[PRP] Life Debts [Kuruka & Klee]

[ChexaRain]

The world was bright and cheery, and Ruka was bouncing along as he normally would, soaking up the warmth of the suns' rays. In his blissfully unaware state, he failed to make note of the fact it had rained the night before, and he seemed to be bouncing himself further and further into the mud. It barely fazed him at first; instead he grinned as he left little paw prints in the sodden earth.
But those paw prints were getting more and more defined the further he wandered, and it wasn't until he found a rather thick patch of mud under a few sparce trees that his eyes widened.
Oh.... oh no.
He looked around, spotting a branch just out of reach and he made an effort to snap at it, any kind of purchase to allow him to pull himself from the squishy mess, but he was just shy of a firm grasp. He whined audibly.
Without much of a reasonable answer for his problem, he whined even louder, his distress rising by the minute, "Uhm... can anyone help, please? Hello?"
He made an effort to squirm, but only wedged himself in further, and he laid his head on the surface of the mud with his ears back in defeat.
"Welp, guess I'll die here. It was a good life."  

[NymiiNym]

Klee was off exploring, like any newly adventurous dog might. She had left the warm den of her family only a week ago and was truly taking the time to discover her surroundings and enjoy the things she had never even thought could exist, keeping a bounce in her step and tail held high. It was fun! Lots of fun, even, although sometimes she missed her mother and siblings so terribly. It was a given she would, though, and Klee wasn't going to give up her journey due to a bit of homesickness.

She just hoped she found someone soon to give her company before she ended up changing her mind.

What she hadn't meant was hope someone was hurt and crying out for help, however! She heard the cries before she saw the bearer, freezing with a paw midair and head pointed forward. Was that...? Was someone crying for help?

Well, she couldn't just leave that!

"Hello?!" She cried out, on the edge of the muddy terrain herself. She squinted, barely making out a neon green in the distance; now that didn't look like natural fauna.

"Is someone there? I'm coming over!" And come over she did, practically tripping over herself to traverse through the mud until she felt the warning signs that it was too deep, halting in place. That was someone!

"Oh no! You poor thing! What can I- is there anything I can throw over? Ohhhh-"  

[ChexaRain]

What was that? A saint in green?! Ruka's little tail wagged and he perked up, mud caked on the underside of his face in an unflattering manner.

"YES! Well, maybe. I thought a branch might work to pull me out but...." He mumbled, his gaze flicking to the aforementioned device with a nose wrinkle.
But this lady had come! He was heard! He beamed at her, "I'm glad you came! ...Probably to my funeral, but it's nice to have company!"

He looked around, eyeing the less squishy land surrounding his little tomb and gestured to his left. "That looks like a good spot, you won't have the sun in your eyes when it goes down."  

[NymiiNym]

Her ears swiveled upright and her tail wagged instinctively -- he was nice! Nice and friendly and a little bit cute and trapped. Oh no.

"Oh! What? Where?" She trailed after his gaze and visibly perked at the sight. Could she reach it? Possibly, if she was reaaaaaally careful and light on her toes. And quick -- that'd help.

"Let me help you! Jus- what? No! You're not dying today! Just... continue being stuck and wait for your hero; me!" Funeral? No way! She was going to save his life or die trying. She wagged her tail and began to make her way towards the glanced at branch, huffing in his general direction.

"I wouldn't know since I'm not going there. You're getting out of this!" With a determined huff and a low grunt, Klee managed to reach out to the branch, placing both paws on top and pushing it into his grasp.

"See!"  

[ChexaRain]

His ears perked up in an instant when the branch was within range, and he was quick to grab ahold of it.
It took quite a good pull, be he managed to wrench his front legs free and use them to further his leverage for getting out.

It wasn't until he collapsed on firmer land that he took a moment to look at his savior, little tail wagging as he remembered his mother's words from long ago...

"My name is Kuruka, and I owe you a life, lady....... Whatever your name is.... What you gave me is now yours til my last breath!"
That was proper, right? At least he thought so. He had given up, so anything after that point was no longer his. Perfect, he needed a goals, maybe this lady had some!  

[NymiiNym]

He got out? He got out!

"You did it!" She barked, struggling to disentangle herself from the muddy mess and make it to firm land. With a grunt, a gasp, and a brief moment of panic, Klee also found her way beside him, flopping right against his side and heaving.

"Whew, I can see how you got stuck. You can't ever ever go that deep into mud again, okay?" She gave a playful wack with a paw against his side and shook her head, sighing. "You're lucky I was passing by! What would have happened if you were all alone?"

She made the saddest of expressions, resting her head onto her paws for just a brief moment, and then he... wait. What? Her head lifted and tilted to one side and then the other, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. Lots of fancy words for someone like her, but it was cute! She didn't truly understand the severity of what he meant, taking it for either light banter or just gratitude and giggling in response.

"My name is Klee!" Her tail wagged and she grinned ear to ear. "And you're funny! Don't think anything of it; I couldn't leave you to die. What even made you go out that far?"  

[ChexaRain]

Klee! He lifted his head, "That's a lovely name, my lady." He nodded to himself, thinking the gesture made him look more intelligent, before continuing, "As you wish, my lady! The mud will not tempt me again!"
Grinning, he was enjoying himself all too much, if the wag of his tail was any indicator.

At her mention of being left alone, he blinked a few times. "Oh, I would've been dead. D-E-D for sure.... I just like leaving paw prints sometimes, but it was too deep this time..." He shook his head, "But that's the past and this is now! I will follow you forever my lady. My debt of a life remains, I must repay it or you get to keep what is left in mine. I think I've got a few good years left."  

[NymiiNym]

Klee giggled at the compliment, waving a paw in his general direction. He was certainly enthusiastic, wasn't he? Her tail wagged in response to his, matching his rhythm, only pausing for just a second at his poor spelling.

"D-E-A-D," she corrected softly, followed with another giggle. Cute! He was so cu- wait, say what? Her head flopped to one side as she squinted at him, trying to gauge the reality of his sentence. He wasn't being serious, was he? This was a joke, right?

"Ha, ha-ha, you're so funny." Her tone was skeptical but light as her head readjusted, shaking her head at herself. Of course he was kidding; duh!

But...

"So, Kuruka," she paused for emphasis. "When you say forever that's just a tee-hee, right? Just a funny joke? I know it's a dumb question, but I'm still bad at reading others."