"This is an interesting holiday… where people give thanks for what they have," Kara said with some amusement as she Raj and Fran made their way to the area where the official bake sale was to be held, "Though... I must say that I'm most thankful for a day of rest and quiet..."
Raj and Fran glanced to each other and figured that Kara was likely referring to the work that Kara essentially had to do to pay for the damage she'd wrecked on a liquor store in San Francisco earlier in the year. Fran had gotten her a job, and Kara did admittedly work hard, but with part of her wages going to pay back the California store owner for the financial losses he'd sustained it would take time. However, the two had also soon found that Kara had had some other ideas and skills as well. A lot of time when Kara wasn't working, she'd often follow a few cooking channels on television, and in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving, they'd done a lot of Thanksgiving related desserts. As Thanksgiving week approached, Kara had then brought one of the flyers for the bake sale to Fran and Raj. Kara seemed excited about it and they had a hard time saying no, which lead to a few trips to the supermarket and a few days of baking activity.
"You might need it after all those pies you baked," Raj commented, noting the seven boxes that Kara had stacked and was carrying.
The boxes weren't much to look at. They were pretty standard gift boxes of cardboard that they'd bought from the post office in Lyre, with their only decoration being the white and blue decals that were used for the post office. They were the right size for the pies, and on the address labels, Kara had written down what kind of pies they were. They'd also tested one of them earlier in the day, a pecan pie that tasted rather good.
"Maybe," Kara admitted, "but they all looked so tasty when people on the television talked on each recipe… and well, the back sale would surely give people something they'd like to take home with them and maybe they didn't have time to cook everything."
Raj and Fran nodded and they made their way into the room that was set aside for the bake sale. It was specifically away from the large entry room in the Great Hall, where the main Thanksgiving Feast was to make sure that none of the pies that were brought for the feast were confused with those that were set aside for the bake sale. There were a few people mulling about the room looking at some of the boxes of pies and cookies that were bought to be sold. Most of them were human, but there still didn't appear to be that many people there human or Animalian.
"I thought there would be more people," Kara commented with a disappointed look down as she set the boxes of pies baked on one of the tables.
"Thanksgiving is usually a pretty family oriented holiday for many people in the US," Fran told her, "not everyone travels... but their may be some who do."
"But... I was hoping to see people smile as they eat my pies," Kara looked down, "I worked so hard..."
"And I'm sure they'll do fine," Raj commented, "There are some people here... and if those out in the dinning hall don't get any pie... they may come in and buy some."
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Julius sat quietly at the table that he was at in the great hall, and was happily licking the plate, not wanting the tasty turkey to go to waste. It earned a chuckle from Candida and Blanca who were also there. Candida sat opposite him and Blanca sat to his right. Seated with them were some old friends and friends they had made. Louise Fransa sat next to Candida with Freia Ribbon seated next to her and her mate Carlos on the other side of Freia. Their son Federico sat on the other side of Blanca. The four Ribbon Seal Animalians were enjoying the fish that had been provided. Quarry and Orlando were also present, though her swollen middle also gave an indication that she and Orlando would have family of their own to raise in the near future.
"I don't think you need to wash the plates," Louise teased.
"Can't let good meat go to waste," Julius answered.
"The turkey wasn't too bad..." Louise answered, "but... the fish tasted better."
"That's because your a seal," Blanca commented, feeling a bit protective of Julius over the obvious teasing, "Seals eat fish."
"It's good fish," Carlos answered defensively.
"It is," Julius nodded as he held up his paws to try and calm Blanca down and assure Louise and the Ribbons that there was now hostility there. He actually did like the salmon that was served as well, it may have been store bought, but it did taste good. "And we aren't here to fight."
"And it was just a small joke," Louise added, "I meant no harm."
Blanca and Candida both backed down a bit at that. They had gotten along very well with Julius and they'd grown progressively gotten closer and closer to him. He was quite eager, and it was clear that he liked both of them and was very friendly. The two white lionesses had agreed that once Julius had made his choice, they wouldn't fight over the choice and that the "winner" would then help the "loser" select a new possible male. They'd agreed to that and it was that that that triggered Blanca's defensive outburst. Thankfully as things quieted down, though they soon moved on to other things.
"Good to see that we got through all that..." Quarry said softly, while running one hand over her belly.
The pregnancy was a bit of a surprise, but she'd also found Orlando to be quite charming and they'd spent a lot of their time just discussing the books in Orlando's collection and some of the books that Quarry had enjoyed in the past. It became something of different way of dating, but it worked and they were happy together. They ultimately had a quiet wedding, with Shyra and all their friends attending, over the summer. It was around the same time that the pregnancy that began with Quarry's conversion began to show, but despite its surprise, Quarry was happy with it.
"Did they move?" Freia asked, half fascinated with Quarry's pregnancy. It wasn't as though she'd never been pregnant before, but at that time she hadn't been uplifted and thus couldn't consciously think on the family being started at that time. Louise and Federico had gotten along well, though the mother in Freia was pleased that they were taking it slow.
"Yes," Quarry answered, "It's strange... prior to this... I'd never thought I'd ever find myself as a mother to anyone... and now... now, I'm actually excited about it. Orlando and I found a nice den... and it'll have enough room for all of us."
"Well good for you," said Blanca, before glancing to Candida and then to Julius, who managed a smile to both of them.
Julius's smile was a bit nervous at the moment, as he was still trying to really come to a decision between the two white lionesses. In a way, he loved both of them, but he knew he could only marry one, and that was the big thing. He still had some issue in trying figure that out. He'd had some talks with Doctor Jones, but that had largely gone in circles and the therapist never told Julius who to pick. He'd figured that at some point he'd figure to try and talk with any of the other Animalians that might have had more than one potential mate... of course he had to find one that had shared his particular problem. But for the moment he was more focused on getting some more food... It was Thanksgiving.
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"The best part about November... is that winter is coming," Diego said with a small smile as he sat opposite Patty and with Manfred to his right.
There was a small chuckle at that, given that Smilodon and the Wooly Mammoth were all known for not only being prehistoric animals from the Cenozoic Era but also from the specific period where global temperatures were much cooler than they were in the present. The world in the Pleistocene wasn't exactly a global ice box, and there were some areas that were surprisingly warm, but that time period was well known for its cold temperatures. And Smilodon, and especially the specific genus that Diego and Patty were, Smilodon Fatalis, and the Wooly Mammoth were adapted for those colder temperatures. The three had all found that they could and did shed fur to stay cool during the summer, but that didn't mean it was enough during the summer months.
"Soon there will be time for skiing, skating, and other fun winter things," Diego then finished.
"Assuming we get some snow," Patty commented, "the temperatures have been getting cooler... which is welcome, and will mean less shed fur to clog the drains, but without snow... one can't do much in the way of skiing or anything like that."
"Surely your good luck could generate some snow," Manfred commented, "Not so much that it cancels school or anything but enough to cover the ground, at least."
Patty chuckled and shook her head "no." She wanted to look down for a moment and then remembered the two sabers that descended from her upper jaw. She didn't want to impale herself on them.
"You make me sound like I'm Storm from the X-Men... that I can just generate a blizzard with my mere presence," Patty chuckled, "that's not how luck works and you know it."
Manfred shrugged. It was mostly just some good humor, particularly at the story of Patty having an insane amount of good luck, which Manfred still didn't believe. He quietly took a fork full of carrots and then brought them up to his mouth and began chewing on them. After a few moments he smiled and lowered his fork back down.
"It's not a blizzard, I'm asking for," Manfred insisted with a smile, "Just enough to look like a postcard. It'd be something for the kids to have fun in."
"Oh and that's so much different," Patty gave a laugh, "You know I'm with you that this time of year... it'd be NICE to have some good winter weather, but that'll all happen on its own. Until then... we may have to just make do with some artificial snow, which may be especially necessary if this winter is dry."
"That may complicate things that the school will do with the "Great Snow War" this year," Diego commented, referring to the Snow Ball fight that Animalia had sponsored, largely for the purpose of paying homage to World War I's Christmas Truce in 1914.
"That's still more than a week away, at the earliest," Manfred answered, "Let's worry about all the Christmas prep in December. It's bad enough many of the stores started putting stuff out for Christmas BEFORE Halloween!"
"Yeah... the one bad thing about winter, the ever earlier and earlier Christmas rush," Patty agreed, "but then... it may be worth it if it means we don't have to have our air conditioners turned up all the time."
The other three Cenozoic Animalians all nodded at that.