Ritual was an important thing. When Deimos informed Ikigai that, in order to tie them together in his culture, she had to best him in a fight, he had been prepared to immediately let her win. That wouldn't work for Iki. She wanted their union to be pure and legitimate. No one would doubt their tie together. And so, the pale woman had informed her mate that she would indeed best him and had begun making preparations immediately.

The day came when the woman's plan lay ready and waiting to be carried out. Iki had healed enough to regain her former activity. She could still feel the bruising in her ribs, but the bones had mended enough to carry out her mission. So, on a bright, moonlit night, Ikigai set her antlered cat, Willa, to fetch her lover and bring him to the rock garden. Tonight she would best him and would do so fairly and with her own skill. The woman need only wait for the man to arrive. She would stay out of sight, only giving him glimpses of a flash of snow or ink fur here and there as she disappeared behind one rock or another. Ikigai was always just out of reach, as was part of her plan. Willa, with her pale coat and Tanuki with his equally white pelt, helped as well, leading the man in different directions and keeping him confused. Or so Ikigai hoped.

"Speech"

When Ikigai had denied his offer of handing her the win in a "fight" to officially unite them as soul mates, Deimos had been genuinely surprised and oh so impressed. Every day his mate caught him off guard and astounded him in all of the best ways, proving to him time and time again that the subdued, delicate flower he thought he had snatched up to stand in as his mate had far more thorns than he had originally given her credit for. He waited patiently for Ikigai to prepare in whatever way she saw fit and it gave him time to prepare in his own way as well. He hadn't had time to make the trinkets that were traditionally used in these ceremonies before his proposal before, but now they were ready and waiting for Ikigai to take her new name and place as his soul mate as she had promised to do.

When her feline companion came to fetch him, he grinned eagerly and followed without question, walking out to the rock garden on the mainland with the moonlight to guide him. As he stepped into the middle of the plain that was dotted with various sizes of rocks and boulders, his mate's pale companions broke away and his bright, aqua gaze scanned the area around him, catching small glimpses of pale fur moving through the shadows, always seemingly ducking out of sight just as he thought he had finally picked up on her movement. Her distinctive, sweet scent was very much present here so he knew she was there, but clearly using stealth and deception to her advantage. He wouldn't have expected anything less of his brilliant Ikigai. He smirked, walking in a slow circle around the clearing as he continued to look for her like a prowling predator, beginning to focus in more on her scent than trying to spot her as he went.

"Deimos & Ikigai"

Willa and Tanuki kept track of Deimos alongside Ikigai. The snowy fae spread her scent on rocks here and there, doubling back to rub her cheek on this and that to further confuse her mate. In doing this, Ikigai was everywhere and nowhere. She didn't need to be a fighter or a hunter or a scout to carry out her plan. The woman was clever and cunning and full of ideas. She hoped that Deimos wouldn't figure out her plan.

Gradually, giving Deimos glimpses of herself here and there, she herded the big, purple man in the direction that she wanted. The rocky outcrops became more sparse and a great deal of grassy space stretched between each. This was exactly where she needed him to go. Iki hoped that he would follow the natural dip in the land, the path of lease resistance. Waiting in the middle was her trap; a big, strong net that she had crafted herself. This net blended in with the grass, but was also sprinkled with bits of debris, as was the rest of the area. Once Deimos walked fully upon it, the net would be triggered by his weight and the man would be hefted into the sky by a system of pullies hitched to a nearby tree. She simply had to get him there.

On the other side of the natural path, Ikigai stepped into the open, letting herself be seen, though not for too long. She didn't want it to be obvious. Instead, Iki made a show of looking around to see if she had been spotted, then she lowered her head and crept off down the path. She knew that Deimos had seen her, but she pretended that she hadn't seen him. He need only follow and she would win the day, or so she hoped.

"Ikigai"

Deimos continued to lurk quietly through the rock dotted landscape, prowling like the predator he was as he continued his hunt for his mate. He had always known that she was a clever woman and that fact was on full display right now. He attempted to shift his focus to her scent instead of trying to track her by sight, but she seemingly had accounted for that as well because every time he thought he had the trail he found another remnant of her sweet scent that led him in an entirely different path. He chuckled quietly to himself as he smirked and shifted his focus back to trying to catch glimpses of her past the rocks as she drifted by like a ghost. She was incredibly clever indeed. He wasn't sure how exactly she planned on besting him in this battle that she had been so set on having, but clearly she had a plan and he was eager to see what she had in store for him.

Eventually his tracking brought him to a more open area where the rocks were less frequent, a clearing obviously in the middle. It felt like the perfect place for an ambush so he skirted around the edges of the clearing for a bit as he attempted to get a visual on her. As much as he was willing to simply hand over the victory to her in order to have her as his soul mate, he knew that she wanted to do this right and he would give her the fight she desired to make sure she felt like she earned her victory. As he lingered in the shadows of the rocks and scanned the clearing for any signs of her, his aqua gaze snapped to the flash of pale fur and he saw her pass between a pair of rocks across the way from him, seemingly looking for him and not spotting him. A grin pulled across his lips. Perhaps he had managed to turn the tables on her after all.

As soon as she was out of sight again he started out across the clearing now that he knew where she was and he was sure that she wasn't lurking somewhere waiting to pounce. That turned out to be his mistake as he strode right across the net that was hidden among the grass and leaves, his eyes going wide as he suddenly felt the world disappear from beneath his paws as a force swept him up and pulled him into the air. "What the-!" he muttered before his words got cut off by the net wrapping around him, his struggling against the confines of the trap only causing him to sway in the air and not giving him any kind of leverage to get out. He pushed and clawed at the thickly wrapped ropes and he was sure with enough effort he could have chewed or cut through a portion of the net, but then he would have been sent plummeting to the ground and wouldn't have been in any shape to fight regardless. Her plan to get him to submit was suddenly very clear and once he gave up his struggling he couldn't help but grin and laugh.

With a sigh he twisted in the net so that he could look down at Ikigai below him, giving her an impressed smirk. He had never doubted that she would approach this challenge in a way that was unique to her, but this surprised even him. He turned his head to stick his nose under the flap of a small pouch that hung from his neck to pull out a delicate bangle that was studded with small, facetted amethysts and diamonds and polished pieces of onyx, all set in a piece of silver jewelry. It matched the thicker bangle that currently sat on his foreleg above his ankle, the wider cuff a darker metal but still inlayed with the same gemstones. Hooking her bangle on one of his bear-like toes, he slipped his paw through one of the holes in the net and stretched his foreleg down to reach toward her, presenting her with her prize. "I think you've earned this, my soul mate."

"Deimos & Ikigai"

Ikigai watched and waited with baited breath for her mate to find his way to her. She had noted the increase in his pace and knew that he'd caught sight of her as she had wanted him to. Tanuki and Willa had faded away now that the purple giant was on course. Back to the mountain, no doubt. Iki had it the situation under control anyway, but was thankful for the help that her friends had given.

From her place nestled between two concealing rocks, Ikigai heard the slither and snap of the net as her weighty mate fell into her trap. His call of surprise brought a throaty chuckle from the pale fae and she slid from cover to go stand beneath the net. Marbled eyes looked up to the captured brute with pleasure and affection. She'd bested him, but she knew that he'd taken it a bit easy on her. Still, he had fallen into her trap and thus, she was the victor.

Deimos extracted something from a pouch around his neck and handed it down to her. A small gasp was pulled from the woman as she laid eyes upon the delicate and beautiful piece of finery. As he reached down, she reached up, taking the bangle from her mate with nimble digits. Iki wasted no time in sliding it over her paw. The bangle settled in place as though it was always meant to be there. "It's beautiful," Iki spoke softly and reverently, her gaze on the bangle a moment longer before looking back up to the man above her. "I suppose I should let you down now."

Moving away from Deimos, Ikigai stepped behind one of the many chunks of rock and released a knotted rope. With the way that she had everything set up, Deimos drifted to the ground like a feather, thanks to pullies and leverage. Once the ropes were slack, she moved around the rock and helped peel the net away from the massive man. "So, in your culture, does this make me your wife now?" One brow arched in question. Was there more to be done or were they tied for now and always?
"Speech"

Deimos watched as Ikigai took the bangle he offered her, a little grin lingering on his lips as he enjoyed her reactions. He had taken a shot in the dark on what she would like and what would suit her, but with the time they had spent together and what he knew of her preferences seemed to lead him in the right direction. "I'm glad you like it, my love," he rumbled in reply, hardly even minding the fact that he was still up in the air, caught in a net with the joy and contentness he felt now that their soul mating was set in stone. He chuckled when she eventually looked up from the jeweled bangle that now sat around her ankle, mentioning how she should let him down. "Perhaps," he agreed, amusement in his aqua gaze.

He waited as she moved away from him to work whatever contraption she had come up with for this trap and soon enough he was moving back toward the ground. It was a far more gentle and soft landing than he was expecting which was a welcome surprise. Once he was on the ground, he started wiggling himself free of the net with Ikigai's help, rolling back to his paws with a quick shake. As he turned to face his new soul mate, she questioned him about what this meant in his family's culture and he smirked as he stepped toward her, slipping a large, bear-like paw around her waist as he sat back onto his haunches, pulling her smaller frame into his own. "Almost," he promised in a quiet rumble, nuzzling into the crook of her neck with tender kisses peppering her jaw. "I've never been one for the formality... but you're teaching me to appreciate it all."

He lifted his head enough to press a kiss to her forehead, holding her to him as he repeated the words that Manea had taught him, knowing how much it meant to Ikigai to do this properly. "Ancients, I bring you the woman that I have given my heart and she has given me hers freely in return. She knows my soul and carries it with her in each of her steps, just as I do with his. We are one being in two bodies. I vow that no one else shall know my heart nor my soul for the rest of my days. I do this with the knowledge, understanding, and acceptance that there will be none after her in life or in death. I surrender the spirit you bestowed upon me as your chosen child so that we may share your strength and your power and she may find her place one day in the hall of the Ancients, a true Mendacium by vow. Together we shall intertwine in death, granting our strength to our future generations so that we may live on in them. I agree to bind my soul to her and with it I grant her our name... With this vow I name this woman, Ikigai Mendacium, as my mate."

Proud of himself for actually managing to remember the whole speech, Deimos grinned down at Ikigai, squeezing her gently in his grasp as he dipped his head to press his lips to hers with a passionate kiss. His hold on her tightened with a quiet rumble of delight in his chest and when he broke their kiss he didn't go far–shifting instead to brush his muzzle against hers while his paws traced along her back and over her hips. "Now you are my wife... my mate, my soul mate... the answer to my prayers and the love of my life."

"Deimos & Ikigai"

Once they were standing before one another and the bangle was on her foreleg, Deimos began to speak. Iki's moonlit gaze rose to meet the man's big blue eyes and she listened with rapt attention to every word that he spoke. Deimos delivered a vow; a set of binding words. Iki's heart soared and the woman smiled as he finished his speech. The purple man declared them wed and Iki shook her head. "Not quite yet."

Iki took the dire brutes huge paw in her own diminutive digits, looking at their clasped limbs for a moment before she began speaking. "We had a bit of a rough start, didn't we?" The black marked fae smiled and continued, "It was what we needed in order to build what we have. You and I have a strong foundation. Upon that, anything is possible." Ikigai stared into her mate's blue eyes and smiled. "I love you, Deimos Mendacium. I choose you." And then she leaned up and kissed him. Now it was done. She was Ikigai Mendacium. They'd done it the right way.

"Deimos & Ikigai"