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Sing felt radiant today, bound and determined to stretch his hooves and explore further then he usually did. He tended to stick to the sunlit places within the bog they called home. To the fields and glens, and watersnake dens. His father had often spoke of another place though, closer to the heart of the swamp, where the darkness was thick as flies in the summers heat. The silence eerie enough to send even the bravest running..

While he and his father rarely did speak, this one tale had intrigued him so, that Dappled would speak of it at all, that he would traverse such a place was fascinating to Sing. His father had also spoken of nightmares that liked to dwell in that darkness and call it their home. Monsters made of scars and black coal, red eyes, and voices like hooves on rocks. Sing wanted to see, and so he would. His darling companion shadow not willing to follow him in after a certain point, to frightened and small he clung to a tree in wait. Making Sing wonder if maybe some of those stories were less bluff and exaggeration, and more truth, never had shadow left him before...

"Tsk..he'll come back..besides, its not all that dark and cold in here! Do you hear that mother swamp? I laugh at your attempt to hide the sun, laugh at it!" Sing barked at the sky, boldly holding his head high the misty shadows clinging to his form as he slipped through the muck.

Sing was just beginning to hum, a brilliant idea for a song coming to him, wishing to make some sort of noise in order to keep away the depressing gloom that weighed on his every step. Oh yes, he realized now why he did not like this dark place, why his father had spoken so ill of it..It was creepy indeed, but monster filled? Hardly..

A sudden echoing splash startling the bright buck from his thoughts, twisting on his hooves to face the the noise, not wishing his back to be towards anything that had a mouth of sharp teeth and thoughts of snacking on kimeti. Sing did not truly see anything out in the murk though, logs and roots, dead rotting bits of tree's and the usual endless mud. Peppered here and there with larger things, rocks probably..

Sing should have turned away, would have kept going and pretended that loud splash hadn't happened, had he not seen one of those 'boulders..or was it a log?' Twitch and move, do things that no rock, or log, or twig should have done..Unless of course, it was not a log or twig or rock, then it made sense.

"Hello? Hellllooo..You, it-thing..whatever you are, show yourself." Sing spoke brightly, warily approaching the shape in the murky water, hoping he sounded larger then he felt. Or at least sounded completely unappetizing.

Sing was startled once more, though he hid it better this time, taking a few pre-cautionary steps back, the larger Buck rising up from the muck, and approaching him. His question sounding quite menacing given the circumstances. Sing had been expecting many things, but hardly this..

"Searching for nightmares of legend, though it seems all I found was you!" It seemed his fathers story's had been just that, fables, myths with barbs of truth that didn't touch the reality of things. There was no monster here, simply another kimeti, a buck in fact. With coal dark fur and bright white eyes, intimidating and larger then him, a bit scary even, but hardly a nightmare!

Sing's long whispy tail flicked behind him, the bucks rock-like stillness a bit unnerving. He'd met some sour stony meti before, but this one, this one took it to a whole new level. Blank, eyes and emotionless face, this other didn't seem to be wanting to welcome him at all. Not even a simple 'kind' greeting his way.."Scared, me? Now your jumpin to conclusions, I'm a bit..nervous maybe, after all no one knows what kind of things go lurking in these parts." Sing lied easily, trying to swallow down his fear, the sudden shark-like smile that spread across the males face, the other circling him as if he were prey. Sing hated, being circled and the hemmed in feeling it often brought.

."I had no illusions of it being nice when I came.." Sing muttered, ears flattening against his skull, the short stiff fur across his body raising. King's look had just gone from unnerving to down right threatening, and left Sing wondering if he should take up his chances of fleeing. Certainly if he couldn't beat the other in a fight he could at least out run him!

"Because...because nightmares aren't real, their things in your head..they cant be living!" Sing snorted and stomped at the mud, taking a bold step back, Kings voice was grating, frightening. He did not believe in waking nightmares, and this-this big buck wasn't about to prove him wrong in that belief!

Show him around, this thing? Sing wasn't sure if he hadn't already seen enough of the place, to run into such a creepy, domineering, Kimeti so soon in; one with a voice like a snakes. It was a bit of a mood killer. "Going me? Nowhere, everywhere, I'm not very sure myself, but my hooves led me here and so here I am." Sing tried a smile, a weak ray of sun in the engulfing darkness that shown throughout the place. The nighttime and it's minions ruled this place, and banished the sun, that much was obvious.

Sing had come with a purpose though, a reason that one way or another needed to be proved. Or..maybe disproved, though that seemed less and less likely to happen. The fact that the other was offering to show him around.. It very well could have been a trap, he knew, but at the same time Sing did not know these parts at all. He felt it'd be far worse to go off on his own and get lost, then it would be to take up this strangers offer. "Well..I do enjoy a good chat, and you do seem like an expert of these parts!" There was so much he needed to know, so much to see, he hated his own weakness, but he couldn't deny needing the help.

"I don't usually leave the sun, can't you tell? White as a new born cloud my hide is, and that's how I like it. I could use a guide though, and some company..But first we need to establish our identity's don't we? Manners and all that, they have those where I come from.." Sing spoke, his expression wary, his tone flat, prodding, as though this other buck were some new species all together that had no proper knowledge of 'his world'. "I'm Sings of Sunlight, and you?" Sing gave a curt nod as he spoke, had this been a female or a friend he surely would have bowed his neck a bit deeper. For some reason though, the thought of bearing any part of his throat to this one..it made him shiver deep to his bones. No, he'd keep his throat nice and protected if he could, that was for sure.

How could he have said no anyways? Sing wasn't even sure he could find his way out of this place on his own without King's assistance..Oh how he wished shadow was here now, the little foxbun wasn't the most useful friend to have, but he never got lost.. "Naturally! My curiosity, get's the better of me every now and then. As long as your sure you know your way around here.." Sing shrugged gently, mirroring Kings friendly looking smile. Feeling that he'd maybe overreacted to the other buck, he didn't look so creepy when he smiled..a bit out of place..awkward maybe, but not bloodthirsty!

"King Night, It's good to meet you. So, show me this nightmare filled swamp of yours!" Sing chuckled, ears flicking eagerly as his gaze dropped away from the grinning black buck, to his surroundings once more. This place was all black and gloom, how anyone found their way was a mystery to him, there werent even any good scents to follow! Still Sing was more then ready to be on his way, now that he at least knew the others name. A very fitting name..

Sings nodded surely, of course it made sense he'd know his way around better then anyone else, the other buck didn't seem like he was lying either. With his dark coat, large size and..rather odd demeanor, Sing could truly believe he'd lived here his entire life, maybe even been born here in the dark heart of the swamp. "Of course!" Sing smiled, the others joyful tone and easy manner putting his worries at bay for the moment. He had himself a real guide, there'd be no getting lost this time, no running in circles and spooking at every shadow.. Or so Sing thought.

Dark eyes narrowing softly, watching the others back as he slipped away into the sludge thick mist that was re-engulfing everything. Suddenly not liking the bucks words at all..Sing expected a little danger, an adventure, some surprise..Death on the other hand, was not high on his list of things to have happen on this little trip. "I'm sure I'll be fine, that's why I'm following you isn't it?" His father probably would have laughed at him for being so young and naive, for blindly following the black bucks disappearing hide, right into the mist and the darkness that surrounded it. "What kind of things, do you think, make this place so unsafe.." Sing questioned warily, his own voice soft with a hint of nervousness.