Thanksgiving Dinner

[sharp_as_knives]

With as much prep done as possible the day before, Hannibal...was still up plenty early, due to both inclination and all the food still left to cook. He believed in doing everything right, and he also believed that the host should not spend their entire party in the kitchen.

So, with Sparkle's help, by early afternoon everything was done and being kept warm or cold, only the final just-before-plating flourishes left, and he was relaxing with a nice glass of mulled wine, ready for the guests.


[OOC: Open post! OCD up! Have at! If your character would be here but you'll be afk, feel free to just ping in an intro! SP is love!]

Comments

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I... I've been afraid to," Elsa admitted. "If it is the same place, with only the name different, I don't know that I'd want to risk knowing my own future. I'm curious, but there are some things that maybe people are better off not knowing until it's time."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"If it helps, whether Norway is a version of Arendelle or only similar in culture and geography, it is by all accounts a healthy and prosperous place," Hannibal reassured her.

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"It does help, to an extent," Elsa replied, offering Hannibal a grateful, slightly relieved smile. "I'm probably going to worry all the same. Arendelle is my home, after all."

She bit her lip for a moment, and then added, a little more softly, "And, sooner or later, my responsibility, as well."

She had to just out and say it sooner or later, really.

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled a bit knowingly. "I had noticed you speak of it rather protectively. That is a good sign in a future ruler."

He gestured at the drinks in offer and question. "Why did you decide on school elsewhere, may I ask?"

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Elsa gave Hannibal a gracious little smile before selecting an apple cider for herself, immediately taking a moment to breathe it in.

She had to. Who wouldn't? The blend of apples and spices together were tantalizing, really.

"It's a deceptively simple explanation," she said, after taking a sip. "After my sister and I lost our parents, I decided that the best thing to do would be to continue my studies abroad, with all of the experience that would entail. And... all of the distance. Everything was a little too raw, back home."

That wasn't the entire story. Of course it wasn't.

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

Of course not, but it was more than Hannibal had thought he'd get, honestly. "So much loss and responsibility at the same time must have been overwhelming."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"It felt as though the world had ground to a stop, and at the same time it was moving too quickly, like I could never hope to keep up with it," Elsa admitted, thinking back on it. "I'm not proud to say that I hid."

From Anna, specifically.

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"There are many worse things you could have done with that sudden power," Hannibal noted. "At your age, many might have. And as hiding places go, one that allows you to learn and heal is a wise choice."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, Elsa had a little bit of experience with being restrained in the face of great power.

"I... suppose there is that," she replied, giving Hannibal a faint smile. "I haven't been crowned Queen yet, of course. I wouldn't have come running so far if I was."

Well, barring absolute catastrophe, anyway.

"Gerda and Kai are making certain everything is in working order in Arendelle while I'm away. They're more than capable. They've helped our parents do it since before I was born. And I've learned so much here already, in less than a year. It might have started with me in hiding, but I do think I'm a better person for it. For all of it, unexpected bouts of being a boy or a small child or a completely different version of myself included."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"Those are quite interesting times, aren't they?" Hannibal shook his head. "I seem to have missed the latest bout of being a child, but I spent some time not long ago as a medieval knight. I have been a woman, a child, an artist, a criminal..." Well, that last he still was, technically, but a different kind of criminal. "It teaches you a great many perspectives."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I spent my birthday this year as the property of a criminal," Elsa replied, making a kind of scrunchy face that said volumes about what she thought of that. "The time I spent as some sort of hyper-competent, confident warrior princess, though... I wouldn't mind revisiting that."

It wasn't really her style.

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"There's nothing to say you can't work toward that yourself," Hannibal said. "Or at least toward incorporating the best parts of that into your own life."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"She was fearless," Elsa breathed, letting herself look wistful for a moment as she remembered the person she had been in the spring. "She wasn't afraid of what the world thought of her, of her future, or of herself. An attitude like that, I would love to be able to adopt for myself. I know it isn't something so easy as waking up and deciding not to be afraid every day... but it seems like something worth working toward."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"Waking up and deciding not to be afraid is a very good start," Hannibal answered. "It's just much harder than it sounds."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Much," Elsa echoed with a nod. "I'm not certain how some people manage it. It's been a slow climb since I arrived on the island. I'm only now getting to a point where I'm not completely afraid to touch other people. And even then, only certain ones in particular."

Totally a normal princess thing, right?

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

Completely normal!

"Building trust - in others and in yourself - can be a laborious process. Congratulate yourself on the progress you have made, and don't scold yourself for what's left to be done," Hannibal advised. "Just remember you can get there."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"I can get there," Elsa echoed with a small nod. "I've... made it a goal, to continue getting better about it, so that it doesn't hold me back once I go home. It seems like a reasonable goal, to me."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"Very reasonable," Hannibal agreed. "I wish you the best. And should you ever need to talk, my door is always open."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"Very reasonable," Hannibal agreed. "I wish you the best. And should you ever need to talk, my door is always open."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"Very reasonable," Hannibal agreed. "I wish you the best. And should you ever need to talk, my door is always open."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"Thank you, Doctor Lecter," Elsa replied, nodding her head graciously. "I think I might take you up on that offer. I have friends who I don't doubt would be happy to listen, but there are some things that I'm not certain many can relate to."

Princess problems. Finding people with powers was far easier.

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

"I'm not certain how much I can relate to, either," Hannibal conceded, "but I am a professional listener. And sometimes it can be difficult to discuss things with friends, as they stand to be the most affected by them."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"There are some things I prefer not to discuss with friends just because I don't want them to see me any differently," Elsa noted. "The friends I've made here are the first I've ever had. I don't want anything to change about those friendships just because of my position back home."

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "They aren't all aware of it, then?"

Re: Arrive and greet your host!

[iceolatedqueen.livejournal.com]

"My closest friends are," Elsa replied, "but... I don't talk about it often. It isn't that I'm afraid to, really. Around here, princesses are hardly the most unique thing to happen on the island. But I don't go around telling everybody. I'm not sure it wouldn't change how a lot of people talk to me."