"Mrs. Baker knows that you're here, so don't hesitate to fetch her if you need," Tiz was currently saying, even as Ringabel leaned heavily on him, attempting to push the other man out the door. But Tiz was now officially heavier than him, having built up muscle once he'd gone back to the farms of Norende, and putting up a good fight despite the differences in their heights.

"Yes yes, we know," Ringabel huffed. He'd been slacking on his workouts, but after this he was going to have to start again, it seemed, if Tiz was giving him this much trouble. "I'm aware of where she lives." He'd met her, and her daughter, before. Lovely ladies.

"And Agnès will have the pendant out, so call us if there's an emergency," the younger man continued, acting oblivious to the way that he was being shoved out the door. Too oblivious. He'd been going over the locations of everything in the house, their nearest neighbors, the rules for putting the baby down for a nap, and everything else two potential babysitters would need to know for the better part of an hour.

In the kitchen, Agnès was hovering over Edea and the infant that the blonde woman was holding. He was currently drowsy from his latest meal, clutching his godmother's blouse as he gazed up at his mother, unaware that she was about to leave him. Agnès smoothed her hand over his fluffy brown hair as she spoke. "You know where the food is, just be sure it's mashed completely before giving it to him, please. It was made just fresh this morning, but we didn't puree it completely to help keep some of the freshness."

"Don't worry about a thing, Agnès," Edea assured her. "I'm great at mashing food."

Agnès shook her head. It would be the first time she and Tiz would be out and away from their child since he'd been born nearly a year ago, and she was still nervous, even though it was Edea and Ringabel who had volunteered - practically demanded - to watch him. "I know you are, but he still doesn't have much teeth to chew, so…"

The door closed as Ringabel finally pushed Tiz outside.

"Don't worry! Ringabel and I will look after him as if he were our own. We are his godparents, after all. He's our favorite."

That was not very reassuring. Agnès gave Edea a look, and the blonde woman continued hastily. "Look, we both looked into how to care for a kid, okay? Everything will be fine! How hard could it possibly be?"

"I'll have the pendant," Agnès said now, without answering her. "We'll check in on you every other hour, but please - "

"You and Tiz are going to Caldisla for the whole day and you're going to enjoy yourselves. We've got this down. Everything's fine."

Tiz opened the door, leaning back in. "Don't forget to tell Edea where the extra clothes are."

"Right," Agnès nodded to him as Ringabel yanked him back outside, the brunet man yelping with surprise. "If he causes too much of a mess, put his clothes in the yellow bin in the washroom. We'll wash them tomorrow. His clothes are in the wicker cupboard in our room."

"How messy could one baby get?" Edea laughed, but her smile faded at the look in Agnès's eyes. "Right… right. We got this."

If her words had soothed Agnès's nerves, the way that Toivo began to fuss as she gathered her bag and headed to the door without him seemed to frazzle them again. It was his first time being separated from them too, after all. By the time she and Tiz reached the gate that separated their property from the Norende main road, he was crying and reaching for her. Edea struggled not to drop him as he squirmed, at least not while his parents were sight, especially as they kept glancing back at the group in the doorway.

"A little help here?" she hissed to Ringabel, who was covering his ears. He seemed startled, then looked down at the red faced baby before scooping him up.

Edea grimaced; the littlest Arrior had a strong grip, and that grip was currently around her hair. With Ringabel holding firm to the baby, she carefully extracted her hair.

"There there," Ringabel said, in what he apparently thought was a soothing voice. Edea rolled her eyes at him; it was the same voice he used - had used - when trying to pick up girls.

"Don't try to charm his diaper off," Edea said. "He needs that."

Ringabel stuck his tongue out at her. "Let's go inside," he suggested, not waiting for an answer as he swept back indoors. The Arrior farm was far enough away from its neighbors that he doubted anyone would be able to hear the baby's crying, but perhaps going back into more familiar territory would dry his tears.

It was his hope, at least. Little Toivo continued to wail, thrashing his fists and kicking his legs against the man who was holding him. "Oof," Ringabel said as a tiny foot connected with his stomach. "Which Asterisk are we giving him? I vote Monk."

"I think Tiz said he isn't allowed to have an Asterisk until he's at least 16, though," Edea said, tugging at her hair as the cries continued. She stared at Ringabel as he tried, unsuccessfully, to get the baby to stop crying. "Maybe your face is scaring him. I know that it scares me sometimes."

Ringabel frowned at her as he held the baby out at arm's length. "I thought you liked my face."

"Only sometimes. Make him stop!"

"I'm trying!" Ringabel yelped, and he held the baby close now, cringing as Toivo's strong fists grabbed onto his shirt, yanking hard. He sat down, hoping that this would help, and bounced the baby slightly, unsuccessfully. What a pair of lungs. "Edea, honey, I think this needs a woman's touch."

Edea had huddled on the furthest end of the love seat from him. "That's sexist."

Ringabel flushed, despite the baby screaming in his ear. "A woman's touch makes me feel better!" he hissed. "Help."

"That's weird," Edea said, but she scooted closer despite her protests, and held her hands out to take the baby from him. Ringabel transferred the tot over, wiping his hands on his shirt once they were free.

Edea bounced Tovio slightly on her lap, cooing at him over his cries. "Come on, Toivo. You're almost as big a crybaby as Yew!"

"Almost."

"Quiet," she told her husband, but the baby had begun to settle down, accepting his fate. He knew Edea and Ringabel from their previous visits to the house, even if he did not seem to like how his parents had up and left him, presumably forever, with the weirdest couple to set foot in Norende. Edea rubbed his plump, reddened cheeks one thumb as she held him with the other arm. "That wasn't so bad, was it?"

"I knew you could do it," Ringabel said, leaning back. His eyes swept over her. "A woman's touch indeed."

"That's still sexist," Edea retorted, but all the same, it was her turn to flush at his gaze. Leaning back herself, she kicked at him with a foot. Ringabel yelped when it made contact with his thigh.

"Is this what you want to be teaching him?" the man asked, rubbing his leg.

Edea sighed heavily. "That he shouldn't make such remarks to women? Of course that's what we want to be teaching him. You think Tiz and Agnès would settle for anything less?"

"You… do have a point," Ringabel admitted, accepting defeat. He slouched somewhat, then stole a glance at his wife as she continued to sooth the baby. By now, his sniffles were calming as he clung to her. "But you do look good with a baby, you know."

Edea closed her eyes, telling herself that Agnès and Tiz would probably not appreciate their child being witness to repeated acts of violence… and that Ringabel was just being Ringabel. "You don't have to keep saying that," she finally settled on, nudging his leg with her foot.

Ringabel moved her feet into his lap, and scooted over enough that he could run his fingers over Toivo's hair, prompting the baby to turn his face away into Edea's shoulder.

"I wouldn't want to be touched by you either," Edea pointed out to him.

"You don't have to be so mean," he pouted, but then he turned so that he could rest his head on her shoulder while he continued to pat the child's shoulder. Edea couldn't punch him if her hands were full of a baby!

For a few moments, the three sat there, giving Toivo time to calm down and adjust to the two people who would be watching him for the evening. Ringabel found himself watching the boy as his tears dried up, hoping that he wouldn't cry again, while Edea watched the way the child's hands clung to her shirt. She was certain that Agnès had wiped his hands right before she'd left, but they still felt sticky. Well, she hadn't worn any of her good clothes, because she knew enough about caring for babies to know that would just end in disaster.

When the baby began to squirm, both adults tensed, only to relax as he twisted around and reached for Ringabel

"I think he likes me!" Ringabel said, happily taking the child into his arms. When he was sitting like this, it was much easier for him to grasp the boy, even when Toivo attempted to stand on chubby little legs.

Edea brushed off her top. "Well, I hope so. We're stuck with you until the evening."

Ringabel laughed. "You know you like me too."

"Somehow, yes," Edea replied, but she smiled at her husband when he bounced Toivo gently on his leg, keeping a firm grip on the child's waist, even causing the boy to giggle. "I guess you two get along so well because you're so alike."

Toivo was attempting to toddle closer to Ringabel - or to Ringabel's hair at least, his small fingers digging into Ringabel's arms. Ringabel didn't seem to notice the strong grip, looking over at Edea, opening his mouth to inquire… then shutting it, shaking his head. He didn't need to ask. She laughed, bouncing to her feet.

"Now that's done, let's see… what did Tiz say about what we need to do?"

Ringabel leaned his head back in an attempt to keep the baby's grasping hands away from his hair. "He just ate, so he should be fine for a few hours. If he seems sleepy, we should try to put him down for a nap, but…" Toivo did not seem sleepy, even after all of his crying.

"We could always use Sleep spells," Edea mused. "Then if he's asleep for a while, it'll be easy."

Ringabel stared at her. "You can't use Sleep spells on a baby!" Tiz and Agnès would both kill them, and besides, it was widely known that Sleep spells could easily mess up a child's sleeping patterns.

"It was a joke!" she replied, putting her hands up as she stood. "Why don't I clean up around here and you entertain him. Your face is good for making people laugh, after all."

Ringabel picked Toivo up and placed him down on the couch, twisting his own torso so that he could face the infant. He was old enough to stand up and toddle, at least with the help of an adult, but his feet were beginning to hurt, digging into Ringabel's thighs as they were. "You already said my face was scary," he said, glancing up at her. "What's wrong? This isn't like you."

Edea sighed as she walked back into the kitchen, picking up a washcloth so that she could wipe down the kitchen table. It still contained remnants of the food and tea the adults had eaten earlier, and she knew Tiz and Agnès would appreciate the help. It also meant that cleaning up in here meant she didn't have to answer Ringabel immediately, and could take the time to gather her thoughts. She knew some of what she was saying was a little harsh, but…

Seeing Ringabel happily playing with a baby had scared her, in a way. She rubbed vigorously at the coffee stains from earlier.

Not that it was genuinely frightening, because the baby was cute and Ringabel was sort of cute as well, but she knew he desperately wanted children, and they had held off on starting their family until she was ready, and until the country and its allies were stable enough that she could reliably take time off to begin her family. With the finalization of the contract with the Crystal Guard several months ago, and Ringabel being formally recognized as the Commander of the Eternian Army, there was no time like the present.

Seeing Ringabel with a baby made her chest and stomach feel a little… funny. On him, it wasn't really a bad look. Certainly it made him look mature, and reliable, and…

Ringabel emerged in the kitchen with the Toivo on his hip. "Did you hear me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Toivo gurgled at her.

"I heard you," she replied, scrubbing at a particularly stubborn spot of old, crusty baby food. "I was just thinking what we should do next."

Ringabel decided not to push getting an answer from her from now. Instead, he plopped Toivo onto the edge of the table, keeping a firm grip on him; at this age the boy could easily stay sitting up, but he was still in danger of rolling off and hitting the floor. It had already happened to him once when he was a child, and neither of the blondes wanted it to happen again under their watch. "Well, he's in a good mood. Why don't we relax for a bit? Perhaps even put him down for a nap?"

She looked over at the chubby child. He was wiggling slightly, waving his arms around. "He doesn't seem very tired." And she knew enough about babies to know you couldn't just make them sleep. At least, not without sleep spells.

"We just have to tire him out," Ringabel claimed, one hand on the child's back and the other on an arm, enthusiastically waving Toivo's hand around. "Play with him, make him laugh, make him run - toddle - about… he'll get tired in no time, and then we'll have some time alone to talk."

Edea groaned. "It's not that easy, Ringabel," she told him with a shake of her head. "If you think it was that easy, would Tiz and Agnès always be so tired?"

Ringabel looked down at the cherubic child, who gave him a wide, mostly toothless smile. He returned it. Edea felt her heart flip over. "Consider it practice," he said.

Did he have to say it like that? She wanted to toss the dirty dishcloth on his head.

She settled for leaning against the table instead. "Okay," she started. "If you think you're the … master of babies, you try to tire him out, oh wise one."

"I'll have you know I'm great with kids," Ringabel replied, sticking his tongue out at her. "They love me. Besides, it won't be so bad to play with him. I mean, sure he's little and not very entertaining, but we can't just sit around and stare at him!"

"We did volunteer to watch him." They had practically demanded it, so that Tiz and Agnès could have a long overdue night to themselves. Edea had been thrilled at the idea of spending time with her godchild; she had spent the night over at the house with the Arrior family sparingly, and it had been when Toivo was much smaller, spending the majority of his time either asleep, wrapped in a sling on his mother's chest, or both. But now that he was older, and bigger, and his grip was strong and sticky, she had no idea what to do.

Plopping down on a chair, she dragged it over to sit beside Ringabel and the infant, poking the child gently in his side to make him giggle. "But… what kind of games do you play with babies?" she asked, hesitantly. "You think he's too young to hold a sword?"

"Of course he is, dearest," Ringabel said. "You have to wait until he can walk on his own two feet. Give it a couple of months, at least."

Toivo was gripping Ringabel's fingers in one fist, the other clutching the end of a table mat. Edea watched him for another second before offering her hand to him, smiling when he let go of the mat to grab her. She waved her hand gently, not breaking his grip. He wiggled and kicked his feet with joy, gurgling at the two blondes.

"Okay," she agreed with a smile. "How about for his second birthday?" She had received her first sword for her third, but this little guy had a good grip, and good Arrior genes. He'd be a pro. Her first apprentice.

Then she wrinkled her nose. When the child had wiggled, a very noticeable, distinct smell had wafted up.

"But first, I think you need to change his diaper," she said, leaning back.

Ringabel also had wrinkled his nose. "What? Why me?" he asked, trapped by the child's grip.

Edea had successfully retrieved her hand, and now she was wiping it down with the dishcloth, making a note to get a clean one to wipe Toivo's hands with, as well. They were sticky. "Didn't you say it earlier? It's practice." She stood up. "I'll leave you to it!"

Ringabel attempted to follow, but Toivo's grip held him fast. "Traitor!" he cried after her retreating figure. "Double-crosser!"

She waved at him from the kitchen entry way, then vanished before he could go after.