The two make their way to the lake, Rhino leading. He leads them out of the Everfree and into Whitetail Woods. From there, he goes off the beaten path towards the destination. The entire trip is made in comfortable silence.

As they near the lake, Gel looks over at him, nervous. She finally breaks the silence between them, gently bumping his side. "...s-so...i-is there a reason why no one goes to this lake, Rhino?"

He looks at the sky as he thinks. "Well, I don't know for sure, but I have a few theories. First, there isn't a path to it. You either have to stumble across it or already know where it is."

She quietly nods, ducking under a branch as they pass by. "...that makes sense...what are your other theories?"

He continues. "There's also the fact that there are two or three other lakes near the park that ponies usually go to. Added to the fact that compared to the other lakes, both the water and the beach size are significantly smaller, and it's more like a private than anything else. I would assume that because of any combination of these factors, ponies just don't come here."

"...okay, then..." She blinks and holds up a hoof, trying to stop a glare from going into her eyes. That must be the reflection of the sun off the water. She trots faster, wanting to see the lake that Rhino considered best for just them.

The lake is smaller than most bodies of water of this classification, about a half-acre in size. Trees overhang on half of it and another section is only about knee-high. The water is a pure blue with a rock formation on one edge hosting a small waterfall. Finally, there is a small sandy beach shore.

Gel looks at the scenery, her jaw dropping in shock. "...Rhino...this...this is..." She bites her lip, unable to continue. ...so beautiful...how did he find this place?

"Amazing what you can find when you decide to take a walk some days huh?" He says as he starts taking off his armor.

She numbly nods, removing her own and putting the pieces into her saddlebag. "...s-so, I'm just gonna...s-stay in the shade..." She rushes over to the tree, laying down underneath it. She sighs softly, resigning herself to watching the waterfall.

The stallion hangs his gear and bags on a branch. After that, he approaches the water as his hoof bottoms glow as they so often do. When he puts one hoof on the water's surface, instead of just sinking through, it instead finds resistance just as the rest of his hooves do as he begins leisurely 'water skating' towards the center of the lake. "Suit yourself, the water's great!"

She stares at him, unsure of what to think. "...um...I-I'll take your word for it..." A small smirk tugs at the corner of her lips. "...not sure how you're planning on cooling off if you don't get in the water..."

"Who said I wasn't?" He reaches the middle of the lake and stands there a moment before the glow on his hooves disappears and he simply drops down into the water.

Gel has to physically keep herself from jumping in to save him, causing her whole body to tremble in anxiety. He'll be fine. He knows how to swim, right? She shakily nods, pulling out one of her library books and beginning to read. I have some time. He won't see what the story I'm reading is, anyways...

Rhino surfaces after about a minute, near the edge of the lake where Gel is. He shakes his head rapidly back and forth as he lets out a breath. "Ah! Much better!" He turns back to the mare as water drips off him. "You sure you don't want a piece of this?"

She moves her book away from the water's edge, sheepishly smiling. "...I-I'm sure...don't stop having fun on my account..." She turns back to her book, resuming her read.

He shrugs before quickly teleporting to the top of the small rock formation and diving off. He surfaces a moment later and leisurely starts floating on his back, kicking his rear hooves to propel himself.

She glances at him, biting her lip gently. ...he sure looks like he's having fun... She shakes her head, turning her attention back to the book. ...focus on the story...how come things go so much smoother for Sir Fang and Lady Ruby Star?

Rhino peeks over at her. I wonder what she's reading about? He decides not to worry about it as he dives from his current position, not increasing his speed or position so that he is swimming upside down just below the surface. A trail of disturbed water is seen above his position as he moves throughout the lake.

She continues to read, a blush steadily growing on her cheeks. ...s-so detailed...w-who researched dragon anatomy for this? She squirms slightly, steam starting to come off her head from how hot her skin was getting.

As he surfaces again, Rhino peeks back over at her, seeing how into the book she is. That must be a really good book...is that... steam, coming off her? He flips over and sinks down into the water until only his nostrils and above are not underwater. Like a green alligator, the stallion slowly approaches.

She swipes at the air with a hoof, unsure of what to do. ...t-there's too much steam...I-I can't read any more of it... She groans softly, putting the book off to the side and laying her head on the sand. She closes her eyes, trying to calm herself down.

Rhino gets as close to her as he can without raising any more of himself out of the water. His horn lights up as words appear on the sand in front of Gel. 'Hey, need to cool off?'

What he doesn't realize is that her eyes are closed, so she can't read his words.

After he doesn't get a response, Rhino eases up closer. He quietly creeps out of the water and onto the beach. Still no reaction from her. He creeps until he is right in front her her face and lays down with his hooves folded under his chin, waiting.

Sensing a presence in front of her, her eyes flutter open. Seeing him, she squeaks, leaping back and away, yelping as she trips over her own hooves and falls on her back. Smooth. She stares up at the tree, too embarrassed to try and look at him.

He goes over and stands above her. "Didn't expect quite that big of a reaction..."

"...s-sorry..." She averts her eyes, her gaze falling on her book. "...I-I was kind of...w-worked up from my book..."

He tilts his head. "Emotional section?"

"...y-you could say that..." She rubs the back of her neck. "...I-I kind of had to put it down..." She squeezes her hindlegs together, hoping he wouldn't notice her little problem. I just had to get aroused. Stupid sexy story...

He smiles down at her. "Gotta love stories that give a keen sense of immersion." He offers her a hoof. "Do you want me to help you back to it, or just bring it to you?"

"...um..." She takes his hoof, blushing brightly. "...I-I suppose either way is fine..." Please don't look at the book. I don't think my heart could take it...

"Well then..." He guides her over and plants her in front of the book. "I'll leave you two alone to have your fun." He starts walking back into the water.

"...b-but..." She sighs, resting her head on top of the book. ...I wish I could join him...but I have no idea what would happen if I did... She shakes her head, turning her attention back to the waterfall. ...it's so relaxing...

As Rhino reaches the water, he looks back to Gel and smirks before dipping his tail in and flicking water at her, being careful to avoid the book.

She squeaks as the water hits her, evaporating on contact. ...well. I suppose that answers what would happen if I touched cold water in this form. That sucks.

The stallion is surprised at the reaction of the water. "Huh... I guess all that pyromancy of yours has some side effects."

"...y-you could say that..." She nervously giggles, embarrassed. "...I-I guess I'm still a bit worked up? I-I don't know..." She fidgets anxiously, poking at a dandelion nearby with a hoof.

He lies down in the shallow water to talk. "Must have been some action scene. I'm surprised you aren't eager to get back into it."

"...i-it's not exactly...an action scene..." She shyly smiles at him, her face now resembling a cherry. "...I-I'm not entirely sure you'd be interested in it...a-and I can wait to read it later..." Preferably while I'm alone.

He tilts his head at her. "Now what would you think I wouldn't be interested in?"

"...n-nothing..." She quickly stuffs the book in her saddlebag, not wanting him to read it. "...n-nothing you need to concern yourself with, I mean..." She lays down on her belly, trying to forget about the saucy story.

"Somepony's being secretive~" He says in a sing-song voice. He waves a hoof a moment later to show he doesn't mean anything by it. "It's fine, you're entitled to your secrets." He swims around a bit more before tossing a question her way. "Would you mind if I performed a little experiment involving you before we leave?"

She blinks, confused. "...um...I-I guess I don't mind?" What kind of experiment, I wonder? Her mind starts to drift but she shakes her head, straightening out her thoughts. I can't start thinking of A Scale and A Feather now! I'll never calm down if I do!

"Alright then. Let me know when you want to head out." He flashes her a smile before goign back to his swimming.

She lays there quietly for a few minutes, watching as he swims. ...he's got a nice form...and his swimming technique isn't that bad, either. She giggles at her own thoughts, wishing she had someone else to laugh with her.

Eventually, she finds that she's gotten enough of the outdoors. "...Rhino?" She stands up, staggering a bit from the blood rushing from her head. ...I hate when that happens...

He hears her call and sees her standing up, thus he makes his way towards her. As he walks out of the water, Rhino shakes himself like a dog, starting from his head and going all the way to his tail tip. After he stops shaking, his fur is half-fluffed and damp. He walks towards her and settles himself right next to her. "Time for the experiment."

She stares at him, a worried expression on her face. "...a-about that...w-what is this...experiment, Rhino?" Damn, he looks cute when his fur's fluffed like that...

He closes his eyes and maintains a small smirk. "Simple, I'm going to see if that hot body of yours only affects you, or if it has an area of effect. If it does, I'll dry faster."

"...o-oh..." ...I can't tell. Is he saying I'm sexy, or that I'm really warm? She shakes her head, sighing softly. "...I-I don't know if that'll work...I-I need to be worked up for that to work..." She giggles quietly, looking up at him. "...I just spent the last five minutes calming back down..."

He blows a small raspberry. "Darn. Oh well, I'll just have to dry out the old fashioned way." He floats all his belongings back down and sets them on his back. "Shall we retire to our abode?"

Gel tenderly nuzzles his cheek, blushing a bit. "...I'd like that, Rhino..." She puts her own bags back on, starting to walk off, a subtle sway to her hips. She looks back at him, smiling softly. "...you're making dinner, right? May I know what's on the menu?"

He puts a hoof to his chin in thought. "Well... since you've given me such a lovely day, I think I'll treat you to my famous lasagna." He catches up to her and lightly flicks her with his tail. "As long as you're good that is."

Her blush grows from his teasing gesture, and she jerkingly nods. "...I-I'd like that..." She smiles shyly at him, playfully bumping up against him. Between them, some steam rises up where they come in contact.

"Well then, I'll just have to pull out all the stops won't I?" He looks at the steam forming between them. "Fascinating..."

"...t-that's a good 'fascinating'...r-right?" She averts her eyes, biting her lip, embarrassed by her own words.

"If there's a bad 'fascinating' I haven't heard of it."

"...r-right..." She lapses into silence, staring at the ground as they walk. I just had to say something stupid. I can't think of a way to recover from that!

Rhino nudges her, more steam occurs. "Hey, no getting sad remember? This was your warning for this time."

She doesn't seem to pay attention, too lost in her thoughts to even realize that he was talking to her.

He frowns at the lack of response and nuzzles her. "You have five seconds to cheer up before I take matters into my own hooves~."

She blinks, looking up at him in confusion. "...I-I'm sorry, w-were you saying something?"

He looks straight ahead. "You have three seconds to become not sad."

She tilts her head, curious. "...what will happen if I don't?"

"Last chance~."

She sighs, shaking her head as she marches on ahead. It sounds like he's bluffing. Shame, really.

"Sadness not dealt with. Initiating countermeasures." He starts running towards her.

She blinks, looking back over her shoulder at him. ...well, then. Time to run. She rushes forward, quickly putting some distance between them. Hooves, don't fail me now!

Rhino rolls his eyes as he simply teleports next to her and keeps running alongside her. "You know, you really did bring this on yourself."

She squeaks, and, in her panic, lights up her horn. Flames form near the bottom of her hooves, firing out and giving her an extra burst of speed. She sees the house quickly approaching in front of her, smiling brightly. Almost home free! Just a little more...

The stallion allows himself to slow down as he eyes up the distance left. Just as she is about to reach the house, he does a quick cast of his teleport spell, appearing halfway there before then appearing right in front of the door to the house facing her. She quickly puts on the brakes but isn't quick enough to stop in time. "Surprise hug!" He grabs her and laughs.

She squirms in his grip, positively glowing with her blush, now. "...i-is this...w-what you meant?" ...what's that smell? It's almost like burning fur...

He continues laughing. "Well, at first the plan was a tickle attack, but this works too. You don't get to be let go until you are happy."

She looks down at where they're in contact, seeing smoke, not steam, curling around their forms. "...e-even if your fur's turning black?"

His eye twitches once before he calmly sets her down and walks over to the water hose. With some quick magical movements he sprays himself down with it, his mouth open in a soundless scream of pain.

She scuffs at the ground with a hoof, ashamed. "...I-I'm sorry...I-I didn't mean for that to happen..."

He turns off the water and walks over to her, still wet. His arms wrap around her for another hug, the layer of water on him protecting him until he lets go and boops her on the nose. "No. Being. Sad."

She smiles softly, blushing a bit from his gesture. "...o-okay, Rhino..." ...he's willing to chance getting hurt...just to cheer me up... She sighs, leaning forward and tenderly nuzzling his cheek. ...he really is special...

"Good, now if you excuse me," he looks down to the singed fur on his chest, "I need to see what I can do about all this. Think you can avoid burning down the house, little Miss Holy Flame?"

She giggles, bumping his side playfully as she enters the house. "Don't worry, Rhino. It'll probably grow back in a week or so." She lays down on the couch, sighing softly. "...and the house will be fine, as long as I don't get worked up again..."

The stallion walks into the downstairs bathroom and comes out with a towel hung around his neck. "And how exactly would we prevent that?"

She shrugs, looking at her saddlebags. "...I'm not sure...but I probably shouldn't read that book, for a bit..."

"If it's really that good, I would think your imagination would try to make up for it."

She blushes brightly, squirming a bit on the couch. "...i-it's really...d-detailed..." Please don't say anymore, Rhino. I can barely keep the thoughts back, as it is!

"You know, I am really curious about whatever book that is now..." he turns and starts heading up the stairs, "maybe I should ask about borrowing it or reading it with you sometimes."

She leaps off the couch, eyes wide in panic and her face as red as a tomato. "N-no!" ...great. Time to recover. Again. "I-I mean, I-I don't think you'd like it. It's sort of a...female-oriented genre..." She sheepishly smiles, a small squee coming from her.

"Hmm..." he raises an eyebrow at her, "Well, I guess I can bury my curiosity, but no telling if it'll resurface again later. A little advice though: don't ever wear blush, your natural version of it looks perfect on you." He heads up and into the bathroom after that statement.

She sighs in relief, lowering her head. "...oh, thank goodness..." Time to answer the siren song of sleep. She curls up on the ground, closing her eyes and letting herself drift off, exhausted from the day's activities.