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]

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?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"The teacher I'm to show around is Hatter, so." Hannibal smiled. "It went fairly well. Yours?"

[furnaceface]

//No complaints, besides the sword,// Jono replied. //I was assigned to Bruce Wayne, who has experience with the island. Makes my job easy. The island's got another Tony Stark. You wouldn't know him. Brilliant scientific mind from one of those worlds like mine. Some of them are actually half-decent people. Oh, and Bob.//

You know. Just slipping that one in casually.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Bob the ghost?" Hannibal grimaced. "I heard his name on the radio, but it's common enough I had hoped it was someone else."

[furnaceface]

//The very same,// Jono replied, shrugging his shoulders a little. //Apparently he's teaching here this semester. Something about how we'd all be doomed if we had to fend for ourselves in the face of another magical attack...//

Jono was paraphrasing.

//I don't mind too much, mostly because it means I get to sit back and watch while he realizes that he actually has no idea how to deal with a pack of Fandom teenagers.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal grimaced. "I can't argue with his reasoning, I suppose. And he did prove helpful, if annoying." He hadn't left nearly as disgusting a feel in Hannibal's mind as Jono's ghost had.

[furnaceface]

//He's also offered to be my wingman,// Jono intoned. //Just so long as he gets to watch. You will be pleased to know that he's joined the 'Dress Jonothon Better' club. Apparently my leathers aren't adequate attire for teaching Fandom High students.//

Grumble.

[sharp_as_knives]

"He sounds absolutely terrifying so far," Hannibal noted.

Not that he didn't have his own concerns about Bob being here, but nobody had tried to arrest him yet.

[furnaceface]

//He's a menace,// Jono sighed. //I suppose the island's one saving grace is that he can't actually touch anything.//

Yes. That was clearly the upside to all of this.

[sharp_as_knives]

"And I very much doubt he can travel to Glacia, so you should be able to escape him easily," Hannibal pointed out. "How are things there?"

Were you actually using the break he was giving you, Jono?

[furnaceface]

You know, he actually was?

//Quieter,// Jono replied, sounding equal parts relieved and paranoid. //We've got most of the worst of the ones after Karla taken care of, nobodys been artfully pinned to the walls in weeks, and I've got a few of my officers looking into the leads our one living suspect has been so kind as to give us. Even managed to bring a few children home as a result. I've told them to call me if anything happens, of course.//

Shockingly, nothing had, yet.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Good. I'm glad to hear at least some of the children are well, too."

[furnaceface]

//Better than none,// Jono agreed, letting the 'still not good enough' hang there, unspoken. He figured Hannibal knew him well enough by now to know that much was eating at him. //Now the biggest hassle is waiting for Karla to give birth so that we can all get back to business as usual. Ought to be rather soon, now. And then I can put my focus on other things. My class here. Doing more to help people closer to me. Maybe get involved in the Boards again...//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded but gave him a slight frown. "Helping people close to you? Is Raven still worrying you?"

[furnaceface]

//Raven's still worrying me,// Jono agreed, nodding and stuffing his hands into his pockets. //Hell, Raven's worrying herself. To the point where she actually let me take a peek around in her mind, a bit. Which... didn't leave me any less worried.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal's frown deepened. "If there's anything I can do to help, please let me know. Whether that means therapy or a safe place to go outside of Glacia for a while. You are both my friends."

[furnaceface]

//I don't know if therapy'll be able to help much, in this case,// Jono replied, closing his eyes for a moment. //The parts that she's most worried about, I'm almost certain aren't her. We'd be far more likely to need a safe place, I think, but...//

He furrowed his brow, and then looked back Hannibal's way.

//I'd want her out of there for Karla's sake, and the safety of the baby. Anywhere we go, if it's something like what I'm afraid it could be, isn't liable to stay safe for long.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Bob may be annoying, but this place is very well safeguarded now," Hannibal pointed out. "And as unsafe as the island can often be, it seems to limit the amount of outside harm that it lets in. What do you think it is that's troubling her?"

[furnaceface]

Jono was loathe to even suggest it, but he'd seen Raven slip to something outside of herself before.

//Family, maybe,// he sighed, running his hand through his hair and starting to walk back and forth. Pacing was excellent for this sort of conversation. //Very unpleasant family. And I don't know what the hell to do about it. It isn't exactly a good time to bring up that concern to Karla...//

[sharp_as_knives]

"No," Hannibal agreed. "How can we determine if it is family? And if it is, what's the solution?"

[furnaceface]

//I... I don't know how, for sure,// Jono admitted, sounding tired all over again. //Last time this was a problem, we found out when Raven actually went evil, was taken by her demonic father, and the entire eastern seaboard was reduced to a mass of tortured, living flesh.//

So. That had been fun.

//And the solution had been to kill her.//

Also fun. Really.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Let's hope for something a little less drastic this time." Hannibal thought for a moment. "What have you found so far? You think her father is influencing her?"

[furnaceface]

//Let's pray it isn't Trigon again,// Jono replied, stopping in his pacing to look darkly at Hannibal. //He wasn't a threat, anymore. But he wasn't the only family she had, either.//

And meeting her brothers hadn't exactly been the highlight of Jono's high school years.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Her brothers, then," Hannibal reasoned." He thought about Raven's behavior recently. "Could any influence of theirs be contributing to her lack of control?"

[furnaceface]

//That's what I'm most worried about right now,// Jono admitted. //Wrath would absolutely make sense, given what she's already done to some people without even stopping to consider the consequences. And...//

If he could blush, he would. Fortunately, he was spared that much.

//There's at least a case for Lust as well. And Envy.//