EPILOGUE
Eleri
The flooding ended, leaving Laurus surprisingly green.
S’samph had hardly let her out of his sight for long enough to plan their mating ceremony, but S’kasia had made it clear he could either listen to them plan the event or sit outside in his boat.
Yet, despite all the planning that had gone into it, everything felt strange as Eleri stood on one side of a leaping bonfire.
S’samph held her mating bands as he stared at her from the other side of the rising flames.
S'kasia had exchanged her daily orange priestess’s robes for a traditional set of ceremonial green, while Eleri wore a heavily embellished version of the dress she’d scrapped to make bandages after S’samph’s encounter with the raviks.
It was wholly impractical and cost a wild amount of credits, more than she would have ever dreamed of spending on a dress she’d probably only wear once.
They’d gone so far as to import it all the way from Brasnia Prime.
However, S’samph had insisted, and once her mate got an idea in his head, there was little she could do to deter him.
K’kaen stood at her side, a far better brother than the one she’d left behind. His tail flicked in amusement as she glanced up at him. “Are you sure this is safe?” she asked.
“Not at all. I’ve never done it myself, but somehow our ancestors have survived this ritual without too much damage for a few millennia.
” K’kaen glanced over at S’samph, who was pacing impatiently behind the wall of fire.
“I mean no great loss if he gets a little toasted. I’ve got a cousin who might be interested in coming to Laurus if you’re still interested in having a latil’e mate. ”
“Very funny,” Eleri said.
“Of course, I am.”
“Are you going to let me get started?” S’kasia interrupted them.
She raised her ceremonial staff that had been decorated with some of S’samph’s most recent molt and a few braided tendrils of Eleri’s hair.
K’kaen gave a lazy flick of his tail, mostly meant to annoy S’kasia.
Eleri knew the two of them were romantically involved somehow, but S’kasia had no intention of taking another mate after what had happened back on Latilla.
“I’m ready,” Eleri said.
“Then let us begin.” S’kasia struck the ground with her staff. “S’samph born of S’kyra’s third clutch, you have been chosen by Eleri, human of Gaia, as her mate. If you accept her claim, you will prove yourself by crossing the flames to present her with your mating bands.”
“I accept her claim.” S’samph kept the bands clutched close as he stepped toward the threshold of the flames.
Eleri held her breath for the crossing. Even though she knew latil’e were mostly flame resistant, it was still a harrowing sight to behold.
Flames licked up the hem of his ceremonial robe and curved prettily along the scales on his legs.
Eleri winced, but his face was placid. Finally, he emerged on the other side in front of her with his clothing smoldering.
K’kaen reached over to cover the flames with a heavy cloth until they quenched, leaving only a haze of smoke behind.
“Step aside.” S’samph waved a hand at S’kasia, who had come to stand in front of Eleri.
“And why should I let you mate my sister? What can you offer her? She who already has everything cannot possibly need a male at her side.” The frill around S’kasia’s neck rose in a mimicry of aggression as they went through the pageantry of a latil’e mating ceremony.
“It is true, I am less than unworthy, but I will make my offering all the same.”
“What do you offer me, warrior?” Eleri asked, stepping forward past S’kasia as she’d been instructed. “I want only the best for myself and my future clutches.”
“I would not insult you with less than the best.” S’samph drew himself up with utmost sincerity as he met her eyes. “Eleri of Gaia I offer you my loyalty, honesty, and protection.”
“You insult my sister with such paltry offerings.” S’kasia stamped the bottom of her staff on the ground.
“Is that all you have to offer?” Eleri asked.
“I offer you my hands to build you a nest, my tail to please you, and my body to shelter you.”
“Do better, warrior,” K’kaen intoned.
S’samph’s tail twitched once in a motion that Eleri had come to recognize as nerves. “Then I have one final thing to offer. I offer you my spirit in its completeness that you might never feel alone and that you might never know dishonor.”
It was a traditional latil’e declaration of love. Not all matings were for love, and S’kasia had told her it was ultimately up to S’samph whether he offered a mating of love or of alliance. Eleri felt two errant tears slip down her cheeks, even though she’d been well prepared to hear it.
“You have heard his offerings, Eleri, human of Gaia. Do you accept what S’samph of S’kyra’s third clutch can provide?”
“I have one more thing to offer, in the way of Eleri’s people,” S’samph said. He gestured to K’kaen who brought out a wide box. After getting close enough, he opened it to reveal a beautiful universal instrument carved from real wood. Eleri gasped.
“Eleri, do you find fault with this offering?” S’kasia finally asked.
“No, no. Nothing like that,” Eleri said, wiping tears away from the corners of her eyes. “S’samph, where did you find this?”
“You said this would make you happy, did you not?”
“I did.” She paused to wipe her eyes again. “I did, but I never thought you’d be able to find one for me.”
“If you want another one you will have it. As many as you want.”
“One is more than enough.” Eleri couldn’t do anything but gape as she ran her fingers along the carved spine of the instrument.
“So, do you accept my offerings?” S’samph asked, and she noticed the worried twitch of his tail.
“I accept what you offer, S’samph. It’s more than I could have ever hoped for.”
Eleri’s voice was choked with a fresh rush of tears. Breaking with tradition, S’samph handed the mating bands to S’kasia and leaned in to bring Eleri into his arms.
“Why are your eyes filled with wetness at accepting my offerings?” His voice was gentle, but Eleri detected the concern in his body language. She sniffled inelegantly and continued to laugh.
“Sometimes humans cry when we are happy.”
“This wasn’t in the IA guide. I read the entire IA guide on humans.”
Eleri couldn’t restrain herself as the laughter turned into a snort.
She decided it was best not to comment that it had taken him nearly half a standard year to finally finish reading the whole thing.
“Tears are usually for sadness, but sometimes when we have overwhelming emotions, they can also turn into tears.”
“I’ll research this later.”
“I promise I’m happy. I’ve never been happier.” She beamed up at him. “Now, are you going to give me my mating bands or not?”
S’kasia placed the bands in S’samph’s outstretched hand.
Her claws looked disproportionately large compared to the bands, which had been resized to fit Eleri’s narrow wrists.
S’samph fiddled with the clasps as S’kasia lifted her ceremonial staff high overhead.
As he affixed them around Eleri’s wrists, S’kasia brought the staff down hard in the dirt, causing the ground to vibrate underfoot.
“I bear witness to this mating,” she said.
“I bear witness to this mating,” K’kaen echoed.
Eleri shook the bangles straight on her wrist. Although most latil’e females wore them tight so they couldn’t be removed easily, Eleri had requested hers be large enough to take on and off easily as she’d need to remove them for work.
“I am grateful you stayed,” S’samph said as he bent toward her, gathering her and all her ridiculous blue skirts in his arms. “I meant all that I said. If it is in my power, I will keep you from loneliness and fear. You have my whole spirit to command.”
Eleri pressed her forehead against his. “I don’t have an ancient Earth saying for you. I was never much of one for poetry, but I can offer you all my love and my honesty.”
“I will hold you to that, mate. Now, we have some other responsibilities to attend to.”
“The flooding season is over, and we both have work to do,” Eleri laughed at his implication.
“Aglao can manage the clinic without you for a few days while we are in Abwele.”
Eleri smiled as she thumbed the junior healer’s pin hidden inside the hem of her dress.
It didn’t match with the rest of her bridal finery, but she hadn’t been able to leave it aside, not after how much work she’d done to earn it.
As they made their way back to their nest to begin preparations for their travel, S’samph interrupted her musings.
“You have the lines on your face for thinking hard,” S’samph commented as he curled the tip of his tail around her ankle. “Are we not supposed to be ‘taking a vacation’, as you humans call it?”
“I’m just thinking about how glad I am I accepted S’kasia’s mating request all those seasons ago,” she teased him.
“S’kasia?” S’samph met her eyes with his frill rippling. “Are you mated to S’kasia?”
“Well, you didn’t submit the profile, did you?”
“It seems I need to remind you who you’re mated to, my human.” Without warning, he swept her off her feet, carrying her the rest of the way back to their shared nest. Eleri clung to him, laughing the whole way. He set her down in the doorway, stopping suddenly as they crossed the threshold.
“What is that?” he asked, placing her down to stare at the wrapped package. Eleri crossed the room to stand behind the gift, feeling a bit sheepish as she offered it to him.
“A gift for you.”
“I wasn’t expecting anything.” S’samph took the package from her hands and hefted it as if trying to identify the contents by its weight. He unwrapped the soft cloth around it with careful efficiency and then beheld her gift.
“I owed you new boots,” she whispered. S’samph stared at her for a long moment and then knelt down in front of her. He lifted her wrists to turn over the mating bands.
“I am a poor translator, but I hope the writing can communicate what I cannot say,” he tapped at the inscriptions Eleri hadn’t noticed until that moment.
On one side was a language she didn’t recognize, but on the other was a sentence written in Gaiese.
In having you, I have no need of air, water, or gravity.
For the second time that day, Eleri felt tears of happiness well in the corners of her eyes, but she wiped them away and instead placed her hands in S’samph’s.
Leaning forward, she pressed her forehead against his. They would make their own gravity.