Wedding Details

Outside all is cold and wind, neither of which is surprising for the season nor upon the mountain. It is a welcome change that the skies are clear, though this only made the night all the more frigid. Those who need not be out are certainly indoors. As well, it may be early enough in the day that those who need not be out of bed are not.

The house is warm and bright, not to mention fragrant. Aromas of the baked, roasted, fried, and/or possibly mildly burnt variety coalesce and compete with one another. This is not so unusual. What differs is that Auranar is not currently in the kitchen.

Still in her footed pajamas, yet armed with the protection of an apron, Verna has busied herself with producing food for the house... and possibly a small army? Not only busied, but may have been busy, given that several collections of small pies (some of meat, others of fruit) are already cooling even as she moves to swap the next set. Hunter assists her by bounding after in attempts to capture the wayward dangling apron strings. Both may have/had an excess of energy this morning or rose unexpectedly early and could not return to sleep.

Yawning quietly, but lured by the scent of food cooking - and possibly burning - Auranar heads downstairs in her own nightgown, a light pink affair that has a robe drawn over it against any lingering cold in the house. She reaches the bottom of the stairs and smiles at the sight of Hunter butt-wiggling in anticipation of his next strike against Verna's apron. "You think that you made enough pies?"

Butt-wiggling adjustments to impending trajectory are completed and liftoff is achieved! Just in time for Verna to finish setting the last batch into the oven and turn at Auranar's comment. She is only partially-aware of the thwarted leaping kitten now behind her as she returns the smile. "Good morning, love. I trust I did not wake you? I realized that my culinary skills were in need of further practice." She looks to the counterful of goods. "It is possible that I created more than expected..."

The wild elf smiles and steps to the edge of the kitchen. "The smell of tantalizing food is not an unpleasant way to wake up in the morning. Though you look like you're planning to feed a small army... Or maybe one not so small. I take it that we're out of the last of our fruit for the season?"

Verna returns her attention to Auranar and steps to meet her. Hunter has decided to seek easier prey pounces a piece of what may be the last of the fruit. "I..." a glance to an empty spot on the counter and back "I shall acquire you more. Certainly there are dried or preserved options yet available." There is a pause of thought and her smile dims. "You had a use for the fruit already planned?"

"It's fine Verna." Auranar's smile widens and she offers her hand to her beloved. "I had no such plans, and it's the way of things that things get used. Spring is not so far away, and then we'll be up to our knees in fruit once again."

Verna reaches for the hand, then pauses to brush residuals from it upon her apron before taking it gently. Her smile is rekindled. "You are correct, and wise, and lovely. As ever you are. Would you care for some tea? There are pies available for breakfast, as well. I-" She pauses, taking a breath. "Apologies. I may have overindulged in tea this morning. Do you have any plans unrelated to fruit?"

"Tea and one of those pies to split would be lovely." Auranar pulls Verna close with the hand that she is given and kisses the other woman lightly on the cheek. "Relax. What has you in such a mood this morning? All the baking... Did you have another nightmare about Kol?"

Verna is easily moved and the slightly flour-dusted cheek warms at the kiss. Between that and the directive, she does seem to deflate somewhat with a mostly pleasant sigh. "Another nightmare, yes. Kol was not present." The last should be somewhat heartening, though her tone is not so relieved. She looks to the pot, perhaps considering fetching the tea, though she does not otherwise move. "It was only of us, and that The Harpist shall judge me long before your time." As they both know and had recently spoke of.

"Seems to me that it was on your mind for the dreaming of." Auranar says gently, pulling the other woman into her arms for a hug. She holds Verna there for a time and then kisses her gently again. Not minding the flour at all. "I'm sorry."

It's a gently spoken thing, and Auranar pulls away to make her way toward the tea pot. "You pick one of the pies? I'll get the tea started and you can begin to forget that terrible dream. I've been thinking about the wedding..."

Hugs. Auranar hugs. Those appear to be the secret weapon to get Verna to relax, as she partially melts. She opens her mouth to assure there is nothing to apologize for, but then Aura has stepped away. Shifted topics, as well. The latter is welcomed. The former... well, Verna cannot expect either of them to get much accomplished if they were perpetually attached.

"What are your thoughts of the wedding?" she inquires as she now has that to focus upon in addition to fetching plates and dividing a fruit pie.

"I've been thinking that... Maybe we should hold the ceremony - the celebration here in Alexandria. I know grandmother wants it there, and we'd started planning that it should be there but..." Auranar fiddles with the tea kettle before putting it over the fire to start boiling. She then fiddles with the tea, taking her time to pick out the perfect one. "With Dolan injured and most of our friends here it feels wrong to pack everyone up and drag them all the way to Llyranost."

Verna approaches with plates in hand, brows raised in some surprise. "That would be more convenient for our friends. It would also give you... us full control of the celebration. If that is what you wish, I agree with your choice... though I wish to cause no ill will with your family."

Auranar finally choses a tea and with the kettle whistling pours the hot water into the tea pot and lets the mix begin to brew. "I'm not sure what I want to do Verna. I want our friends to be there, and I don't want to drag everyone to Llyranost just because it's traditional? But... Grandmother is already making waves and I don't want to make things more of a challenge than they already are."

Verna sets the plates to the table nearby and is silent for a moment; looking to Auranar though it is apparent that thoughts are branching elsewhere. "The planting is a tradition for your people and family, and we would still honor that, I presume? A public ceremony is far more a human custom. The two are not mutually-exclusive. We could hold the celebration here, for our friends and allies, and still travel to Llyranost for the Curuchuil?"

The wild elf suddenly looks uncomfortable, sitting down in her chair and soothing her hands over her robe. "It was terrible growing up Verna. Knowing I had a family but that they... Didn't want me for some reason. When I found out that nothing had been added to the Curuchil when I was born it was like... Like I was cut out of the family completely." She stares down at her hands. "I know you don't have a family Curuchil, so maybe it's hard to imagine, but there's a thousand years of my family sitting there and I'm not a part of it. I never will be if we don't make our mark there Verna. I want that mark. I want us _both_ there, a symbol of our love that will exist long after we're both dust."

She looks up suddenly, fierceness and sorrow battling in her black eyes. "You know how you said you wanted the whole world to know that we're together? That our love exists? I want that too. I want a living, growing testament to how I feel about you to be out there. We deserve that Verna. You have no idea how much I want you to be a part of my Curuchuil... I'd do anything to make it happen."

Verna frowns as she listens, though she does not listen idly. She steps to Aura's chair and crouches before her. She places her hands atop those trying to smooth the robe to offer comforting contact. "Wherever you wish me, I shall follow. Whatever their reasons for such an insult, I would happily aid you to prove them false. I do not know your family, but I would dare say that they do not deserve you any more than you deserve to be treated as they did."

She nods, meeting fierceness with her own determination. "Then it is all the better that we proclaim it more than once, and for others to still witness in generations to come."

Auranar shakes her head and looks at Verna fondly. "You are a marvel, Verna. I wish you could see yourself through my eyes just once. You never talk about your family, so I've always imagined that you're about as welcome as I feel in mine." She turns her hands over so she can hold Verna's. "If I'm utterly honest I know that wanting us to have our part of the Curuchil is mostly selfish, but I want it for you too Verna. You deserve a family that loves you. I can't make mine better, but I can give you this part of it. A little plot of land beside the trees that were planted in honor of my parents."

"Aura," Verna clasps her hands firmly. "So far as I am concerned, -you- are my family. I was no more raised by my parents than you yours, and yours..." a pause as she considers words to match her intent "yours acted selflessly, for you. Mine did not. There is little for me to tell of them, and even less cause to do so."

Her hands squeeze briefly. "You are not selfish to desire this, and certainly not to include myself. Whatever faults your family may bear, if you consider them a part of yourself, then I shall accept and welcome them as such."

"I just want..." She tries to find the words and finally squeezes Verna's hands. "I want a lot of things. But you're right. As long as we have each other that's what's important. Who cares what grandmother thinks? I want our friends there when we have the ceremony. She gets the planting the way she wants. We get this."

Verna's lips curl up as she offers a smile. "Our friends are pleased, we are pleased, and grandmother is pleased. All desires fulfilled. There is no selfishness involved." She rises, not releasing hands immediately, nor realizing that she did not refer to Auranar's grandmother explicitly as Auranar's. "Now that we have full authority over the festivities, when would you wish to hold them? Where? Whom shall we invite?" She has not yet had more tea, yet her excess energy appears to have returned.

Their conversation quickly dissolves into happy details. The exact when and where, and of course everyone who'd be invited and how likely it was that they'd be able to come. Auranar is full of ideas, full of joy at the prospect of their union. Hunter manages to catch Verna's apron strings while she's distracted and he gets to join the conversation. While it might not have been the best start to the day, but it's slowly looking up.

-End