So this is late. And long. Enjoy.


"Kendra, can we talk?"

Warren's voice came from inside the house. Kendra was sat on the porch, watching the few remaining leaves on the trees get taken by the wind. The day was brisk, and cloudy, but not unpleasant. Rain was threatening, and the air was so quiet that it felt like she was isolated from all the world by oceans.

"Um, sure. What's up." Kendra shifted on the swing to make room for her cousin. They both pretended not to notice that she moved much further to the opposite side than she normally would.

"Kendra," he sat down gingerly, as if trying not to shatter the calm altogether. "The way I treated you yesterday, about the fight, wasn't ok."

"It's whatever," she shifted to look out across the yard again. Rain had started to drip out of the clouds. "Poison and all that, right? It's fine."

"No, Kendra," she flinched at the steel in his tone. "It isn't alright. Stop making excuses for me. Everyone has to stop making excuses for me. I fucked up. And it hurt you, one of the only people in my life left for me to protect."

"Warren, I'm a big girl." Kendra scowled. "I can handle myself."

"That shouldn't be an attitude you have about me. I'm your cousin, I'm family. We aren't meant to hurt each other."

Kendra let her head drop, turning slightly to prevent Warren from seeing her eyes tear up.

"I'm sorry, Kendra. I'm so, so sorry." Warren sounded close to tears himself, but his overgrown mop of brown hair stopped her from seeing his eyes. He needed a haircut.

"Why, Warren?" she found she couldn't keep her voice from wobbling. "Why did you yell at me like that? And then ignore me? I know I messed up, but…"

"No, you're right. How I acted was uncalled for," Warren sighed deeply, then scrubbed his hand down his face. "Kendra, violence and I aren't friends. I know, shocking, but there's a difference between learning martial arts, and defensive combat, and being trained, and hurting people for the sake of hurting. My dad was...not a kind man. He hurt me and Dale very badly for a long time, until your grandparents saved us. But that shit, it doesn't leave you. And yesterday just hit a little too close to home. Knowing the story now, I stand behind you completely, but at the time, I was just so worried that somehow that trait had found its way to you. I reacted poorly either way, and it only hurt you more. I am so sorry Kendra. I don't know how I'll ever make this up to you."

"You just did." Kendra launched herself at Warren, wrapping her arms around him in a fierce hug. Tears were tracking down her face, and she could feel his shoulders shaking when he returned her embrace. "I was so scared, Warren. I was so scared you hated me, that I had let you down. I was so scared."

"Oh god, Kendra," he sobbed into her hair. "Please don't be scared of me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Please don't. I'm not my dad, I'm not. Don't be scared." He trailed off, repeating his words over and over. They clung to each other fiercely, neither noticing the storm was picking up around them, upending lawn furniture, battering trees, and stripping away the remnants of warm October.

By the time they were calm enough to pull apart, the rain was pouring down in droves. One of the decorative imp statues had been shattered, and was being strewn across the garden. Kendra mopped her eyes with her sleeve, meeting Warren's eyes a second later.

"I think it's raining." Kendra murmured. Warren seemed to consider this for a second before laughing at her observation, first chuckling lowly, but soon laughing almost hysterically. Kendra found it to be contagious, and soon let her own giggles overtake her.

"Nah, it's just drizzling."

Now, one week later, Kendra sat in English, absentmindedly doodling Ophelia's final moments as the teacher droned on about Shakespeare's missing boyfriend. Normally, Kendra would be fascinated. However, it was five minutes to Thanksgiving break, and she was already looking forward to the afternoon meditation and nap she had planned. The poison was starting to take it's toll on her, and she was feeling more drained than ever lately.

"...Brittany still isn't back…" a voice whispered distantly behind her. "...heard her nose...yeah, says she wants surgery…"

"Surgery can't fix a face like hers…" another voice whispered back, snickering. "...her dad's already paid for her to try like eight times…"

Kendra sighed, popping the earbud she left on the desk into her ear. She could feel their eyes on her, and knew her movement hadn't gone unnoticed. None of her movements had since the incident. People whispered, sneered, laughed, and sometimes praised. She certainly wasn't a nobody anymore. A month ago, she wouldn't have let any of it phase her. Now, though, each comment seemed to twist the knife in her brain a little more.

"And that's why-oh my!" the teacher started, doing a double take at the time on the clock. "We're just about over. Be sure to finish Hamlet over the weekend. And have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!"

The last of her words were drowned out by the shrill ringing of the bell. Kendra sighed, stretched, and shovelled her notes into her bag, slinging it over her shoulder on her way to her locker.

"Hey sis!" Kendra fought back a groan as Seth's loud voice slammed into her like a wall.

"Hey Seth. What's up?" she fiddled with her lock until it popped open, and began collecting her coat, books, and heavy boots for the muddy driveway back home. Vanessa had finally relented and bought her the designer boots she'd been eyeing for months, she wasn't about to drag them through the torn up driveway.

"Just waiting on Vanessa and Warren. Bracken is already at the diner, his last class let out early. Ready to roll?"

"I guess." Kendra shrugged and let her locker drift shut, snapping her lock into place.

"Alright!" Seth grinned. She had to hand it to him, he wasn't letting her or Warren get him down. If anything, he went out of his way to be enthusiastic in the face of their gloom. It was his way of support, Kendra figured. She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Vanessa, letting her know where they'd be before following her brother out of the front doors.


Vanessa sighed, pushing her hair out her face for what felt like the millionth time. She'd been staring at the same short answer response for twenty minutes and couldn't make sense of what the student was trying to say.

"If oxygen enters the lung area and then travels up the left artery ventricle to the brain and then through the body with neurons and transmission signals- ok, nope, fuck it," she huffed angrily through her nose, scrawling an angry zero next to the questions with the comment illegible and nonsensical underneath. She tossed the final test on the pile and let herself finally relax.

"Hola, Vanessa!"

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

"Hey, Romeo," she forced a polite smile onto her face, not letting it falter even as his eyes flicked over her body when she stood up. "Can I help you?"

"Well, you see, I was just wondering if maybe you wanted to go grab lunch? Celebrate the last day? You never got back to me on the whole date thing so I was wondering if everything was ok?"

Vanessa almost sneered at his false sincerity and concern, but turned toward her lab table before he could see it.

"I'm truly sorry, Romeo, if I was unclear," she spoke clearly, authoritatively, when she met his eyes again. "But I'm just not interested like that. I hope we can still be friends."

She didn't, really, but it was nice to attempt politeness.

"What? Novio!" she shuddered at the pet name, one she usually reserved for Warren or Kendra or Seth. "You can't be serious? C'mon what's one date between friends? You won't regret it, I promise."

"Funny, every time a man has said that to me, I've immensely regretted whatever follows," she let her smile drop. "No, Romeo. I do not want to go on a date with you. And if you keep this up, we won't be friends. Not anymore."

"Is there someone else?" he sneered, a rather unflattering look on his frail face. She was about to tell him there was and to kindly screw off, when a voice interrupted from the doorway.

"Yes, there is. And frankly, he's tired of seeing your scrawny ass in here."

Romeo turned to Warren, who was casually leaning on the doorframe. His eyes betrayed his relaxed stance as they bore holes into Romeo's, the intensity of his glare enough to give even Vanessa pause.

"Oh, of course," Romeo spat. "The pasty history major. Why am I not surprised?"

Vanessa decided to let the testosterone problem in the room handle itself; she had a lot to get put away before she could leave, and it made more sense to do it while they decided to out-macho each other.

"What's going on out here?" Tanu's voice spoke lowly from the doorway of the office a few minutes later. Neither Warren nor Romeo had noticed over their glaring and arguing.

"Jealous guy problems. Thought I could get more work done if they burned each other out."

"Ah, smart move," Tanu chuckled, stepping out of the office and turning to lock the door. "I've no interest in getting caught in some primal mating display, so I'll take the back door out."

"See you at dinner, Tanu." Vanessa chuckled, setting the last of her tests in a drawer and locking it.

"Look, buddy," Warren's voice sounded strained, and she looked over to check on things. He looked pale, clammy, and like he was holding himself back from jumping the smaller Romeo. "She told you no. Back off. Regardless of me, a lady says no you leave her alone."

"Is that how they teach it here? Explains a bit."

"Hey!" she snapped, catching both men's attention. She strode over to stand by Warren, touching his shoulder and looking Romeo straight in the eye. "I am my own person. I said no. I have no interest in you, I never did, and I most certainly never will now. Get out of my room, and don't ever speak to me again. I can kick your ass nine ways to Sunday, and that's a promise. Leave me alone, and leave Warren alone." Romeo still hadn't moved, only stood silently fuming. Vanessa slammed her foot into the ground, advancing toward him slightly. "¡Salí! ¡Cerdo asqueroso!"

Romeo jumped back at her shout, before turning and practically running from the room. Her threw some choice words back at her, but she ignored them as she focused on Warren. He looked ill, and angrier than should.

"What are you looking at?" he sneered at her. She closed her eyes, reminding herself it was the poison talking, not Warren.

"Warren, mi corazon, calm down. You're alright." She pressed her forehead to his, and then her lips to his lips. When they pulled apart, he looked mildly less angry.

"Sorry." he grunted, not meeting her eyes.

"I know. It's ok. Let's go get the kids."


A few short hours later, Kendra found herself on the floor of her room, eyes shut tight, legs crossed, and mind clear. Sort of.

"Breathe in… and breathe out…" Bracken's voice was calm, and level. Like an ocean coaxing grains of sand into its waves. "In...out...your body is a mountain, your thoughts a gentle stream."

It was driving her insane.

"Kendra," Bracken's voice never faltered. "You're fidgeting."

"Of course I'm fidgeting. I've never been more bored."

"I know, but this will help. Imagine yourself calming your body, little by little, from your toes to your mind."

"This is dumb."

"As you breath in, imagine your body filling with sand, every inch, anchoring you to the earth. Now, exhale, and feel your body lift as its weight leaves it."

Kendra complied, although she mentally rolled her eyes. However, as she exhaled a third time, she noticed her shoulders were much less tense than they had been a few minutes before.

"Excellent." Bracken's voice was still level, resting as if in a cradle. Like a pendulum. "Now, start putting today in the bookshelf, just like Vanessa taught you."

Once again, Kendra set about following his words, and found that when she tried, her eyelids felt too heavy to open. She was vaguely aware of Bracken shifting to stand and move to sit behind her, and registered his hands massaging her back. She did not pause in her meditation, not even when he started humming.

By the time the day was organized in her mind, Kendra's head felt so pleasantly light that it was almost dizzying. She opened her eyes at last, and started when she realized it was dark out. Bracken's hands had long since drifted off her shoulders, and he now lay on her bed, snoring softly. She stood, rolled her neck pleasantly, and crawled into bed to join him. She silently thanked her grandparents for realizing she needed her own room, as well as Mara and Elise for agreeing to bunk together.

"Huh? Whazzup" Bracken came out of his sleep slightly, looking around disorientedly. "Kendra? Princess? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, go back to sleep. They'll wake us up for dinner." Kendra pulled her soft throw blanket up to cover them, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Oh, okay. I like dinner." Bracken turned to her, and tucked her head under his chin, tangling their legs together at the same time.

"Me too, babe." She yawned, and drifted off into dreamland with her prince seconds later, feeling freer and happier than she had all week.


The following morning was busier than ever in the best ways possible. It was finally Thanksgiving, and the entire preserve was abuzz with anticipation. Kendra awoke at the crack of dawn to meet Vanessa, Tanu, and her grandmother in the kitchen.

Warren and Dale had set off to find enough firewood to keep the hearth going all day and night. Seth and Bracken were rallying the satyrs for a game of backyard football. Trask and Stan were glued to the couch by 8 am, already watching the game day pre-shows on ESPN. Elise and Mara had gone off to find leaves and flowers for the centerpiece and decor for the day. With all the bustling activity and warmth of family, Kendra had a hard time dwelling on a bad mood.

"Kendra, dear," Grandma interrupted her train of thought. "Can you grab the turkey basters out of the drawer? We'll need about three."

"Sure thing, grandma."

For the next few hours, the girls and Tanu worked around each other, reaching over, ducking under, cutting, chopping, boiling, seasoning. By the time noon had rolled around, the turkey was in the oven, half of the potatoes needed were mashed, and a wide array of vegetables had been sliced and seasoned and were now waiting to be cooked. Vanessa and Kendra were pulling apart bread for the stuffing, and Tanu was peeling the rest of the potatoes. Some had gotten in his hair, but he didn't seem to notice as he hummed contentedly.

"Morning, ladies!" Warren called from the living room, Dale shouting a hello behind him as they dumped the logs by the fireplace.

"Good morning, handsome!" Tanu called back in an overly dramatic feminine tone. Kendra bursted out laughing, Vanessa quick to follow. Warren wandered in, looking confused, until he saw Tanu sitting at the island and started laughing, too.

"Sorry man," he choked out. "I thought you were with Seth and Bracken."

"No problem, sugarpie." Tanu had yet to drop the high-pitched voice. Kendra and Vanessa laughed harder, to the point where Kendra thought she was going to suffocate. Warren was trying to look annoyed, but his facial muscles were spasming, and Tanu kept battling long eyelashes he didn't have at him.

"Anyway," Warren chuckled once the laughter had died down. "How much longer till you guys can let everything sit? The boys are getting antsy for a football game, and I really don't want to take on a bunch of goats and a couple of teenagers alone."

"Someone's getting old." Vanessa teased.

"Look who's talking, babe." Warren smirked. Kendra and Vanessa flicked bread crust at him.

"I think we're about done here." Tanu said, dropping the last slick potato into a pot of water. "I'm always down to pummel a couple of fawns."

"Don't you mean satyrs?"

"Whatever."

"I could lecture you for a solid hour on why that isn't 'whatever'." Vanessa muttered, shovelling her pile of bread crumbs off the island counter and into one of grandma's ceramic dishes. She handed it to Kendra to follow suit.

"You definitely have in the office at school," Tanu chuckled as he shoved his feet into his sneakers. "Multiple times."

"That's just me talking to myself." Vanessa flapped a hand dismissively and hopped off the bar stool.

"Only mildly concerning." Kendra remarked, placing the dish on the counter and going to the front door to get her shoes and jacket. The men laughed, and Vanessa stuck her tongue out jokingly. Five minutes later, they were all dressed warmer and with proper shoes and heading out the screen door to the back yard.

"43! 89! 52! Hike!"

Seth, Bracken, and satyrs were running around the yard haphazardly, clearly not giving much thought to yards or end zones. Kendra was surprised when Grandpa had finally relented and allowed Newel, Doren, and Verl to enter the protected space. Then again, they really were harmless, and couldn't enter the house. It was fair enough after their bravery at the demon prison.

"Ah, crap!" Seth shouted as Bracken caught him around the middle in a flying tackle. "Jeez, dude. You should've tried out for the team."

"Eh, sorry," Bracken climbed off of Seth, offering the younger boy a hand to get up with. "Not really into physical brutality over something so trivial as a ball."

"And yet you have no problem shattering my spine over a pickup game in the yard," Seth quipped dryly, accepting the hand and pulling himself up. "Seems about right, Mr. Existential."

"Kendra!" Verl interrupted them, perking up at the sight of the fairykind girl. "Are you joining us?"

"No, they're joining us." Bracken cut in, much sharper than normal. "Human on human game only form here on out, sorry."

"What? Why?" Verl whined, as Doren muttered, "He's a blazing horse. And she's a blix. This is rigged, Newel, I tell you."

"Couldn't agree more, Doren."

"Because," Seth spoke up loudly. "You have hooves and we don't. In a game with more people, you could seriously hurt one of us."

"I guess that's fair." Newel and Doren shrugged.

"I would never hurt Kendra!" Verl feigned mortal wound. "How dare you insinuate such debauchery." Kendra giggled, altogether amused by the scene before her. Tanu and Warren had gone off to find a sticks for the end zones.

"Not on purpose, you moron." Doren rolled his eyes. "But accidents happen. You can barely walk straight without hitting a tree, let alone run and tackle gently. And besides that, Bracken and Seth are bold young men, no problem hurting them. But Vanessa and Kendra are ladies. We must tread with poise."

The older fawn was clearly preening for Vanessa, who was entirely unimpressed.

"On that sexist note," she snipped. "Shouldn't you be off?"

"If the lady doth wish it." Newel collected a blue scarf off the ground, Doren picking up a red.

"Oh, she does."

"Well then, Happy Thanksgiving Sorensons! Enjoy your feast!" The satyrs bowed messily before trotting off into the woods.

"We all ready to go?" Warren called from the distant end of the yard, jamming sticks into the ground. They all flashed him a thumbs up, and Seth whooped and went to the general middle of the makeshift field.

"Adults versus younger people!" he called.

"That literally leaves all of us against you, turd." Warren laughed, ruffling Seth's hair as he passed.

"Wha-? Oh. Right," Seth rolled his eyes. "Warren, Tanu, and Vanessa against me, Kendra, and Bracken."

"Sounds solid." Tanu grinned and stretched.

"Sounds grossly unfair." Kendra protested, but lined up next to Bracken, who was hiking to Seth, anyway.

"76! 29! Uh..2! Hike!"

And the game was off. Bracken immediately sprinted toward the goal, but rapidly found Vanessa on his tail, blocking him. Kendra slammed into Warren, who was going for Seth, and clung to his torso with her arms and tangled her legs with his. They both went down, laughing hard, but looked up in time to see Seth get around Tanu and sprint for the end zone, flagged by Grandma's summer tiki lights.

"Yes! Woo hoo!" Seth cheered as he slid into the end zone. Vanessa had been too distracted shadow boxing a chuckling Bracken to stop him.

"Nessa! What the f-hell!" Warren shouted, his grin betraying his angry tone.

"At least I stayed on my feet, jerk!"

"You both suck." Tanu asserted.

"Yo let's go, team!" Seth was jumping around like a madman, high from his victory. Kendra scrambled off Warren and joined her teammates on the new "line".

"You're going down, pipsqueak." Warren taunted her. She stuck her tongue out at him.

And so it continued for the rest of the afternoon. They eventually began keeping actual score, and roughly sketched out the yard lines. Around 2, Trask, Dale and Stan came out to watch, laughing and cheering, occasionally booing good-naturedly. Mara and Elise eventually wandered out of the woods, arms full of leaves. They deposited them on the porch, and then joined the game, Elise with the younger side and Mara with the others. Trask soon wandered down to ref, and Grandma came out to join Grandpa.

It was the first time the whole "family" had been together in one spot, and Kendra felt elated. Everyone was smiling and laughing and joking around, even Mara and Trask, the most stoic of the group. If Kendra was being honest, it was the first time the group felt like an actual family. She could get used to this.

Eventually, the other team gained the ball, and Warren as quarterback was killing them. No one could stay on Tanu effectively, so Seth once ran the entire length of the yard attached to the large Samoan's leg. They still got the touch down.

After several near death experiences at the hands of Warren, Tanu, and their inability to look where they're going, Kendra and her team had gotten the ball back, but were losing by 40 questionable points.

"One thousand! Negative six! Left shoelace!" Bracken was breathless from laughing and running, at this point, as was everyone else. As he hiked to Seth, the younger boy missed the ball due to his own giggling fit. Bracken had been trying to grasp the concept of the numbers, but was unsuccessful. He had been calling out random digits and objects for about 20 minutes.

"What is wrong with you two?" Kendra tried to yell, but she was starting to laugh to hard. Seth only doubled over further at this question.

"Give us the ball, you missed!" Warren called, looking on bemusedly at the two boys. He struggled to contain his own laughter. Kendra tried, but fumbled when Seth howled like a hyena behind her. "Oh my god, you three are ridiculous."

"No way! Kendra, keep the ball!" Elise pulled Kendra away from her older cousin. "Y'all are leading by 40 points, many of which you got by cheating. Let us keep the ball."

"Uh-uh, sister," Warren planted his hands on his hips sassily. Dale barked out a laugh from his spot on the porch. "You fumbled. Our ball."

"Hell no, bite me!"

"My job!" Vanessa called from a few yards back.

"Listen, punk-" Warren was clearly ready to fight to his dying day for the ball, but Mara interrupted.

"Elise, the rules are the rules." she spoke softly, per usual, but plied the other girl with his eyes. "If you wanted to keep it, you should've caught it."

"What! But-" Elise gestured frantically between herself and the two boys on the ground, still cackling away. Mara's lips were twitching, Kendra assumed she was fighting off a wider smile. Elise finally caved as the Hopi woman quirked brow and stuck out her arm. "Fine. Here."

"Thank you." Mara primly turned and walked back to Vanessa and Tanu, who were discussing strategy. Warren made to follow, but turned and grinned smugly at Elise, making a whip sound and motion toward her. The younger girl flushed, and kicked at Warren's shin. He danced out of the way, laughing at her ire.

"He's like a five year old." Elise huffed. Kendra nodded understandingly.

"Where do you think Seth gets it from?"

The game continued on further for at least another 45 minutes, but they all paused when Grandma came to the door to call everyone inside.

"If you all want to eat, you have to set the table. It's just manners."

They all trooped inside, feeling pleasantly exhausted and ravenous. They dumped their jackets and boots and scarves in the front hall, one by one making their way toward the kitchen. The house was soon filled with the clinking of glass, china, and silverware. The oven door and refrigerator door continually opened and shut, and the traditional scent of turkey, potatoes, and stuffing wafted through the house. Kendra picked up the more subtle scents of different dishes, new dishes, as she moved toward the kitchen. It smelled nothing like the Thanksgiving meals she had had in the past, but in the best way possible.

Just before she rounded the corner to the kitchen, a hand slipped into hers and pulled her back. She collided with something soft and warm, but firm. A torso.

"Hey, princess." Bracken murmured in her ear, spinning her elegantly to face him.

"Hiya," Kendra smiled back. "Need something?"

"Nope," he smiled, dimples deepening unevenly. "Just you."

"Aw, you're sweet," Kendra rested her hands on his chest and reached on tiptoes to peck his lips. "But we have table to set if we want to eat."

"Ah, physical labor. The mark of any true festive gathering, naturally."

Kendra laughed lightly and turned to resume her route toward the kitchen, slipping her hand into the unicorn's. They joined the frenzy of carrying food and tableware to the dining room, which had been beautifully accented with golden, red, burnt orange leaves at some point. Trask and Tanu were setting the places, with Elise trailing behind and artfully folding napkins. Grandpa was taking a set of carving knives out of a box, and Grandma told him to mind his fingers as they all came in with food.

"Woo!" Seth cheered as he plopped into a chair next to Warren. "Good bread, good meat, good God let's eat? Yeah?"

"Seth Michael Sorenson," Grandma looked at him disapprovingly as she sat down. "We pray over exactly one meal together every year, and it is this one. Be patient and holy for once, young man."

"Yes, Grandma." Seth sighed, but allowed Warren to grab his hand anyway. Kendra placed hers in Bracken's and Tanu's, and let her eyes drift shut as her grandparents led the traditional mealtime prayer. They all voiced an "Amen" at the end, though Seth said his as he lunged for the stuffing. Not even Grandma could curb her laughter.

"Easy does it, Seth." Grandpa chuckled, standing to carve the Turkey.

"Yeah, dude, save the rest of us some." Warren elbowed Seth jokingly as he tried to pry the bowl of stuffing from the younger boy.

"Should've been faster old man." Seth stuck his tongue out.

"If he's old, I'm dead." Grandpa muttered, and Kendra laughed loudly.

The talking died down momentarily, everyone plating food or eating happily. Soon enough, the silence was broken by Seth, who spoke around a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"So," he chewed out. "What's everyone's favorite Thanksgiving memory. We've got a pretty diverse cast here, so I'm sure the answers are interesting."

"What a kind way to put it, dork." Kendra said, quirking a brow at her immature little brother. Sure, he was growing up, but he was still Seth.

"Well, mine was the first I spent with your grandparents," Warren responded to his cousin. Dale nodded in agreement from the Grandpa's elbow. "It was the first real time I celebrated the holiday, and, man, I had never seen so much food. Pretty sure I died from gluttony and this is my ring of hell now." He punctuated his statement by ruffling Seth's hair.

"Cute, very cute," Seth grumbled, fixing his dark hair. "What about you, Vanessa?"

"Hm. That's tough," Vanessa seemed to dwell on the question for a brief moment before shrugging. "Probably the year my oldest brother came home from college his freshman year. We were close, then, and I'd missed him. Or my first year back from bootcamp."

"You have a brother?" Elise interrupted.

"Several." Vanessa replied curtly, and went back to eating. No one inquired about it past that.

"Well, my best Thanksgiving," Tanu piped up next. "Was when I was 16. I don't know how, but all the Dufus made it out to our place that year. The house was packed! I slept on the floor of my room for a few days, but it was so awesome having everyone around."

"How many people total?" Kendra asked.

"Ah man, must've been close to thirty by the time the actual dinner rolled around."

"Thirty people?" Warren's eyes bugged out. "How big was your house, dude?"

"Bigger than I liked, for sure." Tanu laughed. "Came in handy that year, though."

"I'd kill for a family that big," Elise sighed. "I was an only child. Nice in theory, sucky in practice."

"What did you do for Thanksgiving?" Mara inquired quietly.

"Went to my aunt's house. Lots of cousins, but all either way older or way younger than me. It was nice, I liked it. Christmas was more my jam though."

"Same." Trask chuckled. "Thanksgiving for me was a more understated thing. Dinner at my uncle's mansion so he could flaunt his success at us, dressing up uncomfortably. Not my favorite. My favorite Thanksgiving is probably this one, so thanks for the invite."

"I'll drink to that." Warren raised his glass at Trask, who laughed and returned the gesture.

"What about you, Mara?" Elise looked to the girl seated next to her, who froze and then shifted uncomfortable.

"Um, out on the preserve, we didn't celebrate this holiday much." Mara said, dropping her gaze to her plate. Everyone glanced at her curiously, before realization washed over the table little by little.

"Jeez, Mara, I'm sorry, I didn't think-" Elise hurried to cover her faux-pas.

"No, it's ok, really." Mara rushed to comfort her and the table. "It wasn't me, so much, mostly my mother. She remembered her great grandmother, who walked the trail as a child, and it made her kind of hate the holiday. I was apathetic, really, but-"

"Mara," Grandma cut in softly. "I hope you understand that that isn't what we celebrate, or what anyone really celebrates anymore."

"Huh?" Mara looked confused, and turned to Elise for clarification.

"I don't know about other families," she started. "But all the ones I know see it as a day to get together with people we don't really get to see, and catch up."

"I've always seen at as a 'Yay I made it through the year' kind of day myself." Warren offered grinningly, clinking glasses with Vanessa, who muttered a colorful agreement.

"We come together to celebrate that we can come together and celebrate," Trask intoned. He locked eyes with his Hopi friend. "I highly doubt we are dining together over the attempted eradication or containment of a certain group. Not with our friends."

"Maybe this holiday doesn't have the best roots," Seth, of all people spoke up. "But we don't praise those routes when we're here. To be honest, I don't think about them at all."

"We're here together because we survived a crazy ordeal," Kendra said. "And we survived because of each other. This holiday is for everyone, and is open to interpretation, in my opinion. I'm not sitting here because we stole land and rights, I'm sitting here because it's a chance to be with people I love."

"That's kinda the point, these days, I think," Elise said brightly, grabbing Mara's hand. "To celebrate love and family."

Mara looked away, blushing slightly, and blinking wet eyes. "Then I am honored and happy to be here, with friends and loved ones."

"Best thanksgiving then?" Seth plied, looking at Mara expectantly.

"Yes, Seth," she chuckled. "Best thanksgiving."

"Alright!" Seth did a small fist pump. "Kendra, you're next. I'd ask Bracken but I don't think he's done this before."

Kendra looked over at her unicorn boyfriend, who was on his fourth serving of mashed potatoes. He shrugged, as if to say 'guilty-as-charged', and continued eating.

"I guess," Kendra pondered for only a moment, as her answer was clear in her mind. "My favorite Thanksgiving is this one."

"What? Seriously?" Seth looked shocked. "What about the one where we ditched tradition and went to Disney World?"

"Ok, sure, that was fun," Kendra rolled her eyes. "But it wasn't really Thanksgiving, was it? It was Mom and Dad's cop out to hosting that year because it was their turn in the rotation."

"I knew it!" Grandma called from down the table. Kendra laughed.

"Well, that's fair then," Seth shrugged. "Disneygiving is my favorite though. I rode Space Mountain nine times."

"And hurled." Kendra muttered.

"Worth it." Seth affirmed, and took a chomp out of his turkey leg decisively. Kendra rolled her eyes again, and let her thoughts wander as everyone started talking amongst themselves. To be honest, she had never been able to fully enjoy any Thanksgiving before this one. Between keeping the preserve going and a constant battle with an eating disorder, the holiday had been dreaded more than anticipated. She shook herself out of her reverie when Bracken nudged her. She turned to look at him, and saw his eyes were soft but concerned.

"Poison?" he murmured.

"No, nothing like that," Kendra patted his hand, which had come to rest on her arm. "I'm fine, Bracken, really."

"Hey! Wait!" Seth loudly interrupted the table again, but was looking at his grandparents. "You two never shared your favorite Thankgivings."

"Oh," Grandpa said. "Easy. The one where the Colts beat the Ravens."

"Like hell that happened." Dale said, looking personally offended.

"You weren't even 5, don't get annoyed." Grandpa soothed, but retained a smug look.

"Easy for me, too," Grandma said, smiling conspiratorially at her husband before glancing at Seth and Kendra in turn. "In fact, you two were there."

"We were?" They said together, sounding equally shocked.

"Yep. Although, Seth couldn't have been more than 1, and Kendra about 4."

"Why was it your favorite, Grandma?" Kendra asked.

"It was the day Seth said his first word." Grandpa smiled.

"What!" Seth shouted. "No way! That's so cool!"

"What was it?" Warren asked. The rest of the table looked equally curious.

"'Kenna'." Grandma said after a moment's pause. The table dissolved into 'aw's' and surprised laughter.

"I was his first word?" Kendra was shocked.

"Yes, indeed," Grandpa picked his teeth with a steak knife. "He couldn't reach his toy parachute man, which had landed down some stairs and past a baby gate, and was trying to get you to get it."

"Did she?" Seth looked suspicious.

"No," Grandma snorted. "She told you in no uncertain terms that you weren't supposed to be playing with it, and walked away." The table erupted in laughter at younger Kendra's attitude.

"Sounds about right." Kendra smiled at her younger brother, who rolled his eyes but smiled back.

"Wow, Ken, you were a stickler for the rules at birth, weren't you?"

"I arrived on my due date and everything." Kendra jokingly preened. Seth laughed, swapping a fist bump with her, before going back his mashed potato volcano. Side conversations picked back up, and soon the room was filled with multiple voices and shouts of laughter. English mingled with Spanish and French, as Vanessa and Trask went back and forth about the merits of both. Warren turned to teach Seth how to construct a better food volcano. Tanu and Grandma began plotting next year's meal, making designs on how to improve their spice combinations. Dale and Grandpa were attempting to sneak their phones out to check a score. Elise and Mara were whispering to each other, hands entwined and blushes lightly dusting their cheeks. Bracken looked a bit lost, out of mashed potatoes to eat and conversations to join, so Kendra turned to face him.

"Have you ever played the chopsticks game?"

"No," Bracken furrowed his brow. "What's that?"

"Here, give me your hands, I'll teach you."

And so the night moved on, Kendra and Bracken eventually abandoning the game when it was time to clear the plates. Bracken refused to admit he hadn't won once, claiming he let her win multiple times. She rolled her eyes, agreeing sarcastically, as they dropped their dishes into the double sink for Warren and Dale to wash. Mara and Elise were drying, and those who had cooked earlier moved into the living room to digest before dessert. The fire was roaring, and the large TV Grandpa had finally purchased was set into the stone above the hearth. Kendra sat down in her favorite chair, pulling the crocheted blanket off the back and sinking into the overly stuffed piece of furniture. A moment later, Bracken padded into the room and sank down to the floor in front of the fire. It was no secret that the prince loathed the cold, and would go to ridiculous means to stay warm.

"Cold, your majesty?" Vanessa quipped from her seat at the end of the couch. Her legs were in Tanu's lap, the two having developed an odd friendship over the year.

"Very, thank you." Bracken mumbled from where his face was pushed into the carpet. Vanessa sighed, reached behind her, and pulled out one of the softer throw pillows the couch had. She tossed it somewhat gently to the unicorn sprawled on the floor, who accepted it with bemused confusion. "Thanks, um, Vanessa."

"'Tis the season, and all that." she mumbled, settling deeper into the couch. Tanu, Kendra, and everyone else pretended not to notice the bonding moment between the rivals, but silently released the breaths they'd all been holding.

A few peaceful moments later, the cleanup crew meandered into the living room, joining the sprawl in front of the hearth and TV. Dale took up his usual spot in the cracked and overstuffed leather armchair across the room. Warren plopped in front of Vanessa and put his head in her lap. Elise and Mara took the last remaining chair, Elise tossing her legs across Mara's lap to make sharing the single seat easier.

"I'm beat." Warren groaned as he stretched, long limbs nearly knocking over Vanessa's coffee mug resting on the arm of the couch. The rest of the room tiredly murmured agreement, but before the silence could settle, Warren continued talking. "So, Kendra…"

"Yes, Warren?" Kendra was hesitant to respond. Warren's voice sounded like it usually did when he caught Seth doing something Stan would hate and he would love.

"If you don't mind me asking," Warren began in a tone that implied he didn't care if she minded what he was asking. "What made you implode on Favre like that the other day? Besides the poison in your noggin, of course."

"Warren!" Vanessa tugged on his hair to try and get him to drop it, and Bracken was eyeing him suspiciously. The atmosphere was leaning toward tense, once again.

"Um, well, it was nothing really," Kendra muttered, playing with the threads on her fuzzy socks. "Just boy stuff, teenage drama, all that. Nothing interesting."

"I find that stuff plenty interesting." Warren smirked.

"That's because you have the mental capacity of a fifteen year old," Kendra shot back, trying to deflect. Warren's only response was to begin giggling. Kendra felt cold dread pool in her stomach. "You know, don't you?"

Warren's light giggled had deepened to howling laughter in a matter of seconds, confirming her fears. Kendra felt torn between joining him and kicking him while he was on level with her foot. She decided to wait him out, but as he calmed down, she realized this was a poor choice.

"So, get this everyone-" Warren raised his voice to address the room. Kendra noticed her grandparents share an alarmed but amused look and leave the room, presumably to get dessert ready.

"Warren, don't you dare." Kendra warned, rising out of her seat a little.

"Many students believe-"

"Warren, I swear to God, I will maim you-"

"That Kendra and I-"

"Warren, shut up!"

"Are sleeping together." The words were barely out of his mouth before Kendra tackled him. As they were engrossed in their wrestling/tickling match, the rest of the room was reacting with mixed amusement and revulsion.

"That's hilarious!"

"That's disgusting!"

"He's her teacher."

"He's her cousin."

"Oh my god, that's so nasty. I want to die."

"Teenagers suck."

By the time Kendra and Warren had given up trying to get the other in a headlock, the room was filled with laughter and gagging noises. Kendra felt her mortification slide off her as she joined in, but made sure to drive a hard one into Warren's arm before settling next to Bracken. The young prince was chuckling especially hard, as was the resident blix.

"Well, Kendra," Warren was wiping tears from his eyes. "It just goes to show you have to stop flirting with me in class."

"I'll show you 'flirting', you yankee doodle dandy asshole."

"There's a new one." Seth muttered.

"Maybe if you two remembered the mission more-," Bracken began.

"And acted more professional-" Vanessa added.

"This wouldn't happen."

"In theory, that's flawless." Warren was smirking cruelly again, this time at his girlfriend.

"However," Kendra picked up the smirk at turned to Bracken. "It seems to negate the predicament you two are in."

"What?" Bracken and Vanessa looked properly confused and wary.

"The student body seems to think the two of you have a bit of an extra credit system going on as well." Warren sing-songed.

For a brief moment, the room was so silent that the log crumbling in the fireplace sounded like an avalanche. Then, the yelling started.

"What?" Vanessa's voice shrieked. Bracken was just yelling wordlessly for the time being. "How on earth did those little gremlins come up with that?"

"All she does in class is berate me!" Bracken jumped up, looking fairly pale. Warren was once again howling with laughter. "And tell me why my answers are wrong! Or ignore me!"

"He's practically failing my class!"

"What?"

"Nothing." The room was once again filled with laughter. Tanu looked like he was struggling to breathe, and Trask had removed his glasses to rub at tearing eyes. Mara and Elise were gripping each other in hysterics, giggling without pause. Kendra found her own laughter bubbling up, the room's atmosphere contagious. After a few moments, Vanessa and Bracken's revulsion and ire had simmered down, leaving them chuckling ruefully along with the others.

"This school is so messed up." Seth groaned from where he'd pushed his face into the couch. Kendra and Bracken voiced their agreements heatedly, spurring on more giggles.

"Come get dessert, guys!" Ruth's voice came from the dining room. The next few minutes were a mad scramble as everyone got up and shuffled toward the dining room. Or, in Seth and Warren's case, trucked unsuspecting friends out of their way in a mad dash for pumpkin pie. Soon they were all seated around the table once again, this time with platters of desserts adorning the table, and delicious coffee to chase it with.

"So then, just as I was turning to remind the minotaur why-" Stan was in the middle of one his stories of his younger adventuring days when he was interrupted by the shrill ringing of the house phone. Several members of the group actually flinched, or reached for weaponry. Kendra and Seth frowned, looking at each other. They'd never heard the house phone ring before. She just caught her grandparents exchanged alarmed looks before Grandpa rose to answer.

"Ruth, do you even have a phone bill?" Warren questioned around a mouthful of apple pie.

"You could say it's off the grid." She murmured evasively, taking a sip of coffee before turning to question Tanu about said drink's origin. As the table returned to light conversation, Stan came back in, looking years older than he had when he left.

"Stan?" Trask straightened up. "Everything ok?"

"It can wait till tomorrow." was all he said before sitting back down in his chair. The table shifted uneasily, the silence remaining for a few minutes longer, before the talking resumed. Even as everyone laughed at Warren's impression of a Scottish fairy trapper he had once met, the tense atmosphere lingered, and followed them all to bed that night.


I hope you all enjoyed the fluff. And, lastly, the dirty business. To the reviewer who lasted dropped a rather rude and assumptive comment, kindly keep such statements to yourself. Both feministkendra and I have a very clear notion of where this story is going, and the whole point of this is to not tell you. There are no ruts. If you feel the story is moving too slow, or not how you want, then by all means don't read it. We write fanfiction for our own enjoyment and the enjoyment of others if they choose to read it. If you have any ideas, go write your own story. We hope you continue to enjoy ours.