Earlier that day in Arri…

He'd been on his best behavior–all the time, ever since he had survived the Wintercrest Inquisition. It hadn't been easy ever since he bugged Poppy to introduce him to her cousin, the same blacksmith he had attempted to convince in making a pair of rings for Lysandre and the redhead. And while he had been dragged away for a pummeling by the latter two, he got what he asked for. Never had he expected there'd be such a high gate of difficulty when it came to grandparents. It'd been drilled into his head not to even think or breathe in the wrong way lest Tempest's grandfather came out of the woodwork. Not to mention her grandmother Toya was just as terrifying for different reasons. And while he had probably racked up enough experience to out-debate any first-level barrister defending his girlfriend for things that actually might mostly be her fault, there was never a dull moment or a break for Belen's fast-talking and quick thinking. So whenever there were moments where he could hold hands and spend time with her, you bet he made the most of them. In a way it was his fault for choosing somebody who had a very protective grandfather, something his brother Cyril never had to deal with. But Cyril wouldn't run the risk of doing something 'dangerous', so maybe there was a reason after all. Not that he'd ever dare.

Shiloh had been diligent to raise her boys in such a way that they wouldn't get killed for doing something inappropriate, and it showed. So no matter how agonizing and frustrating things got, Belen would endure. Today would be one of the rare chances in a lifetime when it came to Belen and Tempest's relationship, but he didn't know until he got the news later in the day. At the moment he was working on thumbing through some books, attempting to sneakily work on a surprise for his girlfriend. After Cyril's fairy tale proposal the stakes had been raised, and Belen was not going to be outdone. He was going to do better, or at least just as well. The most important thing was that Tempest was happy. So far he had a few things checked off the list when it came to magical sources of fire. Will o' wisps and hellfire were the easiest to get. And not only did he want to collect different fires, he wanted different colors too. The brunet had heard rumors of dragons breathing flames that matched the colors of their scales, and had watched the dragons in the White Court over the course of a few weeks to see if there were any that matched what he wanted. He had nothing to show for his efforts, so maybe it was time to look outside of Arri. The hardest part of this was keeping it a secret, because he wanted it to be a complete surprise. Tempest was as sharp as she was reckless.

He'd told Tempest the books he was reading were to give an excuse to her grandpa in case he began asking questions about them again. Which was partially true–and Belen knew he'd get found out by lying blatantly. With another book done, he dropped it in the pile and stretched his arms. "Ugh…one hundred and fifty-three pages full of nothing."

Tempest ran towards where her boyfriend was at an intense speed. He wouldn’t believe what was happening and it was AMAZING for them. The crash and boom came first as she kicked open the door to the White Court library that Belen had asked to use. With the door off the hinges, Tempest ran faster to find him following his scent. “BELEN!”

She slid around the corner so fast that she began to hop to catch herself from going into the wall. Still, despite her trying she hit the wall face first near him and fell down looking up at him. “YOU WON’T BELIEVE THIS! Grandpa had to leave and he said as long as you didn’t get me pregnant we could do whatever we wanted till he gets back! Apparently Rose disappeared in the middle of the night and ran off with Jordas!” Her nose and forehead were red from smacking the wall.

“TEMPEST,” Keira strolled in and put her hands on her hips. “Libraries aren’t meant to be abused!” Keira’s green eyes went to Tempest’s blue eyes before she realized that Belen was there. “So… This is the fast talker.”

“OH! Belen! My mama is home today!” This was the first time in the years they had been dating that he had ever got the fortune to meet Keira. She was always so busy but today! He could meet her. “This is my mama Keira! Mama this is Belen. HE’S GONNA BE MY HUSBAND SOMEDAY SO DON’T TELL GRANDPA.”

The yelling off-put Keira and she chuckled. “I think your grandpa is actually afraid for Belen’s life.”

“…But why?” Tempest tilted her head on the floor.

“No reason… Why not go on a date today?” Keira just wanted Tempest out of the house. “You have the freedom to do whatever today.”

It was like someone had blasted a battering ram into the library when his girlfriend came to give him the good news. He dropped to the floor and was under the table thinking an earthquake had hit or the place was coming down. When rocks didn't fall, he crawled out in time to see and hear Tempest run into the wall and get back up. "Are you ok?! Oh wait, why am I asking this? Wait, what?!" Grandpa Blaine was out for the time being, and as long as he didn't cross the line they could finally have some time together! Silently he was thanking Rose and Jordas for the great distraction, and wished them all the best. After all if it helped him and Tempest as well as the other two, it was all good. Someone then appeared who he hadn't had the chance to meet. He grinned when they mentioned his skills. "Looks like you've heard the word on the street." Yes, it was both a nerve-wracking and crowning achievement having tried to argue with the White Queen more than once. Not successfully…but details, details. He dropped the grin when Tempest told him the blonde lady was her mother and then he panicked a little inside. But that slight worry about a first impression was smoothed over thanks to his girlfriend blurting out that she was going to marry him. 

Then the worry came back when Tempest's mom said her grandpa was actually worried for him. And he knew what he meant. Back to happier thoughts, she suggested they seize the opportunity to go have fun. "Yeah, we should! It's the perfect chance since we've been given the a-ok." Who knew when they'd get such a great chance to let loose again? "Do you have any place you wanna go? We've got the entire day–or until your grandpa comes back." This was happening so fast that even he couldn't come up with a handful of good places for a date on the fly. He couldn't just bring her somewhere she'd been before, that'd ruin the whole point of this being a special date. And in proper Kyrie fashion–he had ridiculously high standards when it came to trying to impress Tempest. Simple and uncomplicated were not words that were often used in the Kyrie dictionary. But if Tempest had a place where she wanted to go, he'd be right behind her. 

Tempest rubbed her head and shied a bit for a moment. “I’m fine.”

Keira chuckled towards Belen who was very charismatic. “It’s very nice to meet you. I seem to miss you every time I come home. I’ve been waiting for this for a very long time. You are a good influence on my daughter but~ Her grandma and grandpa get all the credit for raising her.”

Tempest bounced a bit. “Mama is a map maker so she is always out and about. Her job is REALLY important.” Once Belen had asked about a place the wheels started to turn.

“Well… If I may. When I was traveling I stopped and stayed with our cousin Yucca in Jayou. She owns a tavern inn with her partner. How about eating there? It has a lot of stuff to do too,” Keira butted in.

Tempest bounced, “YES, let's go right now!” She grabbed Belen’s hand and started to walk out to find Poppy.

“Oh… No, you don’t. You are getting cleaned and dressed PROPERLY for a date,” Keira took her daughter by the ear and grabbed her off. “You can get changed too Belen. We’ll meet you down in the foyer.”

After half an hour Tempest was coming down the stairs like a scared cat. “I’ve never walked in these,” she said lowly as she puffed out her cheeks. She had on low heels and a spectacular dress. Her brown hair was in long perfect curls over her shoulder with gemstones in her hair. She was even wearing matching makeup. “This sucks. I can see why Grandma hates this…”

“No complaining. This is your first fancy date I expect you to actually look the part.” Keira put her hands on her hips and Kite had even ventured down to see his twin sister off.

“You look good Tempest… Good luck keeping her out of trouble Belen,” Kite and Belen had met off and on since it was normally Kite coming to retrieve his twin. Unlike Tempest, Kite looked a lot more like Keira now that they were side by side.

Jayou! That was one of those places he'd heard about but never had a chance to see. His mom always said it was another 'wretched hive underneath', which was due to the gambling. She always had a knee-jerk reaction whenever she spoke about the river city, but that was probably because when luck was what you were known for, gamblers would be the first knocking at your figurative doorstep. Aside from the casinos, there was a lot of local crafts and cuisine to explore. Belen was pretty proud to hear he was a good influence on somebody for once, as he'd gotten used to hearing Lys' complaints since childhood. Tempest was ready to go when her mom stopper her from dragging him off. He wave his girlfriend one last wave before they met back in the foyer. And boy was the wait worth it.

Words could not describe the sheer dumbstruck awe Belen was in when he saw Tempest coming down the stairs. Instead her usual sprint, she was walking–in all her glory. From her hair to her dress, to her shoes and makeup, even the tiniest details all pulled together to make a showstopping outfit. He had gotten into his nice shirt and jacket and tousled his hair a bit just for that casual but cool look, but that was nothing compared to her. Tempest's brother wished him luck while complimenting his sister, and all the brunet could do was smile and nod in agreement for a few minutes. Now he could see the resemblance between their mom and Kite. Once Tempest was off the steps, he came over and said in a loud whisper by her ear. "You look amazing–I'm dead serious. Totally going to turn heads as soon as we hit the streets." It was probably stating the obvious, but Belen meant what he said. If he had thought she couldn't have been more perfect–he had just been proven wrong. "–But really, you make anything look good." He said with a wink. He should probably stick to the sincere compliments than flattery. But she still was amazing to him without her hair done and blacksmith hammer in hand. 

Once they were outside, he was beaming. The look on his face practically read: 'Yes this is my girlfriend. Yes she's amazing. Gaze upon her majesty, revel in it!' He'd totally spread out a red carpet if it didn't make him look silly. That was how proud he was to be Tempest's boyfriend. And for how hot-blooded, reckless, and smart she was–those were the same reasons why he had fallen hard for her. Not exactly love at first sight, but she'd been everything he had wanted in a girl…and more. And frankly he didn't have eyes for anyone else. Just like he said, she was turning heads everywhere they went. Among the crowd was Cyril and Sapphire, who both did a double take when they saw who was walking next to Belen. Cyril stared for a few long minutes before he recognized his twin's girlfriend, and he broke into a smile and waved. "…Hi Tempest!"  Sapphire was still in shock as Belen felt as if he were walking on air. This wasn't a dream, it was a thousand times better than he could've ever imagined. He waved back to his brother then asked her: "Ready to wow the socks off of your cousin and her partner?" 

Tempest’s face lit up close to what a red rose’s petals were like. She could feel the warmth stretching from cheek to cheek as she spotted Belen staring at her. It had occurred to her that he had never seen her clean before. He had always showed up when she was in her forge or just after. Even on her days off, she was dirty from something. Belen looked nice too but she felt overdressed compared to him, however, her mom had claimed no daughter of hers was going to look scruffy.

A chill went up her spine as Belen spoke in her ear. Although everyone in the room could hear him and it just made Keira smirk a bit. Her hard work had definitely paid off this time. “I suppose I do… Yeah,” Tempest reached up and rubbed the back of her head shyly. She had no idea that Belen liked things like this on her though she had never asked either. “If you say so~” If Belen was telling her something it was normally the truth so it made her feel high as a kite as he complimented her.

Everyone was looking to admire or to gawk and it was making her feel sort of awkward. Belen though looked like he was having the time of her life as he escorted her all the way to Poppy. Once they saw Cyril and Sapphire it was abundantly clear that Sapphire didn’t even recognize her at first. “Oh. OH!” Sapphire began to wave with Cyril. “Hi, Belen. Hi Tempest!”

Tempest waved back and she almost missed Belen’s question. She snapped to and looked at him sheepishly. “I’m ready as I’ll ever be.”

Poppy and Lysandre had managed to get themselves a cute little Tudor house in the red court not that far from the mansion where all of Poppy’s siblings lived. This was something that could be there’s… By little, it was smaller than the mansion but big enough for whatever they wanted. It had a nice garden, trees, whatever life in the city was normally missing.

Belen knocked for the door and after a few seconds, Poppy opened the door with a crate in her hand. “Hello, Belen… and…” Her stormy eyes went to Tempest and she sucked her lips in for a second. “Hi, Tempest! You look so good,” Poppy was a bit quieter. “Sorry, we’re still trying to move in! All the builders finally finished up yesterday but we were beattttttt from looking around the market place for furniture.” Poppy opened the door and let both of them in. “Lyssss, Belen and Tempest are here! He’s been busy trying to fix the chandelier in the dining room. One of the rings to the chain looked like it was going to come loose… It would be bad if it dropped from the ceiling during dinner! It's supposedly this antique from Adeluna. Looks new to me but it's pretty at least.”

Tempest was suddenly more excited as they got to the dining room where Lys was working. “Oh, this house looks very pretty!… Even with boxes everywhere.”

Poppy laughed a bit and shrugged. “That’s life when you’re newly married… Isn’t it Lys?”

Everybody had been so busy with their own thing that Belen hadn't had the chance to pop by Lys and Poppy's new house. He was sure they were glad about that, and there wasn't any point to bother them now several years of teasing and romantic set-ups had finally come to fruition. They finally knew they loved each other and tied the knot. It was a quiet little place that wasn't close to the hustle and bustle of Lady Angela's mansion, and he noticed the rosebushes and gardenias Lys' mom had bought a couple weeks before. "She does, right?" Belen said, basically repeating himself. He was still giddy over Tempest being all dressed up, so you couldn't blame him. "Chandelier huh? Want to call Cyril and have him ask our mom to come take a look? She works with stuff like this all the time. Though no guarantees in her leaving you with the original chandelier; if she doesn't like it she might just make you a 'better' one." He knew his mom's personal quirks and habits despite only seeing her half the time. If there was one thing about her that he knew–she was consistent. 

Going inside they saw Lysandre standing on a table covered with a tarp, muttering as he fiddled with the chandelier. There were small pseudowyverns nearby with various tools in their claws. When Poppy called out to him, he replied: "Yes…Though I didn't think assembling things would be such a big part of it. I don't understand what I'm doing wrong? I'm sure this tool is supposed to make this ring tighter. Maybe I should ask Cyril to help, he has more patience for this sort of thing." Glancing down he saw the familiar troublemakers' faces–but paused when he realized what Tempest was wearing. "Hey Belen, Tempest. You're dressed up today! Did Grandpa Blaine finally let you two go out together without him looking over your shoulders?" Having had enough of the conundrum of a lighting fixture, Lys came down with a sigh, giving up for the time being. The little wyverns saw he wasn't asking for tools anymore so they flew back to the toolbox to drop them off. "Thanks everyone, sorry for making you all wait." The blond boy said, petting one of the small winged reptiles before it took off. "I give up. Puzzles in the form of furniture isn't my forte." 

"Nice place, looks pretty cozy too! I saw the roses and hedges your mom brought in. Have the rest of your siblings sent you housewarming presents yet?" Belen chimed in, to add onto what Tempest said. "Chrys said she was planning a surprise, and I'm not sure what Efrain has in mind. He might just send us a set of silverware or porcelain from Karith." Getting back on track, the brunet grinned as he looked over at Poppy. "Sooo Poppy, we were wondering if you could do us a favor? Since it's going to be our first date by ourselves we wanted to make it count. Somewhere like…a tavern in Jayou where one of your sisters set up shop?" 

Poppy chuckled at her husband, which was still such a weird word to call him by. “Let me take a look.” Tempest was out of her shoes, upon the table, and had tools in hand before anyone could tell her no. “This ring right here is your problem. The welding on it is bust.” She took her fingers and superheated her tips so she could begin to weld on the spot. It was delicate work as she didn’t want the molten metal to be left on her skin. In a matter of seconds, she had the light fixture fixed and hanging properly. She hopped off the table with her hands on her hips. “NEVER DOUBT MY POWER!”

Tempest now was able to answer Lys since she was no longer distracted. “Yeah, Grandpa Blaine is hunting down Auntie Rose because she took off to be with Jordas. He told us as long as I don’t get pregnant Belen doesn’t have to die. So we’re free to do what we want until he comes back home.”

Poppy looked at Belen and chuckled. “My siblings are all trying to see what we need so they don’t all give us the same thing. Though my sister Basselina did send some nice fur blankets she made herself. It seems to be her thing she gives everyone. We got a whole crate of them! You know desert nights are cold.”

Tempest smirked a bit, “They aren’t cold for you two right now.” Poppy turned and roughly punched the girl on the arm. Tempest blinked a bit and Poppy sighed.

“It’s no fun when you need to hit like a house for you to even notice I did it.” Poppy looked a bit defeated.

“Yeah, roughhousing is my forte.” Tempest laughed more and looked like she was going to hit back but decided not to since the house was new.

Poppy listened to their request and nodded. “The Bramble and Ivy! We stopped in on our honeymoon when we were there for the spas! It was so much fun! Wasn’t it Lys? We stayed there in their honeymoon room~ A cute little room that Yucca has decorated all fancy.”

Poppy took a few moments to open up the portal to Jayou. “Follow me!” She beckoned them through as she took them into the busy streets. She had managed to get them not even a block away. The sign stood out the most in its gold letters and green border. The building itself had ivy up one side of it.

“Enokitake’s famous truffles?” Tempest tilted her head as she looked at the picture.

“You’ll see,” Poppy chuckled as she opened the door and the bell went off. Eno came running from the truffle stand to greet them.

“SMALL BACON,” Tempest pointed at him. Eno squealed and shook his head as he passed out.

“Hey, don’t torment my pig!” a voice called from the back. “He’s dramatic and won’t let it go for weeks.”

“Hello, Yucca! I brought one of our cousins here for a date!” Poppy called out.

“Oh! Hey, Del, can you get them set up at a table fit for a date? I think I have a vase full of carnations somewhere on the side~”

Poppy turned around to them and smiled. “Enjoy your date, I’ll come back to get you later.” With that Poppy left to go help Lys with the unpacking.

Even when she was all dressed up and ready to go, Tempest still found a way to show off her skills. This was why despite the chaotic messes his girlfriend had pulled him through, Belen didn't have eyes for anyone else. It was almost a textbook case of love at first sight–first sight being seeing her throw a dragon without breaking a sweat. Casually Tempest told Lys and Poppy the news about their 'free day', with him making a noticeable grimace at the conditions for not getting killed by her grandpa. Then Tempest teased her cousin, and things were just like they'd always been. And he had to admit Poppy was right; Tempest hit way harder than her and Lys combined. He had personal experience thanks to being a 'wingman' without their approval. Hearing that was where they had their honeymoon stay made him more excited to see the tavern, and Poppy had the portal up in a flash. The air was warm, not too different from Sularia. But once they were all through the smells told him they were in a whole other place. Spices, sort of similar to Abed but not quite were all mingling together. The bells and whistles of fancy casino boats were not too far off, and they checked out the cozy little establishment.

"Hey look, there's a little stall here! That's so cute!" He couldn't help but grin at the adorable piglet that came running when the bell rang. And then Tempest spoke her mind, which the piglet immediately fainted at. "Uh-oh–" Expecting that they were in trouble was becoming a habit now, but it turned out the pig wasn't hurt–physically. "I gotta say, that's one smart piglet." If his twin were here, Cyril would definitely try talking to it like it was a person. Catching up with everyone he saw an orc with short-cropped black hair come out and show them to a set table. "Proper dramatic he is, the little trotter. Since this'll be ye first at the Bramble & Ivy, take all the time in the world to get your orders sorted. You won't find any pork on our plates when the littleun's walkin' around." The orc Yucca introduced as Del said to them, the last sentence more in a loud whisper. "Can't be havin' that." The warm glow of the lanterns inside and comfortable temperature gave off this incredibly relaxed atmosphere in contrast to the hustle and bustle of the river city. With an assortment of fresh-cut carnations in a colorful glass vase in the center of the table, they were slipped two copies of the tavern's menu. Del had given them a corner table, somewhere a bit more private should customers start coming in from the shore.

"Oh hey, this vase's pretty unique. How'd they get all those colors blended in together? I've only seen glass clear and mostly monochrome." The brunet asked, tapping it. "That's a Jayou specialty, mun. Lots of glassblowers and crafters come in from all over the continents to settle down here. Whether it's bone porcelain or terracotta–you want it, it's here. Showin' off their skills is just how they do business. So what'll you be drinking? We've got a little bit of everything from fresh squeezed fruit to ale." The orc said. Belen took a look and saw a bunch of exotic names he'd only heard of from gossip in the markets. Today was a special date, so why not treat himself? "I'll go with the Passion fruit Blueberry Pitaya Sunset." It was a fruit blended drink, no alcohol from the area it was listed under. A bit of tropical, sour, and sweet to kick off his first real date with Tempest.