Desperation's Summit

8: Dirty

Rallying herself, Cordelia's nose scrunched up and gave a prim laugh. She almost wish she hadn't as Rakash turned to face her, his eyebrows quirk questioningly. Cordelia didn't let her mask slip this time. She flashed him a sharp smile as she gave him a light push on his chest. "Since I did most of the kitchen, have fun bathing your little atrociously sticky tots."

His eyes fell to his chest, where her palm pressed against him. Half a beat passed, a subtle flare passing between the two adults. Without thinking, Cordelia quickly withdrew her hand, but Rakash's eyes followed it, before flicking to her face.

"Really now?" Rakash drawled, eyes half-lidded as he angled his head to stare at Cordelia down his nose.

Before Cordelia could issue a smart retort, Rakash scooped her up and over his shoulder. She gave a shriek, though it was a paltry mimic compared to the decibel she unleashed that first night. Just another farce, he guessed. Rakash made a circuit around the room, accumulating the triplets in his other arm. Only Kazri was fully awake, Ebra and Zalmir were just on the brink of wakefulness.

But not for long. Squirming and writhing in Rakash's grasp, Cordelia pushed at his shoulder. The only thing keeping her from kicking at his front was her own uncertainty how close the children would be to the targeted zone.

Her struggles against him were useless. Just like that first night. Cordelia only half-noticed him lugging her, and the children, toward the back of the cabin and into the mountain. The fire-heated air of the cabin gave way to a cooler - yet still oddly pleasant - chill.

While half her mind focused on wriggling from his grasp, the other part of Cordelia's brain noted the new surroundings. The hall from the cabin proper to the mountain extended further back than she realized and it widened up, with other corridors branching out. Though it was definitely cooler in temperature, it didn't have the wet musty scent she'd expect. Light cast through the hall from glowing stones, embedded in the walls. Cordelia didn't have a chance to count the doors as Rakash continued to confidently stride straight ahead.

Soon, the dry cold air of the mountain started to warm again. And, oddly, it became humid. Her ears perked, smelling the unmistakable scent of water and hearing the almost silent lapping of water against stone. Rakash was going to bathe his children, so what did he intend to do with her in a bathing area?

An immediate shock filtered through Cordelia as her whole brain returned to struggling. She doubted Rakash was going to do anything as uncouth as literally stripping her. However, that didn't mean she wanted to be dumped into water, with her clothes on. "Unhand me!"

"You're just as crusty as the children," Rakash retorted, as he lowered his children to the floor. Thankfully, his children liked - or at least tolerated - bathtime. As the triplets gathered their toys and towels, Rakash's attention returned to Cordelia.

"I beg your pardon!" A half-scandalized gasp and half-infuriated hiss left Cordelia. Her elbow managed to land hard at a spot between his shoulder blades.

Even fueled by rage, the strike hadn't hurt him. With a snort, Rakash swung Cordelia into a princess hold in his arms as he strode toward the waters. The sudden change in positioning made her squeak, staring wide-eyed and somewhat flushed up at him.

From the corner of her eye, Cordelia took note of the bathing area. It was much larger than expected. Like one of those communal bath houses she'd been to in Tritz or Deloux. What surprised her was the steam coming off the water. A hot spring? This large? Connected to his cabin?

"If that's how you beg," Rakash said, drawing Cordelia from her quiet observation of the area. Her eyes jumped to his face, wide from being caught staring around. He hunched over her a little, keeping his words low, so his children wouldn't hear, "You're going to have to do better."