It is a new day. Despite having woken up for hundreds of thousands of mornings, today is a remarkable one. He planned to assemble a glorious feast for his mate. He wanted to break fast with her to begin the day. And his mate deserved nothing but the best. Without another second wasted, he rises from the cot his mate had so generously bestowed upon him.

The cot was small, to be sure. The perfect fit for Lina, but for one much taller and loftier than her, the cot left his long legs hanging. It also had odd shafts protruding upright on both ends much like the small chairs they sat on while eating. Perhaps his cot doubled as a sitting apparatus. But the soft cushions she had gifted him protected his head from the hard wood.

He disregards his thoughts and continues walking to the kitchen. He tries to recall where his mate kept her cooking instruments but focusing on her movements yesterday had been a struggle. At first, he hesitates to open every cabinet, but his desperation forces him to.
When he first cooked for her, she’d already had the pans out. 

He is already comfortable with the fire table, but still is nervous about starting it. He nervously attempts to turn the knob. Slow and steady, his fingers, which spanned the knob, twist the knob. It makes loud, snapping sounds as if angry, but eventually he manages to call the fire.

He places a pan on the roaring flames and begins exploring her ice box, which he finds is surprisingly well-stocked for an individual living alone. But if his mate’s appetite demanded a large feast, he would not disappoint her. With both doors of the ice box open, he eyes every inch of her food supply. He finds a diverse number of provisions. From different types of meat covered in what he knew humans called plastic, to different colors of vegetables and plants to many other items he didn’t recognize. Were they all food, he couldn’t determine.

He pulls out a package of meat and rips it open, setting down the two pieces of meat on the pan. From his limited knowledge of humans and her abundant supply of food, he anticipates she’ll not only want meat.

He grabs what he best discerns as a vegetable. It was a poor imitation of a tree, bright green limbs branching out to darker shades. He breaks the little tree into much smaller pieces, which should cook faster, and carefully tosses them to the pan.

He stands at attention only several inches away from his hard work, but nothing transpires for several minutes. Then some kind of unknown smell permeates into the kitchen. He ignores it at first, dismissing it as a smell released from the food. Only, the smell continues to intensify. He could manage the scent, but thoughts of upsetting his mate unnerves him and moves him to open windows.

Then his ears twitch, picking up sounds of footsteps and tired yawns. His mate is a beautiful sight in a long, loose clothing and barefoot. She mumbles something that he couldn’t discern, and sits down. Quickly, he shuts the fire and places the pan on the table before her as if presenting a gift. 

Instead of the smile he expects, her eyes widens and winces at the food.

“What is the matter?”

It is clear his mate is not pleased with him and he can not stand the mere thought of being the cause. She does not respond, grabbing a small circle mat to place under the pan.

“It’s okay,” she placates him with a smile. 

It doesn’t do anything but unnerve him, he must try better for his mate.

They eat in silence, across from each other on the small table. Lina thanks him for the meals and leaves for her work. Adrian is once again left to himself—to ponder how bad a mate he is. He must find a way to “bring something to the table” as his mate said. Lest she spurn him for a better mate.

In the utter silence and isolation he finds himself in, he vows to track down one for his brothers to help him better adjust to human life.