Ashes, ashes, we all fall down

Jaidah watched the other woman as she went to the willow and plucked a long, thin branch from the tree. When it was held out to her, Jaidah seriously doubted that the branch would have enough tinsel strength to actually do much, but at this point, she was willing to try anything to get out of the molasses speed death trap she was in. The smaller woman spoke around the branch, 'Whenever you're ready.' Without much hesitation, Jaidah grabbed the branch between her teeth and waited for the other to find purchase in the moist earth. Not being too far from the bank of the mud hole, Jaidah knew all she had to do was get her front paws up on the edge and she could haul herself out of the pit. While she seemed smaller than the red woman, the other was actually surprisingly strong.

Jaidah was free much faster than she thought she would be. The counterweight provided by the other she-wolf was all that had been needed for Jaidah to free herself and get her paws up on the ledge. With a sucking squelch the mud released her and she nearly fell forward onto the other woman, catching herself just before she did so. Her legs were numb and she sort of crumpled into a heap as a result, happy to be on solid ground but after being stuck so long her legs were tingling. "Thank you! Sorry for almost falling on you, my legs are numb." She gave a smile and a short laugh, laying on her side so she could actually look at the woman. "I thought I was gonna die in the mud, thank you so much!" Her mismatched eyes met the yellow of the stranger's as she worked on catching her breath. Usually, creamy white legs were caked with sickly looking brown-green mud, but she could wash once she was free of the estuary, unless the stranger knew of somewhere to bathe. Jaidah just wanted out of this swamp.

"You" & 'Thought' & "Talk"