Will sat up, surprised to find himself not running. There was no screaming around him like normal, but the house, though uncleaned, was devoid of any bodies or blood. Just echoing silence in the, suddenly empty, space. Will had almost gotten used to stepping over flesh in his nightmares, never having shoes, and the wood beneath his feet felt strange as Will walked around his house. Will walked around for a few moments before the solitude was getting to him and he began to look outside, sure he would see blood and bodies yet actually seeing none. Will ran outside to be certain, and in the imaginary field so like his own yet not, with additions from Ripper murder scenes, the fence just one example of many he could see in the distance. Will wondered the surrounding area, always keeping his house in visual range as he scouted and searched with a hunters silence for the Stag he knew to be somewhere near.
Will couldn't really say why he was following the blood and bodies rather than thanking any deity possible for the slight peace, but Will was quickly finding complete solitude to be his biggest fear, having no others around to feel, including his dogs, left Will with only himself to analyze over and over. Will had already learned some troubling facts about himself, his own seemingly budding obsession with his intrusive non-therapist and now he was hunting for a nightmarish Stag that was really just the Ripper in disguise, the empath shaking his head at himself even as his steps remained steadfast in his pursuit. It wasn't long before he found himself before the very cavern he had been led to before, first sitting in the field surrounding the cave before steadily inching closer until he stood literally at the precipice of darkness. He could feel heat coming from the caverns depths, along with a repugnant smell that pervaded the immediate area and no doubt kept the place devoid of any other creature than the Stag. As Will continued to think he saw movement in the shadows before him, a great rack being seen and nothing else in the dark. It sat far enough in that Will could barely see its figure but still knew it to be there.
"Hello?" Will called lightly, still unwilling to step forward.
The rack moved yet again, lowering to the ground slowly, like a bow, before raising back up but remaining in the caverns depths, Will having no choice but to step forward if he wanted to reach it. It stomped its hoof once, and Will knew the creature to still be angry with him, Will seating himself on the floor before speaking again.
"I'm sorry I was rude, and thank you for getting those things out of my house."
This seemed to please the creature as it moved forward slightly before stopping just at the edge of darkness, Will on the edge of the light and though he could see the blood red eyes of the beast staring at him both refused to move forward. Will shuddered as he heard the faint sounds of screaming coming from inside the caverns depths, and it was the only thing that kept Will feeling sane at the moment, kept him from moving forward.
As he backed away slightly, his feet moving unevenly and his head spinning, Will heard the annoyed pant come from the creature. He shook his head to regain his vision, sitting down in the empty field and feeling alone as the Stag walked back into the dark cavern. Will stuttered in breaths, gripping his skull and shaking it yet again to remove the crazy that had led him outside the relative safety of the house, before he stood and turned to make his way back. Only to come face to face with Hobbs and Abigail, standing side by side not two inches from his face. Will jumped back in surprise as Hobbs pulled out a knife and Abigail held her neck high for her father to slice open without a sound, Will finding himself unable to move as she bled out, blue eyes locking with his before fading.
"See." Hobbs said angrily, not even looking at his daughters corpse as he rose the blade at Will. "See!"
Will took a step back, only to feel himself be enshrouded by the darkness of the cavern and cold claws reach up to grip just below his shoulders. Will struggled in the grip but was easily detained and as he looked up he saw Hobbs rushing at him, blade raised and the dead man yelling with all his might, "SEE!"
Will jerked forward on the couch, wondering for a moment what had happened as he ran his hands through his hair and gazed around the room. He had gone in to see Hannibal, was convinced to follow the man, and he couldn't remember beyond that. Will narrowed his eyes as he recalled the loophole he had left the man in drugging him and decided Hannibal must have been responsible. When he heard the shifting of a pan in the kitchen Will followed the noise, silently stomping into the room with a single minded focus and coming up behind the doctor, the mans shoulders tensing in response. Hannibal turned to face an angry Will with narrowed eyes of his own at the mans attempt at sneaking up on him, but Will crossed his arms and didn't back down.
"Did you put something in my drink." Will used one of Hannibal's own tactics, demanding an answer instead of asking a question.
Hannibal turned back to check on the roast and mix the sauce before indulging the fuming empath, not even looking at Will as he spoke. "No. You have simply not been sleeping for the past week according to agent Crawford, and proven by the fact you nearly fell asleep whilst driving here."
Will deflated almost instantly. He had forgotten he had been avoiding sleep for the past week, maybe getting a few hours at most, and a majority of that time being five minute cat naps when he became literally too exhausted to stand. Will turned around, scratching at his curls and curling his socked toes on the cool white tiles, only just noticing that Hannibal had removed his shoes and coat, let him sleep and was now cooking him dinner for what seemed like the hundredth time. Will sighed at himself, thinking he may be more similar to Shimens than he had thought and twisted around to apologize only to find himself pulled into a hug. Will tensed at the unexpected contact but curled his arms around Hannibal's back and whispered, "Sorry," from his place leaning against the mans shoulder.
"Do not think on it Will," Hannibal said, leaning his cheek down upon Wills head and digging the hand not wrapped around his Will into the empath's curls for a moment before fully releasing him.
Hannibal then handed Will two cloth napkins, folded into miniature swans "please put these on the table, and then you can assist me if you like."
Will shuffled out to do as told, finally noticing the decorative format of the table, with two spots set and candles laid out, already lit around the room. Will sighed again, before he walked back to 'assist' the chef, more concerned with destroying Hannibal's meticulously created masterpiece than anything. But before that Will had one demand.
"Hannibal."
"Hmm?" Hannibal responded as he chopped up what looked to be carrot, sweet potato, and pumpkin, sliding them into a pan and adding a dash of something that lit the pan ablaze for a moment, Hannibal flipping the contents easily before adding some spices and dousing the flame.
Will watched the orchestra of movement for a moment, admiring how each step was planned and perfectly coordinated with all others, nothing out of step in the fluid motions, before finally speaking.
"Give me your word you won't put anything in my drink ever again." Will stated, sitting at the kitchen table.
"...I will not." Hannibal replied after a moments thought, Will sputtering cutely and Hannibal smiling lightly at the picture. "I would never do so to any meal, and I shall give you my word that I will never place anything in your drink without making you aware, but it seems you only remain in your bed when forced to and as such I will do so if and when necessary."
This, of course, left several large exploitation's available to Hannibal, in that what was necessary to him and medically necessary was not always the same thing, as well as the fact that he didn't have to make Will knowledgeable before he had ingested the necessary drug, medically or otherwise. Will, however, seemed to overlook this and rolled his eyes but looked away in agreement anyway as he knew very well his own tendencies and thought that perhaps the drugs would help. Hannibal removed the roast from the oven, placing it on a rack over a pan to catch the drippings and slicing pieces of a section of roasted leg of a barber who had grossly overcharged him, skin peeled off to look not unlike beef.
Will turned away and fiddled his twitching fingers on the surface as Hannibal watched.
"Will." Hannibal called him and Will turned back to face in his direction without looking at the doctor.
"Please hand me the bowls." He asked, but really didn't, of Will.
Will grabbed the bowls placed on his table and handed them to Hannibal, who in turn placed them next to the stove before he offered a hand, palm up, to Will's lowered vision and held it there until the empath moved forward to stand next to him. He then guided his Will to mix the dish on the stove while Hannibal continued slicing bits of the roast off until he reached the bone, placing it in a pot in the sink before turning back to Will.
"Now," Hannibal called his Will from the complete focus held on the vegetable mixture, "the meat is sliced and needs to be shredded, and the sauce you are creating requires the juices."
Will nodded as Hannibal poured the pan of juices from the roast over the mixture, brushing Wills shoulder as he did so, and pulled away to urge Will back into stirring the bubbling mix. Hannibal turned down the heat before grabbing some meat shredders and pulling apart the roasted leg meat of the barber until it was in loose strands, placing them on the pan that held the juices and putting that back in the cooling oven to keep warm. He checked over Wills shoulder and allowed him to continue mixing needlessly as he pulled out two decorative spinach salads from the fridge, already made with his own light sprinkling of 'bacon' bits, or barber bits was more accurate, on top and handed them to Will.
"You may place these on the dinner table Will." Hannibal said, placing a hand on Will's back and ushering him out as he took the empaths place at the stove.
He mixed in some spices and added a light shaving of gouda before turning the element near completely off, mixing the dish around as it began to cool and ceased its bubbling, Hannibal satisfied with the amount of juice that had boiled off. After removing his apron, putting his jacket back on and checking the look of himself in the mirror, further straightening his tie, Hannibal followed Will into the dinning room just in time to witness the adorable sight of his Will attempting to lay the bowl down in the complete center of the place-mat, the man sighing at himself as he shifted it ever so slightly before backing away and taking notice of Hannibal's presence.
"Please have a seat." Hannibal suggested, pulling out a chair for Will and pushing it back in as the man took it, though obviously out of embarrassment by the look of him, not that Hannibal was adverse to the blush it brought to Wills cheeks.
Hannibal then lit the only remaining unlit candles, a tall pair mixed into the ornate decorations covering the table. Hannibal had chosen a red cloth for the evening, four small candles lighting the corners of the cherry wood, and the candles being the only source of light in the entire room besides the dimmed chandelier light. In the center of the table, in between Hannibal and Will was a littering of petals, some red, others black or white. Hannibal had then placed some sort of wreath or garland, real by the look and smell, around in a wide oval. The two tall candles stood in the garland at the edges, allowing the pair full view of each other over a mass of tangling reed-like plants that served as a base for the centerpiece. A small table, nearly buried in the plant base, that held a fairly small cornucopia bursting in an ordered fashion with all real gourds, leaves from various trees and some holding fresh looking berries. There were large walnuts and other nuts Will couldn't distinguish spread over the area, and even for Hannibal it seemed over the top to Will.
"Thank you Hannibal, but really, this is way too much." Will scratched at his curls as he looked over the amount of work put into what lay before him and wondered how long he had been sleeping.
"Not at all Will," Hannibal replied lightly, "it is my absolute pleasure to feed you, especially since it seems you do not feed yourself well enough."
"I...I just don't get hungry often I guess." Will tried to reply as lightly, but Hannibal was far better at the underlying criticism than Will was at avoiding it.
"Yes, well I hope you are hungry tonight." Hannibal swept out a hand in presentation, going for a bottle of wine placed on a shelf covered with candles and filling both his as well as Wills glass before taking a seat. "We begin with a light spinach, goat cheese, and pecan salad."
Hannibal rose a glass, Will following suit and just as they met Hannibal said with a smile, "To you."
Will blushed at the attention before raising his own slightly and murmuring, "To your cooking," before drinking, though cooking was putting it lightly. As though there was any comparison between cooking and the art that Hannibal performed.
Hannibal smiled at that, a quirk of the lips really but something Will found more real than most of the huge fake smiles presented to him everyday by those who thought, misguidedly that Will couldn't read it or feel it on the person. Crawford especially looked at him like a lab rat when he thought Will wasn't paying attention, a tool used for his own purposes, but would smile with a gaping of teeth and pat Will on the back after the man had tore his own mind apart enough to get what the agent needed. Alana looked at him like a kicked puppy, and moved around him with a caution that aggravated Will to no end, unable to fully ignore the sorrowful gaze beneath the woman's bright looking smile. Katz and Zeller looked at him like he was crazy, keeping an eye on him at all times like he would suddenly leap at them or try to take their research, and Will was certain that Zeller in particular saw him as a murderer waiting to snap, which honestly bothered Will the least of the group as it was closest thing to being accurate.
Hannibal, on the other hand, reprimanded Will and scolded him but never pitied him, was never frightened by him, not that he had ever seen the man truly frightened. The closest thing was relieved when Hannibal learned Will was not in fact murdered by Tobias Budge and was still with him but beyond that Hannibal was the one that treated Will with the most respect out of everyone.
The pair sat and ate the salad, Hannibal watching him take every bite and Will finally feeling the tole of not having eaten in a week and then some. He held himself back as best he could from just wiping out the plates contents and attempted to slow his pace to match Hannibal's, but moments later found himself again clacking silverware with, this time china, plates. Will internally reprimanded himself for the miscalculation before noticing Hannibal not even glancing at the dish, just watching Will eat and continuing his own meal at a leisurely pace. Eventually, once finished, Hannibal took Wills plate but brought the man with him to plate up the next dish.
"A rich cirque de la mer for the second course, known as circus of the sea for its classical pairing with fish, however, tonight we shall mix it with a more common American alternative, beef." Hannibal spoke as he flared up the vegetable mixture and pulled out the pulled apart barbers leg.
Will stood next to him as he showed the empath precisely how he was preparing their meal, having seen his Will staring at him in wonder during such escapades only making Hannibal all the happier to provide Will with such a show. Hannibal reached for some mass of stringy vegetables left on the counter and placed it next to the bowls. He then presented Will with the pan and instructed the male to put a light layering of non-beef strings on the bottom, after which he piled on the mixture with a slotted spoon to get simply the vegetables and not the juice. Hannibal then took over for the pageantry, adding a light drizzling of sauce in perfect lines across the dish, followed by a small bunching of shredded barber leg and a sprinkling of the stringy white vegetables, topping the dish with razor thin slices of onion, parsley and rosemary, handing the dish to Will and quickly recreating one for himself before following Will back to the dinning room.