Hannibal's house (which he and Jono are very happy to have back), Monday evening

[sharp_as_knives]

Anyone who thought Hannibal wasn't going to celebrate things being back to normal by bathing, getting a manicure, dressing his best, playing the harpsichord, and then cooking just about everything in the pantry really didn't know him.

Of course, all that food needed an audience, didn't it?

So, flyers were going up all day long (courtesy of NPCs other people):

Come eat, drink, and relax while the world's not ending!
22 Phoenix Place, tonight

Because some others might want to talk or just be together and reassure themselves things were better.

And some people coped by cooking.



[Open post! No OCD. Moddable food, but tons of it, along with plenty to drink for those that need it after last week.]

Comments

[furnaceface]

Jono mostly intended to just hide in the kitchen the entire time, if people actually showed up. It wasn't that he didn't like people. It was more that he didn't have it in him to be decent to most of them at present. People were exhausting, and he was already exhausted. Sitting in the kitchen cradling a hot mug of coffee in his hands whether he could drink it or not was just about his speed.

Bonus points for the kitten on the floor.

//So, what'll you do with the leftovers if everyone is too busy crying in a ball tonight to attend?//

Seemed like a 'crying in a ball' kind of day.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal shrugged and fashioned another prosciutto rose. "I suppose I can find somewhere to gift them, especially at this time of year."

The homeless would never eat better.

"Of course, I shall also despair of the coping mechanisms of everyone here."

He finished that platter and went to set it out, rubbing Jono's shoulder as he passed.

[furnaceface]

//Eh, there are worse ways to cope with trauma than by being a homebody,// Jono replied, shrugging. //... In a ball.//

There were still worse ways.

//So, what's on th'menu today, anyway?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Possibly." Hannibal shrugged. "But not being curled into a ball is better."

He came back to the kitchen and stood close against Jono, one arm draped over him, looking over his works in progress. "So far, watermelon and prosciutto roses; pork tenderloin crostini with cranberry pepper jelly; pumpkin carrot soup with coconut cream; and smoked salmon, caper, and dill crostini. Along with a large amount of crudités," he added wryly. "I needed to cut things."

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded, listing sideways slightly so that he could lean in close to Hannibal.

//Days like this you have me half-tempted to go out back and hit a hard-reset on my body,// he decided, looking at the food. //Anyway, it'd get rid of that pain in my neck I had ever since Saturday.//

When he'd been held upside-down and shaken, yes.

[sharp_as_knives]

Think of it as a chiropractic session.

With Cecil's skill.

"Would you like a massage later? I can see if it will help."

[furnaceface]

//... Have I mentioned lately how you're my favourite?//

That would be a 'yes, please.' That right there.

[crimson_sister]

What better way was there to reassure herself that things were better than one of Dr Lecter's dinners? Lucille arrived early, after having taken a long bath, and looked forward both to the company and the food.

Well, some of the company. It depended on who showed up.

[SP, but Lucille really wants to be here]

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal, at least, would be there. And was pleased to see her.

"Lucille, please come in." He smiled and stood aside to take her coat. "You're a little early, I'm afraid; do you mind watching me cook?"

[crimson_sister]

Dr Lecter counted as very good company, as always, or Lucille wouldn't have showed up at all.

"I would love to," she said, letting Hannibal take her coat. "And I apologize if my being early is inconvenient. I will be happy to help should you need me to."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I may take you up on that, if you don't mind running dishes to the salon." Which would keep her from being grumped at by Jono without making Jono move.

"Tea?" he asked.

[crimson_sister]

"I don't mind." Lucille smiled, unaware of the risk of being grumped at. "And tea would be lovely, thank you."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal had the water hot already, and took just a moment to make up a bag of earl grey and set it to steep.

The kitchen, under anybody else, would have been chaos. As this was Hannibal, it was neatly organized chaos. There were a number of trays nearly ready to go out, four dishes in progress with the platters waiting on them, and coffee (and now tea) brewing.

"I'm pleased to see you have come through yet another of the island's whims," he said to Lucille. "This one was more brutal than many."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot had briefly considered going to look for Hannibal during his office hours. His reaction this weekend had been more severe than he'd experienced in a long time, and the fact that it was in the middle of a scene that could quite literally have come out of his nightmares hadn't helped anything at all. He knew himself well enough to know he was going to have to talk to a professional about it sooner rather than later but -- Hannibal wasn't it. Eliot still didn't trust him. And the fact that he still couldn't put his finger on why wasn't helping that situation any.

But. He also hadn't seen Hannibal -- this Hannibal -- at all during the whole thing. He'd seen the other universe's Hannibal around the park's safe zone a time or two, but only from a distance. So he was checking in.

[sharp_as_knives]

Now, Eliot. Hannibal was the perfect non-judgmental professional to go to! He'd even give good advice! Probably.

"Eliot." Hannibal smiled as he opened the door. "I'm pleased to see you. Please, come in."

[vdistinctive]

"Doc," Eliot greeted with a nod. "Glad you're in one piece. Shoulda figured you'd have one of your dinner parties goin' on today."

[sharp_as_knives]

"I try to manage one whenever people may want to decompress after a thing like last week," Hannibal answered.

He smiled and waved towards the tables. "Also, I may have needed to cook a bit."

[vdistinctive]

Eliot snorted. "Can blame for that, man. I ended up with three different chilis and about half a dozen pies, myself."

[sharp_as_knives]

"Not a bad coping mechanism, if I do say so myself," Hannibal said. "But as I have no diner to gift with the fruits of my labor, we have this."

He nodded toward the drinks table. "Beer or coffee? Or I have some very good spirits."

[notamascot]

"Did the world end again while I was gone?" Kaylin asked. She looked like ten miles of bad road, dark circles under her eyes and even thinner than usual. "I'm never sure if I'm happy or upset that I miss all the excitement."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal looked her over. "Neither, I think, in this case, as you look as though you've been through much of the same. Sit down; I'll get you food. And first aid, or are you whole?"

[notamascot]

She waved a hand at him, but didn't object to either the sitting or the food. "No, I'm fine, or well, at least not hurt. Just a... a really complicated healing."

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded and went to fetch a plate. He came back a few minutes later with an assortment of meat, fish, and vegetable dishes piled on it, and a glass of water in the other hand.

He set it down on the table by Kaylin's elbow and took the seat on the other side. "How did it go?"

[notamascot]

"She's alive." Kaylin's face brightened even through the exhaustion. "And running around."

She was quiet for a moment as she picked at the food. She was hungry, but just so tired. Give her a minute though and she'll be digging in.

"She fell," Kaylin said. "Like down the stairs. Her back was broken and all the nerve things were wrong and she... she wasn't really there in her body and mind, you know?" She looked up at Hannibal anxiously to see if he understood. "My mind had to kind of go looking for hers after I fixed all the body stuff."

And then she'd collapsed unconscious for two days, but hey, all that mattered was that the little girl was okay.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Nerve and brain damage and a coma," Hannibal translated. "Well, Ms Neya, you have done me one better, I see. Modern medicine in my time cannot reliably wake anyone from a coma. And now I wonder what you might have been able to do had you been here this last week."

Apart from likely kill herself trying to heal everyone.