faderift | Swing Me On Your Trapeze

WHO: Friends of Nathaniel Howe and Anders.
WHAT: An informal Wintersend wedding
WHEN: Wintersend Day
WHERE: Camp Shady
NOTES: Open invitation to all Wardens and anyone who considers themselves a close enough friend of one of the grooms. We're not policing the invite list.

There's scarcely an announcement, though the men have had their minds made up for a while. It's assuredly not formal, invitation spread only by word of mouth. It is, due to the people involved, tactfully swept into Wintersend where it will be camouflaged by a number of other Wintersend celebrations.

No it's not a surprise. No it doesn't really make sense. But Anders and Nathaniel are getting married anyway.

Decorations are simple, mainly winter flowers and evergreen, whatever is colorful at this altitude. Those same winter flowers are made into crowns for the grooms, which is a tradition from the Anderfels. Nathaniel wears his dress uniform, a tradition everywhere. Anders wears a striking set of blue robes to match, though mages have no marriage traditions. Miraculously, a priest has agreed to perform the ceremony. She is content not to make this more or less than what it is: a celebration of the love of two people.

Vows are spoken, the ceremony kept short, and soon enough the grooms take hands and jump over a broom together--a tradition from Amaranthine which puzzles people to this day. And so they are now married, and the party can begin.

The party has simple but abundant fare--mostly meat and bread and plenty to drink, none of it nonalcoholic. There are fires and torches and lanterns casting their warm glow. A couple of Wardens provide the music for dancing on drum and fiddle. Anyone who pleases (Kaisa) is welcome to stand (if they still can) (Kaisa) and propose a toast to the husbands, to the Maker, to the Grey Wardens, to their right buttcheek that's gone numb from sitting (Kaisa), anything they wish. The drunker people get, the funnier everything is. No fighting is allowed, however (Kaisa).

Tonight, the moon is high and the stars are bright and the music is merry. It's easy to forget, for a short time, that the world is in such peril. It's easy to believe all will be well when you're celebrating a wedding.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bethany floated up to him, silver ribbons in her hair and a warm cloak covering her very best polished Warden armor. She beamed at him as she threw her arms around him, brown eyes bright and shining.

"Congratulations, Anders! Or should I call you Anders Howe, now?" She smiles, brilliantly. "You look amazing, do you feel amazing?"

"How Anders what?" He beams back, holding her in return. Now the bad jokes are about his own name too, and he couldn't be happier. He has a name. Not just something used to refer to him, a name that belongs to him and the man he loves.

"Yes. To all of it." And terrified. Amazing and terrified. "Here's hoping he never recovers from whatever hit him on the head hard enough to think this was a good idea."

"Anders HOWe are you such a brat?" She smacked him lightly on the arm, before giving him another tight hug. "Anders, I am so happy for the two of you! And it's love, you silly fellow."

She beamed, spinning him around once, her brown eyes bright.

"I was born one," he retorts after the spin. "And something had to let his guard down enough for love to sneak in there. Maybe it was my eyes. Or my ankles. One of the Dalish asked me if humans had things for ankles."

Anders twirls her once, hugging back. "There has to be something else going on. I thought his eyes would fall out from being rolled so much back when I met him originally."

"Well that I totally believe. I utterly believe you have been a brat since you were in swaddling clothes." She grinned, before she thought about it, "I don't know. I haven't had anyone say anything about my ankles."

She beams at him, before she laughs, "I did the same thing to him, when I met him."

"You rolled your eyes at him, or he rolled his eyes a lot at you? The latter's easy to believe. It's fun to make him roll his eyes, and rather easy, too. I've made a habit of it."

He looks over in Nate's direction fondly. "And he must like doing it." Or he likes other perks of hanging around Anders, but those are still relatively new in the terms of their relationship. "He's stuck with it now. He made the vows and everything just the same as I did."

"I rolled my eyes at him. But that's because I was an angry, depressed nineteen year old who had nearly just died of the Blight. I got over it, and Nathaniel ... while he rolled his eyes once and and while? Was the best there was." She gave a fond smile in Nathaniel's direction, before she hooked her arm through his. "He loves doing it. Don't you ever doubt it for a moment. You two are in it for life."

He refrains from saying that yes, Nate is the best there is. There's a sibling relationship between Bethany and Nate, and it wouldn't be nice to her to make any remarks like that to her. Later he'll make them to Nate.

"For quite some time he had me fooled. Years, even. Maybe I should have realized in Kirkwall, when he was smiling, but my mind was... otherwise occupied." Literally. "But you've no need to worry. I know he loves it and he loves me. He's the one that asked, after all."

Well honestly the face that Bethany would make would be like 'ew, Anders, don't explain why', but she was in such a good mood she would at least laugh about it.

"... There you have it. He loves you, all of you, and that Anders -- is everything I know you've ever wanted. Outside of mage autonomy." She beamed, "And we're working on that one."

Anders glanced away. He knew he'd wanted love for a very long time, but hearing it made him feel... a little more vulnerable than he exactly liked. At least it was Bethany saying it, though. Anything she knew about him wasn't going to be used against him. It just meant that others might have noticed and... He stopped his thought. And what? He had it. He had love. No one could just take that away. Anders looked back and gave her a small smile.

"We are." His voice was quiet. "We're making progress I'd dreamed of but never dared hope for." Now they have to hope they can keep it, but today he's feeling a little more like hoping than he usually is.

"Thank you, Bethany."

Honestly whatever Bethany knew about Anders -- he could trust that she would keep it to herself. Perhaps it was because she understood what it was like to be vulnerable, to be at the mercy of others for your own protection. Now that he had love and he wanted to keep it safe ... well. She could understand that too.

She smiled back, before she nodded once, "You are always welcome, Anders." She gave his hand a tug. "Now. Dance with me, please?"

"Of course." The smile warms, and he follows her to the dance floor where he takes the lead promptly. The beat is quick and familiar, and his movements are rather confident. It's not like he's a bad dancer, after all, and he knows how to dance with her.

A few beats in he leads her in a spin, grinning at her. "Are you up for a challenge, Bethany? We can ask for something a little faster."

She lets out a delighted laugh as he spins her around, and she twists and turns with him evenly.

"I am always up for a challenge, Anders, you know that."

"You should be careful about saying always." The grin is full as he glances over at the musicians and gestures for a faster beat.

"Let's, Bethany." He starts to lead, ready to slow if need be but expecting her to keep up with him.

She dimpled at him, before her eyes flashed mischief and she moved in step with him, and then a little faster. Forcing him to keep up with her, naturally/

Swing Me On Your Trapeze

Re: Anders, open

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject