sharp_as_knives | Phoenix Place and environs, Saturday afternoon

The day Hannibal had been anxious enough (thanks to that odd crystal) to plan even further ahead than usual, he had contacted some people about possible residences on the island. This week, he had heard back from them about a place becoming available.

His first instinct had been to thank them politely and ignore it. But he'd been caught up in an FBI investigation at the time, and their voicemail had gone unanswered. Now, with Bedelia having stepped away and Will playing an unknown game, well. It could never hurt to be prepared, could it. After all, it wasn't as if his finances couldn't bear another house, even if it weren't on this island with its ridiculously cheap real estate.

Besides, even were he not to need it long-term, someplace more secure and private than the hotel might be nice, in event of being stuck here during more...enthusiastic invasions.

So, he had come out to look at the place, which he'd only strolled past before.

He wasn't sure which would have to go first, honestly: the regrettable "landscaping" or the horrid decor.

On second thought, no, he was perfectly sure: it was the sign over the gate proclaiming it to be "DOOMHAUS". No matter what your own name was, there was no excuse for inflicting it upon a perfectly reasonable architectural structure.

[OOC: Cut for some spoilers through Hannibal S2E2, "Sakizuke". Open for anyone who wants to catch Hannibal evaluating the environs of (the former) DOOMHAUS. Periodic SP until tonight.]

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Hannibal chuckled. "It was only an example; I would never be so cruel," he said, deadpan. "My point is, I know what you enjoy - or at least what you don't. If someone were to threaten me with opera, it would hardly work. You need to know what it is people love and hate, what they value. And since they're unlikely to tell you themselves, you should be able to discover it for yourself."

He waved one hand to indicate the office. "What can you tell about me from this room?"

[~~I... actually have no idea what his office looks like.~~]

She looked around. "You like music and food and... funny pictures."

Hannibal shook his head, then made a show of looking around the room. "If I were to come into this room - assuming it were somebody else's - I could tell you that the person it belongs to enjoys opera and classical music; medieval artwork, particularly the Danse Macabre, and expensive wood."

He smiled. "That would tell me that they most likely are highly educated, well-off if not rich, and possibly artistic themselves. If I needed them to tell me something, or I wanted to create a rapport with them, I would have the advantage, don't you think?"

[OOC: Gah. Sorry to be so late! I kept putting it off until I had a good answer...]

"Yeah, 'cause I don't know crap about any of that," Kaylin admitted. "And I won't 'cause I'll never be rich or artistic and probably not too educated either. I'd have to let Teela interrogate them."

Kaylin wouldn't get to interrogate many people anyway. She offended people more easily than she drew breath. Even when she was trying really hard to be good.

[OOC: No worries! I was just like, um... I... have no clue. I even went back and tried to find old office posts to see if it was in any of those.]

"You don't have to be rich or artistic to understand any of it. And I suspect most specific details you learn here wouldn't apply in your home," Hannibal answered. "But education is what you're here for. And that, you can do. Learn what we teach you, pick up books and learn on your own.

"The more you know about music, art, science, math, the better you'll be at finding out other things. The better you'll be at learning what people don't want you to know, or catching them in lies, or hearing what they want you to know but can't say."

Kaylin nodded dutifully, but it was pretty clear from her face that she wasn't buying it.

Read? When she didn't have to? That was insane.

Hannibal sighed. And here he'd thought she might have been intelligent. Well, she was young; maybe she'd learn.

"Why do you think you were sent here, if not to learn different things? If all you needed to be a Hawk was to learn their procedures, they could have kept you there," he pointed out.

Poor Hannibal. He was not the first nor would he be the last teacher to be frustrated by Kaylin's unwillingness to learn anything she didn't see useful - and worse, to not see how certain things could be useful.

Kaylin sighed. "I don't pretend to understand anything the Hawklord and Marcus do. I mean, what good is it to learn to use a microwave when they don't even exist in Elantra?"

"I can't speak to that, I'm afraid." As far as Hannibal was concerned, there was no use for microwaves, period. "But while the specifics may or may not translate, the ability to learn will. You need to learn how to learn. How to put the pieces together and form the correct picture."

Honestly, did nobody teach critical thinking anymore?

She sighed again. "I'll do my best."

Where best was some approximation of doing whatever she had to do to get by. Doing her best was what let her learn five languages in six months - but hey, she needed to learn them to be a Hawk, so...

If she could do that, she could definitely learn other things if she put her mind to it!

"Keep an open mind; remember that no education is ever a waste. Even if you don't learn what they intend to teach," Hannibal added.

Thus the hair-pulling frustration of her teachers!

'Even if you don't learn what they intend to teach.'

Now, that caught her attention. Hmmm... Because lots of times she did learn things even in the stupid classes. The teachers didn't often think that those things were worthwhile, but here was a teacher saying that they could be.

"That makes sense," she said, nodding slowly. "I can see that."

Well, it was a little progress, anyway! Hannibal would take what he could get with this one.

"And meanwhile, enjoy it. Even the useless things can be fun," he pointed out.

Kaylin nodded. "I'll try. I'm... fun hasn't exactly ever really been a thing in my life."

"All the more reason to try for it now," Hannibal advised with a smile. "Enjoy it while you can."

"Fun and lots of good food." She shook her head. "Strange place this is."

"Is that a complaint?" Hannibal asked curiously.

"No," Kaylin said. "It's just... confusing. I'm not used to that being a part of life, you know? And here... it just all seems so easy."

"Even good change is stressful," Hannibal pointed out. "Moreso if you feel the need to look for the catch in everything. I won't tell you that there isn't one, but I will say this - when the island decides to pay us back for living here, it will be very obvious."

Sharks from the sky obvious.

"Yeah, I've seen some of that," Kaylin said dryly. "Like I said, this place is weird."

Hannibal chuckled. "It can be. I find it refreshing. Look on it as a learning experience and a challenge," he suggested.

"I'm trying," she said. "Even when I don't really want to, I still try."

Phoenix Place and environs, Saturday afternoon

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