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No, no, no. It was all wrong. Strange Land huffed to himself, twitching a tail in annoyance. He was standing on some relatively firm ground, pacing gingerly, and telling snatches of story to no audience but the still water and his songbird.

There were so many stories to tell, such strange places to speak of, and the only thing stopping him was a crippling fear of failure. The only remedy he could think of was to practice, and practice, until he could tell his stories automatically.

So he paced, occasionally lowering his voice to a suspenseful whisper, occasionally singing, and Echo remained silent, except to accompany his songs. He was utterly absorbed in his rehearsing, trusting Echo to keep watch for danger.

Strange Land was working out a song about a great flood of water, testing different rhymes and melodies to pick one that fit. "The pouring r-r--" The giggle made him stutter, startled, and Echo flitted up to investigate, swooping around Double-Stripe's head, then going back down to where his partner was standing.

Nothing to be afraid of, then, but no matter how he craned his neck, he couldn't quite see what it was.

Then a doe, as brightly colored as he was, came into view, and he blinked slowly. "Ah, have I disturbed your rest? Many apologies."

The buck and the songbird matched, if only in how very bright they were. "Why, thank you. A cave?" He glanced up at where she'd come from -- on top of a mangrove root, not deep underground. "Do you walk in caves?"

The far-off places, above, below, and beyond what was usually seen, always interested him. Perhaps he could make a song from it.

Such an odd doe -- though odd very seldom meant bad. He circled her curiously. As she sized him up, he raised one brow ridge, amused. "My name is Strange Land. Curiosity may compensate for pure bravery, I think, and I would very much like to see these caves."

He tilted his head in acknowledgment, blue eyes twinkling with humor. Her cheerfulness was contagious. "Well met, Double-Stripe." When she bounded, he hesitated, thinking she would be off, but her words clarified perfectly. "Let's be off, then."

He could follow at a good pace, and he'd walked often and long enough that he wouldn't tire quickly. "How did you find these caves?"

Strange Land listened with interest, recording it in some corner of his mind. "How fascinating. I had no idea that there were caves in some portions of the swamp." He flicked an ear, looking up at the trees. "Do you climb, as well?" All his life, the restless itch in his bones had pushed him to wander in search of new worlds. He'd never imagined that some might be under his very nose.

Strange Land liked her laughter. It called to mind a brief fragment of song -- "Laughing wind and singing water," he mused under his breath, keeping one ear cocked to listen. Then, louder, he added, "Echo travels up into the branches sometimes, but what he finds there, he will not tell me." The songbird, perhaps hearing his name, came swooping out from behind a trunk to hitch a ride on Strange Land's shoulder.

"How did you find these caves?" he asked, keeping alongside her.

"That sounds like quite an adventure." He smiled, the black-on-white of his face markings shifting in merriment. "What is it like in the caves?" Most of his songs were full of description of places he'd seen or imagined. Perhaps he would find another by visiting this cave, with Double-Stripe as his guide.