It wasn't a historical castle, that much was for sure. Caelestis had no idea where he'd wandered, but having come across something so unique and intriguing made it too difficult to resist lingering. So many couples… He wondered if it would be possible to find a way in—steal someone aside if he must. It would be a pity to miss out, after all. Only, his scheming thoughts were interrupted by a familiar hug. Wraith? It was definitely him, but he did look a bit different. Caelestis swallowed, the initial surprise replaced by attraction. Well, even more so than usual, rather. Sorry about the look? He blinked in confusion. A baffling thought, but in a way, not entirely uncalled for, considering how much more difficulty he was going to have holding onto his composure with the man looking like that. What a struggle.

Unsurprisingly, Wraith expressed needing to get into the peculiar building, clearly here for some of the usual sort of business. Couples, relationships, Caelestis' mind was swirling with the implications. "Leave it to me," he said unhesitantly with a nod. To pretend to be a couple with Wraith… It had potential to either be sheer paradise or pure torture, but most likely would simply be both. Helping the shifter out made a good excuse for the otherwise very likely poor decision though.

An arm went around Caelestis' waist as they approached the door, and his eyes widened. It only took a moment to realise why Wraith had thought to do it, and yet… he enjoyed that far too much. Quickly adjusting to the motion even so, he leaned closer to his companion affectionately. In response to the words of uncertainty, he simply smiled at Wraith with a reassuring confidence. Even if he didn't understand the purpose of the place itself very well at all, there was little he knew better than the ways of romance. Conveniently, it was especially easy to act in love with someone when you already, quite in fact, were. Wasn't that nice?

Caelestis breezed through the guard's questions with little difficulty, although he hadn't quite expected the last one. Had he acted a bit too head-over-heels in love with Wraith? He'd forgotten to account for that more formal aspect of things entirely. Fortunately, Wraith spoke up in reply instead. It made sense, although the guard's response had Caelestis raising an eyebrow. What did that mean? What sort of place was this exactly? Naturally, Wraith gave Caelestis a look of puzzlement afterwards, though rather for the entire conversation he could safely assume. At least marriage should be fairly easy to explain later. Hopefully.

Inside the building, it didn't take long for people to approach about Wraith's scars, Caelestis making up absurd stories and laughing off even the worst of prodding until an eyebrow twitched in irritation. Goodness, had people always been this insensitive? He'd somehow kept Wraith calm, but it was becoming increasingly difficult to resist at least stepping on a few toes himself. Very hard, with his heels.

Suddenly, darkness overtook the room, a spotlight focused solely on them. Almost more of a surprise though was the instinctive hug, although from Wraith's expression and heart rate, it was fairly clear why he had done it. Uncertain as to what else to do, Caelestis reached up to stroke the shifter's hair in an attempt to soothe him. "It's alright," he whispered. "I… don't believe this is something bad." Despite the reassurances, Caelestis himself had no clue what was in store. Could it somehow relate to what the guard had said earlier…?

Next thing, the two were guided into what was very clearly a… wedding chapel. Caelestis blinked twice, somehow still surprised in spite of everything. They were not kidding around, were they? "Wraith, you know I wouldn't run even if that were so," he replied to the other's concerns with a quiet chuckle. "Not without you, at least. But truly, this looks to be a wedding chapel. A place where couples… get married. A sort of official bonding of love." He scratched his cheek awkwardly. Not the best explanation, but with the amount of eyes on them, it didn't seem the best time for idle chatter either. The thought was greatly appealing with Wraith, but even if they were genuinely a couple, this wasn't exactly how he would like it to have gone. At all, really.

The doors closed, and Wraith's unease clearly wasn't settling down. At this point, Caelestis felt he had to do something, but what? A part of him was feeling undeniably unsettled himself. It was all too odd, and he half expected the audience to turn into demons, or something of the sort. It wasn't as if that hadn't happened before in similarly peculiar situations. He looked over to Wraith uncertainly, his mind racing. This clearly couldn't go on. Finally, Caelestis acted according to his first instinct, cupping the shifter's cheek to ensure his gaze focused on him for the moment, and after uttering a quick "Sorry," under his breath, tilted his head up just slightly to lock lips. Not briefly, either, as he kissed Wraith wholeheartedly, trying not to think about how nice the other's lips felt, or the unique texture of the scar running along one side. He only finally parted for the sake of breathing, and yet still returned for one extra kiss before finally coming to his senses. 

Crap. That… had been a bit overboard. Perhaps no one could dare doubt the claims of being a couple, and hopefully it was at least a decent temporary distraction for Wraith, but past the first second or two, it most certainly hadn't been necessary. Even if Wraith likely had no clue of the significance of it, if he even knew what a kiss was at all, that didn't make it any better of a thing to have done. Only it was instead taking advantage of the man's ignorance for the sake of indulging in his own desires. While that wasn't quite the context behind the action, of course, it still felt that way to an extent, and Caelestis looked down afterwards with a slight grimace. He would try to explain it later, at the very least. 

"Excuse me, sir," he called out to the priest while putting on a slightly flustered smile. "Forgive me for interrupting, but my darling and I have always pictured this as something more… private. It's difficult to resist expressing our feelings for one another, but with such an audience, it's a bit embarrassing, you know? Would it be alright to tone things down a bit, for the sake of the wedding of our dreams?" Whether or not they would listen, Caelestis was uncertain, but Wraith clearly did not like this place one bit, and it was at least worth a try if they were to be stuck here. If not, well, he would simply have to figure something else out.

Wraith scratched his neck in thought, this event was for couples only huh? Well.....shit....

The shifter sighed and made his way down, maybe he could say he's one of the bodyguards or something, from what he could tell there was no other way other than the front door. He growled in frustration, and rubbed his forehead, he may as well try. It took a few minutes to walk up to the elaborate bridge which stretched across a moat and towards the main door, he got several stares from on going couples, no doubt because he was on his own. It was then he caught someone off to the side admiring the lights and bustle of the couples who walked by. Approaching cautiously, Wraith saw a familiar face and walked confidently towards them, wrapping his arms around them in hug. "I'm so glad to see you Caelestis." He said before noticing the look of surprise on the celestials face. Oh right....the shifter wasn't wearing his usual outfit, instead he was wearing a dark coloured suit, the bullet proof vest hidden underneath making his chest and shoulders look slightly broader than they were, his hair was still sort of messy but had a more clean look to it; though his scars were still visible across his face and neck, nothing much he could do about that.

"Ah- yeah sorry about the look. erm...I'm sorry to ask something outright after just greeting you but....I need a favour." He said pulling away and turned towards the castle like building. "I need to get in that building, problem is only couples are allowed in, you fancy going in with me?" He asked, turning back to his companion at the end of his sentence. The shifter rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at the floor. "You seem a lot more familiar with how those in relationships act, I'm afraid my skills don't lie in such things.....I understand if you don't want to I mean-.....wait you will?" Wraith said in surprise before giving a small smile. "I owe for this....big time." He said clapping a hand on Caelestis' shoulder. Luckily Caelestis' outfit seemed to fit in well, so they could go straight to the door.

Once they got there, Wraith showed a the briefest signs of nervousness, this was it, time to see if they could pull this off. The shifter kept an arm around Caelestis' waist, copying the guesture of the couples around them. "I have no idea what I'm doing...." Wraith whispered quietly, he had kept his companion on his blind side, he felt a bit more comfort knowing someone he trusted was able to see on the side that he couldn't. The guard at the door eyed the pair of them as they approached asking several questions, luckily Caelestis was pretty quick with the answers and they seemed to satisfied the guard......except for one detail. 

"So.....you two arn't married yet?" The guard asked casually.

"Err...no, we travel around a lot and never found the time." Wraith replied, trying to figure out what married meant. 

The guard gave a grin. "Well...no worries, we can make that time for you."

Not knowing what to say, Wraith just gave a nod and then a glance at Caelestis which said 'I have no idea what any of that means'

Once they were let in Wraith gave a sigh of relief. "Well done with the quick thinking, I have no idea what the guard was asking." He said placing a hand on his own forehead. The event went as a normal formal event would go, food, dancing and socialising, the last two the shifter let his companion take the lead in that one; though he couldn't help but feel his eye twitch and the hair on the back of his neck bristle whenever someone mentioned his scars. It wasn't surprising really, everyone here had no scars adorning their features, so having a guest show up with scars across their neck and down their eye which was also blind, was a bit of a sight, so much so that people would approach Wraith and Caelestis just to ask about them, he was just thankful that Caelestis was such a good talker and support, if he wasn't there the shifter would have decked at least 5 people in the face already this evening.

However one thing caught him off guard and that was the lights suddenly going off and a spot light shining on both of them. Out of instict, Wraith pulled the celestial close to him in a protective hug, his eyes scanning the room for threats. He had no doubt that his golden eyed friend could feel how fast the shifters heart beat and breathing was as he prepared to be attacked or something of the sort. The scarred man was thankful that Caelestis was reassuring him, or else he would have bolted and their cover would have been blown, it probably also helped the shifters hair was being stroked, it was enough to bring him back to his senses so he could hear a announcer telling them to enter the room to their right, the crowd cheering them on as they did so.

Not knowing what else to do he walked with Caelestis into a room which looked like it was a type of church or something, Wraith stiffed as they walked, he didn't know what this was, what was this room used for.....who was the man standing at the far end with a book. "Caelestis.....what is this? Are they going to try and kill us? Lock us up? What? If that's the case, I want you to make a run for it, get somewhere safe." Wraith whispered quietly, hoping that his companion would know the answer. Even when it was explained to him, Wraith did not feel any more at ease, his pupils had dilated as he prepared for a potential on coming attack, why were they so many people sitting on the benches looking like they were waiting for them, the heavy doors closed behind the pair. "Shit, shit, shit, shit...." Wraith whispered quietly. "There's too many of them...I think this could be an ambush...I--"

Wraith was cut off when the man with the book began making some sort of speech, the shifter was only half paying attention, his gaze was constantly switching from different people in the crowd, to the dark corners of the room and then to Caelestis. The shifters eyes said it all, he was confused and utterly terrified.

Solita's blue-eyed gaze rested upon Desmond, her face completely void of emotions. Of course she was feeling just as uncomfortable as Desmond was on the inside, but she was so used to hiding her discomfort that she did it automatically, even around him. Studying him for a moment, taking in his body language as best she could, she looked at the bouquet of flowers in which she held in her hands. It was beautiful, yes, and as she stroked the petals of one of the white lilies her eyebrows knit together a little. Looking back up at Desmond, she let out a small sigh.

"Trust me," She said slowly. "I didn't drug you and force you into this against your will. I love you a lot, but I wouldn't go to that extent." She paused, watching him look anywhere other than at her face. A tiny smirk played at the corners of her lips, but she hid that as quickly as it came. Gently placing the flowers onto the ground, for she didn't know where else to put them, she picked up the front of her heavy white dress and walked closer to Desmond. It was an awkward, uncomfortable situation and she had no idea hoe or why it was happening, but she decided not to ponder about it too much. "I don't quite know what's going on, myself. It's certainly not wanted... for either of us. I'm not for that much commitment either."

She cast a look of extreme discomfort down at the lace dress she wore. It was the most uncomfortable, much too formal thing she's ever worn in her entire life. To tear it off and throw it away was more than desirable at this point in time, but not with Desmond standing right in front of her. Love him as she might, she was not willing to strip down to nothing but undergarments in front of him. She just wished she had a change of clothes, but looking around briefly she could only let out a sigh. Not a single piece of her usual clothing was in sight, though she didn't expect for there to be any in the first place. It was a wedding after all, albeit a forced one. 

Looking back at Desmond, she cringed a little. "I never exactly wished for marriage. Certainly not forced marriage either. Too much commitment, way too many expectations. And this dress is... uncomfortable." She frowned, smoothing down the dress and sighing to herself. "It's pretty but... pointless. That's besides the point though. I can tell you're uncomfortable, plus you're not even looking me in the eye." She slightly raised her eyebrows at him, and she backed away from him a little. 

Glancing around to look for someplace to sit, she sighed in frustration. Of all things to force upon the two of them, why did it have to be something as large as marriage? 

"I'm not meaning any of this in any sort of bad way, by the way. You're... wonderful and attractive. If this really has to happen, I'm just glad it's with someone I can actually say I love and care for." 

She glanced back at the discarded bouquet of flowers. She had no idea how to get out of the forced marriage, but she was just happy she wasn't with someone else. There were quite a few unlucky choices the universe could have cruelly thrown at her, but she was forced with Desmond instead. And she wasn't complaining about that choice at all. She was just unhappy with the choice of events that were taking place. 

Truthfully, along with being highly uncomfortable, she was also extremely nervous. The idea of marriage always made her uncomfortable and a little queasy, as it wasn't the easiest process to break away from a marriage. She'd always wanted someone to love her and commit to her, just not to such amounts. She trusted Desmond, of course, and she loved him too. She simply wasn't sure about marrying him of all things. 

Rubbing an arm, she studied Desmond for a moment. The discomfort, frustration, and confusion was building up now, and she turned her back to him for a minute so she could compose herself. But the longer that her thoughts dwelled on the situation that was taking place, the worse she began to feel. She was feeling panicky even. Getting married? She was all for being committed, loving, and responsible... but certainly not to such an extent. 

Finally she tore off the veil atop her head, tossing it aside. If she was going to be forced to be uncomfortable, she would like to minimize at least a little bit of that discomfort. Combing her fingers through her hair in an attempt to fix it, she took a deep breath and turned around to face Desmond again. 

After much though and contemplation, she walked back to him and picked up his hands into hers, speaking softly and calmly to him. 

"Listen, I know this is uncomfortable for you." She sighed a little, glanced down at her dress, and then looked back at him. "It's uncomfortable for me too. I think the amount of commitment and pressure that comes with marriage is too much for the both of us. But I'm not seeing many choices for us at the moment. We may just have to go through with it." Taking a small but deep breath, she closed her eyes for a moment, regaining composure. After taking a moment for herself, she opened her eyes again and continued. "But there are ways we can get out of this afterwards. Divorce is always an option, I suppose. Or we don't even have to treat our marriage like it's a real marriage. We could stick to being what we were before this point in time and pretend that we're not married. I don't know. That's something we'll have to discuss afterwards. But for now... I don't think there's any way out of this."

Solita stared at Desmond for a silent moment, the look in her eyes a mix of sympathy and slight discomfort. She listened to his every word, and upon seeing his warm smile she gave him one of her own in return. Seeing his smile made her heart thud inside her chest, and she took a small step closer to him than she already was. Tilting her chin up a little, her eyes glimmered. The warmth that she felt inside was something that she wanted to experience forever, and if this was how it had to be experienced... then so be it. 

"Well you're not going to be by yourself either," She gave him a large smile. "I'm here for you through this whole thing. I'm not gonna leave your side." She frowned slightly, letting out a small sigh. "I just.... this is just... hard. I don't know how this is going to go and the unknown kinda... it's.... scary for me." She laughed, almost pathetically, and shook her head. "I guess it shouldn't. The unknown doesn't normally bother me, but I've never experienced something as big as this before." She fell silent, thinking to herself for a moment. She was almost disappointed in herself, but what could she help it? They were, albeit forcibly, getting married. Sure, they were of course going to figure out exactly what to do afterwards, and of course she had Desmond by her side. But this was too much. 

But in her desperation to keep calm, she just took a shaky breath and smiled nervously at him. 

"As for if you'll be a great husband or not... don't even worry yourself with that." She gently took one hand out of his, absentmindedly tracing one finger down the front of his chest. Looking him in the eye, her smile went from nervous and into something more warm. "You're loving as you are right now. I'm probably not even going to be a great... wife myself." Saying it aloud made her cringe a little. She'd never thought of herself as being a wife before, and to say it out loud just made all the pressure feel heavier on her shoulders. All the expectations that were going to come out of this...

Though if it's Desmond she was going to have to be with, it wasn't going to be the worst. At least that's what she was hoping for anyways. 

"I'm good at what, taking care of other people? I'll take care of you." She shrugged a little. "And I can play some music for you. Guitar, harp, piano, whatever. I wouldn't mind singing to you. Actually I would love to sing to you. I can sing to you and just... whatever. But that's about all I'm good for. I don't much have my life together and I have no idea how relationships really... work? Much less marriages? I've never had anyone like you in my life before. So don't expect me to be much good of a wife." 

Taking his hand back up in her own, she leaned into him a little. He was warm and comforting, something she needed in this... odd situation. She had no idea how they'd come together in such a situation as this one, but she knew they were going to come out of it together and with that knowledge, everything seemed to be a little more okay. 

"But you're right. Let's get this all done and over with and... figure out what'll come next afterwards." She took a deep breath, looking at him with love and admiration in her eyes. "I'm just glad that it's you who I ended up being forced into this with."