(Untitled)

[ranger_alone]

Marcus was sitting under a tree, within view of the compound he had no intention of entering. He had been walking, pondering everything and nothing, when he realised that the island had taken his last real friend when it sent Teyla back to…where ever it was people went when they left. Everyone he had loved, with the exception of Evey, had gone.

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[vendettaevey]

Evey had gone into the compound to do laundry earlier that day. While the machines were running, she'd taken the opportunity to get another book or two from the shelf. It'd been in a mood, though, and had only presented her with books she couldn't read in languages she was quite sure were not from Earth. Finally, when one had appeared in English, she'd snatched it, which was probably exactly what the shelf had wanted her to do in the first place. It was a book about vampires, so it wasn't precisely great literature, but it would do.

She left the compound with the book in the pocked of her sundress and the laundry in its mesh bag and immediately spotted Marcus sitting under a tree, clearly thinking quite hard. She approached him obliquely, always careful not to sneak up on him even now.

"Penny for them?" she asked, looking down at him but not crowding him at all. He'd talk if he wished and if he didn't, she'd take the laundry back.

[ranger_alone]

Marcus tossed a splash back in her direction.

"I'd like to have some Mimbari elements, if you are comfortable with them. Although most of that would be in the form of rituals before and after the ceremony itself. I think you're right about a basic civil service."

[vendettaevey]

This might very quickly degenerate into a splashing war, which she was completely happy with. The worst that would happen would be that she'd get wet, which wasn't really a problem. She wasn't about to melt, after all.

"Yes, I think explaining some of those rituals might be difficult," she agreed, thinking over the few rituals she'd tried to understand (and generally failed to do so). "Are there any in particular you'd want to do?"

[ranger_alone]

"As a disclaimer, I'll need to do some reading to get the details down. The first one is called the Vit'wa Fal. In Minbari tradition, when two Minbari become close it is the custom for the female to keep vigil at the male's side for three nights while he sleeps. This is thought to reveal the male's true personality, because while you're asleep, you can't keep up your guard, and this helps the female decide whether the relationship should continue. That ritual can take place at any time between now and the actual ceremony."

"Then after that there is something called Shan'fal. It is the most important of the joining rituals, and is traditionally considered the 'Point of No Return' for romantically involved Minbari. It involves discovering each other's pleasure centres and thresholds." He said, a blush creeping across his cheeks. What he had neglected to mention was that the Shan'fal usually took place in the company of priests.

[vendettaevey]

She listened intently, but when he got to the last bit, she blushed quite fiercely.

"I-I don't mean to cast aspersions on anything, and I'm not saying I'm not willing to do them, but...haven't we already done both of those, in some way? I mean, we've been living together for nearly a year and I haven't always been able to sleep. If there was anything to see, I think I'dve seen it already."

She still sometimes had nightmares that meant she didn't sleep even one wink. And she wasn't saying anything about that second ritual.

[ranger_alone]

"I think the point is the intent. We might have done the action, accidentally, but the specific intent was missing." He sent rather a bigger splash her way.

"Like I said, I need to do some reading, there is probably more to it. And if you aren't comfortable with it, I understand. Really."

[vendettaevey]

That one drenched her calves and the first few centimeters of her skirt, so she pulled the fabric out of the water and rested it on her knees. Wet fabric impeded splashing. She sent another splash back to him.

"I'm not going to say no as I don't know anything about it, but I will say that I'd like to know more before I say yes, absolutely," she finally decided.

[ranger_alone]

His pants were wet well above his ankles, but he didn't really pay it any mind. Water was for splashing, and fabrics dried. "Perfectly reasonable. I'll look into it tomorrow, I think I might have the information I need in the texts you kindly gave me for Christmas."

He kissed her shoulder, straightening about halfway up again before continuing. "We can deal with the what later, in any case. How about the when? Any dates in particular which might be appropriate?"

[vendettaevey]

She blushed a bit when he kissed her shoulder, because she always did.

"I hadn't thought of them being helpful in this context, but I hope they are. And there aren't any dates which are particularly appropriate, though I'd like to avoid the Ides of March. It seems like a bad omen," she chuckled.

[ranger_alone]

"Indeed. The Ides of March are definitely out." Marcus thought for a moment, absently kicking back and forth gently in the water.

"What about May? The, umm...30th? Essentially I just plucked that from the air, but it is coincidentally the last day of spring, if that means anything."

[vendettaevey]

She couldn't think of any reason not to choose that day, and it would give plenty of time to make arrangements. She didn't even want to consider having the box choose her dress. Perhaps she'd speak with that grey ridged man she saw in the Market from time to time.

"May 30th it is then. Are there any Minbari rituals associated with the seasons?" she asked curiously.

[ranger_alone]

"Technically, yes although they don't apply here. The rituals are aligned with the Minbari solstices and equinox, the timing is vital. I have no way to convert the alignment of Minbar relative to it's sun to the alignment of the island, and in this case it's better to not complete the rituals than to violate the time parameters." As much as he embraced the culture and teachings of the Minbari, part of Marcus was thankful the more involved rituals were impossible on the island.

[vendettaevey]

"Oh, of course," she agreed seriously and hastily. "The last thing you'd want to do is offend some sense of propriety by doing something wrong."

One was not supposed to thumb one's nose at such forces, not even by accident.

"Especially since we've no idea where we actually are, what with the sky changing as it does."

[ranger_alone]

"Exactly. Which, while regrettable, is outside our control and makes things a lot simpler."

He put his arm around her and pulled her close. They had been sitting right next to each other, but Marcus was always left with the feeling that he could never quite be close enough to her - well, almost always.

"30 May. We have our date."

[vendettaevey]

She snuggled into him. He had a fixation with wanting to nearly always be touching her. She was not, of course, objecting in any way to that.

"Yes, we have our date. And now to confirm all the other details," she chuckled, then sighed. It was a bit of work, but it was all well worth it.