[written by Ellis]

All was quiet outside, in the natural sense of the word. The flies and bees hummed as expected; the wind whistled gently through the thick grass; trees stood as gentle giants while the birds fluffed their breasts in the branches. On the horizon, clouds tumbled closer and closer together, filling the sky with the thick smell of an impending storm. A squirrel stood and surveyed the lush scene before flitting just as quickly as it had stopped, no doubt to warn its family of the rain.

The vibrant, wholesome atmosphere could have been there for a thousand years and remained a thousand more without any change. Unfortunately for the flocks hooting in the safety of the trees, the silence was broken by the distant rumble of something fierce and loud, something that sounded like both war and the shrieking of girls. The sound drew closer at a startling speed, and a turtle looked on in horror as a set of wheels ten times its size flew overhead, just missing its vulnerable neck. Bouncing back to the ground, the vehicle - a sturdy Jeep the colour of a particularly pink sunset - rolled along the grass, leaving behind the rattles of a heavy bassline and thunderous drum beat. Standing up out of the hatch was a tanned, muscular Kiara, hands thrust straight into the air as she whooped and hollered for the thrill of it. Her driver, the quaking Elaine, possessed far more nerves than her friend and was finding herself limited in screeching energy.

Before long, the Jeep rolled to a rocky stop and Kiara disappeared for a second, before bursting forth from the car and landing with a splash in a nearby puddle of rainwater. She grinned and looked back at Elaine.

"You think it'll rain while we're here?" she asked, hopping from foot to foot as she peeled her shoes off. Her friend looked on with thinly-veiled disgust and shrugged.

"Probably," came the lazy answer, only to be followed with a far more serious, "We're leaving if it does, though. I promised my parents I'd bring the Jeep back on Tuesday without any scratches."

"Funny thing about rain is, it doesn't leave any scratches!" Barefoot (Kiara didn't often wear socks), she threw the trainers in the car and wriggled her toes, relishing in the aliveness of the soil. "Where's the camera? This is perfect!" A brief scuffle ensued between Elaine and the front seat, behind which were located several tripods, a camera, and a laminated sheet of various names and one-word codes. Seizing the camera and taking a quick look at the sheet, she popped back out, cranked the volume down on the radio, and joined Kiara in the grass, carefully avoiding the puddles.

One of the disturbed birds peered over the rim of its nest and squinted as a most peculiar sight unfolded. Squatting down and flipping the camera open with a salmon-coloured nail, Elaine zoomed in, angled close enough to capture all five toes of the left foot, and snapped an elegantly sexy photo of said toes dipped in the water. Pausing to admire the result, she walked around and took a picture of the other foot, then both together, and then one of Kiara biting her lip with her eyelids half-lowered. She would only have to tweak the lighting a little to make Kiara the dream girl of every foot-worshipping fool on the Internet.

She watched as Kiara padded off to tickle her feet in the thicker grass and prepare for a more intimate photo. One didn't have to be queer to appreciate the attractive way Kiara moved, completely confident in where she went and totally free of self-conscious attitude. Anyone else Elaine knew would have at least had the sense to blush if they had to resort to taking dirty pictures for cash, but Kiara loved it. Why she did, Elaine couldn't say, but apart from feeling that all of it was okay as long as it made them money when money was tight, she still had a lingering sense of unease about it all.

Clearly, she was alone in her reservations.

Kiara had attracted the attention of many a handsome boy for this spirit, which was nothing short of baffling. Weren't girls taught to be clean and proper and polite in order to lay claim to good boyfriends and husbands? Elaine was surely as clean and proper as one could be (excepting, of course, her nude nature photography hustle). It didn't matter in the end, not when any potential dates got a good look at her friend. It was a shame she didn't seem to care about any of them. Just once, Elaine wished the girl would go out with one of them, if only for the vicarious romance Elaine would get to live through.

Alas, Kiara never gave them the time of day, and they were here instead, stripping before a tripod and rubbing mud on their legs and arms for strangers who didn't tip as much as they should. I could get killed out here, Elaine grumbled to herself, as she hit record and watched her friend move skillfully out of the last of her clothes. Nobody would ever find me, and for what? This better help cover the rent, at least!

As loudly as they had arrived, they left in relative peace, much to the relief of the wildlife. As Elaine navigated out of the uneven road, careful not to turn too much and upset the cameras, she looked over at her filthy friend and sighed internally. Unconscious of just how much she did this, Kiara's eventual outburst surprised her.

"What is it?"

"Nothing!"

Kiara turned and faced Elaine. "You've huffed at me for ten minutes now and barely said a word. Do I smell that bad?"

Elaine laughed in spite of herself. "No, you... you smell great... somehow. I just, well... I don't know how much longer I can keep this up, Kiki."

As though she was expecting this, Kiara merely nestled back into her towel and closed her eyes. 'What's bugging you? Is it the mud?"

"No... You know I'm borrowing everything I can from my parents, right? If I'm out here this late all the time, I'm not sure how much I can study. Dad would throw a fit if I failed a class. He'd start asking awkward questions." Despite the concern in Elaine's voice, Kiara laughed and waved a dismissive hand.

"You? Fail a class? Impossible!"

"Kiki, don't be like that. You know how important this is to me, and..." Elained struggled for words. She didn't want to hurt Kiara's feelings, but this was important. "Well, this isn't making enough to be worth sacrificing my grades."

"We still need rent money, and I am not about to work at Wendy's to make up the difference. Not when this is an option. Hey, here's an idea!" Shifting to give Elaine her cheesiest smile, which she only did when she wanted something, Kiara hoisted up one of the smaller cameras and began to fiddle with it. "We've been doing this long enough, right? If you really need to study, you can skip out on these longer trips. I know the cameras now, or enough to get something we can edit, and I'd still put whatever I make towards rent!" This proved to be a reasonable suggestion, and satisfied both of their desires.

They both knew well enough that Elaine possessed as much a desire to socialize as study, and gleefully looked forward to more free time to pursue the pleasures of drinking and flirting at sketchy parties. Tonight, however, they showered and sat down to admire the photos they'd secured before scheduling them to upload before breakfast the next day.