<~> Chapter 153

I ducked into the tent that Luna and I were now sharing. Any thoughts about 'propriety' had gone out the window since Luna had almost been assassinated. It was also a pretty strong hint to others that our relationship was sanctioned by Celeste since she didn't stop us despite the rumors of Luna being related to her. No one doubted for a second that they weren't related at this point, even if they didn't look related. Luna didn't share any of the typical signs of dragon royalty that Celeste showed in spades, but the way Celeste had reacted to the changeling's words had been convincing enough on its own.

Luna stepped over and began to help me undo the straps and belts on my armor from behind. It wasn't really necessary, but it made me happy when she helped me like this. The two of us worked at removing it in companionable silence. The indistinct chatter of the camp and the chirping of bugs were the only sounds around us.

Finally free of my tin can, I stripped down to just my shirt and some shorts. I sat down on the doubled-up bedroll lying atop some cut grass and laid back on it. My head was still swimming a little after the conversation we had with Celeste. I had an inkling that the same was true of my foxy lover. She got herself comfortable as well before cuddling into my side. With the wind coming off the oasis, it wasn't quite cold out, but it was chilly enough that sharing her body heat was welcome. The cold wasn't as uncomfortable or noticeable to me anymore anyway, but her warm skin still felt nice against mine.

She rested her head on my chest and let her tail curl around my waist to hug me from the other side. I found her unconscious possessiveness a little endearing, at least when it wasn't being negatively directed at someone else. I trailed my fingers up and down her back as the two of us quietly relaxed together.

("Marriage, huh?") I asked her through the rings.

("You... don't think it's too soon, do you?") Luna asked. Her tone sounded so neutral, but I knew there was probably some insecurity in there.

("It is a little early maybe... but I don't think it's too soon. After everything we've been through together, I can't imagine wanting to give any of this up,") I said as I squeezed her against me.

Luna sighed in contentment and the tip of her tail flicked happily at my response. The two of us continued to lie there together for a long time in silence. Just focusing on our breathing and each other's warmth.

Her fingers drew little circles against my skin as she collected her thoughts. ("I wasn't sure this day would ever come... Even before my throat was damaged, I suspected my... that man was just going to marry me off in an arranged marriage. A marriage to a man I would never find attractive and never love. I wasn't sure I would ever get to the point where I would be happily lying with someone like you, planning on getting married in only a month! I thought that even if I got my way, I wouldn't be able to bear any children of my own. I would be forced to choose between bearing the children of a man I wouldn't love, or not having any children at all with a woman. Now I know there is a chance for that too. My life has taken some interesting turns, especially lately, but I can't help but be happy with how things have gone for me.")

("A month... I expected to be more scared when I first heard how close she was suggesting, but it's actually kind of a relief. I know that I'm in love with you, I don't want to wait any longer.") I kissed the top of her head and got a small giggle in return.

("Are there any rituals from your world you'd like to incorporate into the ceremony? You said you wanted to see me in a white dress, right?") Luna asked.

I chuckled. ("Yes. If it doesn't make much difference to you, I'd love to see you dressed in a white wedding dress. It was something I've always dreamed about.")

("What about you? Do you want to wear a dress too? Or maybe a suit like you said before?") she asked.

I shrugged. ("It might be fun to wear a white wedding dress myself too, but I'm not as hung up on what I would be wearing. Maybe it's weird, but I always pictured myself to be the one kissing the bride, rather than worrying about how I would be dressed in that scenario. I've had fantasies like that since before I even knew that I liked women.") I laughed to myself. ("It was pretty confusing until I realized that I was different from other people.")

("Are same sex marriages accepted in the world you come from?") Luna asked.

I sighed and rubbed her back. ("Yes and no... In the part of the world I lived in, gay couples were accepted... mostly. Marriage had fairly recently become legal in my country, and people had wrapped their heads around the idea that gay people existed. There were still people who would be gross or mean about it, but they couldn't do much past that anymore. You still heard stories of gay people getting beaten up or something, but I don't think it actually happened that often. It probably depended on where in the country you were, though. Lesbians also tended to be treated nicer than gay men, but it was kinda just because men usually found the idea arousing...")

Luna scrunched her face in distaste. ("That's unpleasant... even if I can understand the idea,") she said with a sigh. ("I wish I could say that things are better over here, but that's not really true. Among beastkin, it's usually accepted and maybe even common, but like I told you before, it's usually done in the context of larger families belonging to a single dominant. Even if the dominant themselves prefer their own sex, marriage is traditionally done in the context of establishing family and breeding partners. Relationships like ours, in which we don't intend to bring in a male to have children with, are at best accepted with incredulity, and at worst invite the dominant to constant challenges for their position as the head of their family.")

("Then that thing with Valkin?")

Luna quickly cut in before I could continue, ("No, I don't think so. I think that was more to establish hierarchy. Any challenges like that would be rather explicit and wouldn't happen until we're officially married anyway.")

("What is marriage like among dragons?") I asked.

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("I know much less about that, to be honest. We should ask Celeste. That would probably be a good idea anyway, considering our new plans. Celeste said that we would be married as beastkin though, so there's likely connotations to a draconic wedding that we're missing,") she replied.

I stared at the ceiling of the tent thoughtfully. ("What about drakken and draco? Are their marriages different from beastkin? What about humans, for that matter?")

("Draco and drakken don't usually get married unless they have strong connections with humans or beastkin. It's not something that comes up in their culture a lot since they were more or less raised as servants of dragons in their early known history. They fall in love, take partners, and may even stay exclusive their entire lives with a single person, but they don't really get married. Not unless it is done for political reasons, they had grown up in human cities, or they themselves are marrying a human or a beastkin. For obvious reasons, they usually omit the braid part of the tradition and substitute silver or polished steel jewelry,") she replied.

("What about humans?") I asked.

("Much more likely to have monogamous marriages than the beastkin, even when they are marrying beastkin themselves. In places where beastkin are allowed to follow their culture, some humans follow their example and create marriages with multiple partners if they are wealthy enough. Humans also use braids to signify their engagement the way that beastkin do, though they often put a lot more emphasis on the exchanged token or dowry part of the tradition than beastkin. Human parents are much more likely to have arranged marriages, though it's pretty rude to ask about it or suggest that's the case, unless it's already well known. For many humans, it's more of a matter of survival. Humans tend to move around a lot less than beastkin, so arranging marriages between local sons and daughters create long-lasting bonds in small communities. That's part of the reason beastkin are disliked by smaller towns. They don't want a traveler taking their children away, especially if the beastkin in question has other husbands or wives. The natural wanderlust of beastkin can create a lot of friction in those kinds of communities,") Luna said with a sigh.

("Have you had to deal with much of that?") I asked.

Luna shrugged. ("Not really, to be honest. We only really traveled through small towns on our way to the next dungeon city we were headed to, so we didn't stay long. I also don't think I'm all that threatening to humans when I'm traveling with other humans, and can't speak. Mixed parties tend to face a bit less scrutiny, since large groups of traveling male beastkin have a much worse reputation. Groups of hunters or small groups of travelers tend to be treated more warmly, but never joke about settling down there, even if the place is nice. Small towns don't find that funny. How long you intend to stay, and when you plan to leave, are usually the first questions they ask. It's better to answer that kind of thing honestly.")

I nodded and continued to hold her against me. I didn't really have many other questions, and I was getting a bit bored of the topic. Our upcoming marriage was quite exciting, but this had quickly turned into a culture lesson along the way. Not much of this stuff would affect me even if I was idly curious about it. Since I could shapeshift, I could potentially sidestep some of the trouble that comes with this stuff, though wearing my ears and tail to maintain solidarity with Luna might be more appreciated. I suppose it would depend on how difficult we expected a town to be.

("Should we talk about what we're going to do about the beetles?") I asked.

("Hmm... I think for swarm monsters, combining my fire magic with Iris's wind magic might still be the most effective. There are a few things I can think of for you to do, but I'm not sure what the others can do to deal with the floor, let alone the soldiers. As odd as it might sound though, that might make this dungeon attractive to other delvers. If experienced mages with large area of effect spells can get especially good results here, it may attract more mages to this area, which may be another boon to Ironcastle. Assuming Ironcastle and Celeste can maintain control over this city. It's proximity to some of the other nearby city-states may cause some friction.")

I nodded. ("It is rather hard to deal with those beetles with swords, arrows, and claws. What did you have in mind for me?")

("Well, I know you've eaten a few monsters that may be strong against them, depending on how long you can maintain the transformation.") Luna started to smile with that look on her face she got when thinking about interesting magic.

("I've been meaning to sit down and create a list of the different monsters I've eaten, and maybe try to work out what I may have gained from each of them. Some of them are obvious, but there are some that I'm completely clueless about,") I said.

("Yes, we didn't have any paper on hand before. Now we could get some from Celeste. She would be interested in your capabilities too, if you wanted to share any of that information with her,") Luna said.

I frowned. ("Do you think that's a good idea? I trust her a lot more than I did before, but I'm still not sure how much I want to tell her. We already told her that I can shapeshift into monsters I've eaten. Being specific with my available monsters might be useful to keep from her in case something happens...")

Luna sighed. ("I know you're right... but I really want to trust her. She's my mother, and she's been really kind to me so far. To both of us, really. But I'm sure there's a lot that she isn't telling us. Some of that is likely for our own benefit, but... surely not all of it.")

("Actually... she might already know,") I said while staring at the ceiling.

("What do you mean?") Luna asked.

I shrugged. ("Well, she knows I can transform into things I've eaten... and she could probably get a list of all the known monsters in the Fallow dungeon. It probably wouldn't be difficult to guess some of the monsters I've eaten while in there... so maybe we should just be honest with her. We would only be confirming what she might already know, which might make her trust us more too...")

Luna giggled.

("What?") I asked with a frown.

Luna shook her head. ("You keep denying that you have a head for politics. I think you're underestimating yourself. You just don't have the motivation for it, yet.")

I huffed and squeezed her in my arms.

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