It could hide something underneath and may be very deep ;)

A muddy commission for  ZoeyBlub and  Zena . Seems like their casual afternoon stroll turns into a messy and exhausting hour/s long struggles. Fortunately, there is an amphibian friend that is kind enough to accompanies them (And enjoys the view while it still last. Probably for a quite considerable amount of time).

Adder has been so kind to write a story for this picture <3. Have a look at it :)

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The Great(?) Outdoors

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Zoey's face twisted into a grimace as she lay on the sofa, trying to block out the darkness creeping in at the edges of her mind. This time of year was always torture for her, and no matter how she tried it refused to go away. The voices that clawed at her mind, that tried to tell her that nobody cared, ever having a corrosive effect on her wellbeing. She clawed at her face and whined, trying not to let the darkness win out.

"Hey, so-" A voice murmured over the back of the sofa, along with a pair of ears and two familiar pale-blue eyes. Startled, Zoey grabbed the first thing at hand and lobbed it in the direction of the face with a shriek. A soft 'thunk' filled the air of the living room as the slipper connected with the critter's forehead, and an equally familiar squeak of surprise left their mouth as they fell backward onto the floor with an 'oof'. The thresher blinked twice as she realised what had just happened, eyes shrinking. She scrabbled up and peered over the back of the sofa, apologising profusely to her friend and housemate. "Ffffuck! I'm sorry, Zena, I didn't mean to do that!"

The ferret, propping herself up with an elbow, groaned and chuckled as she rubbed the point of impact. "You're fine, Talon… I should know better than to startle you when you're in your own head by now, hah. Forgot how good a shot you are with my slippers too. Could be worse, at least it wasn't one of your boots flying toward me at mach jesus."

She stood back up, coming over to where Zoey was and giving her a hug, able to see the slight dampness in her friend's eyes. "Brain being a bastard again, huh?"

The shark nodded, sniffling a little bit. "Y-yeah… I just can't seem to get away from them. Even with how everything's been going well lately, I just still feel so… so…"

Zena gently crawled over the side of the sofa and gave her a tighter hug, her ears flattening as she let out a soft, caring groan. "I know, hun. The time of year definitely isn't helping…"

She sat and pondered, glancing through the window. Unlike yesterday where there had been torrential rain, today was far brighter, with fluffy white clouds dotting an otherwise clear blue sky. "I have just the idea, come to think of it. Some fresh air and a walk might help but those demons back in their box for a while."

The shark shot her a questioning look. "Zena, honey, you were paying attention to how much rain was beating down yesterday, right?"

"Yes, why?" The ferret replied, somewhat puzzled.

"You know how much of a pain in the ass it is to clean these boots, right?" The thresher mused again, resting a fist under her chin and tapping on the sofa softly. Having had the joys of Zena taking her on a walk someplace before, which turned out to be a footpath through a quagmire of a farm field, she wasn't thrilled at the chance of a repeat… although the hapless ferret's flustered yelps as her boots sank in and stuck fast had been rather adorable for the shark to watch. The ferret nodded.

"Yeah, but I know a few places with pretty solid paths. They don't tend to turn into mud-swamps, so you won't have to worry about getting them all dirty~ besides, the local forest should be nice and quiet today."

Zoey contemplated for a little while. She didn't much want to face the world today, not with how she felt… but Zena's usual bounce and energy was nothing if not infectious. Sure enough, the shark groaned and sat up, ruffling her compatriot's hair. "Okay, fine, you win… just let me get dressed. And you probably wanna get some more appropriate clothes on too."

Zena nodded, as the pair made for their respective wardrobes to remedy that detail.

The pair got out of Zena's car almost in sync, shutting their doors as they left it in the small car park at the local woodland. Zena took the lead, sporting a fairly straightforward and comfortable plaid shirt tucked into her jeans, with a flat set of cowboy-esque boots coming up to almost her knees. Zoey, on the other hand, had gone with her own typically casual outfit, a set of short denim shorts with fishnet tights spanning up her legs and a crop top, with a set of sheer black platform boots extending up and over her knees.

The thresher let out a sigh as she took in the air, the scent of fresh grass and the still-wet trees hanging on the gentle breeze. Just as the ferret had reasoned, it was quiet, and free from other prying ears, perfect for Zoey to ask a question or two that her inner demons had been pushing toward the front of her mind for a while. She did her best to fight them as she walked, hoping that the ferret wouldn't notice anything amiss.

However, much to her chagrin, Zena was as observant as ever. After half a mile or so of walking along the pleasant trail, her attention having half been on the lovely nature around her and how the sunlight filtered down through the canopy, the trees' leaves having begun to flourish in the past weeks. However, with every idle glance at her friend, the mustelid could see the ever darkening expression on the shark's face. Finally, her ever compassionate side won out. "You doing okay, hun? You look… bothered."

Zoey glanced at her and grumbled softly, shoving her hands in her pockets and averting her gaze. "No. I'm fine." Her face twisted into an almost sneer as the darkness in her mind threatened to win out. Zena, however, wouldn't take that for an answer. A moment later, she found her path blocked by Zena, hands taking a hold of Zoey's hips. The shark flicked around and turned away, letting out an irritated growl that the ferret knew all too well. She wasn't so easily dissuaded, however.

"The whole idea of coming out here was to help you get things off your mind. You know I hate seeing you all torn up like this…"

Zoey huffed, giving Zena an annoyed look, before finally accepting that she wasn't going to win this dispute. Her face fell into a more neutral expression as she answered her friend's query with another. "Why are you like this, Zena? I mean… why do you keep insisting on trying to help me? Everyone else I've ever known took one look at me when they got to know who I was- who I really was- and ran for the hills. Why haven't you?"

Zena sighed, ears drooping a little as she approached, sliding her smaller hands into Zoey's pockets and taking hold of her hands. "Because you're damned worth it, Zoey Talon. You remember how we first met?"

The simple question brought a smile to Zoey's face. The pair had come face to face while exploring an abandoned industrial plant, one that was infamously well protected by security. By her style of dress, the shark had panicked upon the sight of the ferret- thinking she was a guard- and launched her across the room. "Y-yeah, what of it?"

"How many other people would've taken someone that they didn't know, and helped them?"

The shark shrugged. "I'unno. What difference does it make that I did that?"

Zena recalled quite clearly the confusion she experienced, waking up on a sofa in an unfamiliar home instead of a jail cell. She had spooked a little when she and Zoey met eyes again; Zoey still kept the video of her confused, startled noises as she fell off the furniture, blanket and all. "Well, you keep coming back on yourself, saying you're a bad person. A bad person would've left me there for the actual security to grab. You didn't. Not to mention taking me in after my ex decided to kick me out on the street… you've shown me kindness like nobody else has. Would a bad person do that?"

Zoey attempted to step past and around Zena, finding the ever-agile girl merely stepped into her path. "Not so fast."

"W-why? You don't really care about me, why do you keep insisting on trying to help!"

Zena sighed, letting out an unhappy grumble as she took her hands out of the shark's pockets, and took her about the waist in a firm hug. "What makes you think that? No, really… why is it that you don't believe me when I tell you I care?"

"I-"' Zoey found herself at a loss for words, her voice choking up a little as the pale blue eyes stared up at her, her footwear turning the few inches of disparity into almost a foot of separation between their eye levels. She thought back on the countless times that the ferret had stayed awake with her, deep into the small hours of the night to comfort her as she bawled her eyes out; the times that her friend had tried to help her work through the agony that had been just some of her earlier life. The times that Zena had patched her up when she'd come back with some manner of gashes or scrapes.

"I what?" Zena asked gently, suspecting she was on the verge of the breakthrough.

Zoey let out a shaky huff. "O-okay… I don't have a good answer to that."

Zena smirked softly, a hand gently rubbing Zoey's back. "Well, even if I've said it a dozen times, I'll say it again. I do care about you, Zoey. There's not a chance in hell I'd abandon you, not after the hell we've been through. I doubt I'd find a friend like you anywhere…"

Zoey gently wiped a tear from her eye before taking the ferret off her feet, and into a tight hug. Zena let out a happy whine, smiling as the pair's eyes met. After a few moments, the shark put her friend down, ruffling her hair. Zena's ears splayed, her head being shifted about slightly as her hairstyle was messed up.

"Thanks, ya lil' goober, you, Zena." She said, softly, smiling through her tears. "Now, what about that walk?"

Zena grinned, taking her hand and leading the way. "Sure thing. Whoever said some fresh air isn't good for the spirit…"

The pair chatted idly as they continued, onward into the woods as the path wound ahead. So much so, that Zena slightly lost track of her bearings. When they reached what seemed to be a fork in the track, she paused, humming. "That's strange. Don't recall seeing that before. Whaddaya reckon, shall we try the path less taken?"

Zoey eyed the ferret, confused. "I'm… not sure that is a path, Zena. Look at it, it's narrower than this one. And the colour… looks different."

By the time she had said that, however, Zena was already poking a foot at it. "Possibly just a new path that's been laid. Been a while since I was last out here, wouldn't be a surprise. What, your sense of adventure fled ya all of a sudden?" She said with a grin.

"Ohhh, I'll show you a sense of adventure!" Zoey growled, a smile on her face as she moved to catch up with her minx of a friend.

Sure enough, they resumed their comfortable chatter as they headed further down the path, which took them out of the woods and along the perimeter fence of a local farm. Zoey couldn't help but pinch her nose and make a noise. "Eww, Zena! Was that you?"

The ferret rolled her eyes and pinched the shark on the side of the leg. "Of course not, you goof, we're just downwind of that farm… should be fine in half a mile or so." She stepped off again, taking the lead slightly; all the while, despite the big platforms of her boots, the thresher felt the ground seemingly shifting under her feet, each step feeling spongier than the last. A glance down saw that the lower half-inch of her platforms was now caked in mud, eliciting a grimace.

"Uh, Zena? This path doesn't seem so-"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence, as Zena put her foot down again, only for it to be swallowed with a semi-dry 'glurp' noise, sinking halfway up her left boot. She squealed and flapped her arms, a glance back at Zoey leading her to blush. She still had a foot free, however, and set about trying to reverse course. "Okay, okay… okay. Maybe this path is just a bit too soft. Lemme-ack!"

She planted the free foot down, trying to get some leverage, only for the extra force to immediately break that boot through the dark brown surface as well. Worse still, as it plunged deeper, the ferret's balance was unsettled, leading her to squeak and flail as she tried not to fall on her face, or her denim-clad rear. She succeeded, though her squirming and flailing had driven her boots deeper still, both now beginning to flood with cold, slimy mud. She pulled her hands back toward herself and squealed. "Ewwww! Zoey, help!"

The shark pinched the bridge of her nose, as she started to connect the dots. "How long was it dry before yesterday's rain, Zena?"

"Uhm, maybe two weeks?"

"And you don't remember this path being here before?" She continued, an eyebrow raised. Zena looked at her, then at her knees- which were now part-submerged in the mud- and blushed furiously. She recalled there being a stream that intersected the path, now Zoey mentioned it.

"Oh."

The shark carefully stretched out an arm and ruffled her hair, Zena grumbling and whining with embarrassment. "Silly little ferret. Now, I'll try and get back to firmer ground, then hop the fence and see if the farmer can help." She said, subconsciously putting weight toward her heels. The tall conical supports broke through at last, the taller, stringer thresher pitching forward to compensate; the sudden shift in weight was enough for her footwear to also break through the firmer upper surface, the tall boots sliding calf deep before Zoey could do so much as gasp. She let out a grumble as the situation dawned on her, arms held wide for balance. "Oh, damn it Zena, now I'm in the mud too! And these were a nice pair of boots!" She exclaimed, her distinctly rural Australian accent beginning to appear as she became increasingly annoyed by her situation. Zena's ears drooped as she looked over, knowing that Zoey stood less chance of escape than her, those platformed boots having a nasty habit of generating a lot more suction. Knowing her own boots were stuck fast, she whined as she realised what she'd have to do if she was to get help for either of them, especially seeing as even small movements from Zoey had sunk her deeper still, almost to her knees. "Ugh… let me see if I can get my feet out of my boots. Then I'll go see if I can find a farmer to help us."

With that, Zena tried to lift her right foot free, nose turning up at the muted squelches she heard and could feel as she struggled. To her dismay, the foot seemed to be pinned firmly in place, no matter what she tried. She switched tack to the other leg and was equally disappointed, having driven herself thigh-deep into the bed of the stream by now, the cold, wet mud staining her jeans and soaking her legs. "Crap. I think my feet are stuck in my boots, all the mud flooding them must be causing suction. And we both left our phones in the car, shit."

Zoey shook her head, smiling as she started to see some hilarity in this situation. "Oh, Zena, only you could manage to lead us down a dried-up stream, and bog yourself so well."

Rrrrrbit. A sound pierced their back and forth. Zena's brow furrowed, and she glared over at Zoey. "Hey, no need to make frog noises at me. Just because they like wet, muddy places, doesn't mean I do!"

Rrrrrbit. The sound came again. The shark chuckled. "Hey, that wasn't me either time. I'm just debating swallowing my pride and yelling for help. Oh, hey there little guy!" She cooed, as her eyes fixed on the muddy ground in front of her friend. Zena's attention turned the same way, to find a small, slimy green frog looking up at her, croaking away as though it was questioning her.

Zena grimaced. "Ergh, I just hope it's content to sit there and not come any nearer."

The frog let out another Rrrrrbit, and hopped forward another foot, making Zena squeak with surprise and try to lean back, only getting herself more trapped in this mire by doing so. The absurdity of the situation was too much for Zoey, who began cackling loudly. "Awwww, is Zena afraid of a little froggy? I think you stole his favourite spot~"

Zena shot a deadpan glance back at Zoey, her face flustering more as that only added to the volume of laughter from her friend. "No, I just don't want it climbing all over mee-EEEE!" The ferret muttered, her voice pitching up into a shriek as the amphibian hopped up and landed in her partially open shirt collar. "AAAAA! GET IT OFF GET IT OFF! IT'S SO COLD AND SLIMY!"

The ferret squealed and shrieked as she flailed in place, trying to get the frog out of her shirt, while Zoey couldn't contain her laughter, being almost breathless by the time the ferret dug the little critter out of her clothes and absconded it, whereupon it resumed staring at her obliviously. "Well, hunbun, I suspect the farmer will have heard that little show, which'll save us a job. Least I know what to getcha as a pet now~"

A very red-faced, embarrassed and flustered Zena stared at the mischievous thresher, pointing as she grumbled. "Zoey Talon, Don't. You. Even. Think. About it."

Zoey let out another hearty laugh, patting Zena on the head again. It definitely hadn't happened in the way the little ferret had planned it, that was damn certain, but she had definitely succeeded in brightening the shark's mood today. Now all that remained was for someone to come and free them from their mucky prison.