“Then there’s nothing to worry about,” I explained. “And even if I hadn’t, did it appear that I was having fun?”
“It was a lot of fun.”
“Then you have nothing to be concerned about,” I countered, knowing exactly what I needed to do to put his mind at ease. “Let’s finish what we started by completing the mating registry form and registering our union with the government.”
“We can’t right now.”
“How come we can’t?” I inquired, my gaze locked on his. “I expected that to be the next step.”
“It’s the next step,” Axel reassured, taking my hand in his and placing it on his chest. “But it’s something that will take more time to process, since I’m someone of rank. Before we complete the forms and submit them to the archives, I need my superiors to confirm their approval of our union.”
“What if they reject it?” I sucked in a quick breath as it felt like something gripped my heart tightly, filling my body with dread. “Can they do that? Will they do that?”
“Sah-Rah and Carth’aiq aren’t officially mated through the system,” he explained as he wrapped his wings around me. “They are registered as a sponsor and beneficiary, which may be all they need and want for the time being to be happy—but we know, and everyone who meets them knows, they are a mated couple.”
“However, Carth-Eek is a scout under your command,” I countered. “His relationship status wouldn’t be as important as yours. Wouldn’t it be considered beneficial for them to recognize our union?”
“Unless you are wanted for some war crime or mass murder, I have no doubt they’ll approve our union.” His amber eyes glowed with delight, mirroring the bobbing of his emerald crest as a series of trilling chuckles filled the air. “Is there something you’re keeping from me?”
“Only that I’ve poisoned whoever thinks mocking me is funny.” I gave him a toothy grin and chuckled when his laughter died away. “No, Axel, there’s nothing to be concerned about. The worst thing I’ve ever done was go home with one of my job’s aprons and then forget to return it to the establishment. They had already updated the style by the time I remembered, rendering all of their old uniforms obsolete.”
“Have you never tried to poison someone?” While he was looking at me, he cocked his head to the side. “Are you able to produce them on your own?”
“No!” I shook my head. “I was joking. I’ve never attempted to poison anyone, and the only time someone has accused me of doing so was when a customer ordered something they knew they were allergic to and then made a big deal about it, demanding free drinks and meals because they blamed me for the mistake.
When, in fact, they purposefully set up the establishment in order to make their entire check free by creating a large enough scene to make the other customers uncomfortable and want to leave.”
“Do humans do such things to one another?” Axel inquired, his tone of voice rising in shock. “Why would they do something like that?”
“I’m not sure.” I shrugged. “For attention, pity, or maybe to get free things… maybe a combination of all three.
“However, none of that is relevant, Axel. What I’m trying to get across to you is that a mixologist is capable of putting on a show by concocting the most incredible drinks. However, it is the responsibility of the customer to inform us if they have any allergies to particular ingredients or if their species are sensitive to a particular substance.
“I’ve been putting in a lot of effort to learn what is lethal to whom, but there are hundreds of space-faring species in the IPA, and it would be impossible for me to know everything. This is especially true when you consider that I’m still considered a novice and that I’ve only met members of the Chusezri, Ekoiskra, and Calyzis so far since I’ve arrived here.
“To answer your question about whether I poisoned someone, the answer is yes, but it wasn’t my fault. Every species and being is unique, and it is the customer’s responsibility to determine their tolerance to an ingredient. There is no way to prevent me from accidentally poisoning someone in the future if I am not warned, or if they order something they know is harmful to them.”
“That makes perfect sense,” Axel muttered, sighing deeply. “Part of the reason mixologists are respected is that their knowledge of mixed drinks is vast, especially when they specialize in rare and unique ingredients.”
“Are you still happy being my mate?” I teased.
“Most definitely.” Axel let out a long coo-like purr. “And right now, I want us to get bathed, and for you to get dressed while I prepare our morning meal. Once we are done eating, we can go to my office and fill out the sponsor and beneficiary forms and our union declaration.
“During my meetings this afternoon, I’ll present both documents to my superiors and request that I be allowed to work remotely from here, in our villa.”
“You will?”
“I believe that will be the best option.” One of my braids was tucked behind my ear by him. “Especially since the Calyzis and Makezu on this planet don’t have representatives at the capital, due to their species strict biological restrictions that makes space traveling extremely difficult, especially when they are off of their birth planets for a long time.
“It will allow me to be their voice while continuing to assist my brother in gathering the discovered humans and having them either become sponsored by their rescuer or gathered to bring to the sanctuary he manages.”
“And just because we live here permanently doesn’t mean we can’t leave our villa on side missions from time to time,” I added, hoping he’d use that argument to his superiors if necessary. “Also, don’t they want me to succeed so they can use my story to show others that humans can adapt to finding their place and living outside of Earth, especially without being surrounded by other humans?”
“Those are valid points.” His piercing amber eyes studied the beads and the weaving of the golden strands in my hair as he brought my braid to his face. “Now that we’ve mated, I have little doubt that they’ll reject my requests. Everything I own is already yours with the Four Winds’ blessing, so all we’re doing is making it known for others to see.”
“Let’s get out of our nest and start our day,” I said with a wide grin, dragging my hand down his down-feathered covered chest and enjoying the soft feel of him against my skin. “If we didn’t have a full day ahead of us, I’d love to spend the entire day touching you in our nest, but we have forms to sign for you to bring to your important meetings, and I have my lesson at the midday meal.”
“We’ll have to reschedule your exploration for tonight,” he cooed, his heated gaze catching mine. “Until then, I’ll be thinking about what I want to do with you.”
