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Exploration was a daily task and he never considered it quite a success unless he came across another kin or creature. Kin were better as creatures were less caring for his flirtation. A foxbun had quivered and the snake had been unresponsive. (He blamed his bat for the first.) Even now it was draped against his back like a living blanket.

His movements were slow, weak eyes peering into the swampland with mixed results. Blur and light and shadow. Often times, he ended up still with eyes closed to rest them. The different blends of shape and light were taxing compared to life in the cave. At least he could see, many of his brethren could not. Still his bat was a great help.

He opened his eyes once more, spotted a flash of color, and with a lazy grin set forth. Perhaps it was a kin. He felt his heart thrum at the idea.

Almost was currently lost. Not that this mattered to the acha, she wasn't technically lost because that suggested she had somewhere to be. Which, given her kind's nature, could have been anything between a small party gathering in the desert, or a large festive celebration in the swamp, or a little soiree in the grasslands. That she was on her way to any place in particular for a specific reason would have elicited an amused snort from the doe.

So right now, she was content to study her current location, trying to sniff out all sorts of lovely smells that she could study and even bring along with her. She'd discovered such an interesting effect from burning a certain blossom and its leaves once and hoped she could find a similar result here. Whether she'd share the discovery was another matter. As such, the sound of rustling didn't really alarm her insomuch as it made her curious.

Ears flicking, the acha stood still, though every muscle in her body was prepared to spring away should a predator come bursting forth, "Hellooooooo~?" she greeted melodically.

The voice was a pleasant surprise and he found himself prancing; it was not a fluid movement, a touch unsteady from weak sight. Along his back, the bat rustled and he paused to nose at it's leather wing. Then turned his attention once more, forward. "Hellllllll-loooooooo," he echoed, his voice crooning a rich tone. Seductive, almost. It was with no hesitation but sleekness that he pushed through a leafy bush -- a fine one that did not scratch against his skin -- emerging near the acha. He blinked, fixed his gaze onto the mesh of blurred red, black, and white and grinned. "You are pretty," he cooed. At least he imagined she was; he wouldn't know if she wasn't, wouldn't care. Warmth and love knew no such thing as ugliness.

Almost turned her head towards her voice, tail slowly trailing behind her in a lazy sway. Ooooh she liked the sound of that voice, she liked it very much. However, when the voice's owner emerged she was startled. Not taken aback though, just surprised and mostly intrigued. "Why thank you~" she cooed, her ears flicking in delight at the praise, "You make quite the sight yourself~ I've never seen anyone like you before!" The acha sounded excited in her declaration and unashamed of the fascination audible in her voice. Then with a slight tilt of her head, she asked, "Who, what are you?"

It was a good thing, a helpful thing, that the Zikwa could not see the reaction. Or it may have been to other Zikwa. Doubtful that any sort of hesitation would have affected Thief, outgoing as he was. In fact he seemed to preen, at the mere sound of her voice. At the fact she had seen no one like him before, even his bat seemed to lift from his back his pride was so strong. He steadied himself and then bowed his head in greeting, "A zikwa; my name is Thief." He rose and was clearly not at all alarmed by the idea his name might give, for he pranced forward using her scent to find her position more than his eyes. "What is your name, my dear?" Not that names were important in the end but he did like to have something to remember them by, besides blurry patches of color.

The acha's ears flicked again, scarcely able to believe what she'd just heard. "Come again? Did you say you were a Zikwa?" The word sounded foreign on her tongue, but it rolled off well enough, not entirely unpleasant but definitely something she wasn't accustomed to saying. That wasn't entirely a bad thing, really. It just meant she had little to go on, if any at all!

Bravely, maybe even presumptuously, she leaned in to take a closer look at him, her study aided when he pranced closer. "You have such smooth skin, but that's not bad, oh not bad at all! Mine gets so scratchy here in the swamp, especially when my fur gets all matted and knotted and-oh! I'm sorry!" she apologized, suddenly realizing she had started to ramble, "I'm Halfway There, but please, call me Almost~ only acquaintances say my whole name and I do so would want to be more than mere acquaintances with you~" she cooed excitedly, leaning in closer to lightly rub her neck against Thief's. But quickly pulled back when she realized there was something on his back!

Thief was oh so very pleased by her. She was forward and flirty. Not quite as much as he but his confidence (cockiness) was unrivaled thus far. It was such a small statement and yet his voice laced it with sweetness and promise. And her closeness only amped up the promise in his words. Until the brute on his back caused her to dart back. The abscence was keenly felt and he frowned, twisting his neck at the startled bat who had darted upwards and was now flapping it's large leather wings to keep aloft. "I must apologize for my bat. He is a lazy thing," he explained with a shake of his head. The bat seeming to sense his disapproval, flew to a nearby tree and nestled it's feet onto the rough bark to hang upside down all wrapped tight in a cocoon of his own.

That aside, he took a brazen step forward and rubbed his face against her neck and shoulder. "Almost, your fur is so lovely. Water to my moss," he complimented her.

This was certain a series of firsts for the acha, her first zikwa, her first "bat", her first brush with almost-death well, that last one was an exaggeration by all means but it was certainly thrilling now that she knew Thief's bat meant no harm.

"No harm, no foul~" she giggled, tossing her head back in light laughter, her tail swaying excitedly to and fro. "You must live in the truly deepest of caves! Are you not frightened by the dark? I've tried to explore one before but couldn't go too far in, I, well, that is," she sounded sheepish now, "It got too dark for me, and I was stumbling like a newborn foal fresh out of my shell!" she huffed, then sighed into his touch, relishing the unusual sensation.

She was not put off by his advances, she rather enjoyed affection, giving and receiving alike, "You are most kind~ oh! Moss!" she repeated, "Does your cave have a great carpet of them?" she asked, almost breathless in anticipation.

"We are born in the dark. The light is harsher than we are used to. Many of my brethren are sightless and see only light or dark," he explained. The darkness was a constant companion in the caves, more so than the other of his kin, than even the bats that bonded to them. He considered himself well acquainted with many of the other Zikwa but as much as he adored company, he would roam the caverns alone at times. He had always liked to explore and now that they had come out it rang even more true. There were so many more kin and creature to love above ground.

The thought of this poor doe unable to explore a cave was quite sad, "We shall explore together a cave, sometime, myself and my bat will guide you." A sweet offer; at least with him his legs would grand her light. It must be a shame to be so dependent on ones sight that the dark deterred them. Perhaps that was why no kin had found them. The idea of kin coming into the cave was exhilarating. And he grinned, "There is much moss in our caves, it makes for refreshing bedding." Although he would always prefer a mere warm body to curl against and twine with to moss, if he had to choose.

Almost leaned in against Thief, exposing the curve of her neck to the zikwa buck with nary a care that she'd just met him or what this moment of vulnerability could mean. His offer was tempting, very tempting, and she smiled in thought at all the strange and interesting things and scents in the caves. "I would like that, very much please~" she answered, "But we can do that some other time, perhaps? Right now," she backed up just slightly so she could look at the zikwa, "Tell me more of yourself! Your name is Thief, what exactly is it you... steal?"

Her question is teasing, flirtatious even, and though the action may go unnoticed, Almost couldn't help but bat her lashes at him.

"As you wish, my dear," he grinned. He liked this doe. Perhaps more than any doe he had met thus far. This acha was indulgent and had he not been so sure of himself, he might have considered that she was even more flirty than he. He felt her movement and with a sleek move managed to catch her ears in his teeth; a faint nibble as he turned to press his side against hers.

"There is only one answer to that," he preened and cooed, "hearts." He let out a laugh at that because it was so very true but not in such a malicious manner. "I am a lover of all things, Almost. I love and I take a piece of my loves where ever I go."

The doe let out a soft giggle, her ear folding against her head briefly at the ticklish nibble. "Oh my~" she breathed airily, the teasing lilt ever present in her voice. "I should take care not to completely lose my heart to you, then. There are still so many things my heart wishes to indulge in," she teased.

The acha angled her head, the side of her horn brushing lightly against the top of Thief’s head. The lack of horn on the zikwa was pronounced to the doe. And she couldn’t help but frown, " A pity you have no horns, there is a game I used to play with some of the acha bucks when we were barely out of foalhood.," she sighed almost longingly. It was a fun game but it required horns to tangle and twine with.

He gasped in mock shock, "My dear, I would never steal all of it. Only a lovely bit to remind myself of you." And how beautiful he made that sound. A little shard of heart as a reminder; how poetic.

"Tell me about this game," he pleaded softly, all the while devising ways of how he might improvise. He may not have had horns but he had his whole body to use.

The doe let out a giggle before sneaking a quick, gentle n** of affection at his ears, "For promising to steal only a lovely bit, I shall tell you of this game. It's fairly simple, we try to outdance the other while keeping our horns together. First one to break contact loses." It was really all just an excuse for them to be close together and if their horns became entangled in the process then all the better. She wondered how she could change the rules for the zikwa, but given his playful nature she could have very well just asked him to dance with her.

"A lovely game of contact," he purred. It lasted but a second, his wish for horns to tangle with hers, and then he grinned. He did not need horns. He twisted his tail around hers and slid a leg around hers. Somehow he managed to stretch until his head rubbed beneath her chin. "But who needs horns to touch?"

"Certainly not us~" Almost purred in response, winding her tail around the zikwa's until the fan-tip brushed against the leg he'd slid around hers. "Shall we dance, then?" she asked coyly with a flutter of lids.

"You would have been a seductive zikwa," he crooned, his mouth close to her ear and his breath hot, as he added -- voice thick, "but you are much better as an acha." And that was all the answer he was inclined to give. For dance they did.