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Despite both their worries Tokala actually did not care or mind. He was by far the most laid back of the family. And besides.. him and his brothers had had their own moments while out working. If anything THEY had been trying to remain somber around the house for Aurora's sake, afraid she'd be even more upset then she already was stuck around the house all the time and knew they were all out there moving on with life.



At Azzo's offer, and attempt to make a good impression (?), Aurora bit her tongue as she tried to keep from quipping a joke about hearing that Azzo made a good salad now a days.

Instead she settled for a request directed at her brother. "Make sure Chayton actually cleans off before he comes in alright. I'd like to pretend it's a special occassion atleast." Lunches and dinners full of dirty, sweaty boys putting their dirty hands on the clean dishes and in the food she'd been slaving over was not a thing she was going to particularly miss.

Azzo's bags in tow, she led the way in towards the house, quietly offering him the information he'd asked for. "Tokala. The second oldest. He's taking over the ranch in Papa's place."

"I'll introduce you to all of them at dinner though. No flash cards required." She whispered playfully.

"It was so strange coming back originally. But it's just like it was when I was little. And really peaceful."

"Just don't let them see your cards or I'm sure you'll never hear the end of it." She teased despite knowing quite well that he was just joking.

Like most ranches the floor plan was pretty straight forward. The kitchen and dining room set off side the huge living room. A couple different hallways led in different directions with rooms and bathrooms scattered along the hallways. Leading him along she finally stopped at one of the doors, opening it and motioning inward. The decor was simple and rustic, but still homey and comfortable. Aurora leaned slightly against the door frame. "Why don't you settle in and get comfortable and then come join me in the kitchen?"

The kiss brought another little smile to her face. One compounded by his sentiment to return and visit in the future. And of course at the threat to taste test. "I'll make sure I make extra so there is still food left come dinner time."

"And maybe if you're all too busy competing over who can eat more they won't have the time to try and embarrass me." Giving him one more smile and a little bit of a wink she turned and headed down the hallway to start prepping. Good thing she'd already been planning the particular menu for the past week.

The clatter of pots and pans could soon be heard down the hallway. And hopefully before too long there would be a scent to follow too.

Aurora was fiddling with adding the last few ingredients to the bread maker when Azzo joined her.

When he appeared she was more than happy to put him to work. In fact, she'd already had an inkling he'd try to help, and had pulled out most of the appropriate pans and ingredients so that he didn't have to dig through an unfamiliar kitchen.

Wiping her forehead, leaving a small smudge of flour when she did, she motioned towards one of the baking pans. "How about you cut potatoes first? In half and then in... 4ths should be good after that. Just make sure they're about the same size as the baby carrots and mushrooms. And when that's done put all three into that baking pan then. I can worry about seasoning it when you're done."

"We're having bison steaks, roasted vegetables, garlic and herb bread, and an ambrosia fruit salad."

"The later is the only one that's safe enough to taste at the moment though." She added after a moment motioning towards the bowl nearest the sink. It was completely done yet, but the whipped cream was already prepared and half the fruits had been added in.

Her nose scrunched up a little as he faked her out, dotting her with more flour instead of wiping it away, and she grinned a little afterwards. "I'm alright with flour, at least they know I've been hard at work." Not that she wouldn't clean it off before they were done, there were so many reflective surfaces in the kitchen luckily. For now though she left it there, her cooking war paint.

"I thought maybe you hadn't, so I figured I'd go with steaks. You can use it like ground beef too but it then you can hardly tell the difference, so I figured I'd go with something a little more exciting. Just wait until you see dessert."

"Awwww. You'll be able to taste some of the faster cooking sides in a little bit." She crooned empathtically. "Actually, speaking of dessert I guess you could have a few cookies. I made another bet that you hadn't had these before."

"But don't ruin your appetite" She teased, as if such a thing were possible for her boyfriend.

Scooting past him, she glanced at his potato work, giving him a pleased nod before she kept on going, sliding out a small covered tray. The cookies seemed unassuming enough like simple oatmeal chocolate chip cookies at first glance, but as soon as he tried to eat one he'd discover the toasted coconut and rice crispie cereal mixed in. Cookies left clear in way of 'danger' and 'theft' she headed over towards the fridge to pull out the steaks.

"I didn't wash the carrots yet, no. Don't wash the mushrooms though, just pat them down with a wet cloth." Aurora instructed as she herself pulled out a cutting board and began to trim the slight bits of fat off the edges of the 9 massive steaks, before moving on to patting each one down with a mix of herbs and seasonings she had whipped up earlier.

"It'll cost you..." Another round of making out was the answer she was going for. But as soon as the words from her mind attempted to touch her lips she choked on them, instead casting her eyes downward past her flushed cheeks and back onto the last couple steaks.

A genuine smile, replaced the poor embarrassed one as he complimented the cookie. "I just never thought to make them before, but I can make them at home, they don't have any special local ingredients or anything. I just figured I'd treat you to some of the local treats. I think I've made Baked Alaska for you before... but I chose some special ingredients for the version I made for tonight, so hopefully that'll be good."

When he eyed the mushrooms she couldn't help but laugh a little. "Oh it's not that big of a deal or anything. It just helps retain the flavor of them and makes sure they don't get too water logged to brown up nicely in the oven." Speaking of which, she rinsed her hands real quick and then headed over and turned the oven on to preheat.

"There is one for everyone, plus one extra in case I burn something." There certainly was a lot of laughter coming out of the kitchen today. Surely someone was going to notice at some point, not Aurora though.

She simply grinned, the sound of very light laughter under her breath as she just enjoyed their time and the task at hand. She had almost forgotten how nice it was, well the details of it atleast, because obviously missing this all was a very large factor in the heart ache she'd felt over the past year.

"No. Carrots and mushrooms are staying intact. The potatoes just needed to be brought down to size so they'd cook evenly." She instructed mildly, making her way over to where he was working.

A new towel was offered to him after she dug it out of one of the lower cabinets.

Since her hands were clean already, she decided to get a head start on his seasonings, sidling in beside him, her hip lightly touching his, to mess with the pan he'd filled with potatoes. She added a bit of oil, a few pinches of salt and pepper, and a healthy sprinkling of thyme. "You can put the carrots and mushrooms in there when you're ready and just toss it all lightly. Then it's ready for the oven."

There was a strange pride on her face as he offered his faith in her cooking skills, joking just a bit as she moved towards the massive range and stove. It was beautiful, over double the size of the one they had at home. Two ovens, three sets of six burners and a built in griddle. "I guess the last one will just be for your evening snack then." She teased.

Alright. Mental checklist.

Bread in and cooking. Vegetables would be going in as soon as Azzo was done. Steaks prepped and ready for cooking. Ambrosia awaiting it's final ingredients. Checking the time, she seemed to think for a moment before giving herself a nod.

"Rice vinegar cucumber salad?" It sounded like a mouthful at first, but as she thought about it more slowly the idea began to grow on her, nodding in approval. "Sure, we can do some experimenting when we get home."

"How done would you like your steak?" Aurora placed pans on three of the burners before starting those three burners and the griddle. Letting them heat up she moved towards the fridge to pull out the last few fruits, quickly adding a few varieties of berries in with the dices strawberries and pineapple that were already swimming in the homemade whipped cream.

"Medium, maybe well." A voice piped up from the table causing Aurora to turn in surprise. It was Lallo, the youngest of her brothers. The 15 year seemed average enough, though perhaps a little slimmer and less muscular than the rest of her brothers. He was also the only one that had also been blessed with their mother's white hair, which hung loose at shoulder's length. His arrival had been fairly silent, simply plopping into a chair that had never been pushed in from the morning. He had only arrived moments before but he was already watching Azzo curiously. It wasn't as if Lallo had never seen a non native before, Alaska wasn't THAT remote, but between his small school and how often he was cooped up helping on the ranch he really didn't see them that incredibly often. Especially not ones that hailed from so far away.

"I still don't get why you got to do boarding school and they won't let me." He sighed, rehasing a conversation that'd already been had about 30 times already.

"Because they'd miss you too much and you know they need the help around here." She stated matter of factly, turning back to place a tiny bit of butter in the pans to see if they were hot enough. "You just have to hold out for a couple more years and then I'll write a check for whatever college you want. Where ever you want."

"Azzo, this is Lallo." She added as an after thought. Lallo was harmless, he didn't need a special introduction.