“Mama!”
Litvir was in a very bouncy mood today. To the point that they leaped up at Gath and hugged them tightly before even entering the house.
“Hello, kiddo!” Gath patted Litvir on the back in a bid to calm them down. “How are you today?”
“Mama, I am in a very good mood today! Things are all good! The universe’s edge is safe, I helped Kyr Elkay and Kyr Akusasiiri with some library stuff, I had cookies with my friend Miisa, and now I have nothing else to do, so I came here to see you!”
“You came here just to see me?” Gath asked.
“Yes! But also to check on you. Make sure you are being a good mama! Doing the walking and the taking of tablets and the eating healthy food and all that!”
Gath grunted, then led Litvir inside. “I am doing all of that, yes. No need to remind me.”
“Oh. Sorry. But good that we both know!” Litvir beamed. “What are you doing today? Doing relaxing?”
“Somewhat, yes. I am making plans.”
“Plans for what?”
“Mine and Relkir’s wedding.”
Litvir started bouncing again. “Ah yes! The big promise thing! What sort of plans are you making?”
“Mostly small things, currently…” Gath led Litvir to the sofa and sat them down. Gath then went to the kitchen to grab some sugar-free, diet drinks, but Litvir got up and followed them.
“What sort of small things?” Litvir was clearly very excitable today, doubly so as Gath took them back to the sofa and sat them down again. “Like, food? Presents? Drinks? Fireworks?”
Gath glanced at Litvir. “Fireworks?”
“Yes! Pretty explosions! Kyr Murum’Va knows how to make them! She spits pretty sparkles into the sky! Apparently it is a Banikan thing when they do something big and important. Your wedding is something big and important, yes?”
“It is.”
“So have some fireworks! They are very pretty!”
Gath grunted, then reached for a notepad that was on the coffee table in front of them. “Very well, I will write that down.”
“Can I make other suggestions too?” Litvir asked. “Also, when is dada Relkir coming home?”
“I guess…” Gath frowned. “Relkir though messaged me earlier and said they were running a little late. It may be a while before they get back.”
“Ah… Oh well…” Litvir muttered. “Are there presents at the wedding? I think Relkir mentioned presents when I asked them what a marriage was. Like, two types of presents. You give everyone something, but those who want to say sorry give you a gift too.”
“You are somewhat correct. But I do not really plan on inviting anyone who wants to make amends. I want everything to go smoothly, and I also want things to be small and private.”
“Small and private, like Relkir?”
Gath paused somewhat, then nodded. “Yes.”
“Why? I thought this was a big thingy.”
“It does not have to be a big ceremony.”
“But you are big and important.”
“I know, Litvir, but I do not want a big ceremony. The bigger a wedding is, the more stressful it becomes.”
“Ooooooooooooh!” Litvir suddenly understood. “We want less stress to we make it smaller!”
“Exactly.”
“Am I still invited to your wedding?” Litvir suddenly asked.
Gath gave Litvir a funny look. “Litvir, little one, of course you are invited. We are your parental guardians. You will be the third most important person there.”
“I will?” Litvir was bouncing excitedly again. “What will I be doing?”
“You will be our blade-bearer.”
Litvir went blank. “A what now?”
“You will hold our forever-blades, the ones Relkir and I will use to make our promises to each other permanent.”
Litvir was still a little confused, but they eventually shrugged. “What will the daggers look like?”
“I have not decided yet. Relkir and I will both get custom forever-blades made for each other, and you will keep them in a box and separate. I will see Relkir’s forever-blade and Relkir will see my forever-blade for the first time at the ceremony.”
“Oh… That sounds very cool!” Litvir seemed to understand now. “What else have you been planning? And can I help with anything?”
Gath thought to themselves for a moment. “I suppose there are a few things. A small part of the wedding is that we give everyone a gift, a memento or a trinket for the event, so everyone has a small reminder of what happened. I am not sure what I would like to give everyone though.”
“How big will the gift be?” Litvir asked. “Will it be, like, a little statue or a bracelet or a bunch of flowers?”
“A… a bunch of flowers?” Gath didn’t expect that suggestion.
“Yes! Kyr Maresia makes lots of very pretty flowers! She is very good at making them and she gives them to anyone and everyone. I am not sure why, but all the Temthans she meets, they love the flowers and preserve them by making them flat and dry and then laminating them.”
“Huh. That is interesting…” Gath thought for a moment. “I do not think dried, laminated flowers are a good trinket, but perhaps we could get some inspiration from others. Perhaps we could use flowers to decorate the wedding location.”
Litvir clapped their hands with glee. “That sounds very pretty! All this wedding stuff sounds like a ton of fun!”
“It will be fun. But also somewhat stressful.”
“Why?”
Gath frowned. “There are a lot of moving parts to a wedding. Things can go wrong.”
“Is that not the case all of the time?” Litvir exclaimed. “All things can go wrong but also all things can go right. We just need to be good about things and not get angry when things go wrong.”
Litvir’s statement made Gath pause. They placed a gentle hand on Litvir’s shoulder.
“You are a really lovely kid, you know. So kind and innocent and wise for your years.”
Litvir shrugged. “I guess. It is just how I am. I want to protect everyone, and everyone being happy is part of that.”
“Still, you are genuinely wonderful.”
“I appreciate that…”
Litvir suddenly paused and stared at the front door. After a moment of silence, a key clicked in the lock and the door opened.
“Yay! Dada Relkir is back!” Litvir instantly rushed over and gave Relkir a hug, then dragged Relkir over and sat them down next to Gath. “The two best people are home now!”
Relkir glanced at Gath. Gath grunted and silently suggested that Relkir just go along with Litvir’s excitement.
“Hello, Litvir, how was your day?”
“It was good! And now it is better!” Litvir beamed.
Gath and Relkir both smiled.
“You are absolutely right, little Litvir. Everything is better now…”