Screw it, it’ll be fine.
Reia grabbed the chair she used to sit at the dining table with and slipped the weighty piece of furniture to the counter. She climbed onto it, making sure it was steady enough to support her weight, and then stood on it. She opened the doors.
Just as she was reaching inside, a large, warm hand wrapped around her back and side, startling her and making her nearly stumble. She swiftly turned to him.
“Be careful,” he said while supporting her back. “I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself. If you want something, I am able to get it for you. What is it you need from here?”
His voice didn’t sound angry or bothered, was more laced with curiosity as he peered inside the cupboard with her.
“I wanted to use the salt you have for my food to make it taste better.” She grabbed the salt bowl with both hands as to make sure she didn’t drop it. “And I can do things for myself, you know. If I’m too short to reach something, I can use the chair.”
“I am sure that is true.” She yelped when his arm knocked into the back of her knees, knocking her over while the other came to support her back. She was cushioned into the cradle of his arms. “But I will be upset if you are harmed.”
He placed her down onto her feet, and Reia couldn’t help the small blush that rose into her cheeks.
Ever since her bath the previous night, she’d noticed that Orpheus was feeling more confident around her. He wasn’t as wary about being close to her, and although none of his actions had been sexual since then, there was a tenderness to them. Just like now, where he held her in his embrace so he could place her down on her feet, or when he’d held her face outside.
When she started to peel the potatoes, he came up beside her to crane his head over her shoulder.
“Would it be alright if you showed me how to do this?”
“You want to learn how to cook?” She continued to cut away the dirt-covered skins into a bucket inside the metal basin. “I would be happy to, but if I do, I’m sure you’ll try to do it for me, and then I will have nothing at all to do.”
It was as if Orpheus worried she’d break a nail doing even the simplest tasks. It was charming, but it meant there wasn’t a lot for her to do. He didn’t even like her cleaning.
“If it is something you enjoy, I will not take this task from you, but I would still like to know how. I once did, but that was a long time ago.”
“With the woman who lived here for a long time with you?” She bit her lips together when she realised she’d asked him a personal question she knew he wasn’t fond of answering.
“Yes.” He surprised her by replying swiftly. “She taught me how, but I have forgotten.”
Is he becoming comfortable enough to talk to me about her?
This mystery person played in Reia’s mind, and curiosity ate at her constantly. She had so many questions about a person who had stayed with him for long enough to ask him to build this house, a garden, furniture.
She must have lived here a long time.
Reia didn’t turn to him, trying to appear as casual as she could while he stood so close to her that she could feel the heat emitting from his body.
“Who was she?”
“Someone like you,” he answered, making her tense when she felt his claws brush through the ends of her hair. The disturbance of the strands tickled her scalp. “Someone who was not afraid of me.”
She only stepped away from him so she could take her now washed potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and onions to the side so she could begin to cut them. He followed so he could watch.
“What happened to her?”
He was silent then. The kind of silence that told her he was either uncomfortable telling her or uncomfortable by his own answer.
“She did not want to stay with me,” is all he said, and she got the impression he wouldn’t say anything more about it. “Why is it that you cut the carrots like that? The other humans made them thinner.”
She paused as she stared down at the thick slices of carrots she’d been cutting. “I guess it’s because I like them to be firmer in the middle. I kind of enjoy the taste of raw carrot.”
“Hmm. They have different tastes when cooked and not cooked? I thought it was only to change their firmness.”
Reia laughed. “I’m guessing you’ve never eaten a vegetable in your life, but no, cooking them changes the way some vegetables taste. It’s not only about how firm they are, but it also changes the textures. Cooking them in a pan without water also changes the taste, but I prefer to have soups and stews if I don’t have meat.”