Hmm... Maybe he could just fly around the forest's edge? See if he could possibly catch a glimpse of this abandoned castle from higher up? Most likely no, but this was good news for Darrus. He'd have to get there the hard way which, to him, should also be the more fun way, though... Now he was getting curious as to why exactly pegasi never flew over the forest... He should really go find some expert somewhere to learn a thing or two about one of the more dangerous places in the country, but... He could also just go find out for himself.

As Applejack pushed herself back up onto her hooves Darrus felt a small amount of disappointment over the massage reaching it's end, his hooves delivering a pleasurable experience to her body having been something he figured he could have happily kept up for who knows how long. Still, they had been doing it for a while, so no surprise that she may have had enough and wanted to get some rest. It was getting to be pretty late after all, and work on the farm did demand an early rise.

AJ's warning that Darrus not head out to the Everfree did indeed fail to kill his interest, and her desire to go with him to make sure he would be alright was nice and all but it only caused one thought to come to mind. He would be fine, that forest would be no match for him. Applejack's apparent ability to read his mind would have brought another amused smile to his lips had it not been for the next thing she said.

Aww... she was worried about him. Again, Darrus would have slapped on a smirk and normally would have made some kind of playful joke, but the follow up giving him a peck on his cheek caused him to instead blink in some surprise. Huh. He hadn't seen that one coming.

"Heh, any time," he replied as Applejack lingered for a moment, him considering sneaking in his own peck in return but figuring that, with how red her cheeks were at the moment, maybe it would be a bit too much for her for one night, "if ever you feel like getting another you know where to find me. Have a good night."

Once AJ left the barn, Darrus gave a long sigh and smiled, the pegasus standing up and waling to the entrance of the barn in time to see Applejack entering her home. He leaned against the entryway chuckled. This night had definitely caused his relationship with the mare he'd had his eyes on ever since arriving in town to take a favorable turn. Sure, it had taken some time to get Applejack to warm up to him, but it was good to see that his efforts were starting to get the mare to open up to him. A kiss on his cheek after giving a long and well enjoyed massage sounded like a nice way to end the night...

Buuuut...

Darrus gave a strong flap of his wings, encouraging the aches Applejack had helped alleviate to start threatening to return, and took himself up to the roof of the barn where he landed and trotted to it's far edge. He strained his eyes, wondering how well he could see the Everfree from here at night. Just an hour or two to find the castle, right? Well, for somepony who knew the way at least. Maybe they've left some form of markers for a pony to follow to the castle? Wildlife in there might have torn such things down though if they felt like it...

His wings itched, a silly urge to at least go test why pegasi wouldn't fly over the area nagging him to go right then and there. He grinned... but it soon died down into a regular smile. Eh. Applejack had asked to go with him when he decided to go through with this new trip of his, and it was late and dark out so even he recognized how it would be better to wait till daylight at least. He gave a long and heavy yawn, it reminding him of just how tired he actually was from the day's events as he decided he'd put off the exploring of the dark and scary forest for another day. Would probably be more fun to go with somepony instead of alone anyway, even if that somepony eliminated most of the exploration needed to find the castle.

Turning around Darrus dropped down from the barn's roof, his wings allowing for a soft landing, then headed back inside the barn. He removed his cloak and saddlebags and set them off in their usual spots for the night before he found and crawled onto his bed, Darrus giving a big stretch of his legs and wings once laid out and relaxing into the soft mattress. His thoughts lingered on the Everfree but soon started to include Applejack as he replayed the events of the night in his mind. He wore a small smile as he thought about the small kiss he'd received and the massage he had given, it being a pleasant thought to linger on as his eyelids soon grew heavy and his fatigue caught up to him. He fell asleep soon after, much to the delight of his exhausted limbs.