Kris looked over the instant her mate rejoined them "You," she said, standing and poking him in the chest, "are staying home next time."

Hisoka raised an eyebrow.

"They didn't get that out of hand, did they?" he asked, glancing at the children.

"They decided it would be fun to have all three do different things at the same time. Like trying to jump off the counter and get outside and get into the library. All at once."

"I see," Hisoka replied, looking at the kids again. "Then I suppose the appropriate action would be to not allow them outside today, if they're so eager to test their limits indoors."

"Be glad Aura came over," Kris grumbled. "Or I would have really been in trouble." She sighed briefly and got up, keeping her attention on the kids so she could be sure they weren't really getting in trouble.

"Go relax," Hisoka said softly, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "I can look after them for a while."

Aura stayed quiet during the exchange. The only little one she was responsible for was her own, so she wasn't allowed to deal out or protest punishments for them. So she just kept an eye on all of them until Kris and Hisoka hashed out whose turn it was to watch them.

Kris nodded and stayed there for a moment before she went to go get more tea and relax for a bit.

The kids decided that now that Mom had had time with Hisoka, it was their turn. So all three tried to climb him. At the same time.

Hisoka held his ground as the kids all started to climb on him at once. As each one climbed high enough, he pulled that one off and dropped him or her onto the couch. It went on for several minutes, until he managed to sit down on the floor without sitting on one of the kids.

Aiko was the first to go plop herself in his lap, sucking diligently on her thumb and looking up at him. Shippou snorted at his little sister but sort of settled down between Aura and Hisoka, since Aura was pack too.

Hisoka cuddled Aiko gently, rubbing behind one of her ears. He did make sure to leave some space for Alex, though, since he knew she would be joining the pile soon as well.

Aura grinned slightly and hugged Shippou. Gently, she ran her fingers through his hair with one hand, the other hand holding her son close.

Alex scrambled up onto his lap too, quite content to just sit and cuddle her dad for a little while. Aiko's eyes closed in pleasure and she managed a little hum.

Shippou grinned and stayed close, cuddling in next to the little pup and enjoying the attention. Hey, he still liked cuddling.

Katsuro snuggled in, not minding that he was sharing his mother's lap with Shippou. He was used to the other three, so he didn't mind sharing space with them anymore. Aura held them both, letting them cuddle and lavishing attention on them.

Hisoka wrapped an arm around Alex as well, holding his girls close. He rubbed behind one of Alex's ears, as well, and purred softly.

Both girls were quick to cuddle close and enjoy the attention. Especially since their father was relaxed and they had worn themselves out some running around away from Kris.

Shippou stayed there for a while, since he liked Katsuro, before he decided he still had some energy. So he looked at the pup expectantly.

Katsuro looked at Shippou, and then looked questioningly at his mother. Aura nodded and nudged them both, and Katsuro climbed out of her lap.

"Don't play too rough," she said to Shippou.

Hisoka held his girls until they drifted off. It wasn't unusual for them to tire themselves out playing, and Aiko especially often had more than one nap during the day still.

Shippou nodded and started playing with Katsuro, though he was careful with the pup. He didn't want to anger Aura or hurt the little one, after all. And he had the feeling he was already sort of in trouble, so it was best not to dig himself in any deeper.

Aura kept an eye on the two, more waiting for Katsuro to tire himself out than anything else. Because she knew he would, and then she would have the chance to talk to Shippou and see what was going on. It wasn't like him to act out, after all. Finally, Katsuro slowed down and climbed back into his mother's lap to snuggle in, and Aura reached out and pulled Shippou over as well.

"Come here, kit," she said softly.

Shippou moved over to her again, settling down next to her instead of in her lap this time, keeping an eye on the rest of the house.

"Is there something going on?" Aura asked him softly. "It's not usually so out of control around here." She phrased her words carefully, not laying the blame anywhere."

Shippou shrugged. "She's been working a lot," he said, looking over at Kris again. "Dunno on what. But she's been busier than normal. We started out trying to get her to come play but then Alex wanted to go outside and Aiko wanted her to read."

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Aura asked. She may have moved out of the house, but it didn't mean she'd left the pack, and she knew Kris might be more likely to talk to her than anyone else.

Shippou shrugged. "If you want. We were just trying to get her to relax for a bit." But clearly that had gotten muddled up somehow.

Aura cuddled him a bit.

"It's harder for her to relax when the three of you are trying to do a million things at once," she reminded him. "But maybe if you three and Hisoka cooked dinner tonight, it would give her more time to relax?" She knew a few tricks that she'd used herself to get Kris to relax before.

Shippou considered that for a few moments before he nodded. That he could work with. He knew Hisoka knew how to cook, and he was pretty good at cutting things up.

"Okay. Thanks."

"No problem," Aura replied. She loosened her hold on him slightly in case he wanted to get up, but didn't move him. She didn't mind being snuggled on for a while.

Shippou just stayed there for a while longer, until it was time for the optional afternoon snack, and then he went over to Hisoka to tell him the plan he'd gotten from Aura.