If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share. [Thanksgiving Day in the City]

[gloriouscurse]

Never had Regina had an abundance to be thankful for. Henry, of course, she was glad every day for him. Under the curse they'd had this holiday together, though it had always been just them, and after it broke the holidays had fallen to the wayside as event after event happened in Storybrooke. Then there was the year spent back in the forest, and though everyone knew what it was, there hadn't been much to celebrate. Or if anyone had, Regina certainly hadn't taken part in the festivities. She'd had nothing but newfound vengeance. In her life before, there was no such thing as 'Thanksgiving' and the last large meal she'd had, the last grand gathering, had been the king's birthday and she couldn't have cared less if she tried.

This year is different. This year there's family and friends of the family and things to celebrate. There's Henry getting to have a holiday with all three of his parents, there's Robin and Roland and a happiness that has managed to settle into Regina's belly and slowly allow her to relax. She hasn't had a terrible dream in weeks, and maybe she's started to let herself believe that this could be how her life is. She finds herself wanting it, the warmth Cora's home never allowed for, the laughter she's denied herself, and so she works hard at it, cooking and baking. Henry's with her in the kitchen in the morning after spending the day before hunting wild turkey with Robin. There are appetizers out by eleven: parmesan and cream cheese pumpkin puffs, deviled eggs and veggies with homemade dip. The wine and drinks are flowing by noon, and at three, dinner is served with traditional fare: turkey and stuffing, mashed and sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, real cranberry sauce and everything in between. She'd urged her guests to bring food they enjoyed too. Dessert is during mid-cleanup and includes Henry's no-bake pumpkin pie, an apple pie, pecan, and sweet potato.

The dull chatter in the room, the occasional laughter and the noise of whatever people watched on television during Thanksgiving all lended itself to make her step back and watch for a moment, eyes suspiciously damp. She's truly thankful, because she never thought she'd have this.

[ooc: Treat as gathering! Lots of mingling and tagging one another.]

Comments

[ghost_holder]

Aggie knew she hadn't been required to bring anything, but hadn't felt right arriving empty-handed, so she'd brought corn bread made similar to the way her mother had taught. She'd lightened the recipe with a little more sugar and some baking soda for leavening, making it a bit sweeter and less dense.

Smiling, she waves a little at he assembled friends. "Hello, happy Thanksgiving."

[wanttobeahero]

The moment he spots Aggie, Henry makes his way over to her quickly, so glad she's here. And he just gives her a hug, a bright grin on his face. "Happy Thanksgiving, Aggie. You brought...corn bread?"

He loves corn bread.

[ghost_holder]

"Mmmhmm, made the Puritan way...except not because I actually made it taste good," Aggie says, twisting her mouth wryly. She sets the bowl aside and returns the hug.

[wanttobeahero]

He lingers in the hug for a moment before pulling back, glancing over at the bowl she's set down. "So it tastes pretty bad the Puritan way? What did you have to add to it?"

[ghost_holder]

"It's just dense and not very sweet," she explains. She'd loved it, the crunch of the crust especially, but she could still remember how one bite seemed to suck the moisture from her whole body. "So I made it a little fluffier and sweeter."

[wanttobeahero]

"Oh, okay. Well, I bet it's gonna be really good," he smiles. And then he points over to the pies. "I made the pumpkin pies. My mom...sort of helped, but she mostly just supervised." He's become more interested in cooking and baking recently, so it was fun to give the pies a try.

[ghost_holder]

"Emma or Regina?" she asks, putting the bowl on the corner of the buffet. She isn't sure if she's made too much, but better that than too little.

"I think I like the modern version of the holiday better."

[exitthewallflower]

In my hands are a couple of bottles of wine to contribute to this shindig, but I let Aggie take the lead. These are her people, after all, I'm just here to get to know them. They're her friends and an important part of her life and that makes them important to me.

I just wish Dad could be here to see it. He'd really like Aggie.

"Come on, kiddo, let's find a place to put your corn bread."

[ghost_holder]

"Thanks for taking me," Aggie says, looking for a empty spot on the buffet line to put down the bowl and peel off the foil covering it. She'd been delighted by the invitation but had been determined not to go until she knew Barbara wouldn't be alone on the holiday.

"Do yo know anyone here?"

[exitthewallflower]

"Hey, Henry's your friend, right. Not a problem." And I should know his family, at least a little. And keep my eye on the fact that they're just friends and way too young for anything else, right?

"I'll know everyone by the end of the night, so don't worry about me."

[ghost_holder]

"Okay," Aggie says, though she lingers for a second to point out the people she knows. "That's Henry and Regina and...that's Emma over there. They're his moms but they're not married," Aggie colors at the cheeks a little. "I asked that once."

[exitthewallflower]

"I won't make that mistake then. Why don't you go see Henry since he's the one who invited you. You don't need to stay glued to me all night." As much as I might want her to. I'm not the most outgoing person when I'm in crowds of people I don't know, but I can fake it 'til I make it, right?

"But before you disappear on me, is there anyone else I need to know about?"

[ghost_holder]

"Uh..." Aggie scans around the room. "I think that guy there is Emma's dad. And then that girl there is named Coraline, I met her at Henry's birthday..." She searches around a second more. "There's people I recognize by face, but I don't know them by name."

[onewhoisall]

The shadow of something dark moved outside. Pausing at a window, two glove covered fingertips tapped the window to alert Aggie to her presence. Wiggling her fingers in silent greeting, she bent and placed down the candied yams on the windowsill. Unfolding the black bat calling card, she left it with a note for Babs and Aggie.

Work. Sorry. Tell Babs Welacks relacks- relax.
-BATGIRL

Smiling beneath the mask, she took a step backwards and fell off the ledge before her line snapped taut and she was flying clear through the air. Most people could take the time off to be with their family but not Cass, she'd work so no one else had to.

[ghost_holder]

Aggie's become accustomed to Cass' way of doing things, even if she's quite certain she'll never understand all of them. The gesture is easy enough to understand, as is the note, though Aggie can't help but peer out the window and try and beckon her back to at least say hello.

How odd.

[infamousdelsin]

"Ah, I'll settle for 'damn, the food smells great,' " Delsin says with a nervous laugh. He's fine celebrating the holiday with Emma and her family, who are so far removed from the history of the holiday, but he'd sort of forgotten that people who knew about it would be here.

[ghost_holder]

Aggie huffs a bit of laughter as well, holding out her bowl of cornbread as a peace offering. "Probably a good idea," Aggie says, looking around at the decorations. Most of what's surrounding them are orange and gold autumn flowers, a few turkeys and cornucopias, but at least it's blessedly free of pilgrims and Indians.

"At least there's no pilgrims with those stupid hats," she adds.

[infamousdelsin]

"Amen to that!" Delsin agrees. He feels more Akomish than ever, and there's a part of him that aches for Betty, Reggie, even his parents. But he's not going to let that get him down. There are people here that he cares about. That's what matters, right?

"I'm Delsin, by the way," he says, and he takes a piece of cornbread, then offers his hand politely.

[ghost_holder]

"Agatha," she said. Without thinking about it, she let go of the bowl and used her powers to float it to the table so she could shake Delsin's hand. After all, this was a gathering of a family wit magic. Why should she have hidden it here?

[infamousdelsin]

Delsin grips her hand, but he's watching the bowl, impressed. "Damn, I wish I could do that," he says. He grins over at her. "So, not impressed with the pilgrim crap, either, huh?"

[hitsuzensei]

The kimono that Yuuko wears may be anything but traditional, but the sweets that she brings to dinner are, even if they aren't what might traditionally be expected at an American style Thanksgiving.

Still, Yuuko's always loved mixing a bit of the unfamiliar in whenever possible.

"Happy Thanksgiving, Agatha," she replies in turn, lowering the dish that she has in hand. "Care for a sweet?"

[ghost_holder]

"They look so pretty," Aggie says, picking up a pink flower thoughtfully. "What are they made of? Is it that chewy rice flour?" She can't remember the name specifically, but she remembers that she'd liked it before.

"What do you think of the holiday?"

[hitsuzensei]

"Some of them are made of mochi, yes. Others are baked and formed from regular wheat flour. They are called wagashi," Yuuko explains, lowering the plate slightly once Agatha has made her pick. The diminutive size won't fill anyone up on the sweets, but there are enough other dishes that Yuuko figures the size will likely be appreciated more than resented.

"The holiday is lovely. Such an outpouring of positive emotions and sentiment in these couple of days. Though I do hear that the shopping gets rather fierce tomorrow," she muses, tapping her lip in thought. "Are you having a good time?"

[ghost_holder]

"I brought bread made from corn meal," Aggie says, nodding toward the buffet table where she'd placed the bowl.

"And yes. As long as no one asks me about pilgrims."

[hitsuzensei]

"Did you make it yourself? I'll have to try it," Yuuko remarks with a smile. She's glad to see Agatha in good spirits today, surrounded by a large group of people who all appreciate her and enjoy her company.

"Hopefully people realize that the picture painted of pilgrims during the creation of Thanksgiving wasn't precisely accurate. If they could have been easily placated with a bit of food, we'd live in quite a different world today."