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]

"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.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Learning a little more about them with give me some peace of mind," she answered, a wry twist to her mouth and an inward glare for her baby sister.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal raised an eyebrow. "From whom?"

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"My thoughts," Zhari said staunchly. "They're all awhirl. That happens sometimes when I learn something new, even when I'd rather be focused on something else."

That was her story and she was sticking to it.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Of course." Hannibal wasn't buying it for a moment and made no secret of it, but he seemed unlikely to be able to get more from her without being rude himself.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Absolutely not, according to the mulish expression on her face. You were a great teacher, Dr. Lecter, but you had not yet been invited to Secret Sharing Time.

She kept a wary eye on him a moment more, while internally yelling at Sholeh for almost blowing their cover until Zeela intervened. She was the peacemaker whenever their littlest sister was involved.

"So then," Zhahar said, forcing a smile to her face. "Should we start the preparations?"

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "Did you want some of the garlic, then?"

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Yes please. A bulb or two, if you'd be so kind." Some would be minced for the other fish options she'd like to try, but the recipe she'd grown up with involved a few whole cloves tucked away. "And...where are we going to cook them? I don't want to light a fire in your kitchen."

It was too pretty to burn!

[sharp_as_knives]

"Why not?" he asked, opening the glass doors to get the garlic. "I frequently do. But I have a grill and fire pit as well, for more open flames." He nodded at the end of the patio.

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

"Let me guess," Zhari said, eyes dancing. "There's a sink outside, too?"

Because it didn't make sense for there to be such a beautiful work area outside but then to have to traipse back in to wash up.

She could get used to cooking conditions like these.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Here." Hannibal lifted a section of the marble countertop to reveal the sink. "Extra room for cutting when it's not being used."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

This kitchen kept being more and more magical. Zhahar could almost expect elves to pop out of the woodwork and start passing her utensils with a little song and dance number.

After harvesting all the ingredients that she thought she'd need, Zhari returned to the kitchen to start her preparations. Most of the fist, she'd allowed the fishmonger to clean and descale, but the two she was preparing the traditional way, she hadn't let him touch. She wanted to do everything else herself.

Washing her hands in the sink, she scrubbed the fish as well, then placed them on a cutting board, grabbed a knife, and expertly slices open the first fish's belly and began to clean out the viscera. "What should I do with these?" she asked, gesturing to the pile of fish guts as she started working on the next fish. "We can always burn them on the fire, but if you have a garden...?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Save them," Hannibal advised. "We can make the fish useful to the herbs as well."

[3girls-1core.livejournal.com]

Zhari nodded and finished cleaning the second fish, popping out the eyes and setting them aside with the rest of the guts. She washed her hands again and then looked back at Hannibal. "We don't have olive oil back home." No olives, no olive oil. "We use various kinds of vegetable oils. But since coming here, I've really learned to appreciate olive oil. You mind the substitution, or are you going for complete purity?"

These were the important questions!

[sharp_as_knives]

"This is less an exercise in exactness than in thoughtfulness. What oil would you use traditionally and why? Why would you choose olive now instead of another oil?" Hannibal smiled. "The class is philosophy, remember; cooking will be next semester."