More Elisop Oneshots

Avis Nuptiarum

Night Owl x Phoenix

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The wind blew, the foliage of the trees twitching wildly in excitement and leaving leaves to twirl in the breeze. An archway of ivy and wildflowers had been erected by the forest animals with Emma's help, who had grown oxalis and clematis to enliven the simple natural canopy of purplish tones, enhancing the ethereal night as the star of the moon was at its highest, watching over the forest dwellers like her children.

The long-awaited event stimulated different feelings in everyone, but one thing was certain: everyone looked forward to it and devoted a lot of effort to the preparation of the place in which they had decided to celebrate it.

It was a sacred ground for these winged beings, since it was said that generations before, their ancestors had made their home in this very place before they flapped their feathers for the first time, some large trees with a dominant figure still standing as remnants.

The guests were not really numerous, the population of the forest was quite paltry to be honest as few divine birds were able to take human form. Three people sat in the front row. On one side, on the left, was the young woman who had taken care of the decorations mentioned earlier, dressed in a forest green dress with a slit in the front that revealed the golden rods that gave the skirt its rounded shape. A crown of branches gracing the top of her head.

Emma was like a sister to Phoenix, they met when he was still a young bird who had just lost his mother. She found him hiding in the hollow of a hundred-year-old oak tree after he was harassed by the other inhabitants of the forest because he had not yet learned to fly.

The young woman, who was already an accomplished celestial bird, chased away his tormentors and took the boy into her home where she gave him the blessing of a home and the warmth of having someone to comfort him and lend a hand in times of need.

And so here was the story shared by Aesop and Emma.

The Phoenix could not thank his dearest sister enough for all she had done for him, even though his gratitude might embarrass her.

Emma was the second most important person to him, and he smiled faintly at the young woman on the bench, who raised the corner of her lips in response, their eyes communicating their feelings without needing to say a word.

Finally, the person Aesop cherished the most was the man standing in front of him at that very moment, wearing a short houppelande whose part of the cloak had been replaced by a drape of silver feathers. The mask he usually wore had been removed for the occasion, his azure eyes gazing lovingly at the phoenix while his hands held the other's between them. 

Eli, too, had called for some of his friends to be present on his wedding day with Aesop.

Two people were sitting on the right bench, a man and a woman. The first one was known as Naib and he was his best friend with whom he sometimes liked to engage in flying competitions to see which of them was the fastest. Eli didn't win often, but he still enjoyed the company of the eagle, who he could always count on.

The woman next to him was none other than the eagle's sister, Martha. Who knows how she had met the phoenix, but nothing really surprised the two men since she was renowned for winning the friendship of almost half the forest. Her forthright and honest nature somehow managed to lighten the mood with anyone who found themselves engaged in a conversation with her. But anyway, Martha was the one who had introduced Aesop to Eli.

The Phoenix had not been very enthusiastic the first time they met, but after spending a few days together, with the help of the swan to bring them together when the tension rose, Aesop discovered that he might have more in common with Eli than he initially thought.

One thing both men liked to do was simply lie on the fresh grass on the hillside and look at the stars at night, and many were the nights they had spent telling each other all sorts of things during those evenings under the starry sky. There were also times when they didn't tell each other anything, but the effervescence was always constant, because most of the time it was the days of comets' rain.

The sky would then become like the canvas on which the painter would slide his brush, each stroke being a meteor crossing the dark veil.

And then, in the hush of this ethereal scene, Eli would slide his hand towards Aesop's to intertwine them. 

"Eli the Night Owl and Aesop the Phoenix, do you both swear by this sacred night witnessed by the elders of the Avis, to love each other for the centuries to come in spite of any obstacles that may stand in your way?"

Nightingale stood behind the altar as the official figure to acknowledge their union as one of the oldest and most knowledgeable inhabitants of the forest.

"Yes." the two men replied in unison.

"Then you may seal this oath."

Eli sketched his brightest smile at Aesop before leaning in to kiss him to end the ceremony, the latter blushing faintly at the contact, the feeling of butterflies fluttering in his stomach expressing his state of enchantment shared by his other half.

The moon shone over the two newlyweds, celebrating with them by bathing them in its radiance.