Rin soon returned with a bundle of flowers, pink petals trailing behind her. After gushing over Kagome's braid—and begging her to teach her the complicated one later—the girl sat down and started using her knowledge to braid the stems together.
She worked hard, Shippou eventually joining in, though his kept falling apart. Rin giggled and set hers down, pointing out his mistakes. "You have to be careful of your claws, Shippou-kun. If the stems are too short, it won't work." The kit nodded, grabbing more from the pile and starting again.
Rin had a crown ready in no time, placing it on Kagome's head before starting on another. "Why don't all flowers smell?" Shippou asked, not looking up from his crown.
"It depends on the kind of flower it is," Kagome replied. "And the season it blooms in. There are even some flowers that smell horrible," she added. Both children looked up, mouths open as they processed that information.
"Why would a flower smell bad?" Rin asked. "Flowers are flowers. They're meant to smell pretty." Kagome shrugged, not having a concrete answer.
"It is a defence mechanism," Sesshoumaru supplied, still leaning against the tree. "Predators are less likely to come near it if they do not enjoy its scent." Shippou accepted it without argument, but Rin pondered the information, moving closer to put some of the leftover flowers into Sesshoumaru's braid.
"Are there some animals like enjoy the stinky ones?"
"Everyone has different preferences, Rin-chan," Kagome said. "It's like when we make food for everyone. You and Shippou like a lot of the same things, but there are some things you don't like that Shippou-chan doesn't."
"Like grapes!" she supplied, making a face. "Ah-Un likes those more than me. They're too sour."
Kagome chuckled. "Exactly."
Rin paused, Sesshoumaru's brain now sporting an array of blooms. "What's your favourite smell, Sesshoumaru-sama?"
Shippou snickered, accidentally cutting off one of his flowers. "I know."
Rin's eyebrows rose, and she immediately started berating her friend, demanding the answer. Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru questioningly when Shippou refused, saying it was a secret between men.
Amber darkened to burnt honey, his gaze intense and clear, and she flushed down to her toes.
