Row, Row, Row

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

~ Bobbing on the surface of one of Five's larger bodies of water in Hell's least reliable-looking rowboat, Regulus touches his hair for what must be the millionth time. It is not out of any vanity, one certainly can't afford to care about one's appearance anymore, and when Barty had grumpily pointed out Reg's new tick to him earlier Regulus simply excused it as wonderment of not being bald any longer.

He has been sitting here in the boat for far too long waiting silently and with decreasing amounts of patience for Barty to get in the damn boat. It's hull may be covered in slime and yes so it is slightly rotted from sitting here in the swamps since the invention of the rowboat, but it's much safer than standing on a log with a sour expression, which is exactly what Barty insists upon doing. ~

I'll say it once more. Just because we were eaten last time, doesn't mean it's going to happen now. Get in the boat.

Comments

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

I can get through Four. I did when you were lost in Three and I had to come get you. Think of the boat as reimbursement for slugging around Three looking for you.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

I wasn't lost - I was merely doing some personal exploring.

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Very well, but when I personally explore I don't walk in giant circles calling 'Bar-ty? Baaaartyyyy...'

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

Assumptive wretch! Perhaps your name is just my war cry, my circling a combat tactic - and you just interrupted me in midst of warfare.

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

With mud?

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

Yes. Sentient mud.

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Because I thought you sounded quite small and lost, not particularly warlike.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

OH THAT'S WHAT YOU THOUGHT, IS IT? CLEARLY YOUR BRAIN IS ROTTING AWAY AS WE SPEa- *Barty's yelling dies in his throat as he lifts his leg - or rather his leg lifts itself, hovering precariously over the treacherous water*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Now Barty. That isn't going to change my mind. Just get in the boat.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

SOMETHING HAS MY LEG! INVISIBLE SQUIDS! *nearly tips into the water, the log and his body both swaying and bobbing dangerously*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*pushes the boat as close to the log as he can* Quit that, it's not funny.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

I AM NOT BEING FUNNY. THIS IS NOT AN AMUSING SITUATION IN THE LEAST. In case you're too busy being sea-worthy to notice I'm teetering above a horrific, icy demise!

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

That's not my fault, I have been telling you to get in the boat for ages, you're the stubborn one with an icy death wish.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*Barty's eyes flare and it's clear he's about to go into another rant, but the log gives way first rolling back under Barty's foot, causing him to belly flop into the water with a murky splash, only through luck has he managed to catch the hull of the boat with his hands, desperately trying to scramble up and aboard*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Barty! *the boat rocks and Regulus scrambles to the side, reaching slippery hands over to help pull Barty in before he's nothing but a block of ice*

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*violently he makes to tug himself aboard, though he's covered in a thin layer of ice and his legs seem to be caught in something, whether they've frozen solid or some angry shade is attempting to pull him back under is unclear*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*twists the back of Barty's shirt in his fingers, determined not to let go* Your feet, use your feet - put them on the log again and push yourself up!

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*Barty cries out in muffled and incoherent despair, in the struggle, both he and the boat have been pushed just a few feet to far from the log - and as ever some mysterious obstacle hinders his leg power, every moment spent submerged just makes him feel heavier and heavier and he can't even see what he's doing, his eyes sealed shut*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*leans out of the boat a bit too far, his and Barty's combined weight lifting the opposite end slightly out of the water*

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*what's anchoring Barty down is simply a very long strand of kelp, as it freezes, it goes brittle and breaks, sending Barty tumbling aboard the boat as Reg's force becomes unnecessary*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*frightened by Barty's near miss, the water that forever bubbles in Regulus' throat grows overwhelming and as Barty coughs up swamp water so does Regulus, as though they had both fallen in*

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*gestures desperately at his eyes, all he can do is make a vague gurgling noise, though his mouth hasn't frozen, having been open in surprise when he fell, his tongue certainly has*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

*uses a bit of dried kelp from the side of the boat to try and wipe away some of the dirty ice from Barty's eyes, mostly managing to make the ice dirtier instead* I thought you were going to get stuck down there.

[madlymirthful9.livejournal.com]

*claws at his eyes, however since his fingers too have earned a layer of ice, its all rather ineffectual*

[wetandbothered5.livejournal.com]

Don't - you'll hurt something.