Hannibal's house in Baltimore, Monday afternoon

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal unlocked the door with his free hand, still holding the cooler of fresh fish in the other, and waved Zhari in.

"Please. You may set your things down here, if you like." He set the cooler on the foyer floor and began pulling off his jacket.

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[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "Thank you." He bowed. "And never fear, it's quite durable." There were probably one or two things she could manage to break, but as those were also the most electronically complex, he doubted she'd be using them.

"Would you prefer an apron?" he offered, getting one for himself.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Yes, please," Zhari said. "I haven't so many frocks that I can be careless with them." She was still looking around with awe, running her hands over the smooth stone of the counter tops and inspecting the copper-bottomed pans that hung in a neat order. "I'm a little disappointed I'm only cooking in a fire. I won't have much of a reason to use most of what you have."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal handed her an apron. "Well, I'm sure we can find some excuse," he said conspiratorially. "If you get the urge to cook, just let me know. I'm happy to have enthusiastic learners in my kitchen."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Zhahar's grin was bordering on incandescent as she shrugged into the apron. "Do you mind if I poke around a bit? I don't want to be rude, but," she looked up at him, a bit shyly, "I'd like to see what I'm working with."

[sharp_as_knives]

"By all means." Hannibal waved her at the kitchen. "If you have any questions, please ask."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Zhari beelined for the block of knives on the counter. The quality of the cook could always be told by the quality of their knives. Pulling out a long deboning knife, Zhari was unsurprised to discover that it was wickedly sharp and in excellent condition. She thumped the metal and it sang.

"These are beautiful," she told him. "I wish my mothers had something like this in the kitchen. It would make preparing meals so much easier."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Good equipment is important," Hannibal answered. "You can make do without it, but good knives especially can make a big difference."

He watched her with the knife for a moment longer before adding casually, "You have more than one mother?"

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"I do," Zhahar said, slipping the knife back into the block and meeting Hannibal's eyes defiantly. "In fact, I have three. And a father, though we don't see him much. Will that be a problem, sir?"

The girls had discovered that this was the best way to deal with questions about their mothers. People usually assumed certain things and stopped asking questions.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not at all; is there a reason it should be?" Hannibal raised an eyebrow at her, wondering if this were a biological difference or merely a sociological one.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Zhahar shrugged and turned back to poking at Hannibal's utensils. "It's not a normal thing--" for anyone other than the Tryad "--so sometimes hearing about my mothers makes people uncomfortable. I thought it would be best to make sure we were on the same page up front."

[sharp_as_knives]

"My dear girl," Hannibal answered, "I am a doctor and a psychiatrist. If differences offended me or made me uncomfortable, I would never get very far." He smiled. "Believe me when I say, I have heard and seen far more shocking."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

=Huh. Bet he's never seen a triply-aspected demon before,= Zeela snarked. "Wonder if he'd lose his sangfroid then."

*It doesn't matter, because we're not going to tell him,* Zhahar reminded her sister the instigator.

"I think more people could do with having an open mind," she announced aloud. "It saves a lot of ugliness later on, when people discover that you're different and somehow assume that's bad."

Not speaking from experience or anything, really.

[sharp_as_knives]

"It does," Hannibal agreed. "Far too many people are overly judgmental. I prefer to base my opinions on observation rather than assumption." He gestured at the knives with a smile. "Like the proper tools, I find it makes things much easier."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

::Maybe Dr. Lecter would be okay to tell,:: Sholeh offered. ::He seems like he would understand.::

=No!= Both sisters said it together, though Zhahar amended it to, *Not yet, Sholeh. It's been less than a season. Let's not leap into anything just yet. We have to be careful.*

Zhari poked around Hannibal's kitchen a few minutes more. She didn't open up any of the cupboards or cabinets, but almost anything on the counters and visible to her was prodded and examined. "What's this?" she asked, holding up a food processor.

[sharp_as_knives]

"It chops food." Hannibal reached out and took it apart to show her the blades. "You can change these out for different consistencies. If you need to puree or grind a great deal of food, this makes it go faster. The blender is similar." He reached out and tapped it. "More for liquids, but it can also grind and liquify."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Was this heaven? Zhahar was fairly sure that this might be heaven.

"Oooooh," she said, meal plans flitting like minnows through her thoughts. "And that?" She pointed at a stand mixer, which really did look like an odd contraption without its bowl. "Oh, and I should really see the spices you mentioned. Fresh fish tastes ever so good with tasty herbs."

[sharp_as_knives]

"A mixer." He showed her how the blades fit in. "For baking mostly, though I still prefer to do most things by hand. And the herbs," he opened another door and waved her through, "are in the dining room."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Zhahar stopped dead in the doorway leading between the kitchen and the dining room. Sorry, Hannibal, you weren't going anywhere for a moment. Not until Zhahar got a good long look at your herb wall. It was a thing of beauty and wonder and deserved to be admired in full.

The dropped jaw was probably a bit much, but the Tryad were country bumpkins at heart.

"Did you do this all yourself?" she asked, turning wide eyes at her teacher who, she was now convinced, was full of magic. "It's amazing."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded in thanks. "I designed it and grew the herbs; I didn't build it. Carpentry has never been a strong point." He pointed at the frosted glass at the far end of the room. "The garden is just through there; I can open those doors for sunlight. If there isn't enough, there are full-spectrum lights at the back of each tier to help."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"What do you mean, full spectrum?" Zhahar asked. It was actually Sholeh's question, reapeated mostly because she could tell that her little sister was getting very excited. If she didn't start getting answers, it was possible that she might end up accidentally coming into view to ask them herself. When it came to curiosity, Sholeh was the proverbial cat.

For herself, Zhahar didn't much care about what full-spectrum lights were. She was busy smelling the herbs, seeing how many she could guess by name and scent. And taste, if Dr. Lecter didn't mind her picking some...? She'd be gentle, promise!

For Zeela's part, she just wanted to know when they'd get to cooking. And, more specifically, eating.

[sharp_as_knives]

In answer to Zhari's unspoken question, Hannibal nodded his permission for tasting. In answer to the spoken one, he pointed to the lights. "Most indoor lights are simply white or yellowish. Enough to see by, but not to make plants grow. These give off the same type of light as the sun."

He walked down a little further and pointed out specific plants. "Marjoram, cilantro, and dill are all plants which might be used with that fish here; I'm not sure if any of them is close to what you'd use. Garlic is another," he added, "but that one is on the patio; I prefer to be able to smell other things as well."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Garlic!" Zhahar said with a nod. "It's impossible to cook without it!"

Okay, not impossible, but it was practically a food group all on its own.

::But the sun's light is yellowish!::

"I'll need some thyme and a lot of sprigs of rosemary," she said, ignoring Sholeh. "Umm, and root parsley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parsely#Root_parsley), if you have it. Scallions and regular onions, too, please."

::I guess you could argue that it's also white. I mean, the sun kind of looks white when you look straight at it.::

"Salt and pepper, too, please. Of course."

::So what makes these yellow lights different from the sun?::

"Oh and maybe some dill and chives if they're handy...Did I ask for thyme yet?"

::No, seriously, what makes the lights different? I don't understand.::

"Uh, some oil to, umm, rub and make a paste..."

::Zhari, are you going to ask him or not?::

"AND, FINE! WHAT MAKES THOSE STUPID LIGHTS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE SUN BECAUSE IT'S ALSO YELLOW?!"

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was reaching for the rosemary when Zhari's outburst stopped him. He eyed her, startled because not only had he not heard her speak that way before, but he was reasonably certain she wasn't yelling at him.

He considered and discarded several options - and really, it was ridiculous how many more options he had to consider, having spent time in Fandom.

If she were speaking with ghosts in his house, she wouldn't be yelling about the lights.

There hadn't been room for any invisible people to sneak into his car and house, nor could he smell anyone else.

He settled on either auditory hallucinations or some sort of telepathic communication as the most likely reason, neither of which excused her tone. He gave her a quelling look. "It is generally considered rather rude to yell, Zhari."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Zhahar gasped, face turning bright red, her hands swiftly going up to cover her mouth. She looked shocked and apologetic and embarrassed at once.

"I'm so sorry, Dr. Lecter," she mumbled. "I just...am really curious about the lights, yeah."

She wasn't even going to try and sell that.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Are you?" Hannibal waited. He could be very patient.