Kaladin snickered and shook Seamus a little. "You can always go hide behind Brit," he teased. "I'm sure she'd be happy to protect you."

Brit blinked and looked up from her exam of the cerberus when she heard her name, tilting her head to the side as she looked at the brothers.

"Yup, while Hazel is hiding behind you," Seamus teased back. "By the way, you might want to take a look at her pet, I think the thing found herself a tom, but she won't let anyone near her but Hazel. I figure maybe she'll let you, since you're around Hazel so often lately."

Kaladin nodded. "Alright, I'll see what I can do. Hopefully she won't try to kill me for it." He shook his head. "Then again, compared to this monster, she shouldn't be much trouble."

"She can still try to tear you up," Seamus pointed out. "It's worth a try to take a look, though, just in case we end up with an unexpected litter."

Kaladin nodded. "I'll go check on that, and you try to stay out of trouble." He grinned and headed over to the main building.

Seamus rolled his eyes, but went to see what Brit was up to. That, and he wanted to see the new cerberus.

Brit was still getting the cerberus used to her, having let him sniff her thoroughly. She was currently sitting next to him, all three heads on the grass next to her as she petted each one carefully. It was best to take your time with something like this.

Kaladin knocked on the doorframe of Hazel's office. "Hey. Mind if I come in?"

Seamus just waited by the fence, watching them. He would have his turn later, he was sure.

Hazel looked up from her desk.

"Sure," she said, smiling a bit at him.

Brit looked over at him and beckoned him over. The cerberus was already nice and calm, so now was as good a time as any to introduce the two.

Kaladin walked over and looked at her nekomata. "Think she'll let me close enough to check her?"

Nodding, Seamus made his way over to them and sat down next to Brit.

"She will if I say she will," Hazel replied, looking at her pet. Lyra turned up her nose and looked away from Kaladin. "Behave," Hazel admonished. "You know better." She looked at Kaladin and nodded.

Brit smiled and took his hand, holding it in front of the cerberus. The three heads all tried to sniff him at once, until the middle head growled and the other two backed off a bit.

Kaladin offered Lyra his hand to sniff. "Hey there kitty. This isn't going to hurt, really." He waited another moment before he stroked her side gently, feeling as he went so he wouldn't be outright poking and prodding her.

Seamus let the heads decide who went first and just stayed there until they were finished.

Lyra just stayed there, her tails switching every so often. She didn't like this other human touching her, but she put up with it for now, since Hazel was only a few feet away.

One of the heads laid in Brit's lap again, while the other two started nosing and poking at Seamus, trying to figure out how he was different from the female and starting to figure out the pack rankings. Brit just grinned.

Kaladin finished as quickly as he could and moved a step away from the cat. It was best not to piss them off, after all.

"Well, looks like we'll have a litter of nekomata kittens in another two or three months."

"Really?" Hazel asked, looking up from the paperwork. She glanced at her pet. "I didn't realize. Where would she have even come across a male?"

Kaladin shrugged. "I have no idea. I know you mentioned the ranch where you got the sheep from had one or two, so that's the only thing I can think of."

"They aren't that far away," Hazel mused. "Do you think maybe one of theirs wandered out this way?"

Kaladin shrugged. "That, or she decided to go exploring. Either way, you've got kittens coming up." He grinned. "Better start thinking what to do with them. I'd guess you'll get five, maybe more."

"We'll have to see what happens, then," Hazel replied. "Brit and Seamus brought up the thought that a bunch of the colored pygmy sheep might go over well as pets, if we wanted to sell them at the Expo. Maybe we'll take the kittens as well."

Kaladin nodded. "That would work." He looked at her for a few moments before he leaned down and kissed her lightly.

Hazel froze, blushing brightly. Then, hesitantly, she kissed him back. She didn't know the first thing about kissing, having been kept away from boys or chaperoned since she was old enough to wear her first corset, so the kiss was hesitant and inexperienced and was over quickly.

Kaladin didn't mind. He had more experience than his brother, and he didn't mind at all showing Hazel what to do.

"Okay so far?" he asked quietly, watching her.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Hazel murmured back, still a bit red. "I've never... There have always been chaperones..."

"That's fine," Kaladin murmured. "Really, Hazel. It's okay. Just relax. We don't have to do anything." He rubbed her shoulder a bit, wondering if that had been too soon.

Hazel bit her lip. She hadn't meant to ruin things at all. She just had no idea how to even kiss, and she was terrified that he would find her lacking somehow.

Kaladin smiled a little. "Come on. You look like you could use a break from all this paperwork. How about we go get some tea or something?"