The Green and the Violet

Where There's Mud...

"Chris? Chris? Can you hear me?"
As Chris' eyes slowly regained focus, they were greeted by a pair of stormy gray eyes that belonged to a young woman whose beauty was unrivaled by any spectacle the natural world had to offer. Even the vibrant African violets and orchids that blossomed behind her looked dim in comparison.
"Am–am I in heaven?"came a groggy response as Chris rose on his feet, shaking the dizzy feeling from his head.
Aviva giggled. "No, silly. We're on the ground. Or the forest understory to be exact."
"Oh."
"Are you okay, Cariño?"she asked, concern evident on her features before stopping herself abruptly in mild embarrassment.
"I'm fine, but–" here the Kratt in green tilted his head in confusion–"what does that mean?"
Aviva could feel herself blushing uncontrollably as she answered," Oh, nothing. I-It's a Spanish term of endearment."
"Meaning?"
"Sweetie." Aviva blurted out, face beet-red, earning a chuckle from the Kratt in green before changing the subject.
"Uhh.. Chris? There's mud on your– well, everywhere I guess." At that point, Chris looked around him to see that he was indeed dead center in a large mud wallow the size of an average swimming pool.
"This bank is really steep and slippery."he said, slipping and falling in an attempt to climb out. "I can't climb out. Can you give me a lift? Please?"
"Sure. Just give me your han–Ahhhh!!!!" but Aviva was cut off as Chris tugged her hand with a little too much force, dragging her in the mud pit with him. Despite all his best efforts not to, the Kratt in green soon found himself laughing hysterically while Aviva rose to the surface, wiping the mud off of her face, glaring daggers at her 'assailant'. If looks could kill, he would have died a thousand deaths.
"¡Té odió tanto, Christopher Fredrick Kratt!"she screamed furiously in her first language.
Chris continued laughing until a mud pie shot him dead in the face, sending him splashing in the muck. Turning his head towards the source, he spied Aviva giggling over the mischief she just made. Two can play at that game...
Eyes narrowed, he waited for Aviva's giggling to subside before he yelled, "This means waaaaarrrr!"
The inventor shrieked as a well aimed bullet struck her chest, soaking her further. She got the message.
"¡Venga!"challenged Aviva in Spanish, returning fire, hitting the Kratt in green straight on the stomach with such force it almost knocked him over.
Thereupon began a clash of mud as both opponents exchanging rounds and taunts while at the same time, avoiding each other's strikes. For twenty minutes or so the battle waged without a clear winner in sight, for both were evenly matched in their accuracy and tenacity, both determined to outlast the other.
And I thought Gourmand had good aim, thought Chris, now coated with mud from head to toe, dodging Aviva's missiles before launching another muddy cartridge at his 'enemy', only for the inventor to quickly duck out of the way, causing the projectile to harmlessly fly over her head.
"Missed me by a mile!"boasted Aviva, oblivious to the change in Chris' mood as he suddenly froze in his tracks, eyes widened in dread as he spied movement in the reeds several yards behind her. Oh, no!
"Don't move!"cautioned the Kratt in green, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Like I'm gonna fall for that." replied the inventor with a smirk, arms folded.
"No, seriously. Behind you! A Black rhino!"
Aviva instantly whirled around, and to her shock and horror, was met by the piercing glare of an angry rhinoceros with a roll of mud caked on his face. The heavily armored herbivore must have been rudely awakened from his midday slumber in a nearby mud wallow.
Ay, Dios mio, thought the inventor, heart racing.
"Just back away slowly."whispered the creature adventurer. "Black rhinos have poor eyesight, but they make up for it with their incredible hearing and sensitive nose. The mud should disguise our scent, so move slowly and quietly. No sudden moves."
Aviva nodded before she made her way slowly and cautiously away from the Black rhino until she reached Chris' waiting arms. As one set of feet, the pair slowly retreated backwards up the bank, moving noiselessly until Chris' foot made a misstep, snapping a twig. The rhino's ears pricked at the threatening sound before turning his mammoth head towards the source, eyes narrowed, horns lowered, feet pawing the muddy ground as he snorted steam from his nostrils.
With a resounding bellow, the two-ton behemoth charged!
"Plan B: Run!"
Without another moment to lose, the pair sprinted for the brush at full speed with an infuriated Black rhinoceros hot on their tails.
Dashing among a thick grove of bamboo, Aviva and Chris weaved in and out of the labyrinth of shoots. But the bamboo served as no major obstacle for the rhino's unstoppable force as the animal charged headlong through the shoots, reducing them to matchwood.
"He's gaining on us!"cried Aviva as the enraged rhino's thundering footsteps came closer and closer, though neither dared to look behind them. Chris then took a moment to take in their surroundings.
"Not for long!"countered Chris with a wink. "This way!" Taking her hand, the Kratt in green led the inventor under a thick, fallen log, delaying their assailant by a few precious seconds as the brute met the obstacle in a resounding crash, struggling to free his enormous head and horns from underneath the wooded fortress. With a violent jerk of his head, the rhino finally managed to free himself as the log was obliterated in a cloud of wooden splinters and debris before the behemoth started for the trail taken by the pair. After half a minute of searching, he stopped at the base of a mid sized tree before sniffing the air for the two interlopers who disturbed his sleep. The rhino's ears rotated like radar dishes, listening for the slightest sound.
His actions had not gone unnoticed by two figures perched on a stout branch twelve feet above his head.
   Don't look up, don't look up, don't look up, pleaded Aviva mentally upon seeing the horned pachyderm directly beneath their tree. At her side, Chris stood motionlessly as though he had turned to stone, casting a glance that said: Don't move a muscle. Fortunately for them, the mud on their skin and clothing masked their scent well enough to render them almost invisible to the short-sighted rhino who assumed the two figures above as part of the tree limbs. Unable to find the intruders, the Black rhinoceros turned tail, lumbering back to his mud wallow, likely to resume his slumber.
As soon as they were sure that the rhino was out of hearing range, the pair released breaths they didn't realize they were holding. "That was a close call."said Chris after a moment of silence. "Too close."replied Aviva, catching her breath.
"All in a day's work for a creature adventurer."added the young Kratt nonchalantly with a chuckle. The words had hardly left his mouth when he felt a sharp pain as a well placed fist struck his right shoulder.
"OWW!!! Why would you do that?"exclaimed the creature adventurer rather dramatically, clutching his bruised shoulder.
"Just to even the score."replied the inventor nonchalantly. "I was winning that mud fight, you know."
"Nice try."retorted Chris with a cocky smirk, arms folded. "But I was ahead of you by a mudslide and you kno–mff." Much to his surprise, he was cut off mid sentence as he felt Aviva's lips suddenly crash against his own.
Oh, what the heck? thought the creature adventurer as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's waist, returning her affection. We'll call it a draw..