Hannibal's house, Thanksgiving Day

[sharp_as_knives]

It was always a bit of a juggling act to both play host and oversee an entire meal, but it was one that Hannibal enjoyed. Even if he had had to adjust the menu to account for vegetarians. He'd been preparing things for days now, and with all but the finishing touches done, he was free to leave the dishes in the care of the sous chef he'd hired for the day.

He inspected the oven one last time, nodded to the woman, and retreated to the living room with hors d'oeuvres and light music, to wait for his guests.

Appetizers:
Grilled beef tenderloin on focaccia toasts
Ricotta-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates
Crostini with sun-dried tomato jam
Mushroom polenta diamonds
Paté with pomegranate gelee
Drinks: Dry sherry, Chenin blanc, home-brewed beer, or tea.


[Open to anyone who decided to come! Dinner will be in comments later; I wanted to get this up for early-time-zone folks.]

[Oh! And NFB unless the squirrels want to show up. They weren't explicitly sent invitations, but...squirrels.]

Comments

[trigons_child]

Raven nodded with a gentle smile. "Those are all indeed things for which to be thankful," she said. "Family and friends are at the top of my list."

Chosen family, not blood family. She certainly wasn't thankful for Trigon or her brothers unless it meant thankful she hadn't seen them in some time.

[furnaceface]

And Jono was very much thankful for the same. He had a very low loincloth quota in his life. It had been filled long ago.

"Is that all you're thankful for?" He glanced at her curiously. "They seem to be... well... the thing to be thankful for. I suppose I'm thankful that we both have that to be thankful for."

You were now talking in circles, Jon. Stop that.

[trigons_child]

"Some things are perhaps too personal to be shared," Raven said, ducking her head a little.

"But I am grateful that Karla is now Queen, and that we now may focus on healing rather than war in Glacia. I am thankful Bobby and Sookie are happily married, and that Professor Skywalker's family is doing well, and that he seems to be recovering. And I am thankful that Fandom remains as a haven for people like us."

[furnaceface]

Too personal? Well, that got a raised eyebrow, but no comment from Jono.

"All good things to be thankful for," he decided, instead. "At their root, they still all boil down to home and family, don't they?" He smiled faintly. "I think I'm thankful for a good number of those things as well."

The end of the war was, in fact, a big one. And healing. And having that safe haven.

[trigons_child]

Well, definitely too personal to be spoken about at the dinner table.

"I am thankful to have a home again. Gotham never truly was, and Azarath is gone, so...." She shrugged a little. "Yes, it does come back to family and friends," she said. "Their health and safety is something I pray for every day."

[furnaceface]

"Kaeleer, with Karla... it does seem to be like the sort of place that could be home someday, for somebody willing to let it become so," Jono noted with a little nod. "I'm glad you found a place like that, luv. After everything that's happened, you deserve someplace to belong."

He wasn't quite ready to settle down that way anywhere. But he'd serve, or he'd fight. He'd be anything he needed to be.

[trigons_child]

"I am so very grateful that Karla has given me a place to call home, and a purpose," Raven said, nodding. "It is so different from Azarath and Fandom, but I will grow more accustomed to it in time."

Except the staff, perhaps. She didn't know if she'd ever get used to people seeing to her needs rather than the other way around.

"And hopefully they will become more accustomed to me," she added as she took a sip of her wine.

[furnaceface]

"Give it time," Jono replied, smirking faintly. "They'll get used to you being so independent eventually. To all of the Fandom Island imports, I imagine. I had to chase so many poor hearth-witches away from my laundry on more than one occasion, honestly."

That coat didn't need to be washed every day. It just didn't. Unless he was bleeding into it, it was lucky if it got washed every few months.

... Though it did still need a bit of repairing, after that time he'd been stabbed.

[trigons_child]

"It is not just the staff, though, yes, I suppose I have some of them at their wit's end," Raven said. "Many are unsure about me, since I wear a jewel but am not Blood. I know you must know how that feels, as we are among the outsiders on Karla's Court. It is not unexpected, of course. It just feels lonely sometimes. That is why I try to keep myself busy."

[furnaceface]

"Well, you are welcome to visit me on the island any time you're feeling out of place in Glacia," Jono noted, smiling faintly. "Day or night. Joni misses you, you know."

Yes, he was invoking the cat.

"I need to spend more time visiting Glacia, myself. Lord, I'm terrible at keeping up on bloody near anything if there's not some sort of war to throw myself at, aren't I?"

[trigons_child]

"Well, I cannot disappoint Joni," Raven said with a little smile.

"I am certain in time I will begin to fit in better. Some have been friendly with me, though I suspect it is merely an attempt to gain access to Karla. So the visit of a friend would be most welcomed. I think you might have interesting thing to say about some of the aristos."

[furnaceface]

"Interesting, colourful, and none of them kind, I'm sure," Jono agreed with a little smirk. "Why do you suppose I left Glacia when business shifted from dealing with soldiers to dealing with the Territory's social elite?"

It had been an injury, Jono. You left to recover from a nasty case of coughing up your own lungs.

... Not as nasty as cases you'd suffered in the past, granted, but...

[trigons_child]

"You are fortunate in that regard," Raven said, deciding to ignore the real reason as well.

"You should see how some of the males circle Karla. She clearly has no interest, but they try anyway."

[furnaceface]

"More interested in stepping into Worthington's position in a place of power than in her, I imagine," Jono noted, rolling his eyes toward the ceiling. "Lord only know why they'd want that much responsibility. There's more to the position than commanding respect, especially now, fresh out of a war."

Jono suspected most of them weren't thinking that far ahead.

[trigons_child]

"Considering what they have been accustomed to in the past several years, I doubt that has occurred to them," Raven said. "Some of them are very hungry for power, I can feel it. A few have even sought my attention, thinking it perhaps a way of gaining just that."

The face she made make it clear where she stood on that idea.

[furnaceface]

The corner of Jonothon's mouth twitched a little at the look on her face and the mental image that mustered.

"All the more reason for me to steer clear of the more formal social functions when I can, I suppose. I get the feeling that all of the First Circle is, in their eyes, some sort of easy in to the Queen. Particularly we simple, easily-manipulated landens."

He shook his head, using the term fairly loosely, considering. Like it or not, that's what Kaeleer's Blood thought of them as. And after the war, Jono chose to wear that label as a badge of honour. If it meant the Blood aristos of Glacia underestimated what he was capable of, even in the wake of an army of mostly landens winning the damn war, so be it.

[trigons_child]

"At least you have an excuse not to go," Raven teased. Granted, it wasn't a happy excuse, but it was still an excuse.

"I must pout at Karla and beg her to allow me not to go, but then she will pout right back and tell me she needs me there so she will not be completely bored." And of course she'd cave.

[furnaceface]

"She's a sly one like that," Jono agreed with a chuckle. "I imagine if I were living there as well, it'd be the both of us being dragged along."

And Jonothon was still the sort who would sooner chew off his own leg.

[trigons_child]

Raven gave him her best wibbly look. "That is precisely why you must come," she said. "So I will have someone to speak to when Karla and Warren are occupied. It is cruel to leave me alone with the aristos."

[furnaceface]

GOD DAMN YOUR SAD GIRL EYES.

"... I might consider attending a few," Jono replied, clearing his throat a little. "I mean, I'm not a total monster."

Funny how easy it was for him to throw that word around, these days.

[trigons_child]

She knew she had the weapon at her disposal, and she was not afraid to use it.

"Thank you," Raven said, taking another drink of her wine to hide her smile. "I would appreciate it a great deal."