When he had softly spoken those words upon hearing her reenter the washroom, he turned over with a smile towards the door...<br/><br/>... only to be greeted with a large wolfish snout headed by a big wet nose huffing the air around him and straining to press against his glistening skin.  Mal's eyes went wide and his mouth opened but no words found their way out.  Closing it again, he knitted his brows together and then reached dripping fingers over the broad, furry head of the dog, wetting its fur between its ears as he pet it in long, slow strokes.<br/><br/>"Not you, Crixus... though you may be a different<i>kind</i>of angel to Elody here," he chuckled, his autumn eyes moving from the dog's to hers, smile upon his face as the long fluffy tail wagged back and forth across their line of sight.  "Undefeated, indeed," his smile grew with his admiration.  "And no less beautiful for the battles you've endured."<br/><br/>The wolf-dog licked his arm with sloppy, warm tongue.  Mal's smile turned into a grin as he shifted futilely away from Crixus, who simply moved forward to continue licking him until Elody shoo'ed him away.  He glanced up at her again and said with a raised eyebrow and a chuckle, "I think<i>he</i>still thinks I was talking about<i>him</i>."<br/><br/>She was greeted with the sight of shoulder length wavy brown hair that dared to reach his upper back.  Up to this point, it had been mostly hidden underneath his wide brimmed hat.  "Thank you, I appreciate the shaving kit," he said to her without breaking eye contact in a more muted, sincere smile.<br/><br/>"I...I can help you, if you need, after dinner." She smiled a bit, clearing her throat.<br/><br/>"I usually help Little John, when his hands get to aching sometimes..."<br/><br/>The color in her cheeks complimented the halo of light around her face well, and for a moment Malcolm just gazed into her eyes.  Then her shyness and propriety shifted them away.  He understood and wondered just how warm she was underneath... how quickly her heart beat now...  what thoughts raced through her mind.<br/><br/>"My hands are in fine shape, Elody," he said in words coated with low, steady masculinity that would caress her ears and stroke those racing thoughts.  "They haven't done a hard day's work in some time, apart from today, and I hardly reckon that counts as work around here."  He grinned.  "Strong, firm, smooth, steady," he listed off the adjectives unhurriedly as though he was casually counting them on his fingers.  "The kind of hands that one can rely on when emotions run<i>hot</i>."<br/><br/>Grabbing the shaving kit in one smooth motion, he opened the straight edge, washing it in the hot water to warm it up before laying it aside and reaching for the shaving cream.  "I want you to know, I 'preciate your kindness and offer to help, but I was wondering..."<br/><br/>He glanced over at her once more, "How are<i>your </i>hands, Elody?"  Mal knew no one had touched her hands.  He knew that even if they ached, and even if she had let him, Little John would not have soothed them the way he could.  "Cold night like this?  The hard work you do here?  With your permission, I'd like to repay your gentle kindness by taking away some of<i>your</i>pain."<br/><br/>Then he turned his attention to the matter at hand and applied the shaving cream thickly to his beard.<br/><br/>"<i>After dinner</i>,<i>I mean.</i>"