catching her balance, she looked down: Her focus on the little screen had been so intense that she hadn't even noticed a wide pit of mud spreading out in a shady clearing.

Taking a step back, her foot was relinquished from the grasping mud, which seemed unwilling to let go. Frowning, she looked down at the mud pit. Its surface was flat, unassuming, pale brown in the half-light of the clearing. She was about to leave when a thought struck her, the remembered comment of one of their regulars, in2deep666:

"I'd luv to see you sink sometime babe, nothing would be hotter for me. I got dirty money for my dirty girl ;p"

With a bite of her lip, Ki put aside her hesitation. She unfolded the tripod and set it up on the most level patch of earth she could find, adjusting the camera so most of the pit and its far bank fit in the frame. With a button's press the red recording light came on, and she strode confidently to the spot she had chosen. Making these videos was easy enough—she really didn't need Elaine's help at all. Still, this was her big chance to show her friend she could be trusted with the equipment; it only felt right that she should do something daring for her first solo shoot.

Her nerves were surprisingly jittery, but she steadied them with a final deep breath and got into character, blowing her signature kiss to the camera which served both to greet her viewers and as a film slate to assist her future self in editing. Posing extravagantly to show off her youthful curves, she spoke in the same sultry voice she had discovered she possessed the day of their first shoot.

"Hell-oh, darlings! You won't believe what I've found today—something very special. I'm here all alone, but I'm making this video, just for you, so you can watch me play. I'm your dirty girl, Kiki, and all I want is, ohhh..."

Artfully, she mimicked slipping on the shore, the mud yielding around her shins. "It's cold," she told the camera. "But it's so hot out here, and this pit is so deep..."

Shuffling forward, she stumbled candidly enough as the pit's edge fell away unexpectedly. Now submerged to her upper thighs, the channels of mud in her wake closed behind her with a wet slapping sound. Moaning sensuously, Kiki lifted a handful of the thick mud to her mouth and smeared it down her chest. She didn't have to try very hard to act; this really did feel good, and set her blood pumping.

Having deemed her reflexive fondlings adequate, she addressed the camera once more: "How deep does it go?" she asked in her best imitation of naïve curiosity. "Let's see if I can... oh!"

Genuine surprise again as the invisible floor disappeared completely. The heavy mud kept her from righting herself and she fell forward bodily, submerged up to her chin as the mud enveloped her thickly. Her mask quite forgotten, she panted in a moment of panic before realizing her face was still clear of the mud. She tried moving her limbs to pull herself back toward the shore, but they only drew closer to her sides. She could feel herself sinking. The mud pushed tightly on her chest. The little air she held in her lungs gave music to her distress.

"Just relax, you're going to be okay," came a voice from somewhere out of view. Kiara swelled with relief; someone was here, someone who could rescue her.

"Help me," she cried feebly. "I'm going to drown. Hurry!"

"You'll be okay," the voice repeated. "Just relax."

"I can't, I-"

"Relax. Breathe."

Closing her eyes, Kiara let out the last bit of air she clung to like a life raft, before filling her lungs with life itself—a fierce, primordial breath of clean air.

All at once, she began to feel calm again. The added buoyancy allowed her body to float, and with the cessation of her struggle her instincts registered that this mud could support her weight.

"Well done," said the strange voice. "I'm glad you're okay. But who are you? Why did you come here?"

"You're one to talk!" snapped indignant Kiara, forgetting her position. "Get me out of here, will you?"

"Sorry, I can't help you in that way. But you can get out! Work with me. Listen to my voice."

"I want to see your face," Kiara insisted. "You're one of those creeps from my page, aren't you?"

"I don't know what you mean, but if it will help, certainly, I will communicate visually."

Before Kiara could comment on the stranger's odd choice of words, a woman appeared on her left, walking over to stand facing her on the far shore. She was naked, her long tangled hair and her plump figure coated completely with what appeared to be mud from the pit. It was hard for Kiara to see from where she floated, but she fancied a queer light twinkled in the woman's eyes.

Terrified, she demanded, "Who are you? Where am I?"

"One and the same, my dear. You mean well, but know so little. So very little." The woman shook her head sadly, momentarily distracted. Collecting herself, she then repeated, "Work with me, now. Your limbs can help you get back to shore, but you have to work with me."

Though Kiara grew impatient and no less uneasy with these cryptid wordings, the utter weirdness of the situation and the comedown from her recent panic allowed her to focus. With some trial and error, she found the mud was yielding. Once she learned how to move within it, it seemed almost to carry her where she wanted to go. It was odd but, climbing exhausted from the pit, she felt a certain sense of loss and melancholy in leaving.

The wild woman stood beside her, but never came near enough to touch. "Are you okay?"

Kiara nodded, panting in recovery.

"Will you be going now? I wish you happiness in life."

"Who are you?" Kiara asked again, frankly afraid of the answer; but she had already spoken.

"I am more of a Where!" sang the lady, twirling fabulously, before falling backward into the mud and sinking beneath it with her eyes closed blissfully. The surface closed where she had been, unmarred by the disturbance.

Kiara realized her jaw had dropped. She closed it slowly and put a hand to her face to make sure she was still real. Then she hurried to leave, almost forgetting the camera.

A thick, feminine voice called behind her, "I knew you were a good one, Love. Ooh, how littering simply pains me!"