Hannibal's house (where Jono at least isn't hungover), late Sunday morning

[sharp_as_knives]

Since Kanan had been in no shape last night to tell Hannibal where he lived, he'd ended up in one of Hannibal's guest rooms. His shoes and jacket were under a plush chair next to the bed, the chair itself weighing them down so they wouldn't escape.

Hannibal woke up as early as was his custom, but when getting ready involved bodily threatening every article of clothing, it took a bit longer than usual. He ended up sans jacket and socks, but with a shirt, waistcoat, and trousers that worked well together, at least. (His shoes were currently pinned in the corner of the closet after being threatened with a scalpel.)

Now he was drinking coffee to the sounds of Tosca and thumbing through his recipes for something that sounded good. He had company, after all.


[OOC: Expecting one, but open post!]

Comments

[uncertain_dume]

"Nothing," Kanan agreed. "All of nothing has been straightforward this last week. Except maybe the drinks last night. Those did exactly what they were made for and then some."

He was feeling the 'then some' right now, actually.

[sharp_as_knives]

"That, I'm afraid, is unlikely to completely change," Hannibal said. "It will get somewhat more familiar, but the nature of this island means that it will never become entirely commonplace."

[uncertain_dume]

"I guess that means I won't be getting bored any time soon."

Which was a good thing and a bad thing. 'Bored' was generally what Kanan used as a marker for how much longer he should bother sticking around somewhere, these days.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal grinned. "This place is many things, but it is very rarely boring."

It was definitely a good thing for Hannibal. When he got bored, people tended to die.

More people than usual.

[uncertain_dume]

"Then who knows? I might end up sticking around for a while."

Not that he actually knew how to leave, yet. Or where to go from here. Illium didn't seem like a bad idea. It was deceptively familiar, in fact. And if it wasn't the same galaxy as his own...

His head hurt. But slightly less. That was a good sign.

"And if I decide not to, it looks like I have a lot more options now than I did a week ago."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Fandom is very good for offering people options they might not have had," Hannibal said. He took the waffles from the oven and plated them nicely, then nodded toward the breakfast room as he headed there with the plates.
"For all its idiosyncrasies, I enjoy it here."

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan gathered up his coffee and his smoothie, and then followed along after Hannibal, trying not to be too obvious as he looked around.

"If I may, it seems like it's been pretty good to you," he noted. "Nice place, a steady job. A fiance. Not that I'm presuming to know anything about you, but at a glance, it seems like a good life."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal set down the plates and went back for his coffee.

"It has been," he agreed. "There were times in my life I was pleased to have anything edible and a warm place to sleep. Now I have quite a comfortable life, and no chance of becoming bored."

He was very happy.

[uncertain_dume]

The corner of Kanan's mouth twitched. He at least made some effort to hide that twitch into his coffee mug.

"Sounds like living the dream, really," he said, tone carefully casual. Nothing to see here, especially not anything hitting far too close to home. "And a rough history means you can really appreciate what you've got."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Precisely." Hannibal might not have seen that mouth twitch, but he could certainly interpret that tone of voice.

He sat at the table with Kanan. "Much of it is not in a manner I could have foreseen - I never saw myself as the marrying sort, nor as the sort to teach in high school - but I find myself quite content."

[uncertain_dume]

"Well," Kanan mused, and then tilted his head a little. "A few pleasant surprises never hurt. And they're the sort of surprises that a lot of people never find. Good for you."

It was actually a sincere 'good for you.' He wouldn't hold a happy life against anybody. He'd already decided long ago that that particular sort of happy didn't suit him. It might as well suit someone.

[sharp_as_knives]

To be fair, Hannibal's type of happy wasn't exactly for everyone, either.

He smiled at Kanan. "But you may find your own sort of surprises where you don't expect them, either." He lifted his coffee in a toast.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan gave his shoulders a shrug, and lifted up his coffee as well.

"You know, why not? I hate too many surprises, but if they're half as pleasant as yours seem to have been, sure, I'll take 'em."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded. "So, here's to pleasant surprises." He sipped his coffee. "But for now, enjoy your coffee and breakfast."

[uncertain_dume]

"You know," Kanan chuckled, "I think I'll enjoy both."

Hey, they were no space waffles, and Kanan was pretty sure Hannibal wouldn't have the first idea what muja sauce was, but the meat and some-kind-of-cheese combo was pretty excellent, too. After a few bites, Kanan had to pause and kind of look at Hannibal, impressed.

"With cooking like this, I have to admit, I'm finding it a bit more difficult to come up with reasons to go back to Gorse."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled. "Thank you. Cooking is an art I delight in, and it's good to have an appreciative audience."

[uncertain_dume]

"Even if it's an appreciative audience that isn't completely sure what it is he's eating?"

There were ballpark guesses about certain things. But there was no chance in hell that Kanan would be able to place 'ham' if somebody asked him to.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal chuckled. "Just so long as you know what you like."

He gestured at the food. "It's waffles - a sort of pastry - with ham, gruyère, and mornay sauce. Ham is meat from a pig," an actual one this time, "gruyère is a hard yellow cheese, and mornay sauce involves more of the cheese, milk, flour, butter, and several spices: nutmeg, cayenne, salt, and pepper."

[uncertain_dume]

"You know, I actually managed to follow most of that? Which was way more than I had expected," Kanan admitted. "We do have animals called pigs back in my galaxy. I wonder how they compare."

Maybe they were as similar as coffee to caf. In which case, hey, he wasn't quite as doomed as he thought he was, when it came to figuring out food around here.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Find me one, and we can see," Hannibal answered, grinning. "Is it good to know it may be more familiar here than at first glance?"

[uncertain_dume]

"It is a bit reassuring," Kanan agreed, even actually looking a bit relieved. "It means most of the adjusting, when my clothes aren't trying to make a break for it or anything like that, is going to just be from the normal... settling in... sort of things."

Waiting for the first payday. Getting more clothes than what he was currently wearing. Food. A way to cook the food. Et cetera.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Rather than from waiting to see if the local food will poison you?" Hannibal smirked and shook his head. "I'm still not certain about the bear, as far as that goes."

[uncertain_dume]

"In retrospect, the bear wasn't the greatest decision I've ever made. But it did get me enough money to buy a coffee and a pastry the other day, so I don't have any complaints."

See? Kanan was pretty easy to please, so long as things weren't blowing up in his face. Or people weren't annoying him. Or there were no troopers in his immediate vicinity. Or...

"Anyway, it shouldn't be too long before-- Hello there." He was blinking and looking downward, then, at the small furry feline creature that was rubbing up against his leg. "Friend of yours?"

It seemed like a safer bet than asking if there was some kind of infestation. Hannibal didn't exactly seem the type to suffer that.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was definitely not the sort to suffer that.

He shook his head - in exasperation at the cats, not in denial. "That is Joni, Jono's cat." Following along behind, a bit more suspicious but still curious, was another, larger and furrier, feline. "That is Beethoven; mine. And they have already had breakfast," he added to them firmly.

Not that he expected them to listen. They were cats.

[uncertain_dume]

Kanan gave a crooked little grin at that, pausing to set down his fork to get a better look at the two... sure, he could buy that they were some kind of cat, why not?

"May I?"

Yeah, he was already reaching down to let the little black one sniff his fingers. He wasn't going to feed them, no. If Hannibal figured they didn't need more food, then he'd respect that. But... well... He kind of had a soft spot.

He was still a little bit torn up about the bears. That really didn't need to turn out the way it had.