Chapter Text
“Kira, Kira are you awake?” Jen whispered, tapping lightly at her door. “I can’t sleep,”
He heard the shifting of cloth as his intended slid from her covers and padded across the floor.
“Jen?” she yawned. “What time is it?”
“A little past the first hour. Can I come in?”
Kira giggled, and Jen felt his heart skip a beat.
“But Jen, it’s a clan tradition. We aren’t supposed to look at each other until the finding!’
“Well, I can’t see anything in all this darkness, can you?” he huffed.
“No, I guess not....” she paused, and then he heard the door unlatch and swing open. Kira’s small hands found his and pulled him through the entryway, and then shut the door.
“I’ll make sure I’m gone before sunrise,”he promised reluctantly.
It was difficult for him to stray from her side now. She was so delicate. Even all the powers of the crystal hadn’t restored her to the brave, bare-footed wild girl he’d met on the marshes. She lay fitfully now, as if terrified she could slip from a deep sleep into the deepest of them all.
“Jen, no fretting,” Kira scolded. “This is a happy day, remember? Even Fizzgig is excited for us,”
Jen suddenly became aware of a hairy creature attempting to eat his pant leg.
“Hello Fizz, please stop that,” he stooped and tore him off of his midnight snack. Fizzgig did not seem particularly excited for the wedding, despite Kira’s insistence he was. In fact, he was still not particularly excited about Jen, and the fact that his mistress loved Jen was only enough to bump him up from “deplored” to “tolerated”.
‘I almost wish I could skip the wedding part and go straight to being wedded,’ he thought.
The rituals of the Mystics were intricate, but slow. Each had been plotted out hundreds of years before, with set songs and incantations for the corresponding heavenly signs. Usually his part was small, playing in harmony with the Chanter or fetching things. Never before had he had one of the biggest roles. This was completely new, and given his past record with large rituals that he played a vital role in, he was starting to get very-
“Jen,” Kira tugged on a strand of his hair. “Jen you’re going to do fine, I promise. Stop worrying,”
His ears twitched.
‘I’m that obvious?”
“Only to me,” she leaned forward and kissed his cheek.
“I don’t suppose you’d give me a hint as to where you’re going, would you?” he said mournfully.
“Of course not, silly. That’d defeat the whole purpose,”
“But what if something happens to you? What if you fall and then you can’t-”
“Jen,”
“Sorry. I know you know the Dark Forest like you know yourself, but it hasn’t even been a year since.... You came back. You can’t fly as well anymore because I.. I ruined things,” he pulled Kira to him and squeezed tight.
“I’ve told you before that none of that matters now. Not to me. Everything worked out in the end,”
“Kira, you died !”
“I got better! And besides, Fizzgig will be with me and I won’t go far. You have to promise me you’ll have fun and won’t worry,”
“I promise I’ll try, but I don’t know if I’ll manage to...” he hesitated. “I should leave soon and let you rest,”
“I am tired, but I think you need the rest more than I do,” Kira nuzzled into his shoulder. “If you want to stay and talk more I understand, though,”
“No, you’re right. But Kira..?” he blushed, and was grateful for the darkness. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”
“Are you still going to ask me that even after we get married?” she teased, and tapped him lightly on the nose.
“Maybe I will. It’s hard to break an old habit,” Jen laughed in spite of himself.
He leaned in and kissed her, and felt the tightness in his chest disappear. At least for the moment. A few whispered goodbyes and a quick pat to Fizzgig, and Jen left. He wandered through the Podling Village aimlessly for a while, finally coming to rest at the edges of the forest. Choosing his favorite tree, he swung himself into the nest of low-hanging branches and settled there. His mind was going as fast as a Landstrider despite Kira’s assurances.
In search of something to help him wait out the hours until sunsrise, Jen pulled out his firca. He blew a quiet test note. It came out clear and sweet as spring water. Satisfied, he began to practice. He played the song twice, first as is, and the second time with a few small changes throughout. The tune was his wedding present for Kira. He supposed wedding gifts were traditionally something tangible. Practical things for a new couple starting their life together. His talents did not lie in such areas, being gifted in words, numbers, and music. So she would have to settle for the best he could offer. It was a simple tune to play, but he had agonized over every note and rest in the thing.
Jen held out the final note, letting it ring among the grey shadows that signalled the end of the night. There. He felt satisfied with it. Tired at last, he slipped from his perch amongst the tree limbs and began walking back. Ydra had insisted he be banished from the house and instead spend the night with her brother Ykend. (Lest he emerge a moment too early and unravel all her careful preparations)
He entered the hearthroom as quietly as possible, but his efforts amounted to nothing. To his despair, the elderly farmer was waiting for him.
“ Ahh, Jen! Playing Firca! Good sound!” Yden chattered away in a mix of the two languages. “ No playing now, sleep! Sleep before big hunt in the morning!”
“ Ah, yes. But too... nervous.” Jen stammered. The Podling language was still strange to him, despite all of Kira’s patience with his lessons.
“ No reason, no reason! All pod nervous. Even ones married two, three, ten times!” the farmer laughed uproariously. “ Want sleep herbs?”
“No thank you.” Jen said politely, wincing at his own hideous accent. “ Not much hours before suns... up. Go to lay down now, thank you.”
The old man muttered something Jen couldn’t discern, and pointed him to where he would be sleeping. He collapsed onto the hammock, and lazily stretched out a leg to set the hammock swinging. His old cloak served well enough as a blanket. The night was warm, and a breeze stroked his hair.
“No more worrying,” he told himself. “You promised Kira. And if she’s not nervous you have no reason to be.”
He felt a pang of longing for the Mystics. Especially his Master.
“I wish you could be here to see it,” he thought sadly. “And to see how happy I’ve become,”
And with that last thought, he drifted off to sleep.