The Sun Also Rises

How very much he so relished in those words of thankfulness shared about that table even if the majority of those guests so hardly seemed to take the same level of delight in such sentiment as the Fae King did. He had never before, in all his years, so had any sort of family he had felt nearly so close to as to share those very things. Those feast days within the Palace when Ferdiand had still lived had been glorious to be sure and yet Dorian had so consistently been relegated toward the bottom of the table, away from his siblings and amongst those minor lords he was so destined to join one day in meager rank and money once some marriage had no doubt been chosen for him that somehow furthered Ferdinands political gain and had given little thought to either his preference or his happiness. Dorian so simply expected to do his duty by that family whom made little effort to include him and nothing more. Matteo, certainly, had not been invited to those very feasts. Dorian so often left to avoid the boisterous ale fueled arguments of those minor lords. The world had changed within those last few years. Gloriously so. The Monarch so at last surrounded by other beings who cared for him just as he did them. The world so finally worth celebrating as it had not been before and how he adored it! Those holidays, to Dorian, so terribly important. Even of Matteo's words, especially, seemed to turn that sentiment into a veritable tease agianst the very man Dorian had taken as his husband. Sebastian, in turn, appearing equally perplexed by that mention of his fangs once more before Matteo made every effort to sweep that very comment aside in a fashion both elusive and irritating and yet so distinctly.....him. Dorian, over that time he had come to know his Father, having come to the decision that Matteo was by far one of the most intelligent beings he knew and yet- that very intelligence was so often used to find ways of annoying those around him. The Monarch finding an affection for his Father's antics all the same as Aiden insisted Sebastian had surely gotten the short end of that metaphorical stick when it came to Matteo's will.

Dorian's own eyes rolled lightly at those very sentiments before the Fae King saw about offering his own. The Monarch so taking the time to mention but each individual present at that table and that very meaningfulness they surely afforded his life. This, after all, was so surely the day for speaking of such things. Aiden to, was duly included in those very words even if the Were appeared near...conflicted by those very things. Dorian, for now, hardly choosing to comment further upon it before offering that toast of sorts. The Monarch quite unable to prevent that ready grin from finding his features as each of those beings present to lifted those glasses to press agianst the others in that near perfect family moment Dorian was wholly determined to remember for as long as he might live. This ...surely ...after all this time was so exactly what family must be about. Dorian settled readily within his seat once more then, his hand so moving to rest lightly upon Sebastian's own in that subtle affection. The Fae King unable to hide that very pleasure he took from this evening alone. Those very sentiments but briefly interrupted by Matteo's insistence that it was surely time to add to those celebrations. That query of a 'trick' prompting a frown to the Monarch's features in a rather discint wariness. Matteo's versions of 'tricks' after all, so tended to vary wildly. Whatever protest he might have chosen to offer, however, was abruptly cut short by Alexander's very insistence that he surely had no desire to see this trick again. Matteo abruptly reaching for that table cloth only to rather suddenly send those dishes flying upward!

"Matteo!"

That cry of alarm was so readily accompanied by the younger Fae's jolt of surprise. Dorian near instinctively seeking the safety of Sebastian as if somehow believing the vampire might shield him from those falling dishes. That lack of crumbling, scattered crockery in the interim so at last prompting the Fae King to open his eyes once more. The previously empty plates and dishes having so seemingly disappeared to make way for an utter plethora of desserts and drinks! Dorian's silver gaze widened readily in that moment, that bafflement so combined with that bemused surprise. That table awash with a vast array of dishes from near every culture present in turn. Dorian so already having spotted the yorkshire and rice puddings of Sebastian's England, the Baklava of Macedonia, the Italian gelato of his own beloved country, those French pastries and what he could only presume was.....something from Aiden's own. Dorian so eyeing those bread-like treats the curiosity. How long this must have taken Matteo to make!

"This is splendid!"

Dorian's gaze so shifted from that table to Matteo then as the elder Fae grasped an entire bottle of alcohol for himself only to disappear from the table and reappear within that armchair. Alexander, reaching for his chosen dessert was quick to follow. That party, it seemed, so progressing onto that far more informal part of the evening. Dorian, for his part, entirely content to continue to pursue those dessert choices before Matteo's very request for another 'trick' so saw the Monarch declare he surely had one of his own to share. Those desserts, for the moment, were forgotten in the wake of Dorian's efforts to collect several napkins from the rest of the family before he moved to push gently away from the table and seat himself upon the living room floor with each of those gathered linen squares. Matteo's efforts to query after just what he was doing were easily brushed aside by Alexander. His Godfather insisting Matteo afford Dorian but a moment's peace to show off that very skill as the rest of the family sought to their own drinks and desserts. That grateful smile was offered readily toward his Godfather then. Dorian so returning his focus to those napkins. The Monarch so beginning to roll and fold those linen squares with a clear, neat pursisian. Each napkin folded in a distinctly different fashion. Dorian,for those few moments, oblivious to those around him as he worked.

It was only once the rest of the family had made themselves comfortable around that lounge room with those desserts of their choosing that Dorian so finished the first of those linen creations. Sebastian's napkin having been folded into nothing short of a rather glorious deer. The Monarch rather proudly holding that linen animal out toward his husband then. His 'trick' it seemed, so folding those towels into those artistic creations. The rest of those napkins so quickly followed suit then. Alexander presented with that small linen pony, Matteo offered a rather extravagant linen swan before the last of those napkin was folded neatly into that jungle cat with its floppy, near adorable linen limbs. Dorian so proudly offering that creation to Aiden then with clear delight. That little linen panther pressed into the other mans hands.

"I do not know if party favours are common any longer as they were in my time but now each of you can have something to take home from this evening to remember our first family thanksgiving."

....and how readily perfect it had been.

Dorian Ellington-Aragona