Ouroboros Spine she brought the sugar and the mint

The Wedding! Please allow @Raindrop to post first, and then we'll tag everyone in for an optional post when they're ready.

The pelt was done, and miraculously, the matriarch of his line had arrived just in the nick of time. He and his aunt and the two children left to their family — Ponderosa and @Ludovic — had hunted again in the early hours of the morning. There was a feast now waiting for them, but Valiant had little care for that, now.

"Do you like it?" he asked Raindrop, showing off the beautiful, creamy white pelt he'd prepared. If she approved, they would drape it over both their shoulders, and accept the small blessings or silly curses that any willing packmate would bestow upon them.

For the moment, however, he only had eyes for Raindrop. She looked more beautiful every day as her body rounded out. He could scarcely believe how lucky he was to have met her, let alone to get to keep her in his life. Now he would marry her.

He wasn't afraid anymore.

He couldn't wait.

Today was the day that Raindrop and Valiant were to be married. Just a year ago, being married twice wasn’t a thought that would’ve crossed her mind. When she met Sumac, it was like true love. He was like a soul mate. But, life happened, as it often does. Just because he had left, doesn’t mean that they weren’t meant to be. And perhaps they’ll meet again one day. 

But for now, her heart held a pure and deep love for Valiant. There was something between them, a spark, that had been there from the very beginning. When two strangers met two years ago. 


She wished all her children could’ve been here for this day. She thought of them fondly as she readied herself. The future was bright for the growing family. When she had finished grooming herself, she sought out Valiant; ready to open a new chapter in life.

He had displayed the pelt that was crafted so beautifully. And when he asked if she liked it, there was no proper word to explain just how much she loved it. 

“I love it. It’s beautiful. And I know just how much love went into preparing it.” She replied, reaching to nuzzle into the side of his neck.

When she pulled away, she looked into his bright orange eyes, with a warm, true smile on her maw. “Are you ready, Val?”

At this question, Valiant only smiled, wide and brilliant and dazzling. Of course he was ready.

Silently, he took the edge of the pelt and pulled it over both their shoulders, pinning them together to keep it from slipping either way. They moved into the river still side by side, Valiant hissing and then huffing in laughter at the steep drop in temperature. When they were up to their chests in it, he turned carefully toward her, shifting the white pelt into a tent over both their heads.

It was quiet inside. Just the sound of their breathing, and the musical echo of the current. It pulled gently at the edges of the pelt.

"Together?" he said, gazing up into her eyes in the relative darkness. Everything glowed just faintly blue, filtered refraction from the glaciermelt water below and around them. Her eyes most especially.

Valiant cleared his throat and began to speak the words he'd taught her, carefully in time with his bride:

"My heart with yours, my home with yours, my life with yours."

Three times, so that there could be no doubt it was a promise. And then, at the end to seal it, "Now and forever."

He waited until she had echoed him to press a long kiss to her muzzle.

The white pelt was pulled over them, and she stepped in time with Valiant, pressing against his body. When they reached the river, she took a breath and held it as they stepped into the cold water. She couldn't help but giggle when her children stirred inside her when the cold water touched her belly.

It took a moment, but the water wasn't so bad after they'd been standing in it. Under the dark of the pelt, she gazed fondly into Valiant's bright orange eyes. Together, they would speak their vows three times over. "Together." She beamed, a bright, wide smile on her face, "My heart with yours, my home with yours, my life with yours."

Then, she pressed a warm kiss to his muzzle, then drank in his scent as she nuzzled his fur. Today marked the beginning of what she hoped would be many, many years of love and happiness. And of course, there would be bad days, but no matter what came, what they'd face, she hoped that they'd face it together.

It was only after the kiss that the water began to feel truly cold, and — laughing and waterlogged — Valiant helped his wife back up onto dry land. He gave a little shake, but with the pelt still draped over them, it was difficult to get all the water off. Too, it was necessary to grip either edge of the pelt in their teeth to keep it from dragging off as they headed toward the reception. Valiant grinned around it when he saw that the path had been littered with dried flowers and fragrant boughs of fir.

And then there was their family. Valiant's heart swelled to see them gathered here in joy. Ponderosa and @Ludovic, the children of his heart. @Arrluk, his leader and his brother. @Ajei, a sister to him now in spirit. Ahna and Chinnok, their sweet daughters. Rodyn, who had sheltered Raindrop and her daughters at Moontide, and then had brought them here safely to Moonglow. Others too, invited though they were not as well know, so that they, too, could share a meal with the new couple —

And offer a small blessing and an impish curse, if they so desired.

Finally, there was Easy, who stepped forward to greet them with a mischievous smile on her face.

I am about to post with Easy and then I think it can be open! And well wishers can say hello and speak a blessing and a silly curse if they like. Leonore & @Ippiksaut also welcome

Easy was the first to come to them, pressing a kiss each to their cheeks as she received them.

"My congratulations on your marriage," she said to them, her eyes just a little teary. "May the stars shine just a little brighter on you from this day forth — and may your children be so healthy and rambunctious that they never learn to stop pulling on your tail!"

She kissed Valiant's cheek again and released them, allowing the couple to greet and be greeted by others.

They stood in the waters. It washed away who they once were. The pelt laid over them both. It made them who they now would be together. 

Kukutux's words during marriage ceremonies past echoing in his mind: "here we are one people. speak to one another. in this place and this moment, you are both and you are neither. a man and a woman, seen before all our spirits and our gods." 

Arrluk smiles deeply to them both. You have stood as my brother and now, His green and blue eyes then sweeping to Raindrop. You stand as sister. A dip of his head to the pair as he steps aside and back. May the spirits bless you both.