Fireheart

Chapter 30

The air feel good against my exposed skin as Rebecca walks with me to the place Phoenix had set up. It was a cozy little building at the edge of the fabric district. I didn't even wear shoes. I carried them. I wanted to feel the ground beneath my feet.

"I'm happy for you, Fyre." Rebecca told me.

"Thank you." I said back to her.

"You and Phoenix are a wonderful match."
I smiled at her as she opened the door to the small church building.
The inside was simple. A couple rows of pews and an altar in the front.
Phoenix stood next to this altar, done up in a black suit. He even had a red tie.
An older man stood behind the altar. He smelled like Yong'in.
"Fyre." Phoenix whispered when I made my way to him. I smiled at him.
"Well Clan Leader," The Yong'in said. "You have a wonderful bride."
Rebecca clapped her hands silently. When I looked to her, I saw tears in her eyes.
"Shall we begin?" Asked the Yong'in. Phoenix nodded his head.
"I, Smithin of the Yong'in unite these two Yong'in under a vow of marriage."
Phoenix looked so handsome in his suit.
"Together, under our Wild Goddess Broxly, they will lead the Yong'in Clan in peace and harmony. Is this young lady a witness?"
"Yes." I said to him.
"Please state your name." Smithin said to Rebecca.
"Rebecca of the Muz."
"Rebecca, do you give these two your blessing as a witness, and that this marriage is true?"
Rebecca smiled brightly at the words.
"Yes. This marriage is true."
"Fyre and Phoenix, I name you husband and wife. May Broxly bring blessings upon your marriage."
Phoenix pulled me against him and kissed me hard. I smiled as I kissed back and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Rebecca smiled softly from behind us.
When we pulled apart, Phoenix had a glimmer in his eye.
"Now is the best part." He said.
"How so?" I replied.
The Yong'in came from behind us, holding a needle and what appeared to be ink.
"Clan Leader's usually recieve matching tattoos along with their wives." He said.
The needle looked alarming. I also didn't know if my body would keep a tattoo.
"Don't worry. Shifters can get tattoos." Phoenix said to me.
"You can... Go first." I told him. He just laughed.
"That means I get to pick the design." He said, sitting in one of the pews.
I sat beside him, and watched the Yong'in pull out his jars of ink.
"Have a design in mind?" He asked Phoenix.
"I think along my right hand, I want a black lick of flame climbing about a fourth of the way up my forearm."
"Oh jeez." Rebecca said behind us.
"It won't hurt." Phoenix said, offering the Yong'in his arm.
"Speaking as a man who already has a tattoo." I said, laughing.
"What?" Rebecca said, staring at Phoenix.
"Yeah." He said, wincing as the needle pierced his skin.
"I got a skull on my chest."
We watched in silence as the Yong'in traced a simple and lovely design into Phoenix's hand and arm. It really did look like he had a lick of flame crawling up his arm.
He got up, and flexed his fingers.
"Your turn, Fireheart."
I looked at the Yong'in replacing his needle. He smiled at me and I tried to smile back.
"Are you ready?" He asked me. I just nodded my head.
He laid the needle against my skin, and pushed down. Rebecca laid her hand on my shoulder as I winced.
The needle broke my skin, leaving a tiny black dot.
"I am okay to continue, Lady?"
I nodded. After the inital pinch, I could hardly feel the needle poking my skin as the Yong'in replicated the same flame design on my left hand. When it was over, I looked it over carefully. Phoenix grabbed my hand.
"My wife." He said, smiling.
I smiled back.
"Do you wanna check out the beach?" He asked me.
"Of course." I told him.
"I'll get back to my room then." Rebecca said behind us. Before I could say she didn't have to go, she stopped me.
"It's your night. Go enjoy it."
So we left the church after thanking the Yong'in who married us. We walked hand-in-hand to a plain of sand. I found myself hesitating before I walked on it.
"Let's go." Phoenix said. "I'm right here with you. Don't worry."
So I followed his lead by taking off my shoes. Though night had fallen, the sand was still warm between my toes. I found myself grinning to the sky at the feeling.
I felt Phoenix's hand on my waist.
"Wanna know the best part?" He asked.
"What would that be?" I asked back.
Phoenix took off in a run towards the waterline. Wolf bucked.
Chase him! She yelled with glee.
So I did. I chased him to the waterline, much faster than I ever thought I could. I was able to taste the joy in the wind. Nothing could bring this night down.
As I ran at him, Phoenix grabbed my waist and spun me above him. As he put me down, I wrapped my arms around his shoulder and kissed him.
"I love you." He whispered, holding me against his chest.
"I love you, too." I said back to him. I looked up at his face, and the moon reflected in his brilliant green eyes.
"When we get home, we'll have to celebrate as wolves." He whispered in my ear. The idea made my toes curl.
"What else can you show me on this beach?" I asked him. He smiled as he looked down the shore.
"There's a cave about ten minutes away I could show you."
"I'd like that." I said. I let him go, and picked up my skirt in my hand. We walked hand in hand as he led me down the shore. The water that splashed my feet was cool.
Eventually though, there was a cave that popped out of the sand.
"Manmade, but still a cave." Phoenix said.
It was small, and held only a couple baby crabs. The walls were covered in moss. I sat, and smiled as Phoenix sat next to me.
"How did you know about this?" I asked him.
"It's a spot most people know about. I came here during a bonfire when I was fifteen. It was the night I got my first tattoo."
"Is there a story behind it?" I said, smirking at Phoenix. He chuckled.
"Not really. My friend had drawn it on his paper in school, and I thought it was cool."
"What happened to all these friends?"
"Well you met the guy who drew the tattoo. Jerrik."
"I hadn't taken him for an artist."
Phoenix shrugged.
"When my father explained how I was to take the Clan, I went into a depression and pushed some friends away. The others went into different Clans. Only Garnet and Jerrik remain."
"Well they're good friends."
"They are." He replied.
We sat in silence for a few minutes. I listened to Phoenix's breathing, the joy still overtaking my thoughts.
"Do you want children, Phoenix?" I suddenly asked.
Phoenix sat up and stared at me.
"Why? Are... Are you pregnant?" He said, some mixed emotions I couldn't place covering his voice.
"No." I said. "I had bled during the week before we came up here, remember?"
He sat back against the wall.
"Sorry." He said. "But to answer your question, I would love children. I want a little girl to be honest with you."
"You don't want a boy?" I asked him.
"Well of course a boy would be nice. But growing up, I always imagined a little girl bouncing on my knee."
He said. I could hear the smile in his voice.
"What would you name her?"
He thought for a second.
"I like the name Allison. Allison Jade of the Yong'in."
"That's beautiful." I said. Images of Allison filled my head.
"That was such a sudden question." He said, laughing.
"Yeah." I said back, chuckling. "But now that we're married, I think it was an appropriate time to ask."
He reached around me, and pulled me into his lap.
"Most of the time, thats a question you ask after the first time you have sex."
I raised my brow as I grabbed his hands and laid them on my hips.
"We've already passed that milestone." I said.
"You forced me." He said, smirking back.
"Forgive me." I whispered back. His fingers traced lazy circles into my hips.
"I will. As long as I get to fulfill that promise of using the entire night to take off that dress."
"It's a deal." I said, leaning down and kissing him.