Hannibal's house, Monday evening

[sharp_as_knives]

Jono had been upset ever since class that morning, and Hannibal had a very good idea why. He even had some of his own thoughts on the matter. Jono would speak when he was ready, though, and Hannibal wasn't going to press him.

Which didn't mean he wouldn't coax him into the music room to try out his new composition while accompanying him on harpsichord. Music was wonderful for opening floodgates.



[OOC: For the one mentioned, but as ever open for calls and whatnot.]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Yes, well. The fridge had a new picture on it, and he'd made tentative plans to hang out with Emma sometime during the week, and Jono was maybe just tired, that was all. Maybe it had just been an eventful day of travel and teaching and being a student in turn, and that was what was eating at him.

Yep. Totally that.

//It's still a work in progress, you know,// he muttered, looking down at the piece of paper he'd been writing on in class. //Not even completely certain it'll sound like much of anything once we start playing it.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Of course it was that. What else could it possibly be?

"Playing may help you work through it and discover what else you need," Hannibal replied. He ran through a few quick notes on the keys. "How does it make you feel?"

He totally meant the song.

[furnaceface]

//Tired,// Jono decided, after a pause. Sure, he was talking about the song, too. //Not sure why I decided to do an arrangement of this one. It's always made me feel a little tired, even when people are upbeat while performing it.//

See? The song.

//Maybe I just need to get it out of my system.//

The song, still. Sure.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Perhaps what it needs is someone tired," Hannibal said. "Someone to offer a new spin on an old tune."

[furnaceface]

//... A tired spin on an old tune?//

Jono was just checking, here. Because he was pretty sure he could manage that one easily enough.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Why not?" Hannibal asked. "If the upbeat version makes you tired, perhaps bringing that to bear for someone else will show them another way of looking at it. Sometimes a different perspective can be a help."

[furnaceface]

//Sometimes, I suppose it can.// Jono looked down at his sheet of music again, not completely certain his own execution of the song on the theremin was going to sound anything remotely near to what he'd written down anyway. And then he winced a little. //You know, it's funny? I knew blood didn't bother her. I should've thought more of it.//

Well, that didn't take long, Jono.

[sharp_as_knives]

Not long at all; at least one of you was getting better. Which one was up for debate.

"Why should you have?" Hannibal asked. "Mentally she is still very young. Children often aren't bothered by such things; it's only once they learn to associate blood with pain that it can become off-putting."

He left the harpsichord and came to sit by Jono. "And unless I'm much mistaken, Alluka hasn't been given the chance or teaching to develop empathy. Other people's blood may be little more than a curiosity to her."

[furnaceface]

//May be,// Jono allowed. //And at the very least an inevitability, considering Nanika and everything that she's about.//

He glanced back toward the kitchen, winced, and shrugged his shoulders.

//Still... I just...//

He wrinkled his nose.

//I don't know. Feel responsible for her, I suppose. Feel like I should be more... proactive... in figuring out what she needs, I suppose. She's still well out of her element here.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"She is," Hannibal agreed. "But not only because of her isolation, it would seem. What did she tell you when you spoke in the classroom?"

[furnaceface]

//You mean after I showed her how to get a proper blood colour out of the pencil crayons?// Jono looked slightly perturbed about that one, yes. //About how she's no stranger to seeing bodies, and sometimes it was for lessons?//

He managed to not shudder, at least. Gore didn't bother him, obviously, but the idea of training somebody so young to take part in the family business...

//Of course she comes from an entire bloody family of sodding assassins. Of course she does.//

That would really complicate matters if he ever met them face-to-face, considering how badly he wanted to punch whichever one had decided to put her in her room for years on end.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Four brothers, three older and one younger," Hannibal said. "And she was learning their trade before they shut her in her room for good. She thinks she was around five years old then. It would certainly explain the lack of empathy - if anything, I imagine her family would have actively discouraged it."

[furnaceface]

//Empathy isn't exactly a desirable trait in an assassin,// Jono agreed, nodding his head a little at that. //Weapon X all but killed it in me, while they were in control. Just gets in the way when your highly-trained killer has an attack of conscience halfway through a job.//

Mercy was for the weak.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Mm." Hannibal wrapped an arm around Jono. "It is a learned trait, more than an innate one. She may yet come to it if she stays here."

He had no doubt Jono would want to teach her.

[furnaceface]

Jono closed his eyes and nodded, leaning into Hannibal's arm.

//That'd be good... There are some things she feels very strongly about. And she's fiercely protective of those she cares about already. But empathy is...//

He shrugged.

//It'll come, I suppose...//

[sharp_as_knives]

"It will," Hannibal agreed. "And better if she has help. Perhaps we could spend some time with her?"

[furnaceface]

//More than just the occasional mission to dye pillows, you mean?//

As opposed to pillowcases, which actually made a lick of sense?

Really, she already had him wrapped around her finger.

[sharp_as_knives]

"There are only so many pillows to dye," Hannibal pointed out.

"She asked about visiting a medical school, to see more bodies," Hannibal said. He held up a hand. "While I'm aware that's a poor idea for a number of reasons, there are other alternatives she might enjoy."

[furnaceface]

//She wants to... see...// Of course she did. Why wouldn't she? It was a reminder of home, and one she hadn't had in a while. Jono shook his head a little. //What alternatives have you got?//

Because no, a medical school didn't strike him as a great idea. For a number of reasons, too.

[sharp_as_knives]

"There's a series of museum exhibitions, of plastinated bodies. Have you heard of it?" Hannibal asked.

[furnaceface]

//Ah... those ones where they skin the bodies and replace all the fluids with plastics, or however that works?//

Jono had heard about it, yes. He'd always sort of figured he'd seen more than enough bodies in his lifetime to need to pay admission for it, but this way it seemed educational or something.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "I understand they're quite educational and somewhat artistic. She would get to see her bodies, but presented with a bit of context. And I daresay you might enjoy it, too."

[furnaceface]

//I might, at that,// Jono agreed, nodding thoughtfully, though he didn't look completely convinced just yet. //Hell, I might end up taking notes. And context for Alluka...//

He squinted a bit in consideration.

//... Won't necessarily teach her empathy, though I suppose it might at least give her a better appreciation for the workings of the human body.//

Or... something.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I don't expect it will, no," Hannibal agreed. "But instead of seeing bodies divorced from any sense of life, she will see them presented as human beings. Her reactions may give us an insight into how best to approach her."

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded again.

//They might,// he agreed. //She seems so cavalier about death, I'm curious just how much she's viewing it in the abstract.//

Or if she was at all. Being so close to Nanika, and being trained as an assassin at an early age... meant that her comprehension of death itself could be practically anywhere.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded back. "Would you like to ask her?"

[furnaceface]

//If... she'd like to come see dead people with us?//

Jono hesitated for a moment, letting himself wrap his head around the idea, before nodding a little.

//I think I would. If nothing else, she'll likely enjoy the exhibit and the chance to get out and about. And, hell, you're right. So will we.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Excellent." Hannibal smiled at Jono. "Now, would you like to work on your arrangement?"