Bayani & Victoria
"Lucky me," Bayani replied with a faint smile, teasing. He liked the easy back and forth he had with Victoria. It was very different from every other relationship he had, although that was true of each person in his life. He appreciated her beauty and never pretended otherwise, but there was a great deal more to her than that. They would have fun later, he had yet to jump in the lake since getting there, so it would be a first.
Kaden did have a paternal-like aspect to him. Typically it would irritate Bayani, and the first time he met the man, he did instinctively get annoyed by the trait. But he reluctantly respected his Head of House, and actively sought his advice and information. It was rare for Bay to respond to an authority figure well, but Kaden managed not to set off his attitude somehow. Yet. His look back at her was sheepish and with a shrug. Yes, he tended to break things when his bad mood was set off. He was doing it less. It was a work in progress. Since he was breaking inanimate objects instead of people, he thought it wasn't so bad.
"Maybe I'm inviting you on my globe-trotting adventure." Bayani nudged her back, amused. All amusement and teasing went out of him when she brought up Anton Castle. He stiffened at the question, but of course Sorin would go around telling people that. It was going to make his plan slightly more difficult, if everyone was aware of it. "Yes. As soon as we find it, we're going back." Sorin was going to save others. Bayani was going to keep it from ever happening again. He recognized this was a dangerous thing that might mean he wouldn't be going on any globe-trotting adventures afterward. But that was a then problem, not a now problem.
He wasn't going to clarify his intentions on the matter, not with Victoria. He might've been open about his plans with others, but ... he didn't want her to know. Bay wasn't sure his reasoning for it, only that his instinct was to spare her the knowledge. "But I don't know when that may be."