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Salil didn't let her see his slight irritation. "Of course you are, Miss Serenne," he replied, continuing to speak over his shoulder as they walked. "A lady must be patient, after all." He was even more irritated at how quick Hijiki was to lower his guard around her. What was with him today?

"No, it's not far," Hijiki replied honestly. "Half of the reason that it's our base is that it's within walking distance of the lakes." He was rather excited for them to arrive; he'd grown to like their makeshift home, even if it was once a human dwelling.

Salil didn't say much for the rest of the trip, until they arrived at the old human dojo. "Miss Serenne, welcome to our base." He turned, smiling slightly. "Shall we have a quick tour?" Hijiki would probably choose to skip the tour--or at least lay down for part of it--since he tired more easily then Salil, but he wasn't sure if Serenne would elect to wait until the teasing stallion was rested. Maybe it was jealousy or just pure curiosity, but Salil wanted to separate Serenne and Hijiki--even if only for a few minutes--to see how the former reacted when not around the latter.

Hijiki was quietly catching his breath, but listening all the same. Salil knew he'd be tired. Why was he already suggesting a tour? Was something bothering him? Maybe it would be best to just go along with it...

Hijiki took another breath or two before replying, "I'll catch up." He really did need to recover from the running he'd done earlier and the trip from Sandar to the smaller lake to the base. He was still winded.

"Don't push yourself, Jiki," Salil advised, a flash of sincere concern in his eyes. It scared him when Jiki pushed himself and then got himself into trouble. But he had to admit, his friend's lack of stamina would allow him to sate a bit of his curiosity. "We can meet you in the main hall." It was where they generally lounged when it was too hot or too cold to wander about outside, and it would be where Hijiki would rest until he had recovered enough to walk with them again.

Hijiki nodded his agreement, watching Salil move to lead Serenne around the corner and begin the tour before turning to shortcut to the main hall and rest. If something happened, he'd probably hear it.

"Jiki found it," Salil explained, keeping his polite face up so that he didn't smirk at her slight stuttering. Was she intimidated by him? "It apparently was a popular place for humans in a nearby village to train, though it hasn't seen any use in recent times. Since it was in good condition and we didn't have anywhere else to stay, we made it our base." He chuckled at the second comment, genuine amusement shining through for a minute. "Perhaps not, but Hijiki would've been restless if we'd done that. If I'd suggested that we wait for him, he would have been stubborn and tried to walk with us winded." Returning to his calmer gaze, he continued, "Jiki doesn't like people pitying him, and having people slow their own paces to match his just irritates him." Salil smiled. "Though he always slows down for me because he's so much faster than I am."

Changing the subject back to the tour, he nodded towards some straw dummies that had been leftover from the dojo's human occupants. "I'm not sure what the humans did with those, but we usually just use this area for agility, stamina, and evasion training." They'd weaved between the dummies or just run in the open area around them. "This is one of the most open areas of our base. Beyond it is an overgrown vegetable garden that we occasionally get some food out of." He gestured for Serenne to follow him up some steps and onto the roofed, wooden patio that ran around the entirety of the structure. He nosed one of the fragile doors open and led her inside, idly prattling about the different, spacious rooms: where they ate, where they slept when it was hot, where they slept when it was cold, where they went when they wanted to just soak in the quiet and think...

Salil finally made a full stop, his green eyes sparkling a bit as he gestured to the courtyard that sat in the center of the building. "And this is my favorite area. This is where Jiki and I practice our teasing." As an after thought, he added, "When the weather permits, at least." He strolled into the courtyard, a slight bounce to his step. The perimeter of the courtyard had beautiful foliage that matched the several small gardens littered about the structure, and the lack of a roof made Salil much more comfortable in this place than anywhere else in the base. He turned to Serenne, smiling with a little more warmth than his usual, polite smile contained. Then his expression became a bit thoughtful. "I recall you mentioning that you were curious about stallion-specific teasing... would you like a demonstration?"

"No, we're not brothers. At least, not by blood. He is my best friend." His only true friend, if Salil was being completely honest. An existence just as precious as his own.

"Pride turns sympathy into pity rather quickly, Miss Serenne," Salil replied to the comment about not pitying Hijiki. This was especially true of Hijiki sometimes, who would lash out at kindness he didn't believe was genuine.

Salil watched the panic rise in her eyes, then disappear as she composed herself. Attempting to appear calm, was she? At her acceptance, his green eyes lit up in a moment of delight. His curiosity would be sated. No matter what the result, he would be able to satisfy a piece of his endless inquisitiveness. He bent one of his front legs in a dipping bow as he replied, "Very well, Lady Serenne." The stallion stepped up before continuing, "Your wish is my command."

He brushed past her, speaking in a low, soothing voice as he went. "You know... one of the synonyms for 'tease' is 'provoke'." His tail ever so lightly brushed along her legs as he passed. "That is the connotation that most think of, but it isn't the only one. There is also... 'tantalize'... which is a synonym for 'entice'." As he circled behind her, his tail and the sash on it caught on Serenne's tail in a seemingly coincidental way. He didn't make eye contact as he spoke, his gaze cast about at the scenery. "To 'exasperate', or rather..." As he came back, past the other side of Serenne, he let his side slide against hers, his eyes closed as he stopped so that they were perfectly side-by-side. "... to 'excite'."

Then, as if remembering her presence, the green eyes appeared again, calmly shifting to gently lock with Serenne's salmon-colored ones. Despite his 'mask' being in place, the eyes shone with surprising sincerity. His voice returning to a more normal tone, he spoke with an honesty he generally lacked. "I have never met a mare like you, Miss Serenne," he informed the mare softly, apparently not noticing or not caring about the abrupt change in topic. "You have made me incredibly curious. I apologize if I've made you uncomfortable." He paused, then added, "I hope you will continue playing this game."

With a few blinks, his gaze returned to normal--or rather, it looked as if Salil had just awoken from a strange dream. He inspected her with mild curiosity. "How are you feeling, Lady Serenne?"

Salil blinked a few times. Game? He didn't recall using that term. He nodded absently to Serenne's words, but seemed a bit... distant in his thoughtfulness. He glanced away before finally speaking. "This may seem like an odd question, Lady Serenne, but... what were the last few things I said?" This was not good, not good at all. Had he really triggered one of his "truthful" episodes--to Serenne of all Azrein?

Suddenly changing his mind, he shook his head. "No, you don't have to answer that." He turned to lead her to the other side of the courtyard. "We should join Hijiki in the main hall." His side felt... odd now that Serenne wasn't leaning against him. That usually didn't happen either. Had the mare done something to him, to him and Hijiki both? He couldn't let this happen to him. He couldn't let anyone besides Hijiki through the second mask...

Salil paused to glance over his shoulder at her rather... meek remark. Meek but honest. Honest curiosity that reflected Serenne's shimmered briefly in his eyes and the faintest of smiles flickered across his face. "I'll remember that," he replied cryptically as the smile morphed into a slight smirk as he pushed a panel door open and entered the main hall. "This is the main hall. It's simply where we relax and chat." He slid through the long, spacious room, heading towards Hijiki.

Hijiki got to his feet, walking towards them. "How was the tour?" he asked, but something in his expression changed when he looked at Salil. "What happened?" Salil shook his head. "It's nothing to worry about." Hijiki watched his friend continue walking to the other side of the room to lay down before turning to Serenne and giving her a questioning look. Something had obviously happened...

Salil listened to the protest, a smile tugging at his lips. She was rather adorable when she was flustered. It was amusing to watch, though her objection made it obvious to his best friend that something had happened. But he said nothing, just resting away from the other two.

Hijiki raised an eyebrow despite showing slight discomfort at Serenne calling him 'love'. "Yeah, and Salil's jellyfish is actually a hat," he drawled sarcastically. "Seriously, what happened?" After a moment he sighed and loudly announced, "First one who says something determines whether or not I tell Salil stories, so one of you might want to start talking."

Salil's head shot up, his polite facade instantly dropping in favor of a horrified expression. "You wouldn't dare!"

Hijiki grinned. "Whatever kind of stories you'd like. If I don't have a real one in the category of your choice, I can even make one up to embarrass Sir Salil here. But preferably a true one because he'll get more... flustered."

Salil's wide green eyes went to Serenne briefly, a frown on his face. Was she seriously considering Hijiki's offer? He turned back to Hijiki. "You wouldn't dare," he repeated, this time narrowing his eyes in an 'I'll get you for this' way.

Hijiki's grin spread further across his face. "Of course I would. I'm a very stubborn stallion, if you remember."

"If you tell me stories, then I'm telling you stories."

"Fine with me. In fact, I'll even tell one myself in addition to yours if you really want me to. A really embarrassing one."

That made the jellyfish stallion pause. "Wait. Really?" Salil seemed utterly baffled at the casual reply. Hijiki was really that comfortable that he wouldn't mind stories--embarrassing ones, even--of himself be told to Serenne? What kind of madness was this?!