Dr. Hannibal Lecter is ready for the labyrinth

[cook_the_rude]

The door opens, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter looks in.

The door closes again.

The door opens again, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter strides in, wearing sturdy clothing and sensible hiking shoes as well as carrying a small canvas rucksack.

From it, he takes some fruit and leaves them with the bar.







Then, he takes off his coat and has a coffee while he appears to wait for something.



[[meta: ep is open, but all other threads must happen before yrael]]

Comments

[cook_the_rude]

"I might have seen the House of Arch mentioned in some old notes on the board," Hannibal says, nodding.

[mogget_cat]

"You may very well have," replies the not'cat. "Both the lord and lady were visiting Milliways even before I first found my way here, and few from that time still visit."

[cook_the_rude]

"The ancient times and history of this timeless place seem shrouded in myth and vagueness," Hannibal muses. "How long, by your own count, have you been coming here?"

[mogget_cat]

"By my own reckoning, thirty-three years. As time is reckoned in the bar, a mere nine."

[cook_the_rude]

"Time lines must get a bit complex here," Hannibal says. "I take it that thirty-three years aren't all that long for your own time line, though?"

[mogget_cat]

"A drop in a very large bucket," Yrael answers, amused, lapping at the bowl of cream. "Though a Free Magic creature's existence is less dependent on time than that of a mortal being."

[cook_the_rude]

"That would mean you're not bound to it as linearly as we are?" Hannibal guesses.

[mogget_cat]

"In some ways, yes," he replies. "The lack definite chronological beginnings and ends is the most significant difference."

[cook_the_rude]

"Can you go back, or skip forwards through a particularly boring century?" Hannibal asks.

[mogget_cat]

"I cannot go back, though I have skipped through many a boring century by sleeping through it."

[cook_the_rude]

"Your feline affiliation is clearly visible," Hannibal smiles.

[mogget_cat]

"Plain as the whiskers on my face, perhaps," mwrrs the not'cat, amused.

[cook_the_rude]

"I wish I could do that..." Hannibal muses.

[mogget_cat]

"Much better to seek out more interesting centuries and avoid the boring ones, if one can," Yrael smiles. "I am growing quite fond of early twenty-first century Earth, for example."

[cook_the_rude]

"That is where I am from," Hannibal says, smiling. "I am glad to hear I live in interesting times."

[mogget_cat]

"Earth is a far more varied and interesting place than the world from which I came here. There are few miles of the Old Kingdom I have not already seen, few towns that offer sufficient distraction, and much of the land has grown wild and untamed in the Interregnum."

That isn't to say that the King and Abhorsen haven't been doing much to reverse the damage.

"I rarely return. But even by itself among the many worlds, Earth offers a multitude of entertainments."

It's a starting place, at least.

[cook_the_rude]

"That it does indeed," Hannibal agrees.

[mogget_cat]

"Some years ago, a friend of mine gave me a permanent door to the city of New Orleans in her version of Earth, in exchange for services rendered. It is a city whose culture greatly appeals to me."

Being a solid mixture of music, magic, death, and fresh seafood. The people are nice, too.

[cook_the_rude]

"An interesting gift," Hannibal says. "And an interesting city, especially for music and fresh seafood. I try to avoid the tipsy tourists when I go. They tend to be rude."

[mogget_cat]

"Thankfully, their numbers are greatly reduced in seasons other than the time surrounding Mardi Gras. The local people are much more worthy of knowing."

He likes their spirit.

"Of course, however much I visit and however involved I am in the local music scene, I am still a tourist, myself. Just from much further away than most."

[cook_the_rude]

"But you're not likely to stagger around the French Quarter drunk and obnoxious, wearing silly hats," Hannibal says, smiling.

[mogget_cat]

"Of course not," the cat grins back, over the rim of the bowl. "I own no silly hats."

He also doesn't stagger around the French Quarter drunk and obnoxious (or at least not too obnoxious, and never to anyone who matters), either.

"I much prefer to be inside the buildings of the French Quarter, enjoying the music and the food, or performing, myself."

[cook_the_rude]

"What other instrument do you play, apart from piano and harpsichord?" Hannibal enquiries. "Now jazz on a harpsichord would of course be very interesting. If Alice Coltrane played jazz on a harp, why not a harpsichord? But most venues aren't likely to have one."

[mogget_cat]

"And they are not known for their portability."

The Bright Shiner carrying one down New Orleans streets would cause comment, at least, and it would need tuning when it arrived.

"Apart from the piano and the harpsichord, I play the violin, the guitar, the recorder, occasionally the cello, and I sing," he answers.

[cook_the_rude]

"Quite a variety," Hannibal says. "I have a theremin, in addition to my harpsichord. We should try a jam session, as my instrument is inherently free-form."