like an excellent addition. You said Japanese honeysuckle…is it a native plant to Japan, then?”
“It is, yes.”
Tori’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “And what else are you not seeing in my greenhouse that would be super useful?”
“I haven’t toured the whole thing yet,” Sora pointed out. This reaction amused him. Was Tori the sort to be competitive? Or was he eager to cram every possible plant into this space? It could be both, who knew?
“Why don’t we do a full tour,” Tori suggested, his smile a challenge. “And you can tell me what you think is missing. What’s your family’s background, anyway?”
“Healing.”
“Ah, which is why you looked for a healing herb first. Alright, walk and point.”
Ravi protested, “I want to show him the whole place, not get bogged down here.”
Tori waved him off. “You can have him after I’m done with him. It’s not often I can show this place off to someone who can appreciate what I’m doing. And he’s got ideas, I can tell. I can see it written all over his face.”
“Oh dear,” Sora deadpanned, looking innocently off in another direction. “And here I thought my poker face better developed.”
“Ha! Like hell you did. Alright, come along. Let me give you a thorough tour.”
Sora went, and not only to be polite. There was a great deal that he could observe here. Sora’s main task was to observe, after all. And learn. Not just follow Ravi around and try to figure out how to touch him again.
His hand was still tingling from the last time Ravi had gripped it. Dammit. Sora truly had not expected this at all. He was used to finding people visually appealing and not experiencing any desire to act upon it. Sora was fine with that; it was familiar, nonthreatening. But this was different, this was true attraction, and those were uncharted waters for him. And trying to figure it out when he was supposed to be paying attention to his surroundings was an interesting exercise in mental gymnastics.
Tori was an enthusiastic tour guide, and with Ravi’s running commentary, it proved to be an entertaining enough experience. It was definitely educational. There was a small greenhouse attached to this one, about half the size. It was just as lovingly tended, and there was no doubt the entire clan helped keep it that way.
But…two greenhouses. Just two greenhouses for an entire clan?
And Sora didn’t see even half the plants needed for healing. If their product line offered salves and such, shouldn’t there be more of them?
Perhaps this showed on his face, as Tori stopped walking and gave him a sad smile. “You’re wondering where the rest of it is, aren’t you? Healer that you are, there’s probably a lot of plants that you expected to see.”
Sora saw no reason to lie to him. And his concerns were mounting. “Yes, there are many I expected to see that aren’t here.”
“I figured. I felt the same when I first joined the clan. Most of my knowledge came from books—my original clan wouldn’t teach me, you see. But even then, when I first saw this place, I was overjoyed to have a real greenhouse to work in. Then dismayed because so much was missing.”
That didn’t make sense to Sora. “I’m sorry, what was your birth clan?”
“You’d probably know them by the name Taavetti. They changed their name after the war.”
“Ah. You’re correct, I’m familiar with the name.”
Tori lifted a hand to display a wedding ring of gold. “I married into the Burkhard Clan six months ago, and I’ve been tweaking the greenhouses ever since, putting in things that we need for new product lines. I’m serious about this, Sora. If you see things that are missing, tell me. In fact, if you have the time—wait, how long are you visiting us for?”
“I don’t have a departure date planned,” Sora admitted. “I wasn’t even sure if your clan would let me in.”
“That’s great, though, that means you can stay awhile.” Tori’s expression was full of calculation. “How about you have lunch with me tomorrow? I need to pick your brain. It’s not often that I encounter someone else good with plants and medicine.”
That sounded like great fun to Sora. “My favorite subjects to discuss. I’d be delighted.”
“Great, I’ll come fetch you. Better yet, let’s exchange numbers. You’re probably going to get pulled in a dozen directions at once.”
Amiable to this, Sora pulled out his phone. Tori did as well, and they swapped phones to type in their contact info.