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

[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."

[crimson_sister]

Lucille couldn't help thinking of what Dr Lecter's reaction to the kitchen in Allerdale Hall would be. It would hardly liv up to his standards.

"Then I will be well prepared in the future, at least," she said, waiting for the tea to brew.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately - it rarely repeats itself, and being prepared for one may mean little in the future. How did you fare with this one?"

[crimson_sister]

"I was hungry, but no worse than that," Lucille said. Unless you counted meeting Kathy. "I did not meet a monstrous version of myself."

The monstrous Lucille had been busy elsewhere.

[sharp_as_knives]

"You were perhaps luckier than some others," Hannibal said. "Although it was quite interesting, meeting another version of myself."

[crimson_sister]

Dr Lecter was brave in that he could face such a thing with curiosity rather than fear.

"What was this other version like?"

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal thought about it. "He was very...focused. Determined." Vicious.

[crimson_sister]

"There was very little to take pleasure in," Lucille said. The other qualities were ones that she already associated with Dr Lecter.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Yes," Hannibal agreed. "It was a harsh place, and had made everybody somewhat harsher to compensate."

[crimson_sister]

"That is what harsh places usually do, I suppose," Lucille said.

[sharp_as_knives]

"You adapt or you fail," Hannibal said. "In a harsh environment, that may mean becoming harsh yourself."

[crimson_sister]

"Do you think that there is ever reason to resist that?" Lucille asked.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I think there are very rarely absolutes," Hannibal answered. "I believe that normally adapting is a good thing, but keeping true to yourself is also very important. To what extent you do each may be dictated by the situation you find yourself in."

[crimson_sister]

"And your other self?" Lucille asked. "Do you think this is what he did?"