ORIGIN

Leon was quite literally vibrating with excitement.

They had spent nearly all day decorating the caves in preparation of the ceremony. He was tired from the constant workload - it had been rather exhaustive on his magic - and his brain was nearly frazzled from trying to figure out how to hang up the glowing rocks on the vines to make it look perfect. Thankfully, they came up with a great idea of stringing them along the ceiling and walls, and draping them down either side of the altar and with a winged companion, it was easy enough to arrange them. He was thankful that a group of Gembounds had come to help him, otherwise he'd probably still be working on it now. Well, that wasn't true - the rest of Maji Walezi probably would have stopped to give him a hand too, but he didn't want to take them away from their duties.

In any case, it was complete. Looking at it now, the bear found himself absolutely dazzled. The lights were still shining, twinkling like distant stars as they adorned the walls and hung in the air, suspended from the vines dark enough to blend in with the background. It looked almost like they were floating there. He'd told Makyna not to look last night, because he didn't want to spoil the surprise. It would be the first time she'd see the decorations, as far as he recalled based on their planning. And he wasn't to see her until the beginning of the ceremony. He hadn't seen her since early this morning, and already his heart was aching for her - but it was for good reason, and maybe he was just nervous, maybe he was just too excited to finally see her in the crown he'd made her, walking down the aisle to join him in unity.

A few of their groupmates were already here and Leon had been quietly making conversation until the time that the guests were supposed to arrive. He and Makyna had extended the invitations themselves with a specific time to arrive, and though he knew that most of his friends would be able to make the ceremony, he couldn't deny that he was still a little anxious. He wanted this to be perfect. He wanted there to be no shortage of people to see Makyna in all her beauty, he wanted everyone to hear the bear commit his vows, eternally and so passionately, he wanted everyone to know of his boundless and utter love for her. But most of all, he was doing it for her - he wanted to make this the best day of her life, unforgettable and beautiful.

The bear sat in the middle of the aisle, restlessly fidgeting with his paws. The aisle was marked by two rows of petals that separated the designated seating area - it was far enough away from the waterfall that they wouldn't get wet, but the low din of the cascade would still act as a gentle background noise in the silence of the ceremony. The bear himself was equally as decorated. He'd spent a good chunk of time grooming himself, only for someone else to tidy him up even further, sleeking his messy fur back and winding small flowers into the ruff around his neck and head. Another bright blue flower sat on his wrist, secured there the same way he'd secured the opal shard for Arkrael, glued into his fur with dry mud. Granted, it was a little more gracefully done this time around, so it looked just like the flower was sitting on his fur. His gift for Makyna - small shard of blue crystal with a flickering red glow in its heart and attached to a thin vine as a necklace - lay in the hands of his capable ring bearer.

With a huff, he glanced back, then towards the main area of the cave, then to the tunnel entrances, hoping to see the faces of his friends arrive before long.