Strange Land was trudging north -- sort of. It was more a meandering circle that tended north, not that he much noticed; he tended to travel by pacing in circles, reciting lines and practicing bits of song. Echo drifted near his head, chirping and warbling with him as he practiced. He was so absorbed in the dialogue between two long-separated friends that only luck, and well-timed nudges from Echo, kept him from walking right into roots or tree trunks.
Roots and tree trunks and one very investigative doe who had been following Strange Land for the past however long, dodging from bit of cover to bit of cover as if it would help her blend in. Not much did, unfortunately; she was as obvious against the leaves and branches as Strange Land, though for different (very different) reasons.
He had...less-than-stellar powers of observation, and he remained oblivious to the doe following him as he paced in a circle, trying to work out an awkward point in the conversation. One rotation, still not right -- two, three, four, and then he had it. Satisfied, he came out of his circle, and wound up staring right at her. Then, not even his eyes could remain glazed -- he blinked once or twice at her. "Hello."
She froze as he faced her -- and then straightened up from her crouch, tail twitching madly around her sides. "Hi. I'm Something Shiny. Who are you? What were you doing? Does that help you -- whatever you were saying?"
He sorted carefully through her questions in order. "It's nice to meet you, Something Shiny. I'm Strange Land, and I was practicing a story, and -- what was the last question, again?" Echo fluttered to Something Shiny's horn to perch and investigate.
"You were walking in these loopy circles." She trotted one of the smaller ones around him, and ended up nose to nose again. "Does that help you practice stories?"
He tried to turn to follow her, but the circle he made was too small -- he almost tripped over his own legs, then decided to stay in place. Once they were nose to nose again, he blinked, and smiled. "I don't know. It just feels natural."
She sat back on her haunches -- it drew her nose away -- and thought about it. "Huh. Everyone I know likes lines." Of course, everyone she knew was herself.
When she sat back, Echo perched on her shoulder scale, rubbing his beak against her neck and cooing, before fluttering back to Strange Land's shoulder. "Really? I can't say I've ever asked."
She snuffed Echo's feathers for a moment before he fluttered back, and watched him, head cocked. "Well, I haven't really asked, either--" She flushed dully. "--but they tend to walk in straight lines."
Echo thought she was pretty -- he cooed and chirped sweet things from his perch on Strange's shoulder. "True. But then, I'm a storyteller. A buck once told me that all storytellers are half mad." He smiled warmly at her, with a swish of his tail.
Her tail was still lashing around her wildly. "Why?"
"We spend all our lives telling other people's stories, and make none of our own." He watched her tail lash, thoughtfully. Usually it indicated worry, or distress -- but she didn't seem much more than curious.
Frustratingly, incurably, impossibly curious. Here was someone who was more than just shiny on the outside. "So are you making your own, or telling your own?"
"I'm telling other kimeti's." Not his own -- he had no adventures to speak of.
She pondered that. "Who's? What story?"
"Well, this is a story I made up -- about two friends who travel to the opposite ends of the Swamp, then meet to compare their stories." And, to add a little edge of realism to his story, he was traveling -- slowly -- to both ends of the Swamp.
She blinked at him. "So tell me it." Impatiently curious.
He laughed, warmly, and settled down on his haunches opposite her. "Well, the first of these friends was a doe who leaped the highest, ever seeking to see above the trees. The second was a buck who dug deep, exploring the caves and hidden places of the world." The story needed work -- the dialogue was rough in some places, and the melody not quite right in others -- but he told it fluidly.
She listened to him tell it, frowning a little in concentration and studying his hooves more than his face. If she looked at him for too long, she'd get distracted. She waited until he was done, but was surprised by the ending, blinking up at him. "...it seems to me..." Shiny paused, considering. "...that they fall in love too abruptly."
Strange cocked his head, thinking. "Do you think so?" He rose to pace in circles again. "It's true, they're apart for many months, and then...perhaps I..." he rambled off, exploring various possibilities and bits of dialogue.
Shiny watched him, but managed-- pretty neatly -- to mostly follow him without getting in the way. "It's just that it seems really sudden. Maybe if you throw in how they miss each other. Or when they meet adventures, they think of telling the other about them, and wish they were there."
Another circle. "Yes -- yes, and when they meet again, their friendship is all the stronger for their experiences apart." He was moving slightly faster, and Echo flapped his wings and cooed, agreeing.
She laid her ears back in amusement at what he said. "So is that it? Are you going to add more?"
Truth be told, Strange had gotten so caught up in the story that he'd almost forgotten her. When she spoke, it snapped him out of his reverie, and he beamed warmly at her. "That's it exactly."
Shiny understood. It made her laugh. "Good. Okay."
"Thank you so much for the help. It just wasn't -- flowing." He bobbed his head, unable to find a better word for the feeling.
She cocked her head at him, considering. "Are you hungry? There's a really good spot for berries..." She had this thing for shinies... and Strange Land was pretty shiny.
He hadn't even realized until she mentioned food -- and his stomach chimed in. "Is there, now? Some days I get so caught up I forget to eat entirely." He swished his tail and smiled at her. "Lead the way."
She pranced in place for a moment and then sprang forward, leading the (slightly winding) way to the berry bushes. They still had lots of sweet, dark berries still cligning to the branches.
Strange Land followed at a slightly more sedate pace. When the bushes were in sight, Echo flittered ahead to cling to one of the sturdier branches and pick berries from the bush. "Do you live here all the time, then?" he asked Something Shiny.
She shook her head, leaning forward to lip a few berries free. "No, I wander around a lot, looking for things."
"How would you like to come with me for a bit?" She was good company -- and inspiring. Strange tipped his head down to start picking berries from the bush.
Shiny thought about it, munching the berries she'd liberated thoughtfully. "Maybe for a little while."
While she was munching, Echo hung upside down from a branch to nibble on her eartip. "Echo," Strange scolded mildly, and the songbird righted himself with a flutter of wings. "I would appreciate the company. I'm heading north."
She grinned at Echo and found a berry for him. "For a little while. I just wander around, pretty much."
"What are you looking for?" Many kimeti preferred stability -- a patch of the Swamp to call home, where they knew all the paths that lizards took, all the ponds where fishing was easy, and all the berries that gave plentiful fruit.
She gave him a puzzled look. "Shiny things." Something Shiny.
It made sense. "I could take you to some cave formations I saw a while ago. There were some crystals growing on the walls." Shiny things.
It made her brighten considerably. "Oh. Are they to the north?"
"Yes. I believe we're somewhat southeast of them -- I seem to have deviated from my intended path." No wonder, if he went in circles all the time.
She grinned. "I'd bet." It made her want to grin; of course he'd deviated, walking in crazy circles like that.
"I think I still know how to get back there from here." He grinned, sheepishly, back at her.
"Do we have to go in circles?" Her tail flicked -- but it was very definitely amusement with her.
"It might help me find my way better." He sounded embarrassed, but just as amused.
She hopped once in place. "Okay! I don't mind."
It surprised him into a laugh. "All right. Let's go, then." Retracing his steps was hard -- but Echo remembered the way, flying in circles, and leading the way. They'd make quite a sight, walking in circles together.
It made Shiny dizzy -- not that she minded. She walked with him so their shoulders bumped and brushed occasionally as they walked in circles.
Every time they bumped, he startled away and apologized -- he always got caught up in his songs and stories while he traveled. With Echo leading them, they'd at least go in the right direction; by nightfall, they'd happened upon an unassuming hole in the ground. "There. It gets quite dark in there at night, though -- perhaps we should wait until the morning?" He remembered another night in another cave, lost and confused.
Shiny giggled every time he jerked away. It was sort of helpless; she was nervous and pleased and -- going somewhere with a strange buck, how cool was that? "Oh. Okay."
"We can rest out here for the night," he offered, sounding somewhat abashed. Shiny was so sweet.
She nosed carefully under his chin. "--I'd like that."
Strange blushed, but leaned his head to rest his chin on the back of her neck. "There's a hollow not too far from here. Big enough for two." If they didn't mind being close.
Shiny nosed him. "Show me." More circles? She wouldn't mind.
When they went in more circles, he kept his shoulder brushing against hers this time, and led her to a cozy little hollow. There was soft moss in it, and a good root for Echo to perch on. They could stay there, for the night.
