[OPEN, Mingle] Yamsgiving

[lasthumanvoice]

Who: Cecil and EVERYONE
What: Another Harvest Celebration
When: Beginning of Pumpkinfest
Where: Center of town
Warning(s): Discussion of the Gala and its attendant CWs may come up

1. Yes, we're happy as fish [Food Prep, Oak and Iron kitchen]
Cecil's made a point of seeking out the best known chefs in town to help him put everything together for this meal. While sweet potato dishes are the star, at least one available with every course, he's hoping to hit a broad variety so everyone can find something they like. He, of course, is peeling and chopping his eternal sweet potato to make sure there's enough to go around.

(Of course you don't need to worry about him with a knife! He's fine! Don't you know he was once a boy scout?)

If someone needs an extra hand for their dishes, though, he's happy to lend one. There's an attitude of camaraderie and cheer in the room, with Cecil even breaking out singing at one or two points in the evening.


2. And gorgeous as geese [The Meal; Festival Green]
Everyone's invited to the feast. That is, in fact, the whole point. Cecil's always been pointedly neutral in the town's tensions, working as the most unbiased media monkey he can. He's the Voice of Pumpkin Hollow, and that means not taking sides between Dahlia and Neil and the Temple and whoever else. But after the gala, he's made a choice to act, to try to foster goodwill and warm feelings. This isn't the stone stew he offered during January's famine, this is a Redwall-style feast.

So, between glasses of mead from Kasprak Farm and dandelion wine, everyone is invited to fill their plate with candied yams and zucchini bread, roast chicken and venison donated by one of the Enforcers. There's a homemade cranberry sauce with citrus wedges and dandelion-leaf salad with an apple cider vinaigrette and toasted acorns for garnish. There's pasta with a homemade pesto sauce and cheese. Desserts, too, are plentiful, some even flavored with...chocolate. But many are not, and feature sweet potatoes. Muffins, pies, etc.

Find a table with a friend or a stranger, and indulge. This is a warm-fuzzy type thing--feel free to use it as a mingle.


3. And wonderfully clean in the morning [Cleanup; Also Festival Green]
Cecil is, quite honestly, expecting to be the only person to stay and clean up. He's been up since about five in the morning and he's dragging a bit at this point. Oh, he did take the time to eat, so he's not starving, but like. He could use help putting the Green back to rights.


4. We've got everything, we're growing everything [Cecil Wildcards]
[You know how to find me to plot.]

Comments

[makesrocksfloat]

Rey grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, then I'm gonna be one more 'cause I've never heard of deer before. It smells delicious, though."

[mistertwister]

"It's uhh, how basic to start... Roughly person sized herbivore? Four legs, end in hooves, the males have antlers." He highlights the last point by splaying his hands above his head in pantomime. "They're mostly a game animal, so you'll see 'em in the woods instead 'a the farms. Also I'm Okie, which I shoulda started with probably."

[makesrocksfloat]

Rey did her best to picture the animal described. She thought that maybe she had something of an idea about where they might live, at least. "Do they like forests? There's loads of green stuff there." Though her memories of Takodana were marred by capture.

"It's good to meet you, Okie. I'm Rey. Sorry for the weird question, all we really have on Jakku are carrion animals."

[mistertwister]

"They love forests, yeah! Whole lotta stuff to eat and hide behind. They're real neat to watch if you have the chance. And don't worry," he says, smiling wide.

"I've heard way weirder questions for way weirder reasons. I've been green for less than a year."

[makesrocksfloat]

"Hide behind? Are they shy?" The notion was strange to Rey. On Jakku, every kind of being imaginable had to assert itself to get its share of food and water. Quite often less than their share, but it seemed like this wouldn't be a problem here. It was nice, really, to think about.

"Weirder," she asked curiously. "What kinds of weirder? There are loads of different beings from different planets here?" If that was true, maybe it wouldn't be so unlike Jakku after all, despite the much prettier planet itself.

[mistertwister]

"Real shy. Their general survival strategy is to get somewhere else fast when trouble comes, so they tend skittish. You so much as step on a twig and they'll hear ya an' bolt." He is tangibly excited to talk about animals, to share even a fraction of the innocent wonder he feels for them.

"And that," he emphasizes with a point, "is a wonderful first point to start with on our weirdness tour. There's a lotta folks from a lotta different folks in near as many whole universes, an' decent number 'a folk come from different versions of the same planet. If someone asks if yer an Earther, they're asking about that planet 'cause it seems a little more common than anything else."

[makesrocksfloat]

"Huh. Can't say I've ever heard of anything like them. On Jakku, the wildlife had to be as tough as everyone else to get their food." Rey can feel his excitement and it's catching. "What other kinds of animals are here?"

And the rest of the news made her come this close to visibly gaping, but she managed to get a hold of herself in time. "Maker...that's. I want to say absurd, but that's rude, maybe shocking? Not the people from other galaxies part, but the loads of them here from a singular planet. Why that planet?"

[mistertwister]

"Oh, all kinds. Squirrels, which are little furry seed eaters small enough to fit in yer hands, an' slightly bigger generalists called raccoons that eat kinda whatever an' look like they're wearin' masks. An' all kinds 'a bugs an' frogs an' birds an' whatnot. It'd be a bit much to go over all in one dinner, so if yer still interested I can try to find a book or two at the library with pictures. Or just walk you around the woods an' point at stuff, who knows." He knows he'd never finish if he kept going now, but the offers are genuine.

"Whenever I find out why is so popular, I'll let ya know. If it's any consolation, the longer you're around, the less the weird stuff will actually surprise you. A month from now you'll meet someone that says they used to be dead an' you'll go I've known some dead people, are you undead or just resurrected? An' you won't bat an eye at it."