Gabriel whistled a happy little tune as he walked the streets of Zootopia. The Dream Keeper had a dish in his hand, a meal he had prepared for the Thanksgiving feast that night. While Gabriel would have liked to have spent the holiday with his friends, they either didn't celebrate or even know about the holiday from their worlds or wanted to spend the day of thanks with their own families.

"Man, how long has it been since I talked to my own family back home?" the raven thought.

"You have family?" Kessie asked from her perch on Gabriel's head.

The Dream Keeper smiled. "Oh yeah, they're all great. There's my mom, Gilda, one of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. Just don't get on her bad side or else she'll give you her famous Mom Stare, which will get any troublemaker to quiver in fear. Then there's my dad, Gavin, who's a wiz when it comes to computers. He has to deal with a bunch of crazy demands at his job, but he always makes sure to take time for his family, as well as leading the local scout troupe." Gabriel smiled real wide as he thought about his last family member. "And of course, there's my brother, Grayson, but everyone calls him Gray. He's currently in school learning how to be a teacher. He's a social butterfly and a total anime nerd, on top of mastering the art of video games."

"So, does everyone in your family have a name that starts with the letter "G"?" Kessie questioned.

Gabriel laughed. "Yep! My parents realized that fact when they got married and decided to make it a thing. You could say we're all a big group of "G's" if you get what I mean." The raven shook his head at his own pun. "Anyway, it looks like we're at our destination."

The two had arrived at an apartment in Savannah Central. "So why are we in this Zootopia place? The city is amazing, but I don't know what that has to do with Thanksgiving… or what a Thanksgiving is," Kessie sighed.

"Well Kessie, Thanksgiving is an American holiday that started when a group of settlers, called the Pilgrims, came to North America in order to start a new life in the new world," Gabriel explained. "They had a hard time at first, but then they became friends with a local Native American man, who taught them many things on how to survive and grow food. The Pilgrims and Native Americans then held a big feast to celebrate their friendship, thus the first Thanksgiving. There's a bit more to the story than that, but the main point is that for the holiday you're supposed to get together with friends and family and share a nice meal."

"I wish my friends could be here, but they're all still missing," Kessie sighed.

"We'll have a nice dessert with Owl and Eeyore when we get home," Gabriel assured. "Now then, we were invited to have dinner with Nick Wilde and his family, so let's not keep the fox waiting."

The Dream Keeper knocked on the door, being greeted by a slender red fox wearing a purple blouse and beige skirt. "Oh, you must be Nick's friend that he invited," she greeted.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Wilde," Gabriel replied. "The name is Gabriel, and this little bird here is my friend, Kessie."

"Huh, you look kinda like a Woozle," Kessie said, tilting her head.

"Kessie! That's very rude to say!" Gabriel gasped. "I am so sorry. She's never seen a fox before and-"

Mrs. Wilde chuckled. "It's okay, Gabriel. I don't know what a Woozle is, but if it's anything like a weasel then that's not the most insulting thing I've been called. Trust me, as a fox and a woman I've heard far worse."

Gabriel let out a sigh of relief. "Dodged a bullet there. Anyway, I brought food for the meal."

"I'll take that then. Please, come inside," Mrs. Wilde said.

Gabriel and Kessie followed her into the Wilde residence, looking around at the small and quaint space. There were pictures on the wall of Mrs. Wilde with her husband on their wedding day, one of Nick and his parents together, one of the two Wilde men wearing suits, and lastly one of Nick and his mother on the day he got his ZPD badge. As Mrs. Wilde placed Gabriel's dish in the kitchen, there was a loud ruckus that could be heard upstairs.

"That must be the others playing a game together," Mrs. Wilde said. "Why don't you go join them, Gabriel?"

The raven nodded, going upstairs and seeing a skulk of foxes huddled around a couch. Nick Wilde was currently doing some kind of weird dance in front of the group, with the other foxes yelling out various guesses to this game of charades. Among the foxes were: two feral foxes, one a boy and the other a girl; a fox in an orange suit that was missing his tail; two young foxes, one a red fox and the other a silver fox; a fox wearing a green tunic; a fox in a green vest with a white shirt and sunhat; a fox wearing a green top hat; a teenage girl fox wearing blue overalls; and a fennec fox.

"Wow, I didn't know the Wilde family was this big," Gabriel chuckled. "Also, the answer is clearly Chief Bogo eating a marshmallow."

"You got it, Gabriel," Nick said with a smirk.

"No fair! You can't use stuff from work that we wouldn't know!" said the fox in the top hat.

"At least give us a chance, Nick," said the tunic-wearing fox.

"I'll make it easier next time, I swear," Nick said. He walked over and threw an arm around Gabriel's shoulder. "Everyone, this is my friend Gabriel, the Dream Keeper. Gabriel, this is the extended Fox family."

"We might not be related by blood, but us foxes have to stick together," the feral fox said.

"Let me see if I can get your names right," Gabriel said. He pointed at each of them as he said their names. "Nick Wilde, Tod and Vixey, Mr. Fox, Ash, and Kristofferson, Robin Hood, Br'er Fox, Honest John, Foxy Loxy, and last but not least, Finnick."

"Ding-ding-ding! We have a winner here!" Nick said, clapping his hands.

"I surprised so see some of you here, especially you, Foxy," Gabriel admitted. "Didn't you have your mind scrambled by those aliens?"

"Runt eventually felt guilty and asked them change me back," Foxy Loxy explained. "The whole experience did get me to stop being so mean to Chicken Little and his friends, though. I've been using my unchecked aggression towards more productive things, like sports."

"She has a mean body check, that's for sure," Mr. Fox laughed. "She knocked the cuss out of Ash when they got into a wrestling match."

"Dad, not cool," Ash groaned.

"I'm just here for the free food," Br'er Fox shrugged.

"As am I," Honest John sighed. "I got into a bit of trouble after meeting that puppet boy. Who knew that the word "influencer" would get so many people irrationally angry?"

"I thought it was funny," Gabriel said, getting a small smile out of the conman.

"Come on everyone, the game is still afoot!" Robin Hood said. "And since Gabriel was the one to guess correctly, it's only fair that he is the one to act next!"

The raven nodded, stepping forward to take part in Charades. The Dream Keeper and Kessie had a lot of fun playing games with the foxes, laughing up a storm as they tried to guess what the actor was trying to be with each round. Eventually Mrs. Wilde called everyone down for dinner, where she alongside Maid Marian and Mrs. Fox (Mr. Fox's wife) had prepared an extravagant dinner for all of them to enjoy.

"I must say, Mrs. Wilde, your cooking skills are impeccable," Finnick said. "Thanks for inviting me this year."

"Well Finnick, while I don't approve of the trouble you've gotten my little Nick in over the years, I do appreciate you keeping an eye out for him," Mrs. Wilde replied.

"This turkey is so good!" Br'er Fox exclaimed, serving himself a generous handful of the stuff.

"It's actually faux turkey," Mrs. Fox said. "Zootopia doesn't sell regular meat, but this alternative meat tastes just as good as the real deal."

"You cooked it perfectly as always, Mom," Ash stated.

"Mmm, this is all so good!" Kessie sighed, rubbing her full belly. "I don't think I can eat another bite."

Br'er Fox have the bluebird a hungry look, only to get whacked over the head by Honest John's cane. "Don't go eating the guests, my good fellow," the conman said. "As the seniors of the family we must set examples for the younger generation."

"If you want some more turkey, there's a smaller one in the oven," Maid Marian said.

"You're a saint, Mary," Br'er Fox said.

As the meal went on, Mrs. Wilde stood up at the head of the table before speaking to everyone. "Now then, as a Thanksgiving tradition in the Wilde family, we like to go around the table and say what we're thankful for this year. Gabriel, if you would be so kind as to start us off?"

The raven smiled before speaking. "I'm thankful for all of my friends here in the Magical World who are always ready to lend a hand whenever trouble arises."

"I'm thankful for Mr. and Mrs. Fox for taking me into their family," Kristofferson said.

"I'm thankful for this bandit mask, so I can go on heists with-" Ash said, pulling out a sock mask. He stopped when he saw the look his mom was giving him. "… I mean, so it can keep me warm in the snowy months."

"Good," Mrs. Fox said with a nod. "I'm thankful for my husband, doing his best for the family, even with his hare-brained schemes."

"And I'm thankful for my lovely wife, always staying by my side all these years," Mr. Fox replied.

"I'm thankful for the food in my belly and the roof over my head," Br'er Fox stated.

"And I'm thankful for all the new fans that the retelling of my story brought me," Honest John said.

"I'm thankful for getting a second chance at being a better person," Foxy Loxy said.

"I'm thankful for King Richard, long may he reign over Jolly Old England," Robin Hood said, raising his glass in a toast.

"And I'm thankful for my Robin, the outlaw with a heart of gold and my beloved husband," Marian said, giving Robin a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm thankful for my friend Cooper, and the Magical World letting us make amends," Tod said.

"And I'm thankful for the mate that's stood by my side through all of it," Vixey said.

"I'm thankful for Judy, my girlfriend, who brought out the best in me," Nick said.

"And I'm thankful for all of you for coming to this dinner tonight," Mrs. Wilde said. "It's been hard for me after Nick's father passed. Being a single fox mother in Zootopia wasn't easy, but I'm proud that my son has grown into the fine young man that I always knew he could be. My husband was a suit tailor by trade and always encouraged Nick to be the mammal he wanted to be. I'm sure he's looking down on us with pride."

"Amen," Gabriel said with a nod. He then reached out with his magic and brought over his dish, opening it to reveal a Blueberry Muffin Cake. "Now then, who's ready for dessert?"

The foxes all cheered as they eagerly dug into the food, with Gabriel sitting back and enjoying the atmosphere of being surrounded by friends. "Hey Kessie, you didn't say what you were thankful for," the raven noted.

"Oh, well, I'm thankful for you, of course," the bluebird replied. "I would be totally lost without you taking care of the Hundred Acre Wood book, and you're helping me find all the friends I forgot as well."

"Just doing my best to help others, Kessie," Gabriel chuckled, patting her on the head. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone."


Author's Note

A short but sweet chapter featuring a bunch of foxes from across all of Disney celebrating Thanksgiving together. It was fun getting to have all of them in one place, and giving some redemption to a few of the shadier ones. Even as someone that enjoys "Chicken Little" as a film I never liked that Foxy Loxy got her brain scrambled at the end, so I reversed that here and made her want to be a better person after Chicken Little was proven right about the whole "sky is falling" thing. Also Honest John's comment is in reference to the "Pinocchio" Live-Action Remake where he infamously tells the puppet boy that he could be an influencer. Now I'm just imagining Pinocchio doing TikTok dances, or whatever influencers do these days…

For those that didn't know, "Fantastic Mr. Fox" is a stop-motion animated movie based on the Roald Dahl book of the same name made my 20th Century Fox. It was directed by Wes Anderson and shares a lot of his quirky and unique film stylings despite it being a kids film. The fact that they got around all the cursing by having the characters literally say "cuss" whenever they would normally say a curse word is especially hilarious to me. If you haven't seen the movie yet I highly recommend it, especially since you can find it on Disney Plus now.

While Nick's father was never seen in the movie he was originally planned as a character in the first drafts, being a suit tailor that opened his own shop and was an honest man, even if the other animals of Zootopia looked down on him for being a fox. I like to imagine Nick got his fashion sense from his dad, hence why he's always wearing a tie to put on a sense of professionalism, even when hustling people.

Also some foreshadowing of characters that may come in the future at the beginning. Gabriel doesn't just talk about his family for nothing…

Next Time: Team Dream Keeper all go shopping at a certain peacock's store for some new looks!