"I hope so," I reply, and carefully climb to my feet once more. Grounding myself more firmly, I offer him my hand and pull him up.
I hate being dirty. A glance down at my side shows me that I'm caked with mud. I'm already soaked through and looking forward to crawling into my sleeping bag, where it's warm.
I spot his sleeping bag in the middle of the puddle and groan internally.
Or maybe I'll sleep outside in the rain tonight.
"Rory, is this yours?" I ask, picking up one end.
"Yeah." He wraps his arms around it and carries it towards the tent.
"You can't sleep in that, honey," I tell him. I retrieve his backpack and follow.
"Okay."
I'm not sure what that means. I trail him into the kids' tent. It's warm, dry and buzzing with activity. The kids each have a cot with a trunk at the foot where they can put their bags and things. They're talking and excited, unaffected by the rain. Captain Mathis is with the team, helping them set up their sleeping bags then stowing their stuff away so as not to look messy.
I swear - he's got to be the most anal person I've ever met. Then again, he's dry and I'm soaked through. I might need to start listening to him about the weather, if nothing else.
Trailing Rory, I'm too miserable and tired to notice perky Brianna until she addresses me.
"Oh, did you fall, Kitty-Khav?" she asks in a syrupy voice. "You should've checked the weather." Unlike me, she's dry as a bone and smiling. Her team was the first to go through the obstacle course, which meant they probably caught about ten minutes of rain, as opposed to our hour or so.
Fuck off. I don't say it, because of the kids, but I'm definitely thinking it. I glance at her and keep walking. I've been practicing punching my pillow in anticipation of the day I get some alone time with her.
"Katya, I hope it's okay, but Riley and I are going to stay with the kids tonight just to make sure there are no issues," she calls after me.
"Sounds good," I reply, not surprised to be exiled to the pup tents outside.
"I heard Jenna's a bed wetter, so I'll come get you if she has any problems."
I stop, surprised she'd say something like that so loudly. Doesn't she know how sensitive a kid is to something like that? I was ridiculed as a preteen for my scars; I know how cruel kids can be. Half the tent had to have heard her.