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| Scene Title | Special Day |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Elaine dreams of a special day that seems far out of reach. |
| Date | April 03, 2011 |
Bannerman Castle?
The world is filled with music.
It's impossible to say when the music started exactly. The air outside is crisp with the soft chill of an early spring, though the sun up in the clear sky is doing her best to keep the occasion warm. The mix of cool air and sunlight is a double blessing, for the fact that Elaine finds herself dressed in a gown that could be considered quite heavy.
A dark blue and red dress hangs from her upper body, the bodice tightly laced in front in silver, and the skirt is raised up on the left side to reveal thin off-white lacy under-skirts. Brown eyes catch sight of her reflection in a vanity mirror set up against the wall of the familiar castle, and another glance catches sight of a group of people dancing and celebrating in the open courtyard, all dressed up in the best clothes they could find. Some aren't nearly as nice as others.
"Boo," a voice speaks up behind her, revealing a fellow red headed woman dressed in a pale silver dress. The years have been kind to Juniper, from the gentle smile on her freckled face. As kind as they can be. It's wider than usual— because today is a day of celibration. "Brides aren't allowed to be wallflowers, you know," she says with a joking smile. "But I guess that's inevitable when you married someone in the band."
The ring designed with celtic knots feels extra weighty on her hand for a moment.
"Yeah," Elaine admits with a tiny smile as she looks towards her reflection. "You're right. It's rather hard to dance by yourself without looking pretty ridiculous, and since I don't have a partner at the moment, it just means I get some time to watch everyone be happy." Her gaze watching the guests from the mirror before she turns to face Juniper.
"Plus it's nice to take a breather. It's a big day." Brown eyes drift down to her wedding ring, examining it for a moment. "Big for everyone, I would think."
"I'm sure half the place would jump at the chance to dance with you," Juniper says with a grin, head tilting to the side and paler red hair falling a little against her cheek from the done up state that it had been in moments ago. "Joe's been dancing with me— and Lance is trying to dance with anyone female. I saw him dancing with Colette earlier. I think he even had the nerve to cop a feel." With that she laughs, shaking her head.
"But I can understand needing to rest— It's a huge day for you, especially, being your birthday too. We're all really happy for you— both of you. We don't get to celebrate very often, and this is a double party for you. Kaylee even baked you a double cake."
Suddenly the younger woman's hands go to the dress, checking something and looking relieved. "I'm surprised this is holding together— I never made a wedding dress."
And she'd only finished that very morning.
"I would have thought Lance would know better than that, but boys never learn, especially Lance, I think," Elaine says with a laugh, her lips curving into a genuine smile. "At least he's offering everyone the chance to have a dance. No wallflowers allowed. Except the bride, because I have an excuse."
The bride's gaze moves down to her dress as Juniper checks it. "Well, you've proved to everyone your skills. I couldn't have dreamed of a better dress… and it's even more personal, hand-made like this. You did a wonderful job. No one can doubt your skills now. You'll have everyone lining up for the latest fashion from you."
Her smile broadens again. "Kaylee's so sweet. I'm sure it will be fantastic. It's all very exciting, all of this happening today. I think this is something everyone needed. A big celebration like this. The timing makes it extra special."
There's color in her cheeks at the compliment, and the younger woman tries to brush it off, but there's a sudden scent of lavender in the air coming off of her. A scent Juniper defaults to when nervous, even now. It changes to a homemade apple pie smell, the smell she prefers.
"I heard it was her idea— to have it on your birthday," she says, dropping the embarassing topic, leaning out of the doorway to look up towards the band. There's no stage, no huge speakers or sound system set up, just the best they could manage with limited resources. But even then, the sound still carries, the guitars, the keyboard that's plugged in, the voices singing so that everyone can dance.
A celebration of life and love.
And music.
"It's really sweet. Though I bet she did it so she won't forget your anniversary."
The older woman can't help but smile even broader at the scent. She always liked the scent of lavender. Elaine looks back to Juniper before peering out at the celebration. Life and love and music… it was certainly everything she could hope for in something like this.
"It is sweet. After the bomb I didn't have a lot of real birthday parties, nothing like the ones my parents had for me when I was young, so it's kind of a big thing. It guarantees that I'll always have someone to celebrate my birthday with and I don't have to have another lonely birthday."
There's a pause.
"But I think you might actually be right about the forgetting. She's pretty forgetful sometimes."
"Which is funny since she manages to remember all those songs just fine," Juniper says with a laugh, as the song in the courtyard winds down toward the finish. "Looks like they're about to finish up— you should be able to get another dance in, if you're rested." And from the smile, she thinks that she should be— who wouldn't, on their wedding day.
There's a quiet sound down the hallway, revealing that they are not alone in their wall-flowering. Though in this case it's a pale brown dog suddenly appears, carrying a small bonnet in her mouth. "Fiver!" Juniper cries out, hurrying over and retrieving said bonnet, though the chow mix doesn't give it up without a growling fight.
"We don't have a lot of nice clothes for you to chew up all the good ones." The young girl's bonnet is ruined, with the flowers around the ribbon crushed, and the rim torn by teeth in a few places. After a moment she laughs, looking back over at Elaine, "But I guess if a torn bonnet is the worst that can happen, it's a blessed day indeed."
"Another dance is definitely something I could go far, I think I've got just enough energy for one more. Make this party last just as long as I can, right?" Elaine says, cheerfully, her gaze shifting down to the dog with a genuine laugh.
"A torn bonnet can be fixed sometimes. If you can sew a wedding dress, I bet you could fix this." The bride suggests as she peeks at the bonnet. "I think you're right, though, we should count our blessings. We've got enough days full of trouble. Trouble can take the night off."
"You have a lot more faith in my ability than I do," Juniper says, looking at the tears as she tries to motion the dog back into the main part of the castle. "All the dogs were supposed to be kept out so we didn't have an accident with the food table again," she says, waving the bonnet at the brown dog, who looks properly chastised. There's a sudden whine, and the dog turns around, ears and tail down.
She may not be an animal telepath, but dogs respond to smells.
The final strum of an acoustic, and one of the band breaks away and begins the weave through the crowd toward the two waiting redheads.
Juniper's hand goes to her back and motions her out, practically pushing her forward, as the small woman breaks through the crowd of people, most who part for her. Her black hair is kept short, yellow eyes mischevious and happy. Her outfit isn't a dress like most of the others, but black and leathery and something very fitting for a disciple of music. The band starts up again, though this time a keyboard solo.
Behind her, Elaine can hear Juniper's voice, the grin audible, "Get out there and dance, Elaine Darrow-Diego."