[M] Finis Furum [Ashen & Sun]

[Ashen]

Ignatius was more amused than anything when Genevieve saw his room. He gave a casual shrug. "I was thinking of building them a pen, yeah." His eyes looked to the chickens. "I think it might be a fun project, making a pen. We could work on it together tomorrow, huh?" He laughed at her comment, and shook his head. "You'll have to catch me if you want to wipe anything on my face." He watched her scrunch up her nose numerous times. "C'mon, it doesn't smell that bad."

He walked over to his bed and ripped off his sheets. "I guess there's not much saving them?" he asked. "Actually, no. Keep everything with shit on it. I'll go wash it in the river later tonight, and hopefully get the stains out. Stains can't be that hard to remove." It was clear he didn't know much about cleaning, but Ignatius wasn't terribly worried about any of it. He'd find a way to remove the stains, or he would just steal some replacements for all he had lost. It wouldn't be hard, he knew, and it was quite amusing watching Genevieve scold him.

He watched her clean for a few moments, picking up things for himself here and there. "I'm going to go find some wood," he told her. "That way, we can get started on the pen first thing tomorrow. You're going to be okay with them?" He looked to his chickens. "I should probably find some food, too. What do these birds eat? Corn? I'll find something." With a grin he opened his door and slipped out, leaving Genevieve with a room full of messy chickens and a singsong, "Good luck!"

Ignatius wandered into the forest above their guild, and he got right to work collecting wood. He used his blades to hack branches into pieces small enough to be carried, and by the time he was finished he had nearly an entire tree-worth of wood. He returned it all to his guild, took some corn from the guild's food supply, and went back to his room. "I'm back!" he sang, and he set all the wood on the floor of his room. Already Genevieve had made progress, and he was impressed at all she'd done. "Room looks great," he said. "I should get you to do this more often" He was joking, and she could tell from the grin on his face. "Here, this'll get them out of your hair." He motioned towards the corn in his hand, and he began picking off the kernels to throw down to them.

He listened to his friend's suggestion while he distributed the corn to the eager birds. "My girls are not diseased," he insisted. "They're fine, and they'll be producing eggs in no time. It's a great investment. As for the floor... I do love watching you suffer, Gen, and I do only say that with love, but I think it would be a lot wiser to build the pen before we start scrubbing the floor. They're only going to dirty it again. So we can clean the floors tomorrow, but for now, all the infested stuff you can leave... right over there." He pointed to another corner of his room. "I'll get to them."

He finished off the corn, but the chickens all looked at him, wanting more. "That's all I have," Ignatius said. "Calm down. You'll get more tomorrow." He looked up at Genevieve again. "I really appreciate this. They'll be good girls, really, I've just gotta train them. But you'll be the first to receive an egg from them, okay? Now... It might be a good idea to clean yourself up. Do you want to head to the lake with me? I have a lot more laundry now than I thought I would." He looked to the dirtied pile of sheets and clothes. "I'll tell you one thing. Tonight's sleep is going to be well-deserved for both of us."

[[ Sun ]]

Gen simply nodded as Iggy said he was going to go fetch some wood. She was capabale of cleaning his room and handling some chickens without him there. "I can handle them, though I can't promise if I can keep them from making more of a mess," The ginger said, smiling lightly as Iggy wished her good luck and left the room. Alone in the rooom, Genevieve let out a sigh before shoving some more of the ruins into her bag as one of the hens made their way over to her.

She gave a wry smile at the bird, but as it began pecking at the canvas bag she scowled and shooed it away. "Damn birds," She muttered, but she just hoped that they would end up providing for the guild rather than make it more of a mess. There had to be some give back, if they were going to have to put all this effort into the creatures to keep them fed and clean.

By the time Iggy was back, Gen had cleaned up another corner of the room and had a chicken pecking at some frayed edges on her shirt. She was too tired to care though, and instead was plucking feathers that had gotten caught in a blanket that had been left on the floor. Peering over her shoulder, Gen was surprised to see all the lumber her friend had gathered. "How did you carry all that?" She asked, but was soon snorting at his joke. Smirking though, the young woman shook her head and slowly stood to her full height as the hen that had been snapping at her shirt finally screamed at the sight of food and ran off to Iggy. "Thanks, but no thanks. If you paid me to clean your room; maybe I'd consider it," She said laughing as she walked over to her friend and watched the chickens peck the kernals off the floor.

His next comment had the girl crossing her arms over her chest and rolling her eyes, but she said nothing and just let that same wry smirk stay positioned on her lips. With the canvas bag filled with trashed items, Gen made her way to the corner she was directed to and set the bag down. Her clothes had already gotten frayed and dusty from the chickens, and she doubted she'd want to keep them after all the work they'd been through. As she was promised the first egg, Gen gave a smile and returned back to Ignatius as she nodded her head to the idea of cleaning up. "I wouldn't mind joining you. Does that mean I have to scrub scat stains off your dirty sheets though?" She asked, laughing lightly as she pushed some hair out of her face.

To say the least, she felt sticky and was in dire need of a shower after having climbed around on the floor cleaning. Her nails had turned into dirty crescents, and her hair was tangled from having reached under spaces that the chickens had already found to hide. "Sleep sounds heavenly at this point,. but so does washing up," sighing, the red-head made her way over to the door before peering back at Iggy. "I'm going to go grab a towel and some clothes. I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to save these or not," Gen said, looking down at the patchy clothing before leaving the room and heading down to her own.

Once she was inside, the ginger made her way to her dresser and grabbed a new set of clothes that consisted of a worn out maroon tanktop, and a pair of loose, brown pants. Along with this, she grabbed a towel from her room that she figured she'd need to dry off with and was soon returning to her friend's room. Knocking on the door, Gen waited outside and open handed since she knew she'd probably have to carry something. She'd thrown her change of clothes and a towel over her shoulder, and while she waited she sighed. "I think I'm just going to clean up down by the river. Maybe I'll be able to jump in and hope it cleans my clothes for me," Gen said, waiting patiently as she stared at the door. Although tree climbing wasn't Gen's specialty, swimming was. She was always a fish, and she liked going to the river; it always seemed to be peaceful there.

[Ashen]

Ignatius chuckled at his friend's comment. He waved her off, though secretly he loved the attention he was getting. If she wanted to gawk at his muscular ability, he would let him. He laughed even harder at her next comment. "Why would I pay you when I could just make more bets in my favor?" He looked back to his chickens and gave one a gentle pat on the head. Though it nearly bit his hand, the smile did not shy from his face. "My ideas usually come with other pluses too."

He didn't answer her when she asked if she'd need to help him clean. Instead, Ignatius tried to gather all his cloths. Unlike the wood he had carried, his clothes tumbled out of his hands in all directions. So, Ignatius found a large sack that had its own stains, and he placed all his soiled clothes in there. As he was finishing he heard Genevieve back at his door. He watched her come in, and he saw the spare clothes on his shoulder. Maybe her clothes were a little too ruined. Ignatius made a mental note to buy her a nice replacement later.

He took a moment to tell his chickens to behave, perhaps in vain, before he started out with Genevieve and his big sack. It was heavy, but nothing he could not handle. "To the river it is," he said. He wore a look of confidence, though inside was a different story. Ignatius had never liked water. He didn't like the idea of being surrounded by something that could easily kill him just by entering his lungs. The boy was far more confident soaring through the air with his trees and his blades. However, he knew his friend absolutely loved water. Genevieve reminded him of a mermaid whenever she was in the water. She had all the grace and all the beauty, and he had none of that. If not for Genevieve, Ignatius wondered if he would enter the water at all.

They set off for the river without any fanfare. Once they arrived, Ignatius looked into the deep water. He refused to show it, but he didn't like getting all that close to the edge. He had to clean his laundry, though, so he cautiously sat by the edge of the river and opened his sack. "How fast are you?" he asked Genevieve. The shirt on top of his pile had the largest stain, one that had been made worse by smudging. He dipped it into the water. "How fast can you swim from... that tree to that rock?" He pointed out the two landmarks, some ten meters between them. "If you can cover that distance in less than a minute, I take back my bet from earlier. If not, you have to help me with all this." He motioned towards his sack, at all the clothes waiting to be cleaned. If Genevieve was concentrating on swimming, she wouldn't be concentrating on his lack thereof.

Ignatius turned up to look at her. She was still fully clothed, completely unprepared. With that Cheshire grin, he added, "Your minute has to start now." He started counting aloud to ten, then continued to sixty silently, watching Genevieve try to keep up while distractedly cleaning his own cloths.

[[ Sun ]]

The whole way to the river, Gen had a smile on her face and a small bounce to her walk. When she'd first been brought here, the river was one of the first things she'd been introduced to. Carter had shown her how to fish, and they'd look for seashells in the water along the rocky shorelines. Whenever she was stressed, she used it as her own little 'oasis,' and she was glad to be heading there now after such a long day.

As she stopped by the water's edge, Gen smiled at the rushing water before quirking a brow at her friend's comment. She was about to ask him to elaborate, but he already began to while beginning to clean a stain off a shirt of his. Peering over between the two landmarks, she pursed her lips and gave a small shrug. "A minute or two, depends on the strength of the current," Gen said, staring at the river's surface to see how fast it was moving. After it would flood, the water would flow faster and make it harder to swim through, but if it was low then the water would be calmer and therefore easier to swim in.

"But I already helped you with your room!" Gen said, groaning as her eyes flickered back out to the water, just as her friend started the clock. Eyes widening, Gen was already flickering her gaze between Iggy and the river before groaning and leaning down to fumble with the laces on her boots. "There is no way I'm going to make it Iggy!" She said, tugging off her boots and socks before deciding that if she wanted to have any chance at making the time; she'd have to go fully dressed.

Leaping into the water, she was surprised to find her head almost get sucked under. The current wasn't too strong, but the water she'd jumped into was deeper than she'd thought it was. That didn't stop her from swimming, however, and already she was paddling her way towards the rock as if she were trying to win a race. When she'd said she could swim the distance in a minute or two, that didn't count her having to untie her shoes or get her socks off. There was a very little chance she was going to beat the minute time frame, but it didn't hurt to try; that and the fact that she really didn't want to clean dirty clothes fueled her speed.

Legs churning and kicking, her chin stayed just above the rushing water as she swam in long strides, trying to keep her clothes from catching on anything as her hand reached out for the rock that was coming within distance. The moment her fingers brushed its slick surface, she was grappling on and tugging herself out of the water. Liquid streamed from her clothes like a faucet, and as she managed to pull herself to sit upon the small rock, her clothes were sagging and becoming an awful mess. "So much for keeping this outfit," She murmured, glancing at the frayed edges and the fabric that had stretched out from being heavy. Her shirt hung off her one shoulder and all the fabric stuck to her like a tongue to ice. It made her a bit uncomfortable since it almost felt as if she was sticky, but that didn't stop her from looking back over at Iggy on the bay and sticking out her tongue. "I know I didn't make the time, but to help you I have to swim back, and why would I swim back when I have to go clean dirty sheets?" Gen called, smirking as her now darkened auburn hair hung in dripping ringlets around her forehead. "If you want my help; you have to come get me," She called, crossing her arms over her chest and keeping a smug look on her face. "It's the least you can do. I really liked these clothes," She said, lifting her arms as the cloth sagged down as if she had wings. She wouldn't really make her friend swim out if he didn't want to, but it would make her happy if he did. "I know it's childish, but until my birthday I still have the right to be one!" Letting out a laugh, the soaked girl sat on the rock and waited to see if her friend would come for a swim, or if he'd stay put instead.

[Ashen]

He couldn't stop from laughing at her expression when he'd started the minute. She was wasting time pulling off her boots, but perhaps she didn't want to ruin those, too. He kept a steady count as she struggled, then jumped into the water gracefully. For a moment she didn't surface, and Ignatius could feel the panic rising. If she didn't come up, he'd have to go get her, and they would probably both end up dead. But soon her dark red hair broke the surface, and he let out a sigh. Perhaps it was because she was so close to adulthood, but Ignatius found himself worrying a little too much about her lately.

Even if she didn't have a chance, Ignatius had to admire Genevieve's determination. She swam along the current effortlessly, and she swam like an arrow from a bow. She was certainly faster than Ignatius ever would be. Still, if she made it within her last ten seconds, she'd be some swimming goddess. Ignatius counted them aloud, "Fifty-one, fifty-two," as she made that final stretch... But she didn't make it. A grin spread over Ignatius's face and he stuck his tongue out at her. She'd lost, but maybe he had been very unfair. When she called out to him, Ignatius stood, his laundry now forgotten. "What do you mean?" he replied, but he was about to find out.

She wanted him to swim to her. Ignatius froze, unsure of what to do. Of course, Genevieve didn't know he was hydrophobic. Very few if any of their guildmates did. She was only trying to have some innocent fun. She didn't know the weight of her taunt, and Ignatius didn't know if he could deliver. He looked down at the water, at the rocks below, the small fish swimming by, the occasional floating debris. Could he? Surrounded by so much water... How quickly would he be able to die? He turned back to Genevieve, who was watching him expectantly. It's the least you can do. Didn't she at least know he couldn't swim? But refusing would be admitting defeat. Refusing would be showing her weakness. Refusing would mean giving in to his own childish fears.

Slowly, Ignatius slipped out of his boots and socks. He threw his tunic to the side and stood before the water in just his trousers. He didn't want to do this, but he had already made like he was going to. So, Ignatius took in a deep breath, and he ungracefully leapt into the river.

At first, he was completely submerged. The river was deeper than he thought, and his foot could not reach the ground. Panic ran through his body as he opened his eyes to frantically look for something to latch onto. His own buoyancy soon saved him, however, and he broke the surface with a gasp. He saw Genevieve downstream and wondered how he would get to her without knowing how to swim. Recalling what she had done, he paddled awkwardly after her, slowly making his way towards her. The water was so cold on his skin. He hated the cold, he hated everything about this. Damn Genevieve, and damn what he had to do to keep her happy. When he finally reached her, his white knuckles pressed into the rock he had pointed out. "Have I caught you yet?" His hand was shaking, but under the water, it was too hard to tell.

[[ Sun ]]

For a few minutes, Gen thought her friend might actually sit this one out. He didn't look frightened or anything, but the hesitance in his actions were something she wasn't used to seeing. Her lips parted to begin to tell him that he didn't have to, but by then her friend was already taking off his boots and tunic; he was also taking his sweet time, the luxury she hadn't been given.

Watching her friend jump into the water, pale eyes searched the current until a head bobbed up and began making its way toward her. She smiled at the sight, much like a spoiled child, but did note the way he swam. It was a bit odd, but everyone swam a bit differently, just like they talked a little differently.

With her hands curled around her legs and her toes dipped in the water, the young woman watched as her friend reached the rock and stayed beside it. Her eyes were alight with joy, and a soft smile was poised on her lips as a water droplet dripped off her nose. "I suppose you have. Now I feel better," The girl said, laughing softly as she reached forward to ruffle her friend's damp hair. "It was a little amusing too. You swim like a dog," Genevieve said, beaming brightly as she scooted forward on the rock towards the edge. "It was cute to see," She added teasingly, slipping into the water herself now and keeping a steady grip on the rock so the current didn't take her. The current wasn't very strong, but then again, she was rather used to the tug of the water on her body.

"Okay, time to swim back and I'll give you a hand with cleaning, I guess," Gen said, looking at her friend with a fake pout before lightly pushing off the rock and beginning to paddle her way back towards the shore. She looked a lot like an otter when she swam, her chin grazing the river's surface and her motions slick and even. her hands clawed gently at the water to push her forward, but she swam a lot slower now that she wasn't racing a clock. "Carter used to take me here when I was younger and we'd catch fish or swim," Gen said, reminiscing pleasantly as she took her sweet time with crossing the rapids. Though the water was cold, Gen clearly didn't mind it and it felt refreshing to her. As she neared the shore however, she knew the moment her wet skin hit the air it would feel a lot colder.

As she reached down with her feet to try to touch the gravelly bottom, she remembered what else she could find other than stones. Without another moment's notice, red hair was rising then falling signalling she'd taken a breath and was heading under. Blindly diving, the girl was pretty sure she'd smacked a fish or two before she could feel the stones that made up the riverbed. They were smooth to the touch, and as her body tried to float up she let out a steady stream of air through her nose to keep close to the bottom. Grappling around the smoothed pebbles, she soon felt something more fragile in her grasp, and she was quickly scooping it up in her palm. Nearly out of air, she resurfaced with a gasp and breathed in a few gulps before reaching up to push away the red curtain of hair that draped over her eyes. "Look what I found!" She exclaimed, peering down at the shell in her hand before looking up to search for her friend.

[Ashen]

Ignatius did not at all appreciate being called out on his unorthodox swimming. She was grateful he had swam at all, but to make fun of him for risking his life... Ignatius shook his head. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know about his feelings for water after all. Still, he crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly, but realized there was nothing else holding him in place and went back to clutching the rock. "Ha ha," he muttered. "Very funny."

They had to start back. Ignatius hadn't thought of that when he'd come out. Now he had to go against the current and get back to land, to his laundry, to his chickens back home. Suddenly, his chickens didn't seem so worth it. If he could have, Ignatius thought it would have been nice to spend the rest of his life in this spot. He watched Genevieve go, listening to her talk about her expeditions with her father-figure. The two made a good pair, she and Carter. He had sobered very well after he'd found her, and she had been raised into the wonderful and mature woman she was. He, of course, had deliberately skipped out on each fishing trip, insisting he had some other matter to attend to. But now, he wondered what it was like to have a dad, and, whether or not his father would be able to rescue him from this damn rock.

Genevieves was already to shallow water, and he had not moved. Ignatius kept his eyes glued to the rushing water. Why had he gotten himself into this? He heard a splash up ahead, and suddenly Genevieve was gone. Had she been dragged under? In his panic, he didn't realize that she was in too shallow water to really drown, nor that she had only gone down to reach something. But Ignatius had to save her, didn't he? Cautiously, he let go of the rock, and he started out for her, but as soon as a fish brushed against his chest he was back and clutching the rock, leaving Genevieve to die.

She resurfaced a moment later holding something, but that suddenly didn't matter. Ignatius was filled with rage at himself. You were willing to leave her, he said to himself. You're being a damn coward. Haven't you hurt her enough? He noticed her looking for him, so Ignatius took a deep breath, and he started swimming towards her. He dipped under the water twice, thinking both times that he was going to drown, but in the end he made it back to her. There was a fire in his eyes, but he was trying his best to hide his anger. "What's that?" he asked her. "A shell? That's a pretty one. Maybe you could make it into a necklace or something when we get back." He pulled himself out of the water and shivered when a breeze met his wet skin. "Why don't you see how many of those you can find? I can launder my own clothes."

He was trying to give her something to do so that she wouldn't notice his emotions. Ignatius would not forgive himself for this. Who in the world did he have besides Genevieve? The guild, sure, but she was more than a guildmate. She was his best friend, his most trusted confidant. And he had abandoned her over some childish fear.

Suddenly, he wanted to be locked in his room, alone.

[[ Sun ]]

Once her dripping hair had been pushed out of her sight, Gen could see her friend was still back by the rock. A slightly puzzled look crossed her face, but as her friend jumped in she figured perhaps he had just been letting her lead the way. Nonetheless, the girl stared down at the small shell in her palm. It was a pale hue of brown, and the tip of it swirled up in decorative movements. The snail that had once made its home inside was long gone, and instead the shell was left hollow.

Feeling the current tugging on her, Gen gained a further hold on the rock bed before peering back for her friend who had just bobbed under the surface. Her eyes widened, and just as she went to call his name she watched dark hair float back up. Closing her fingers around the shell, she waded a bit closer towards where her friend would be approaching and watched as he made his way to the shore. "I should've warned you the current was a little rough coming back," Gen murmured softly, wandering up towards the shallows as her friend regarded what she'd found. Peering down, she nodded, looking back up once her friend was dragging himself out of the water. "Are you sure? I don't mind giving you a hand," Gen said, slight concern lacing her eyes. She hadn't recognized the look in his eyes, but there was just an off feeling she got; like something was bothering her friend from the moment water was brought into this all.

Not asking about it, she sighed before wading to the shoreline and setting the seashell she'd enclosed in her fingers by Iggy's bag of clothes. Her clothes were soaked and streamed water while her upper half stayed exposed to the air. After giving her friend a small glance, however, the ginger was letting herself slide back into the water. "We should come back sometime, when the weather is drier. When it's dry, the river goes down and it's a lot calmer, and the water isn't so cold," Genevieve said, giving a small smile to her friend before backing away from the shore and heading back into the deeper waters. She stayed within a few yards of Ignatius though and kept an eye on her friend as she swam around.

She disappeared under the water numerous times to search the bottom for shells, and each time she'd go under she'd stay under for a little less than a minute. Sometimes she would pop up where she'd first went under, sometimes it would be a couple meters downstream. Each time, she always came up whether there was a shell in her hand or not. Eventually, there was a small pile of fifteen or so shells that ranged in sizes and colors sitting beside her friend on the shore. She figured she'd found enough now, and with two more shells clasped in her right hand, she made her way back to the shore. "I think I found enough, what do you think of my collection?" Gen said, smiling at her friend as she pulled herself out of the water. Her body was soaked, and her clothes stuck to her skin in spots and draped over others. Her hair was just as wet, and had a small flow of water streaming down her back and nose; eyes bright as they peered at her friend before mischief clouded her gaze.

Not giving a seconds notice, she was soon shaking herself off, her hair a widespread array of red sending water droplets flying in multiple directions. Her clothes didn't offer much of a shower, but after a few good shakes, the girl was flipping her hair back out of her face and laughing as she looked at her friend; a wide grin having settled on her face and a bright gleam in her eyes.

[Ashen]

Ignatius didn't answer her when she sought confirmation, but luckily, Genevieve didn't seem to notice. She carried on in the water, something Ignatius knew he could never do. He was already starting to feel sick, and he was just calming down from the initial panic. But the rage, that was a different story. He grabbed at his laundry bag and started removing his clothes and sheets. He began washing the stains out of them furiously, all the while thinking of what he had just done.

He looked up when Genevieve suggested returning to the river. "Yeah!" he called back, wondering if she could hear the doubt in his voice. The teen was sure he would miss much of their home on their journey in two days, but he knew he would not miss this. Luckily for him, chances were, he would never see this river again. But then again... His mind wandered to the journey, and the after. Just what would become of the two of them when they met with the fire mages? Would they be able to fell an entire clan? Or would they become the dust and ash Genevieve's family had? And if they did manage to achieve their goal, what would that mean for them, anyway? After a task as grand as that... Perhaps they would be celebrities. And if Genevieve would be a celebrity, she would no longer need people like him around, anyway.

He decided to not think about it. There was no guarantee they would even find the bastards, so there was no use guessing what would happen if they did. Ignatius heard Genevieve speak again, and he squinted to see what she was referring to. Had she really managed to find so many shells in such a short time? He looked to his laundry, at the single shirt he had washed. How long had he been thinking about the mages? He shook his head clear and picked up a pair of shorts that had once been pants. "It's very pretty," he said. "I think Carter would like to see those too, once we get home." Maybe, if he could find a way to steal them from her without her noticing, he'd be able to string them into a shell necklace. What better birthday gift than one's own stolen treasures?

He went back to cleaning and thinking, and easily he lost track of time. He had only finished a couple outfits and had not even started on his sheets when he was being sprayed with water. Ignatius flinched, and in an instant he was standing and reaching for his blades. But it was just Genevieve, and what would blades have done against water? He put his blades back and sighed at himself. This was getting out of hand. Genevieve was laughing, and he knew she would be worried if he weren't laughing too. So he gave her the most genuine laugh he could muster. It hurt, deceiving her like this, but telling her the truth now would only make her feel like a monster for making him swim at all. He turned away from her. "You watch where you're swinging that mop of yours. I'm trying to work here." The playfulness was back in his tone, but his eyes were still two shades too cold. He motioned to his sack. "You could help, you know. I'm hardly getting anything done with you distracting me."

[[ Sun ]]

Grinning at the fact her collection was called pretty, Gen wondered if Carter would be able to name what had lived inside some of the shells she'd found. Some were obviously snails, while others were clams or something of the sort. Her guardian had always used to point out which were which, and they used to collect them in the mornings and watch the little trails that had been dug in the sand. It had been awhile since she'd came to the river early in the morning to see the fog rest over the top, perhaps she could come out here tomorrow.

Perhaps tomorrow her hair would be drier too when she whipped it around. Laughing at Iggy's startled appearance, she let out a small gasp as he reached for his blades, taking a small step back as she peered up. "Your clothes were already wet, they'll dry," She said, offering a meek smile until her friend returned the laughter. Her eyes brightened at his laugh, but a light look of concern also laced her pupil. It wasn't hard to notice Iggy was acting a little strange today, finding out why was quite another task though.

"I suppose I could help. I might go get dressed first, so I'm not dripping water everywhere," Gen said, leaning down beside her friend to grab the towel she'd brought and the change of clothes. It seemed as if her attire had suddenly grown two sizes too big, and the sloshing sound her pants made as she dragged them along the ground wasn't very appealing. "I'll be back in a moment. If I'm gone, I won't be able to distract you, and maybe you'll get some more things washed," Gen said, smiling lightly before walking off towards some bushes nearby. Ducking and walking past them, she found herself behind a cluster of leaves and branches with one side opened up towards the river. She could see her friend if she stood on her tippy toes and peered over one of the thickets, but the branches were rather dense to form a wall.

She wanted to know what was bothering her friend, and as much as she wanted to ask, she had a feeling she wouldn't find out. It bothered her seeing Iggy so on edge, though, and perhaps she was just overthinking it, but she was concerned. Doing her best to put the thoughts aside, she got herself undressed and dried her body off before slipping on the new clothes she'd brought. Most likely, Iggy wouldn't be done washing his clothes when she got back, and he would need help. So, gathering her soggy clothes in one hand, the ginger was soon returning to her friend on the shore and setting the damp clothes off to the side. Her hair was still a dark color, almost brownish, but it would dry with some time in the sun. "What do you need me to wash?" She asked, peering up at her friend as she sat beside him and looked at the sack of things that appeared to be dirty. She'd shifted to sit cross-leg now, and her bare ankles and feet pressed into the ground while her shoes sat by her damp clothes. Gen had never minded wandering the woods without shoes, despite Carter's constant warnings about stepping on something sharp or on poison ivy. She always thought the grass felt soft, and it was a comfort to an extent; even if it meant her feet would get all grassy and dirty.