A Secret Ceremony
Setting:
RW Abbey: Stained Glass Window
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
You stand on a ledge above the arch and the magnificent Great Hall of the abbey. The light filters in through the incredible stained glass windows that depict many heros and legends, as well as other scenes, the most prominent being ones of the legendary Martin the Warrior, founder of Redwall and its Order. The glass is very colorful, and by moving about, the light bounces off you and makes you look like you're red, blue, yellow, orange, green, purple, and more.
Dust is fairly thick here, for there are few who dare to climb up here. It is beautiful sight indeed.
You wonder where to go next. The sandstone ribs that are in the center of the windows curve above you. Most have been intricately carved with curlicues and niches. Perhaps that's where you want to go?
'
Characters:
Magramba, Abbey Champion
Aden, wandering performer
=
~*~A Secret Ceremony~*~ ===
High above the rest of the Abbey dwellers stand two squirrels. One of them is Magramba. He's dressed nicely for once, in that otherwise unused pair of clothes he's hinted at the existence of before. It's essentially a carbon copy of his regular clothes, but not trashed. He's holding one of the other squirrel's paws.
Aden shifts nervously - anything involving long term commitments has sent her running in the past, but flight would be a very short-lived (and painful) method of escape from their current ledge. They managed to find one of those places perfect for squirrels, and the lack of escape routes is working out in their favor; though nervous as this sort of thing makes her, the silver squirrel is firm in her convictions. She's had her freak out and it wasn't enough to drive her from the Abbey - so something must be right here. Her own attire reflects her more flexible wardrobe, and she's actually wearing a dress! It wasn't very practical for the climb up, and she certainly didn't go first, but she isn't regretting it now they're standing up on the window. As terrifying as the implications of this whole 'paw binding' ceremony are, she has had that image of the day in her mind since she was a dibbun. "This may be one of the only 'private' places in the Abbey." She laughs, softly, her voice tense with nerves.
"There are more," Magramba assures her, with a chuckle to shrug off his own nerves. "Believe me, I've... made a point of finding them over the seasons. And just think, all that knowledge and experience will soon be at your command." Laugh. "If you behave, at least. No dueling Sister Agatha." The red band of ribbon he's selected for the event is burning a hole in his palm, making it sweat. "Are you ready? Are you /sure./"
"And here I thought this was just for show." Her grip tightens, his presence grounding her against the waves of uneasiness. It always has. "I'm already snubbing her by standing here, aren't I?" She teases, exhaling sharply before admitting, more seriously. "I tried to slip out /three/ separate times in the night and never got far so... That's a first, you know?" Aden nods, ears flicking back. "Are you? That's a lot of big life changes to handle at once. At least Martin's sword doesn't bother you while you're trying to read." Because she certainly does.
"Martin's sword is pretty cold, too," Magramba notes, with a wink. "I'm sure. I've wanted this for a long time, but I never thought I would be allowed to have it." That whole wandering warrior ridding the land of evil gig. "And, for what it's worth, I wouldn't want it with anyone else."
"You -" As talkative as she may be, Aden is finding herself at a surprising loss for words. "Well, I certainly followed you around long enough." Her gaze goes to the ground and there's a small chuff of laughter. "I don't think I would be /able/ to do this with anyone else. It's always been you." And that's about the very cheesiest she is capable of. "I don't think I can get much more embarrassing than that..." She gestures towards his paw and the ribbon clutched there.
"Well, let's get it over with then, so we can both stop blushing," Magramba jokes, although the red tinge that's crept into his ears is no joke at all. The Champion lifts her paw, clasped in his, between them, and tucks the end of the ribbon between the gap of his paw and thumb, winding its length around the pair a few times. "Aden Skipaw, I pledge myself to you, body and soul, so long as we both shall live. I will give myself to no other, and I will honor and protect you until one of us is laid in the tomb." He pauses to give her a nervous smile after the long serious talk, then plows ahead. "I give this vow to you as an oath, of and by my free will." He falls silent, watching her expectantly, struggling to hold back the grin that threatens to break through at any moment.
"It's a nice look on you, though." Aden's own smile is one tinged with nervous anticipation. Her attention is on him as he speaks, her posture stiff and keeping in the proper tradition of it all. She doesn't fight her own smile, though. And then a deep breath - she remembers this; looked it up in a book and everything. "Magramba Dukal, I promise to love you wholly and completely without restraint, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in poverty, in life and beyond, where we shall meet, remember, and love again." As the paws are bound, she breaths out. "I give this vow to you as an oath, of and by my free will."
After a long moment of silence, mostly of Magramba smiling at her and waiting for something magic to happen, the older squirrel glances at their wrapped paws. "I guess we untie it now? I've never done this before."
Nothing magical happens - there is a distinct lack of shining, golden light - but Aden doesn't feel like that should be how it just /ends/. She steps forward with a grin to kiss him - her husband. Oh they have to tell people now, don't they? Finally stepping back, that nervous energy all comes out in a short laugh. "/Now/ we untie it. So..." She pinches the end of the ribbon and starts to unravel it. "What, you take my last name or something?" She winks.
As the kiss presses against him, Magramba leans forward in to it, getting his paw up to her cheek before they break it. "You're right," he chuckles, the first of many times, no doubt. "And don't be ridiculous. But we do need rings, that's still the custom." As though folks had stopped doing it somewhere else. He holds the ribbon out to her as a keepsake.
Of course she's keeping that as a keepsake! The ribbon is tucked into one of her pockets, patting it down to be sure. Aden’s head is still pulled in a hundred different directions, but his steady rationale, as always, is there to pull her back to the present moment and what needs to be done. "Rings, yes." She agrees. They'll find them around the Abbey - these things have a way of working themselves out. The forge would have no trouble with that. "There's time to worry about that later." Tomorrow. Next week - they've got time, now.
"Well, luckily I'm a smith," Magramba reminds her, trying not to be disconcerted by the fact that she couldn't remember. It's a hectic, crazy moment, after all, and details like that tend to flee away at such times. "I'll get something sorted out for us. Are you ready to get down, Mrs.?"
"Luck? Or strategic planning on my part, hm?" Hm indeed. Aden laughs, a paw placed against the window - the light filtering through casts everything in an array of colors. And she totally remembered, don't worry. "I am! This is...Weird." She grins as she swings from the ledge to get a foothold on the spikes below. "Good weird - obviously." She snarks, and then is climbing back down, leading the way back towards the Abbey below.
"Heh. Yeah, good weird," Magramba agrees, swinging down to follow.
Groups:
