"And you're certain you want this to be a small wedding?" Mandy asked as she and Daniel walked along.
"Yeah," Daniel answered as he looked to her, "after seeing all the hoopla that went into the first Dinotopian wedding in connection with their big reveal and the publicity that went into Jill's wedding in Louisiana... I'm pretty sure something a bit more low key is more appropriate."
Daniel took Mandy's furry paw in his own and slowly patted the back of it as they walked along. The Golden Retriever Animalian slowly wagged his tail as he gave the German Shepard Animalian a small smile, while trying to avoid panting in the heat. She did smile back to him before he continued.
"Besides... with regard to love..." Daniel commented, "does one truly need a big show to truly love someone else?"
"I suppose not," Mandy commented, "but it is kinda fun to share that declaration of love with family and friends, don't you think?"
"I don't disagree," Daniel commented, "though... I'm really the last member of my family still around, and most of my closest friends have been passing on due to old age as well."
Mandy slowly nodded, knowing that Daniel had been pretty close to one hundred years old when he became an Animalian. Many of the people he knew in his youth had likely died of old age by now, assuming they hadn't also become Animalians. Dr. Joshua Komorowski was proof of that, as he had become a Komodo Dragon Animalian, and while he was working with regard to the medical care for the UFC-A tournament in making sure that competitors would have access to immediate medical attention in case something went wrong, and could be kept in stable enough condition to get to Horizon Light, Mandy had found Joshua to be a frequent guest with them and that he and Daniel often spent a lot of time reminiscing together.
"What about Josh? Certainly you'd want him to be there, at least," Mandy asked.
"I did ask him," Daniel answered with a smile, "and he will be there. And a few of your friends will be there too... as I know you invited them."
Mandy only smiled at that.
"I'm just saying that we don't need to invite the entire town to say that we love each other," Daniel finished.
Mandy did nod to that. Daniel did seem to be a bit private in that regard. He was well built for a Dog Animalian and wasn't adverse to positive attention, as he often used it to support causes he believed in, but there were plenty of times where Mandy noticed that he preferred it quiet and calm. In many ways it was understandable, and thus why wore a simple white dress and went along with what Daniel had requested for a more private ceremony with a justice of the peace rather than something big and extravagant. So long as there were some personal friends there was all that really mattered.
They quietly walked along until they came up on Lyre's City Hall, where Joshua and a few of Mandy's close friends were waiting. It lead to a series of congratulations and hugs that went all around.
"You picked a good day for a wedding," Joshua smiled to his friend, "Nice and sunny... not too warm today."
"Says the lizard," Daniel teased his friend with a playful "punch" to the shoulder, which Joshua only laughed at.
"Still, congratulations," Joshua smiled as the group made their way toward the building's main doors so that they could stay on schedule, "You and Mandy get along very well... and I must say... the two of you seem very happy together."
"And she does make me happy," Daniel commented as he looked over to Mandy, who was talking with her friends as they went in, "She's been kind and understanding, and has been great to talk to... among other things."
Joshua only chuckled at that with a knowing smile. He hadn't found a female Komodo Dragon, yet, and actually hadn't gone looking for one, but he did notice how easily Animalians formed pair bonds and how that lead into "other things." And Joshua had observed that many of these bond-mates were often quite committed to each other. It was one of the unusual things that marked Animalians as different from Humans in that once a pair committed to each other, there seemed to be a far more natural urge to make it work than there was in Human relationships. Though as a combat medic in WW2, he really wasn't skilled enough with mental and sociological issues offer any good theory on why Animalians seemed to succeed at relationships.
As they entered Lyre's City Hall, they found Lyre's Mayor waiting for them and standing beside a small mural on the wall that actually showed a shot of Lyre from the air. It was painted before the appearance of Animalia, as Animalia was not depicted in the mural, but it was a good painting nonetheless. Lyre's mayor smiled to all of them.
"Are we ready?" Lyre's Mayor asked as Daniel and Mandy moved to stand before the city official and Joshua and their small group of friends moved to stand in a sort of half circle behind them.
Daniel took Mandy's hands and looked deeply into her brown eyes. He could see her joy in her eyes. He also noticed her tail wagging happily behind her, and knew he couldn't hide his own joy at being with her as his own tail was going back and forth. He just couldn't hold it all in. And in the end, that joy was all he needed and could focus on. There were too many other things that were going on the world that were often chaotic, and the continued issue with Regressive Hypersexuality Disorder appearing was allowing for the new restrictive bills in Congress to continue to build momentum toward actually passing. But Daniel had no power to affect that, the only thing that could really matter for the moment was to assure himself a happy moment of love with Mandy. Seeing her tail wag, made him happy and thus he not only wagged his tail but smiled back to her.
"Yes," Daniel and Mandy said together as they looked to Lyre's mayor with a smile, "we're ready."
Lyre's Mayor smiled back and they moved into the official ceremony. It wasn't big or flashy, but in its own way, love won its own victory as Daniel was happy with Mandy and she was happy with him.