Hisoka glanced at Shippou as the kit came into the kitchen.

"I've been informed," he said, "that you are the expert when it comes to making tea for Kris?" And now the kit could feel like he was in charge of something. Never let it be said that Hisoka didn't know what he was doing.

"It's beautiful," Aura replied. She gave a sheepish little smile. "I'm no good at gardening. I can barely keep a lucky-bamboo alive, and all those need is water every so often."

Shippou beamed and nodded. "Yup! I know how to make her favorite." The kit grinned and bounced up onto the counter, picking out three different teas and measuring them out. He put in enough for three people, trusting Hisoka would set the water to boil.

"I don't do much with the gardens," Sesshomaru admitted. "It is not a strong point."

Meaning the one time he'd tried to "trim" a plant when he was a kid, he'd trimmed it almost to death.

Hisoka knew what the kit expected him to do, and did so. Besides, it was common sense to set water to boil first. Then he went and inspected the chocolate croissants. They would be best warm, he knew, so he set about taking care of that, as well.

Aura grinned a bit.

"Nature does hate perfection," she teased him.

Shippou grinned and waited for the water to boil, watching Hisoka. His tail quivered as he watched.

"Are you planning on taking Kris?" he asked quietly.

Sesshomaru snorted but didn't say anything to the contrary. There were other things he couldn't do, but he didn't feel it prudent to point out the things he couldn't do when he could show her what he could do.

"I plan on making her my mate, if she will have me," Hisoka replied softly. He looked at the kit. "Do you object?" He was well aware that his plan to take Kris as his mate hinged on the kit approving of him first.

Aura just smiled at him and kept walking through the gardens.

"Where to next?" she asked after a little while.

"That depends," Shippou said quietly, eyeing Hisoka. "Are you going to take her away?" That was the last thing he wanted.

Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment before he moved farther into the grounds, keeping an eye on Inuyasha as the pup tried to scramble up one of the larger trees. Past the garden was a fairly large open field with trees around the border.

"This land is all ours. One of my father's estates." Which would one day pass on to him.

"As an honorary member of another pack, any mate of mine would be made a member, as well," Hisoka replied carefully. "Which would also extend to you, as well as her." Because he would never dream of separating the two of them.

"Wow," Aura said as she looked around. It was a very large field, larger than she'd ever seen up close. In retrospect, she supposed it made sense, especially for youkai. They needed their space.

Shippou considered that for several moments. "She's not gonna like that," he said. "Being a part of another pack, I mean. She doesn't like listening."

Which he'd learned watching her and Sesshomaru squabble.

"It is helpful when he decides to bring his work home." Sesshomaru looked at her to see if she'd take the bait and ask. He hoped she would.

"I am sure something can be worked out, then," Hisoka said as he filed that information away. "But I will not take her away from you, rest assured."

Aura didn't even need to consider taking the bait. She was genuinely curious.

"What does he do?" she asked.

Shippou nodded. "Okay, then. If she agrees, I agree." The kit grinned. "Good luck."

"He breeds dragons." Sesshomaru smirked. His own dragon, who had been the runt and the oddity of that year's breeding, lived on the other side of the mountains, near the main breeding place his father kept and Katashi maintained.

Hisoka gave the kit a small smile and nodded in thanks. Now his way was clear to really court Kris.

Aura blinked.

"Really?" she asked, her eyes bright with interest. That was just so outside of her little world that she was immediately fascinated.

Shippou poured tea for the three of them very carefully before pulling his own cup aside. He'd leave those two alone for a while.

"Hnn. I could show you if you like. Tomorrow perhaps. It is an all day trip." Sesshomaru was more than willing to indulge her curiosity on this subject.

Once the tea and croissants were ready, he took them upstairs to Kris. He did made sure to leave a couple of warm croissants for Shippou, though.

"I'd like that," Aura replied. "It sounds like fun."

Kris was still sprawled in bed, having pulled a warm, fuzzy blanket over herself. She wasn't cold, but she liked the comfort.

Sesshomaru nodded, keeping track of Inuyasha. The pup had managed to get up into the tree, and he was perched there, lookng for something to pounce on. "Do you wish to stay out here?"

Somehow, between balancing two mugs of tea and the croissants, Hisoka managed to knock on the doorframe to get her attention.

"Maybe for a little while longer?" Aura asked. "It's such a nice day out right now."

"Come in." Kris pushed herself upright, moving on her bed to give him more room to sit. She couldn't help but smile a little when she smelled the tea. "Shippou showed you?"

Sesshomaru nodded and sat in the grass, one knee bent and his arm resting there lightly. He found it acceptable to sit and relax for a little while. Especially if it helped Aura feel better.

Hisoka nodded as he sat down and handed her a mug.

"He did," he replied. "He was very helpful."

Aura sat down next to him in the grass, and leaned against him a little bit. It was nice to just relax for a little while.

Kris nodded and took her teacup, taking a grateful sip. "He learned quickly. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." She sighed and rested her head back against her headboard.

Sesshomaru stayed there for several minutes, his eyes half-lidded as he kept track of his brother. Then his head jerked up and he stiffened. Letting out a decidedly feline curse, he got to his feet.

"You may want to move back to the garden," he said quietly to Aura. "It seems you get to see a dragon earlier than I expected."

"It pleases him to take care of you," Hisoka replied gently. He took a sip of the tea as well, absently noting the flavors.

Aura blinked.

"What?" she asked, even as she stood up and moved back a little.

Kris hummed and absently reached for one of the croissants, nibbling on it. Chocolate was one of those things that always made her feel better when she was like this.

Which kind of sucked because she hadn't had access to chocolate for most of her life.

"You'll see." Sesshomaru kept his gaze in the distance.

Only a few moments later Ah-Un came into view, running towards them. Inuyasha let out a delighted squeal, and the dragon briefly sidetracked to let the pup jump down on them, and they greeted the little master enthusiastically but very carefully.

They paused when they noticed a new smell on Inuyasha and, as one, both heads turned towards Sesshomaru... and Aura. Sesshomaru swore again when they headed for Aura, vanishing from sight to go reign them in and curb their enthusiasm.

Hisoka noticed how Kris reacted to the chocolate, and made a mental note to surprise her with some every so often. It seemed she might appreciate such a thing.

Aura squeaked in surprise when the creature came barreling towards her, and she stumbled backwards a bit.

"It's got two heads," she marveled once she was sure it wouldn't jump on her.

Kris took another sip of tea. "You going to stay here the whole day? I'm sure you've got more important things to do than deal with me."

Sesshomaru hummed and made sure Ah-Un was calm and knew to treat Aura even more carefully than Inuyasha before he beckoned her over.

"Aura," he said quietly. "This is Ah-Un. He was the runt of the litter. He is also unusual."

"I would be pleased to stay, if you want me to," Hisoka responded, looking at her.

Aura's brain flashed through the wealth of information in those simple phrases. Unusual--okay, dragons didn't normally have two heads, then. The runt of the litter--and still the size of a horse.

"Ah-Un?" she repeated, rolling the name around in her head. Hyphenated name, she assumed--or rather, one name for each head? "Which is which, then?"

Kris shrugged. "Do as you like," she muttered, finishing off her croissant.

"Ah. And Un." Sesshomaru nodded to each. They both made noise, trying to move closer to her, and Sesshomaru put a hand on their chest. "Gently," he reminded them sternly.

"Then I believe I will stay," Hisoka said. "Just in case you decide you need or want something else." And in the meantime, he wouldn't mind just talking with her. They still needed to get to know one another better.

Cautiously, Aura held up a hand for each head to sniff. They kind of reminded her of an overly-excited puppy, eager to meet new people to play with.