The dawn of day 2 and another change in plans.

Missy and Becky were rudely awakened shortly after the rain started, at around four in the morning. Somehow, water had found its way into the tent. It had formed a puddle around the tent poles, and on closer inspection, it was creeping in along them. The duo texted Alex as soon as they could.

Missy looked worried at Becky as she read over her shoulder in mild panic. How were they going to find those things outside in the grass

Missy panicked and ran outside and started patting the floor outside, getting dirty from the mud and dirt.

Missy spent a decent amount of time looking for them and quickly placed them atop the poles, and as a result, the drip slowly stopped. Now they had to mop the tent and dry their sleeping bag… Alex wouldn’t provide a new one, but it would be dry and clean by the next evening. Not a lot, but it was something. In the meantime, they decided to sleep in the sanitary building, as the rest was locked. It was cold, but they luckily had multiple layers of dry clothes and, for Missy, most importantly, a warm shower to rinse the mud off herself.

For the rest of the cast, the morning was ushered in by two sounds: the rain and Alex playing the melody of ‘I am singing in the rain.’ Heather had mostly the same experience as last night, only without the muscular man nuzzling into her sideboob. She didn't bring the umbrella or a jacket into her tent.

William woke up after Chris had left the bed. He found the master reading a book and, instead of engaging him in a conversation, just left, taking an umbrella from a bin next to the door.

Ryan and the Jessies were happy with the cots they were sleeping on. Ryan didn’t have a coat, and looking out from the tent, the rain wouldn't let up soon. They would need to change the plans for today. Cosy gaming day today? The walk maybe tomorrow? Ryan thought but didn’t discuss it with the Jessies. Instead of getting wet, the trio decided to send Chris a text to ask him to come get them with some extra umbrellas or a coat for Ryan. He brought them with him before the three of them headed out for breakfast.

The group collected themselves, and each grabbed a piece of the prepared breakfast that was nigh identical to the meal from yesterday. The rain tapped loudly against the window. The group came in partially soaked due to the wind blasting them with the rain as they walked to the canteen.

Aimé sat near his storefront table and was tinkering with a machine with suction cups. Becky asked why he was doing that. “Plenty of seasons have some form of breast expansion/lactation transformation. I am just preparing for the inevitable.” This disturbed the overweight woman who had been called a cow as an insult too many times, and she chose to disengage.

Chris realised something he hadn’t thought to ask his fire elemental. “Does rain hurt you, Ember?”

[Nahh, I am intangible, functionally non-perceptive unless I want to influence the world. As a result, the physical world hardly affects me. Why did you worry I might die because of it?] The ball of fire said with a chuckle.

“That is nice. Of course I worry about you.” The master didn’t focus for too long on the question about death and continued. “On a side note, do you know a way for us to dry quickly?”

[You could just ask me to. I have plenty of control to do so.] Ember looked at Chris, who gave her an approving nod. Suddenly, a bunch of heat enveloped them, enough to make the water in the clothes turn to steam, not enough to actually burn the people inside the clothes. For a short moment, it was as if each of them was in a personal sauna. [There you go. It wasn’t too hot, right?]

“Thanks, Ember. It was perfect. I am surprised by how quickly it went away.” Chris noted.

“The room also got hotter and clammy, though,” Heather complained.

“Maybe don’t wear a full-on onesie, dumbass.” Missy rebutted, which received a glare from most of the people in the room, bar William.

Syl casually strode in wearing a long waxed coat and a wider-than-normal brimmed leather hat. “Good morning; everyone is here. That is what I love to see! Sadly, none of you stood out yesterday, so no bonus points for any of you.” She removed a nonexistent tear from below her eyes. “Yesterday you guys were bickering a lot. Where was the camaraderie we saw the day before, and what is worse, it wasn’t competitive bickering.”

“Well, on a positive note, we do have the result for our dynamic duo of one. They will officially become a dynamic duo at the start of the next round. They will have a copy of whatever their VP and BP scores are, as well as any upgrades, since you can’t do the two-for-one deals anymore. They can only receive the points once for the two of them now anyway. Now is the best time for them to make a score since today is their date. After this week, it will be every version of Jessie for themselves. Now onto our updated scores.” The hostess waved, and the numbers appeared.

1. Ryan 35 VP
2. Missy 9 VP
3. The Jessies 7 VP
4. Becky 7 VP
5. William 3VP
6. Heather 2 VP

“As you can see, only small increases all across the board. Which is understandable, given how fast you guys went the day before yesterday. Have any of you gotten new questions since yesterday?”

“What type of transformations are Missy’s?” Ryan asked

“Sorry, that is a question I am not going to answer. It is better for the drama if I don’t. My superiors like drama. Do I need to introduce it in another way?" Ryan shook his head. "Anything else?”

William decided to ask, “What are the prizes for the challenge at the end of the round?”

“You will see when you get there. I might be inclined to share later, but not now. This early on, it isn’t any fun. Maybe you could find out elsewhere?” The elven woman said with a smirk.

“Do you know how long this weather is going to last?” Chris asked.

“Depends on how long the individuals causing it stay in the area. I suspect not much more than a day; don’t pin me on that, though. Creatures that manipulate the weather are as fickle as can be. Good luck with it. We endeavour to minimise wind, but rain is harder to prevent hitting the campsite.” Syl looked over the group; none answered. Syl focussed on the camera held by Ember for a moment. "Ladies, gentlemen, gentlewomen, lads, lassos and anything in between, I almost forgot to tell you a message from the HH network. Please do check out our latest new season with a wacky cast, a decent amount of audience participation, and a genderfluid mastress. They will do the onboarding if you need any more than that."

"What the fuck is a mastress?" Missy shouted in shock.

"Look for the season on the shelves of the book nook and find out." Syl teased with a grin before stepping out of the door into the rain again.

The Jessies approached Chris together with Ryan. The master was trying to get Becky to eat the bowl of fruit and Greek yoghurt he had shoved in front of her. “So we were thinking we might have gone a bit too fast,” Ryan said.

“Okay, for my information, is this an 'I won't participate in the entire date’ or just an 'I don't want to join the nighttime activities’?” Chris asked his buddy.

“What do you mean?” The co-owner asked.

“We can still have a fun daytime part of the date together. The rules explicitly allow for it. I think. We can always check with Alex and Syl.” Chris said in a casual tone.

“Okay, misremembered. Still, we can do date-like stuff during the day and maybe next week.” He said with a shrug. “So what are your plans, Jesse and Jessica?”