Hannibal's House: After-BDE Trauma Party

[sharp_as_knives]

Yet another island oddity had come and gone, and yet again it seemed to have taken a mental and physical toll on several people Hannibal rather liked. So tonight he was cooking comfort foods and low-snobbery (but still gourmet) snacks, tea, and hot chocolate, and his bar was very well stocked.

He'd talked to the other researchers and sent messages to his friends welcoming them to join him if they wanted (except for Jono's, which had been more of a politely worded demand for his presence), but the lights in the house were on and the door was open, if anyone else felt they needed company.

Or just to sit in the corner and cry. Hannibal wouldn't judge. He might take notes, though.

There was food:
Mini grilled-cheese sandwiches (artisan cheese, home-baked bread, probably some with moddable! things like capers or veggies or ham)
Tiny meat pies
Roasted potatoes with salt and rosemary
French fries which tried for greasy and didn't quite have the heart to make it, sorry Jono!
Tiny pies of moddable fruit
Ice cream of several flavors (lavender and honey! vanilla bean! dark chocolate! moddable!)
Chocolate truffles of various moddable! flavors
Other assorted moddable, go to town! things

And drink - if it's a high-end liquor, it's here. Also home-brewed people beer and good wine, both dry and sweet.

[OOC: Open post is open! NM; just put it all here, no OCD.]

Comments

[trigons_child]

"We need to plan our escapes in advance," Raven said thoughtfully. "Complete with secret hand gestures. "Such as, if I touch my right ear, it means 'please come save me from this person speaking to me, for they are boring me to death and I cannot escape.' Or something else could mean 'I need to get out of here now; please create a diversion.'"

[furnaceface]

There was a brief pause, then, before Jono closed his eyes and let his shoulders shake, just a little, in the closest physical approximation to an actual laugh as he ever managed, these days.

//I was just going to suggest stringing up a psionic link between the two of us, so that either of us could call for help if ever we needed to,// he noted, //but your way is far more... clandestine. Seems more fun.//

[trigons_child]

His laughter had Raven really smiling now, as that had been her goal. "More fun, and less likely...."

She started giggling herself. "No, I cannot say that it is less likely that Karla would intercept it, as she would probably notice us desperately gesturing at one another. And then she will either be cranky with us or disappointed we did not have her join in."

[furnaceface]

//If we went out of our way to devise physical signals when I've got telepathy that most Blood can't intercept, I can't imagine she'd be anything but amused,// Jono declared. //And then, yes, probably disappointed we didn't teach her our secret code.//

[trigons_child]

"You have telepathy the Blood can not intercept, but I cannot guarantee that my thoughts to you would not leak out," Raven said. Probably not, if he was actively creating a link, and her shielding was generally strong anyway -- unless she'd had too much wine. But it was more fun to imagine them trying to subtly flail at each other across the room.

"I could empath at you," she added, "but that could either be mean or distracting."

[furnaceface]

//I fail to see how 'distracting' could possibly be the wrong choice, here,// Jono pointed out. //At Court functions, a distraction is the first thing I look for, luv.//

[trigons_child]

Raven fixed him with a mischievous look. "Then you are telling me that you will not mind if you are speaking to an aristo when I send you the sensation of nails down your back?"

The thought of waiting until he was talking to someone important to do that was making her feel just a tiny bit evil, but it also felt good to have a more light-hearted topic after this past weekend.

[furnaceface]

Oh, Raven. You knew just what to say to get Jonothon's attention, didn't you?

//Mind? Raven, luv, I can't think of a better reason to excuse myself from the conversation.//

And he would. Swiftly.

[trigons_child]

"Then I will certainly keep that in mind for the next Court function," Raven said. And if he didn't think she wasn't going to try to find the most awkward possible moment to do it....

"Are you coming back to Glacia?" she asked. "Or do you plan to remain on the island for awhile longer?"

[furnaceface]

Jono gave a quick glance around at the people gathered in the room, tired and bruised and numb, for the most part, and then he leaned his head to the side a little, lifting one shoulder in a halfhearted shrug.

//I didn't get much work done in the shop this weekend,// he noted, //but I doubt I actually will. It'll be back to Glacia along with everyone else, I think. Some distance from all of this for a week or two would probably do me good.//

If he had been any less traumatized, he might have decided to wait to make certain former students and current employees were hanging in there. But he couldn't be responsible for everyone else's well-being while his own mental and emotional state was... not the best.

[trigons_child]

Raven could understand what he was feeling, and she nodded. "I am to begin inspecting Glacia's orphanages," she said. "Did you know Karla has given their supervision over to me? I do not know the first thing about management, but I will do my best."

She gave his hand a squeeze. "You are welcome to join me if you wish. Unless Karla puts you to work elsewhere."

[furnaceface]

Even if she had, it wasn't as though he wouldn't make time for more. Jono tilted his head a little, considering.

//I have managed two businesses so far,// he noted, nodding a little. //Nothing quite like an orphanage, granted, but I suppose that's where teaching experience comes in useful. If you'll have me, I'd love to assist wherever I can, luv, at least until you've found your feet.//

[trigons_child]

"I would be grateful for any guidance you could give me," Raven said, smiling happily at him. "I know of most of the standards I wish to have met, I think, but ensuring they are put in place will be very new to me. I actually hope that most will not require any changes to be made."

Though she knew that was probably unlikely, given who had been in charge of Glacia up until recently.

[furnaceface]

//Fingers crossed,// Jono agreed. //I suspect we'll be getting a pretty harsh look at just how the war left some of the Territory's most vulnerable people.//

He wasn't looking forward to seeing what condition the landen orphans were kept in. But at the same time, if any of them were the children of the people who had gone marching under him, it seemed more important than anything else on his plate that he offer the assist.

[trigons_child]

"I have been doing what I could in Sidra and the villages nearby," Raven said, nodding. A lot of refugees had made their way as the war ended, and she'd helped with healing and finding them a place to stay. "This will be a much larger responsibility."

She hesitated a moment, then admitted, "To be honest, I am a little afraid I will be overwhelmed by the enormity of this task."

[furnaceface]

//Well... for what it's worth, now you're not stuck doing it alone. And once we get a general idea as to how some of these places are run, we can even train other people to look into them for us.// A beat. //I've got a few survivors of our run from the witchblood smoke who haven't been able to work since. They might be interested in training up to do inspections, in fact.//

[trigons_child]

"Oh, that is a wonderful idea," Raven said. "I will surely need a great deal of help, and if any of your people are willing to inspect and oversee any corrections that need to be made, I would welcome their assistance."

She smiled at Jono. "Karla did say I would have the necessary funds to have a staff at my disposal. And these ones I promise I will not try to shoo away like the staff in the estate."

Every once in awhile when her bed linens were taken for washing, they still tried to replace them with something more colorful and cheery. The horror.

[furnaceface]

//I imagine it'll help that they'll be more interested in what the children are up to than what you are,// Jono teased. //Bright, flowery dresses are far more appropriate for the little girls they'll be looking out for than you.//

He was saying this as a guy who lived his life in black leather. He knew what he was talking about, here.