Hannibal's house in Baltimore, Sunday evening

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal had decided to forego the dinner tonight; after returning from the zombie play on the island, there wasn't time for anything elaborate, and he had a feeling Raven might not want much anyway.

So instead, there was a bit of wine and some very good cheese in the study, and he sat waiting in a very comfortable chair.


[OOC: waiting for one! NFB]

Comments

[trigons_child]

She shook her head, both to indicate no and to try to cast out the dark thoughts. "No," she said, red fading from her eyes. "And I do not require it of them. I am Court Healer, after all, and the act of healing is its own reward."

[sharp_as_knives]

"They do recognize you, you know," he told her with a smile. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be Court Healer. It is a form of recognition and repayment." He reached out to take her hands. "There is no reason to fear your pride, if it doesn't cloud your judgment. Take a moment; let yourself be proud of your abilities and your accomplishments."

[trigons_child]

"Pride calls to my demon blood," Raven said, looking at Hannibal as if she were only half-seeing him. "As do Lust, and Envy, and Wrath. And Greed and Gluttony and Sloth as well, though not nearly as strongly. It wants me to join my brothers and spread evil and misery across the world."

[sharp_as_knives]

"You still think of it as a different part of you. Consider it another way," Hannibal suggested. "Some emotions are addictive. You worry you may become too fond of pride and forget other things of value. Isn't that it?"

[trigons_child]

"If I allow them to, they will consume me," Raven said, nodding a little. "They taste so good. I always want more. I have to fight the hunger, but I do not think I will always be strong enough to do so."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Addictions are like that." Hannibal smiled at her. "What about pleasure, pride in other people, philanthropy; do they feel as good?"

[trigons_child]

Raven glanced toward her friends again. "All emotions taste good, even the negative ones. Even the pain. Sometimes it takes all the will I possess not to rip them out of someone so I might feast."

[sharp_as_knives]

"But if you treat yourself to the pain too often, you'll have a harder time experiencing their pleasure, won't you?" Hannibal asked.

[trigons_child]

Raven closed her eyes, swaying a little as she contemplated how good it would feel to feed on emotions until she was utterly sated. "Pain is more freely given," she murmured. "Pleasure...sometimes. I try not to take without permission, or to take too much."

[sharp_as_knives]

"You have restraint," Hannibal noted approvingly. "Which is better: emotions you take from others, or your own?"

[trigons_child]

"My own...can be confusing," Raven said after a moment's thought. "What I take from others seems so much more pure. I do not care about the reasons someone may love or hate or feel joy or sorrow. I just want the purity of the emotion."

[sharp_as_knives]

"But all emotions are nuanced," Hannibal answered. "Pain mingled with anger, or with satisfaction. Love mingled with possession, or with pride." He smiled at her. "If you cut yourself off from some of them, you aren't experiencing all you could."

[trigons_child]

"I want them all," Raven agreed, voice low and dreamy. "I want to taste everything." She could feel the hunger building in her. So much joy nearby, and she could change it to terror and feed on that as well.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Do you want your friends to suffer?" Hannibal asked. His tone was genuinely questioning, rather than chiding.

[trigons_child]

"I do not care," Raven growled. The red glow of her eyes was stronger now, and her skin began to take on a reddish tint. "They are all beneath me. Their place is at my feet. But...they are family, moreso than my foolish brothers. Perhaps I will take their powers and bestow them on whom I choose. Yes, that would be ideal. But who should be which Sin?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Why don't you ask them?" Hannibal suggested. He cocked his head at her. "Do you want them to be happy?"

[trigons_child]

"I want them to be mine. What they wish does not matter."

Raven glanced over to the peaceful part of the dreamscape. Her fingertips were sprouting talons, and her teeth grew sharp. "I will make Karla Lust. And Envy for Jonothon, of course. And Anakin would make a wonderful Wrath."

She turned back to Hannibal. "Or would you like Wrath? You are so calm and collected, but who knows what kind of rage could be drawn from you? Or there is always Gluttony. What would you choose?" She smiled, sliding her tongue over her lips and newly grown fangs. "Wrath? Gluttony? Lust?"

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "I rather think that I would make a good Pride, but that position is already taken." He gave her a little bow then turned to look at the others in her dream. "Karla. Look deep inside yourself. Still yourself and search for the answer. How do you feel about her?"

[trigons_child]

Raven blinked, confused for a moment, and shook her head. The redness of her skin began to fade a little as she tried to fight off the hunger.

"She is more than Queen to me," she said slowly. "She is like a sister. More than a sister. I...I love her. With all my heart." She paused for a moment, struggling to put words to her feelings. "And I want to protect her from all harm. And I envy her sometimes. And I am proud of her for how far she has come, from being made to flee from her home to reclaiming it again."

[sharp_as_knives]

"How would you feel about her if you were to make her Lust?" he asked.

[trigons_child]

"She would be bound to me forever," Raven said, laughing softly. "She would be mine."

Her expression abruptly changed from one of delight to dismay, and she shuddered. "No!" she said. "It would not be right. She would not be Karla anymore. I would never do that to her." But the desire to do so was so strong, and here in her unconscious mind, it so often slipped from her control.

[sharp_as_knives]

"It's not uncommon among captives for emotional responses to be blunted," Hannibal noted. "If you were to make her entirely yours, you would miss the opportunity of her unfettered, pure emotions. Yes?"

[trigons_child]

Raven hissed in frustration, unwilling to admit that he could be right. Then again, did she care? There would be plenty of others to feed upon.

"What do you suggest, then?" she snarled.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I suggest that you have very strong urges to protect your friends and make them happy, and also to taste their emotions," Hannibal answered mildly. "You see these urges as competing and mutually exclusive, and so neither is truly satisfied."

He nodded toward Karla. "You keep her happy, you protect her, and she will always be there to provide those emotions. You heal her, and you can take her hurt. Share her joys. Satisfy your hunger and your other instincts."

[trigons_child]

"That is not all I hunger for," Raven snapped. "I am Trigon's daughter. Millions upon millions have been sacrificed in my name. I was born to destroy, to spread pain and misery!"

She changed fully into her demon form now, and the world grew dark around them, lightning crackling across the sky. "What does a mere mortal know about satisfying my hunger?"