strangetrip | [GP] The De Rolo Wedding Reception

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[GP] The De Rolo Wedding Reception

The calendar of "Kahl-ee-Fornea" was very different to that of Tal'Dorei. But the spring dance had been a good reminder for the Exandrians (one of them, anyway) that the Renewal Festival would take place more or less this time of year, landing always on the thirteenth day of Dulahei. It seemed a fitting time to set the 'small family dinner' in celebration of the marriage of Vex and Percy.

...Yeah, but no. Because Vax'ildan didn't mind a bit of revenge for their having done the thing without so much as telling him for several weeks, and because his sister always deserved the best of everything anyway, the garden had a whopping lot more than that for the happy couple as they opened the doors onto what first looked like pitch blackness. Until the big, white-hot spotlight snapped abruptly on to glare down on top of the pair with blinding scrutiny.

A familiar voice sang out from beyond, his ever-charming booming and crooning amplified to fill the whole of the outdoors by something called a 'microphone,' Scanlan using all his singular panache to belt out a melodic tune:

"There she is, Mrs. De Rolo
There she is, your ideal
The dreams of a million boys and girls who want to find love in Emon City
For Vex may turn out to more than Baroness of the first house of Whitestone and Grand Mistress of the Hunt
There he is, Mr. De Rolo
There he is, your ideal
With so much brooding and tinkering he took the town by storm
With his all-Whitestone face and form
And there they are
Walking on air, he is
Fairest of the fair, she is
There they are - Mr. and Mrs. De Rolooooooooooo~"

A resounding wave of applause, murmuring, cheers, and laughter broke out all around the newlyweds - one such unbridled merry cackle absolutely coming from the bride's brother - and Scanlan's tone changed immediately to a much more vibrant, excited, sporting-event-enthusiasm style of announcement: "Ladies and Gentlemen - it's the DE ROLO FAMILY!"

The strands of bulb lighting popped into yellow-soft brightness all at once, revealing the guests gathered around dozens of tables artfully set with dinner places enough for everyone at the Inn. Each table included flowers, linens, and garlands all matched in smart Whitestone-Blue, darker Owlbear-Blue, black and white with touches of gold accents, all thanks to Caroline's management. The outdoor area so far as one could see had been dressed in one of Lillith's illusions to mimic a beautiful forest clearing at purple-dusk with fireflies dancing, the shapes of buildings and foothills in the distance distinctly cast to look like the city and castle of Whitestone. Ignis and Emma stood by putting a few final touches on what they'd all started calling 'fancy barbecue,' an enormous buffet of haute cuisine smoked and grilled meats with artful sides, a table beside them holding up the massive layer cake Pike had tirelessly fussed into perfection. So many others had come together to help or to wish the de Rolos well - but there would be plenty of time over the evening for them to be thanked and recognized with food, drink, song - there was even an area marked out as a dance floor.

A freshly bathed Trinket in his very own bowtie lumbered up to Vex'ahlia to rumble and lick her face as the pair finally had a moment to react to the spectacle. At ground-level, a small disc-like device with a large serving spoon taped to it had been labeled with marker as Ensign Stubby, rolling its way between tables and chairs while balancing a large, many-times-stabbed basket of flower petals (with a handful left nestled in its giant spoon) on top of its flat surface like a drunken flower girl to finally bump into Vex and Percy's shoes. ...And possibly the best thing about their stunning surprise? That Peter boy had got the whole thing on VHS.

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Sunny laughed at the mention of Alec. She had no idea what Lillith might have done to Scanlan, but she could believe it. Though she did have to agree, it was a good look for someone so stiff and serious-looking. "He looks perfect."

"I am glad we agree." She stayed near to Sunny, looping an arm through hers, as they looked about the room. "And I am also glad that you are here. They are dear to me, but you and Emma and Curnen have become my family as much as they."

Sunny in turn gently bumped her shoulder against Lillith's. "Thank you." And for a moment the missing her family--those of blood, those of shared trials, those of choice--was so strong that she thought she'd choke on it.

She took a breath and swallowed it all down.

"Shall I take this as permission to smush other people with cake?"

Lillith saw the pain flicker in Sunny's eyes and gave her the moment to recover herself before hugging her again.

"Were it up to me, I would say yes. But Vax should be asked to be certain his feelings will not be hurt if we turn his lovely revenge into a food fight."

Sunny sighed theatrically. "If you must insist on being the world's most responsible cake-smusher, fine, I will refrain from turning the cake into a projectile weapon."

Oh dear. She really had asked for it had she not? Lillith smiled mildly and said what sounded something like that probably is for the best. Hidden by her skirt, her free hand gestured, directing a Mage Hand. A moment later, a rather large slice of cake found its way into Sunny's face.

"What was that, darling?"

That was exactly the sort of bullshit Chichi would have done that Sunny missed so much.

She scooped excess cake mess off her face with one hand and calmly smeared it on Lillith, not bothering to hide behind magic. "Smart choice keeping it out of my hair."

Lillith laughed and then laughed harder at Sunny's comment about her hair. "It would be rather a mess," she agreed while wiping her mouth clear of cake.

Once done, she spoke a few arcane syllables and rendered herself clean of pastry. "There is a reason prestidigitation is the first cantrip most wizards learn."

Sunny snorted and muttered a few words of her own, the cake and frosting mess sliding from her skin. "You're not the only one with magic around here, missy."

Lillith grinned and used her Mage Hand again, this time to bring a plate over -- no cake, but fresh fruit from Regina's orchard. It was still a treat to be able to have fresh fruit at all times. She offered to share it with Sunny.

"Is that a spell then?"

Sunny arched a translucent eyebrow, making a show of accepting a slice of apple carefully like she was daring Lillith to do something else funny. "Not exactly. Minor juju. Some things you don't really need a proper spell to do. Warm bathwater, keep bugs off, that sort of thing. Most kids can do those, apparently. I came to it late, though."

Lillith had done all the funny things she had in mind for the day. Being a 'troll' was not her usual way of being and learning about magic was too interesting to disrupt with more cake. "Like a cantrip, then. They are sort of spells but more like magical effects that can be used in many ways."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Sunny agreed, nodding absently. "I don't use many of those. Not because I can't, but because it just never became a habit. Until I was twelve, I didn't know I had magic. After that... well, I never got to use it much at home."

She started to remember again, Faizel giving her shit for cooking by hand and her mouth twisted momentarily as she shoved the memory away.

Lillith caught the expression and frowned. "Why do you make that face, dear one? Have I said something to upset you?" She did not like to think that she might have hurt her friend accidentally. Having a friend was still too new and precious a thing to take their feelings lightly.

"Oh, no," Sunny assured her at once. "You didn't do anything. I just remembered some idiot who scolded me for doing things by hand instead of magic."

Lillith pressed her lips together in a tight, displeased frown. "Because something can be done by magic does not mean it should be. I can make pictures with magic but it is much more satisfying to paint them by hand."

Lillith loved magic as much as the next wizard. Probably more. But she still could not see why everything need be done with magic.

Sunny shrugged. "His life had very little to it other than magic. Looking back, he was a small, stunted man." Which made it all the more disappointing that she'd wasted any time either been attracted to him in the first place or pining once she'd broken it off.

"He hurt you," Lillith deduced without much difficulty. "I am sorry for it. You deserve far better than such a man. Both as a friend and as a lover." If Sunny liked women that way, Lillith would certainly be attracted to her and she already loved her, but she did not think that Sunny did.

"I learned a lot from it," Sunny said with a shrug. Not least that if her gut was telling her that a man wasn't worth it, she really should listen the first time. "And I've reached a point where I could punch him in the face without regret."

"I suppose that is something." Lillith lifted a slice of pear off the plate and raised it to her lips. She'd chewed and swallowed before she said, "I have never had a lover who was more than what I have heard called a 'fling'."

Sunny licked her fingers clean of lingering juice from the apple slice. "I had one fling, one disaster and..." was there even a word for the only one of them who had really mattered, after everything? "Orlu."

"Orlu," Lillith repeated. It was a name she knew, like Chichi and Sasha. "You mention him often but speak of him rarely. What is he like?"

How did she even begin to explain Orlu? How did she explain any of her coven, really, but Orlu had been the first and deepest bond. "There are four people in my Oha coven. Sasha is our unbound curiosity. Chichi is our ambition. The three of us in a conflict tend to ramp things up further and get confrontational. Orlu... Orlu on the other hand is our sense. Our peacekeeper. His instinct is always to first try an even tone and a gentle hand."

Lillith did not think she would be able to explain Vox Machina or even Kash and Zahra that succinctly, so it was both interesting and informative to hear Sunny's insights on her Oha coven. Another time, she would ask more about the coven, but for now she focused on Orlu.

"He seems like he would be good to have around. Someone kind and steady and reliable." Like Coby, a little. Or maybe Kitty. "Were you together?"

"Not in the way most people would think of it," Sunny murmured, letting herself think of him. "We were more than friends, but never quite lovers." They were never as heated in their connection as Sasha and Chichi. Their fire burned low and steady. "Whatever we are to each other, whoever else we find, we've been connected since we were children and we always will be."

[GP] The De Rolo Wedding Reception

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