sharp_as_knives | Post-Parents' Weekend destresser, Monday evening

Hannibal and Jono had both sent out e-mail to everyone they knew on the island, as well as posted in the school's boards, and everybody was invited. After this weekend, some of them seemed like they would need it.

Hannibal had a very well-stocked bar and wine cellar, there were darts and billiards and a card table downstairs as well as a media room, a music room and library on the first floor, outside decks on both if you didn't mind the flamingos, and of course, food.

Pork tenderloin crostini with cranberry pepper jelly
Pumpkin carrot soup shooters with coconut cream
Prosciutto, mango, and parmesan salad
Sweet potato ravioli with lemon sage brown butter
Mini beef wellingtons
Beef tenderloin with garlic and merlot jam
Chocolate and peanut ganache tartelettes
Chocolate orange mousse, spiced fruit brioche and yoghurt sorbet
Raspberry sorbet

[Open post! Everybody invited.]

Current Location: 22 Phoenix Place

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

From:

that_oldsaying

She beamed up at him, distress gone.

"A hot chocolate, please?"

A beat.

"Can I help? Can I have marshmallows?"

From:

sharp_as_knives

"You can most definitely have marshmallows," Hannibal told her, "so long as you don't mind that they're homemade. What would you like to do to help?" He was fairly protective of his kitchen, but... "Can you stir the milk as it heats?"

From:

that_oldsaying

She'd never done it before, but that meant nothing.

"I think so," Alluka hopefully. "I'll try really hard."

From:

sharp_as_knives

...Hannibal had rather a bad feeling about this. Still, she ought to learn such things at some point.

"I'll show you; it isn't difficult." He offered her his hand to lead her into the kitchen.

From:

that_oldsaying

Oh oh oh! Alluka loved holding hands and eagerly reached out to take his hand.

"I'll pay attention," she said happily. "I promise!"

From:

sharp_as_knives

"I know you will do your very best." Hannibal smiled down at her and led her into the kitchen. He took the marshmallows out first - he had a number of flavors, from plain to almond to bourbon, and opened each container, setting them on the counter in front of Alluka.

"Now, your first task is to decide on a type of marshmallow," he told her, "while I get out the rest of the ingredients."

From:

that_oldsaying

"I can do that!" she chirped, happily abandoning him to peer into the containers.

They all looked pretty marshmallow-y to her, so she let her bunny peer into the containers too.

"What's your favourite one?"

From:

sharp_as_knives

"It depends upon what mood I'm in," Hannibal answered. "Why don't you try the mint? They should go nicely." He nodded at a box that was easy to tell - they were a lovely pale green. "Or if you like raspberry, those are pink." Which he knew was likely to go over better for the color than the flavor.

From:

that_oldsaying

Pink was the best colour.

Alluka looked over at him and grinned.

"Can I have both?"

Mint-Raspberry would taste good and look pretty too!

From:

sharp_as_knives

"Why not?" It wouldn't be Hannibal's choice, but if that was what she wanted, why not? He brought over the chocolate, milk, and vanilla and got out a small saucepan and a whisk. He handed Alluka the whisk with a bow before pouring just the right amount of milk into the pan. "Now, you keep an eye on it while I put the rest away."

From:

that_oldsaying

Alluka giggled as he handed her the whisk.

As he turned to put the rest of the things away, the giggles stopped abruptly and her bunny fell to the ground as Alluka was shuttled off to the back of her mind, to nap, and someone else looked out through her huge blue eyes.

To those sensitive to it, Nanika's presence appeared like an anvil falling; heavy and unstoppable.

Nanika extended her hands towards Hannibal (the whisk clattered to the floor). "Give me a hair off of your head."

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal wasn't sensitive to such things, but the sudden change of personality was difficult to miss. He set the things in the cabinet and came back to her, taking in the sight of Nanika with interest.

And, mindful of Jono's concerns, simply raised an eyebrow at her. "Shall I hand you one, or would you rather take it yourself?" he asked.

From:

that_oldsaying

And Nanika simply kept on holding out her hands and repeated:

"Give me a hair off of your head."

From:

sharp_as_knives

Honestly, couldn't he even clarify? Well, she had said 'give' so. Hannibal reached up, plucked a single hair from behind one ear, and held it out to her. "Will this do?"

From:

that_oldsaying

Clarifying was for the weak! Also for those able to be side-tracked.

Nanika's expression (which had begun to grow stormy) lightened as she took the hair and inspected it. Then she closed her hand around it and when she held out her hand again, it was gone.

"Give me your left sock."

What was she going to do with a sock? Nanika wasn't telling. But she wanted it.

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal gave her a look of pained exasperation. Honestly, his socks were more expensive than most people's. And still much less expensive than his life, so he knelt to untie his shoe and give it to her.

As he was folding it over, a very worried Jono appeared in the doorway. Hannibal glanced at him mildly, then sent him a mental sigh of please not panicking the rest of their guests? He folded it once again, making a tidy little bundle to set in Nanika's hand. "There you go." He kept his eyes on her, still hoping for some sort of acknowledgement or personality behind the demands. "Do you like it?"

From:

that_oldsaying

The only emotion Nanika showed was a certain calmness to her demeanor as her request was fulfilled. She barely looked at the sock as she took it.

Alluka's blue eyes were steady and relentless and with someone alien behind them as Nanika refused to answer his questions and simply said:

"Give me the jar full of peach marshmallows."

Alluka, it should be noted, didn't even know there were peach marshmallows. But Nanika did. Somewhere in the middle of her request, the socks had disappeared. They hadn't disappeared with a poof or between one blink and the next, but had simply... gone elsewhere while she'd spoken.

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal wouldn't even mind that request, if he thought she were going to eat them. It seemed a terrible waste not to enjoy the food. Still, he sighed but gave her the jar. "Careful; it's heavy," he cautioned, more out of hope for a reaction than anything.

From:

that_oldsaying

Her reaction was no reaction, though Nanika didn't look bothered by the weight of it as she took the jar in her arms. She cradled it close to her and didn't seem to notice when it went the way that the hair and the sock had done and simply vanished.

Hope you didn't need that jar back, Hannibal.

Nanika tilted her head up at him as her eyes and mouth turned to empty, black pits and her aura intensified.

And she waited.

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal had other jars.

He stood and looked back at Nanika curiously. "May I ask you questions, before I make my request?" Would she respond now, perhaps?

From:

that_oldsaying

Alluka didn't really tend to respond during wishes or requests, unless something wasn't going her way.

Or unless someone tried wishing her away.

She simply tilted her head slightly at him, her black pits for eyes fixed on his face, and waited.

From:

sharp_as_knives

Hannibal sighed and reached to take her hands if she didn't mind.

"What I would very much like, Nanika, is to spend some time with you and learn about you. For you to talk with me and tell me about yourself, no further requests involved. To get to know you as I've been getting to know Alluka. Will you do that? Can you do that?"

From:

that_oldsaying

She let him.

It wasn't like holding her hands was going to do anything to stop her, if she didn't like it.

Nanika's head remained tilted.

"When?" she asked, her voice somehow younger and older than Alluka's at the same time. "When, when, when?"