{"sf1_id":577938,"sf2_id":null,"title":"Warm Welcome part 2","author":"DarkSoulsSauron","words":6764,"posted_at":"2013-08-18T02:32:00.000Z","tags":["Food porn","houndoom","ninetales","pokemon"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/577938-warm-welcome-part-2","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/577938","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=577938\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"Soren\nwas worrying. This was far from abnormal though. He worried about\neverything. He just over thought everything. But this kind of\nworrying was different. The thought of meeting Eli's parents\nintimidated Soren, no matter how many times Eli reassured him that\nhis parents were nice. It wasn't that he doubted his claims, but he\nwas afraid he'd make a bad first impression. Officially, he and Eli\nhad only been dating for 5 months, and they had been living together\nsince September. He was afraid all this would seem rushed.The\nThanksgiving weekend traffic was nightmarish. They should have gotten\nstarted earlier. That was another thing that was on Soren's mind.\nThey were going to be late, likely so late that Eli's parents would\nneed to stay up to wait for them. He willed the traffic to go faster,\nas if his mental projections could sweep the mass of cars aside. At\nleast the music was good. It was the swing playlist that they would\nbe dancing to in a few days.Eli was\nasleep right now, resting on his shoulder. This nap was well\ndeserved, as he had slammed his nose to the grinder trying to finish\na bunch of paintings, not to mention teaching Soren swing while\nlearning the violin routines. Soren didn't begrudge him some rest,\nbut someone to talk to right now would be nice. He reached down and\ngrabbed his fourth coke from the drink cooler. Traffic was still\ngoing nowhere, so he rested his head on Eli's hair for a second, then\nstroked his soft cheek.Soren\nwatched the time drag by, moving at a similar speed to how fast they\nwere driving. It was past 10:30 and they were still over two hours\naway. Eli was up now, chatting happily about games. He was always\nsnooping around the internet trying to find a new board game that\nwould be fun to play with groups or just themselves. His phone rang,\nplaying a few bars of an Ella Fitzgerald tune.\nEli picked it up.\"Hey Dad!\"Soren\njumped at these words. He really didn't want to talk to Logan, not\nwhen they were so late in arriving. Soren focused on the road, but\nstill listened keenly to see if he could hear Logan's voice through\nthe speakers. Eli explained where they were, and Soren thought he\nheard Logan's gravelly voice saying not to worry about it. Eli\ncontinued, \"Don't wait for us. I can get ourselves in. Go to bed.\nWe won't bother you.\" Eli hung up.\"We\ncan probably get there a bit after midnight if we put the pedal to\nthe metal\" said Soren.\"There's\nno need to get a speeding ticket,\" said Eli. \"Cops are everywhere\nthis time of year. Relax. They understood traffic was bad.\" Eli\nstroked a silver forearm. He reached into the drink cooler and\ngrabbed an iced tea. \"Sorry I was conked out for so long. It was\nmust've been so boring for you to sit in traffic with no one to talk\nto. Especially since I can't drive your car. We keep forgetting about\nstick shift lessons.\"Soren\nsmiled. \"It's fine. The swing was good enough company for a while.\"\"I'm\nsurprised you're not sick of it,\" said Eli, now laying his head on\nSoren's upper arm. \"We've been practicing to it for so long. After\na minute passed by, a new song was brought up by the shuffle,\nWashington Square by\nThe Correspondents. The two foxes decided to sing along for shits and\ngiggles. \"your best friend\nasked if I am straight or gay, I can understand the question when I\ndance this way. Straight I said, he said 'that's OK' ...\" Eli\nand Soren rolled their eyes together at this line. Soren noticed that\nEli had a really good voice. Soren's voice wasn't much worse, but he\ncould sing for longer due to his greater experience with brass\ninstruments. He contemplated trying voice lessons with Eli after this\nswing event was over. It was\nclose to 1am as the two foxes pulled into the driveway. Eli and Soren\ndidn't pack too much stuff for themselves (just a backpack each), but\nthey had 3 coolers full of assorted foodstuffs for thanksgiving\ndinner. Though he would never admit it to anyone but Eli, he kinda\nwanted to show off a bit in the kitchen. He brought supplies for his\ngrandmother's rolls, two types of cranberry sauce, two sweet potato\nrecipes, and materials for two fantastic pies. He was afraid he might\noverload the Vatras with his cooking, but Soren was sure everyone\nwould be willing to keep leftovers.Eli let\nthem in the front door. The cozy living room was filled with a soft\nlight coming from the right side of the front door. A short but very attractive\nfemale houndoom slipped gracefully out of one of the more comfortable\nlooking armchairs, her black-orange hair hanging past her shoulders.\nShe left a hefty science textbook and battered notebook on the table\nnext to her.\"Heya,\nsis,\" said Eli smiling, \"There was no need to wait for us. You\nhad no idea how late we'd be.\"\"It's\nfine. I had work to do anyway,\" said Eleanor, \"So... this is the\nfamous Soren Saul... Eli, you're a dirty liar. Soren's\nmuch hotter than you led me to believe\"\nShe grinned mischievously at the silver fox. Soren's blush wasn't\nvisible through his silver fur this time, but he gave his\nembarrassment away when his tail fur bristled. \"There's plenty of\nroom in the downstairs fridge for your stuff. I'm off to bed. Night!\"\nShe took the stairs up three at a time, jumping with incredible grace\nas well as being completely silent.\"If\nElly is teasing you already, it means that she likes you,\" smiled\nEli, a bit awkwardly. \"Don't take it too seriously.\" The pair\nwalked towards the back of the house, doing their very best to stay\nquiet. A spacious and well-equipped kitchen was connected to a\ncomfortable den with a nice TV and sound system. Between the den and\nthe kitchen was a door that led to the basement. The two stepped\nsoftly through the kitchen till they got to the downstairs fridge.\nThey emptied the contents of the coolers, leaving the containers down\nnext to the fridge. They then moved up to the second floor as quietly\nas they could. Soren felt like an elephant thundering through the\nhouse compared to the grace that Elly displayed.Eli\nopened the door to what was once his room. It was being converted\ninto a guest room. Eli chuckled. \"How lazy. They didn't get rid of\nthe twin bed yet. It looks like we'll be stuck together tonight.\"\nNeither of the two foxes seemed particularly bothered by this. They\nchanged into their night attire. \"Pajamas,\" queried Eli with a\ngrin. \"You never wear pajamas.\"Soren\nwas dressed in a pair of too-short red plaid pajamas. Eli was in\nboxer shorts, which was what they normally wore when they slept\ntogether. \"Well,\" said Soren awkwardly, the blush now visible\nthrough his fur. \"Since we're right by your parents, I thought\nboxers might be... too casual.\"Eli\ngrinned. \"Honey, my parents are smart enough to infer that we have\nsex.\" This remark made Soren blush even more vividly. Eli swept up\nthe silver fox and kissed him. Soren was normally relaxed when this\nhappened, but this time he tensed up. Eli was visibly confused.\n\"What's up sweetie?\"Soren\nscratched the back of his head. \"I dunno. It's just that such\npublic displays of affection around your parents just feels... a\nlittle weird, I guess. I dunno how to put it.\"Eli\nkissed Soren again. \"Soren, you're not in public. You're with\nfamily.\"Soren\nsighed. \"I'm with your\nfamily.\"Eli\nkissed Soren on the cheek. \"Close enough.\" Soren closed his eyes\nas Eli guided them onto the bed. The bed was rather narrow. It was\nreally only comfortable if Soren was on his back and Eli lay on top\nof him. Still, their legs and some of their tails poked out beneath\nthe sheets. This wasn't really a problem for either of them. They\nwrapped their tails and arms around each other. They kissed each\nother for a few minutes before falling asleep.The\nlights in the room flicked on. \"C'mon boys, it's after 10:00,\"\nsaid Elly. She laughed. \"Are you blind, Eli? There was a futon made\nup for you right behind the door... unless you wanted to sleep like\nthat.\" she winked at both of them. The two foxes blushed. \"See\nyou downstairs in a few.\"Eli\nchuckled a bit. \"Let's go, I know you wanna get cooking.\" He\nlifted himself of Soren's silver body and shut the door so they could\nboth get changed. Soren dressed in cargo shorts and one of his less\nfancy red polos. He would change once he was out of the kitchen. Eli,\nwho was prohibited from the kitchen in times such as these, dressed\nin khakis and a green collared shirt. He insisted that they didn't\nneed to overdress for a dinner with just 5 people.Soren\nwalked into the kitchen. \"You know, we have our own knives\" said\na short, slim ninetales. She had short hair on the top of her head,\nslightly spiked, almost boyish in style. Her hair and tail tips were\ncrimson rather than the more common orange, like Eli's. She wore\nhalf-moon glasses. \"You didn't need to bring those.\"Soren\nsmiled, slightly embarrassed. \"I'm sorry,\" he said, \"I feel I\nnever cook as well when I don't use Grandma Jeanne's knives. You must\nbe Mrs-... I mean Lyra.\" Soren placed the knife block on the\ncounter and scratched the back of his head nervously. An austere\nlooking houndoom walked in behind Soren. Everything about that dark\ndog was sharp: his face, his horns, the claws on his paws, his square\nglasses, and the look in his eyes. Soren sidled out of the way and\nsmiled. This was the first time he had ever seen that canine out of a\nsuit, instead dressed in a Hawkeye jersey. \"And you must be Logan.\"\nthe silver fox awkwardly held out a hand to shake.Eli's\nparents looked at the hand, then at each other. They stepped up and\nhugged the tall silver fox. His tail fur bristled with surprise and\nslight embarrassment.Logan\ngrinned. \"Don't be so formal. You're completely welcome here.\"Soren\nscratched the back of his head, one of his numerous nervous tics. He\nlooked around awkwardly, trying to find a topic of conversation. \"Oh,\nthank goodness,\" he exclaimed, \"You have a double oven! That\nmakes my life easier. Now we don't have to jockey the turkey.\"\nSoren was genuinely pleased about this development, and not just\nfishing for a change of subject.Lyra\nturned to look at Logan. \"What the hell are you doing here? You\nmake food burn by looking at it. Get in the den with Eli.\" Giving\nher husband a light push, she then turned back to Soren. \"Good\nthing too. Eli said you planned to cook half our dinner for us. Elly\nis getting your stuff from the fridge.\"As if on\ncue, Elly came up the basement stairs, huffing a bit under the\nmassive pile of ingredients that Soren had brought. \"What, did you\nbring your whole kitchen with you,\" teased Elly as she also saw\nthat Soren had brought his own knives.Soren\ndeftly drew out a chef's knife and traced the cutting edge with a\nclaw. Keen enough to cut a thread laid on top of it. He had sharpened\nthem before he left and always kept them in meticulously good\ncondition. These knives were 50 years old, and Soren wanted them to\nlast for at least another 30. He felt the stainless steel handle,\nslightly worn down so that it now fit the contours of his hand\nexactly. He twirled it in his hand. The kitchen was probably the only\nplace where he had any personal dexterity. The silver fox smiled at\nthe two ladies. \"I like these knives,\" he said simply.Returning\nthe chef's knife to the block, Soren went to the first and smallest\ncooler. \"Can I steal two of your burners,\" asked Soren. \"I\nwanna get the cranberry sauce out of the way before we need to use\nthe burners for other stuff.\" Soren was intrigued that the kitchen\nin Eli's apartment was set up just like the one in his parent's\nhouse. He had no trouble finding anything. Elly and Lyra looked at\neach other, impressed and slightly freaked out by his uncanny\nfamiliarity with all things culinary.Soren\npulled out two bowls and the ingredients for a cranberry sauce. He\nemptied a large bag of pre-washed cranberries into both bowls,\ncombining the cranberries with a healthy amount of white sugar and\nwater. Mixing quickly, he threw the contents of each bowl into a\ndifferent sauce pan. He then placed the rest of his ingredients by\nthe stove: a sweet dessert wine, raspberries, a juice cocktail, and a\nmix of spices.Elly was\ncurious. \"You making two sauces today?\"Soren\nsmiled as he stirred the contents of both pots simultaneously. \"Yeah.\nYou'll taste the difference tonight.\" After about five minutes of\nstirring, Soren took the spice mix (mostly ginger and cinnamon) and\nthrew it into one of the pots and added the dessert wine. A tangy,\nspicy aroma filled the air. Both ladies were looking over Soren's\nsilver shoulders.Still\nabsently stirring the first pot, Soren added a bit more sugar, the\ncran-apple juice mix, and raspberries into the second pot. A\npowerful, saccharine smell drifted from the second pot, mixing\npleasantly with the first sauce. Soren threw the lid on both pots and\nlet them stew for a minute or two. He smiled as he heard the\nsatisfying pop of bursting cranberries. He liked his sauces smooth.\nLyra and Elly had already gotten him dishes to put the sauce in. They\nboth looked impressed.Soren\nsmiled. \"My Grandma Jeanne taught me everything I know. One is\ndryer and spicier. The other is super sweet. Both go well with\nturkey. Neither of us was big on gravy, so she always was super\ncreative with sauces.\" Soren pivoted, turned off the burners, gave\na few final stirs, and moved the sauces into the tureens that Elly\nand Lyra had provided. He stuck them in an out of the way corner of\nthe fridge.Not\nwanting to hog the kitchen spotlight, he got out of the way for Elly\nand Lyra and let them get started on the turkey. He picked up his\ncranberry sauce ingredients and took the long way to the basement. He\nwanted to see what Eli and Logan were doing. Both of them shared the\ntrait of destroying any culinary work in progress by standing too\nclose to it, so they were forbidden from the kitchen.\"Gogogogogogogogogo!!\"\nSoren raised an eyebrow. He had never seen Eli this invested into\nsports. He sometimes listened to sports radio when he painted, but he\nwas such a passive listener. \"I\nguess seeing the players makes a lot of difference.\"Logan\ngroaned as Eli cheered. \"Traitor,\" muttered Logan. \"You were\nraised a Hawkeye. How dare you choose the Cyclones?\"\"I\ntold you dad,\" said Eli as he punched his dad lightly on the\nshoulder. \"I had a bunch of friends who went there. Besides, you\nwere only there for undergraduate studies. You went all over the\nplace before you were ready for the bar.\"Soren\nchuckled and continued down the stairs. He wanted to get back to\ncooking. He just couldn't get into sports.He deposited the used\ningredients on top of the downstairs fridge and searched through it.\nHe grabbed a ginger ale from the fridge as well as some dough that\nElly had missed when she brought up his stash of ingredients.As he\nclimbed the stairs, he heard Logan and Eli going at it. \"We'll beat\nyou this year, just like the last two.\" said Eli, punching his dad\nin the shoulder again. \"We've been going strong for ages now.\"Logan\nsmiled, \"But the last time you faced us the Cyclones dropped the\nball. Hard. You let us score two touch downs today. It took you to\nthe 2nd quarter to tie us up. We'll beat you today.\"Eli\nwhipped out his wallet and pulled out a $50 bill. He waved it in his\ndad's face. \"Wanna bet?\"Logan\nmatched his son's wager. \"I won't be outdone by my own son!\"\nSoren smiled. Eli really knew how to light a fire under his dad's\nego.Elly and\nLyra were working on the turkey, but even if Soren offered help, they\nwould just get in each others way. \"Do you mind,\" asked Soren,\ngesturing at the ginger ale.\"Go\nfor it, honey,\" smiled Lyra, returning to the turkey.Soren\nreached above the oven, guessing correctly that the above cabinet\ncontained large mixing bowls. He dumped the dough into the mixing\nbowl and mixed in yeast. He then began kneading it with his paws. It\nleavened rather quickly, and it didn't take long for the dough to be\nready for chilling. He put some plastic wrap over the ceramic bowl\nand stuck it in the fridge in front of the sauce. Returning\nfrom the fridge, he saw that Lyra and Elly had made significant\nprogress on the turkey. \"Wow,\" said Soren, \"I've never seen\nsomeone work so fast on a turkey. You're almost done.\"Lyra\npoked her head around the bulky bird. \"You're really sweet. You're\na whiz with bread from what I've seen.\"Eli\nsmiled, poking his head in to get a whiff of the smells. \"That's\n'cause he's a total carbivore. He bakes bread for us every few\ndays.\"Lyra\npointed her carving knife at Eli. \"Get out. I'll bring some snacks\nout if that's what you're after.\"Eli\nlaughed and left. Soren chuckled as he washed his hands again. Eli\nwasn't that\nbad in the kitchen. He could chop things up adequately enough. Just\ndon't ask him to actually cook\nanything and he'd be fine.\nBut it appeared that Eli being some sort of culinary bad luck token\nwas a running joke between both himself and the Vatras.Elly was\nlaughing. \"Oh, I bet you spoil Eli. If he didn't have anyone to\ncook for him, he'd have to live off easy mac.\"Soren\nwent to the second cooler and withdrew his next set of ingredients: 6\nsweet potatoes, Vermont maple syrup, brown sugar, pecans, almonds,\nmore cinnamon, and his secret specialty. Whipping his grandmother's\nparing knife from the block, he began deftly peeling only the top off\nthe sweet potatoes. He split the potatoes down the middle and then\ncarved \"x\" patterns into their exposed tops. He put them to the\nside for now. Soren just needed the sauce.Grabbing\na pot from a cabinet above his head, he threw the syrup, sugar,\nspices and a bit of milk in together, along with some water. He only\nneeded this to heat up for a bit. Elly was at the stove boiling green\nbeans. \"Mind if I squeeze past?\"Elly\ngave him a wink as she moved out of the way, \"I'll always make room\nfor you, sweetie.\"Soren\nblushed. He slipped by her, trying not to get his tails in the way.\nHe put the stove on its lowest setting. If the sauce was heated too\nlong, it would caramelize. He just needed it to melt a bit more so it\nwould be more fluid. It took less than two minutes.Slipping\npast Elly again, he took the pot of warm syrup and poured it into the\nsplits of three of the potatoes, pinching them so that crosses carved\nin them would open up to absorb the sweet liquid and let its crevices\nfill up. Then, he took the almonds and pecans and layered them on top\nof the exposed flesh of the sweet potatoes. He kept the excess sauce\nto pour on top of the potatoes once they were cooked.Lyra was\npeering out from behind the bird again, making final touches and\nadding the stuffing. \"What about the other three?\"Soren\nsmiled. \"You'll see later.\" Luckily both the potato recipes and\nthe rolls could be cooked at the same temperature, so long as you\nstayed on your toes about getting the stuff out at the right time.\nSoren peered in the fridge to check his dough. It still wasn't ready.\nMaybe in an hour or so. \"You two need help with anything?\"Lyra and\nElly both said no. Soren was ok with this. Now he could focus his\nfull attention on the best part. He went to the largest cooler. \"Can\nI steal some of your flour and such, Lyra,\" asked Soren.\"Go\nfor it, dear,\" smiled Lyra. \"What's ours is yours right now.\"Soren\ngot out another mixing bowl. He had prepared much of the pie crust\nahead of time, but needed some extra dry ingredients on hand just in\ncase. It still didn't take too long to finish the pie crust. He\nquickly pressed them into his grandmother's antique reusable pie\ndishes. They were a pair of wonderful dishes, decorated with fall\ncolors.Soren\nthen reached back into the cooler. The first jar was tightly sealed,\nholding premade pumpkin pie mix. Not the crap you get out of a can.\nSoren was a purist. He didn't believe in instant mixes. He had gotten\na damn pumpkin back in Kansas and gutted it himself. It made a huge\nmess, so Soren didn't want to do it in the Vatra's kitchen. He packed\nthe pumpkin mixture thickly in the pie tray.The\nsecond pie was less traditional. Soren really hated pecan pie, and\nalso had a weakness for chocolate, so for the last few thanksgivings\nhe baked a French silk pie instead. The chocolate was mostly ready,\nbut needed another mixing, so he threw it into a bowl and ran the\nelectric mixer through it. He spooned it into the second pie tray.\nSoren then quickly whipped up some heavy cream he had brought and set\nit aside.Both\nwould be ready to bake once he got the oven preheated. Luckily, the\nideal pie baking temperature was the same as the rolls and potatoes,\nso he could bake the pies now and do the other stuff later. Also,\nsince both pies were best when chilled, he could cook them now and\nthrow them in the fridge without sacrificing taste. Grandma Jeanne\ncalled that \"recipe choreography\" when your recipes lined up so\nyou didn't have wait a long time or run all across the kitchen to\nmake them right.Soren\nlooked at the time. It was getting close to 3pm. \"Lyra is that\nturkey fully thawed?\"\"Yes\nSoren,\" she said as she was peeling potatoes to get them ready for\nmashing. \"Why do you ask?\"\"It\nshould take about four and a half hours or so to cook it, so we\nshould preheat the oven now if we want to eat before eight.\"Lyra\nchecked the clock. \"Oh, look at the time. You're right. Elly, can\nyou get the lower over up and running?\"After\nElly finished, Soren went and set up the top oven. While he waited\nfor it to preheat, he took out some baking sheets from beneath the\noven and retrieved his roll dough. He kneaded it a couple of times\nand then began rolling it into bite sized pieces.Elly\npeered over his shoulder. \"Aren't those a little small?\"Soren\nsmiled. \"People I know can't get enough of this recipe, so I make\nthem bite sized so there is more to go around. Wanna help me roll\nsome dough? You don't mind getting your hands dirty, do you?\"Elly\npunched him on the shoulder. \"I'd love to get my hands dirty with\nyou.\"Soren\nblushed, but he could see how he walked into that one. Elly was\nalmost as quick as he was, and they were making quick progress. After\na minute or two went by, Soren took a stab at conversation that\ndidn't make him feel embarrassed. \"You're still in school. What are\nyou taking right now?\"Elly\ncontinued rolling dough with her hands. \"Right now I still have\nsome gen eds to deal with. I needed to get my arts credit done, so I\ntook a music class. I decided to try out playing jazz.\"Soren's\neyes lit up. \"What do you play? I've been playing jazz since I was\n14!\"\"String\nbass,\" said Elly. \"I don't have much talent with wind\ninstruments. Besides, since I'm just plucking, my mistakes are\novershadowed by the important parts, like the trumpet and stuff.\"Soren\nwaved a doughy finger in her direction. \"Quite the contrary, Elly.\nYou play one of the most important parts of an ensemble.\" Elly gave\nhim a questioning look but let him continue. \"You and the drums are\nthe heartbeat of the band. If you get off rhythm, the whole ensemble\nfalls apart.\"Elly\ngiggled. \"Way to put all the pressure on me.\"Soren\nsmiled. \"It's true. If Eli fell apart on a clarinet solo, it would\nbe noticeable, but he would be the only one to have to recover from\nhis mistakes. If you lose pace, it subtly affects the whole group,\nmaking them faster or slower than you should be. Besides, I'm a\nsucker for bass solos. You should ask for one. You've got a fun\ninstrument in your hands. I enjoy playing it.\"Elly\ngrinned. \"What do you play?\"Soren\ntapped his thumb on the dough bowl with each instrument. \"\nClarinet, electric and acoustic violin, electric and acoustic guitar,\nstring bass, cello, trumpet, trombone, tenor and alto saxophone,\npiano, and I can play\nthe bassoon and flute, but I do not own either of those.\"Elly's\nmouth dropped. \"You could be a one fox orchestra! Where did you\nlearn all this stuff?\"Soren\nindicated at his treasured knife block on the counter. \"From the\nsame person who taught me to cook.\"\"I\nwish I could meet her,\" said Elly.\"So do\nI,\" said Soren, reverence layering his voice as well as a hint of\nmelancholy. \"We're almost done with the third tray. Can you finish\nup while I grab the pies?\" Soren turned to the sink and washed his\nhands. He finished drying just as the timer alerted him that the pies\nwere ready. Grabbing some oven mitts, he took out the two pies and\nlet Elly put the first round of rolls in. leaving the pies to cool on\nthe counter, Soren put in all 6 potatoes and the rest of the rolls.\nSoren set 3 timers on his watch.Lyra had\nthe turkey in the oven by now, and had completed the mashed potatoes\nand green beans ages ago. The three chefs washed their hands a final\ntime and sat down with Eli and Logan. They watched the game for a\nbit, but soon Ely and Lyra were getting bored, so Lyra dug out\nScrabble.The five\nway game started out strong, and Soren had a strong opening with\n\"vexing.\" after a few turns, his first timer rang, \"Elly, can\nyou help me with the rolls?\"Elly\nnodded and got up. Retrieving oven mitts for the two of them, Soren\nopened the oven door. Elly poked her nose in over her shoulder.\n\"Those are hardly done,\" she said.\"Of\ncourse not,\" said Soren. \"Can you get some soft butter for me?\"\nElly reached into the fridge and got a tub of butter and some knives.\nSoren began adding a small amount of butter on the top of each roll.\nElly imitated him. Soren put the trays aside. \"These need a few\nmore minutes, but shouldn't go back in till dinner is closer. They\ncan wait until the potatoes are done in a few minutes.\" Soren\nand Elly returned to the Scrabble board to see a dire chain of events\nunfold. Logan had played \"zenith,\" which had landed on a double\nletter, but also opened up the triple word score for Lyra. She smiled\nand laid down \"query.\" she was winning by a hair before, but this\nskyrocketed her to the top. There was a collective groan. The game\nended decisively when Lyra played her final letter, forming \"ax\"\nwith a single A she tacked on to Soren's \"vexing,\" allowing her\nto gain the point bonus and wipe the floor with all of them. Eli\nvowed revenge and dashed down to the game closet as Soren's timer\nrang.Soren\nwent in alone and took out the sweet potatoes. He let them sit there\nand cool. None of them were completely baked, but like the rolls,\nthey were going back in. He placed them in a pot and covered the lid\nso they wouldn't lose all their heat. The Turkey smelled like it was\nclose to being ready, perhaps in an hour or so. Eli brought up\nSettlers of Catan and quickly set up the board for 5 people.They\ngame was fast and dirty. Logan, Soren, and Eli took the lead quickly\nwhile Lyra became the mistress of the ports, not being able to win\nherself but being able to decide who got what resources in trades.\nElly was trailing from the start, so she became a force of mayhem,\nusing her massive army of knights to harass all the other players.It soon\ncame down to just Soren and Eli. Both had their winning turns lined\nup, but Logan was up first, and it was clear that he was in a\nposition to stop one, but not the other. Both the foxes began\npleading desperately, trying to convince Logan to undo the other. The\ngame was going on behind them, and the clock counted to zero. \"And\nthe Hawkeyes go down to the Cyclones in the final seconds.\"Logan\nsmiled. \"You may have won the bet Eli, but now you're gonna lose\nthis game.\" He played a knight card and covered Eli's key port. Eli\ngroaned. He took his turn, but was still too far from a victory. He\npassed the dice to Soren, who rolled for unnecessary resources and\nconstructed his final city for a victory. Soren's final timer rang,\nand he asked Elly for help again. As he got up he heard Logan groan\n\"I can't believe I lost a bet to my own son.\"He\npulled the sweet potatoes out of the pot, and then took his specialty\nout of the final cooler. \"Marshmallows,\" asked Elly\ninquisitively.\"Yup,\"\nsmiled Soren as he layered them on top of the three undressed sweet\npotatoes, along with liberal amounts of cinnamon and brown sugar. He\nput all of the potatoes back in. they didn't need to be in for more\nthan ten minutes. Otherwise the marshmallows would make a terrible\nmess in the oven. Elly helped him with the buttered rolls, and they\nboth stuck around for the little amount of time it took for the food\nto cook. Lyra followed them in to wait for the turkey as Eli and\nLogan cleaned up and set the table.In a few\nminutes, the banquet was ready. Soren had removed the potatoes,\nbisected them, and redressed them with extra topping. The rolls were\nsteaming and smelling of melted butter. The turkey was emitting an\nintoxicating savory aroma, and the table was set and groaning under\nthe weight of food. Soren\nsat between Eli and Elly. The food was passed around, and they soon\ntucked in. Soren surreptitiously watched the Vatras as they tried his\npotatoes, his sauces, and his rolls. Their faces lit up with each\nbite. He would never admit it, but he loved to show off in the\nkitchen. It was one of the only places where he was truly in his\nelement. Eli noticed though. \"Everything is wonderful,\" he said\nas he hugged his mother and kissed Soren on the cheek. \"show\noff,\" He whispered into\nhis ear. Soren smiled but blushed a bit at the open display of\naffection, but none of the other members of the table were bothered\nat all. The\nfirst few minutes passed in relative silence. They were all too busy\neating. Eli opened the conversation. \"How's work, Dad?\" \"OK,\"\nsaid Logan. \"The current case on my hands is a bit hazy. The\npatient had surgery but got an infection afterward. That's not\nuncommon, but when they prescribed antibiotics, it only escalated. I\nthink the surgical equipment wasn't properly treated, but the jury is\nout on that till the testing comes back.\" \"Medical\nMalpractice,\" queried Soren. Logan\nnodded and continued. \"Generally, surgical equipment like scalpels\nand the like are sterilized, recycled, and sterilized again after a\nsingle use. The materials are used to make the same stuff, but the\nrecycling process is much more sanitary. I think that there was a mix\nup and that the surgical equipment got reused. Hence the infection.\nMy client got pretty sick from that infection. I won't go into\ndetails while we eat. How was your last auction, Eli? Was it well\nreceived like the last one?\"Eli\nsmiled, \"Yeah. I seem to find people who start bidding wars. But\nstill, I always joke that people have bad taste. The best selling\nstuff are the pieces I hate.\" Lyra\nsmiled. \"I know that feeling. My best-selling book was awful. Thank\ngoodness that it's under Piros, my maiden name.\" Soren's\nbrain suddenly lit up. \"Piros... Lyra... Piros.\" He pointed his\nfinger across the table at Lyra. \"YOU! You wrote Chasing the Sun!\nThat series was what sparked my love for fantasy! You wrote an\nenormous part of my childhood! I made my first D\u0026D character just\nlike Soluh!!\"Lyra\nsmiled. \"I'm glad my work influenced you in such a way. It's\nnice to know people enjoy what I write. That was my first stab at a\nmore serious novel.\"Logan\nwas also smiling. \"Eli, you never said Soren was one of us.\" Eli\nlaughed. \"I thought I did. We were in an ongoing game for three\nyears while I was at school. I guess I never mentioned who played\nwhat.\" Soren saw Elly and Lyra were giving each other looks. It was\na look that was often made by nearby people when Eli and Soren geeked\nout about anything, but he was too curious about Logan to care. He\nnever imagined him to be so nerdy. \"What\ndid you play,\" asked Soren, \"Do you still play?\" \"I was\nold D\u0026D,\" said Logan. \"I started with first edition, and\nworked my way up to third. I still occasionally play with some\nfriends, but we're always so busy. It's hard to set time aside. \"\"I'm\na sucker for 3.5,\" said Soren, \"But I may switch to Pathfinder.\nIt fixed so many problems. I'm just too attached to my stack of 3.5\nbooks.\" Soren\nnoticed that Elly and Lyra were looking kind of bored, so he changed\nthe topic. \"I haven't had any time to game though. Eli and I have\nbeen learning swing in our spare time.\" Elly\nraised an eyebrow at Soren. \"You don't look like the type of guy\nwho'd dance.\" The\nsilver fox scratched the back of his head. \"Not really,\" he said,\nthen giving a quick faux glare at Eli. \"Eli threw me under the bus.\nHe signed us up without telling me. But I got my revenge. The\nroutines at the end are Lindsey Stirling songs, and if Eli's gonna\nmake me dance, I'm gonna make him play the violin.\" Eli\nsmiled. \"It's nice. We're teaching each other. The competition\nis the Sunday after.\" He paused and noticed everyone was finishing\nup. \"Should Dad and I start cleanup? Soren\ngot up too. He started clearing the table with Logan and Eli, but\nafter his first trip, he stuck around the kitchen. He stuck his head\nin the fridge and found his pies, the whipped cream he set aside, and\na slab of milk chocolate he had put in the fridge. He began dolloping\nthe cream on top of both pies, using a spoon to add a wavy pattern to\nthe top of the pies. Lyra came up behind him. \"I was gonna ask you\nif you needed help with the pies, but you seem to have it under\ncontrol. Need anything else?\" Yeah,\"\nsaid Soren as he handed her the chocolate slab. \"Hold this in your\nhands and let it warm up.\" Lyra gave him a curious look but did as\nshe was asked. Soren retrieved a vegetable peeler from a drawer and\nfelt the chocolate in Lyra's hand. \"Perfect,\" he exclaimed as\nhe took the slab and began to unwrap a single side. He then placed it\non a cutting board and ran the peeler across the exposed side. The\nchocolate came off in curled pieces. Lyra's\neyes lit up. \"I've never thought of that!! That's so clever!\"\nShe then began placing the elegant curls atop the chocolate pie. When\nthe last piece was placed, Soren took a cheese grater and topped the\npie with tiny flakes of chocolate.The pies\nwere brought to the table and promptly devoured. No one went without\nat least one slice from both pies, and Eli, Soren, and Elly went for\na second of the pumpkin. As Soren was starting his final slice, he\nturned to Elly and said, \"Eli told me you studied Personal Power\nApplications. How far into that have you gotten?\" Elly\nsmiled, \"Well, I haven't been able to do much more than study the\ntheory right now. All the labs are handled by upperclassmen. But what\ndo you know about it? I thought you were in pharmaceuticals?\" \"Yeah,\"\nsaid Soren. \"I was reading a journal about how personal powers\nmight be used in medicine soon. Personal recovery looks really\npromising, but there isn't enough data as far as I read.\" Eli,\nLyra, and Logan looked at each other. They whistled in unison as they\nwaved their hands past their foreheads.\"Wow,\nEli,\" grinned Elly mischievously at Eli. \"He's gorgeous and he\nknows what he's talking about. Soren's a fine catch indeed.\" Soren\nblushed again, but Eli threw his arms around his silver shoulders and\nkissed his cheek. He gave Elly a fake pout. \"If didn't know\nbetter I'd say you were hitting on him. Get your own boyfriend.\nSoren's mine.\" Soren felt a little awkward but laid his head on\nEli's arms. Eli let go of him so Soren could continue talking. Soren\ncontinued, \"I know some species can recover on their own, but that\npersonal power is exactly that: personal. I was reading how there are\nplans to see if the power can be administered to an external subject.\nRight now there's so little data because no one wants to be a test\nsubject that involves personal injury.\" \"I\nknow,\" sighed Elly as she finished her pie. \"I'd volunteer if I\ncould. I really wanna see this go further. Right now I'm working on\nidentifying Hidden Powers. It's already been done to death, but\nit's a good experiment to do for beginners. I'd love to know what\ntype you\nare, but I left my equipment at school. I already know I'm a\nghost.\"\"Tricky,\nmischievous, intelligent, and slightly playful,\" said Soren,\nthinking back to one of the classes he took on Personal Power\nApplications. \"It suits you.\" Elly\ntried to smile, but it turned into a yawn. Everyone around the table\nmimicked her. It was clear the food coma was setting in. Soren got\nup and began clearing the dishes, but Lyra threw up her hand. \"Nope,\"\nshe said, pointing at Logan and Eli. \"Those two do the dishes. You\ncooked more than half our dinner.\" Soren\nsmiled. \"Fine, then. I'm going to bed. I am beat.\" He went for\nthe stairs, and Elly did the same. It didn't take too long for Eli\nto come up. Soren was still in the pajama pants, but he was feeling\ncomfortable enough to take off the stifling shirt. \"So my\nparents weren't monsters after all,\" said Eli as he pulled off\nhis shirt and pants. \"They really like you.\" Soren\nhugged Eli and kissed him on the muzzle, steering them back to the\nbed. \"I knew they wouldn't be. I was just afraid. There was no\ngood reason for it. I'm glad I met them.\"\"I\nwish I could have met your parents,\" said Eli automatically, but\nthen he realized who he was talking to. \"No\nyou don't,\" said Soren coldly. Eli began to apologize, but Soren\nkissed him. \"It's not your fault they're homophobic pricks. I'd\nmuch rather have you.\" Eli was visibly overwhelmed by this, but\nSoren kissed him on the muzzle. \"They thought I was scum when I\nstopped believing. They just made it official when I came out. You've\nmade me the happiest I've been for the longest time. I love being\nwith you.\" They kissed again as they wrapped the sheets about each\nother. Between the fantastic food and their soft embraces, they were\nboth asleep in minutes. ","previous":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/575987-warm-welcome-part-1.json"}