The sunlight lightly dappled through the cotton white curtains. A cool gentle breeze slipped in from a crack in the window and brushed a dark-skinned elf awake. As the morning dawned into the room, Yekatarina stretched her arms up feeling the drowsiness dissipate from her body.

“Good morning.” She startled at the hoarse voice beside her. Percy sat on the edge of his bed already dressed staring straight ahead. 

“Percy? What are you up so early for?” Yekatarina half-yawned as she rubbed her eyes, “And you’re already dressed? I thought that you of all people would be sleeping through the morning.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” Percy said almost too quietly. His fingers lightly tapped on the bed, his shoulders tense and unmoving. Yekatarina paused, taking in the scene before her. She sighed and slipped the pastel green duvet off her legs.

“Bakda Inchin,” She moved to his side, hand hovering over his shoulder, “What troubles you?” Percy opened his mouth. What could he say? What was the point in opening the wound? The words drove itself against his throat threatening to spill out of his mouth, but an invisible force prevented him from speaking. His eyebrows furrowed.

He was here for Poppy and Brianna. He was going to help give them a memory of a thousand lifetimes. He swallowed and grit his teeth into his best fake smile.

“I’m just so excited for today."

______

By the time Percy and Yekatarina walked into the venue, it was already bustling with activity. Quellena and Valvyre worked in well-oiled synchronicity to weave abundances of flora into the building. A small wow slipped out of Percy’s mouth as bright green ivy flew above his head and danced between the lanterns hanging from the ceiling. 

“Looking good!” He called out. Valvyre smiled at him and flicked her hand in his direction. A crown of orange cosmos suddenly wrapped around his head, tickling his forehead. Percy gently caressed the petals with a grin.

“You two are quite the druids! I’ve never seen such intricate work created with such speed and mastery,” Yekatarina said as she plucked a daisy from a garland and tucked it behind her ear.

“Ha!” Quellena scoffed as she guided more stems and petals around the room, “This is child’s play.” She snapped her fingers and forget-me-nots began to bloom on a door frame as Poppy bounded out from underneath. She whistled as her eyes scanned the room.

“You two have outdone yourselves!” Poppy raised her arms with a smile, “Thank you so so much for doing this again.” She ran up to Valvyre who wrapped her arms around Poppy with ease.

“Anything for you, my dear,” Valvyre cooed. “Now tell me, why do you have guests that are already dressed for your wedding?” Poppy turned her head to see Percy and Yekatarina standing in the aisle dressed in full formal wear. She gasped and ran to them.

“You guys look great! And very early?” Poppy said with slight confusion in her voice.

“Was getting antsy,” Percy smiled easily, “We wanted to see if we could help with anything before the ceremony.” Poppy made an ‘aw’ sound and took Percy and Yekatarina’s hand in each of her own. 

“You guys didn’t have to do that. You’re guests, you should be relaxing!”

“This is your wedding,” Yekatarina squeezed her hand, “You should be the one relaxing.” Poppy sighed and looked around.

“Well, the decorations are practically taken care of, and the chef’s at the tavern are already working hard on the reception food. I really can’t think of anything else that needs to be done?” Poppy tapped a finger on her chin.

“How about yourself?” Quellena called out as she conjured an arch of roses, ”Do you plan on getting married in pajamas?” Percy bit back a laugh as Poppy’s mouth dropped open.

“These are monk robes! I’ll have you know that-”

“We only have a couple hours before the thing officially kicks off. Shall we?” Yekatarina raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I guess if you want to help me get ready, Percy, maybe you can check on the others?” Poppy sighed.

“The others?” Percy shifted uncomfortably.

“Yeah, the others? Lani, Paxus, Kri, R-”

“Actually,” Yekatarina interrupted, giving Percy a subtle look, “I recently sprained my hand on our last hunt. My braiding isn’t as strong right now, but I know Percy has quite the skills.”

She smiled at him. A small sigh of relief escaped from his lips as Poppy hummed in agreement.

“Sure, as long as you can make sure this hairstyle won’t fall apart in the event that another zombie apocalypse shows up and we need to fight,” Poppy nudged Percy’s arm. Percy chuckled and looped his arm around hers.

“I can make sure that even vampires can't break these braids apart.”

_____