Intruder

Hannibal awoke to a crash from downstairs. His eyes flicked open and he stayed perfectly still, listening. When he heard another bang, he quickly sat up and reached over onto his bedside table and slid his scalpel out from its hiding place under his alarm clock. With the cold metal held tightly in his fist, he stood up and made is way towards the door.

Hannibal stepped as lightly as he could, and after living in his house for so long, he was able to avoid all of the areas where the floorboards creaked. He silently descended down the staircase and stopped at the bottom, waiting to make his move.

Another clatter came from Hannibal's kitchen, followed by a wet sound that he couldn't identify. He moved quickly and strode over to stalk just around the corner of the kitchen entrance. There was a tapping sound on the linoleum and Hannibal waited until the sound came closer. Once they were within range, Hannibal swung around the bend to attack.

However, what Hannibal didn't expect was for his intruder to be so low to the ground, standing on four legs and covered in matted fur. Hannibal stumbled forward a few steps before regaining his balance and turning to face the filthy canine.

The dog was mostly a golden and white color, with flecks of gray thrown in. That is, of course, minus all the mud and grime caked into its coat. It was relatively thin, which was to be expected from a stray, and it had piercing blue eyes. The animal stared Hannibal down for a few moments before turning around and padding over to the kitchen counter.

On four legs, the dog was about two and a half feet tall, but when it jumped up and rested its front two paws on the granite surface, it stood over four feet. Hannibal was then able to quickly identify the wet sound as the canine's tongue smearing against his countertop.

Hannibal glared down at it with distaste before reluctantly walking over to it, careful to avoid the broken dishes that the animal had caused to fall and break apart. At least that explained all the crashes he'd heard. He stared down at the dog that, in turn, got off the counter and sat back on its haunches, gazing expectantly up at him. Hannibal nudged it with his foot.

"Go."

The dog backed up a step before sitting down again.

Hannibal huffed and exited the kitchen, walking over towards the front door. He whistled, and surprisingly the dog perked up from the other room and ran over. Hannibal opened the door, allowing the cool night wind to blow in. He nudged the dog again.

"Get out, go."

The dog whined, but didn't leave.

Hannibal did a quick examination, checking the dog's eyes, claws, and teeth. It was dirty and uncared for, but not infected with anything. Hannibal sighed before bending down and manually forcing the animal out of the door. He disregarded the dog's pleading gaze and shut the door. He brushed any fur off of his nightshirt before turning to go back to bed.

Before Hannibal could get very far, a high pitched howl loud enough to wake up the entire country sounded from outside. This, of course, was followed by rough scratches on Hannibal's wooded front door.

Hannibal sighed and checked the clock. 3:07 p.m. He waited until 3:31, but the howling continued. He clenched his jaw in irritation, but he still went back downstairs and opened the front door. The last thing he wanted was a bunch of complaints from his neighbors and to have to replace a damaged door.

The animal happily jogged in, running around the corner and into the living room before settling itself on the couch. Hannibal fought the urge to kill the dog right there, and he instead walked over to the phone. He was hesitant when he'd checked the time, but after hearing the dog jump down off the couch only to run over and knock down one of his priceless artworks, he dialed the number.

"Hello?" Will's voice was groggy and it wavered when he spoke. Hannibal assumed it was another nightmare-filled slumber.

"Sorry to bother you at this hour, Will," Hannibal apologized.

Will took a moment to respond, his half-conscious mind unable to react to the conversation just yet. "Uh, yeah it's fine. Is something wrong?"

"I was wondering if I could have your assistance, it appears that a stray dog has found its way into my house." Hannibal explained.

"A dog?" Will asked, every ounce of weariness disappearing from his voice. "I'll be over as soon as I can."

oOo

Hannibal waited the hour that it took for Will to drive over from Wolf Trap, nearly helpless against the wild canine that seemed intent on knocking over absolutely everything in the house. Hannibal sighed in relief when he finally heard a knock on the door.

"Thank you again for coming," Hannibal greeted when he opened the door, letting Will inside.

Will smiled quickly at Hannibal before brushing past him and walking further into the house. "No problem, where's the dog?"

Hannibal followed Will into the living room, an amused smile on his face when he saw the man light up and run towards the canine.

"She looks like a mix between a golden retriever and a husky. She seems pretty healthy, too, despite being underweight," Will informed.

Hannibal didn't really care about the creature, and at this point he just wanted it out of his house. "Alright. She's all yours."

Will crouched down beside the dog to pet it, and it immediately rolled onto its back. Will smiled before turning back to the psychiatrist. "She came into your house, you should keep her."

Hannibal raised an eyebrow. "I assure you, I have no interest in caring for that animal."

Will shrugged. "I mean, I'd love to have her, she's adorable. Shouldn't you at least name her? I owe you that since you're the one who saved her."

Hannibal huffed. "I didn't save it from anything, it broke into my house and wouldn't leave me alone."

Will was persistent. "Either way, I think you should name her. I've named seven dogs already, and this one should be special to you."

Hannibal glared at the dog. "Fine. She shall be called Nuisance because that is what she is."

Will grinned and rolled his eyes. "Come on, Dr. Lecter. You can do better than that."

"No I cannot. Besides, what better is a name than one that fits her personality?" Dr. Lecter argued.

Will stood up from petting the dog and walked over to Hannibal, locking eyes for as long as he could withstand it. "She's not a nuisance. She's a dog; you can't expect her to obey all your household rules, at least not without some training. Now think, what's something you really care about? If you give her a name that you love and you'll come to love her."

Hannibal was quiet for a few long minutes before looking down into the dog's light blue eyes. He had to admit, the animal was slightly adorable. "Mischa," Hannibal stated, turning back towards Will. "Now take her back to your house."

oOo

Hannibal woke up to a heavy weight on his chest. He opened his eyes to see a pile of fur staring back at him. He was positive Will had taken her back to Virginia, so why was she here? Hannibal raised his hand up and stroked the animal, its coat now clean. She leaned into his touch, her tongue flicking out to lick his arm.

She had a new collar on, and Hannibal assumed she'd obtained it from when Will had her. Attached to the back of the collar, in Will's distinct handwriting, was a note that read:

Mischa wanted to go home