Promise

[Taelian Edevane]

2nd of Glade, Year 4622

"Is it much longer, love?" Wendell inquired, gripping on the edge of his collar as he breathed out what felt like hot air. It wasn't even particularly hot, but he was a Rien man, wearing a handsome suit that made the mildly summery day feel like the depth of Searing in a foreign land.

"Honestly... I'm not entirely sure," Taelian muttered, eyeing around for the 'landmark' he'd been advised to find: the upright bones of a great beast, or so the travel aide said. "Mmh, I'll just take to the air. Be back in a few minutes, you two," he said with a nod, quickly removing his suit, vest and shirt, tossing all three articles for the other noble to catch as he focused his Divinity. Black, bat-like wings emerged from his back, and before anyone could be the wiser, he was taking flight.

Ascending into the air, the man took a moment once he met an acceptable elevation, flapping his wings as he attempted to stabilize himself and gather a feeling for the wind. Once he did, he settled on gliding, extending his arms forward and shifting his wings to slowly 'paddle' back-and-forth, his body lurching forward until his wings were horizontal. The Draedan decided to ignore the landmark altogether, instead seeking out a cabin chimney, or a rooftop that made its own small clearing. After a few minutes of searching, flying around while desperately attempting not to lose control and collide with the forest floor, he found just the thing. Turning around didn't seem even vaguely possible with his lacking skill, so the man allowed his glide to take him down, slowing his descent and yet still landing with incredible momentum. His legs hit the floor with a stride, the man unable to stop himself from running until he managed to anchor himself with a Sonic Blink.

"Gods," he groaned. "Need to go slower, next time."

Closing his eyes, he focused on channeling his Divinity above a small patch of grass, a screeching pitch filling the air as a portal ruptured open, the sound waves settling into a slow, oscillating resonance. Taelian stepped back through the other side, presenting himself to Thomas and Wendell with a faint grin.

"Found it," he declared, proudly. "Come on through."

Wendell nodded with a smooth smile, taking Thomas' hand and stepping through with him, Taelian performing a small, ridiculous bow as he waited for the other two to cross, before stepping in after them. The three of them would, shortly after, be met with the visage of their honeymoon stay: a large, impressive wooden cabin, suitable for a noble Lord. It was only something he'd rented from another Celebrant, but it was something he was proud to present.

"It's lovely, Taelian," Wendell acknowledged. "Husband," he called on Thomas, "when Taelian and I got married, he did no such thing for me. Consider yourself very loved."

"Hey -- I was poor back then, and the circumstances were different." Wendell knew what he meant; they married for expedience. There was no need for such gifts. "Consider this the... first day of our renewed marriage, Wendell. One of love. Maybe I'll buy a cabin like this, somewhere, and we can all come here together every few months. Wouldn't that be nice?" he asked, smiling faintly. Unlocking the door, the Draedan began to open it, slowly turning his head to face the other two as the door began to part from the frame. "Wendell... Thomas," he began, "I'd like for the two of you to learn to love each other, okay? This marriage isn't going to be just... me, in the middle between you two. Alright?"

"Alright," Wendell nodded. "You heard the man, Thomas. We've gotta fall in love. Wake me up a few more times like you did that one time, and I think that'll be settled for me, hm?" he smirked.

[Thomas]

It still surprised Thomas when Taelian took his clothes off and sprouted wings, which on the face of it sounded like a surprising thing for the man to do, but in practice was something Thomas felt he should be growing accustomed to. Taelian didn't take every opportunity to do it, but when it seemed expedient, the man did not hesitate. Taelian launched himself into the air and his wings cracked open like sails, picking up what wind there was to go higher and faster. Within a few minutes, he was barely visible to Thomas' eyes. Not knowing what else to do, he folded up his husband's clothes and decided to pass the time with Wendell.

"So -- we're married now, huh," Thomas said, without preamble.

Wendell looked over him as Taelian's form retreated into the horizon. "Are you not happy with this turn of events? Taelian is gone. You can speak plainly if you're having second thoughts."

Thomas shook his head. "Not at all, no. I think this was right. The truth is that I admired you from the moment I saw you, Wendell. We may come from very different backgrounds, but I've already learned much from you, and hope to learn much more."

"But...?" Wendell prompted.

"But I can't help but feel like I came home from the store with much more than I'd set out to buy," Thomas admitted, which made Wendell chuckle. "In this case, it's not a bad feeling. Two husbands for the price of one, as it were, and I feel we get on well, it's just --"

"Overwhelming?" Wendell suggested, to which Thomas nodded. "Well, imagine how I felt when Taelian wouldn't, or couldn't, stop mooning over this mythical Lord Ashley. Sometimes he'd just bring him up out of the blue. Not often, but sometimes. I was never sure what to do with that. So when you arrived, I assumed you were here to destroy my marriage, and treated you accordingly. And then you did destroy my marriage, just not in the way that I feared."

"Hopefully I didn't destroy so much as I, I don't know. Changed it. Now you're here with us, and we're all going to have a bit of a honeymoon so that we can bond. Maybe it sounds naive to say this, but I really am excited by this turn of events, and I really do think it could work in the long-term. And I meant what I said -- I want to be a good husband to you, Wendell. So whatever that means to you, I will do it." Thomas took a step toward Wendell, and was pleasantly surprised to be seized and dipped, as though they were dancing.

"Well, for starters, it's nice to be able to do things like this," Wendell said, holding Thomas in the dip and planting a kiss on him before righting him. "Taelian is damnably large."

"And perhaps that makes you feel small?" Thomas asked, wondering if what Wendell wanted was to be the leading partner in his own right instead of always overshadowed by Taelian.

He shook his head. "I'm not small -- a fact you can attest to," he said with a wink that made Thomas laugh. "But Taelian is enormous, and sometimes that can be... well. It was not what I expected when we wed. I hope you don't also intend to become an Argent Knight, because if I have to watch you mutagenically outstrip me, as well, I shall be rather cross."

Thomas shook his head. "No plans to become an Argent, my Lord. I have enough on my plate learning to be something approaching an honorable man."

When Taelian popped through a portal to welcome them to their home away from home, Thomas was impressed. Staying in the wilderness like this would not have been his first choice as he typically associated it dangerous nights keeping one eye open for bandits, but with Taelian and Wendell, it would be cozy and fun instead of nerve-wracking.

"Good choice, my love," Thomas said, and Wendell nodded to echo the sentiment.

Before adding: "I don't suppose there's a cook and maid here for the week, like there is at home?"

[Taelian Edevane]

Good choice, my love.

The man lowered his head, performing a bow as one arm tucked over his chest, the other extending outward at his side. "I'm glad you like it," he said, beckoning the two inside. As they entered the cabin -- which was dimmer than the outside until properly lit -- Taelian took all of the other men's carried belongings in a gentlemanly fashion, bringing them all to the common area to be set down so that his two husbands could relax. "There isn't any hired help, no," he answered, his lips flattening somewhat. It was something he didn't particularly enjoy, either; he'd become far too accustomed to being a rich Lord, and that usually meant not having to perform any laborious tasks. Loric people were known for being lazy erudites, and he was becoming closer to that model himself with each passing day. He worked at his body and maintained himself as a soldier, but otherwise, most of his development was within his mind.

"Which Lord did you rent this place from? Was it through the Commerce Depot in München?" Wendell asked.

"It was," he replied. "Lady, ah... Niedztau, I believe. I don't know her well, but she lives in Retzen, and I'd rather not create an enemy out of one of my 'colleagues', so-to-speak."

"Wise choice. She's the sort to make sure everyone knows if you've wronged her, which I commend. We'll need to make sure this place is perfectly clean before we go, alright? I didn't always have Harald and Claudia, myself, and both of you were impoverished orphans at one point. We've it in us."

Taelian nodded along, though with some reticence, as if the prospect of living like a regular person was dreadfully terrifying. He thought, perhaps, that it might be for the best that they buy a cabin indeed, one without hired help. He needed to ground himself, back in the real world, where a Hollow or a Savant couldn't do everything for him.

Seating himself on the couch, the man spread his legs wide open and closed and open his fist, his palm facing up towards the ceiling. Energy began to form at its core, a golden, sun-like ball of fire manifesting from within his grasp, seemingly becoming compressed. He set it out towards the logs which were within the firepit, and when it struck them, the hearth immediately came alight. "Ah, perfect," he grinned. "You know -- I'm really glad I can still perform fire magic as a Draedan. It's... useful."

Patting the sofa beside him -- on each side, in fact -- he invited his two husbands to join him. Wendell slid past Thomas in a casual stride, smacking and gripping the smaller man's glute as he did, before sitting beside his larger husband. Taelian nuzzled him as he came to him, kissing him on the lips.

"I love you," whispered Wendell, to which Taelian replied in turn, kissing him deeper as his hands ran all over him. Turning to face Thomas, the large man gleamed at him, inviting him onto his lap.

"This'll be lovely," Taelian said. "Just the three of us, with just each other to pass the time. You're a ballsy man, Wendell, but I'm so glad you did what you did. I don't need to go forward with... regret, now, you know?"

"I know," he answered back. "Me too."

[Thomas]

Rather than join Taelian and Wendell on the couch in a more permanent fashion, Thomas followed them, gives them each a kiss, then continues to explore. The guts of the cabin rented from some rich Celebrant are not of interest to either of his husbands, but to him, it evoked an intense amount of curiosity. There would also be the instinct to pocket some of the stuff that no one would miss, or there would be if he hadn't mastered it for now. The cutlery would fetch a decent price, as would the little salt and pepper shaker set that themselves look like rustic cabins. Sure, someone in a technologically sophisticated nation would likely think it chintzy, but a merchant in Radenor would probably trade him something worth far more for little knicknacks like that.

"But that's not my life any more," he murmured to remind himself, taking the salt and pepper shakers out of his pocket and putting them back where he'd found them. It was harder to do that than he cared to admit.

As much to distract himself as anything else, he looked through the cupboards and the larder, pleased to find it stocked, albeit mostly with dried goods. This was more than fine, however; he was used to such rations from his formerly itinerant life. Within minutes, he'd lit the pilot light on the gas stove, had set up some dried lentils to soak for the next day, and was busy at work chopping the Rien varities of onions, carrots, parsnips, and cabbage for a quick stew to serve with rehydrated dried meat, and some spices. Hopefully, Taelian and Wendell would be okay with peasant food while they were in the cabin, because Thomas knew himself to be a passable cook at basic items, but not any kind of culinary genius. He's just learned a few things while on the road.

He thought about joining Wendell and Taelian once everything was mostly in-hand, but thought that might not be the best idea. Wendell's proposal had taken him by surprise, but their history together had been relatively brief. Presumably, there was more for Taelian and Wendell to discuss about what all this meant, because Thomas' impression was that neither man had been particularly happy with the other before. As much as he wanted to believe that his mere presence would fix everything, his sense was that it may be a mite more complicated than that, so best to leave them to it. Besides, it was nice to do something he knew he was good at for a bit and have a bit of a breather. As the kitchen began to heat up, he removed his coat and buttoned his sleeves to the elbow. While Thomas was averse to jobs, he didn't mind work. It was satisfying to do something like this. With any luck, his husbands would agree he'd done an acceptable job. It tasted alright to him, but he'd eat just about anything if left to his own devices.

Once he'd portioned it out for the Lords, he called them to the table with a "lunch is served!" and sat down, waiting for them to join him.

[Taelian Edevane]

While the Griscian man cooked, his two husbands mostly kept to the couch, embroiled in some discussion or other, segmented by intermittent teasing. Conversation shifted from the prospects of their renewed marriage to politics, largely because Taelian opined about the social implications of their newfound arrangement. Polygamy wasn't unheard of in Lorien, but it wasn't incredibly common among Celebrant. They agreed that their 'Houses' would perform a respective merger, something Wendell seemed enthused by, though Taelian held some reticence he could only lay at the hands of pride. He had only just had House von Klade officiated into existence, and it would soon be absorbed - to some degree - by this old, weathered Rien family.

Wendell was quick to assure him that he was not an adoptee of Venger, but a pillar of it, an equal Lord and carrier of its legacy. That assurance helped a lot.

Then, they made out some more, their amorous words in-between kisses keenly fixated on Thomas. Politics disrupted that again, though, as they waded into the minutia of inheritance. Thomas would be officially recognized as a Celebrant within the next few days; the documentation surrounding their marriage was already en route to Retzen. That meant, of course, that he had rights to many of their belongings, and that the rules of the aristocracy now applied to him. All three of them needed an heir, and it was quite alright if that one heir carried the weight of their entire, triangular legacy, but they needed to sort that out. With war raging, time did not feel on their side.

It was amidst those worries that Taelian whispered into the man's ear, stroking his outer thigh, his words invoking a look of awe on the man's features as he questioned the other in a hushed voice. Then, as if on cue, the two men were called by their spouse to a meal.

Taelian half-heartedly restrained Wendell to keep him from going, only for the man to slip out of his grasp, escaping to the table in a long stride before the other crept back up behind him, locking his arms over his chest and kissing him along the neck. Taelian let go of him, then, approaching Thomas to kiss him all across his face, rubbing his sides as he pulled him into an eclipsing embrace. Sitting on one side of Thomas, with Wendell on the other, Taelian quietly thanked him for the meal, recalling the chops he'd shown in Leiden all those years ago, the meal he'd never eaten. This was, in so many ways, truly like a renewal.

"My relationship with you ended with a meal you'd cooked... and now, my marriage with you begins with one," he began, speaking his thoughts aloud. Taking a bite into his mouth, the man hummed pleasingly, satisfied. "It's excellent, Thomas," said Taelian. "Really."

"He can take over for Claudia," Wendell teased. "No, but really, it's good. You have a lot of hidden talents, Starkwayte, or is this the last of them?"

[Thomas]

Thomas was touched that Taelian remembered. "I suppose you figured out that I cooked that one, huh -- it was a bit transparent at the time, but I'd wanted to impress you, and to celebrate your impending victory. I guess now this meal celebrates a victory of a very different kind, but nonetheless, it's a celebration. So let's celebrate!"

So saying, Thomas popped the bottle of white he'd left chilling in the ice box before pouring it for the three of them, and answering Wendell's question. The pantry had a little note explaining that the wine was for the happy couple-to-be, which he'd thought was sweet. The fact that the couple was now a triad did not detract from the sentiment. It was a nice dry white with some berry notes on the palette that made for a nice contrast to the humble peasant fare he'd prepared. Clearly not bank-breakingly expensive, but not the cheap swill he usually drank, so he couldn't help but grin. He hadn't quite absorbed that a life of manor houses and nobility was now awaiting him, but seated between these two very proper Lords, it was starting to sink in. He'd overheard them discussing politics and the like, and he knew that world would have to become second nature for him, and quickly. He had the basics, Taelian was right, but the knowledge of the current state of play was missing. Hopefully, Wendell could be of help there.

He answered the other man's question with a good-natured demurral, "Well, I'm reasonably good at my former professions: actor, fortuneteller, whore, and salesman." Then, seeing Wendell's face, he decided to be specific. He wanted to impress the man, and he didn't care that he was boasting; he was in intimate company. If not here, then where? "I can cook, clean, act, sing, sew, dance, forge, lie, steal, cheat, grift, swindle, and make patent medicines, to name a few of my other skills. I'm also pretty good at appraising items for value, and I'm not a bad shot. Oh, and I'm reasonably good with people, I suppose. My life to this point hasn't been boring, so I've had to learn to do a bit of everything to get to where I am now. I look forward to doing many more things, with both of you, for both of you, and maybe even for myself. For now, though, I'm just happy to be here, and I'm going to focus on stepping into my new role while maintaining the required amount of moral fiber."

Wendell looked at him, then. "You really do want to turn over a new leaf, don't you?" He asked, almost despite himself.

Thomas nodded. "I can't let my actions hurt either of you, or tarnish your name. So I have to go legitimate. I realize that a conman saying that isn't worth a lot, but I'll prove it to you in the coming months."

Wendell, smiling, sipped his wine. "See that you do. I look forward to it," he said in a toast that was not entirely ironic. "Tae, what do you think of our husband's sincere intention to be a man of decency and restraint?"

[Taelian Edevane]

Taelian and Thomas

Lores
Eight (8) Generic Lores for both characters.

Loot: N/A
Injuries: N/A

Points: 8

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