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Today had been awful. Worse than awful, actually. The weather was a fickle beast this time of year, sunny one moment and pouring rain the next, and even though Aristide had paid good coin to get a weather prediction from a stallion in the town he and his little posse had been in previously, the dumb guy had been so terribly wrong! The day had started nice enough, but a rainstorm had rolled in about an hour ago and had done nothing but pour buckets and buckets down from the sky. Lightning and thunder and wind accompanied the storm, leaving Aristide, his hired muscle, and all of his things soaked! On top of that he was now walking alone through the slick mud to the town that was their destination, having to leave his things behind as the wagon had gotten stuck in the mud. The three centaurs he currently had with him he'd left behind to stay with the cart, trying to protect the valuables inside from the rain as well as dig the wheels out of the deep, soggy rut they'd fallen into.

Aristide had managed to dig out a rain coat from his things before the storm had gotten too bad, but now it hardly mattered. The wind was blowing the edges up so he was pretty much totally soaked except for his chest, the rain was blowing all sorts of ways so it was even getting into his hood, his legs were a muddy mess up to his knees and he didn't even want to think about what his poor tail looked like! The long, luxurious hair was soggy and heavy with mud and he had no choice but to let it drag behind him as he walked.

When he made it to the next town he was going to take the longest, hottest bath in the history of the continent. There would be so many soapy bubbles no one would be able to tell he was even in there. He'd demand more hot water be brought in every fifteen minutes to keep the temperature steady or perhaps hire a centaur with fire magic to heat the tub itself.

All these thoughts were distracting him as he walked, arms folded over his chest to try to stave off the wind from blowing his raincoat around too much. Unfortunately with his tail heavy and his arms tucked in he had very little chance to try to balance himself as all four hooves slipped in the mud, sending him reeling and stumbling until he fell flat on his belly, splashing the stinking muck all over his sides and back.

"Oh, that DOES it!" he yelped, hopping up with a nasty squelch, prancing off to the side of the road where there was tall, wet grass to stand in instead. He looked back at himself with disgust before simply laying down right where he stood in the grass, a sulking mess in the storm.

Aristide was beginning to regret his decision to sulk. As wet and dirty as he already was, he could feel the grass and the wet earth beneath him soaking him further. At last the pouring rain was helping to wash off some of the dirt, but still! It was an all-around awful time and he couldn't decide if pouting for no one other than himself was going to pay off in any way.

That is, until, a voice reached his ears. Over the sounds of the storm and his own internal huffing and puffing, Aristide had been completely oblivious to the approaching stranger. He didn't bother to glance up now that he had an audience for his pout, but one ear did twist under his hood in the direction of the other male so he could hear him better over the wind and rain and thunder.

"I'm already soaked," he pointed out with a huff. "Shelter won't do much good now unless it comes with a hot tub of water and towels." The town was his destination after all and he knew what awaited him there - he just had to brave the storm a little longer to reach his prize.

"What about you? You're not seeking shelter?" he asked, finally turning to give the male a huffy glance. When he did a bit of surprise showed in his eyes for a brief moment but he schooled it back to indifference quickly. He was used to large, muscular centaurs as he dealt with them quite often in terms of carrying his things, but this one...he had a rather intimidating air about him. Not to worry, coin always solved problems like this guy. It was usually what they wanted and although he was soaked to the bone, Aristide was never without his coin purse.

Oh, so he was the type to live out of the cities, eh? Aristide usually found that type of centaur helpful. In fact, there were a handful of them back down the road trying to get his cart unstuck from the mud. The heartier ones didn't complain about the physical labor that was required to travel with him. Perhaps he could be of use, then.

He gave a little huff as he was offered help but he took the arm, his own delicate fingers gripping the hard muscle of the other buck's limb. He hoisted himself to his hooves, his entire belly and legs now brown with the mud he'd been sitting in himself. Gross.

"Well, my dear, it seems we can help one another out," he said, switching gears to go from pouty to flirty. Even if he wasn't interested in this guy physically a little saucy tone of voice rarely hurt matters.

"I know exactly where we are and where I'm going. The town isn't far up the road, though there's a few forks along the way. If you don't mind steadying my stride as we walk I'd be happy to get you there." He'd chip in some coin if his alluring tone didn't seal the deal