THE BINDING OF THEE ☆ thanksgiving dinner

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Truthfully, Aurum understood the connection between thanksgiving and the whole tradition of showing your gratitude to others and being with your family. What he didn't quite get was what that had to do with eating a huge meal until you were sick. He had read the human stories behind Thanksgiving several times, but it still never really seemed to make sense, especially considering the fact that, as far as he knew, the settlers and the Indians weren't actually particularly friendly or grateful for each other at any time besides this supposed day of feasting. Still, he was never one to turn down a chance to show gratitude to his family and friends, so he decided that he would try to properly celebrate Thanksgiving with everyone. From what he could tell, the meal usually involved having a large turkey as the main course, but unfortunately he had no idea how to get a turkey for this. After all, turkeys weren't exactly known for frequenting swamps particularly often, and even if they did, Aurum had heard that they could be pretty nasty little fuckers. That wasn't to say that he thought he couldn't take on a turkey or anything, but he didn't particularly want to deal with a huge bird trying to claw his eyes out just to make a meal. So, instead, he had decided to take the easy route, and have the main course of the meal be chicken instead. Sure, it wouldn't be entirely accurate to the traditions, but he was pretty sure that the other members of Tanglewood wouldn't mind that much as long as the food was good. So, he had gotten one of the chickens from the farm, one of the ones that Aurum was fairly sure wasn't ever Red's, since he didn't want to kill one of the only things that reminded him of the missing male.

Once he had gotten the chicken cleaned up, Aurum had gone around camp and collected all the different kinds of food he could to make one big meal, grateful for the fact that there was still human food remaining around even now. After he had gathered all of the needed supplies, the lion had gone back to his house, setting up a table in front of it in order to out everything on. Since Crowley had been staying with him ever since what had happened with his eye and everything, Aurum had casually asked the demon if he wanted to help out, and had been quite surprised by the positive reaction that he had received. After that, both he and the other male had gotten to work, roasting the chicken over an open flame and making the various other side dishes while the two of then just relaxed together, Aurum feeling a strange warm feeling just by being around the other. Honestly, Crowley was rapidly climbing up towards the top of his list of things that he was thankful for. There was a couple of times he was fairly sure that Crowley was doing something he didn't want Aurum to see – probably some sort of prank or something like that – but the lion wrote it off as nothing much to worry about, instead just focusing on the meal he was cooking.

Once everything was mostly done, Aurum pushed his large table out near the center of camp, slowly transferring dishes full of many different kinds of food to it as they were finished. It was quite a bit of work, really, but Aurum didn't mind. He was having quite a bit of fun, not to mention the fact that he was sure people would have fun just eating and hanging out. As he moved to get the last of the dishes, he moved over to where Crowley was standing near the door, leaning down to affectionately touch his nose to the other's ear, rumbling with a flick of his tail, "Hey... thanks for helping me, Crowley. It was really nice of you, and it's nice to have you around... and please don't cause too much mischief!" His voice was teasing and warm, and he then moved to grasp the last of the dishes in his mouth, trotting out to the table and putting it down near the chicken. He took a deep breath before roaring warmly, looking around with a grin on his muzzle, "Hey! Crowley and I put together a big dinner for everyone for Thanksgiving, so come on over if you want to hang out and eat and give thanks!" His wings flicked in a sort of wave upon his back as he waited for others to come over, the same happy and warm feeling still in his chest as he settled down. He honestly hoped that Crowley and Roy could sit next to him, and that lots of people would come, so that he could be surrounded by those he loved.

[member=7789]CROWLEY[/member]

template by orion

[arcy]

-

-

It was probably strange for someone so completely uninterested in food to be able to cook, much less be good at it. Needless to say, though, if anyone knew anything about Aziraphale, they'd be able to fill in the blanks. The angel was a hedonist, and food was one of his favorites. And so, Crowley had taking up food preparation. It'd been a secret held close to his heart for a very long time -- what if it didn't match up to Aziraphale's standards, what if Aziraphale saw him? Crowley didn't like it. It felt vulnerable, and it felt dumb. In what scenario would he be cooking for him to spin up a lie about it being relevant to a temptation, anyways?
Aziraphale wasn't here though, and never would be, it was just Crowley, forever, now, but there'd just been Aurum, asking him to help. So .. Crowley had agreed. He didn't really get Thanksgiving even still, and he didn't care to, either. Everyone else was interested in it though, so he just sort of .. fucking hoped he wouldn't need to concentrate too hard for his terrible, light and pain addled brain.*
*Crowley had been doing real good at ignoring it, enough that he apparently wasn't getting scolded for being out so often, but that just meant Crowley was an restless idiot.
Thankfully, though, cooking was something Crowley knew by second nature by now. It wasn't something he did frequently, but, well -- he sure did have a lot of time to practice even so, didn't he? Being immortal and all. He hadn't even bothered with the pranks, despite what Aurum may believe. It felt a little too ... something. Too connected to Aziraphale to want to and, for that matter, Holidays were off limits. For people he cared about anyways -- Holidays had always been the best time to cause a bit of mischief when he was still employed by hell. Anyways, just because Crowley wasn't actively causing mischief didn't mean he wasn't going to act shifty as hell at all times, though.
Not the point.
"It's, uh, not a problem," Previously, Crowley may have gotten upset at being called nice -- he'd had something against four letter words, hadn't he? He was softer now, though, maybe to his own distress.  Demons weren't made to be soft, but now Crowley had gotten a knife in his eye because he didn't want to leave a goddamn swamp, so there wasn't really a point in ... being what he was made to be. Not bothering to respond to Aurum's bit about the mischief beyond a smirk**, the serval's ear twitches as Aurum pulls away,
**Crowley didn't think there could be too much mischief, anyways. Just badly timed or badly planned mischief.
Feeling oddly light on his paws***, Crowley listens as Aurum announces the dinner. People better fucking show up quick, or Crowley will drag them out of their homes himself -- it was a bit of a roulette, wasn't it? People showed up, or they didn't, and it was hard to tell. Hm. He'd never been at this side of the event process. Yikes.
Still not the point. Crowley gets sidetracked a lot. He stands there for a long few moments, before his brain catches up with him. The serval, predictable and just as Aurum hoped, is quick to settle next to the lion. He's not really sure if he'll actually eat much, but considering the day, and how much work they'd put in, he was probably sort of obligated to. Would he have to give thanks, too? His tail twitches. There were a lot of thinks Crowley was thankful for, certainly, but he wasn't about to dig any of it up anytime soon. That was a fucking rabbithole of things Crowley doesn't want to think about and emotions Crowley doesn't want to feel. Funny how Crowley was so deadset on ignoring literally everything he felt in his life.
**it could just be the heavenly light trying to eat away his fucking brain or something, or just the fact he weighed fucking nothing anyways.

-

[fulzanin]

WE'LL MAKE A WAY WHERE YOU CAN FIND YOUR PLACE
- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Of course Feza would be bounding head over heals at the announcement. The snow leopard was a festive person who thrived and lived on the joy of the party. Her wings were spread and flapping to make her bounds have far more substantial length. As usual, her vibrant being came skidding to a halt upon approach. Her wings flared and flapped a few times to kill the rest of her momentum. A delighted grin was on her face, and she was bouncing on her feet in a way that seemed incredibly joyful. Of course she was, this was a festivity and a gathering and that alone was the combination of two things that she relished in a hearty manner. Did Feza actually know the story behind the holiday? Probably not. She knew it was festive and involved food and turkeys. Anything beyond that? No. Not really. Feza felt like fish were involved too, and corn, but that was a hearty stretch for her comprehension.

"Wow, this, this looks awesome!" A delighted shriek parted from the feline's maw. She bounced a little, just so that she could have a better view of all the food that was being provided. How long had it taken to set this up, she wondered? "You two make a great party throwing team, yes- can I sit anywhere and go ahead and get food?" Feza's.. odd words were abruptly cut off, her ears raising up higher. Perhaps the snow leopard had not meant to say such a thing. Whether it be because she saw herself as the sole party thrower of the group, or for other reasons, her statement had swiftly cut off in a manner faster than her thoughts usually shifted. Feza's wings flapped, lifting her off the ground a smidgen, still eyeing the food in an awed manner.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -
THE EMPTY CHAIRS WILL BE RESERVED FOR OUR PITY

[DELILAH.]

DELILAH EVERGARDEN

"The Gods have forsaken us."

With many months behind her wings, it was odd for Delilah not to attend a Thanksgiving dinner, just like she had prepped for her and Renegade last year. It was a odd time for her to even leave her den after being dormant for so long- spending time with her family, only for them to disappear.

They would come back. They would come back. She had to trust them.

"It all looks so beautiful." Delilah crowed out as she landed clumsily onto the ground, claws scraping at ground as she grappled for balance. She still needed some practice.

"I'm not hungry, but it all looks good.."

tags - penned by [member=1260]ryuu-tan[/member]

template by orion

[wormwood.]

i was born, on the highway, in a train wreck

with a heart, that was beating, out of my chest

Despite his apparent disinterest in food besides formerly indulging Aziraphale, both Crowley and Aurum had done a pretty great job with their big Thanksgiving dinner, and even Aurum could feel his stomach growling as he eyed the table of food, a smile on his face. The first to arrive soon after him was Crowley, and Aurum offered the demon a warm smile as the other sat behind him, his fluffy tail gently flicking against the fellini's back in greeting. He was glad that he had been correct in thinking the other might sit with him, an odd warm feeling crawling up and filling the space between his ribs just by having the other close. Despite the fact that he knew that Crowley had been becoming more and more open about being nice and actually allowing himself to feel things, there will still certainly things both of them kept locked away, but even with feelings being hidden, Aurum still found himself glad for the other's presence, rumbling softly to him in a teasing way, "Happy Thanksgiving, Crowley." He wouldn't mind if Crowley didn't eat much, or if the other didn't give thanks, he was just glad that he had decided to participate as well, and hadn't just disappeared as soon as the cooking duties were accomplished. Truly, as an angel, Aurum probably shouldn't have been as fascinated with the food as he was, but when you went years without knowing you were an angel and got into the habit of constantly eating because you thought you needed to... it kind of just stuck. And he wasn't planning on changing his habits now, not just because of his angelic revelation.

The next two to arrive on the scene were Feza and Delilah, and Aurum was incredibly unsurprised to see how happy Feza was at the little gathering. It was a bit of a broke reversal, having Aurum hosting the social event while Feza came over. She even seemed a little bit awkward at the realization that she wasn't the big party thrower in charge at the moment, but the lion didn't mention it, not wanting to ruin the moment or make the show leopard feel awkward. Instead he just muttering a thank you to her for the compliment on their setup, before grinning and nodding, "Yeah, you can just sit anywhere and get food. We'll say what we're all thankful for once everyone has settled and we have done food in our bellies." He supposed that was a nice enough compromise, since he didn't want to hold people's food ransom in order for them to give thanks. He the  looked over at Delilah, glad to see the dragoness out and about again. He wasn't aware of what had happened with Ren and their child, unaware that anyone was missing, but he had noticed the female hadn't been around as much lately, so he was glad to see her around. Flicking a wing in greeting, Aurum rumbled as he glanced at the carefully set table, "I'm glad you think it all looks nice... and don't worry, even if you're not hungry, you can hang around, and I'm sure we'll have leftovers for when you are." He had no doubt that they weren't going to finish off the huge amount of food they had laid out in one day, but finishing it all at once wasn't really the point of the holiday.

template by orion