8 Breakfast in bed

Poppy was crazed! He was in control, but he didn't understand what had changed. Oribella hadn't expected this as a side effect of her masturbation! She knew a lot of animals had strong senses of smell compared to humans, but for her pheromones to be THIS noticeable? She'd have to be more careful in the future if she felt to need to satisfy that urge again.

Curiosity got the best of Oribella, "what do I smell like?"

"You smell like you... but you smell MORE like you?" Poppy's animal side took over for just a moment too long and he licked Oribella. From her collarbone, up her neck, finishing at the base of her ear.

Oribella couldn't hold back her moaning this time! She clenched her lips together to keep the sounds from traveling outside the room.

Poppy quickly pulled back "I'M SORRY!" He was now on his knees and panicky. Tripping over himself as he retreated. He had never heard a female make a noise like that and assumed it was a sound of pain!

Oribella's face was red from both embarrassment and arousal. "Give me a warning before you lick me like that!!!" What was the point of trying to give herself some relief if this was what happened right after!?

Poppy asked, "it wasn't painful?" He was feeling relieved!

"No, it was..." Oribella felt it heat rise in her face and covered her cheeks with her hands in a futile attempt to cool herself, "it was quite the opposite."

Poppy didn't even realize what Oribella meant. His only care was that she hadn't been hurt by his actions.

Poppy stood with the breakfast platter between the nest and himself. "Would you like something to eat?" He picked up the platter and placed it on the foot of the nest bed.

Oribella saw an expansive mixture of small stone and ceramic bowls and plates along the large wooden platter.

There was a new pitcher of steaming water and a small cup to drink from, as well as a considerable sized bowl of honey with a stick for serving and dressing. Oribella considered she should try to find herbs to make herbal tea come spring.

For protein there were three kinds of grilled fish, four kinds of red meat, and two kinds of bird! All small portions but still an extremely large variety!

For starches there was a very small bowl of white long grain rice, and a small bowl of mixed wild rice. And what looked to be 5 kinds of potatoes!? All boiled with the skin and mashed into to a dry fluffy state.

For vegetables and fruits... 'well,' Oribella thought 'I can tell the rest of these dishes are plants... but I don't know what they are...'

The remaining dishes were all preserved plants but they had been kept for winter in ways Oribella was unfamiliar with.

Oribella picked up the first bowl of what looked to be mushy mixed fruit "what's this dish?"

"Wild berries preserved in honey!" Poppy answered. "They lose their shape after a few weeks submerged in the honey."

Oribella smelled the berries and was relieved they didn't smell like alcohol. Safely fermenting alcohol was a lot harder than one expected. You could easily get alcohol by mixing fruit, sugar, and water, but you can also easily make poison! The 'tails' if Oribella remembered correctly.

The dish was like a primitive jam, and it made Oribella want toast and butter to go with it.

Oribella went through asking what each small plate was before tatsing them.

Most of the dishes were bland compared to what she was used to but she knew just enough about wild plants that come springtime she could probably scavenge some onions and peppers.

"I wanted to give you a large variety of things from the Castle's kitchen," Poppy explained, "so you can decide on your favorites. Then I can get more of them for you!"

"Thank you Poppy." Oribella was starting to feel full after just taking tatsing bites of each food. There were over 25 small plates Oribella had sampled. Even though she was a little chubby she was never a big eater. "I'll keep nibbing off everything the rest of the day."

"What was your favorite though?"

"Well, I suppose I liked everything... but" Oribella pointed to the fish that tasted identical to salmon "this is probably my favorite out of the meats," then to the wild rice "my favorite of the starchy foods" Oribella picked up her hot water with honey "I don't think I have a favorite of the plant dishes. I like to eat fresh leafy plants more than preserved ones." Oribella guessed that vinegar and glass weren't realities here, so pickling was out of the question for the time being. She thought about how she nearly had everything at her disposal to make her Nana's cabbage wraps, at least as best she could. rice, meat, vegetables... all she was missing was tomatoes and cabbage.

"Is there an area of the city for trade between the normal citizens?" Oribella inquired.

"Yes. Artisans, foragers, farmers, and hunters often set up stalls and trade their goods." Poppy started to pick up the tray to move it out of Oribella's way. "Each day has different stalls because not every trader has wares to sell every day."

"How late in the day is it? Would you take me there?"

"Normally I would but... it's awfully cold out there!" Poppy averted his eyes. Between this and how awkward Poppy got when he fed her in the cave Oribella could tell Poppy wasn't just a bad liar. He was terrible at omitting too. But Oribella was happy to have a partner who was honest to a fault.

"So," she asked, "that's the ONLY reason?"Oribella stared daggers at Poppy until he finally admitted "No." Poppy looked up with nervous eyes "Bailey is in the Castle."

Oribella tilted her head "why does that matter?"

Poppy sighed, "he wants to court you."

Oribella couldn't help but laugh! "The one you bested in battle yesterday? Why on earth would I give him a chance?"

"Because you had me spare his life he feels indebted to you now."

"He can feel however he wants!" Oribella couldn't get over her first impression of Bailey. "Just because I spared his life doesn't mean I have to like him or be nice to him!"

Poppy felt another wave of relief wash over him. He was worried that he would have to compete with Bailey for Oribella's attention. But it was clear his female was uninterested in Bailey.

"I still want to explore the kingdom even if it's cold out." Oribella got back on the original topic, "can't you just fight him again if he starts to bother us?"

"I am serious about the cold. The sky is ripe for icefall today... But the cold season will turn to the damp season before you know it!" Poppy took Oribella's hand and kissed it. "I'll take you anywhere you wish to go once the weather warms up, I promise!"

Oribella blushed "I'll hold you to that promise then." She leaned in and kissed Poppy's forehead.

"But I still don't want to stay cooped up in this room!" Oribella pleaded, "can you help me explore Bear Castle at least?"