Welcome to Gaia! ::

It had been hard figuring out where exactly to look in the phone book for wedding services, but after much fumbling, Talon had managed to find a short listing of chapels and services scattered in amid the sea of caterers, decorators, insurance companies, and divorce lawyers.

Of those chapels, only two performed small ceremonies upon request and only one was within reach on a single tank of gas. So it was there that Talon and Yeande had planned to go. As an afterthought, they had stopped at a secondhand store to seek out slightly more formal attire before continuing on their way.

Getting out of the car, Talon paused, his eyes crawling over the small white building inquisitively. It wasn't anything special...just a tiny out-of-the-way church, but it was certainly better than the courthouse. A certain foreboding stole over him as he realized just how big a step they were about to take.

Sliding out of the passenger seat, Yeande kept one hand on her belly, smoothing hte pale fabric of her dress over the prominent bulge there. She frowned faintly, looking to Talon in hesitation. It wasn't because she was having second thoughts... it was because inwardly, she wondered just what the 'priest' was going to think of her condition. No one would likely believe that this marriage was anything other than convenience, no matter how they really felt about each other.

He was still for a moment more before putting an arm around her waist and starting forward. "Let's go." he murmured. The changes of this were going to be immediate, he reminded himself....they were going in engaged and coming out husband and wife. If he thought about it for too long, it boggled his mind...and so the simple solution, of course, was NOT to think of it.

The front door opened without sound when he pushed on it, sending a breath of cool air washing over the two of them and a cloying floral smell. The sensation and scent, however, were the only immediate greeting they recieved as the front hallway seemed deserted.

"Is anyone even here?" she asked, looking around as she moved a step closer to Talon and let her arm drape around his waist. The place looked imposing, even though it was obviously something that had been thrown together to look like a larger church in a much smaller space. The piped-in music was soft in the background, the organ tones filtering through the entry hall almost too softly to truly be heard.

"This must be what its like in a funeral parlor..." Talon remarked sourly, his eyes shifting back to the door. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to be out of this place and breathing fresh air again. Not only that, but the suit he'd picked out was driving him insane...the collar picked at his neck, it was too tight in the chest, and too loose in the inseams.

"Maybe we should just--" he began.

"May I help you?" an elderly voice inquired to their left. So caught up had they been in surveying the place, they hadn't noticed as one of the hallway doors had opened and an old man with salt-and-pepper hair wearing a trim charcoal suit had stepped out to regard them both with a curious, but kindly, expression.

As soon as Talon started to sound like he was getting cold feet, Yeande tightened her hold on his arm, determined to use a net if needs be. When the other man spoke, it startled her enough to jump, the Ijiuo instinctively stepping closer to Talon and turning to regard the older man curiously. "Hello," she began, clearing her throat softly. "We... we would like to get married?" It wasn't until after she spoke that she wanted to slap her own forehead. Of COURSE they wanted to get married. People didn't come into a chapel just to get pictures taken with flowers.

The old man did not comment, he merely smiled and reopened the door he'd just come out of, making a sweeping gesture into the room with one hand. "Right this way." he gently instructed.

"...just like that?" Talon asked, quirking a brow at him as though it couldn't be that easy.

"There will be papers to sign, of course, sir, but we can look at those afterward. You could even take some of them home to be mailed in later if you like." His expression never wavered...it was as though this place was perfectly used to accomodating people who showed up out of the blue demanding a wedding. Then again, at the rate couples formed and broke up in Gaia, Talon supposed he shouldn't have been surprised.

Reluctantly, he started forward into the indicated room.

Yeande was a bit more eager, stepping in before Talon did and smiling as she looked around the small chapel. It was beautiful... and not nearly as intimidating as a real church seemed to be. It felt cozy, and she was suddenly very glad that Talon had suggested this, it was a much better place than a courthouse. "I can't believe we're really doing this," she whispered, nearly giddy as they walked into the chapel.

Talon said nothing, his eyes crawling over the room. It WAS pretty....it lacked the benches and large echoing acoustics of a normal church and was simply a thinly-carpeted room with an alter and vases of yellow, white, lavendar, and pale blue flowers arranged in a decorative manner.

The minister was already taking his place behind the alter, shuffling papers and leafing through a well-worn book before looking up at them, his eyes wordlessly asking them if they were going to join him.

"Do you have the rings?" he asked in a hushed tone of voice as they approached, his eyes looking from Talon to Yeande expectantly. Talon felt his heart sink. Rings. In all of the rush, they'd forgotten what was likely one of the most symbolic parts of the entire thing. Stupid...!!

"If you like..." the old man offered, taking the pause as a 'no' "...we have simple bands that can be added onto the fee of the license and ceremony for sixty dollars more. Not only were they used to dealing with impromptu weddings, apparantly, they were used to dealing with poorly-planned impromptu weddings.

Yeande looked to Talon, nodding softly as if giving her assent, at least. They DID need rings, after all. "We can get permanent ones later, right?"

Talon wasn't sure if she was talking to him or talking to the minister, but answered anyway. "Right." he said, his tail giving a single spastic flick through the air. "Okay."

The minister smiled and fetched a pen off of the edge of the alter. "And your names?"

"I gave them over the phone. Talonfaust Breslin and Yeande?" he replied, shifting his weight nervously.

"I'm afraid I wasn't the one who took your call." the minister said apologetically. "Spell them, please?"

Trying not to roll his eyes, Talon spelled out both of their names for him as the old man jotted them down neatly and then excused himself from the room briefly. When he returned, he was carrying a pair of thin gold bands which he set on the edge of the alter within easy reach. Satisfied all was in order, he smoothed the pages of the book and straightened himself up. "Are we ready?"

The ijiuo looked to his partner as though it was up to her whether they were ready or not.

Yeande had elbowed him less-than-gently at the agitated tone in his voice, and was now standing and facing the minister with a soft smile. Inside, she was nervous as hell, but she wasn't going to let that stop her. "We're ready," she said, the only hint at her internal state being the twitching of her tail and wings.

Clearing his throat, he began, his voice raising from the hushed murmur it had been to a slightly louder-than-normal volume as he gave the opening prayer.

"Today, as your two hearts unite, may the Lord enter into your holy union and consecrate the love that brings you here.

And may you build together a lasting home, not of wood and stone and glass, but a mansion made of many rooms, filled with shared experience and furnished with shared love.

And in your house of many rooms, remember to keep a place apart for thinking private thoughts, and dreaming private dreams; a place where each of you can grow and share a private you in contemplation and prayer.

And from this day until forever may the Lord remain with you always, to keep your love eternally young, and your faith forever strong."

He paused, then, a heavy silence falling over the room before he continued.

"Do you, Talonfaust, take Yeande as your partner in life, to trust, to love, in tears and joy, faithfully through all hardships and obstacles until death do you part?"

He'd heard variations of the words in all manner of movies and television shows and he knew well what the answer was supposed to be. But up until now, he'd never actually listened to them before. He was being asked to make one of the most important promises of his life...one that he was not allowed to break for any reason.

Clasping Yeande's hands in his own, his palms feeling slightly clammy to the touch, he drew in a deep breath and let it out again. "I do." he said quietly as the minister's eyes settled themselves on Yeande.

"And do you, Yeande, take Talonfaust as your partner in life, to trust, to love, in tears and joy, faithfully through all hardships and obstacles until death do you part?"

Yeande's voice was barely audible as she kept her eyes locked to Talon's. Her hands tightened slightly around his own as her lips quirked upward in a faint smile. "I do," she whispered, nearly vibrating in place where she stood. The words of the ceremony had affected her as well, the Ijiuo feeling as though her heart were pounding in her chest. This wasn't a dream anymore... it was real, it was happening... and she'd just agreed to stay with Talon for the rest of their days, however long that may be. "I do," she said again finally, this time her voice easily heard.

Talon returned her smile...just as faint, just as thin, but present. For one moment, he'd almost been sure she would have second thoughts...it was a crazy notion, of course, considering this had been her idea and that he'd never known her to back down from something in her life, but it had been there, all the same.

"The rings..." the minister said softly, offering them out to them as Talon snapped himself out of the momentary trance to accept one of the bands and gently slide it onto Yeande's left ring finger.

Yeande reached for the other ring as well, admiring the gleam of gold against her finger before moving to slide its mate onto Talon's left hand. For a moment, she let her hand rest over his, watching the way the light played on the twin bands for a moment. That sight was what finally did it... and when she looked back up to him again, Yeande had tears glistening in her eyes, her grasp trembling as she held onto him.

The faint smile faltered as Talon noted the unnatural shimmer in her eyes and the falter in her hands. He wasn't sure if they were symptoms of joy or of remorse, and hoped desperately for the former. The ceremony hadn't even been officially closed yet and yet they'd already made the committment...it was done.

"By the power vested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife." the minister stated, sweeping the book closed and looking up at the two of them with a broad approving smile. "You may kiss the bride."

There was no hesitation as Talon leaned in, pressing his mouth warmly against hers.

The first kiss was tentative... almost as though she couldn't quite believe this was happening. They had only parted for a moment, however, before Yeande pounced at him, winding her arms around his shoulders and sealing a second, deeper kiss against his lips.

The second kiss took him offguard, but he recovered quickly from the shock to gather her tightly against him. Talon wasn't quite sure how he felt at the moment...relieved that it was over with, happy that they had made such a commitment to one another, or apprehensive about whether things would really work out or not.

Whatever the case, things had now officially changed yet again. It was going to take him awhile to get used to referring to Yeande as his wife.