He knelt down and started shoving the metal spike into the ground to dig.
“No. She asked me to build it for her, and I did.”
“What about all the furniture?” Her voice was lit with excitement and curiosity. “I was surprised to find human items like a bed, chairs, and even a cooking hearth.”
“She told me what she wanted, and I built it or obtained it.”
“Who is she? How long ago was this?” Reia had so many questions about this that they threatened to pour out from her all at once.
“Eons ago.”
Silence followed.
“You didn’t tell me who she was.”
And when he didn’t answer, moving onto another section, she realised he wasn’t intending to. She puffed her cheeks in irritation.
“Fine. What happened to her?”
His reply was curt and sharp as he said, “I didn’t eat her, if that’s what you’re asking.”
She gulped. Okay, obviously a sensitive topic. Does that mean it was someone he cared about? The idea that he cared about anyone didn’t fully seem plausible to her.
She stopped asking about the mystery woman and watched him work quietly, remaining only a few steps behind him. He eventually made his way around until it joined where he started.
When he stood, showing her he was done, he faced the sky.
“Night is falling, and you must remain inside when it is dark.” Reia agreed with that curfew completely. “Would you like to pick some food from the garden to eat before we go inside?”
Orpheus watched the little human he’d brought into his home with much interest as she began to work the cooking
hearth. It looked fairly similar to his fireplace where he’d placed stone and rock high and wide in a recess around the timber to protect it.
The hearth was small so that the flames could never reach the wood, and it sat in a small rock-like basin where he’d already placed timber good for burning in it. A small hole acted as a chimney for it, but he’d made sure it wasn’t wide enough for a Demon to crawl through.
The fireplace he’d made had multiple vents with small chimneys for this very reason.
He was seated at the table, working with the fresh dill and red christmas berries, while she was placing a pot of water over the fire.
While it was boiling, she walked over to the kitchen counter and began peeling and cutting the potato, carrots, and other various vegetables she’d obtained so she could make some form of soup.
He’d always found enjoyment in watching the humans he brought here cook. Even though they made similar meals, he didn’t think he’d ever smelt the exact same one made by two of them. He wanted to assist, to learn, since he once knew how to, but had forgotten over the long eons of being alone.
He didn’t try to since he knew they didn’t like it when he was close to them and peering over their shoulders to observe.
“Why are you making more of those?” Reia asked while she cut, peeking at him occasionally as if she wanted to know where he was always. “You just placed the others yesterday, and I thought you said they lasted a few days.”
He turned his sight down to the protection trinkets he was making.
“They were ones I prepared before I left so I could string them as soon as we arrived.” He tied the twine around the first one before he reached into a wooden jar that contained different small animal bones, such as bird and rabbit parts.
“They are already withered, and I should change them before they are too weak and break apart from the wind.”
When he was working on the third one, he noticed she was looking towards what he was doing often. She eventually came to stand next to the long edge of the table connected to the shorter one he was seated at.
Orpheus paused when she grabbed one of the trinkets by the bundle of dill stems and inspected it, making the bells jingle. She’d reached her hand right next to his own and was standing barely a foot away from him.
He couldn’t remember if he’d ever had a human willingly come near him of their own volition before if it wasn’t for their safety.
Actually, the only reason he’d allowed her outside with him earlier, when he had the others stay inside until he was done carving the salt circle, is because she didn’t seem too bothered being near him. And Orpheus always wanted to keep his humans close or in his presence.
“You said you would teach me,” she commented as she spun the trinket this way and that.
“Now?” he asked in surprise, a yellow hue filling his vision.
“But you are currently cooking.”
She placed it on the table and waved her hand up and down dismissively. “The vegetables are boiling. They’ll take a while before they are ready.”
She wants to learn. The yellow lightened into a brighter shade, a pleasant emotion filling him. One he thought might be delight or happiness.
Not wanting to waste time in case she changed her mind, he pulled apart the protection trinket he’d been making so he could show her from the beginning.
She watched as he bundled the dill together and tied it with a piece of white ribbon. A thrill was sent through his entire being, ruffling the inhuman parts of him, when she grabbed her own bundle to copy him.
“It needs to be tighter,” he told her with a hint of uncertainty in his voice, unsure if criticising her would make her lose enthusiasm with the task.
