Carrying a square parcel as wide as his waist and a dubiously contented smile, D'hein trod through the Quicksand with his tail swinging back and forth. He wacked several patrons right in the face, earning a number of confused glances which he returned with a wink and a flash of a brilliant smile. All in all he had winked almost two dozen times by the time he left the tavern for the inn, and his eye felt weird.
The innkeeper remarked, "Whatcha got in the box?"
"It's a gift," D'hein answered as he walked over, his voice excited, "Or is it a key? A great, sparkling key that will open a beautiful heart to me? It's a wonderful yet simple token, which all the best are, and a genius pur-"
"Stop," the man said. "With that stupid smirk you got I just wanted to make sure it wasn't, like, somebody's head or something."
"Ah, no."
"Kay, then."
"Which room is Antimony's?"
"I'unno."
D'hein stared at the man, patiently. After almost an entire minute, the innkeeper rolled his eyes and checked his book. "Uhm. Room seven."
"Thank you, good man! I'll tip you on the way out!" He turned and trotted happily down the hallway.
"My shift ends in five minutes!"
D'hein was already too far gone, either down the hall or into the deep labyrinth of his own mind, to hear the innkeep. He counted down seven doors and turned to knock, finding himself at door ten and deciding he had miscounted. So he went back three doors and found himself at soor five, then forward two doors and found himself at door eleven. With a frustrated huff he turned and walked back to door two, and then began to look more carefully at the doors as he counted up.
Finally at door seven, he turned, smiled, and lifted his hand to knock. He realized too late that the lifted hand had been a load-bearing hand, and the package he was carrying toppled from his grip to the floor and thudded against his foot. A lingering chill shot up his leg from his toes as he re-gathered the box.
He leaned forward and knocked three times with his forehead.
***
For a long while after K'airos had gone, Antimony had remained in the middle of the inn room, staring at the door as though her daughter, so strangely, so impossibly wonderfully back from the dead, would reappear. Though K'airos had left with a promise to return - either later that night or tomorrow - Antimony couldn't help the fear that either this was all a dream and the mirage she had crafted from her own grief would never return, or it wasn't a dream but her other daughter, the one who struck fear into her heart, had learned of she and K'airos's continued interactions. K'aijeen could take her beautiful K'airos away.
The thought brought a deep ache to her chest and a burning to her eyes as she recalled the vicious words her youngest had flung at her. She nearly crumpled to the floor then and there, but instead only swayed unsteadily, overcome by dizziness she only half-realized was not entirely due to her worry.
K'airos had suggested she clean up and feed herself. The former she might be able to manage, but the latter... it would require venturing out into the Quicksand, and such a prospect frightened Antimony more than she cared to admit. Not only could K'aijeen be wandering the inn halls or the scattered tables of the tavern, but other family... K'ile...
The faint, fuzzy feeling in her extremities returned, and Antimony managed to stagger towards the bed before she collapsed. Once down, she found her body unwilling to get up and her mind unwilling to release itself from its worry and fear, so she remained there for an unknown length of time.
...
At some point, the endless wait for the return of her daughter was broken by an unusual sound Antimony did not initially place. A banging? Was the Quicksand undergoing construction...?
Realization energized her limbs, and she shot to her feet, nearly fell at the wobbliness of her limbs, and then hurried towards the door. A moment later she'd flung it open with the relieved exclamation of, "K'airos! You're back!" and thoughtlessly flung her arms about the one waiting just outside.
The box was pressed uncomfortably into D'hein's ribs. He let himself be pushed backwards a bit and stared down in wordless surprise at the woman who had thrown her body against his parcel. His ears swiveling back and forth, wide eyes blinking, he muttered through quirked lips, "Ah. Incorrect."
At the very non-K'airos voice near her ear, Antimony stiffened and then, a moment later, completely recoiled, her tail fuzzing out and ears laying back in both shock and embarrassment. "I didn't--that is, I meant--I'm sorry I--aah! D'hein!"
Swaying on her feet briefly, Antimony caught herself on the doorframe, looked about anxiously, and then managed a squawked, "What are you doing here? How did--how are you here!" Then, a sudden fear, "K'airos! Is she alright? Did she get hurt? Did Aijeen find out? She's gone isn't she? My baby girl, she--she's gone!"
D'hein let one ear fall against his skull, the other quirking forward in confusion. His brow dropped and he said, "I asked the innkeeper which room you were in and he told me. I haven't seen K'airos, but I wouldn't worry about her. She's not one to just up and run off on people. She's a good girl."
For a long moment, Antimony blinked at D'hein, a frazzled expression on her face. Then she sagged, though the expression remained, and averted her gaze from the man. "Ah. I... yes, of course." Her hands worried themselves unconsciously at her waist. "If... if you'll excuse me, I should return to my... room." And she turned as though to do just that.
Watching the woman with a bemused expression, D'hein did nothing to stop her. He said, "That's alright, but I brought this parcel for you. And I would hope you have time to share a meal with me, or even a drink, as friends. Now that you know I was being truthful with you when I said I knew K'airos and D'aijeen, I would hope that you don't hate me so much."
Antimony stilled mid-step when D'hein spoke, her ears drooping out to either side of her head. Her tail, which had smoothed down considerably since moments before, curled limply behind her, and when she spoke her voice shook, "You have... no idea how much I've... I have wanted this with every fiber of my body since the moment I..."
She swallowed, drew in a breath that came with painful difficulty. "I owe you perhaps more than just a meal and a drink. For this."
D'hein balked, "Well I'm sure we can-" he shook his head, "I mean! That you don't owe me anything. I did this for K'airos as much as for you. Parents and children should have every oppourtunity to be together."
Her brow creased, watery green eyes casting about the inn room as though searching for an answer. There was one child, however, who seemed bent on ensuring none of them were together, and it broke her heart. "Aijeen... I don't know what.. what I've done..." Her tail shivered and she shook her head before half turning back to D'hein and giving him an anxious look.
"If I venture outside this room, she could.. Aijeen might... If she knows I'm here, I could lose my girls forever. Again!"
"Aijeen's with D'ahl in the commune today, so I doubt she'll go out of her way to slum around the Quicksand." D'hein hefts the box in his hands, "Can I put this down somewhere? It's for you."
Several seconds passed where Antimony blinked at the box as though only just realizing its presence. Then she processed D'hein's words and jumped slightly. "Ah! Oh. Well.. what? For me?" A bewildered look crossed her face and her ears shifted about in confusion. Why on earth would this troublesome tia bring her a...
"I... suppose anywhere would do? There's a table or.. a bed. Or the floor. Or... a sink? No, that wouldn't... I mean, yes! Yes, you may put it.. down."
"Thank you," D'hein proceeded into the room, setting the box on the nearby table. "Anyway, I'll have a talk with Aijeen and figure out what her problem is. Hopefully she's just jealous that K'airos is doting on you."
Antimony's ears shook as she turned in place to follow D'hein's movements. "You... you didn't hear what she said when... She commanded Airos to not acknowledge me as her mother!" Her voice broke on those words, her features crumpling. "The words she spoke to me - they were not new, but they still.."
"She's always been willful. You should hear how she talks to me!" D'hein said, smiling and turning to face Antimony with one hand on the box. His smile wavers after a moment of thought, "Actually, no. Such terrible words should enver be heard. And yet I'm sure I'll hear them again."
"That she would choose you over her own...!" Antimony fell silent then and turned away, half-ashamed of her own words but hurt nonetheless. "Apologies. I... don't know what else I can do anymore."
With a sigh, "If you look for the bad in things, you're going to find it every time." He clicked his knuckles on the box, and then said, "You've missed a few years. I can fill you in or K'airos can. Whatever the case, I wanted to ask you to go back to work on the investigation once you've had a few days to find your feet again."
Blinking rapidly, Antimony twisted her head around to look at D'hein. "What?" The concept of it loomed menacingly overhead, and she fought a wave of dizziness. "I can't possibly... Airos needs--but I quit.. I mean, was fired.. or... Miss Carceri would certainly not approve...!"
Shaking his head, D'hein said, "So what if she doesn't approve? The investigation needs to happen and you're the only skilled assessor I have in place."
"You don't have me in place if I'm not... all of my clearance--my... my paperwork! The files and..." She looked left and right uselessly. "I-I must be here for Airos!"
"K'airos lives and works in Thanalan. If you're going to live around here, don't you have to work around here, too?"
"Live...?" The question caught her off guard in an uncomfortable reality kind of way. She had been so wrapped up, first in her desperate breakdown of escaping from the past, and then in holding on to the daughter she'd thought long lost, that Antimony had all but forgotten... well, her life. The realization struck her hard. "Ah... my... in Limsa and... oh no, has the next moon passed already..? My rent and--"
She swayed and kind of half-stumbled over to the bed, where she sat down heavily on the edge. "I can't leave Airos."
"I'm sure you'll be just fine whatever you decide," D'hein said, the words giving a passive once-over to every half-spoken concern that Antimony had attempted to speak. "Like I said, you should take a few days to get back on your feet. Discuss things with K'airos, maybe. You've audited the accounts of entire companies, so taking stock of your own situation should be no problem at all. From my outsider perspective, it looks like you have everything you need, now. And as for luxuries," he rapped his knuckles against the box again, "That's where I can help."
Looking up from where she'd briefly dropped her face to her hands, Antimony watched D'hein with a vaguely worried look - this time not just for herself or K'airos, but for what the tia might have hidden in that box. "What do you... mean by that?" she asked warily, green eyes shifting to the box, the faint creases at the corners of her eyes deepening in confusion.
Mistaking Antimony's confusion for suspicion, perhaps catching on her worry a bit, D'hein leans back a measure and looks at the woman sideways. "It's just some basic gear. Simple clothes and first-aid supplies and canteens and other assorted items of comfort that don't come with hotel rooms. I noted your dilapidated appearance earlier and we keep packages like this at the commune for whenw e travel. Do you find it an inappropriate offering?"
"What, ah--no!" She lifted her hands in consolation and cringed at the implication of offense. "No, that's not... I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume any ill--ah! Forget I said..." Her tail twitched a bit wildly against the bed and she closed her eyes to draw in a deep breath.
"Thank you," she sighed out, and pressed her hands down along her current dress, suddenly much more self-conscious of its muddied, ruined state. "You didn't need... you shouldn't have felt obligated to do anything for me. Aah, but I.. do appreciate it."
"Don't feel like you've imposed. It was as simple as carrying it here from there." He lifted a hand to knock aside all of Antimony's disparaging sentiments. "Now, I must impress one issue a bit further: I am in a deep, compromising need of an assessor to finish the work that was started. I have all the paperwork -- assuming Illira hasn't hidden it from me -- so you can start up where you left off as soon as you're feeling able. I think it would be a prudent course of action, especially considering your daughters."
The frown she leveled D'hein with then was significantly more concerned at his last words, almost painfully so. "My daughters? Are you saying--are they involved in that... mess??"
"Oh! Not... not precisely." He pulled his tone back significantly, holding up his hands in a sort of halting motion to allow himself to start over. "What I mean is all of Ul'dahn society is in a state of disrepair. K'airos is a Brass Blade and D'aijeen is..." He tried to contruct an explanation of D'aijeen's status that would not in some way upset Antimony, and when he failed, he went on, "So far I think I've been able to steer them away from trouble, but Ul'dah is rife with troubles, and I'm only one man."
"They are involved!" Antimony, true to form, took D'hein's words and assumed the worst. She pictured her girls huddled in dark alleys, amidst darker men with leering faces, either accepting or giving money in return for actions she just couldn't-- "Oh no! I must--" She lurched to her feet suddenly. "I will stop this! I'll resolve the investigation immediately!"
D'hein's expression dropped into a frown, "Your daughters are not involved. I won't have you moving forward under some false pretense of emergency. And I'm certainly not letting you lift a finger to work on the investigation for at least a few days."
Either due to D'hein's words or the very sudden, dizzying rush of blood to her head that took the strength from her legs, Antimony dropped back to the bed with a thump. "Oh," she uttered faintly. "Al..right. If you are certain."
"I am. I've been keeping in an eye on your daughters as though they were my own." He smiled, thumped his knuckle on the box, and said, "Now take some time, rest, clean up, help yourself to the new clothes and some comfort. You'll feel better. Then we'll do dinner, alright? K'airos can come, too, if she's back by then."
Antimony's ears drooped at something in his words, perhaps the reminder of years she'd lost, of years he had had with her daughters, years that had been taken from her, even though they had been, unknowingly, so near. She pursed her lips and nodded. "I'm unsure if Airos will return tonight. She... well, I asked for her help with... other things."
D'hein shrugged, leaning a bit more on the box, "We'll just play it by ear. I'm alright with that. I'm not expecting Aijeen to leave the commune until tomorrow, so there's nothing to worry about there."
Antimony just nodded, going quiet on the edge of the bed. She wove her fingers together in her lap.
The blond dodo just smiled statically, watching Antimony in silence.
Antimony continued to not do anything particularly interesting other than just sit there. After a few moments, she looked up and blinked a bit in weary confusion at him. "Ah... yes?"
"Yes what?" D'hein said, then looked around, ears swiveling. "Oh. Oh, yes! As in, yes. In that case, I'll leave you to your comfort and return in one h-... two hours?" He pushed himself off the box and shuffled towards the door. He pointed to the parcel and said, "Make sure you open it. It has some very nice soaps and such!"
She glanced to the package, then at D'hein as he moved to exit. Her breath caught in her throat suddenly and she kind of choked on words a moment before clearing her throat and managing, "Thank you."
Beaming briefly, D'hein waved high over his head, "See you soon!" and then spun out the door, whacking his hand on the doorframe with a painful crack but seemingly not noticing. He closes the door behind him.
Antimony winced at the sound and then just settled back into the silence of the room.
The innkeeper remarked, "Whatcha got in the box?"
"It's a gift," D'hein answered as he walked over, his voice excited, "Or is it a key? A great, sparkling key that will open a beautiful heart to me? It's a wonderful yet simple token, which all the best are, and a genius pur-"
"Stop," the man said. "With that stupid smirk you got I just wanted to make sure it wasn't, like, somebody's head or something."
"Ah, no."
"Kay, then."
"Which room is Antimony's?"
"I'unno."
D'hein stared at the man, patiently. After almost an entire minute, the innkeeper rolled his eyes and checked his book. "Uhm. Room seven."
"Thank you, good man! I'll tip you on the way out!" He turned and trotted happily down the hallway.
"My shift ends in five minutes!"
D'hein was already too far gone, either down the hall or into the deep labyrinth of his own mind, to hear the innkeep. He counted down seven doors and turned to knock, finding himself at door ten and deciding he had miscounted. So he went back three doors and found himself at soor five, then forward two doors and found himself at door eleven. With a frustrated huff he turned and walked back to door two, and then began to look more carefully at the doors as he counted up.
Finally at door seven, he turned, smiled, and lifted his hand to knock. He realized too late that the lifted hand had been a load-bearing hand, and the package he was carrying toppled from his grip to the floor and thudded against his foot. A lingering chill shot up his leg from his toes as he re-gathered the box.
He leaned forward and knocked three times with his forehead.
***
For a long while after K'airos had gone, Antimony had remained in the middle of the inn room, staring at the door as though her daughter, so strangely, so impossibly wonderfully back from the dead, would reappear. Though K'airos had left with a promise to return - either later that night or tomorrow - Antimony couldn't help the fear that either this was all a dream and the mirage she had crafted from her own grief would never return, or it wasn't a dream but her other daughter, the one who struck fear into her heart, had learned of she and K'airos's continued interactions. K'aijeen could take her beautiful K'airos away.
The thought brought a deep ache to her chest and a burning to her eyes as she recalled the vicious words her youngest had flung at her. She nearly crumpled to the floor then and there, but instead only swayed unsteadily, overcome by dizziness she only half-realized was not entirely due to her worry.
K'airos had suggested she clean up and feed herself. The former she might be able to manage, but the latter... it would require venturing out into the Quicksand, and such a prospect frightened Antimony more than she cared to admit. Not only could K'aijeen be wandering the inn halls or the scattered tables of the tavern, but other family... K'ile...
The faint, fuzzy feeling in her extremities returned, and Antimony managed to stagger towards the bed before she collapsed. Once down, she found her body unwilling to get up and her mind unwilling to release itself from its worry and fear, so she remained there for an unknown length of time.
...
At some point, the endless wait for the return of her daughter was broken by an unusual sound Antimony did not initially place. A banging? Was the Quicksand undergoing construction...?
Realization energized her limbs, and she shot to her feet, nearly fell at the wobbliness of her limbs, and then hurried towards the door. A moment later she'd flung it open with the relieved exclamation of, "K'airos! You're back!" and thoughtlessly flung her arms about the one waiting just outside.
The box was pressed uncomfortably into D'hein's ribs. He let himself be pushed backwards a bit and stared down in wordless surprise at the woman who had thrown her body against his parcel. His ears swiveling back and forth, wide eyes blinking, he muttered through quirked lips, "Ah. Incorrect."
At the very non-K'airos voice near her ear, Antimony stiffened and then, a moment later, completely recoiled, her tail fuzzing out and ears laying back in both shock and embarrassment. "I didn't--that is, I meant--I'm sorry I--aah! D'hein!"
Swaying on her feet briefly, Antimony caught herself on the doorframe, looked about anxiously, and then managed a squawked, "What are you doing here? How did--how are you here!" Then, a sudden fear, "K'airos! Is she alright? Did she get hurt? Did Aijeen find out? She's gone isn't she? My baby girl, she--she's gone!"
D'hein let one ear fall against his skull, the other quirking forward in confusion. His brow dropped and he said, "I asked the innkeeper which room you were in and he told me. I haven't seen K'airos, but I wouldn't worry about her. She's not one to just up and run off on people. She's a good girl."
For a long moment, Antimony blinked at D'hein, a frazzled expression on her face. Then she sagged, though the expression remained, and averted her gaze from the man. "Ah. I... yes, of course." Her hands worried themselves unconsciously at her waist. "If... if you'll excuse me, I should return to my... room." And she turned as though to do just that.
Watching the woman with a bemused expression, D'hein did nothing to stop her. He said, "That's alright, but I brought this parcel for you. And I would hope you have time to share a meal with me, or even a drink, as friends. Now that you know I was being truthful with you when I said I knew K'airos and D'aijeen, I would hope that you don't hate me so much."
Antimony stilled mid-step when D'hein spoke, her ears drooping out to either side of her head. Her tail, which had smoothed down considerably since moments before, curled limply behind her, and when she spoke her voice shook, "You have... no idea how much I've... I have wanted this with every fiber of my body since the moment I..."
She swallowed, drew in a breath that came with painful difficulty. "I owe you perhaps more than just a meal and a drink. For this."
D'hein balked, "Well I'm sure we can-" he shook his head, "I mean! That you don't owe me anything. I did this for K'airos as much as for you. Parents and children should have every oppourtunity to be together."
Her brow creased, watery green eyes casting about the inn room as though searching for an answer. There was one child, however, who seemed bent on ensuring none of them were together, and it broke her heart. "Aijeen... I don't know what.. what I've done..." Her tail shivered and she shook her head before half turning back to D'hein and giving him an anxious look.
"If I venture outside this room, she could.. Aijeen might... If she knows I'm here, I could lose my girls forever. Again!"
"Aijeen's with D'ahl in the commune today, so I doubt she'll go out of her way to slum around the Quicksand." D'hein hefts the box in his hands, "Can I put this down somewhere? It's for you."
Several seconds passed where Antimony blinked at the box as though only just realizing its presence. Then she processed D'hein's words and jumped slightly. "Ah! Oh. Well.. what? For me?" A bewildered look crossed her face and her ears shifted about in confusion. Why on earth would this troublesome tia bring her a...
"I... suppose anywhere would do? There's a table or.. a bed. Or the floor. Or... a sink? No, that wouldn't... I mean, yes! Yes, you may put it.. down."
"Thank you," D'hein proceeded into the room, setting the box on the nearby table. "Anyway, I'll have a talk with Aijeen and figure out what her problem is. Hopefully she's just jealous that K'airos is doting on you."
Antimony's ears shook as she turned in place to follow D'hein's movements. "You... you didn't hear what she said when... She commanded Airos to not acknowledge me as her mother!" Her voice broke on those words, her features crumpling. "The words she spoke to me - they were not new, but they still.."
"She's always been willful. You should hear how she talks to me!" D'hein said, smiling and turning to face Antimony with one hand on the box. His smile wavers after a moment of thought, "Actually, no. Such terrible words should enver be heard. And yet I'm sure I'll hear them again."
"That she would choose you over her own...!" Antimony fell silent then and turned away, half-ashamed of her own words but hurt nonetheless. "Apologies. I... don't know what else I can do anymore."
With a sigh, "If you look for the bad in things, you're going to find it every time." He clicked his knuckles on the box, and then said, "You've missed a few years. I can fill you in or K'airos can. Whatever the case, I wanted to ask you to go back to work on the investigation once you've had a few days to find your feet again."
Blinking rapidly, Antimony twisted her head around to look at D'hein. "What?" The concept of it loomed menacingly overhead, and she fought a wave of dizziness. "I can't possibly... Airos needs--but I quit.. I mean, was fired.. or... Miss Carceri would certainly not approve...!"
Shaking his head, D'hein said, "So what if she doesn't approve? The investigation needs to happen and you're the only skilled assessor I have in place."
"You don't have me in place if I'm not... all of my clearance--my... my paperwork! The files and..." She looked left and right uselessly. "I-I must be here for Airos!"
"K'airos lives and works in Thanalan. If you're going to live around here, don't you have to work around here, too?"
"Live...?" The question caught her off guard in an uncomfortable reality kind of way. She had been so wrapped up, first in her desperate breakdown of escaping from the past, and then in holding on to the daughter she'd thought long lost, that Antimony had all but forgotten... well, her life. The realization struck her hard. "Ah... my... in Limsa and... oh no, has the next moon passed already..? My rent and--"
She swayed and kind of half-stumbled over to the bed, where she sat down heavily on the edge. "I can't leave Airos."
"I'm sure you'll be just fine whatever you decide," D'hein said, the words giving a passive once-over to every half-spoken concern that Antimony had attempted to speak. "Like I said, you should take a few days to get back on your feet. Discuss things with K'airos, maybe. You've audited the accounts of entire companies, so taking stock of your own situation should be no problem at all. From my outsider perspective, it looks like you have everything you need, now. And as for luxuries," he rapped his knuckles against the box again, "That's where I can help."
Looking up from where she'd briefly dropped her face to her hands, Antimony watched D'hein with a vaguely worried look - this time not just for herself or K'airos, but for what the tia might have hidden in that box. "What do you... mean by that?" she asked warily, green eyes shifting to the box, the faint creases at the corners of her eyes deepening in confusion.
Mistaking Antimony's confusion for suspicion, perhaps catching on her worry a bit, D'hein leans back a measure and looks at the woman sideways. "It's just some basic gear. Simple clothes and first-aid supplies and canteens and other assorted items of comfort that don't come with hotel rooms. I noted your dilapidated appearance earlier and we keep packages like this at the commune for whenw e travel. Do you find it an inappropriate offering?"
"What, ah--no!" She lifted her hands in consolation and cringed at the implication of offense. "No, that's not... I'm sorry, I shouldn't assume any ill--ah! Forget I said..." Her tail twitched a bit wildly against the bed and she closed her eyes to draw in a deep breath.
"Thank you," she sighed out, and pressed her hands down along her current dress, suddenly much more self-conscious of its muddied, ruined state. "You didn't need... you shouldn't have felt obligated to do anything for me. Aah, but I.. do appreciate it."
"Don't feel like you've imposed. It was as simple as carrying it here from there." He lifted a hand to knock aside all of Antimony's disparaging sentiments. "Now, I must impress one issue a bit further: I am in a deep, compromising need of an assessor to finish the work that was started. I have all the paperwork -- assuming Illira hasn't hidden it from me -- so you can start up where you left off as soon as you're feeling able. I think it would be a prudent course of action, especially considering your daughters."
The frown she leveled D'hein with then was significantly more concerned at his last words, almost painfully so. "My daughters? Are you saying--are they involved in that... mess??"
"Oh! Not... not precisely." He pulled his tone back significantly, holding up his hands in a sort of halting motion to allow himself to start over. "What I mean is all of Ul'dahn society is in a state of disrepair. K'airos is a Brass Blade and D'aijeen is..." He tried to contruct an explanation of D'aijeen's status that would not in some way upset Antimony, and when he failed, he went on, "So far I think I've been able to steer them away from trouble, but Ul'dah is rife with troubles, and I'm only one man."
"They are involved!" Antimony, true to form, took D'hein's words and assumed the worst. She pictured her girls huddled in dark alleys, amidst darker men with leering faces, either accepting or giving money in return for actions she just couldn't-- "Oh no! I must--" She lurched to her feet suddenly. "I will stop this! I'll resolve the investigation immediately!"
D'hein's expression dropped into a frown, "Your daughters are not involved. I won't have you moving forward under some false pretense of emergency. And I'm certainly not letting you lift a finger to work on the investigation for at least a few days."
Either due to D'hein's words or the very sudden, dizzying rush of blood to her head that took the strength from her legs, Antimony dropped back to the bed with a thump. "Oh," she uttered faintly. "Al..right. If you are certain."
"I am. I've been keeping in an eye on your daughters as though they were my own." He smiled, thumped his knuckle on the box, and said, "Now take some time, rest, clean up, help yourself to the new clothes and some comfort. You'll feel better. Then we'll do dinner, alright? K'airos can come, too, if she's back by then."
Antimony's ears drooped at something in his words, perhaps the reminder of years she'd lost, of years he had had with her daughters, years that had been taken from her, even though they had been, unknowingly, so near. She pursed her lips and nodded. "I'm unsure if Airos will return tonight. She... well, I asked for her help with... other things."
D'hein shrugged, leaning a bit more on the box, "We'll just play it by ear. I'm alright with that. I'm not expecting Aijeen to leave the commune until tomorrow, so there's nothing to worry about there."
Antimony just nodded, going quiet on the edge of the bed. She wove her fingers together in her lap.
The blond dodo just smiled statically, watching Antimony in silence.
Antimony continued to not do anything particularly interesting other than just sit there. After a few moments, she looked up and blinked a bit in weary confusion at him. "Ah... yes?"
"Yes what?" D'hein said, then looked around, ears swiveling. "Oh. Oh, yes! As in, yes. In that case, I'll leave you to your comfort and return in one h-... two hours?" He pushed himself off the box and shuffled towards the door. He pointed to the parcel and said, "Make sure you open it. It has some very nice soaps and such!"
She glanced to the package, then at D'hein as he moved to exit. Her breath caught in her throat suddenly and she kind of choked on words a moment before clearing her throat and managing, "Thank you."
Beaming briefly, D'hein waved high over his head, "See you soon!" and then spun out the door, whacking his hand on the doorframe with a painful crack but seemingly not noticing. He closes the door behind him.
Antimony winced at the sound and then just settled back into the silence of the room.
"Song dogs barking at the break of dawn, lightning pushes the edges of a thunderstorm; and these streets, quiet as a sleeping army, send their battered dreams to heaven."
Hipparion Tribe (Sagolii)Â - Â Antimony Jhanhi's Wiki