Erebus visually jolted. Almost as if I had struck him. He looked almost offended. "Females do not cook!"
I felt my crest twitch. Just what was that supposed to mean? My eyes narrowed at him and I had to stop myself from lashing out at him. "I am fully capable of cooking. I just don't know how to prepare alien meat." Not to mention I normally ate fruits and vegetables. Meat was a rare part of my diet dispite being a Hunter for the tribe.
The hands on his left side lifted in what I reconized as dismissive at best. At home such a move from a male was a provocation. "Of course you are. Females can learn to cook but why would they? Just because you can does not mean you should. The Kitchen is a male's place. It is our duty to provide for our mate and any young we have. That means males feed females not the other way around. I will not have you shame me by taking my role, Ana."
I was suddenly a lot less offended. Actually I felt a smile over taking my face. I did not know a single female in the whole tribe who would fight a male on this point. The others would flare brightly with envy if they ever learned of this.
So I shrugged, "I would never dare to shame you Husband. Nor would I want to take your duties from you. I just thought you may want help. The Kitchen is yours. I will graciously accept being fed by my Husband."
I laid a hand on his arm then. My eyes going to his unadorned hair. If he was one of my people he would have some kind of adornment. Something to state his family rank if not his own. He seemed to consider my words before nodding. "You do not have enough hands to be an effective cook in the kitchen. You will find I am an exceptional cook." I kept hold of him as he lead me from the kitchen to see more of the ship. A ship that was as far as I could tell almost entirely made of a warm brown color. So very different from the dark browns and greens that I knew from home. The engine room, guest quarters, and 'bridge' made me damn near cross eyed. The controls were complicated enough for me to start associating them with flight signals. Not that I could understand the controls.
I was pleasantly surprised to find Erebus piloted the ship all on his own. It was weird for me to think he had a guest room that was never used. Guest rooms back home were only used for in laws from other tribes. But based on what he had told me he had never had guests and had never planned on it. I suppose it could be used as a baby nursery in the future.
"You take care of everything yourself?"
"Yes. Necare has a highly advanced artificial intelligence. So I have plenty of free time to train, cook, sleep, and relax when needed." He gestured toward something I didn't recognize. "It's suited with self defense and an alarm to alert me should something happen. Well us..." he amended.
"Does something happen often?" I questioned. Should I be wearing my rib binds?
"Rarely. I normally travel the safer routes. There have been some run ins with pirates or raiders though." So yes. "I just keep them busy long enough for the Enforcement to come get them when that happens." I would have to make sure to wear my Sik too.
Something must have shown on my face because he asked, "What?"
"I'm just surprised that a male can actually admit to getting outside help," I said. "It's good that you are honest about it. That you don't let your pride put yourself in danger." Shit what if I offended him.
He smiled. It was a first. Seeing that expression on his face. "I am a confident fighter and hunter. Put me in an arena or loose me into the wilds of a planet and I will see it through to the end. Among the stars I leave it to the professionals. Come I will show you to your studio." His hand extended towards me and I took it. I smiled up at him careful to keep my teeth covered. With enough time we might work up to physically touching in public. As was expected of my people. My research into his own people had told me they very rarely touched in public. Even among family units and mate pairs.
He used an arm to gestured at the door as we approched, "This is your studio. You can set the door to lock or unlock as you desire. As well as open and close. Most of the doors on the vessel open upon approch but can be set to a gesture or vocal command."
"That's fine. I have nothing to hide although you may come in to find me covered in paint," I say not really thinking about it. I often got paint on myself in some way or another. I froze as I stepped into the room. The room was oval and I dared say it took up a sizeable chuck of the vessel. There were curved windows along one wall that were floor to ceiling. The walls were an off white that set me on edge but then I had always been more at home with dark colors. One wall was cabinets and shelves. There were two tables as well.
"I repainted it to an off white," Erebus said. My eyes flicked to him. One of his hands held the back of his neck. "I did some research and it said that neutral colors were best for art rooms. I cleared it out as well. Put in cabinets because I figured you could use them. There was a bunch of other stuff mentioned that I don't really understand. So once you decide on how you want everything just let me know and I'll help you set it up. If you would like a different hue I can repaint it." That made me shift on my feet.
Perhaps I could change it in the future to model the spaces I knew as home. A room of my own. That might not be possible though. If Stelnubis males truly saw to every aspect of their mates lives then I doubt they had a separate room in the home set just for the husband and another for the wife. So instead I asked, "This is for me?"
"It is yours to do with as you please," he told me nodding. So it was like my own little space in the home then! I squealed and gave him a hug. My crest echoing in a rattle of joy. The quills vibrating in a way that caused the tips to brush together. Erebus jolted back. His eyes hyper focused on the top of my head. His hands gripped my arms. "What is that?"
His tone was anything but nice. Even to me. I let go and went to step back, he let me. I looked down towards my hands as my fingers twisted. A nervous habit I had yet to break. My crest. One more mark that I was not like the original Humans. "It's my rattle," I said.
"And what does it mean? You did not need to attack me if you were displeased." My eyes jerked up to his.
"I wasn't attacking you!" I felt my eyes glass and now he looked worried. "I was hugging you because..."
"If the room is unsuitable tell me. I will fix it," he said. Worry filling his deep blue eyes. "Just tell me what you need."
"It's perfect!" I said. "I'll probably change it as I settle in," I would definitely be changing it. "I hugged you though because no one has ever done something like this for me. Never gone out of their way like this. You do not even know me yet... But you still did this just because you heard I like art. That's... more than I ever hoped for. You are perfect..."
"I do not need to know you to do you right," That made me blush because that kiss had been hot as hell. I would be lying if I said I wasn't down from making the beast with two backs. "When I agreed to this union I agreed to everything that went with it. I will not fail in my duty to see to your needs. It is my duty to see to your needs. All of them. I do not intend to fail on that front."
"I recall something about my male not failing," I said.
His chest puffed up, "I never fail." Still I had to question when he had found the time. "Come let me show you to our room." The only room I had ever shared had been with my brothers.