Kaladin rolled his eyes. "Well too bad for them. I've already got a lady in mind." He grinned. "Now go sweep your woman off her feet while I go court mine."

Seamus snorted, but grinned.

"Good luck, brother," he said. "Glad you're back."

"Me too." Kaladin clapped his shoulder before heading up to the house again.

Brit was busy with the sheep, trying to check all of them over to see which ones were pregnant. She was having a hard time; they were bouncy and uncooperative little sheep.

Seamus managed to find her in the pygmy pen.

"Need a hand?" he offered when he saw her trying to unsuccessfully sort through the little fluffs.

Brit nodded, pushing her hair out of her face again. It had come loose sometime during her attempted exams of the sheep, and she hadn't bothered to put it back again.

Seamus looked around for a moment before spying some spare wooden planks. Getting an idea, he dragged them over until they divided the corral in half.

"There," he said. "Put the ones you've looked at over there."

Brit started putting all the males over on the other side first, and then she got the few females she had looked at, dumping them on the other side. Then, with a huff, she pulled another one into her lap to check.

Seamus kept an eye on the males and the already-seen females, making sure they didn't try to get back over the temporary divider. Because they would try. And he would keep them from succeeding.

Brit managed to examine all the females before moving the divider again so the sheep could go where they pleased.

Ten pregnant, and five more females that either aren't pregnant or aren't showing yet.

"Alright," Seamus said, writing that down. "Impressive numbers this year, apparently."

Brit nodded. Very impressive. There will be a lot more newborns than last year. Which didn't bother her so much since she wouldn't be doing all the work this year. But she still hoped that Hazel kept a few of the little ones.

"We'll have to see how many get sold," Seamus said. "Maybe we can talk Hazel into keeping enough to take with us to the next Expo to sell. It would help get the ranch's name out there."

Brit nodded. Maybe we can keep a few of the ceryneians. I was thinking I could start getting the little ones used to people so they'd be more accessible and less just to flaunt and say you have some. Because she liked the ceryneians, and she wished more people like Hazel could get close to them without spooking them.

Seamus thought about that for a minute.

"That's not a bad idea, actually," he mused. "Have you run it by Hazel yet?" Because if Brit got the okay for a project like that, he would be more than willing to help her.

Brit shook her head. No, not yet. I was going to ask once I knew for sure how many little ones we have. I don't know how many requests she got for any of the animals, actually.

"I'm betting she's waiting on a solid number, too," Seamus replied. "You know how nobles get when you promise them something and it doesn't happen. I bet she's waiting on the final number of newborns before anything is confirmed."

Makes sense. Brit yawned briefly and picked up one of the sheep, petting it. The sheep looked very happy, while the rest clustered around her for attention too.

Seamus grinned and picked up a sheep as well. They really were just happy, affectionate creatures. If not for the fact that they were sheep, they would make great pets.

"Too mad we can't sell these individually," he commented. "I bet there are a lot of ladies out there who would love a little pink fluffy to snuggle."

Brit grinned. Well why can't we? We've got a pink one, and she's pregnant, so we'll see what colors we get from her. Next Expo we could sell them as pets. She sort of had to tuck the sheep under her arm to write, but it didn't seem to mind.

"That's not a bad idea," Seamus said grinning. "Run that past Hazel, too." He snorted. "Of course our ranch doesn't specialize in anything big or regal. We specialize in living cotton candy."

Brit grinned at that. At least they're cute. And very happy. As proven when the one she was carrying settled down in her arms, looking about ready to fall asleep.

"They're ridiculously happy," Seamus replied, watching the little ivory one falling asleep. "They really would make perfect snuggly pets."

Brit nodded. No kidding. They were already friendly and cuddly, all they needed was a person. Hell, three or four could have one person. Shaking her head in amusement, Brit looked down at the one in her arms, debating whether or not to put it down.

Seamus made the decision for her. He tilted his head towards the exit.

"Come with me," he said.

Brit blinked but put the sheep down and followed him, curious to see what he wanted. All the work had been done for the day already, pretty much, and he didn't look like he had work in mind anyway.