Hannibal's house, Sunday

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was enjoying a nice, quiet day at home. He'd had a few too many of those lately, but since someone (Jono) had decided that his hobby gave them extra work, he was indulging in other ways; at the moment, he was composing on theremin.

Classes started tomorrow, so hopefully things would pick up a bit.


[OOC: Open post!]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Look, it wasn't like Jono knew that he was messing up Hannibal's extracurricular activities! How would he? The artist behind the corpses he'd found had neglected to sign his work, after all.

Of course, Jono had the weekend off, what with needing to put together some manner of lesson plan to present to Rinoa before their first class on Friday, and since he was here, he figured it couldn't hurt to pay Hannibal a visit. The conversation was always enjoyable. And the food.

And other things, on occasion.

Besides, Hannibal would probably be interested in hearing about who was on the island again. So- there went Jono, ringing the doorbell. With his hand, in fact. On his first try!

He'd actually slept last night. That had been nice.

[sharp_as_knives]

Well done on the bell ringing, Jono! Hannibal answered the door, smiled, and let him in. "Hello. How have you been?" He looked definitely better than last time.

[furnaceface]

//I think I was almost attacked by armed new students at least one and a half times yesterday,// Jono shared, actually sounding cheerful about it as he nodded a hello and stepped into the house. //Never a dull moment when we get the new ones in, is there? And you?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Well," Hannibal answered, chuckling, "nobody tried to attack me, at least. And none of the new students are in my class, so I should be safe. Are they aggressive, or simply scared?"

He led the way as he was talking, into the den with the fireplace, and took a moment to stoke it a bit.

[furnaceface]

//One is just frightened, I think. The other was a bit of both, and too bloody proud at admit the latter.// Jono paused just behind Hannibal, watching the embers flare for a moment. //I'm going to have to talk to the first again, I think. I'm fairly certain she was about to pull a gun. At least the second wasn't hiding that sword she was waving at me.//

Crazy girl.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Frightened children with guns are rarely a good thing." Hannibal set the poker down and sat, gesturing for Jono to do the same. "At least one of the new students is from another world, then? Or enjoys antiquated weaponry."

[furnaceface]

//I'm going out on a limb and guessing she's the former, since she immediately decided I was a mage and started talking about something-or-other I didn't completely grasp. We're under 'truce' now. Which I think is meant to mean that she won't stab me so long as I continue being right about how far up shit creek she is.//

He hadn't quite bothered to sort out the specifics of that one.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Let's hope she comes to her senses soon, then," Hannibal said. "It would probably be best if you didn't have to wound the children." Because he was under no illusions as to how that fight would go.

[furnaceface]

//I'd try to disarm her before I had to dis-arm her,// Jono replied, nodding. //She was also informed that waving that thing at other students won't be tolerated. We'll see how long she manages before she goes and does that. I haven't listened to the broadcast yet to see how she fared at the picnic, I'm afraid.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Nobody pulled any sword, at any rate," Hannibal reassured him. "What was her name?"

[furnaceface]

//I... have no bloody blue,// Jono admitted, after a moment's pause. //She said she was a Seeker of Truth, which mostly meant she felt entitled to wave a sword around and make demands of a perfect stranger, but beyond that, I didn't really catch much about her.//

Oops?

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal shrugged. "Radio mentioned there was a young woman in armor who was a bit demanding - if that is her, her name is Cassandra. She apparently was unhappy with Anders, but no incidents."

[furnaceface]

Ah. Well, that got Jono wrinkling his nose a little bit. Anders, after all, was a mage, which she seemed to have a bit of a hate-on for.

//I'll have to check up on the lad at some point,// he decided, shaking his head. //How about you? How'd your yesterday go?//

[nuclear_snide]

At some point, this was going to have to happen. Best to get it out in the open, wasn't it? Bob took a break from wandering the island for a bit and headed for Hannibal's house, slipping through the walls until he found the man.

Doing...whatever he was doing. "What is that noise?"

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal gave him a Look. "A twentieth-century musical instrument." He set down his pen and switched the theremin off. "I should have expected to see you sooner or later, but I'd thought my house impervious to magic."

That look wasn't going anywhere, Bob.

[nuclear_snide]

Bob waved in dismissal. "It takes more effort than it's ever worth to make a spell you can't work through yourself. Unless I should come to mean you active harm, I will always be able to get past my own wards."

NFB!

[sharp_as_knives]

Well, that did make a certain amount of sense. And certainly Bob had seemed to be in earnest when he'd laid them down; being in the same body made secrets much harder to keep.

Hannibal eyed him coolly. "Should I suppose you're here to threaten me?"


[OOC: NFB from here on, please!]

Re: NFB!

[nuclear_snide]

"Should I suppose I have a reason to?" Bob answered, equally cool. "No, I'm here to offer you a bargain."

Re: NFB!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal watched him carefully. "What sort of bargain?"

Re: NFB!

[nuclear_snide]

"The sort where should it become necessary I use a body, I have one available," Bob answered. "And where you don't have to worry about your secrets coming to light. At least not from me."

Re: NFB!

[sharp_as_knives]

"An extension of our previous bargain," Hannibal noted. "In an emergency, you would be welcome. In return, you endanger neither me nor my friends in any way."

Re: NFB!

[nuclear_snide]

"If not an emergency, I can still make the request," Bob added. "And I'll do my very best to keep you all safe."

Re: NFB!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal eyed him a moment longer. "I'm free to refuse, though I won't without reason. And should it come to their safety or mine, you would prioritize mine or refuse to interfere."

Re: NFB!

[nuclear_snide]

Bob sighed. "I've been dealing with do-gooders so long, I nearly forgot some people do actually have self-preservation instincts. Agreed."

Re: NFB!

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smirked and bowed. "Agreed."