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Salil nodded slowly. "I was... immersed in my thoughts," he said slowly, still trying to get his tongue from feeling so weird when he spoke. "I ignore everything when I'm trying to focus. I wasn't paying attention to my surroundings because I did not wish to be distracted." As for why he didn't remember... "Because while the actor knows the thoughts of the character which he plays, the character does not know the thoughts of the actor." His gaze went to Serenne for a moment before lowering again, consciously trying to stop the trembling of his frame. "... The teasing, the politeness, the interactions I've had before now... have been the game. Jiki... understood, in a sense, the charade I play, though he put it in a different way. I guess you could say that he joined the game to help it finish, since he wasn't a player himself."

He flicked his gaze over at her for a split second before shifting it elsewhere. "Most of what I said was self-explanatory besides that." He had never met a mare like her. She made him incredibly curious about her. He didn't want her to be uncomfortable. He hoped she'd continue playing the game that he had just attempted to explain... And what was the point of playing the game? Serenne was bright; she could figure it out, couldn't she?

Salil winced at her first question. It was a simple answer, but it wasn't one he wanted to admit. He feared connection, the ability for another soul to damage him like Hijiki had often mentioned happening in his life. If he was the actor, he could protect himself from being hurt. But her second question's answer was clear in his eyes as he looked up at her. He was very tired of this game. But he wanted it to be ended properly, not just quitting because of his fatigue.

His eyes slowly widened at her words, then closed as he shook his head. He smiled weakly at her. "It's hide-and-seek," he replied, his voice a mere whisper. That was the essentially what his "game" boiled down to. He couldn't draw his own heart out of its hiding place... someone would have to find the "real" Salil for the game to end.

And if Serenne couldn't--or wouldn't--finish the game, Salil was worried that it would never end. She was so close... His pride balked at the pathetic display he was, but he was so tired...

The fatigue in Salil's lime green eyes drained away as he met that beautiful red gaze. He didn't even think before he leaned back against Serenne, stretching his neck to timidly nuzzle her in return. Tears of relief rolled down his cheeks as he hid his face in the mare's silky white mane, his trembling now a mere quiver. "You found me, Serenne," he confirmed in a watery whisper. "You found me."

Only after the tears ended and he'd regained some level of composure did he grudgingly mumbled out a question. "When Hijiki interrogates us about this... can we skip this part?" It was embarrassing, and Hijiki had enough things to tease him about without him knowing that he'd cried into Serenne's neck.