Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aennan lowered his hand once the room was quiet and smiled at the large crowd.

"Prince Aranel," he began, turning to look at Aranxia's father, "before all these witnesses, I ask you for your daughter's hand in marriage. Do you give her to me, fully and freely, with all your heart?"

Aranel returned the warm smile and, eyes sparkling, replied solemnly, "I do."

His teal eyes radiating his emotions, Aennan turned to Aranxia and asked her, "Aranxia Aldrich, will you accept this ring as a symbol of my undying love for you, of my promise to be a faithful husband, to provide for you in every way possible, to all eternity?"

He held out hand to her, a silver band lying in his palm.

Aranxia beamed at him, her cheeks flushed brightly. "Yes," she breathed; and Aennan smiled widely and slipped the ring onto her finger.

And then it was her turn.

"Aennan," she said, holding up a second silver band, "do you take this ring as my pledge to you, to forever be your faithful and loving wife, to care for you, to be a help to you, and to belong to you, for ever?"

Aennan's smile grew even wider. "Yes," he replied; and then it was Aranxia's turn to slip the ring onto his finger. They smiled at each other, and then Aennan swept Aranxia into his arms and kissed her warmly amid loud cheers that had broken out in the room. When Aranxia was again standing on her own two feet, the flush on her cheeks had become a bright blush.

Aysu was the first person to congratulate the two, and she just about pounced on the two of them together before proceeding to nearly suffocate them in a hug. As others congratulated the pair, the noise level in the room ebbed slightly, then rose again as people began to talk amongst themselves once more.

Ruel excused himself and moved off to join his wife, and Shiro turned to Miyuki and grinned at her.

"I think you were going to say something before," he told her, curious to know what it was. "You wanted to ask me something?"

Shiro wasn't exactly startled by the news - he after all was staying with his twin, who was Andarien's daily trainer, and Andarien's Pokémon was the father of the expected Poké-babies.

That didn't mean he was expecting the question, however, or that he knew the answer.

"I've done a bit of reading up on Pokémon breeding," he told her, "and unfortunately, when it comes to Eevees and their evolutions, there are a lot of variables. Depending on circumstances - many of which are still not understood - they could give birth to either live young, live eggs - by which I mean they're growing and ready to hatch within a short time - or dormant eggs, which can be left alone for an indeterminate period of time before being induced to hatch. Those are usually the ones you find in shops, like how you and Andarien got Ai and Eon."

He shrugged. "Beyond that ... Pokémon are animals, and animals have instincts. Let Ai herself be your guide. That's about the best advice I can give you."

"Probably," Shiro nodded, chuckling. "I'd imagine that she might be making a nest of things that are comforting, things that she's used to. Your belongings would make the most sense in that way."

He smiled and put one hand on her shoulder. "Anyways, I wouldn't worry too much about her. I'm sure everything will be fine. If you want, I can let you read through the information I have on my tablet, but really there isn't much more than I've already told you."

Shiro chuckled again. "See? It'll be fine. Stop worrying so much. Babies are a part of life. Just make sure she's getting enough food, is all."

Then he grinned at her. "Now come on, this is a celebration. Relax! Enjoy yourself. Have a snack."

And with that, he himself headed off to the refreshments table.

Earendil had already finished breakfast and was ready to go, and he knocked on Miyuki's bedroom door to see if she was also ready.

"Miyuki?" he called through the door. "We need to go soon if we're going to see them all before they leave. And we're supposed to pick up Lancaeriel on the way. Are you almost ready?"

"We can come back here afterwards," Earendil pointed out bemusedly. "Unless you want to show your things off to your grandparents and aunt and uncle."

And really, most of the people were still going to be here afterwards. And it would be a while before they left the city.