Surprise Wedding

"Mmmmrrraaaaugh...." a barely human groan rumbled from under the tableclothed dessert table. An attendant tasked with replacing the half-eaten wedding cake with fresh one made a sharp 'meep' sound and jumped back. The first wedding of the day had just ended and staff was scurrying to reset the whole event for the next demonstration. Pausing, the poor confectioner listened for more noises before cautiously lifting up the white table covering. Beneath the table was a girl laying vaguely twitching. She screamed and stumbled backward, startling the blonde girl. Her head jerked unnaturally toward the noise, eyes bloodshot and unfocused, jaw slack and drooling. At first glance, her skin was mottled in areas as if it belonged on a long-buried corpse rather than the pretty girl gasping like a goldfish that had jumped out of its bowl. To terrorize the innocent chef more, the reanimating body used one arm to drag herself out from under the table. Rightly so, the lady forgot all about the cake and ran away screaming.

After a few more acclimating seconds, Dela was back to her normal self and getting to her feet. Where was everyone? Last she remembered, she was being dragged off to be wrangled into a dress to marry...Vera. The events were jumbled. She was to be a bride, but at some point Cillian hugged the two girls. No way she could forget being smushed into that muscly torso...it'd been enough to take her poor virgin breath away. Vera turned to dust somewhere in there, causing quite the ruckus. What had killed her? Being flustered over Cillian's abs, the dust inhalation, or the woman who had been dragging her away? Well, it didn't matter, now did it? In the end, she'd rolled under the cake table in the chaos where she'd been the entire ceremony. "Those jerks..." she muttered, stalking toward the back of the set up so she could escape before more people saw her. "Went on with the ceremony with a literal dead person under the table and no one noticed....fml..."

Dela was not in a good mood. She honestly was pissed off. This injustice and prejudice against polyamorous people! Granted, there actually wasn't an official romance between the team of three, but making the close group of friends decide who would get to participate in a friggin' fake wedding was so...so...one hundred years ago! She would know! She grew up on those old-timey farm days! However, it hadn't mattered what the choice had been. She and Vera didn't get to do it. No, Cillian and Vera had gotten fake married! She'd probably gotten to touch the abs again. Oh god...did she kiss him? Did he kiss her? Did they kiss each other? Her guts twisted. The two probably had this magical, earth-shattering kiss while she was dead under a table only feet away.

And then they'd both left her behind. WELL, SHE HOPED THEY WERE HAPPY.

How could she get revenge? Her steps paused outside the gate while her mind whirled nonsensically, partially from just coming back to life and partially out of irrational anger. People sidestepped around the weird Rune Knight standing directly in the way, entering the event as guests for what they hoped would be a nice ceremony, either out of boredom or because they were looking to hire the service. Dela remained this way until she heard words. Words close to her. Aimed at her. Her crystal blue eyes jumped to him, just staring for a few moments. She knew him. It was her job to know pretty much everything. Shen. He was a Rune Knight like her. From what she'd seen at a distance, he was usually quiet, scurrying around like a mouse trying to get out of eyeshot. Pink lips pursed, though her eyes blazed brightly. Sure. This would do. "I can definitely help you with that," she replied, face cracking into a smirk. Not offering anything more, she grabbed his wrist and turned back toward the gates and the tents. "Hey! We're here to be the bride and groom!" she called, initiating a swarm of delighted designers to get them ready. One of the women paled when she saw Dela, but for whatever reason chose not to say anything. And if she knew what was good for her, she'd not mention the ceremony before this. Dela didn't want to hear it, and she definitely didn't want to have to explain to anyone what had happened.

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The member 'Dela' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

"Shhh, just let it happen," she urged Shen with a devious expression while they were measured, poked, and prodded in places that no average person had probably ever been prodded. It seemed these design mages needed absolutely precise measurements before they could give up the fabric goods. "I know who you are, Shen. Besides, from what I understand, marriage doesn't absolutely need people to know one another. Actually, the more people know each other, the less likely they are to make it down the aisl--No stupid white dress!" Dela interrupted herself and demanded, which seemed to cue the sketchy woman that had dragged her off before and seemed super wary of her now. She hesitantly approached, touching a single index finger to her forehead. Then in a bippity boppity boo her crop top and jeans disappeared and were replaced with an elegant black dress with gold accents that the blonde could have only dreamed of. It fit like a glove immediately. The strappy black heels completed the look, then one of the girls assaulted her head with a brush until her hair was in a nice wavy side-part. Simple as that.

As the horde of preppers shoved flowers in her hand and parted to reveal their creations, Dela stole a peek of the hesitant boy. He cleaned up nicely. He was no Cillian du Crosse, but he was at least cute. That would make this revenge better, right? To be honest, she was already starting to reconsider her plan of revenge. With a clearer mind, she could see that this wouldn't bother Cillian in the least. He had super dense rocks for brains and seemed impervious to most of the spectrum of human emotion. The childish man with God's chef hands was more of a mystery to her than she'd like to admit. In light of this epiphany, Dela almost granted poor Shen an out of this situation. They could both run the other way in their fancy clothes and go do whatever. Maybe get a pizza. Go back to the HQ. With how scrawny and timid he was, she just assumed he liked to game. Dela knew the type. The only thing keeping her from acting on the second thought was the incessant reminder that Cillian and Vera had probably kissed. The magical girl wasn't sure why, but there were many facets of that fact that rubbed her all the wrong ways. Her feels affliction would keep her going as if having this moment would serve her somehow later. It probably wouldn't, but maybe it would.

Linking arms with the silky suited groom and tugged him forward again. "I'm Dela, by the way," she told him as they stepped from the tent. The blonde didn't offer anything else. She was enough of a jerk to leave out that they both worked in the same place and that was how she knew him, also conveniently leaving out that she knew his sister, as well.

The music started. It was time to walk! Dozens of unfamiliar faces turned with anticipation toward the pair, as unconventional as they may be. Black wasn't the customary bride's color, after all, but she was hardly the traditional bride. The old-fashioned farm girl rejected nearly everything traditional. Whether he'd come willingly, freeze, or try to run, Dela was determined to get him to the priest at the end of the aisle. Lazy was her default state, but when she put her mind to something, nothing could stop her. Her mission right now was nothing more than laying a big fat kiss on Shen so she could stow that piece of info in her mind to bring up and throw at a certain someone later. Was it kind? Absolutely not, but Dela was a lot of things and kind wasn't anywhere near the top. She was selfish and self-serving with the only exceptions being her sister or sometimes her friends. This young Rune Knight she was wrangling was neither at this point and time.

Once they were in place, the ceremony began. It was quick, quite abbreviated from a normal one. Yeah, yeah, this was just a demo. Dela was impatient through most of it, not caring for the speech on love and what marriage meant. The young woman had no plans to actually get married. That was much more Elle's field of expertise, despite the two being identical physically. With all the male attention her twin had always gotten, there was no doubt that once she was saved she'd find a husband. Well, as long as she could find one who didn't mind a woman with no arms.

The words "you may kiss the bride" were barely spoken when Dela attempted to pull in Shen by the lapels and plant a big ol' kiss on him! At least she was hot, right?

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The member 'Dela' has done the following action : Dice Rolls

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'Monster Dice' :

Mmmm, yes. Like kissing a refrigerator door. This seemed about right, considering the boy's inability to articulate full sentences without sounding like a car that wouldn't start. Okay, so if she'd thought this out a little more and perhaps chosen a more suave, opportunistic man, perhaps she'd have had a nicer kiss to brag about for her jealousy plot. So she'd just have to embellish a bit when she told Vera and Cillian about this. It wasn't like that was beyond her capabilities. In her constant quest for usable truths, she'd learned to twist them where needed if it served a bigger purpose. As far as anyone would know, Shen was the best kiss she'd ever had.

Okay, that wasn't so much a twist as a flat out lie. Up until this point her worst kiss had been from a young man she not-so-affectionately nicknamed 'Vacuuman' in her notes. When he'd gotten done attempting to suction the lips off her face, it'd been all she could do to pretend it was the most magical kiss she'd ever had so she could wiggle some info out of him in his vulnerable state. She hadn't known it was possible to give lips and face a hickey other than from sucking the air out of a cup or something, but he'd certainly enlightened her. Okay, maybe Vacuuman was still the worst, but Shen was a close second. Kissing her own hand would have been more exciting. With how he checked her out earlier, she'd had a glimmer of hope that his primal instincts would have kicked in or something.

It was time to call it. This event had coded on the table and the defibrillator was broken.

Dela pulled away quickly, giving him a simultaneously tired and disappointed look which quickly shifted into amused pity. She'd done a number on this poor guy. It was time to give him a break. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Yeah, alright, alright," she said with a sigh, looking thoughtful. The officiant looked between them nervously. "Uh...you can throw the bouquet now," he whispered, but Dela shushed him since he was interrupting her brainwaves. After a few seconds, she snapped the fingers of her free hand. "Oh, I've got an idea," the girl-in-black told Shen, now turning to face the audience. However, before she could do whatever she'd thought of, she had to appease the crowd of eager women gathered toward the front of the chapel. They seemed expectant. And confused. It took Dela a second to remember what the priest had said before she cut him off. Right. Throwing the flowers. Turning her back to the rabid single ladies, she did a simple toss and heard the distinctive, mosh-pit sounds of bodies smacking into each other as they clambered to get it. As it hit the apex of its trajectory, the flowers blew apart in a fantastic display where it rained petals and sparkling lights down on the women, much to their amazement. The rest of the crowd broke into oohs and ahs. Dela only saw their chance to escape.

"Come on, let's blow this popsicle stand," the blonde grinned, reaching out to grab his hand or arm again if she could, at least to get him started. To her, it looked like he'd need further urging since he had turned into a slightly melty block of ice. Regardless of whether she had to drag him or he came on his own, while everyone was distracted by the exploding bouquet, Dela wanted to get out of here. This was far more effort than she usually spent on, well, anything. The only time she willingly worked hard was when it served her in some way-- which this had fallen under at the time-- but with the kiss over, her desire to continue dealing with it all was rapidly dwindling. Remaining here would only mean more work. Cake cutting, pictures, dancing...yuck. No, Dela had something else on her mind. Something much more quiet and sedentary. She hoped Shen would come along since she figured she had at least a little explaining to do. Otherwise, it'd be awkward if they ever had to take a mission together at work down the road.

Darting off to the left, her heeled feet rapidly took her past the dessert table she'd laid under earlier, dead and forgotten. It only rustled up more mental images of Vera and Cillian kissing, laughing and having a nice time without her. Surely the food-loving man had gobbled up the cake and any other high-class edibles offered while Vera floated along by his side, being her adorable quirky self. Had they danced? Could either of them actually dance? This all bothered her more than it had any right to. It wasn't like Cillian had any clue, and while Vera did know more of Dela's feelings, Dela could only think of how many ways her one-sided affections could derail the closest friendships she'd possibly ever had. And at the center of all the trouble was the blonde, but she just couldn't seem to bottle up the feelings this time. Meeting the immortal man had turned much of her world on its ear. The prospect of not outliving someone and having a chance to forge some sort of bond called to pieces of herself she hadn't known were still pulsing, alive and craving. Prior to these two blowing in like two natural disasters, she'd been content to be the crazy cat lady that spent all her time by herself, feasting on greasy pizza, causing even the best gamers to rage quit, and going out only when she could find another piece of her cursed puzzle.

As she made it past the crowds and even the employees without anyone noticing she intended to run the heck away, Dela managed to dart into the changing tent at the back to grab her original clothing. The Rune Knight didn't take time to change. Surely some sort of security would be looking for them once the petals, glitter, and wrestling girls calmed down. They'd want to drag them back to finish the demonstration.

No. No more. The more moments passed, the more regrets she had. Even more guilt-inducing was that she was all hot and bothered with a man enough to waste so much time. With every day she used her magic, died, and resurrected, the closer her immortal life came to being conman food. And if she became conman food before she could rescue her twin and break the curse, then everything she'd done up to the point would have been for nothing. A waste. Dela wasn't one to waste effort, and she'd absolutely poured more energy into her quest than she'd ever thought possible prior to her decision to take it on.

Assuming he'd followed her in the end, the now over-dressed girl stood outside the tent, getting her bearings. There was a specific place she was looking for. It was to the west of here, she thought. Reaching down to remove the strappy heels that would be a pain to walk in, she slung them over her shoulder. "Hey, wanna go get some pizza? You need to chill and I'm sure you'd like to talk about this," Dela said to Shen, turning right and walking up one of the pretty streets in Rose Garden. "There's a really good place right up the road from here."

And sure enough, there was. Just around the bend, there was this brightly awninged eatery sandwiched between a coffee shop and an insurance company. It was small, but often the best places were. Gregorio's Pizza touted the best pie in Rose Garden, and Dela believed the claim. Once inside it was decorated in sleek, modern minimalism with hand-carved wooden chairs and tables. The walls were a clean eggshell and decorated with pictures of Gregorio's family. The establishment had been handed down to many a Gregorio in its long-lived history, so there were many portraits of round-cheeked pizza chefs to decorate the plain walls. The cursed blonde didn't care for any of that, though. It was the smell of fresh garlic roasting and hand-made bread that consumed her hungry senses. Even as she entered and sat down, the host, young Gregorio the Seventh, simply nodded and headed back to the kitchen to undoubtedly put an order in for 'Millie's Usual'.


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Now that she'd finally let him speak-- if what came out of his mouth could be called that-- she couldn't keep at least one corner of her mouth from tugging up into a smirk. Dela hadn't anticipated that the poor stammering boy could be so direct, but she had put him through quite a kerfuffle. And while she actually enjoyed jerking people around and never really providing any reasoning for it, she at least owed her coworker this much. "Mmm, yeah, I'm sorry about all that. It seemed like a good idea at the time," she started bringing the length of her flaxen locks over her left shoulder so she could idly run her fingers through it. "As petty as this sounds, I was trying to get back at my friends. We had attended the ceremony before this one together, and...I have a thing for one of them. The whole thing was a disaster, though, and while I was dead under the dessert table I think my friends fake-married each other, so I was a bit...jealous," she admitted, shrugging sheepishly. She owned her mistakes and could be quite honest with herself and others when she wanted to be. "Imagining the two of them cuddling and kissing and having a good time without me got to me, so I wanted to be able to hit them back with a story where I went on without them and kissed some hunk, not that Cillian would ever actually pull his head out of his butt long enough to notice," continued the magical girl, clearly still bothered by the mental images she had to endure, but also starting to regret the questionable thought process she'd had when she first resurrected. Now that she thought about it, her mind was quite jumbled lately when she came back to life. That was a new development. Dela would have to be careful and try not to make decisions until she was fully back to normal, calculating self.

The pizza didn't take long to come out. By the time she paused her explanation, Gregorio the Sixth popped out of the swinging double doors of the kitchen with a giant pizza, fresh out of the oven and steaming. It was already on one of those cute little pizza pedestals so it wouldn't consume the useable space of the table. As he placed it down, Dela tossed a perky "Thanks, Greg!" at him and his rosy chubby cheeks. His son whirled in with plates and cutlery, earning him a "Thanks, Greggy!" as a reward. The father-son due then split and went back off in their respective directions to let the overdressed pair eat.

"Oh, gorgeous as usual," Dela grinned, looming over the pie with malicious intent. Margherita pizza was her absolute favorite when she was dining out in the pizzeria itself, which was a treat. The mozzarella, thinly sliced tomatoes, and basil were arranged perfectly daisy-like as usual. The sauce was thin enough under the toppings to keep the crust crispy on the bottom. Perfection.

"Anyway...I really am sorry about all of that. We can't have it be weird if we ever get assigned to a mission together. It feels like Mythal already watches me a little closer than I'd like," she said, getting herself a slice and digging right in. It only occurred to her after a few seconds of munching on it hungrily that Shen might not like it. "Is this okay? We can order something else as well if this isn't something you want. Buying you lunch is the least I can do before we go back to HQ."

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"Oh my gooddd, no," lamented the blonde, his last words seemingly draining the very life out of her for the second time again. "Please, don't get all formal with me. I definitely don't want it nor do I deserve it!" Dela said, begging him with her big blue eyes not to make a rank thing about this. Her laziness extended even to titles. The more power people thought you had, the more trouble it was. If being a Rune Knight hadn't opened up so many information channels for her that were otherwise blocked off, she'd have never joined such a rigid, military-like organization. It wasn't her style in the least. "Besides, we're off the clock. And after that big smooch I gave you, I hardly think we can say we aren't friends--"

The whacking on the table caught her attention, shutting the at-times talkative female up. She peered at him over the pizza, deciding if it was just the piping hot cheese burning his mouth from where he shoved it in like a starving orphan or if he was choking. "You okay?" she asked but didn't end up waiting to hear. Either way, they needed drinks, and she only just noticed they'd been forgotten. Hopping up from her chair, she ran into the kitchen, scaring the life out of Greg as she grabbed a pitcher, filled it full of ice and water, and ran back out to grab cups from Greggy. Rejoining Shen, she poured him a glass and lingered near him, wondering if she remembered how to do the Heimlich. Was it even still done the same as it was a hundred years ago? All she needed was to have ruined Shen's day with her ill-conceived plan for pettiness and then have him die as she tried to fix it with pizza.

It was also remarkable that she could still feel the steely pangs of fear concerning death. True, this fear wasn't for herself, but for Shen, but still. It'd been a while since she'd felt it at all, growing numb toward the whole process for people at large. People died every day. Sometimes she envied them. If she'd not made her contract to try and save Elle, she'd have died roughly twenty to forty years ago and it'd all be over. Instead, she struggled on and watched all her friends and family die from afar, growing more distant from humanity and rejecting bonds out of self-preservation as she went. Despite all that, lately, she'd gained people to care for, which seemed to reignite her concern for this particular boy she worked with. "Heh...please, Shen. Don't die. I might be able to come back from it, but you can't, I'd wager..."

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