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Desha had to give another soft laugh, "Of course I do. And overwhelming her is certainly not something I want to happen. So something small and simple is all I'll ask for, a cake and some light foods, all easy to make and eat. The only ones we'll need to have there are Valick, Rebecca, Michael and Dancer, Sebastet, Ora and her grandparents, and maybe a few others. So there won't be a need to cook for a great many people," he said, not realizing that when others heard about his decision to marry they'd wind up with a great many more people attending.

He really didn't know just how many cared about him here or how many lives he'd touched on the island. So he didn't even consider that others would want to share in his happiness and witness his wedding. But Dancer would know and would likely warn Rebecca and Andy of the possibility, enabling them to plan for it all to surprise Desha with it all.

"I think we should have the wedding in the garden. It's such a beautiful place, especially with the night-blooming flowers, and there's plenty of room. We just have to decide on a spot to hold it there. At least decorating would be kept to a minimum that way and take less pressure to accomplish everything," he added, nearly glowing with their combined excitement over planning such an event.

He leaned in for another kiss before finally leading Andy from the tub and passing him a towel before getting started on drying himself off and the slightly longer process of getting the worst of the water out of his hair, "We should probably start writing some of this stuff down as we plan so we can figure out when we should hold it. I'd like to do the wedding as soon as possible," he continued as he slipped a robe on and started on his hair, passing a grin in Andy's direction, "Only partially because I can't wait to go on our honeymoon..." he finished with that, knowing full well that Andy would understand both his haste and his desire to stand in front of everyone they loved and publicly be joined to Andy officially.

Desha nodded as he worked on his hair then followed him, "I would love to meet them and I'm sure Dancer would as well," he said about the additional invitations then had to smile at the suggestion.

He hung up the towel and headed for the closet to get a pair of his usual butter-soft buckskin pants before exiting to give Andy a very pleased kiss, "I would love to pick out rings with you and know just who to see about them. We can even see him after dark if I send him a message letting him know what we'll be there for. I promise you that you'll find his wares to be far superior to anything you saw in the marketplace," he told him before getting a comb from the bathroom then joining him in the living room as he combed out his long hair, being careful of the feathered hair ornament that matched the one Andy now wore.

"The ceremony we're planning will be a simple one. We speak our own vows to each other then join hands and Sebastet binds them together with a cord made up of three colors: one mine, one yours, and one that symbolizes us together, then she pronounces us married and presents us to the guests as a couple. Sometimes the couple can exchange a small gift to each other, sometimes they don't. We could exchange rings for that part, if you like. After that we can hold a small party, with or without dancing.

"As for people giving us gifts, what do you think of limiting them to something small or even something specific like seedlings for the garden or small animals to release into the forest or something like that?" he asked, knowing that some of the guests wouldn't be able to resist giving them something but it would be fun to have an event like releasing birds and foxes and such into the forest or watching everyone plant seedlings in the garden.

Desha gasped at the sight of the necklace, "Gods Andy! It's beautiful! Of course I'll wear it for you!" he said in soft wonder as he traced a finger lightly over the chain and rose then impulsively gave Andy another kiss before gazing down at the necklace with a more wistful look, "The rose was my family's symbol for several generations. I was banished before I could inherit the family's jewels and I always regretted that I would never be able to gift the one I shared my life with with the family ring. It was a beautiful piece," he said softly then gave a wry look as he looked up at Andy.

"But I'm sure it would have looked dreadful on you. Yellow-green is certainly not your color," he added with a soft laugh, "I think we can choose our own symbol now, though, something just for us to share with Michael and Dancer. What do you think?" he suggested softly.

He'd gladly wear the necklace, especially at the wedding, but he did want them to have something that was their own, something they could share with Michael and Dancer that would make them even more of a family. He wanted to give something to his son and son-in-law that was unique and showed them how happy he was at their joining.

Then another thought occurred to him and he had to laugh over it, "Something just occurred to me, though... Michael is my brother-in-law and my son-in-law at the same time..." he told him, hoping he'd see the humor in it as well as the strangeness of it...

Desha lowered his hair again and put a hand to the necklace, blushing softly at the compliment before shaking his head with a smile, "I never thought to have a family like this again. It's only been Dancer and I since Mao left. Sebastet is his godmother but it's become almost a tradition to appoint her to the position when a child is born in the castle. She says she hates it, but I know she secretly appreciates it since she cannot have children of her own. It's going to take me a bit to get used to having a family again. A full family, I mean," he said softly and leaned in to wrap an arm around Andy's waist.

It was still a new idea to him, to be part of a family again. Something he hadn't even considered that he'd have again after he was cursed and banished. At the time, he hadn't considered what he'd be losing. Not until he gained his first century and realized that he'd never know his nieces and nephews or their children. He'd missed first his father's funeral, then he'd been chased away from his mother's funeral. That had driven home to him what he'd done and what his curse meant and marked the moment when he'd turned his life around.

He'd gone a great many more centuries before finding Mao and having Dancer with him. One of the greatest moments had been when he'd first held his son in his hands. Watching him grow up had been almost surreal to him, like a dream he'd feared waking up from.

And now he had that exact sensation again, as if he were living through a surreal dream that couldn't possibly be true. He was gaining a family. A brother-in-law/son-in-law, a niece, brother, and a father in Andy's Sire. All Andy was gaining was himself and Dancer into his life and he couldn't help but winder if he was cheating him of a larger family, somehow.

Desha inwardly shook off his distracted thoughts and and considered Andy's question before one idea made itself known and felt perfectly fitting for them all, "What about a phoenix? One rising from its ashes? We've all been through so much and have found new hope with each other, new lives and new beginnings that we can celebrate every time we look at it. It seems to fit all four of us perfectly. Each of us rising from the ashes of our pasts into new lives with people that can share those lives with us, rising into the full flight of life together," he said softly, letting the words come out as they would.

Then he gave a soft blush, thinking he might have wound up getting too poetic and sounding too romantical over it all.

Desha gave a soft moan into the kiss, unable to help himself since he loved it when they kissed, each and every time. He had to blink a moment to get his mind working again, "I'd like a spice cake. But we can leave the rest of it up to Rebecca. I think she'll love it that we're trusting her with everything about the food. It will give her a boost and us the best of her efforts, I think," he suggested after a moment, thankfully not something he had to think very hard about.

"We can go talk to Cassius about our rings tomorrow night, I think. That should give him enough time to get them made for us before the wedding and we can talk to him about making something with the new seal on it for all four of us at the same time. He's really very good at that kind of thing," he suggested and decided to show him something else he'd gotten from the Siren.

He moved out of Andy's arms and crossed to a recessed shelf on one side of the fireplace where he took something and returned to Andy with it, "He made this for me when I went to him wanting something like it to help me after Mao left," he said as he showed the carved gem to him.

It was a very large sapphire carved in the image of Desha standing on the beach with his hands on the smaller Mao's shoulders in front of him, both of their hair blowing in the wind together. Desha knew Andy would be able to feel the spells the Siren had bound to the piece, spells that had helped Desha move on from the loss and open himself to love again. There were also spells on the piece that kept it from being broken or stolen as well, but the true skills of the piece were the carving itself and the other spells.

"Thanks to Cassius, I was able to open my heart to love again when I met you. I didn't ask him to carve this scene, just told him that I wanted something to remember Mao. He came up with this on his own and somehow captured everything perfectly. That's part of his talent," he explained softly, letting Andy know the level of talent he was taking them to for their rings.

Desha smiled as he moved to put the piece back on the shelf, "Ash probably went to Cassius for the piece as well. He's really the only one to go to for such things. We operate on a barter system on the island but when shopkeepers like Cassius get money for their wares, it all goes into a communal fund for the islands needs. Sometimes, though, Cassius will do a piece for someone without charging for it, either for the experience of working with a particular stone, because it's a challenge for him, or if the person really needs the spells he places on the item. We're really very lucky to have him on the island," he explained as he got the piece back into its place then moved to sit on the couch with the bowl of fruit that had been left for him.

He collected a piece from the bowl without paying attention to what it was and ate it before continuing, "He's actually a Siren and the only son of the mermaid king. He can't stand his people so he came here to live. I'll warn you now that he's an outrageous flirt and dearly loves to be admired, so be prepared for it when we go see him," he finished with a smile, already thinking that the visit would be entertaining as well as useful.