Chapter 22: First Snow
The next morning, Iris awoke to Caspian cuddling her in bed. This was probably the first morning she had gotten to awake to him actually laying in bed beside her. She looked at him laying there, propped up with one arm, and she smiled up at him.
"Good morning, little mate. It's officially snowing outside today."
Iris was surprised to hear this information. It had been slightly chilly earlier that week, but it had not quite been cold enough for her to expect snow today. Of course, none of that explained why Caspian was in bed watching her sleep.
Caspian smiled down at Iris and gently kissed her before getting out of bed. He didn't want to be away from Iris for very long before but he somehow felt more protective than usual today. Still, he knew he needed to tend to his little mate's needs.
"I've already created those ice boxes you wanted and loaded the carrots into them. I am boiling snow for you to wash up now and then I will get started on breakfast for us."
Iris yawned, still waking up, before stretching and getting out of bed. The house was beginning to feel chillier and it was much more noticeable without the blankets over her. Thankfully, Caspian had already started a fire in the main room's brazier.
Iris felt especially tired today and could only assume the cold weather was making her feel lazy. Iris wrapped herself in an animal hide blankets and cleared a spot on the couch. Caspian had already put the the cattails and grass back out to dry. It seems, despite breakfast not being ready yet, Caspian was working hard to attend to everything while Iris was still dead asleep.
Iris began to doze back off on the couch as she waited for Caspian to finish breakfast. When Caspian saw Iris asleep, he simply set aside the bathing water and went back to preparing food. He threw chopped potatoes, carrots, and meat into the soup pot and added some salt. It was definitely a very simple soup but it would sufficiently fill their stomaches.
While Caspian was waiting for the soup to cook, he couldn't help but continuously steal glances at his little mate. Somehow she just looked too adorable as she lay there, slightly drooling. Caspian grabbed a pillow off the bed and carefully placed it under her head before wiping the drool from her face. He placed both her legs on the couch nearly and tucked the blanket more firmly around her. Satisfied, he went back to attending the soup.
Caspian first scooped a large bowl of soup out for Iris and brought it to the main room where he set it on the coffee table. He gently awoke Iris by gently kissing her face until she awoke. Iris was groggy when she awoke, but happy to have food.
The soup was warm and helped her feel more awake. She gratefully said "thank you" to Caspian. He just smiled, grateful to be of use to his mate.
The rest of the day was also to be spent quietly inside. As Iris only had so many choices for entertainment, she found a hobby of crafting the most suitable.
Caspian quietly watched as Iris pulled out sinew and animal furs and began to sew. Today Iris just wanted to work on a few more options of clothing for herself.
A warm white fox fur coat seemed like a good option to start with. Thus she had Caspian create small stone buttons and cut the fur into the desired shapes. She carefully sewed the pieces together, measuring the coat against herself as she went. It would be better if the coat was a somewhat large fit on her but it still needed to sit properly on her form.
Caspian watched Iris carefully as she sewed and felt eager to join her. He wanted to learn how to do such things well enough to do them for her. Even if he could not do all the work, surely he could do the more tedious portions? However, when Caspian tried to bring up such concerns he was met with resistance.
"I'm supposed to do these things for you, I'm your mate. You should relax and just tell me what you need done."
This, of course irked Iris. She had nothing better to do and she did not want Caspian taking away one of her few forms of entertainment.
"Look, I'll teach you how to make the same things I do. You can use the less expensive beast furs to practice and we will sell yours in the spring. I want to make my own clothes, though. I need something to do or I'll lose my mind from boredom. Besides, it's a point of pride to be able to make my own clothing."
Caspian was not satisfied with this but did not want to anger Iris either. Thus he decided to relent. As long as no one but her wore the clothes she made, he could live with it. At least then he would not have to see his precious mate's hard work wasted on others.
Thus, Caspian set to work replicating the fox fur coat with a leopard skin that had been previously used to transport cattails. It was a little dirty and the fur was much shorter and less soft. The coat would not look nearly as good as the one Iris was making but Caspian would be happy if it would fetch a decent price at market. If he could not make Iris clothing himself then he could earn income for the family.
This was how much of the rest of the week was spent. Caspian would make Iris breakfast and lunch every day while tending to the acorns and drying grass and cattails. Iris would get tired of eating the same foods by dinner time and insist on cooking for them. The rest of the day was spent quietly sewing various clothes of various designs.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AutumnPlunkett
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