Chapter 37: Regret
Iris could barely sleep that night and this time it wasn't even because of the stone hard bed. Caspian just sighed as he carried her out of the city to get their journey home started.
Caspian was willing to accept new mates, but he wouldn't interfere with Iris's ability to make choices for herself. She would have to decide who to accept as a mate herself. Still, Caspian hated seeing her so worked up.
As they finally made it home to their cave, Iris began to cry. Caspian's heart ached for his little mate, but he wasn't sure what to say. After getting her tucked into bed, he sat beside her and rubbed her back in silence. After a while, Iris's tears began to subside and Caspian questioned
"Do you want to talk about it?"
Iris shook her head, feeling that it would be too difficult to get into her complicated feelings on the matter. Soon, she changed her mind as she offered up
"I fucked up didn't I? I..... I don't quite know how to feel about him and know he is going to think I hate him isn't he? I mean, who the hell runs away after enjoying a nice dinner together with someone?"
Iris gave a bitter smile through her tears as she hugged her knees to herself. Caspian sighed as he brought her in for a hug. He didn't think that would actually be an issue, but maybe it was best for Iris to figure these things out for herself.
Beastmen did not give up on their favored females so easily. Without Iris clearly telling them no and that she wasn't interested, Basil was unlikely to give up so easily.
After Iris finally fell asleep, Caspian went out to catch their dinner. As he stalked his prey, Caspian considered what the best course of action was. It was clear the witch doctor would be a good addition to their family.
Basil seemed to have a real knack for cooking and was a witch doctor. He'd easily be able to help Iris find and cook meals as well as tend to her when she gets sick.
Basil was also a vixen through and through. He seemed to have gotten a real hold on Iris's heart with his flirty and playful behavior. If Iris was any other female, Caspian would worry that the fox would steal away all of Iris's affections and leave him with nothing.
Obviously it would normally be safer to have Iris accept a less useful mate so that Caspian could stand out more. However, Caspian knew his mate was loving and kind. He was hopeful that even if the fox ended up with his spousal mark over Iris's heart that it would change nothing.
Caspian finished cleaning the rabbits he caught and brought them home. He peeked his head into the bedroom and was relieved to see Iris still sleeping soundly.
Caspian began to prepare some soup and a cup of lavender tea with sweet root. Caspian had to go back after returning to the inn to finalize the purchase of herbs for Iris.
Luckily he could now make Iris a sweetened tea. The lavender would help her sleep and she needed to drink more liquids since she cried too much.
As he cooked, Caspian considered what he could possibly do to cheer Iris up. Caspian knew they had big plans to go to the beauty pageant in a weeks time, but he wanted something to distract her for now.
When Iris awoke, her eyes were still puffy. Iris gratefully accepted the bowl of soup and stone cup full of tea from Caspian. While the soup reminded her a little of the previous night, Iris felt soothed by it's familiar taste. Caspian might never reach Iris's level of cooking, but she was appreciative of his efforts nonetheless.
"Tomorrow we should go out into the forest. We don't really have much at home besides some leftover flour now. I remember you said you need a varied diet for your health."
Caspian explained while rubbing the back of his neck. Iris knew Caspian was trying to do right by her so she nodded to show she agreed. The lavender soon made Iris fell sleepy and she returned to her rest.
Caspian ate the rest of the soup in the pot before washing up. It was still early and there was much work to do. The week after the beauty pageant Iris would want to return to her usual schedule of hosting weekly banquets and trying to make money at the market.
Caspian got to work making the clothing styles he had been taught by Iris previously. She would likely want to develop some new designs eventually, but repeated designs could still be sold.
Caspian was grateful that he had learned to sew as a young beastman. Since his thread was already neat and secure, he had only had to learn to make Iris's new styles of clothing. Most were just small changes to the sleeves, neckline, or length of the dress which were easy enough to remember for him anyhow.
It was certainly a sore point for Caspian that he wasn't as skilled in the kitchen as his little mate needed to be. Sure, he could now appropriately adjust cooking methods and time to the size of the meat, but his seasonings were still lacking.
Caspian had a lot of trouble figuring out how to make the more complicated dishes as well. Iris had tried to teach him how to make the pie dough, but when he tried it for himself the dough was always too wet or crumbly making it difficult to work with. Luckily, Iris always knew how to fix it, but it was hopeless for him.
Growing tired, Caspian neatly folded the ten outfits he had finished making and set them aside. Caspian climbed into bed and peacefully watched Iris sleeping until he felt slumber over take him.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
AutumnPlunkett
AutumnPlunkett Enjoying the story? Then you may want to consider checking out my Patreon. I’ve got plenty of free content open to the public such as monthly newsletters, weekly polls, character art, etc. Of course, if you’re more interested in the actual story, for $5 / month you can get access to early access chapters. There are currently three completed volumes of this story on my Patreon and an average of 5 new chapters get added each week!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone