Phoenix Place, Friday night

[sharp_as_knives]

After this evening, hearing some of the things that had happened at the carnival and finding only a few tantalizing clues to solve the mystery of it, Hannibal came home, made himself a bit of tea and a nice meal, and settled in to relax for as long as he could.

Of course, for him, relaxing included rethinking every possible angle of everything going on, but he was alone and in a comfortable chair; that was the important part.

[OOC: Expecting one, but open to anyone who feels they might want to drop by! Also if anyone wants/needs a place to stay, though if you don't know Hannibal, be prepared for him to grump at you. :)]

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[trigons_child]

Raven had fled the fortune teller's tent in a panic, fighting against her demon side and frantic to find Jono. He was suffering, but she couldn't get a good sense of where he was. Her own disturbing thoughts and the effect of the carnival itself were muddling her empathy. Even away from the fortune teller, she could still feel the carnival trying to drag her back down to embrace her demon self, so much so that after a fruitless search she had to reluctantly leave or be overcome.

Failure served to agitate her even more. She tried to call Karla, but the call wouldn't go through for some reason, and that only served to make her almost crush her phone in her hand in frustration. If she didn't calm herself down, she knew she was going to lose control.

She decided to take a chance and see if Hannibal was on the island, though she only just barely managed to not teleport right into his home uninvited. Instead she knocked on the door, still struggling for calm as her eyes glowed red in the darkness.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled wryly to himself as he got up to answer the door. Still, it wasn't entirely unexpected at a time like this.

And a welcome face, at least. "Raven." He noted her eyes and demeanor and simply nodded as if nothing were wrong. "Please, come in."

[trigons_child]

"I cannot find Jonothon," Raven growled, hands twitching at her sides. Her rage wanted to be taken off its leash.

"Something has happened to him. At the carnival."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal frowned. "Where did you last see him?"

[trigons_child]

"The carnival," Raven said. She was digging her nails into her palms to try to stop them from turning into claws. "We both had bad feelings about it. We decided to look around. And I felt...I felt something terrible happen to him. But I could not find him. And I could not stay, because it was...making me like this."

The fortune tellers words had done enough damage on their own, but when someone she loved was in danger, it made it harder to resist the darker side of her. She wanted to let it loose and tear the place apart.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal led her into his study and offered her a chair. He took her hands, uncurling them. "What can you tell about what happened?"

[trigons_child]

Raven stared down at Hannibal's hands holding her shaking own. "I went to the fortune teller," she said haltingly. "I do not know where Jono went. We were to meet in an hour. The fortune teller...she told me what I feared, that I would become evil and harm my friends."

Her gaze swept over the scars on Hannibal's wrists, and she had a perverse vision of clawing them open again, just because she could. She quickly turned her head and closed her eyes to will it away.

"I could feel my control slipping as she said these things. But then I felt Jono. He was suffering. I ran away but I could not find him."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal reached out for the tea he'd been drinking and folded Raven's hands around it. "You can control yourself. You do so every day. Allow yourself to be angry at them, but remember you can't do anything until we know what's going on."

[trigons_child]

"I am angry," Raven said. The heat of the tea felt good on her hands, and their shaking began to slow. "And frightened. The fortune teller told me what I feared and I felt it becoming true. If they have done something similar to Jono, after all the nightmares he has been through...."

She opened her eyes, still red, but her voice was steadier. "I will destroy them."

She could better control her demon side if she could channel it. Focus it on finding Jono and dealing with those responsible if he'd been harmed. After what had happened with Eric in Gotham and everything in Glacia, it felt like it was becoming easier to allow herself that.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded approvingly. "He's been through a lot. He handles it well." Maybe with a lot of avoidance and angst, but given the nature of his experiences, that was probably better than expected.

"We've been trying to find out about this carnival - what it does and how to stop it. Any information you have may help."

[trigons_child]

Jono, avoidy and angsty? Never. Next thing he'd be accusing Raven of being the same. Oh, wait.

She shook her head. "I do not know if I know anything that can help," she said. "Both of us felt something was wrong with the carnival, and not merely because it appeared in Fandom without warning." Because those kind of things were actually normal.

"It probably would have been wise to get more help before we went inside, or to stay together, but...." Raven shrugged. "I think perhaps it was affecting us even then, subtly compelling us to visit the attractions. The fortune teller was what called to me the most. The woman must have gifts of some kind, for she could not have told me the things she did had she not."

Raven smiled, showing teeth that seemed sharper than normal. "I wonder if she foresaw what I will do to her."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled. "If she had, she would have to be very stupid to still cross you and Jono. So, we know that they have some sort of mental gifts or magic, and that they want us to go there, and that their intentions are definitely harmful. It's more than we did know."

He squeezed her hand. "Would you like more tea, or something to eat? And you're welcome to stay for the evening. We'll try to learn more in the morning."

[trigons_child]

"We should go back," Raven said, shaking her head. "What if the carnival is gone tomorrow? What if Jono disappears with them, or any others they might have ensnared?"

[sharp_as_knives]

That was actually a valid point. And Hannibal would miss Jono. Still. "Until we learn more about them, going back might only give them another opportunity to do whatever it is they are. We'll stand a better chance if we learn what their weaknesses are."

[trigons_child]

Raven managed to swallow a growly response of "I do what I want!" and nodded instead. "I should meditate," she said, just a touch reluctantly, "so that I do not fall under its influence again."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled. "When you're feeling calmer, perhaps you can try reaching out to Jono again."

He watched her for a moment. "Would you like to try the guided meditation again?"

[trigons_child]

"Do you think that wise right now?" Raven said, uncertain. "If I were to harm you, I could never forgive myself."

He'd dealt with her demon side before, but that had been a nightmare, not the struggle she was having now.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I have faith you won't," Hannibal answered. "But I leave the decision up to you. We can aim at both calming you, and focusing your anger toward the correct parties. You want to be in control of yourself, not giving up control to them."

[trigons_child]

"Yes," Raven agreed. "I cannot risk losing control. It would make an already dangerous situation even more so."

She looked at Hannibal. "But, please, if you think you might be in danger from me, do whatever you need to do to protect yourself."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I promise I will." Hannibal smiled and stood. "Let me get you some more tea, and the metronome. I won't be a moment."

[trigons_child]

Raven remained sitting, eyes closed as she tried to focus on calm. Her anxiety over what was happening was only feeding into the urges of her demon nature. It was hard, but she tried to think about things that Anakin and Ghanima had taught her in the past.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal came back with more tea - a soothing and warming blend of herbs - and the promised metronome. He set the tea next to Raven and the metronome on the table between the two chairs, then sat in the other one. "How are you doing?"

[trigons_child]

"I feel as if something inside me is trying to claw its way out," Raven said. Which was actually more literal than metaphor. Her own emotions made her stronger in some ways, but they could easily be twisted.

[sharp_as_knives]

"So, you need to let it out before it damages you, and keep it on a very short leash." Hannibal smiled. "But first maybe calm it down a bit." If the frightened animal metaphor worked...

"You're doing well; keep taking deep breaths."

[trigons_child]

Raven nodded, trying to focus on taking slow, deep breaths. "The last time I was like this was when I killed the man who was going to kill Jono," she said. Well, he'd still been physically alive for a short time afterwards, but she'd turned his mind to mush. "It took some time for me to feel normal again."