While many of the Animalian weddings are happening in Lyre this year, there were other weddings happening elsewhere. Tuxing's wedding is quite different from Shuixing's. For starters, it was happening in Idaho instead of on Heiya Island. This was happening for several reasons. For one thing, many of Lenard's family and friends couldn't fly to Heiya, even if their flights were paid for. Another is that Tuxing and Lenard's honeymoon will be in Yellowstone National Park which would be a considerably shorter trip if they started from Idaho. And possibly one of the biggest reasons was that this wedding marked a transition. After she was married, Tuxing would be stepping down as leader of the Five Elements.
Another big difference between Tuxing and Shuixing's wedding was that Shuixing's wedding was predominantly Buddhist mostly due to the setting, Tuxing's wedding is mostly Christian. Not that there wasn't a Buddhist ceremony, but it was as brief as Shuixing's was. Most of the fanfare went into the Christian ceremony.
Between Lenard's friends and family and the people Tuxing was close to, there were enough guests to fill up most of the church. Even those who were skeptical about Lenard marrying a Chinese tigress (despite becoming a tiger himself) had to admit that Tuxing made a most beautiful bride. Like her sister, Tuxing didn't wear a white wedding dress considering how that color was associated with death and bad luck. But unlike her, Tuxing went with a European-style bridal gown, albeit in shimmering gold than snow white.
The ceremony was kept brief, mostly due to the heat. Everyone was glad to see the two tigers kiss as they were proclaimed husband and wife. Partly because they wished the best for the couple, but also a good part was so they could go to the air-conditioned reception. Of course, that was where the real excitement began.
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Tuxing understood that tossing the bouquet has more meaning in America than it does in Europe where it originated. There was no guarantee that the lady who caught it would be the next to marry. Still, it was kinda fun and she didn’t mind playing along with it. What she didn’t expect was Huoxing to use her martial art skills to jump onto a chain, using a table as a springboard, and do a flying leap into the air to catch the bouquet.
“Whoa, Huoxing, you ought to let the other women have a fair chance to catch it,” said Liao.
“Well, I have a vested interest in catching it,” said Huoxing, “Guess who’s going to be the next Element to get married.”
“Really?” asked Nate, “You and Gang?”
“Yep, proposed to him back in February,” said Huoxing, “We didn’t mention it earlier because we didn’t want to steal Tuxing’s thunder.”
“As long as we’re on this subject, I have my own announcement to make,” said Muxing.
“Let me guess, you and Li-Wei?” asked Shuixing.
“You’re half-right,” said Li, putting his two arms around Muxing, “I intend to make Muxing my bride…”
“But I’m my own individual,” said Wei, “And I deserve to have my own mate.”
“I guess that’s only fair,” said Lenard, “Have you already found one?”
“He has,” said Fang, leaning against Wei’s side and letting him wrap his two arms around her.
“You?” asked Gang in surprise.
“Well, you had to expect me to become an Animalian eventually,” said Fang, “So why not an Animalian that matches my name?”
“A better match for your name would be a deer, Fong,” said Gang meaningfully.
“Well, my name is supposed to mean ‘sweet and fragrant’. Can you think of any animals like that?” asked Fang.
The others thought it over before Huoxing asked, “Does a binturong count? They smell like buttered popcorn.”
“Not sure if that’s sweet as well as fragrant,” said Fang, “Anyways, my mind’s made up. I’m going to be Wei’s mate. And I’m sure I’ll have plenty of fun with Muxing as well.” She didn’t mention her intentions to make herself a herm as well. This was already a lot for her brother to take in now.
Huoxing turned to Gang and said, “I’m guessing this is quite a shock.”
“Not as much as you think,” said Gang, “Fang’s always been the outrageous type. I was expecting her to do something surprising eventually. I just didn’t expect her to get into a relationship like that.”
“Li-Wei’s a great guy, both sides of him,” said Huoxing, “And I think being close to Muxing will be good for both of them.”
Tuxing turned to Jinxing and asked, “And let me guess, you and Mitsue are engaged too?”
“We’re not that far along yet,” said Jinxing, “We’ve been busy with a lot of things. Like busting that bitcoin scam factory.”
“I still don’t get how that works,” said Tuxing, “They were data-mining for fake money?”
“I’ll explain it later,” said Jinxing.
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The last thing to happen before the newlyweds head out for their honeymoon was the official changing of the title. Everyone was a little uncertain how this was going to as this has obviously not been done before. Tuxing didn't really have a signature item to hand over to Liao. So instead, she got a golden tiger amulet to give to Liao. "Liao, I hope you continue to make the Five Elements proud and have the whole group be someone that all can look up to," said Tuxing.
"And I hope you have a good life here with Lenard and your dojo," said Liao, "So does this mean I can call myself Tuxing now?"
"It's not a title, it's my name," said Tuxing.
"But not your original name," said Liao.
"No, but I left that life behind a long time ago," said Tuxing, "Anyways, we'll still be in touch."
"Of course we will," said Liao before hugging her mentor.
Mikey was a bit upset that he wasn't going on vacation with his brother, not really knowing the intimacy a honeymoon meant. But the Five Elements arranged to go on a vacation to Ao Guang Island with him, so there was less for him to be upset about. Everyone waved as the newlyweds drove off.
"Feeling a little nervous?" asked Lenard.
"Well, yes," said Tuxing, "I am leaving behind pretty much everything I've ever known again. And this time, it'll be memories I want to keep."
"It's not like you'll never see them again," said Lenard, putting a hand on hers, "I just hope that I'm worthy enough of this change, Mrs. Bearstone."
Tuxing smiled at him and said, "We'll have the rest of our lives to find out, Mr. Bearstone."