Hannibal's house (and totally not Jono's), Sunday

[sharp_as_knives]

Yesterday had been reasonably quiet at home, but on these weekends, there was no telling how things would end up. So, once again, Hannibal had fixed enough food to almost-prepared for an army and enough coffee for three, and was spending as much quiet time as he could at the harpsichord.

The brass plaque at the gate announcing his office and qualifications was nicely polished, the flamingos scattered on the lawn had been sufficiently fed not to unduly bother any visitors, and everything was hopefully going to stay interesting without being too harrowing.

One could always hope.



[OOC: Open post! No OCD; ping or e-mail me if you have questions!]

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[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

Between visiting old friends, thinking about old times and running into Jack Bristow, Marty's anxiety level had hit an all time high.

And he hadn't even seen the zombie gremlins yet.

Unfortunately his old therapist had retired. Or at least that's what the office said when Marty had called. The person answering the phone had been able to make a referral to Lecter somehow in Fandom though Marty wasn't sure how that was possible.

Nevertheless, that's how Marty ended up on Lecter's doorstep, knocking on the door.

This should end well.

[sharp_as_knives]

Unfortunately (for the person who had done the referring), nobody had told Hannibal about this referral. He opened the door politely, took note of the new face, and nodded. "Hello. How may I help you?"

If it was a past resident wanting a tour or looking for someone who used to live here...well, so long as it wasn't DOOM, they'd be fine.

[intraspective]

Brushing out her hair took a long time when it was as long as hers was and over the years Ino had picked up the habit of poking through peoples' minds as a way to keep herself entertained while she went through her morning routine.

That it also kept her safer by letting her get an early start on figuring out potential threats was an added bonus.

Today it meant that she knew about the zombie gremlins before leaving her hotel room, and it also meant that she'd labelled most of the island into such categories as 'New, Old, Should go talk to, and Seeing Later'.

But when her mind tripped over Hannibal's... well. Ino set down her hairbrush and frowned, poking around with a bit more deliberation. Oh, Jono.

Jono, what.

Because of the gremlin zombie things, she braided her hair back (it still fell to her knees), and after letting Zack know she was heading out, made a beeline straight for Jono and... Hannibal's place.

So, in short order, there was a young, sickly-looking blonde standing on Hannibal's doorstep and ringing the doorbell. She had extremely long hair, softly glowing blue eyes, and was wearing a suit that was very professional except for the fact that she'd traded the tie away for a thin pink ribbon tied in a bow.

She hadn't really figured out what she was going to say. That was okay though. Ino had always been alright at winging it.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal opened the door politely, then frowned at the sight (and scent) of the girl on the doorstep. "Please, come in, Miss..? How may I help you?"

[intraspective]

"Just Ino, please," she said, since she hadn't used her last name in, gods, five years? "I was looking for Jono and heard he might be here."

She smiled as she stepped into the house.

"Is he around? I'm afraid I don't know your name...?"

Well. She did. But Ino always had been a liar.

[sharp_as_knives]

And Hannibal was very good at seeing lies. Particularly when in order for her to know Jono was here, it would be difficult to miss whose house it was.

Still, he saw no reason to call her on it. "Doctor Hannibal Lecter." He held out his hand. "I'm Jono's partner; he's upstairs at the moment."

Though Hannibal was sending him a quick and pointed thought about his visitor.

[puppy_fair]

It was later in the day. Ino had been out and gone for a while, and Zack was getting antsy. He'd gotten a bit of it out of his system by smashing gremlins who were looking to bite him, but gremlins... weren't even really a challenge. They were kind of boring.

Zack had taken on dragons in his lifetime and had made gods wince and agree to stand in his service. What were some gremlins, anyway?

So... exploring. Taking in the little ways the island had changed. It was the polished plaque that had caught his attention, and he'd stood there for a few minutes deliberating if that was something he wanted any part of before, finally, just shrugging his shoulders and making his way up to the door, ringing the bell.

So, Hannibal, now there was a tall young man with glowing blue eyes and wild hair, in some modernized armor with a sword on his back that probably weighed more than you did, looking... pleasant, but antsy. Enjoy that.

[intraspective]

"Nice to meet you," she said, reaching out to shake his hand. Her smile deepened with amusement at his thought towards Jono. Ino didn't try to read the contents of it, but she didn't need to do that to guess that the good doctor was not one hundred percent okay with her being here. "I'm an old friend of his."

Which Jono would actually confirm, which was nice. Especially since it was true.

"Should I come back later? I didn't mean to disturb anyone."

[sharp_as_knives]

Enjoy? Possibly not, though he wasn't ruling it out. Hannibal was going to be intrigued by it, though. And by the eyes that looked rather like his last visitor had.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

[oatmanspatient.livejournal.com]

No Doom. So far anyways. Just a neurotic former hitman having issues.

"Dr. Lecter? I hate to bother you on the weekend," Marty said apologetically. "I was having a bit of a meltdown with everything going on and was hoping you might have time for a quick session?"

[puppy_fair]

Zack gave Hannibal a smile. Unlike the last visitor, it was the smile of a person who smiled more to fool himself than the people around him, like a security blanket that went up whenever he wasn't completely certain of something he was about to step into.

It was, if nothing else, probably a reassuring smile.

"Hi," he said, pleasantly. "Sorry, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important? I was just walking," and stomping on gremlins, "and I noticed your sign and I thought maybe I'd ask if you need advance notice for appointments, or if there's any chance you take walk-ins from people who aren't going to be here for very long?"

Zack needed to talk. And he needed to talk with somebody who wasn't all wrapped up in his mess back home.

[sharp_as_knives]

Well, it never hurt to be wary, even (especially?) on an odd weekend of Fandom's.

"Not at all. Please," he waved her further in, "come sit down. Jono will be down presently. May I get you something to eat or drink?"

[sharp_as_knives]

Oh? "Of course," Hannibal said. "It's no bother at all. Please come in, Mr...?"

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled and opened the door wider. "This is Fandom," he explained. "I will take anybody as they come, the island being what it is. Please, come in."

[intraspective]

She obediently headed further into the place, checking it out curiously as she went, but most of her attention was on Lecter.

It seemed sort of prudent.

"Well, it's okay if he takes his time," Ino said lightly, smiling over her shoulder. It wasn't precisely a friendly smile. "I'm terrible at beating around the bush," she really was, "so I'll admit that I wanted to talk to you too. I wouldn't mind a coffee, if the offer stands."

[puppy_fair]

"Oh, great!" Zack blinked, but gave a (still oddly forced) enthusiastic smile as he stepped inside. It was completely possible he'd been half hoping, still, to get a 'sorry, no' so that he didn't have to go through with this, now that he'd started. "And thanks. I'm Zack Fair, SOLDIER, 1st Class."

He offered Hannibal a gloved hand and a wry little grin. Yeah, he wasn't technically officially taking orders from ShinRa, but that wasn't going to stop him from listing his name and rank when he introduced himself. He'd earned that rank. And he had his honor.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled back. His might not be friendly, but it was perfectly pleasant. "Of course. I find conversations are often better over coffee. Cream or sugar?"

[intraspective]

"Both, please," she said lightly. Cream and sugar improved pretty much everything.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal understood perfectly the pride in earned ranks. He took the hand with a nod and smile. "Hannibal Lecter. Doctor and psychiatrist. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?"

[sharp_as_knives]

"Of course." Hannibal showed her to a comfortable chair in the den. "I won't be a moment."

[intraspective]

Ino did not so much sit as she flopped down into the chair the moment he left and crossed her legs thoughtfully. It was a nice house.

Nobody was scared in it.

She waited patiently, feeling tired.

[puppy_fair]

Zack's handshake was firm. The sort of firm that seemed restrained, though, by somebody who sometimes wasn't completely aware of his own strength. His smile grew a tiny bit more sincere, though.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Lecter," he replied, honestly. "And only if it's no trouble, thank you. I haven't had much of a chance to eat yet today, what with the gremlins being extra weird out there."

[sharp_as_knives]

While Hannibal was gone, the other residents of the house took it upon themselves to determine the suitability of this new person invading their space.

Well, Beethoven did, anyway. Joni's thoughts were closer to, "Ooo, HAIR!"

So while Hannibal was in the kitchen setting out a carafe, glass mug, and cream and sugar containers on a neat little tray (along with some cheese and fruit), Ino would find herself being suspiciously sniffed at by an old grey cat and her braid being gleefully batted at by a tiny black and white one.

[sharp_as_knives]

"My passion and occasional teaching subject is food," Hannibal said with a smile. "It's no trouble at all. Are there things that you can't or won't eat?" He led Zack through the house as he spoke.

[intraspective]

Ino was not a fan of children and the only pet she'd ever had was her chicobo, but Ino? Ino liked cats.

Her braid getting batted by a tiny fluffy creature just made her so happy and then, when she checked who it was, she squealed. "Joni!" she said, wriggling her braid for the kitten. "Look how tiny you are, you're still the tiniest, aren't you?"

She didn't know the other cat, but she held her free hand out for him to sniff all the same.

Dignity had been tossed out the window. There were cats to play with.