[log] It Goes Like This [closed]

[rubikscomplex]

Characters: Gregory House, Hannibal Lecter, and Will Graham
Location: Building 333, Building 320, Building 322, and Building 317
Date: Day 312, Day 315, Day 316
Summary: House, Hannibal, and Will traveling and searching around Residential Zone 3.
Warnings: Typical House and Hannibal-related warnings, child death/dismemberment, PTSD, discussion of torture

Comments

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal glances up with a slight smile in recognition that House has entirely dropped the act. Hannibal has long suspected that House's limp was less than honest, so the revelation of the truth is rather satisfying.

He slowly moves back, releasing Will's neck and arm, but remaining in a crouch near his friend, perhaps to help him, perhaps to be ready to incapacitate him again should the need arise.]

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ The minute he was released, Will rolled gracefully away and bounced upwards, a nimble action as he got into a defensive crouch.

Well. At least in his head that's how it went.

Reality was he did roll away from Hannibal, but from there he scrambled, half falling over his own limbs until he eventually fetched up against a way away from the other two men. There he crouched back, almost a cower as he watched them with blue eyes that glittered dangerously.

When no one (Hannibal) made any immediate movements towards him, Will turned to sit down, knees drawn up in a familiar pose. ]

I think someone in this room just violated the HIPAA act. [ He grumbled, mostly because Hannibal's assessment about Will's grip on reality was simply factual. Rude, but factual.

A breath and he peered at House. ] West Side Story ... really?

[rubikscomplex]

[When Will finally sits, House lowers his cane and leans on it, more out of habit than need, eyeing the ex-profiler.]

Well, I was gonna break out Cats, but "Macavity" seems more like it's Lecter's song than yours.

[tablewithoutpity]

You know that rules of confidentiality do not apply when there is imminent risk of harm to self or others. Considering your momentary lapse of reality led you to attack us, the latter was certainly in play.

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ It was the perfectly reasonable tone that Hannibal used when he said things like that, as much as the words themselves, that earned the doctor an irate look. House was getting a snapshot of part of what lead to Will ending up in the BHCI and Hannibal earning apology after apology from Jack Crawford and Alana Bloom. Hannibal's ability to speak from a position of absolute calm, reason and authority.

Huffing out another breath, Will speared his fingers through his hair and gave the fireplace a quick, side on glance. ]

I don't know why this is coming as any sort of surprise. [ He muttered, as if trying to explain away his own shocked reaction to the small, skeletal hands. ] This place is miserable.

[rubikscomplex]

[House shifts his gaze off of Will long enough to give Hannibal a 'Really?' look. Because really. Who's the guy trying to convince? Or is it just habit? House is going with habit... like his current leaning stance on the cane--something familiar and natural in spite of not needing it.]

You're just now realizing this place is miserable? Or are we playing a state the obvious game? That twine was tied around those bones after the kid died, not before. Shrink and profiler, I defer to your expertise on the 'why' outside of set dressing.

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal moved closer to Will, settling on the floor, changing his body language to make it clear to Will that he was no longer remaining ready to incapacitate. He trusted that Will was no longer a threat, and wanted to offer support.]

Could there have been some concern of postmortem reanimation?

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Will was still coming down from his rather spectacular break with reality and honestly both House and Hannibal were on his shit list. Mainly just for existing in his space and breathing his air.

He didn't draw away from Hannibal, but his hackles were definitely still on display. Will balled up, arms around his knees, forehead braced against them and he didn't immediately reply to either House or Hannibal's question. ]

This whole damn town appears to be one giant theater of cruelty. Hannibal's theory is as sound as any other.

[ Which was his way of agreeing with Hannibal's question, while still being a passive aggressive jerk. ]

[rubikscomplex]

I'm assuming anything that could reanimate a human body could pull the string off some bones.

[House isn't moving any closer. He's staying right here, thank you. People might make comments about his lack of self-preservation instinct, but he does actually have one on occasion, particularly when faced with immediate physical danger.]

And unless we're talking about Thing from the Addam's Family, a disembodied hand isn't gonna do much on its own. Those pesky door handles are so high up.

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal doesn't let Will's display of hackles cause him to withdraw. Instead, he moves even closer, a display of care and trust.]

A sacrifice of some sort, then? You've been here longer than I. Any mention of children and/or hands?

[ex_this_ismydesign36]

[ Hannibal always was an impossible man.

However, in this case, despite Will's need to be stubborn, the older man's close proximity begins to work it's magic and he starts to relax a little. His eyes peep up over the tops of his knees as he listens to the conversation between House and Hannibal. ]

[rubikscomplex]

[That gives House a longer pause as he glances upward for a moment.]

The Prophet's a kid. Sam was a little girl. Which is what I'm assuming you were running through when you went the full psycho. [That's directed briefly at Will.]

Hands... hands have always been important. The thing in the collective dream I saw was made up of eyeballs and hands that taste and... feel like metal when you bite them. [He rubs a thumb across his brow, thinking.] When they got the code to open up the classrooms in the high school, there was a second step where a hand symbol with the Prophet eye flashed up. They needed one of the people who'd been marked to scan their hand to unlock everything.

[House begins to chew lightly on one of his knuckles, unconscious of the action as he turns inward, mentally filtering through the information he's collected in the past ten months, tugging at different wires in his mind and following them to where they connect. It's probably not safe to let his attention wander with Will on the edge, but the ex-profiler doesn't seem to be getting up again for the moment, and Hannibal's there to stop him, if need be. It's only a few seconds before he's back to the present.]

Building 332. Vanitas sent me the vid. There's a hand there, sticking up out of the snow. Look to those who came before. Noooot many bodies that just get left out around here. Not unless it's a mass grave or something special. Carsen's nearby there, him and that Noone chick.

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal listened, and noted the unconscious action, a self-destructive tic that was so appropriate for the other doctor.]

Hands are symbolic of agency. Of power.

[He tilted his head, considering what House was saying.]

Can we ask them to remove the body from the snow?

[rubikscomplex]

Yeah. Well... we can ask. Carsen's got an Egyptology degree, so he's probably dealt with some archaeological digs. Probably just phrase it like an excavation. Noone seems like more of a hardass, so I'm guessing she could deal without whining about sanctity or whatever.

[And if she does, he can just tell them to rebury it properly once they get a good look at who it is and rifle through their clothes for anything useful or interesting.]

[tablewithoutpity]

There isn't much sanctity to a body that is buried only by the snowfall. If you think out would help, you can advocate giving the poor soul a proper burial.

[Only polite.]

[rubikscomplex]

You know that and I know that, but telling other people a dead body's a dead body tends to get them all kinda up in arms. I'll get Carsen to do it. He thinks we're pals.

[And in a way that's... more true than House would like it to be. After the conversation with Will in the house with the nails, though, House isn't terribly inclined to mention any actual feelings or friendly connections he has about people to Hannibal.]

In the meantime, why don't you collect those. [He points to the hands and the blindfold.] Might be able to use them for a puzzle around here.

[tablewithoutpity]

[Hannibal already, if not knows, then deeply suspects that House hides his true feelings for people for a lot of reasons, including a reluctance to give Hannibal information that the psychiatrist would use to manipulate him. So his attempt to minimize his relationship with Carsen falls on rather disbelieving ears.

He goes to the bones and the blindfold, and begins gathering them up, wrapping the former in the latter.]

[rubikscomplex]

[It's always nice to be silently obeyed. It makes House feel a little more in control of a situation, like he's sending his fellows off to run labs on a patient. He watches the other doctor for a long moment before deciding to remind Will that this isn't an overnight watch.]

Once you're done sulking, Graham, we should take one more look around the place, then get going. I don't wanna get stuck out after lockdown.

[And now that he doesn't have to fake his limp travel through the snow will be marginally more tolerable.]