Hannibal's house, Wednesday afternoon

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal didn't actually expect people to show up today. Honestly, if it weren't in his home, he probably wouldn't have braved the maple syrup (honestly?) to go to group therapy himself.

But, in case anybody did show, he had both a selection of non-maple snacks, and a stack of towels and a basin of warm water.

And in case they didn't, he had his tablet.



[OOC: Open post, no OCD!]]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Jono was... mostly de-stickied, after his trek into the great outdoors this morning to talk with Alluka on the beach. But that didn't mean he was thrilled to be decidedly maple-scented as a result.

//Well, this has got to be one of the more nauseating smells I've been subjected to in some time,// he decided, toweling off his hair as he stepped into the foyer. //Is it raining again? I'm beginning to think very unkind thoughts about Canada right now.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"On and off," Hannibal answered, wandering in to talk. "I don't mind the smell myself, but it is extremely...pervasive." To put it politely. "I don't plan on leaving home."

[furnaceface]

//When even I can smell it, and it's enough to turn a stomach I don't have, you know it's pervasive,// Jono agreed, wrinkling his nose toward the window. //Fandom, we aren't even in Canada. Do all of your crazy nonsense on Saturday, bloody hell.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Best not to give it ideas," Hannibal pointed out. They could find it raining...what, apple pies and baseballs?

"Shall I cook something with a strong scent?" he offered.

[furnaceface]

Hot dogs and firecrackers.

//That'd be appreciated,// Jono agreed. //Er, just so long as it's something that doesn't smell noxious alongside maple.//

...

//Which is probably a given, I suppose.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"What would you say to a curry?" Hannibal grinned; he was already heading for the kitchen, since he had a feeling he knew what Jono's answer would be.

[furnaceface]

//I'd have to say those words practically constitute foreplay,// Jono announced. Shamelessly.

Because it was absolutely true.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "Well, by the time it's done, if nobody's come, we can assume there won't be a group today."

[furnaceface]

//... It'd be terrible of me to hope that the rain picks up a little more, then, wouldn't it?//

But could anybody blame him? Did they hear the words that had come out of Hannibal's mouth?

[sharp_as_knives]

"I won't tell anyone if you don't," Hannibal promised as he started taking out spices. "I've already bribed the squirrels to stay outside for the afternoon."

[furnaceface]

//It'd be a shame to let that bribe go to waste,// Jono decided, leaning forward to watch. It was always interesting watching Hannibal cook. And a little bit exciting when he was making something that Jono was actually familiar with. //Fingers crossed for rain, then.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"I'll let you do the finger crossing; I'll do the cooking." Hannibal grinned and started toasting the seeds carefully. "Lamb, I think."

[furnaceface]

That worked out neatly, Jono decided. He didn't particularly want to get any residual maple syrup in the curry anyway.

//Lamb sounds lovely,// he decided, picking a spot of counter that didn't look like he'd be in the way at just yet, and leaning against it while he watched. //I don't know that I've ever had lamb in a curry before. But then, the most lamb I've ever had in my life was in Glacia during the war, and they weren't terribly big on curries there.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"A terrible shame; perhaps I should send some curry spices to Ermengarde." Did Karla like curry? Well, Kayla was a proper Cockney, thanks to Jono. She should definitely try some. "Lamb is a fairly traditional curry, and the meat very tender." He measured a few more spices out before continuing. "What sorts did you enjoy growing up?"

[furnaceface]

//Beef and chicken, generally,// Jono replied with a shrug. //Infrequently. My family wasn't exactly big on home cooking, and we'd usually go for the cheapest cuts we could get our hands on.//

Another shrug.

//The Starsmore family was never terribly renowned for our high standard of living. At least not where food was concerned.//

Which, he supposed, Hannibal probably could have gathered from his taste in fish and chips.

[sharp_as_knives]

Actually, Hannibal rather put that down to the whole "British" thing. "No corner takeaway?" he teased.

[furnaceface]

//When I could afford it,// Jono replied easily enough. //Still, some of my best meals back then were pub food I earned doing gigs where nobody else wanted to play.//

At least losing his face had meant he didn't still have to sing for his supper.

//Or wherever Gayle insisted we eat, I suppose. She had, er, somewhat more refined tastes.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"What kept the others away?" Hannibal asked. He tossed the spices in the pan a bit and started cubing the lamb. "Were they dangerous or unsavory?"

[furnaceface]

//Little of both. Tough crowds, bad neighbourhoods. I had to shoulder my way out of more than a few brawls over the years,// Jono replied, shrugging. //You can probably guess at their sense of morals, considering I had fairly steady gigs there and a bit of a reputation well before I could legally drink. They knew. Like hell they cared.//

... Shut up, Jono didn't feel wistful nostalgia, here. Honest.

[sharp_as_knives]

"It's sounds as though you had a very good time there," Hannibal observed. He started slicing the tomatoes and shallots. "Do you miss the music or the fights more?" he asked, amused.

[furnaceface]

//Attempting to continue my set while kicking some utterly trolleyed blighter in the face as he tries to get his drunk arse up onto the stage,// Jono decided, after a moment of consideration. //My fond memories are multi-faceted that way.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal laughed. "You don't tend to make such memories playing harpsichord," he observed. "Did you play your own songs, or others'?"

[furnaceface]

//Mostly others,// Jono admitted, wrinkling his nose. //Near the end of a set, when everybody's engaged with what you're doing because you've been playing their favourites all night and they're finally getting drunk, that's when you can slip in some original material, but people don't go to bars to listen to a nobody singing his own material. Pub bands tend to start as cover bands, and claw their way up from there.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"True." Hannibal checked the spices one last time and started loading them into the grinder. "You didn't have a band?"

[furnaceface]

//Only Gayle,// Jono clarified. //And she was mostly just back-up vocals. She could've played keyboard, I suppose, but those are more difficult to get out of the line of fire when pub patrons start to get rowdy.//