Solace's ears twitched as xey stared down into the maw of the tunnel xey were aiming to head down next. Moss and lichens covered the walls, dripping down and nearly concealing the opening. Mushrooms adorned the arch of dripping moss, like earthy gems in a green crown, some of them even glowing faintly as xey lowered their head to peer into the darkness.  It was not unheard of to see a lone dungeon courser wandering the depths, answering the ever lulling call of the ruinous beast which had reared its head out of the depths. Everyone was called eventually, or rather, everyone gave in at some point. And perhaps it wasn't all that smart to go by one's self, but Solace had come ready for action, a long handled dagger comfortably tucked in xir mouth as they brushed the moss aside. Xey were familiar with this level at least having lost count of the number of nights they had spent staring up at stone ceiling, watching time pass by the light of a smoldering campfire. 

Today xey had dared to deviate from their usual route, and upon stumbling into this pseudo-dead end found this mossy arch and its tempting darkness just beyond. Foolishly, xey had allowed xir torch to die in the damp and so could not see much further even poking xir head through the mossy curtain. Alas, who were xey to ignore the call of an unexplored hollow. 

Taking a deep breath of the dank air, xey lowered xir head further, letting the smell of the earth circle in xir mind. There was no immediate or obvious trouble that lay beyond. Only the same damp earth and selection of mosses there were here in this portion of the dungeon. Curiously, Solace gripped the dagger tighter and stepped forwards, ears flicking, hide twitching as the cold wet moss dragged across xir haunches as they stepped forward into the darkness. Xey wandered a good long while down the sloping hall, only the sound of xir own hooves and the constant drip drip drip of water filling xir ears. 

The silence was not uncommon here. Indeed, it was a part of the reason Solace chose to dwell longer below than above with other of xir kind. Yes, above ground was technically where home and family was, but the dungeon? Every courser knew the call of course, but that didn't stop Solace from wondering if xey felt it stronger than most. Xey felt more at home down here, plodding down a gentle slope in eerie darkness while nothing but the sound of water and hooves filtered through the air. It was muffled by the moss, the constant echo from closer to the surface having diminished long ago. 

One of xir ears twitched, the sound of something else moving causing them to halt. 

"Hello?" Sol had to put away the dagger to speak, but would rather risk a second unarmed than an accident involving another courser. More than a few times had xey run into others on their many dives, so perhaps this was just another case of that. Except... 

Only silence returned xir call. 

Shuffling forwards a few steps xey paused when a shape came into focus out of the blurry darkness. If not for the light of the mushrooms on the wall, xey might have well assumed the thing standing before them was indeed a courser. However, at a second glance xey realized what it was exactly that xey were looking at. It was not uncommon for the mushrooms to join together, their little fibres tangled together combining into a huge network of mushrooms. And sometimes, the mushrooms would take shape as something other than a mushroom. Solace partly wondered what made them choose to be a courser, but the thought was distant as xey locked eyes with the mushroom courser.

It didn't move as Solace stood there. Only really moving when xey shifted or flicked their ears or tail. 

Ah.

"Are you mimicking me?" The words left xir muzzle in a partly amused huff. Exactly as xey expected, they received no response, yet the mushroom's frilly gills expanded and shrunk in the perfect recreation of Solace's breath. Xey tipped their head to one side, so did it. 

"I wish to continue on my way without a strange shadow thank you." Xir tone was beginning to lose its amusement, instead becoming the usual intense drawl. 

After a long moment of thinking, the reddish bay roan reached for xir dagger and stepped to meet xir fungi doppelgänger. The mushroom mimicked the movement, though with no blade it simply looked to touch its leg before stepping closer. The morbid sense of curiosity flickered in Solace's mind as the two met standing only a couple of feet away from each other now. 

"I do wonder..." The words left xir mouth in an awkward hollow around the dagger's hilt. "How you'll do without that connection of yours." With a quick stride forward, the toss of xir head and the kick of a hoof, xey rend the mushroom mimic from its tie to all the others. It collapsed having only jerked about uselessly prior to the connection being severed. Solace stared down at the mushroom for a long while, now noting that its chosen appearance had much mimicked xir own proportions. It didn't move. Solace didn't move. 

Nothing happened. "Huh." How anticlimactic. 

With the slight shake of xir head they decided to take one of the mushroom horse's legs, either for eating or for selling later they had yet to decide. Whatever the case, xey looked quite strange as they left the scene of their crime, a mushroom horse leg slung over their withers as they continued ever onwards. Maybe later xey would regret killing the thing, or maybe even dwell on xir own mortality, but for now they carried on without a worry or care cast in the direction of their past. Perhaps someone else would come along and they would know more about the mushroom thing. But for now, xey had far to go, the whisper of the dungeon ringing bright and soft, pulling them ever deeper beneath the earth.