(o) Welcome to the Gardens

Draconis was quietly looking around the gardens, his knife out as he carefully selected herbs, checking their health before selecting them or adding a drop of something from the vials that he kept in his work belt to help the plants grow better and healthier.

There was quiet 'snick' sounds as he cut the plants and stowed them away in a basket he'd brought. he was also uprooting different root plants so he could try and create a new healing salve, wanting to try a new recipe that he'd read up on.

It was early morning, so he was still a little grumpy as he went about the gardens, but the scents of the flowers were helping him to wake up and remain calm, tail swishing lazily behind his as he kept pushing his long hair back over his shoudler, enjoying the sunlight streaming through the glass of the greenhouse.

He silently wondered which new apprentices and garden workers would be arriving...they better be made of stern stuff.

Yokuto was out in the gardens, taking in the fresh lovely air. He often came here very early in the mornings before he had to start working in the kitchen. He liked the calm and serene setting, the perfect way to start his day.

He often thought of Yagana when he was up here. They had visited this very garden many times before she passed away. Sometimes he felt that she was still there with him, observing the blooming flowers and various other plants. He would pay extra attention to the blossoms that she had favored, remember how happy she would be when she realized that they had bloomed.

He had been in a sort of medative state, but he was brought out of it when he heard that someone else was on the roof as well. He stood from where he was sitting and looked around, spotting the man as he started his shift early.

"Lovely morning, isn't it?" He said in a friendly tone. And he wasn't just speaking to be polite either. One could tell from his voice that he truly did cherish this beautiful day.

Draconis looked up and nodded his head.

"indeed. it is. how are you Yokuto-San?" he asked softly, his voice low and gravelly as he spoke, a tiny twitch of the lips hinting at a smile as he straightened up with his latest clutch of herbs.

"Forgive me if i've intruded on some private time." he said, bowing to the other before depositing his harvest in the basket and picked it up.

His tail swished lazily from side to side as he walked, scales reflecting off of his scales. "I did not think to find a cook up in the gardens other than to gather herbs for the food." Draconis said with a tiny smile. "Which reminds me, here's a fresh batch of the herbs you'll need down in the kitchens." Draconis murmured, picking up a large bunch of differetn herbs that had been bound individually and handed it to the cook

Up in one of the garden trees, Kiki slept. This was one of the few locations where she could be found, a spot in a tree that overlooked that portion of the garden, right above the lavender. Although she was a cat, she spent most of her free time up in that nest of hers. It was also a great place to eavesdrop on people's conversations without being found.

With the nearby sound of a robin, Kiki flicked one of her ears and blinked open her eyes. Below her stood Draconis and Yokuto.

She purred and closed her eyes again, content with the peacefulness of the garden. After a few more moments she arose from her nest, stretched her back, and hopped down from the tree. Only to walk right next to the pond, and lay down once again.

Yokuto almost always had a peaceful and content look on his face.  He smiled at hearing Draconis spoke.  He knew that the man was more on the reserved side.  To Yokuto, if someone chose to spoke to him it was a compliment.  

"No, you're not interrupting anything.  I was just enjoying my daily stroll through the garden.  I like to come up here before the day becomes chaotic." He explained.  His voice was old, but it was characteristic of someone who had a lot of wisdom and inner tranquility.  

He noticed Draconis smiling slightly and this made him happy as well.  A smile was worth a thousand words, he always felt.

"Ohhh, yes. Thank you Draconis." He said gratefully, taking the basket.

He noticed the cat hop down from a tree and make her way over to a pond. He couldn't tell if it was an actual cat or an eidola. Either way he decided not to disturb it.

as soon as Drake saw the cat hop down from the tree, his smile increased a little and he went over to it, cooing softly before gently picking up the cat and pulling the feline into his arms and carrying him gently.

"I made sure to find the best for you Yokuto-Sama." he said, idly stroking the cat's head between its ears and smiled down at it.

"How has life been on the lower levels? I tend to not venture down there due to my work...." he murmured, doing his best to strike up convorsation and be less....closed at least around a few people

Kiki looked up at the older man and jumped out of his hands, turning into her humanoid form whilst doing so. She stood up and turned and faced the two men.

"Hey,uhm, please ask the cutie before you touch the booty," she said as she pulled a strand of hair out of her face, "not that you touched my booty, but it rhymed and I thought it was cute."

She cleared her voice, "Anyways, 'm sorry for interrupting your conversation," she apologized whilst bowing her head.
She straightened her back and faced the men. Then turned to Yokuto once again and bowed in his direction, since he was her superior after-all.

She stood upright again and spoke in a lethargic voice, "Hopefully you two don't care if I join into this topic? It's nice to talk to people around here once in a while."

She was still not fully awake, and it really showed on her appearance. Although her hair usually looked like it hadn't been brushed for weeks. She proceeded to stretch her back yet again, and cracked her neck. Her tail pointed upwards at an angle, and she flicked her ears to prepare for the conversation about to begin.

Before Yokuto could answer the feline turned into a person.  So she was an Eidola after all.  He nodded to her when she bowed, the content look never leaving his face.  He did not seem at all offended at her joining in the conversation.  He had always felt that the more people, the merrier.  

"Good morning." He said with a chuckle, seeing how she had just awoke.  

"Now, to answer your question Draconis-Kun."  He turned his attention back to the healer.  "The Dining level and Entertainment level have been busy as ever.  I enjoy it though.  It's good to have something to do.  Though I like to come up here every morning to balance out the chaos of the oncoming day."  He said, and his voice sounded happy as laughter.

Kiki looked to the East and saw the sun, meaning it was before noon.

"Good Morning...", she said, "Morning. Morning. Mooooorning. Wow I can't believe I managed to get up before noon."

She looked from side to side and flicked her ears. "Please excuse me for a moment, sir. I have to attend to some animals trying to snatch some of my herbs."

She raced off to the more densely populated area of flora and proceeded to chase off some birds by wildly flapping her arms up and down.

Draconis blinked as the cat turned into a person and bowed his head in apology. "forgiveness. I wasn't aware you're an Eidolon." he murmured before turning back to the happy chef.

"I'm glad to hear that. I must go and see the other levels some time...perhaps help out a little." He murmured, fiddling with a bit of his hair for a moment before pushing it out of his face.

he watched the cat run off and chase off the birds, chuckling almost silently in his thanks for shooing off the birds pecking at the plants. he'll tend to them later to make sure they're not too damaged.

"Perhaps the pair of you would accompany me for tea?....It's a bit early to start any real hard work." he murmured, tail swaying as he rolled his shoulders. He was still getting used to being a humanoid form for a majority of the time

Even in her humanoid form Kiki was still very cat like. It wasn't hard for Yokuto to imagine the little white and orange flecked feline pouncing around to get rid of those pesky birds.

"Trust me Draconis, the garden level is one of the best of the whole bathhouse. I don't like to venture anywhere but here or the entertainment and dining levels. Everything else can be hard to see." He said, thinking of all the poor novice workers and the living conditions they were in.

Yokuto had been born and raised in a middle class family, and massive wealth was something he never had nor cared too much about. But extreme poverty was also never something he had to worry about. He had always been financially stable, and seeing people struggle was hard for him.

Even though the bathhouse was a haven, and much much nicer then the slums and ghettos, it still made Yokuto sad to see people struggle.

Behind the luxurious and grand rooms the bathhouse carried were many cramped and crowded quarters that allowed the workers no privacy and little comfort. The garden level novice workers had sunshine and the beautiful atmosphere. But the boiler room and laundry workers had it pretty bad. It was dark and always overheated down there, sweaty and caved in.

"Tea sounds wonderful" He agreed, happy to join his friend. He quickly had snapped out of his thoughts and was jolly again. He tried not to think of the poor conditions or seedy happenings of the bathhouse. If he could do something about it he would, but even as the Head Chef he didn't have much power to make a difference in anything other then his own department.

"I'm aware....I often have some of those that suffer more come up here for me to treat. i double up as a healer most days for those suffering from burns, dehydration, and fatigue." he murmured. "and vitamin deficiency." he murmured, going over to a low table and gesturing for Yokuto to get a seat.

Draconis quickly grabbed the tea kit, and looked back at the other. "Is there any particular tea you wish to have?" he asked softly. "We grow all types here." he said, pulling uot a ribbon from one of the pouches on his belt and tying his hair back.

Yokuto nodded his head solemnly. Sadly, a big and bustling workplace like Soruna was far from accident free. Especially for the people working in the boiler rooms. And then there was the abuse that was bound to happen. The novice workers had it the worst, since they had no privacy in their living quarters.

Draconis was probably more aware of this than anyone else in the bathhouse, Yokuto realized now that he remembered the man was a healer.

He sat down and let out a happy little grunt as he allowed his joints to relax. He was getting pretty old, but he was still in decent shape for his age.

"I will gladly take whatever is available, I am not a picky man." He says kindly, nodding to Drake. "The gesture is kind enough as is." He thanked the man.

he didn't mention about the ones that may have been victim to the more seedy acts of the house...he didn't want to upset the man further.

instead, he grabbed the tea pot, filled it with water and added green tea leaves and brought slices of lemon as he brought the set over, making his hand highly warm to boil the water inside before setting everything down and taking a seat.

"Then I hope green tea is to your liking..." he murmured, adding a lemon slice to his cup before pouring for both of them.

"would you mind if i smoked?" he asked softly, looking over at the other questioningly

"Oh, I love green tea." Yokuto said with a happy smile. He had never met anyone who didn't enjoy the green tea, it was a bit of a classic as far as the old man was concerned.

"I do not mind at all Draconis-Kun, but thank you for asking." He said as he placed his hands on his belly and waited for the tea to be ready. Yokuto did not smoke himself, but he would be lying if he said he didn't enjoy the smell of it. He was just one of those people.

Draconis lit the pipe with a flame at the end of his finger and smoked softly.

he took a few drags before blowing smoke hoops and then breathing a gust of smoke through the middle.

"has the bath hosue been particularly busy as of late? i appear to be getting more patients than when i first arrived." he murmured, taking a sip of his tea and closing his eyes, enjoying the taste and savouring it.

he enjoyed the simple bitter taste with sharp lemon. he wasn't a sweets man

Yokuto took his glass and blew on it slightly before taking a sip. He was a man who enjoyed all flavors from bitter to sugary sweet and everything in between. He smacked his lips contently and then watched Draconis do his smoke tricks. He figured it must be a common practice for a dragon like eiodla to play with smoke. Being a sake eidola he knew a few bar tricks himself.

"Yes, it has. The city blossoms more with every year." He said, though with that blossoming came some wilting too. The ghetto's in particular were a cesspool of breeding people who wouldn't have much a chance in life. And crime rates were growing with the population as well.

Draconis hummed softly, smoke drifting from his nose amd idly created some entertainment with minor fire tricks.

"It seems it's having a toll on some of the younger workers." he murmured, looking to the side slightly. a young boy working in the boiler room was just doing his work, but the pipes had become over pressured from the increased usage, and burst, blasting the boy with white hot steam and giving him some serious burns.

Draconis had managed to heal him, but there would be scarring.

"However....I'm sure the workers will rise to it. it's nicer working here than other places." he murmured, also thinking about the crime rate and how gangs were growing...it was a dangerous life outside the house.

Yokuto shook his head at Draconis's words.

"That is the sad thing, when a crowded and dangerous job is the best situation available to these people. It's not just the children you know. our Head Manager China is a gracious lady to take them off the streets like that. Some people criticize her for hiring such folk, but I admire her for it." He said as he thought, taking another sip of his tea after he spoke.

Draconis nodded softly, blowing smoke through his nose.

"She is a gracious lady....and i thank her for taking me in as well...for taking the children in is something a little unheard of...but at least they now have a home." he murmured, thoughtfully looking into his tea cup as he puffed on his pipe, smoke drifting lazily around him.

"The children of Soruna....I don't quite know what to think of them....they are paradoxes. they are strong...yet fragile and have amazing will but......still break." he mumbled, tail swishing slightly "however, i admire them. Everyone here, in fact, i hold respect for. even Zhuyin to a degree....to have that much will and determination isn't something you see often. I just say he goes about things the wrong way....for example his temper. I have one...comes with being a dragon....but still." he grumbled, voice gravelly as he spoke of the other dragon.

Dragons weren't good around other dragons that aren't blood

Yokuto drank is tea slowly, his eyes appearing shut as he listened to Draconis's words. The old man thought that perhaps the dragon could be a poet if he gave it a shot. His words were true and deep, and Yokuto nodded his head in agreement.

"Zhuyin is best dealt with by simply humoring him." Yokuto grunted out finally. He himself did not hold much respect for the administrative manager. "If he throws a temper let him think he is justified, otherwise he'll just continue to have a fit." The old man had been in the bathhouse since before China or Zhuyin were even born. He'd remembered how quickly Zhuyin moved up in the ranks.

Honest men are old men in powerful positions, real men are young men at the top of the charts because they know how to play the system.

Yokuto shook his head. He was an old man now, and as the saying went, he was honest. But he had his honor, and he had his pride. To Yokuto, those were the markings of a real man, and he held no regrets in his life choices.

"do not get me wrong, the second he steps out of line, especially in the gardens should he venture here, i will be the first to try to put him in line, superior or not." he growled softly. "I only hold respect for the determination. not for him personally."

he took another sip of tea, humming softly as the taste of lemon became more prominant.

"but yes....it appears it's best to let the child do what he will so we don't suffer in the long run.....i thought it wouldn'e be good to have such a child in a man's body be so high up....it makes me slightly ashamed to call him a Dragon." he murmured, pouring more tea in his cup and offering some to Yokuto

Yokuto stared straight ahead and listened to Draconis talk. He didn't say anything for a moment, only sipped his tea.

"Draconis. You never put him in line. He is the second highest up and if he does something we do not like, the best we can do is ignore it. I don't like it, but it's the way things are. He could have you killed, or worse, if you disrespect him. There are many things I hate about the system." He paused again and took another long sip of his tea, placing the cup down on the table.

"In a world as wrong as this one, Draconis-Kun, all we can do is make things as right as we can." He said in a soft but determined voice.

It was morning, the start of one of Lan Ying's first few days of work. She was getting used to being a Garden Worker, even though she had little experience with plants before applying to the house.

The smell of soil and plants were soothing, and the weather had been great-- the thought brought a smile to her face as she walked out the dorms, soft winds bringing the scent of tea to her nose. "tea-! how delightful~!" she muttered dreamily, still only partly awake, then she heard the chatters of two men. She recognized their voices as her superiors', Draconis and Yokuto.

She snapped awake then quietly went off to do her work, worried that she might disturb the two gentlemen's chat.

Draconis growled softly, spoke spouting from his nose a little, and not from his pipe, but toko a deep breath and quickly reighned in his temper quicker than most dragons would.

"I don't like it....But i shall take what you say....i will just have to try and work my way up the ranks then...simply to stop him from taking advantage over the workers....but i won't be hold responsible if he steps out of line with my garden staff." he murmured, taking a long drag on his pipe for a moment before looking up, seeing Lan Ying.

"Good morning Ying-San" he murmured, not looking up from his tea as he drank some