Hannibal

[poison_isley]

She should have probably gotten a dog. It'd make her look less suspicious as she wandered through these gardens, admiring plants and perking things up on the dreary February day. The white house with all the glass wasn't really her taste, but somehow they had some healthy pampas planted at the edge of the estate and she couldn't believe how it was thriving.

The green woman in the tight black jeans and a black motorcycle jacket reached up to touch the feathery fronds and smiled.

The smile fell the second she heard the door of the house open. She shot a look at the man and it took her a beat longer than normal to decide if he was a threat or not. Hand on the ornamental grass, the whole plant began to twitch and grow.

Comments

[poison_isley]

"Well...I've been kind of bored. And the weather's easing up," she said.

And the news was just starting to die down about the Ravenscar escape.

[anamusebouche]

"It is, yes," Hannibal agreed, looking to the clouds. Spring was most certainly in the air. "Would you like to join me for tea? Outside, of course."

[poison_isley]

"Who even are you?" she asked, slowly unfurling a little as he gently welcomed her in. It was a rare thing to not find someone adversarial right off the bat. Ivy moved closer, bit by bit.

[anamusebouche]

"I'm Hannibal," Hannibal said politely, not giving her the intimidation of a title or even a last name. "And your reputation precedes you, Dr. Isley."

[poison_isley]

"Y- you can call me Ivy," she offered. It was only fair. Even though it gave her the warmest little tingle, hearing her title.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal extended a hand, both to shake hers and to invite her to step further into the garden. She was clearly shaken by simple manners and it spoke volumes about how she'd been treated in her life.

[poison_isley]

She carefully took his hand and walked along, everything growing a little greener, a little healthier in her wake.

"You really do have a nice garden," she said.

[anamusebouche]

"Thank you," Hannibal replied. "I have to admit, I've only just moved in. I'm still redecorating the interior and I haven't done anything about the garden yet."

[poison_isley]

"You've got time. You really shouldn't disturb the ground for another few weeks," she told him. "It's only just starting to get going for spring. Be patient."

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal nodded to her advice. "Thank you, I will take that into account."

He gestured to the lounge set on the patio. "Please, have a seat. We'll stay outside, if you don't mind. The interior isn't ready to receive any guests yet. Tea?"

[poison_isley]

"Tea would be really nice, yeah," she nodded, taking in all the plantings. Whoever had designed this garden really knew their plants.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal left her there for a moment and went inside. He prepared a tea pot and and filled the filter with a jasmine and herbal blend, venturing the guess she was that type of woman.

He came back with a tray, carrying a glass tea pot with the filter in it, and two large glass tea cups and caught her examining his plants.

"I'm thinking of hiring a gardener," he admitted as he joined her.

[poison_isley]

"Whoever did the original design knew what they were doing. Everything is complimentary, and situated right for the best sun. Great job," she praised, warm and genuine.

[anamusebouche]

"Unfortunately, the previous owner passed away," Hannibal said, as he poured her tea. "I wouldn't know to who to pass on the compliment."

[poison_isley]

"Too bad," she said, not terribly upset to hear it.

"You'll want to find someone in the next week or so, or you'll never get into spring rotation with a good gardener..."

She looked fondly at a shriveled lobelia.

"...Or...I could do it," she offered, trying for casual. And nearly getting it, rather than desperate.

[anamusebouche]

"You escaped a psychiatric institution," Hannibal said, gently. "By turning a little patch of moss into a ravenous monster if the media is to be believed."

"There's a lot of moss here."

[poison_isley]

"I was kind of hoping there was less glyphosate and electroshock in landscaping," she said. "Gotta have a reason to bother making a monster."

The most minor of reasons, but some sort of reason.

[anamusebouche]

"Well, if you could refrain from that here, I would gladly employ you," Hannibal said. She was interesting and he liked keeping interesting things close.

[poison_isley]

"Employ? Sweetie, I don't need money," she laughed softly, suddenly much more at ease. "I'll happily come over to play, though."

Her gaze slid to the lobelia again and the dried plant began to fill out and green up a little. Nothing it couldn't handle yet, just a little encouragement.

[anamusebouche]

Hannibal nodded and decided to push a little more, to see how she would react. "In the spirit of honesty, I should probably tell you that I'm a psychiatrist. And while I don't condone the sort of treatment Ravenscar is infamous for, I think you deserve to know whose garden you are tending to."

[poison_isley]

"My best friend's a psychiatrist,"' Ivy said, a fond curl shaping her mouth. "You want to dig around in my daddy issues, though, you gotta pay me."

She laughed softly at that. Harls was really the only doctor who hadn't totally gotten off on what a shitshow her life was, from start to now.

[anamusebouche]

"No need for that," Hannibal said. "I can't deny feeling some professional curiosity about you, but nothing I can't restrain."

[poison_isley]

"If you know anything about Ravenscar, I'm sure you've got loads of professional curiosity going on," she said as she sipped her tea. THe blend was delicate and fresh and she thought a moment and took another sip.

"This is really good," she said in surprise. "This is a small farm, isn't it?"

[anamusebouche]

"My favourite," Hannibal said with a little nod. "It's a small shop called 'My Cup of Tea'. They blend whatever you ask for on the spot. And the owner is always looking for new flavours and olfactory experiences.

[poison_isley]

"Do you shop there for the tea or the friendship?" she asked. A normal person would say both, but she knew they'd be lying. It was always one or the other.