• Closed • Planning and Plotting

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Timestamp:56th of Ymiden
Location:All over the bloody place in Scalvoris proper.

Thirty trills, if that. It might have been less. She had been out of her room for thirty trills before Katie pounced on her. To be fair, it was something of a record, that. Her house was nearing the finishing stages of being built, but she was still staying in Faith's crowded house for a few more trials while they finished the roof and made sure it wouldn't leak, and that meant she was still vulnerable to attacks from the glitter monster. She had, however, stopped the kissing, more or less by flat out telling Katie to knock it off.

For once, however, she was actually looking for Katie. "Hey, Faith's about done with her shift at the restaurant. We're goin' to meet her there, do some wedding planning without the boys." she said, pulling on her boots before glancing at Phelan, who currently seeing how much of the floor he could take up. "You behave." she said. The wolf huffed at her and started taking up less floor. Once Katie was ready, the two women left the house.

On the way into to town, however, Kura looked at Katie, once again noticing the movements that didn't quite fit with her persona. "Been meanin' to ask, Katie, but what do you do for a living?" she said, her tone curious. "Some of the ways you move and the way you act don't quite sync up, and it's been buggin' me a bit." Kura gave a wry smile. She doubted Katie meant any harm to anyone in Padraith's house, otherwise she'd have acted already, but she had been meaning to ask since she had first met the woman.

[Faith Augustin]

"Yes, Faith said before she left. Katie's quite ready dear girl!" There was no way Katie was leaving the house without at least three breaks of preparation, it seemed. The woman's hair was perfect, her make up just-so and everything about her had to be to standard. So, she was as ready to go as Kura was and seemed more than happy to walk with the mortalborn.

As they walked, though, Kura asked a question and Katie turned to glance at her with a smile. "Me? Oh, my love-bug won't hear of me working. We've got plenty of money so we don't need to work. We're just enjoying life with family." Katie said and chuckled. "The way I move and the way I act? What a strange thing to say."

Katie seemed to consider what Kura said for a moment, then came to a conclusion of sorts. "I suppose the reason for that is that you don't know me, any more than I know you." Her tone was her usual, friendly one as she said that and her smile was consistent. "So it's easy to make judgements with very little information, wouldn't you say?"

As they walked down the street, Katie looked in shop windows now and then, when something caught her eyes. "So, this wedding. You're officiating and Cally dear, you're an attendant. I'm sorry sweet girl, I can't see you so I don't know where to speak to." She looked just past Kura to the left. "Faith said you tended to be sort of where I'm looking so I hope that's alright."

Katie turned back to Kura and continued to chat, "My monkey-chops is so pleased. He's so proud of Padraig, you know, and that's always been the way. Seeing him happy too, well. It's like the icing on a cake." Katie's expression showed a real intensity of emotion as she spoke of that. "They make such an adorable little couple, don't they?"

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Compared to Katie, Kura looked a bit of a mess. Black shirt, black pants, black boots, and she looked like she'd taken half a minute to comb her hair. Granted, Kura never wore make-up and usually looked at least a bit like she'd just woken up, so this was fairly standard for her. The womans answer to question about what she did for a living caused Kura to raise an eyebrow, but her retort got a laugh from the Mortalborn. "I'm well rebuked. I wasn't tryin' to take a shot at you, though." she said, grinning slightly. "That being said, Katie, if the house gets attacked, I'm glad you're there to help keep everyone safe." she said, before talk turned to the wedding.

Kura grinned happily as Katie spoke to Cally, then reached over her shoulder and pointed with a finger. "Assumin' she keeps the same habits that she did in life, and from what Faith says she does, then my finger should be right at the tip of her nose." she said, grinning. Cally, who had turned to grin at Katie now turned back to Kura and found that if she was corporeal, Kura would be booping her right on the nose, causing a surprised exclamation that neither woman could hear.

"Thank you, for talkin' to her." Kura said, her smile warm and genuine. Katie was a handful, but there was a genuinely sweet woman underneath all the glitter. Then Kura grinned slightly as Katie started talking about Cyrus. "I can tell he's happy, but only by the reactions of the people around him. I mean, I like Cyrus, but he reminds me of a general I knew when I was but a wee lass. His happy face is almost identical to his pissed off face and he gives off the impression he could chew raw steel and spit out perfectly formed nails. Granted, that means there's a big teddy bear under there somewhere, but I can't see it." she said, grinning before a thought occurred to her.

"Oh, they are adorable. Faith's just about the perfect amount of short for Padraig, isn't she?" she said, grinning before she made a decision. "Katie, I need your help with somethin'. Faith has a birthday, and she knows what it is now, thanks to those black nails of hers. She's never had a birthday before, and knowin' her, she's likely to spend it either workin' and helpin' people, or throwin' a party for someone else. She needs a proper celebration, don't you think?

[Faith Augustin]

Katie shot Kura a grin, and it was an expression which as yet neither Faith nor Padraig had seen. "Anyone tries to hurt my people and they'll have to go through me." She dropped a wink in Cally's direction "And Katie is more than she seems, you know, sweet girl.".

Katie waved away the thanks for speaking to Cally. "Faith speaks highly of her, chose her as her only attendant at this wedding. That means a lot. To us both, Cyrus and I." At Kura's description of Cyrus, though, Katie laughed and shook her head. "He is the single most wonderful man there is, you know. So full of emotion and love. I suppose I just don't see what you see. He doesn't have a cross face, ever. Not with me." Immortals help them all, she meant it too.

Kura's description of Faith as just the right amount of sort for Padraig caused a giggle to escape Katie and she shook her head. "Whatever they are, it works. Padraig lights up around her and she can't keep her eyes away from him when they're in the same room. Adorable, they are." At the disclosure of a birthday, though, Katie turned in surprise. "Does she? She hasn't mentioned it at all! When is it?"

Assuming that Kura told her, Katie raised an eyebrow. "Well Padraig's is on the thirtieth of Saun, you know. I don't imagine he's making much of a ... wait a trill. The first? She's arranged a party for him." Katie looked at Kura and shook her head. "She told Cyrus about it. The Scholars' Nook, they host a party for someone when they get a qualification. Faith has arranged for a quiet celebration on the first for Padraig getting his Diploma. Oh, she's a tinker. Shall we do something for both of them on the fifteenth? Right in the middle and they'll neither suspect it." But yes, Katie quite agreed, a proper celebration of some kind needed to happen.

They were nearly at Cally's now, and no doubt, Faith would be at the table she'd booked for them, full of excitement at planning. Tina, her friend of some seasons had been due to be there too, and Faith was excited for Tina and Kura to finally meet, however Tina had cancelled at the last minute so Faith waited on her own.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura returned Katie's grin, her own more feral than she usually wore and showing her fangs quiet clearly. "Oh, I know. And it's rather magnificent." she said, her tone good natured despite her grin, though she relaxed into a more normal expression. "Most people are more than they seem. For me, it's always the more that I find to be most intriguin'." she said, laughing a bit. Kura found Katie an interesting study, to be sure. All glitter and kisses and smiles on the surface, but she didn't doubt for a moment that the woman would wade to the hips in blood to keep her loved ones safe. She'd have made a good Imperial.

She smiled warmly as Katie spoke of Cally. "It means a lot to us too, especially Cally." She said, smiling over her shoulder at the ghost. When Katie talked about how she saw Cyrus, she laughed however. "I don't see it myself, but I know what you mean. My mother has the same issue. Everyone sees her as this eternally calm and rather aloof hunter. Me, I see what the rest don't, a woman who values family above all else and has an inherent respect for life." she said, her voice getting that inflection that showed when someone was recalling a fond memory.

"1st of Saun." Kura said as talk turned to Faith's birthday. When Katie said that Faith had planned a party for Padraig, Kura let out a sound that sounded like a sigh mixed with a laugh. "She's utterly selfless, you know? It's adorable, but a little exasperatin' at times. But yes, a proper celebration for the pair of them. I'm likely to be busy trying to set up a foreign alliance for a while, so if you'll plan it, I'll fund it." she said, before giving Katie an amused look. "No orchestras though. I doubt either of them would go in for that." she said, giving a teasing grin. She had overheard some of the suggestions Katie had given Faith for the wedding.

When the pair arrived at Cally's and were led to their table, Kura took her seat and looked at Faith with an expression of utmost seriousness. "Faith, you will be pleased to know that Katie and I have reached a decision." she said, her tone utterly serious as she paused for a moment. "You are just the right amount of short for Padraig." she said, before breaking out into a grin and looking around the restaurant. "The place is beautiful, lass." she said. Cally had offered a surprisingly brief greeting, then run off in high spirits to explore the restaurant. "And I don't believe we've met, lass. I'm Kura Mareth, a friend of Faith and Katie's." Kura said, turning her gaze to Tina.

[Faith Augustin]

Katie smiled and was quite happy to walk with Kura. When they talked about the idea of a surprise, though, she considered it for a while. "Do you think we should talk to them? I mean. I know that Cyrus doesn't like surprises. Not public ones, anyhow. Padrai strikes me as a lot like him. You know them both much better than me," which was undoubtedly true, Katie had met them not long ago at all. "Is this something we should run past them?" Was this one of those 'overstepping my boundaries' that Katie was almost professionally used to? She wasn't sure.

She chuckled at the idea of an orchestra, "I thought it was a lovely idea myself," she said, with a grin. "But no. Simple. Elegant. Order of the trial is simple and elegant. I just wish we could be slightly more over the top at the same time. But, it's their wedding and as long as they're happy, that's all that matters." Despite her tendency to suggest what she liked and the undoubted fact that she liked things which were glitterific, Katie was very clear that it was Faith and Padraig's wedding and it should be that. No matter what else, it should be what they wanted.

When they got to Cally's, Faith stood up and greeted them, moving to hug and kiss Katie. It was better if she initiated it, she had discovered. There was less fall out. At Kura's clear and very serious words, though, Faith smiled. "We know. We've agreed, in fact, that it is a mathematical equation for perfect balance."

"Thank you. It's coming along, isn't it?" Faith said, when Kura complimented her on the place.

"So, little doll," Katie said with a smile, "where are we at with wedding planning, then?" Faith considered and then explained what they had.

"So, we're getting married in the Glass Temple and then coming here for a meal and celebration afterwards. It's likely to be snowing. Kura's going to officiate the ceremony, Tina's going to sing for us." Tina rolled her eyes slightly but nodded. "I've started making my dress and Padraig's clothes. I needed to start now because my dress is covered in lace and I'm making that, too."

Thinking about it, pleased with what the dress looked like, Faith moved on.

"I'm not quite sure what else I'm supposed to do. The way it goes is that exactly a trial before the wedding, Padraig and I exchange the ribbons and ropes we're collecting. We've agreed three. Past, present, future. We explain them to each other, what they represent then we combine them into one cord. We then give the cord, in the box, to Kura." During the ceremony the next trial, Kura would tie one of Faith's hands to one of Padraig's and so that would remain for the rest of the trial.

"The night before, we eat a simple meal together, Padraig, Kura and I and the three of us spend the evening and the night together. We aren't supposed to talk about the ceremony that night. Then, at dawn Padraig and I go and greet the dawn together and exchange gifts." She considered, trying to think it all through.

"We have to give a gift to the first person to arrive and it's traditional to invite a stranger, just walk up to one." Faith shrugged, quite happy to go along with that as a tradition, but also clear that she'd be walking up to someone in the University, or the Element Hall or government building. Where was important, she thought.

Then, of course, there was the ceremony itself. "The wedding is in three parts. Symbolizing a union of mind, body and spirit. The tying together of our hands is the body. The marriage of the mind is symbolized by the vows we speak. We write them down and they get burned at the end, then the ashes put in the box. Then the marriage of the soul is symbolized by gifts we exchange during the ceremony, that have to be personal and relevant and we explain their relevance."

Faith shrugged slightly, very clear that she had no idea about most of those things. "And as for the after party, all I know is that Tina has manipulated me into not catering it myself," Faith smiled ruefully and continued, "I don't know about flowers or decorations or colour schemes. Cakes, apparently are traditional and I'm not allowed to bake it, it just... goes on and on."

It was rare that Faith sounded even a little overwhelmed, but she did a little right now. Katie nodded her head. "Alright, little doll. Lets deal with the straightforward things. You and Kura have a chat about the ceremony, work it out between you. I am going to go and speak to the staff, work out what's the best way to deal with the catering," Faith lifted her head and Katie raised an eyebrow. "No one will make any decisions, but we'll have more of an idea of options for you, alright? Let us help you."

When she'd moved off, after she'd nodded her agreement, Faith looked at Kura and smiled. "Mind, body, soul. Immortals, Moseke, Qylios, Famula and Vri. I was thinking maybe we could make it the bit linked to body is Moseke, mind, Qylios, souls Famula. With Vri in all of it, please? Umm.. but I don't know how to actually script it." She smiled at Kura, somewhat hopefully.

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura shook her head when Katie asked if they should let Faith and Padraig in on their plans. "No. We'll hold it at my house, tell them I need their help with something on the 15th." she said, thinking about what she could use for that. A few ideas sprang to mind, one she knew she could likely get both of them out there with. As for the wedding being simple and elegant, Kura grinned. "Simple and elegant is good for them. It fits. But if I could see about getting the council to let you organize council run celebrations, if you want." she said, her tone showing that she was being completely sincere in her offer. Of course, her offer had a hidden agenda. If Katie was planning festivals, she wasn't suggesting things like a flight of enormowls trailing pure white banners for Padraith's wedding.

She grinned as Faith agreed about the perfectness of her height, then fell silent and listened to Faith explain her plans for the wedding. At the mention that it'd likely be snowing around the time of the wedding, Kura nodded. "Snow is good. Ziell rules the Winter, and among his domains is peace. A marriage in snow is a good omen for many a peaceful arc to come." she said quietly, her tone thoughtful.

She was quiet during most of the ceremony, though when tradition of inviting a stranger came up, Kura gained a thoughtful look, though she didn't speak. She did laugh slightly at the thought of Faith doing the catering for the wedding, though. "Lass, if you're caterin' you're own weddin', it'll be a disaster. There is nobody more blissfully oblivious than a new bride and groom." she said, grinning slightly, before waving as Katie went to pester the kitchen staff.

Then she turned to Faith as she spoke of the Immortals to call on during the wedding and nodded. "Moseke, to bind the body and let your marriage grow, Qylios to bind the mind and create a bond that can't broken, Famula to bind the soul for an eternity to come, and Vri to seal the binds and nurture your love." Kura said, her tone calm. "A strong invocation, lass, and made stronger by your connection each. One that could be made stronger yet if you wish it." she said, before grinning slightly. "Aye, lass, I can script it, don't worry your pretty head." she said, her tone reassuring with that slight tease to it.

Then she looked over at where Katie was to make sure she couldn't overhear, then leaned forward and spoke low. "Speakin' of Immortals, come the 15th, I'll be needin' help from you and Padraig both. Mortalborns have our own domains to attend, and we cannot do it on our own." she said, grimacing slightly. "Now, for the weddin', you'll want to pick the color scheme carefully. The whole arraignment should make your dress and Padraig's suit stand out more. The two of you should be the focus of the color scheme, it should all compliment your outfits." she said, her tone utterly serious, as if she were discussing the very fate of the island itself.

[Faith Augustin]

Katie wasn't sure about the not telling them, and she said so again. "Really, Kura, my Cyrus hates surprises and I get the feeling Padraig might feel the same. Faith, well, it's hard to tell she's so busy trying to please everyone, but she'll tell Padraig how she feels." Katie considered and then nodded her head. "I'm going to run it past Cyrus. He knows Padraig better than anyone and, somehow, he seems to have a better grasp of Faith than anyone except Padraig. He's so clever my Cy, I think he just sees people for who they are, not for who he thinks they are." Katie beamed in delight at the thought of Cyrus.

As for organising council run things? Katie shook her head, "I can't think of anything worse than organizing events for politicians, dear." Katie gave a smile and patted Kura's arm. "I'm sure you're all having a lovely time but no, that's really not my cup of tea. I like to be helpful to the people who are important to me. Though, I still say an orchestra would be nice, you know." She grinned at Kura.

Faith, meanwhile, was pleased to see them and explained everything as well as she could. When Kura said that if she catered her own wedding it would be a disaster, though, she raised an eyebrow. "Will it now?" Faith's lips pursed together slightly, but she said nothing, for the moment.

Turning to the ceremony itself, she nodded when Kura understood what she wanted from the Immortals and their invocation at the wedding, though she tilted her head when Kura said it could be made stronger yet, "Stronger? How do you mean?" Faith asked, intrigued. She wanted it to be perfect, and that meant being clear so she was pleased at the clarity of the role the Immortals would play. When Kura said that she could script it, though, Faith shook her head. "No, I don't mean that I want you to script it, just that I want you to help me script it." She knew what she wanted, but she had not ever written speeches or scripts. "If you can .. well, I've never been to a wedding, I don't know what one looks like. I've got books," no one would be surprised at that, would they? "I suppose the best thing is if Padraig and I come up with a draft, then the three of us can discuss it?" As for the requirement for help on the 15th, Faith simply nodded. If there was anything they could do, they would. She didn't ask what it was, there was no need to.

Katie returned with a pile of parchments, which caused Faith to smile. "I may have put together a few possible menus," she said, with a slightly rueful expression. Katie chuckled, especially at the words 'a few', but she kept quiet.

"Alright. Well, I'm going to make the cake and prepare the menu." Faith said, adding it to a list she had in her head. "As for the colours, my dress is a sort of champagne colour and Padraig's suit is camel. Or they will be, when I've made them. I've got the fabric and I've started. I'm going to make an outfit for Niv, too, Padraig's attendant." Katie glanced at Kura at that and Faith's lips pursed again.

"So. Padraig and I will draft out the ceremony, then discuss it with Kura. I'll make the cake, there's plenty of time to do that in advance. We still need to decide the colour scheme for in here afterwards and flowers and decorations in the Temple. I need someone to actually decorate both places too, I won't have time on the trial itself and if the flowers are fresh, then that will need to be when it's done." Faith considered. "We don't want fussy, just simple and elegant. What about cream with a deep red?"

[Kura Wolfsdotter]

Kura considered Katie's point about Cyrus hating surprises, then nodded slowly. "You may be right. I think Faith doesn't have an issue with surprises, but I don't know for sure with Padraig." she said. She did give Katie a slightly amused look as she said that Cyrus could see people without preconceptions. No one could do that, Kura knew from experience, but it was pretty clear that Katie loved Cyrus enough that she overlooked even the most mundane faults. It was sweet to see, for all that she found it a little amusing.

Kura laughed when Katie said she didn't want to organize a political event. "Fair enough. I'll admit we're a bossy, picky bunch, to be sure. Could be worse though. Try organizing a city festival sometime. So many little bloody details to be messin' up." she said, snarling slightly. She did laugh at the orchestra comment, though. "Personally, I agree. If it were up to me, given both their importance and their unbelievable capacity for findin' trouble, there'd be a full military squad in attendance, plus the orchestra and a wolf choir. But they want somethin' simple, so that's the rule we'll play by." she said, shrugging in resignation.

At the restaurant she nodded firmly at Faith's question about catering her own wedding be a bad idea. "Yes, lass, it will. When I was about your age, the Empress's head chef was getting married. She was an amazin' cook, and she said she was goin' to work on her weddin' day, on account of it was just another day." she said, before grimacing. "For breakfast, she burnt the eggs, tried to make bacon out of a turkey, used salt in place of sugar for the hotcake batter, and we never did figure what she made the sausage out of, but it wasn't meat. Sent me, the princess, three generals, and a teacher to the medics with food poisonin'. Caterin' your own weddin' is a bad idea, lass." she said, her tone firm, but kind. She knew that Faith didn't like to be waited on, but she'd have to acquiesce this time.

When Faith asked how to make the bond stronger, Kura thought for a moment. "There's been all sorts of legends about how to make invokin' the Immortals stronger, but one that actually works is using their domains in the invocation. So, when making the bindin's for the ceremony, use a bit from each Immortals domains in process. A bit of blood from both you and Padraig for Famula, use natural materials for the bindin' for Moseke, make them together the whole way for Qylios. Vri is a little tricky, since his domains are purely unseen, but the love between the pair of you should take care of that, though dust from a grave has been known to work in the past." she said, her tone thoughtful as she spoke.

When Faith clarified what she meant about the script, Kura nodded. "That would work fine." she said before looking up at Katie as she returned. Cally finally returned as well, grinning happily at Faith as talk turned towards colors and clothes for the wedding.

"You've got biiiiig ovens back there I was able to fit all of myself into one of them watchin' meat cook isn't very appetizin' though so I came back I'll need to see about finding out how to change my clothes at will though cuz all black doesn't fit with that color scheme at all and you'll want to tell Kura what to wear cuz she wears a lot of black too and while people can't see me she'll be all visible and stuff and I wonder if having a Mortalborn read the invocation for the Immortals will make it stronger maybe they'll all show up and a wolf chorus really would sound nice you know..."

Kura had nodded at the vaguely warm spot behind her shoulder she now associated with Cally, but when Faith got that look that said that Cally was motormouthing again, she reached over her shoulder and poked at where Cally's nose should be. "Slow down, Cally. Don't overwhelm her, let her process the sentence and then move on to the next thought." she said, her tone calming.

Cally, meanwhile, was staring cross-eyed at Kura's finger, which actually was touching the tip of her nose. After a moment she turned to Faith. "Sorry. But how does she do that? She can't see me, can't hear me, but she always seems to know right where I am when I'm near her." she said, looking stunned.

Kura, meanwhile, had been pondering the color choice. "Red and cream contrast well, it should like nice. Speaking of colors, what color would you prefer I wear, lass? Really dark shades may not look good with cream and red, after all." she said, her tone curious.

[Faith Augustin]

Kura's story about the person who sent folks to the medic with food poisoning caused Faith to simply look up and smile. "I understand what you're saying. I do. But if it's a bad idea, it's my bad idea unless I change my mind. You both think I should, I understand that." She wasn't going to, she was quite certain. "I'll think about it, talk about it with Padraig. That's the best you're getting." The last was said with a wicked smile, but Faith was quite clear. This was her decision and she'd make it.

When talk turned to the Immortals, though, Faith considered Kura's words and nodded. "We can do that, certainly. Oh, I like those ideas." She was going to say something else, but then Cally came back and Faith's expression showed her delight at seeing her back. "Hello Cally." But then came a barrage of thoughts and questions and when Kura asked Cally to slow down, Faith blinked a couple of times. On how she knew that Cally was there, though? "You two are linked. When Kura didn't know that you were there, she felt your presence, your touch, but she probably put it down to just strange little things. A sudden chill, a warm feeling, tingles. Now, though, she knows you're there and knows what those feelings are." Faith smiled at the ghost. "I'm not even the only one who can see you now. Padraig can, too." Only recently, since coming back from the ice caves, Faith explained, and he was still learning.

When Cally spoke about clothing, though, Faith frowned slightly and thought about it. "Let me think about that, Cally? I might be able to help. I think it's about what you expect, what you feel. But let me think about it?" Faith was starting to have an idea that Padraig might be able to help with and she wondered if he could. But then, when Kura spoke and asked what she should wear, Faith looked at her in surprise. "Kura, you're our friend. Come in what makes you comfortable. I mean, it's not meant to be..." Like she was making it? Katie watched Faith and the older woman smiled at her.

"You know, whatever you wear, we just want you there. I'm making a butterfly dress for Niv, because that's what she feels most comfortable in. So, what would you like to wear, Kura? I can make it, if you'd like?" Faith smiled and pointed out, just before anyone jumped in and told her she shouldn't, "I've got plenty of time between now and the wedding and you know, I like to sew. I learn more each time I do it, it's great fun and very relaxing." Faith looked at them both and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I know that I'm just organising this too much. But I have no idea what else to do and I want it to be perfect for him. It's the only wedding he's getting, after all." Faith smiled, irony mingled with amusement. She had, after all, discovered a rather possessive and jealous streak. "I just want everyone to be happy. I don't care what you wear, I'd rather you came in your jammies and were comfortable, Kura. I don't want to dictate to you." Katie watched this and smiled, but said nothing. Instead, she let Faith come to the realisations she was coming to, on her own.