Beneath the casino, in places yet to be explored the undersea observatory's decor transfigured the place of wondered leisure into a sanctuary fit for the joining of Tahlia and Eddie.
Displays of blossoms in purple, white, and seafoam adorned everything in tidy arrangements. Their order is an attractive counterpoint to the chaotic cacophony of similarly colored petals strewn down the center aisle.
Blues, greens, golds and aquamarine draped the priestess in all the colors of the sea. There were whispers, from those who claim to have seen, that she had risen from the water in the arms of something with massive tentacles. It might be true...was that the hint of one at the edge of the window into the bay?
Here comes the bridal party!
Flower Girl - Serena Barnes, escorted by Ringbearer Nikolai Allen
Talullah Ó Coileeáin, escorted by Reginald T. Barnes III
Tanya Acheron, Maid of Honor, escorted by Best Man, Saul Mortimer esq.
Simon Toews, Bride's escort
The appearance of the bridal party set things into motion. The groomsmen moved up the aisle to meet them halfway before turning to escort them back to the altar where all of them turned in expectation of the bride’s emergence.
Shrouded in yards of white fur heavily mottled with grey and silver so faint it almost appears blue, Tahlia's first steps down the aisle begin as the piano plays Everything I Need.
Those who understood would be treated to a ceremony entitled Two Seas Divided spoken by the priestess in undersea high common. The vows, also in that aquatic common, immediately followed the closing idea. ”The kind of love these two have for one another is much like those two divided seas. It wears away those insurmountable boundaries leaving behind a channel for them to grow together as one.”
After the ceremony, the guests would be guided to Oceana. The restaurant is on the same level of the Golden Pearl Casino as the underwater observatory and features a view to the outside world on all sides. Even the dance floor, which would remain empty until the newlyweds perform the first dance together.
To pass the time between they’re arrival and the arrival of the bridal party, reception guests would have orders taken and appetizers would be served from the reception menu.
Circulating among the lavishly decorated tables, mermaids carry trays with closed oyster shells distributing them among the guests, a gift from the newlyweds. Of course they’re not real mermaids...or are they? Inside the shells will be found a glove decorated with pearls of varying sizes, shapes and colors.
((Please feel free to post your characters thoughts, reactions, and adventures in this thread as it pertains to attending either the wedding or the reception. Please remember to have fun, but respect the setting.))
((Below is a list of the colors offered and what they symbolize should you choose to include it. White Pearls White pearls symbolize innocence, beauty, sincerity, and new beginnings. This is what makes the white pearl a true classic for bridal jewelry. It's the most common pearl that you'll see used in any sort of jewelry today. Pink Pearls Pink pearls represent energy, success, fame, romance, and good fortune. They are soft and romantic in color. Pink pearls make for great graduation gifts because of their promise for the future! Purple Pearls Purple pearls symbolize artistic, wisdom, complexity, nobility, and passion. Purple pearls are great for those in the teaching and philosophy professions where education is paramount. Blue Pearls Blue pearls represent truth, tranquility, trust, and courage. Give a blue pearl to someone who needs strength in their life or who appreciates the peaceful and tranquil moments. Green Pearls Green pearls are absolutely beautiful and unique in color. Green pearls represent balance, nature, hope, growth, and renewal. They are perfect for someone who is ready to start a new chapter in life or who is inspired to continue their personal growth. Yellow Pearls Yellow pearls symbolize creativity, optimism, clarity, and happiness. Their cheerful color is perfect for someone who takes the time to make sure they are living their life to the fullest! Gold Pearls Gold pearls, like many gold things in our world, represent wealth and prosperity. Chocolate Pearls Chocolate pearls are rich and luxurious-looking. Chocolate pearls symbolize harmony and dependability, healing, comfort and protection. They make for great gifts to the person you've always been able to rely on to get you through life. Black Pearls Black pearls are one of the most mysterious-looking of all colored pearls. Black pearls represent mystery, independence, strength, and riches. These pearls are great for women with a bit of edge to their style.))
Trembling hands, Eddie did his best to disguise the faint tremor in his fingers. He wasn’t nervous, not him, he’d never touched Tahlia with a hand that shook, unless it was from exertion. It had to be an illusion, a trick of the eye or maybe there was a lightbulb that needed replacing. Probably the last one, those damn fluorescents always did this. Certainly it wasn’t a symptom of today’s big event. Sure there were going to be a lot of eyes present, and all on them, there was nothing unusual about that. They thrived on it. Uncertain fingers lifted the skin...his skin, to Tahlia’s shoulders. It was clear from her outstretched arm that she’d expected to be weighted down by a distinctly mottled oversized leather jacket. Eddie noted the expression cast his way in the mirror, hints of surprise brocaded with confusion even as he fumbled with the clasp. The mermaid heirloom bit into the fur, holding it in place as it had so many others in his family for centuries.It should have gone to the oldest, and yet it was he who had the right, he who was of the sea.
The featureless pelt altered its shape as Eddie took his hands from it, becoming a mantle tailored to the little blonde’s shoulders though it was no less heavy than the jacket would have been. He kept his eyes averted from the mirror, afraid to look and see the expression on the face within, certain that she’d read his eyes if he tried. “You don’t need to worry, I swear this won’t embarrass you.” His hand closed over an ornate comb its spine caught in a hard pinch between the side of his forefinger and thumb. It didn’t do anything to mask the tremor, nor did the pull of it through her hair.
The weight of the pelt always made her pause - at first it had been because it surprised her, so much heavier than a jacket should be, and then since the night he’d shown her what it meant for her to wear it, because it served as a constant reminder of the trust they’d put in each other. She hadn’t missed the fumble of fingers, and her own clenched at her sides - fighting the urge to reach up and help, and admit she had. There was a strange mix of calm assurance - she knew she wanted to be here, to be about to do what they were about to do, and a roil of emotions. Tahlia had walked a hundred aisles, dripping in jewels and ornate fabrics, poison oozing from the facade of innocence she’d worn like a second skin - but this was the first time it had meant anything to her at all. The tiny blonde - permanent, now, as if her time as a seal had locked something into place she hadn’t known was loose - had spent centuries hunting, living off the spoils of those whose fortunes brought them into her clutches. She’d expected to spend whatever portion of eternity allotted to her the same way. And then - she’d come here. A series of unfortunate events that had landed her somewhere she didn’t need to hide - but did regardless. It had taken away her safety net - and given her a new one.
“You’ve never embarrassed me, Puddin - not once.” Some piece of her knew this was more than just the idle suggestion he’d framed it as, but she had only skimmed the surface of millennia of Selkie culture, and for obvious reasons, some things had taken precedence. Not to mention her instructors tended to look like they were sucking on old, moldy socks most of the time. Nothing Tahlia had done, not even the knowledge that she was part seafolk herself, albeit from a different ocean on a different world, had done much to temper Nym’s animosity. She was a living, breathing, pelt-wearing reminder that her grandson was not going to conform to her plans - at least, not the way she wanted him to.
Breathe in the air, Eddie did that as fingers worked deftly to wind Tahlia’s hair into the herringbone braid. This act was more symbol now than the rite it had been for thousands of years. It was archaic, something that he’d been willing to overlook if only because the calls of heresy from Nym pleased him. It was just one more “nonconformity on top of the iconoclasm which was this obscene pairing.” He didn’t know why his thoughts had begun quoting the Matron of the Roan selks. Perhaps it was the insecurity emerging in the only voice that it knew he might pay attention to?
He quashed those delphian thoughts, it took some effort and the voice of his mother asking him what the harm was, questioning Nym as well. “Is this truly so unorthodox, mother? How do you know it’s not meant as a reunion? The mother maneuvered events to bring about this...sorority. Do we not say new blood brings strength?”
Eddie didn’t want to let that thought linger either. Mira, his mother, was not nearly as pious as Nym despite how it sounded. Mira just knew how to circumvent Nym’s prejudices really well. Still if he bought into her argument then this symbol returned to the status of ritual and the entirety of his life was planned by the goddess...every last blasphemous inclination was meant to happen. He didn’t accept that. He believed in the goddess of course, it wasn’t hard to believe when one looked around...really looked. His problem wasn’t belief. Eddie’s problem was being good. He didn’t know how to, or rather refused to was more appropriate. No, this was just an allusional apologue despite the solemnity he felt with every intricate inch of the braid he wove. He’d pulled her hair harder, by the depths he had done it out of sheer need. That was where he chose to keep his mind centered, and perhaps Tahlia could tell those moments where he got lost in it. Here he was creating a crown of simple elegance, when all of him wanted nothing more than to turn it into a disheveled mess and leave her breathless. He conveyed those thoughts to her through brief pauses and a more than noticeable tightening of his grip. “This day is going to take forever to get to the point where we can share just with each other.”
The slight tug of the comb, the stronger pulls of his fingers in those moments when she could feel the urge to say to hell with the whole thing, and give in to the ever present temptation they held for each other. Tahlia took a deep breath, sending ripples through the layers of silk chiffon that lay beneath the seal-skin mantle, and resisted. Today was important, even if neither of them would really acknowledge it, or admit it. She tried not to think about the literal army of eyes that would be on her - of various sizes. All but a handful would be there because of the Selkie behind her, either in support, or shock. She hadn’t managed to make many connections in her time in Rhydin, not of the permanent variety. To be honest, she hadn’t even paid much attention to the guest list - she knew Blue would be there, and Simon - it would be nice to see other friendly faces, but between war, rebuilding an empire, and helping destroy another - she’d all but disappeared from the circles she’d once frequented, and memories could be short, even among immortals. Her fingers found the fur that hung from her shoulders, stroking the edge with the reverence it, and the man it belonged to, deserved.
“It won’t be so bad, baby - we’ll only be apart a little while, and then we can face the rest of it together. Just like we’ve faced everything else.” Habit had her hand rising to the brand on her neck, the one that had been hidden by glamour for centuries. Delicate enough, for all it stood for an ugly lesson learned well. One she’d unlearned slowly. She’d had no family, no traditions, no clue what she was. Until Eddie. “Is Poptart still pouting about not being able to walk me down the aisle? He still gets to be your best man - and I’m not sure how he talked Lula into that dress but she looks lovely.” It had been a tough choice, between the hacker, Eddie’s grudgingly less-estranged brother, and the blonde former fighter - but in the end, it hadn’t been a hard choice at all. The purple stone that never left her hand glinted in the light as her hand dropped to his, catching it away from her hair just long enough to pull his arm forward, and planting her lips against the pumpkin pie inked into his skin.
Eddie found himself reluctant to finish, the braid could have been a gold hued tiara and was far better done than he’d have thought himself capable of. Finishing meant moving forward though, leaving their intimate little setting and replacing it with a crowd. He slid his fingertips along Tahlia’s jaw as she kissed his forearm, locking eyes with hers in the mirror. He’d seen worlds hidden from view save for those able to reach them. Witnessed colors so vivid they seemed unreal, and yet he couldn’t remember any of it moving him the way those eyes did. “He might be, but I think he understands.” Eddie forced himself to stop touching her, letting go was never easy but it was time and he was anxious to move forward.
“I...we need...they’re all waiting.” Slowly his feet moved him away from her, defying gravity was never easy but he knew if he didn’t he’d be pulled in once again. It had happened before, it would happen again. It just couldn’t happen today. “Finish getting ready, you know where to find me.” He stopped at the doorway looking back over his shoulder fixing her with a suggestive smile as he checked her out one last time before stepping out. He could feel time slowing down as he made his way to the elevator, funny how that works.
Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
Tahlia glanced at herself in the mirror, tucking just the tiniest strand of now permanently blonde hair into the herringbone braid Eddie had so carefully crafted, those big fingers of his delicately twisting it into place. The sealskin cloak looked sleek, grey and black mottled against the pale turquoise of her gown, the fabric rippling against her curves - still her. Even after everything. Pale green eyes, shot through with silver now, searched her face in the mirror, and let out a deep breath. She'd walked a hundred aisles, worn a hundred gowns...this one was real. She was really doing this, and as much as it felt right...this was bigger than any play she'd ever run. Stepping back from her reflection, she smoothed her hands over the gown, checking it for the thousandth time - for lack of anything else to do.
"My God." The familiar voice behind her said softly. "You look absolutely breathtaking." Simon, dressed in the morning suit she'd chosen for him leaned against the doorway, that mellow smirk upon his lips. Though he wore the suit well, he seemed to almost disdain its presence on his form. His hair was short and nicely combed, trimmed facial hair kept neat. It had been a couple years since he'd really seen her in person, and looking at him now was like looking at a different man. The face was the same, but the weight behind his eyes was gone. He was at peace. He pushed off the doorway and started toward her. "How you doin', darlin?"
"I think...that's the first time you've ever called me breathtaking..." The laugh came quickly, bright and warm - he'd always been able to do that, even when the world had literally been on fire around them. She met his gaze in the mirror, that blue she'd never forget - and smiled. "You make that suit look good, Killer." The nickname was his, the same way no one but Eddie would ever be Puddin. Turning away from the mirror she did a slow turn, and held her hands out to him, the purple sapphire band shifted to her right hand just this morning. "Honestly? Excited. Nervous. But...sure? Does that make sense?"
"Nah...that can't be right, can it? I had to have told you that before, right?" He walked on over to her, opening his arms for a hug. He wrapped them around her body, pulling her close. He turned his head to one side, his lips gracing her cheek with a quick smooch. "Better late than never I suppose." "Anyway." He started, looking her over, those blue eyes taking in her elegant form. "Can't say I know much about weddings. But...pledgin' your life to someone...startin' that journey together? I can understand. "
She wrapped her arms around his ribs and hugged him tight, resting her chin on his collarbone, those jade eyes of hers sparkling. "I mean, you might have gasped it, but your compliments usually ran more to..." She winked, and brushed a smudge proof kiss to his cheek. "I'm not complaining. And you do look good. Healthy. Like you're sleeping.” There was a pause, gilt-edged gaze almost too wide to be believable. “Ana doesn't strike me as the - pomp and finery type. But...if you're ever looking...I'll give you the family discount." Grinning, she reached up, and tapped his nose. "Yeah...I didn't ever think it would happen. Not for real. Not to me...would you look at us, Killer? Settled. Us." Her. Him. Eddie. All of them.
"Y'know..." he squinted, looking off to one side before turning his gaze back upon that impeccably made-up face. "I'm inclined to agree. If you'd have told me years ago that I'd be living on a farm, movin' cattle and harvesting crops while you were gettin' hitched and running a casino...I'd have called you a liar." He chuckled, a wry grin on his face. "How the hell did we get here?" Blue eyes lingered on her for a long moment. "But, y'know what? It suits you. Happy's a good look on you, darlin'." He couldn't help but appreciate the irony of the whole situation. It had been her friendship with Eddie that had ended their relationship. Suspicions that were totally unfounded, had led her right into the man's arms anyway...and now he was walking her down the aisle. Willingly giving her away to a man he once felt had stolen her. Only now, he was more than happy to see them together.
"You would have done more than that - we both would. Laughter would have been the start of it..." They'd been wild, fuel to the others fire - the first time she'd let herself burn like that. She took a gentle grip on his chin, turning his head to one side, and then the other, eyes narrowed. "I like the beard. It suits the whole...rugged farm boy look." His laughter ignited hers, and she shook her head, lips curled into a smile. "I don't know. It feels good, too, but I'm pretty sure I don't have to tell you that." Something occurred to her then, and while she tried to hide the laughter, it slipped out. "I...need to buy you a cowboy hat. Why didn't I think of that for your attendant gift?" They'd been through so much, the two of them...and the whole crazy journey had put them both where they needed to be, where they belonged. "You hear from Miles much?"
"Every now and again." He said with a shrug. "They didn't stay on the ranch long. A few months in he and Tessa hit the road, went off on their own. She's still singin' and he's still keeping grabby drunks off her ass last I heard." He grinned. "I'm likin' the simple life. I spend all day with a woman who looks at me like the sun rises and sets in my eyes...I do good, honest work. Get to help people who were...like me. It's not terribly excitin' compared to what I once had...but if I'm honest, Tahlia? Boring suits me."
Tahlia tried not to snicker. She did. It didn't work. She recognized a great deal of herself in the singer. "That's gotta be a full time job." There was a slow roll of her shoulders, bare beneath the sealskin. "They're young. You don't really appreciate boring until you've gotten burned enough, y'know?" Untwining her arms from his ribcage, she let go, stepping back to beam up at him. "I know that look. I see it every day - both on Eddie's face, and in the mirror - whenever I think of him. It's crazy...I mean, running a casino is practically straight....y'know?"
"You sure you ain't drained any handsy cops lately? Land your man in a heap a' trouble so he has to burn down a perfectly good sleazy motel?" He smirked.
"Heyyyy...that worked out for me pretty well last time." The beam softened, jade and silver skimming over his face. "You ever regret giving that place a makeover?"
He couldn't help but laugh. It felt like a lifetime ago when he'd answered that call. "Regret? No." He shook his head. "Would I do it NOW? Eh...I'd probably try n' find a more elegant solution than torchin' the whole damn place."
It very nearly was a lifetime ago. "Me either. And what...how do you elegantly solve the issue of a desiccated corpse in a blood spattered room? I mean, I guess you could have just torched that room, but...we were kinda in a rush." She tapped his nose again. "But...now? I wouldn't be in that room."
His face scrunched up at the nose tap, a warm smile on his face. "We've come a long way, darlin'." He glanced toward the door. "Suppose I've just got to get you a little further. You ready to show those folks the most beautiful bride that's ever gonna live?"
Tahlia looked to the door, her smile going a bit wistful in response. "Yeah, we have." Everything smoothed away, her eyes shimmering softly. "Down the aisle, and - she knows I'm stealing you for at least one dance, right? I won't even tell her you said that." She winked up at him, and held out a hand. "There's no one I'd rather have hand me over, Killer. Even if Pop Tart's a little sulky..." She loved the little hacker, but what Eddie understood - that what she and Simon were for each other was huge and deep, and utterly different than what she and the Selkie had, what she saw with Simon and Anna - the kid was just too young, still, to get it.
He let out a little laugh, taking her hand. "First off, I insist on that dance. Second, Anna and me gettin' married ain't likely. What we got suits us just fine. 'sides. Ain't like she and I have ever been conventional."
She stopped and looked at him, the expression needing no words. And we are? Okay, it might not need words, but as she gave his hand a squeeze, and took the first steps toward her new life, she couldn't help teasing him a little. "Ah, yes, of course. Because Eddie and I are the soul of conventionality."
That trademark wry smirk played across those rugged features as he led her down the hall. As they were nearing their staging area, he stopped her, taking her other hand and looking the gorgeous blonde in the eye. "Alright. Before we do this. I have something to say." He collected his thoughts a moment, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. "Tahlia. You are...my best friend. I don't know where I'd be without you. Probably still drunk off my ass getting into fights every night..or worse." Those blue eyes lowered for just a moment before returning to her. "You saved me. You gave me a reason to live, a reason to fight for more than just the thrill. For that, darlin, I will never be able to repay you." He nodded. "But I want you to know...you look absolutely beautiful today. It's my honor to walk you down that aisle, and I love you. Always will." Simon brought her left hand up and placed a kiss upon her knuckles.
She had managed not to cry as Eddie - who swore the traditions of his people meant nothing, but whose hands had still shaken as he braided her hair into the ornate pale golden crown - pinned onto her shoulders his skin, the one she'd handed back to him time and time again before she'd understood what it meant. She'd managed not to cry looking at the ragtag little family she'd built without meaning to. But calm and collected as she'd been - those words, that moment, sent the shimmer spilling over her lashes. "I knew you'd test my mascara..." She was smiling through the tears, and made no move to pull her hand away. "Simon. Simon. We saved each other. I wouldn't be standing here, right now, without you. I'd be...who knows where...but I'd be cold, and empty, and looking at everything like dollar signs. You brought me out of that. You didn't give me a choice - and I don't think I can ever thank you enough."
She twisted her fingers to cup his jaw, locked on those pristine blue eyes, clearer than she'd ever seen them. "It's not a debt to be repaid. I love you. I will always love you. You are - other than Eddie, no one means more to me than you do, in any realm. You are my best friend. And from now until forever, you, and your family - well, you only ever have to ask, and if I can...I will." Her lashes fluttered, and she fanned her free hand to dry the tears. "Is it bad?"
Simon stared at her fondly, nothing but warmth and affection behind those pretty blues of his. Everything she said, he also felt. They'd given each other a life, even if it wasn't together. He'd been angry for so long, but she'd help take that away. He just shook his head as she asked about the make up. "No. You look amazing. Eddie's a lucky man. Let's go make him luckier."
The glimmering trails disappeared, and she rose up - just a little, Simon wasn't quite as tall as Eddie - and pressed a kiss to his cheek. She was so far from who she'd been when they met - but their paths had split, and they'd given each other the chance to have the lives they were meant for. Find their fit. "You're a good man, Simon Toews." Settling back on her heels, she took a deep breath, and turned, facing toward where she knew a giant Selkie waited for her. "We're all lucky. But yes. Let's - I can't believe I'm saying this - get me down that aisle. I'm ready."
As they made their way up the aisle, Tahlia felt a surreal sort of peace surround her. The crowd, the thankfully-not-a-squid officiant, everything went soft and gentle around the edges, except the man who's arm she held, and the one he was walking her toward. There was a moment, just before they all came together, when she thought about how differently this could have gone, and then she was letting go of Simon, and stepping up next to Eddie, and she caught the matching grins over a perfectly-timed handshake that said she wasn't the only one aware of the poetic perfection of the moment. The officiant began to speak, and she turned her focus to the musical cadence of the words, and the responses that went with it - with the calm assurance of someone who was exactly where she was meant to be.
But now and then, a woman walks up, full blossom, a woman just bursting out of her dress - a sex creature, a curse, the end of it all.
― Charles Bukowski, Post Office
Armor would have been better in Nikolai’s opinion. He would probably do that when he got married. Not that the tuxedo he’d been fitted with was bad, it just lacked a certain amount of coolness, even if it matched everyone else’s. He did his best to protect the ring, hard to do without armor and a good sword, another argument which fell on deaf ears. They didn’t even listen to the damsel in distress reasoning. What if he needed to rescue Serena? She was only six after all, a full year younger than he was. That made him responsible for her safety! Nothing happened during the rehearsal, unless you count that Serena refused to hold his hand. Girl’s were weird. It took forever for her to get it right, and then she wouldn’t stop. She’d grab hold of his hand when he wasn’t watching.
As it turned out, there was no need to rescue Serena, nothing bad happened other than being called adorable. Niko already knew that. He was well on his way to being offensively pretty. He did his job though, going up the aisle and meeting Serena who seemed to have forgotten what she was supposed to do. He tried to hold her hand again, only to have her pull it away, she did look cute though with her dark hair all up and the fancy dress. The ceremony took forever, and he had no idea what was being said. He probably should have paid better attention at wedding practice. Serena refused to stand, dropping on the floor and rolling. It was embarrassing! The audience just laughed about it, which only made it worse. Then came the pictures, Niko had been still for an awful long time, he really needed to wiggle just a little. The picture taker kept making him do things over. Once should be enough!
At the party, there was food and cake. He was told he had to wait for that though, until the bride and groom fed each other. That didn’t make any sense to him, they could have done that at any time. Why did it have to be a special time? At least there was dancing, and fishes. Niko loved to dance, and he was pretty darn good at it. He asked all the pretty girls to dance… even Serena who at least understood that sometimes you just have to jump and wave your arms around. He did keep looking for Addie, Avy, n Alex. Dancing with them would be super cool, He sure hoped they’d show up...he really hoped they remembered him.
If there was anyone here who's coloration matched up well with the wedding colors, it was the maid of honor. Normally, formal occasions like weddings and the like were things Tanya would avoid, if given the option. In this case, however ... here in a flowing dress of seafoam green, the majority of her ink covered in some form or another of delicate lace, with her arm linked with some fellow she'd only met during rehearsal a few days prior, and enduring a lengthy process of ponderous ritual ... and she'd still say there's no place she'd rather be.
Her bestie better remember which direction not to throw that bouquet when it was all said and done, though. If there's one thing she wasn't ready to do, it was tie herself down.
And so the smile on her face wasn't plastered, it was genuine happiness for her friend ... so much trauma and turmoil to have gone through, to finally have a happy ending. It just went to show that not everything in the universe held a grudge.
