thanksgiving is, after all, a word of action [set on 11/26]

[triskehale]

Thanksgivings in the Hale house used to be quite the big deal. Feeding over a dozen werewolves, many of them teenagers was no easy feat. Derek loved all the chaos, and he helped out in the kitchen since he was old enough to stand on a step stool and reach the counter.

The first year after everyone died, he and Laura each got a rotisserie chicken and some biscuits, trying to hang on to some semblance of tradition, but the food tasted like ash. Laura went to bed early, and Derek pretended not to hear her cry. They stopped trying to do anything for the holiday after that.

It's been almost a decade since that disastrous attempt, and a few months ago Derek decided that he wanted to try again. While Laura and the rest of his family will always be the cause of this gnawing ache in his heart, Derek has a new family here in Darrow. He has so many people that matter to him, and care about him. It's more than Derek deserves, or ever thought that he would get, but he's grateful. He's thankful.

So he decides that he's going to do his best to put on a Thanksgiving of his own, and invite his new ragtag sort of pack. His new family.

The invitations go out and on the big day, Derek arrives at Semele's just after dawn. He puts two giant turkeys in the oven and quickly sets up the long table and chairs in the middle of the bar. With each chair he places, Derek marvels over just how many people he has in his life. It's astounding to him, and it's the perfect day to show his gratitude.

And then, all that's left to do is cook. And cook, and cook some more. If he's lucky, he'll have time to go shower and put on something nice before all his guests arrive.


[Hale pack Thanksgiving! Treat this as a gathering post. Tag in, tag around, give thanks! ♥]

Comments

[sonofdurin]

"Truly, I don't know how you managed it," Fíli says, smiling. He doesn't mind letting on when he's impressed, and he's certainly impressed now - Derek must have spent the entire day cooking to pull this off. "I would have thought an army of chefs would be needed to achieve such a feat."

He takes a sip of his ale and lets them sit in comfortable silence for a minute, then glances over at Derek again. "I don't think I ever thanked you for inviting us to this," he says, and doesn't know whether it's the drink, his strange mood, or a combination of the two that compels him to add, "We don't have Thanksgiving at home, but many of our celebrations are quite a lot like it. I missed them more than I'd realized; thank you for letting me be a part of this one."

[triskehale]

"Not an army," Derek says with a laugh. "Just a werewolf with an industrial sized oven."

He looks over at Fili as he speaks, smiling softly and nodding. He knew that not everyone that he invited today would even know what Thanksgiving was, but he hoped that everyone would enjoy it. Fili's gratitude makes Derek feel like he did something good, and he reaches out to squeeze his shoulder. "No problem. Thanks for coming. It wouldn't have been the same without you guys."

[sonofdurin]

"It would have been quieter, for one," Fíli offers with a brief grin. Neither he nor Kíli have pulled anything tonight, but all the same, it's almost always the case that gatherings are louder when Dwarves are there than when they aren't. "But it was our pleasure, really. It's a good group of people you've got here."