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"Did you eat all of your breakfast?" Bai Mei was asking his father, watching the man who was going about his delicate work, something that was supremely complicated, delicate, and beautiful, that was the jade work he did. He loved his father dearly but the man didn't take the best care of himself, at times seeming to lose himself in his work, to the point that he forgot all about things such as sleep and eating, things that he had decided he needed to make sure to make him do. At times he would go into the man's work room only to find him having nodded off, jade in hand. He would take the piece away from him that he was working on, setting it aside, then he'd wrap him in a blanket, and leave him to sleep. Other times he brought him food, urging him to eat, it seemed to be a full time job really.

Scooping up his bowl he looked into it the white haired boy gave a smile before he walked over to the door, "I will bring you some fresh tea." He said, watching the man as he continued about his work. The ever so slight nod of his head was all that he needed to know that the man had heard him. Walking out of the room he closed the door behind himself, looking down at Shen who was waiting outside. The dragon pup knew better then to go inside, having been scolded for it in the past and left without any sweets for the rest of the day, "Come on, let's go and brew a fresh pot of tea." He said, leading the way to the kitchen which was set up these days to better serve someone his size. He'd dragged many things into the kitchen, such as chairs, that would allow him to get to the high up things, to cook more easily, and so on. He was a bit on the short side but he was also determined!

"Let's see... what sort of tea should we brew today... Eh? Little Shen, where are you off to?" He asked, watching the dragon hop shuffle off away from him. He lifted a hand to smother a giggle before he got the tea pot, hopping off the chair, "Since you want to go outside anyway I think that we should rinse and refill the pot, alright?" He told Little Shen who was scratching at the door, wanting to go out it would seem. Odd, he so rarely wanted to go outside, preferring to be inside where all the food was at. The moment the door was open the little blue dragon was rushing forward, out of the house and toward parts unknown. Bai Mei giggle, "Silly Little Shen." He murmured as he got his shoes on, pulled on his cloak, then peeked outside. It was cold out but not snow yet... that was good, snow always freaked him out and he had no idea why. All he knew was it made him feel so cold and alone, as well as scared, and he tried to avoid going out into it alone. After taking in a deep breath he stepped outside. He was fine, cold was fine, no snow was fine he told himself as he left the house and went toward their well quickly.

Shen starred up at the one that was talking to him for a long moment before his wide, pretty eyes blinked. Ahhh, here he was he thought to himself, tail swishing behind him. He had thought that he sensed one of those that spent a lot of time around his egg and here this pretty, dark haired boy was... and didn't he smell nice? What was it about the strangely colored boys born of the lotuses that caused them to smell so oddly? No matter, the dragon rather liked it, especially when it came to Bai Mei who always smelled of plum blossoms, something that always made Shen rather hungry. A shame that there would likely be no plums given the season he thought to himself, looking up at the sky for a moment and then back to the boy that was still standing before him, chatting with him about how adorable he was, a fact that he knew quite well. Of course he was adorable! Words he heard quite often from Bai Mei and from his father Jing Lin.

When the other was suddenly asking him about his Master and if he were lost the little blue dragon couldn't help but to give a huffing sound, puffing up a bit, tail lashing. He looked quite indignant for a moment, as though he couldn't believe that someone would suggest that he of all dragons was lost! He'd just come out this far to find this particular person. He would have said as much but given his young age he couldn't speak to people yet, such a bother he thought to himself before opening his mouth, as though attempting to respond but all that came out was a mewling sound that made him sound more like a cat then a dragon. It was yet another thing that bothered him, his inability to roar like a real dragon could. Once he grew up though he would be something amazing he thought to himself. Tail swishing he suddenly rushed forward, up Qiu Shui's arm, and up into his sleeve where it was cozy and warm.

It wasn't too long after the invasion of Qiu Shui's personal space that a voice would be heard calling out for 'Little Shen' the voice one that would be familiar to both Shen, who was meeping at Qiu Shui to go find that person, as well as family to the other lotus boy. It was Bai Mei's voice, calling out for the dragon to come back, that he had the water for the tea, and that it was time to go inside and brew it up! Little did he know that Shen had found someone else to crawl all over for the time being though mention of the tea did make the little dragon want to hurry his new escort back to the house so that he could get his cup of tea and the little, sugary treats that went along with it.

Bai Mei perked up when he saw his friend running toward him, nearly dropping the bucket of fresh water that he was carrying to run over him. Almost but not quiet as he reminded himself both that he needed it and how much work it was to fetch it. When his friend came to a stumbling halt before him he gave a happy smile, "Qiu Shui, I missed you!" He said, setting the bucket down so that he could take a couple of steps closer to him, reaching out to draw him into a hug. When it came to Bai Mei the hug was a sweet and innocent one, "It's been too long."

When his friend mentioned that he was attacked by the 'most adorable dragon' his yellow eyes went wide, "You found Little Shen?" He asked, then smiled when his friend said that he had taken up residence in his sleeve, something that made him chuckle, "He tends to do that when he is cold, he is a bit on the spoiled side." He explained, then looked down when he felt a squirming in Qiu Shui's clothing as Little Shen made his way the rest of the way up his sleeve and peeked out from the neckline of what he was wearing. Bai Mei gave a giggle before leaning forward to kiss him on the nose.

"I hope he isn't being too much of a hassle. Come inside with me, he will leave your clothing once we are back inside where it's warm." He said, moving to scoop up his bucket, "You are just in time for tea, if you would like some." He offered Qiu Shui wth a smile.

Bai Mei smiled happily when his friend said that the dragon was too cute to be mad at, he didn't want for his deal pet to be a bother to his good friend after all, "I am glad to hear that, I would rather that he make good friends with you as he has with me." He said, moving to lead the way back to the house. It was a small, comfortable sort of place, one that was set away from the town due to their strange, superstitious thoughts about his father. He was an odd man, sure, but not the sort that was a fox in disguise like they assumed he was. He just kept strange hours was all.

Once inside he set the bucket down near the counter, using a cup to transfer what water he needed from the heavy bucket to the tea kettle before he gave Qiu Shui a smile, "You would take me out to lunch? That is so kind of you. I would enjoy that very much, just allow me to finish the tea. It will help to warm you up as well as perk up my father. He is working on this amazing piece for a rich man in town but the guy wants it down by the end of the week so it can be on display for a party he is throwing." He explained as he went about the motions of getting the kettle filled, on the fire, and on its way to heating up. Once that was all done he moved along to the end of the counter, climbing up onto it so he could get down a few different stone containers, setting them on the counter alongside him, "I told father that he should have declined the order when he first got it since it was a rush job but he refused. The price he was offered was apparently a good one and he thinks that he has to spoil me though I don't really want for anything at the moment. Ahhh... well, perhaps a new pan would be nice." He mused.

Hoping down he motioned for Qiu Shui to come closer, "Would you like to pick the tea we have?" He asked, stepping back so he could open the various containers to smell the leaves inside. Each was quite lovely but since Qiu Shui was his guest he should allow him to decide what was brewed up, especially given his father could care less. So long as it was hot the man would be happy.

As he chatted the little dragon wiggled its way free of Qiu Shui's clothing though instead of leaving him the little one merely draped itself around his neck like a fancy bit of glittering jewelry and stayed there. It was exactly as Ba Mei said, the dragon was quite spoiled, though it was likely due to Bai Mei who raised him as such, always the sort to put others before himself.

Bai Mei smiled as he waited for his friend to decide before clapping his hands together, "Oh! That really is a nice one." He said, moving to replace the others back where they belonged, ever careful not to fall off the counter. He'd done so once or twice in the past and his father always had a fit, as though he were so delicate as to expire for a couple bumps and bruises. When he was once more on the floor he scooped up the container with the Yingdehong mixture in it and carried it over closer to where the kettle was waiting for him. He set it down before turning to face his friend.

"Little Shen? Ahhh, it was actually quite a lot of fun. There was this odd boy, funny for me to say that given how odd I am, huh? Anyway, he was running this game based on luck during one of the festivals." He paused a moment, thinking on it, before snapping his fingers, "Ah! The Dragon Boat one. You had to take chicken eggs and get them to stand upright. The one who was able to get the most of them to stand up was awarded with another sort of egg as the prize." Balancing one sort of egg to wing another sort of egg, it really had seemed quite weird to him for sure but he hadn't minded in the least bit.

Giving a soft laugh he said, "It was such a big egg and I was certain that it would hatch out a really big chicken but in the end it turned out to be him." Though Qiu Shui knew the end of the story since he'd been visiting the day that the little one hatched, "He is such a tiny dragon but according to father he's going to get really big one day! He should be able to fly, to talk, and do all manner of wonderful things! For now thought he is just a baby." He said, reaching to give Shen a scratch between the horns, something that had the little one all but purring.

Bai Mei looked down at Shen for a moment, head tilting to one side, before giving a soft chuckle, "Well, it could be fun to explore but I don't know if I would want to leave my father all alone." He mused, not sure the man would take good enough care of himself. Turning to Qiu Shui he said, "If we do go out exploring the world you are welcome to join us. I am sure if he grows to be a big dragon he will easily be able to carry us both." Of course he couldn't really begin to fathom where he might want to go, having never been outside this particular city and barely left his father's side. There was a part of him that was almost afraid of the idea but maybe it would be better if they brought Qiu Shui along with them.

"Ah! Kettle is ready." He murmured, going about the motions of adding the tea to the cups so that he could pour the hot water onto them, "I hear there are people who are supposed to be able to read the leaves in the bottom of a person's cup. Nothing I am able to do but it sounds like a cool ability." He said, smiling over at his friend before he picked up one of the cups, handing it over to Qiu Shui, "You drink this, warm up, and I will bring my father his tea. When I do I will ask him if its alright that I go out with you. I am sure he won't mind, I just hope he takes a nap while we are out. Shen, your cup is on the counter." He told the dragon before he hurried off toward his father's work room.

Little Shen stood up on Qiu Shui's shoulders, stretching out all over like a cat before hopping off of him, landing gracefully on the counter, before shuffling over to the tiny cup that was sitting there. It was obvious that it was a cup meant for a doll but Shen didn't seem to mind, first blowing on the tea before sipping it.

Another boy like them? It was something that interested Bai Mei greatly, "Ahhh, perhaps I will meet him one day if he is as we are." He said, giving a smile. He had no idea who the dragon was but surely if he was a friend of Qiu Shui then he must be a good person? There was no way that Bai Mei could even begin to understand exactly what sort of person Qiu Shui's dragon was, not without meeting him, and they didn't exactly tend to run in the same circles.

After checking on his father, making sure that he took a break to enjoy his tea, chatting with him about his afternoon plans, as well as retrieving the dishes from his earlier meal, the yellow eyed boy returned. Giving a smile to Qiu Shui he said, "Father seems alright with the idea of me going out for a bit." He said, setting the dishes to one side. He would see about washing them when he got home, letting them sit for a short time wouldn't harm anyone or so he figured. Moving forward he picked up his own cup of tea, blowing on it before he took a sip from it, "Mmm, you chose well with this one, Qiu Shui, it's quite good." He said, giving his friend a bright smile.

As though agreeing Shen gave a little chirping sound before he finished off his tea, tail swishing as he did so. The dragon approved it would seem, something that had Bai Mei laughing softly, amused as ever by Shen's antics.