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]

Hannibal had heard radio and realized it was one of those weekends, though it seemed to have passed over him this time.

He was tempted to cook and let the scent draw in children, but then he realized he had neighbors now that might benefit from food if they were small. (And he would bet that a small Liliana was adorable.)

So he made a good number of crepes with all sorts of fillings, along with a thermos of coffee for himself, and headed over.

Knock knock!

[deathsmajesty]

For the record? A tiny Liliana absolutely was. Not just adorable. Precious.

However, there was not a tiny Liliana waiting for him in the parlor when he was shown in by her zombie steward, but the same Liliana that he already knew, strumming her lyre, though she set it aside when he came in.

"Blind Eternities, thank you," she said when she saw him. "Another adult. No offense, Hannibal darling, but I truly don't believe I have ever been quite so glad to see you."

[sharp_man]

Hannibal chuckled. "No offense taken. I come bearing food as well, if that helps. I anticipated everybody else being children."

He gestured at the lyre. "I wasn't aware you were musical as well. My own talents lean more towards harpsichord than harps."

[deathsmajesty]

"Oooh, food!" Liliana said. "Even not being a child, I appreciate the delivery. My normal chef has yet to attain the age wherein his passion for cooking...sparked."

Heh, heh. Just a little Planeswalker humor there, for you.

"And yes, I play." She held out the lyre Ignis had commissioned for him to examine. It was exquisitely crafted in a smooth wood stained a deep, rich purple, the intricate detailing of wispy ferns and irises sprouting along the edges in black and gold, shimmering strings stretched taut over the soundhole in the center, shaped in the suggestion of a skull. "Before I was Death's Majesty - or even Death's Bride - I was Liliana, eldest daughter of House Vess. A musical education was demanded - for all of us, actually. I learned the lyre. And then, much later, the piano." She gestured for him to take a seat, returning to reclining on her divan. "Please, darling, relax. May I offer you tea? Coffee?"

Again, they were going to be low of refreshments, what with the lack of Ignis, but she could be make an excellent cup of tea and mug of coffee.

[sharp_man]

Hannibal examined the lyre closely. "It's lovely. I play harpsichord and piano myself, as well as theremin." He sat and waved at his thermal bag. "I would not say no to a cup of tea. Where would you like me to serve the food?"

[deathsmajesty]

"A theremin?" Liliana asked. "And if you don't mind, my steward will be happy to take it off your hands and set it up in the kitchen for the great devouring."

While, of course, bringing several portions back via tray tables, so the adults could eat in peace.

[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."