Aura knew Kris was ignoring the door on purpose, so she set her bag down and went to open the door. She hadn't even gotten the chance to change out of her daycare-clothes...

"I thought you left," she said, standing in the open door. Somehow, it felt a bit awkward to be standing there in a pair of plain jeans and an old t-shirt. It wasn't even a particularly funny shirt; she kept all of her novelty shirts at home so they didn't get ruined by the kids.

Sesshomaru glanced her over. "I had to take my brother home first." He quirked an eyebrow, amused. "I did warn you we would be back." He stayed on the doorstep for now, rather amused with her choice of attire. It was practical, he knew from experience. But it was still rather amusing.

Aura made an effort not to tug at her shirt at all.

"Usually, leaving signals the end of the day," she pointed out, just because she could. Besides, it helped to stall them so that Kris wouldn't get too annoyed. "And you didn't say you would be back, you just ordered US to be back, which is a little redundant because it's not like we live anywhere else."

Hisoka's mouth twitched as he hid a bit of a smile. This exchange was amusing to watch, if nothing else.

Sesshomaru smirked faintly. "You are stalling," he said quietly. He didn't understand her reasons why, but he knew she was. "I am surprised you haven't commented on the difference yet."

He raised an eyebrow, clearly baiting her. The hallway and front room were noticeably cleaner, the floor almost clear.

Kris snuck out of the kitchen while the chicken was cooking to peek past Aura at the two of them. Then she scowled at them expressively.

"So what if I'm stalling?" Aura replied. "Kris is in the kitchen, where there are things like sharp knives and spices hot enough to burn your eyes out. So yeah, I'm stalling just the slightest bit." She had no problem admitting that one; it was a legitimate reason, in her mind. "And I haven't had time to do much more than set by bag down. I've been home for about a minute or so." And she was almost wishing she had dropped her bag in the middle of the hall, just to annoy him. Although... She was wondering why she hadn't thought of it in the first place. She put her bag down by the door almost out of habit.

Sesshomaru smirked faintly. "Your packmate is not in the kitchen," he said quietly. "In fact, she's shortly behind you glaring at me." He looked more amused than anything at that.

Kris crossed her arms over her chest. "Might as well let them in, Aura," she grumbled. "Dogs are nothing if not tenacious." With a disdainful sniff, she turned and went to check on the chicken.

"Besides," she called back from the kitchen, "if I wanted to stab one of them, I wouldn't do it in my kitchen. Too much blood to clean up."

Aura rolled her eyes and stepped aside to let the two youkai in. She didn't comment on Kris being behind her rather than in the kitchen; she'd known that Kris was SOMEWHERE behind her, she just couldn't tell how far. The kitchen had counted as behind her, after all.

"I still don't know why you bothered to come back today," she said as they came inside.

"There is still progress to be made," Hisoka replied simply. He didn't elaborate on how that progress would happen, though.

Kris rolled her eyes and checked on the chicken briefly before she started getting other things out of the fridge. She was busy ignoring the dog and the cat, pulling out a pan and starting to heat it to cook other stuff in.

Sesshomaru looked at her. "We came back because there is still work to do," he murmured. "You see?" He motioned to the stacks of receipts, mail, etc.

"I don't see anything that couldn't wait until tomorrow when I haven't been dealing with kids running around all day," Aura replied frankly. "I don't mind the snugglers. But I can't keep up with two dozen kids of various lineages all running around at once, although I do try." As she spoke, she pulled the ruined shirt out of her bag and examined it for a moment before sighing. The shirt had several dime-sized holes in it at random intervals. "And I need to make another trip out to the thrift store," she added, more to herself than anything.

Sesshomaru eyed the shirt distastefully. "Not exactly the height of fashion," he murmured. "But I can see how it would be helpful to a human." He quirked an eyebrow at her.

Kris snorted and shook her head, frying some bacon and green beans. She muttered something about youkai and hanyou pups being energetic, but didn't actively put herself in the conversation.

"Hey, I learned really, really fast that claws and cotton do NOT mix," Aura replied. "I go through maybe three t-shirts a week, on average." Which meant that thrift-shopping became a must. She had to find a place where she could get cheap shirts frequently, and did so once a week to stock up on spares. "Though I do keep all of my favorites at home, so they don't get torn up."

Hisoka murmured a vague agreement, echoing Kristine's sentiments about youkai and hanyou pups. He had to deal with both, in the past, and agreed with the sentiment whole-heartedly. Pups really were very energetic.

"Why not buy youkai-made clothes?" Sesshomaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "It would be more durable." It made sense to him. After all, that's what he'd done.

Kris frowned. Youkai-made clothes? The hell was he talking about? She peeked out at them, clearly confused, and caught Hisoka's eye for a moment, her confusion very clear, before she ducked back into the kitchen.

Aura blinked. She'd never heard of such things. Though, on a second thought, it was kind of self-explanatory.

"I would imagine that they're crazy-expensive," she said at last. "It's easier for me to pay a dollar-fifty or so for a t-shirt rather than dish out however-much for something like that." Not that she would even know where to GET youkai-made clothes, and then there would probably be the issue of any youkai being willing to sell them to a human girl. Too much hassle, no guarantee of reward.

Hisoka saw the confusion on Kristine's face, and went into the kitchen.

"Youkai-made clothes would probably be beneficial to you both," he said. "Essentially, they are designed mainly for youkai, and are made to be tear-resistant, stain-resistant, and some can even be made to be self-repairing. His lordship is right in thinking that it would be more practical than constantly buying more clothes as plain ones get ruined."

Sesshomaru hummed, watching her for a few moments. He could tell she was doubtful, but it currently wasn't his job to worry about that. "Hnn. I could show you, if you like." He quirked an eyebrow. He, and his father, had fingers in plenty of pies around the city.

"Ah." Kris nodded her understanding, then grimaced. "That would have come in handy when I was younger," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest rather grumpily.

Aura couldn't help but be slightly suspicious of the offer. Why would he even bother to offer? Wasn't it counter-productive? She was supposed to be learning how to UN-clutter and get rid of things... not buying more.

"I don't make enough to even think about getting anything custom-made," she said instead, almost hiding behind the excuse. It wasn't a half-bad excuse, though. After all, he'd seen her job, it wasn't as if there were big bucks in working at a daycare.

Hisoka looked a little curious at Kristine's remark. Most youkai and hanyou children DID have youkai-made clothes, so it was strange that she had no idea what they were, and hadn't had any as a child.

"Then perhaps it might be a good idea to acquire some now," he suggested. "After going through your wardrobe, of course, and getting rid of what is no longer worn." He was almost dangling it in front of her as bait: he knew where to get good-quality things, and would show her only once she made some progress in organizing. Rewarding good behavior and all.

Sesshomaru shrugged. "Perhaps then after we have gone through your wardrobe to see what you can be rid of."

Then he quirked an eyebrow and pointed to the table with the mail. "I am somewhat surprised you still have electricity," was all he said, his voice mild.

Kris looked at him for a moment, seeing the offer for what it was, and snorted. "Don't need any fancy youkai clothing," she said, her voice somewhat bitter. "If you want me to do something, tell me. Don't manipulate me into doing it."

And then she whisked past him, going to go collect Aura so they could eat dinner.

Aura shrugged.

"Kris takes care of the bigger bills like that," she replied. "I handle the smaller things I can actually afford, like groceries and gas money." That arrangement tended to work out well between them; Aura handled what she could on her small salary, and Kris helped out if she needed to. Aura tried really hard to make sure Kris didn't need to help out too much.

It wasn't a question of need so much as it was a question of want, Hisoka decided. Kristine might not NEED the clothes, but that didn't mean she probably didn't WANT them.

"The offer still stands," he replied calmly. "If ever you feel the need to revisit it."

Kristine glanced back at Hisoka to show she'd heard before she got in between Sesshomaru and Aura.

"I don't really see how that's actually your business, dog," she said primly. "Now shoo. Go find someone else to bother." She glanced back at Aura, still clearly attempting to protect her packmate, even if Aura was a good two inches taller.

Sesshomaru snorted in amusement but settled himself on the couch to wait. The little fox contiually either amused him or exasperated him. He did not envy Hisoka one bit.

Aura opened her mouth to say that she didn't need protecting, but closed it again. There was no reasoning with Kris on the subject, and really, it wasn't worth arguing about. She was pretty sure she'd lose the argument just on the fact that she only had the barest understanding of pack dynamics. That tended to keep her arguments on the subject to a woeful minimum.

Hisoka just watched the verbal tennis match, a faintly amused look on his face. He wasn't surprised to see Kristine being protective of Aura; he would have been more surprised if she WASN'T still being protective at this point. It would be interesting to see when that protective streak receded, though.

Kris snorted and tugged Aura with her into the kitchen, setting food on the counter so they could serve themselves. She kept half her attention on the two youkai, still wary of them in the house.

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow at Hisoka, silently inviting his opinion. He was curious to see how the cat viewed the two girls, and how they'd get them to stop being so stubborn.

Aura rolled her eyes and followed Kris into the kitchen.

Hisoka considered his words for a moment before speaking softly.

"Kristine is still insisting on being difficult," he said. "I will continue to work on her and figure out how to get through to her. Aurellia, on the other hand... Something about her already seems different. Perhaps a bit more encouraging is in order? Already, she has not left her things in the middle of the floor as she did last week." He was just stating his observations for the moment. In his personal opinion, Aurellia seemed to be the easier of the two to deal with, but that might also just be because she was human and lacked a youkai or a hanyou's instincts regarding home and pack. Kristine was much more stubborn, and would take more time.

Kris made sure Aura got food before she started eating, much more pleased now that the other two were in the other room. She'd clean all the dishes after she was finished eating.

Sesshomaru nodded his agreement. "I will see what can be done," he agreed. Then he smirked faintly. "Need any help with the hanyou?" He knew Hisoka was always ready for a challenge, but even the cat had his limits.

"Let me see what else I can do before you step in," Hisoka replied. He did indeed like a challenge, and he wasn't quite out of theories to test just yet. "I might have a few more ideas yet that might work."

Aura sat down on one of the stools near the counter with her plate on her lap. She didn't mind eating in the kitchen at all; she and Kris did it all the time, especially on late nights. She glanced over at her friend.

"You're still a bit tingly," she commented between bites. "What's got your panties in a twist this time?"

Sesshomaru inclined his head, relaxing idly in the chair while coming up with ways to reward Aura's good behavior. He had to find something she liked, other than his little brother. He didn't have that much experience with human women.

Kris shrugged. "Sesshomaru pisses me off," she said simply. She pushed a few little chicken bones around her plate, suddenly embarrassed. She didn't even entirely know why the taiyoukai pissed her off so much, just that he did.

Clearly, she didn't have that much decent experience with full blood youkai.

"He's way too full of himself," Aura pointed out. "Way too full of himself." And way too pretty, she added mentally, although there was no way she was admitting THAT one out loud. There was something fundamentally wrong about a man being prettier than a woman. Setting her plate in the sink, she got up from the stool. "I think I'm going to head upstairs for a while," she said, just loud enough that she knew the youkai in the next room heard her.