Wedding Day--Better Late than Never?|Neo'anar

[Darastrix]

Crawford stood in the temple, admiring a stained-glass window as he waited for things to get underway. Schuldig was getting ready, and if Schuldig was, he presumed Filly was still readying herself as well. Then again, Schuldig might have decided to take actual pains with his appearance, in which case it would be anyone's guess as to who would finish first.

~I never thought I'd see the day where Schuldig, of all people, gets married,~ Crawford commented to Delilah. ~And in an Anarlinan temple, no less.~

[Kender Bard]

Delilah grinned at that. I don't know him even a fraction as well as you do, but even I have to admit it's surprising to see that man make such a gesture of romance.

Harmony's mental voice intruded on the conversation abruptly as she teleported to Anarlina. ~Hope I'm not late. Kept putting off leaving until I forgot the time. Has anything started yet?~

[Darastrix]

~Not yet,~ Crawford told her. ~You're not even the last to arrive. I see the Wintersongs coming in now.~

Zira smiled, catching sight of Brad and Delilah as he walked in with Zack, and nudged his husband lightly before heading over to the other couple. "Queen Delilah, Lord Crawford," he greeted, bowing. "It's a pleasure to see you both again."

[Kender Bard]

"A pleasure to see you as well Lord Wintersong and Lord Riel," Delilah greeted with a small curtsy, her smile lingering on Zack--she remembered him as being very charming.

Harmony teleported to the temple itself and glanced around before walking over to join the group. She was already dressed nicely, having changed while in Sensatia. "Hi," she greeted them all in general.

"You look very nice," Delilah told her, reaching over to pat down a rogue hair curl.

"Who else is coming?" Harmony asked Crawford curiously.

[Darastrix]

Crawford bowed to Zack and Zira and gave his greetings as well before turning to Harmony. "Aside from Nagi and Locket, I believe Mikasi is coming at both of their requests, and Schuldig invited General Flamehart as well. I'm afraid afterward will be a Soahcian madhouse."

"Thuoth preserve," Zira said, though with a small smile.

"I thought Taed's people did the preserving," Schuldig said, walking over. He was dressed much like he had been for Locket's winter ball, though in cooler fabric, with a priest's robe altered into a sort of overcoat that was long in back and only about belt-high in front, with a riot of squiggly green abstract pattens running along the hem. His hair was tamer than usual, though his still wore his ever-present headband.

[Kender Bard]

"You look nice, dad," Harmony greeted, giving her father a tight hug. "Mom'll be happy."

Mikasi was next to arrive, strolling in sedately. He'd arrived in Anarlina that morning but had taken time to rest his taxed mind. Teleporting long distances was not something he enjoyed much.

~Hello Schuldig~ he greeted with a smile. ~Lord Crawford, Lord Wintersong. Harmony. How is Libre holding up?~

"About as well as you'd expect," Harmony told him. "But just a warning, you might be seeing his little sister later."

~Duly noted~ Mikasi remarked. ~We can talk about it later.~ He bowed to Delilah and then again to Zack. ~And I'm afraid I don't have the pleasure of knowing either of you two. I am Mikasi Hakim.~

Delilah flashed Mikasi a smile, but it was a tad puzzled as to why he was only speaking telepathically. "I am Delilah Valerianus. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[Darastrix]

Zack gave Mikasi an easy smile and bowed. "Zack Riel," he introduced himself. "I believe you have the pleasure of knowing my lovely husband here." He gestured to Zira, who flushed and smiled. "After listening to him talk, I'm going to have to come to Sensatia and try your services for myself."

"You won't be disappointed there," Schuldig said as he wrapped an arm around Harmony. ~If you want your hair to stay in one piece, by the by,~ he told his daughter, ~ just smack me if my hand heads that way. It's kind of a reflex.~

Nagi walked in from the direction of the Thuothan wing then. Between dealing with the triplets in a new place and knowing that after the ceremony, Schuldig's pathmates at the very least would be invited to come around, he'd felt the need to unwind a little in quiet, peaceful surroundings. He smiled and greeted his "family" first, waiting for Mikasi to finish getting acquainted with Zack and Delilah before bowing and greeting the Wintersongs and the Mind healer himself.

[Kender Bard]

~I think Delilah would be more upset by it than me~ Harmony laughed and kissed his cheek.

Locket burst onto the scene, running straight out of the Soahcian wing with a shriek of laughter, chased by three other priests, all her age or a bit younger. She'd put on her finest black and white robes for her duties on this day and had taken pains to look as impressive as possible. Her pathmates found this unsuitable for a priestess wedding a fellow brother and had scoured their possessions to find bright and shiny gaudy baubles to stick on her.

"I'm shiny enough!" she protested.

"Never!" the three countered. Some of the older Generous came out as well but they grabbed the young priestesses and dragged them back, leaving Locket in peace. She walked over to the group, pulling strings of beads and other oddities off herself only to deposit them in the hands of everyone gathered. "Wedding gifts for all!"

"Soahcian weddings are always the best," Emerald commented as she joined the group. She'd decided to wear her ball clothing, which was to say a green and gold tunic and black leggings. Her one concession to femininity was the gold necklace she wore. "And I've no doubt that yours will be the best of them all, Schuldig."

[Darastrix]

"I think the ceremony itself will be low-key," he commented as he put the beads Locket had pushed onto him on Harmony's head like a circlet. "Or as much as it can be with a Curious officiating."

~And what I plan to do will drive her crazy,~ he added with a smirk, directing the thought at Emerald before turning his mind toward Filly.

~Everyone's here, Filly,~ Schuldig sent. ~Are you ready?~

[Kender Bard]

~Yes I believe so~ Filly answered.

Harmony giggled and slipped the beads off before tilting her head. "Mom's ready."

"Take your seats then," Locket ordered and made a shooing gesture to everyone while she made her way to the front of the room, smoothing her robes with a look of grand self importance.

~Shall I arrive?~ Filly asked Locket.

~Sure thing~

Filly teleported to the back of the room. Harmony turned in her seat curiously, her jaw dropping open slightly at the sight of her mother dressed for the wedding. She'd taken her long hair and curled it into ringlets, pulling the bulk of it up and allowing the rest to tumble down to frame her face. Her dress was of a modest cut, plain and hugging her hips and bust but with a small train to trail behind her, all done in pale green satin with wide ribbons of white silk artfully sewn and pinned to the dress in wide, swooping patterns. Her wings were painted with golden wing-paint, the tips of each and every feather colored. A light sprinkling of wing-dust in gold as well was applied to both her wings and skin.

Grasping her bouquet of white carnations, daisies, and lilacs, Filly made her way to Schuldig with a beaming smile.

~This was very sweet of Schuldig~ Mikasi commented to Zira. ~I can almost feel Filly's happiness from here.~ And no doubt the empath was allowing her delight to overflow beyond her shields a bit in her excitement.

[Darastrix]

~So can I,~ Zira sent back. ~He must be happy, too; I know this was all to make her happy.~ He smiled and added, ~Though right now, he looks almost speechless.~

Schuldig's reaction to Filly's appearance was much like their daughter's, minus the jaw-drop. From the moment she appeared in the room, he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her. He knew she was beautiful, of course, but he'd never seen her done up like that. In his own opinion, Efil even in her Forcely guise had never looked as good as Filly did now.

~You have no idea how much I want you right now,~ he told her, mingled notes of lust, love, and near-awe tinging his thoughts.

[Kender Bard]

Filly half buried her face in her bouquet, not out of modesty but to hide her large grin of amusement and appreciation of his remark. ~I'm so glad I was able to please you with my appearance~ she remarked playfully.

When she reached the front of the room next to Schuldig, she reached out to take one of his hands in her own. ~You have no idea how happy you've made me.~

Locket held her Anarlinan Scroll of Anarchy open on one hand as she flicked through it to a passage she had bookmarked. While she did so, she noticed a couple of priests slip into the room to linger near the back. It wasn't too unusual for priests to sneak a glimpse at a wedding to break the tedium of the day; as long as they didn't make any noise or bother anyone, people rarely cared.

Soahc, Thuoth, Taed, and Etaf, hm? Locket thought, noting the odd collection of priests with a half-smile.

Finding her place, she cleared her throat and began: "In the dawn of times, when the Forces watched on with fondness of the first humans, Love burning bright in their breasts, it is said that they were moved by the tender affections shared between man and woman. Today we are blessed to look on as our friends Schuldig and Filly carry on that legacy of Love. Like their ancestors, we pray to Soahc that theirs is a love that will endure all time, strife, and uncertainty; and that, as Soahc advised those first couples, they also have copious amounts of sex."

Emerald chuckled quietly, leaning back in her seat to enjoy the show. Mikasi flushed and remarked to Zira, ~I've never actually seen a Soahcian wedding. Is this normal?~

Filly waggled her eyebrows at Schuldig. ~Soahc is a wise Force indeed.~

[Darastrix]

Schuldig grinned and told Filly, ~Remind me to tell you how the whole part reads later.~

Still grinning, he answered Locket with part of the full text. "And the humans were wary, but we can forgive them for they were young and naive back then."

Crawford, never having read any of the Scrolls of Anarchy, faked a cough to cover a sudden snort of laughter. ~Delilah, does it really say that, or are they making things up?~

~That particular part of the liturgy wasn't read at my and Zack's wedding,~ Zira murmured, ~so I'm really not sure. It wouldn't surprise me, though.~ He was blushing a little as well, and beside him, Zack chuckled openly.

[Kender Bard]

Locket's version might be a little different since there's so much emphasis on Love, or else she's adding that herself, Delilah thought back, grinning widely. But what Schuldig said was completely word for word.

Locket winked at Schuldig before flipping around her book some more. "To be wedded is a beautiful thing. It is the most sublime expression of union between two people. Our friends, wedded in heart, will never know the bite of loneliness again. Wedded in spirit, they will be forever bound together in this life and the life beyond the Veil. Wedded in body comes after we're done here and is arguably the best part of them all in this life."

Mikasi flushed some more. ~I think she's picking passages that will appeal to Schuldig on purpose.~

And so it went in that vein with Locket dipping heavy into the "Lustful" chapters and passages, though even gave a slight nod to the other paths here and there.

"Is there anything you wish to say to mark this very special day, Filly?" Locket inquired.

Filly smiled and took both of Schuldig's hands in her own this day. She had to divide her speech up carefully, for there were some things best not spoken aloud for just anyone to hear. "Nothing could ever tear me from your side, my love. Each day that I don't wake up beside you is a day of heartache. Though we may have our differences that at times can be trying on us both, I wouldn't trade a single moment with you for anything in the world. You are my life, my love, my whole self. Without you, I am nothing." ~You can charm the hearts of anyone, from a lowly man to Soahc himself, and yet you love me. Each time I remember that, it still feels miraculous. I may have been crafted for you, but no Force could ever create a more perfect man for me.~

[Darastrix]

Schuldig could think of a couple of ways someone might be more perfect for Filly, but he wasn't about to bring those up. Not today at all days. He wanted to make her happy, not bring up his own issues.

He turned his head and gave Locket a small smirk. "Burn with curiosity." He didn't often bare himself in words, and when he did, it was with one, maybe two people at once. He wasn't going to say it all aloud.

~What's 'miraculous' is you loving me. I'm kind of fucked up; I know that. You've known it from the start and you still love me. With everything I do and everything I make you put up with, that's pretty damn amazing. And I didn't want it. Not at the start. I love sex, but relationships are fucking complicated and sometimes, I'm just bad at them.~

"I knew this was going to be hard, and I fought myself every fucking step of the way. And I still loved you. And after everything we've been through, I wouldn't give any of it up. All of that brought us where we're standing right now, and this is where I want to be. Here. Now. With you."