The Creepy, Once-More-Unduly-Filled-With-Children Mansion in the Woods, Saturday

[deathsmajesty]

Liliana had spent the night in Innistrad; the geistmage she'd borrowed from Olivia had wanted to get some preliminary readings and measurements from the Chain Veil. While the night had been long and tedious, the following morning (late morning, to be sure) saw her Planeswalking home again, full of smiles and empty of stomach. Her staff at the estate had offered to make her breakfast before she'd left, but she'd waved them off. After all, she was certain to return home to a paramour cooking up brunch in the kitchen, and why ruin her appetite for that?

Her blithe assurance of how her day was going to go crashed around her ears when she swept into the (oddly quiet and scentless) kitchen, with a cheerful "My darling, what culinary delights have you prepared for my delectation this morning, I'm positively starved!" only to find a child sitting in her breakfast nook.

Specifically, the child her paramour had once been, and had returned to for the weekend.

"Bloody hell," she said, looking at the sandy-haired young boy with undisguised dismay. "This island's timing and humor are atrocious."

[For the gentleman, of course, but also open for any wandering adults and children because a Liliana-run daycare sounds hilarious.]

Comments

[sharp_man]

"That would be lovely, thank you," Hannibal answered. He would have preferred to plate it himself, but it would be rude to refuse the help.

"Theremin is an electric instrument. It has two antennae, and you move your hands around them to create the music." He gestured to demonstrate. "One controls pitch and one controls tone."

[deathsmajesty]

"Fascinating," Liliana said. "However did you learn to play such a thing, darling? And why?"

[sharp_man]

"Because it was interesting and I could," Hannibal answered, chuckling. "Why not?"

[deathsmajesty]

"The perfect answer!" Liliana said with a laugh. "I couldn't have replied better."

In due time, the steward returned, the meal plated not in the way that Hannibal would have, of course, but still with elegance and taste.

"Oooh, crepes! Delicious."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal gave her a little bow. "I do my best. You should visit sometime and I can show you the instrument." He gave a little hum. "I really do need to have a dinner party again."

[deathsmajesty]

"Are you having another dinner party for the holiday?" Liliana asked, helping herself to tea and crepes, though she did, of course, pour a cup for Hannibal as well.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal grinned. "The answer to that, I think, is yes. But which one? There are so many this time of year."

[deathsmajesty]

"Well, I have fond memories of your dinner party for Thanksgiving last year," Liliana said. "Your tour gave me ideas for our own renovations and Ignis and I played a lovely game of billiards."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal nodded. "Thanksgiving it is. A favorite of mine, as it revolves around food." He lifted his tea in a toast. "Look for the invitation."

[deathsmajesty]

She returned his toast before lifting it to her mouth. "I shall inform Ignis of our plans once he is the proper age to appreciate them," she said with a laugh.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal chuckled in turn. "Is it terribly awkward having your paramour as a child? There were times when my husband was adult while I was young, but never the other way around. It's refreshing for me not to have been hit with this."

[deathsmajesty]

"I don't think I knew you were married," Liliana noted with another sip as she ladled toppings onto her crepe. She didn't bother holding back or sticking to polite proportions; Liliana took what she liked as she liked it. "If anything, I'm grateful that I was away Friday night and only returned this morning. I don't sleep in much and that truly would have been an awkward awakening. It is difficult, for a number of reasons - including my lack of welcome home brunch - but it's also quite adorable. A new avenue to learn about him. Though hard to remember sometimes that he is not a time-displaced child and the things I tell him now won't actually help in the troubles he endured as a youth, oddly enough."

[sharp_man]

It was always good to see his food enjoyed; that was its purpose.

"My husband passed away. It's a shame; he was truly spectacular. But yes, the only times he was a child, I was also."

Hannibal shook his head. "It is a shame we can't learn things and bring them back with us. If nothing else, I would have a head start on learning English."