Carol
Xavier de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

Irritation clouded his mind at her questions. She was not privy to his personal decisions and he was not required to explain himself to her. Xavier could not deny that what he had done was reckless, though in a different manner than Candela suspected, but her assertion that he had left without being prepared soured his mood further. Breathing deeply, Xavier let his hands rub his face.

*'She is pestering because she cares.'* He reminded himself, attempting to keep his frustration at bay. 

"Del, please." He began as they entered the kitchen, tripping over the entrance before catching himself on the nearby wall followed by a half-assed, sleep-deprived chuckle. "I will explain, but I can barely follow our current conversation let alone coherently answer the questions you have posed." His eyes caught her stern look and he shook his head. "Our conversation will be more productive and calm if we wait." He smiled watching as she moved a few things out of their path. "You can scold me after I bathe and sleep."
Erin
Candela de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

A light sigh escaped from Candela's mouth before she nodded. "You're right." A slight smile appeared on her face, for only a moment. "It's no fun to give you a bollocking when you're in this state, anyways."

She stood by Xavier as they continued to walked down the hall, holding him by the arm in case he stumbled again. Though the grime from his shirt was surely getting on her clothes, she didn't seem to care. Even now, despite her frustration and the unpleasant smell and state of Xavier's clothes, she still found herself thinking it was nice to hold his arm in hers.

She glanced up at him as the walked past two female servants, who stared as they passed. "Do you want me to watch over you as you bathe, or someone else?"
Carol
Xavier de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

Xavier was grateful for Candela's assistance. He heard the whispers of some of the servants and felt their stares, but was too tired to care. It would have to be addressed eventually - their servants were notorious for spreading rumors, both truthful and exagerrated, of their actions. 

"Afraid I'm going to drown? The tub isn't even deep enough for that, Del." Xavier chuckled, pausing as his wife pulled Rose aside to ask for a hot bath to be drawn. When the woman had left, he continued. "I'd rather bathe alone, if it's the same to you."
Erin
Candela de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

Now he was spewing nonsense. *'He really must be tired,'* She thought as she studied him. He was smart enough to know that what he had just said was utter rubbish. A filled tub would not be hard to drown in at all, especially in his current state.

"You can be in the tub alone, but you seem like you'll conk out at any moment. A warm bath is too tempting for both your mind and body," She said firmly. "I'll have Teo come to watch over you, if you prefer it be him over me. But someone needs to be present, just in case." 

She saw the irritation in his expression, and gave his arm a squeeze. "I know you are exhausted and your patience is short, but be reasonable." She reached over with her free hand to gently tuck a loose, frazzled lock of blond hair behind his ear. "If our roles were reversed, you would ask the same."
Carol
Xavier de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

Sighing, he conceded. "You're right, I would." Normally, Xavier would be excited to have his wife in the room while bathing. If she didn't join him they would spend the time discussing new inventions, working out problems that had come up or simply enjoying the others company. 

But today. Today he had no energy for it. If she attempted to strike up a conversation he would have Teo come in and keep an eye out. "You can keep watch, but I'm not in the mood to talk during it so bring something else to do." As they reached their chambers, Xavier grasped the door handle and pulled it open, holding in a quiet groan from the effort. The door must have gained a hundred pounds. What had they done, put stone on the bottom?
Erin
Candela de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

One of Candela's dark eyebrows arched as she watched Xavier struggle to open the door. That was a rather snippy response for her husband, despite its delivery. She guided him to the washroom, where he sat down on the stool and breathed an audible sigh of relief.

"Yeah, I was sort of planning on that,"Candela said as she went over to the closet to retrieve fresh, clean clothes. Perhaps she'd have the ones he was currently wearing burned. "I'm working on a new hairpin. Trying to go in a new artistic direction with this one." Hanna's sparkling eyes and Tamgelo's canary bycocket hat came into mind. "And speaking of art, Hanna wanted-"

"Is Daddy in there??" Candela turned her head from the closet to see Hanna's small head peering into the room, almost like a cat. Or kitten, with her diminutive size and hair going every whichway.

"Well, yes, but he's about to take a bath." Candela did not know if Xavier was in a state to make any decision, even one regarding a hamster's choice of headwear. "When he's done-"

Hanna skipped over to the bathroom door before Candela could reach her, colored sketches of Hamgelo in hand. "Daddy, I am mak-inggg...?" Her voice cut off as she reached the bathroom door and looked inside.

Candela quickly reached her daughter seconds later, and was relieved to see that Xavier had only gotten to prying off his boots and socks. Hanna's eyes were large as she stared at her father, her eyebrows scrunched together in a look of both confusion and distaste as her nose wrinkled. Her small pink mouth was curved down in a repelled frown, the corner of her right side of her upper lip curled. Candela put a hand on her daughter's shoulder, and Hanna tore her eyes away from t he ragged, dirty man in their washroom to look up at her mother.

"Why does Daddy look-" A slight hesitation as she glanced over at Xavier before turning back to her mother, her voice a not-so-quiet, very concerned whisper- "Like shit, Mama?"
Carol
Xavier de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

The smell of licorice root wafted through the bathroom, slowly filling with steam, drawing Xavier into its warm embrace. He knew the properties from Candela's lectures while developing their famous tea. It was good for rejuvination, focus, and relieving stress. Xavier didn't care enough to linger on the thought, but the possibility of Del using that herb to get answers crossed his mind. 

He heard her speaking, but it was muffled to his ears as he began to untie his muddy, grime covered boots. Nodding absentmindedly he attempted to appear engaged. 

"Daddy, I'm mak-inggg...?" Xavier turned, surprised to hear his daughters voice. He watched her eyes travel over him before a frown disrupted the excitement that had been prevelant on her face moments before. As she finished her sentence, Xavier's brown eyebrows rose, eyes traveling to his wife. She had a sailors mouth and it was clearly being transferred to their daughter. 

Smiling, Xavier knelt down and beckoned Hanna over. "Do you remember the pipes you built with me earlier this year?" Soft brown curls bounced as their daughter nodded her head yes, large eyes still looking at him with concern. "And how dirty we got putting them in the ground?" She scoffed and playfuly pushed him. "You pushed me into the mud!" Xavier chuckled, leaning back to catch himself. "I went to go play in the mud again, that's all, Hangelo." Winking at her, he stood and nodded towards Candela. "Mama tells me you have an art project you want my help with. Let me get cleaned up and I'll take a look, okay?"
Erin
Candela de Delekou
Provincial Delekou

"Yes, let your Daddy get clean and take a little nap so his mind is fresh to help you with your important decision." Candela reached over to kiss the top of Hanna's head, moving her curls to one side of her neck affectionately. "Now, scoot! Go have some breakfast. I think I saw some blueberry muffins on their way out of the oven."

"Ooooh! Okay, bye Daddy!" Hanna moved her head to kiss her father's cheek out of habit, stopped and wrinkled her nose, then instead gave him a thumbs-up before turning around and running out the room and down the hall to her muffins.

"And there she goes," Candela said before going over to lock the washroom door in case Hanna came back to ask more questions. She waited until Xavier was undressed and in the tub before grabbing the stool and sitting down on it. She hiked her dress up to prop an ankle on her knee in a rather unladylike pose before she took out a sharp knife and a half-carved stick of wood. Beginning to whittle, she glanced over at Xavier. He seemed both relieved and faintly surprised that he actually made it to the tub. The effort of his movements did not go unnoticed.

"Want help washing your hair?" She asked casually as she made a long, thin curl of the wood.