OOM: Curious about Sin

[cook_the_rude]

[[From here]]

The doctor's office is much as it was the last time, with the one difference that one or two of the city views may have been exchanged for languid, sensual 18th century 'harem' scenes.

Dr. Lecter opens the door and leads the way inside.

"Please, do take a seat," he says, gesturing at the couch.

He closes the door, eyes on Sinric.

Comments

[thewidewideworld]

"So it brought you to those places because of the people you were with? Was it for you, it brought you to the libraries?"

[cook_the_rude]

"No, that was for my companions," Hannibal says. "But from those very libraries, it brought us back to the library here. I never tried to set out from this library and go elsewhere, though."

[thewidewideworld]

"The magic of this place never ceases to amaze me." Sinric smiles, sipping his wine decorously. "Perhaps as I explore the library, I will find a way that connects to the great library of Alexandria and there I shall truly be lost."

[cook_the_rude]

"You might be," Dr. Lecter says. "It is reputed to have contained half a million scrolls; even the one in Pergamon had 200,000 scrolls. Even considering that any one work had up to 12 scrolls, it's an amazing number."

Pause.

"By your times, papyrus scrolls have of course fallen out of use and have been replaced by parchment codices."

[thewidewideworld]

"The sacred palace library might be the largest in all Europe but even it isn't that large. Most of our books are parchment or vellum. Yan has shown me fine scrolls of silk, large solid ones of bone and bamboo and maps made of paper more like that found so commonly here."

"I had hoped the bar would permit me a book of such fine, clean paper that I might write. If the cost is not to great."

[cook_the_rude]

"For you to write about your travels, once you go?" Hannibal says.

[thewidewideworld]

"I had not thought of that but it is a very good idea. No, I was reading the histories of my Emperor's reign and find many of the records harsh - remembering only his hard line on iconography and his war-like natural. My friend Athelstan suggested I might write my own history that he might be remembered as I have known him - as a kind and wise man."

[cook_the_rude]

"You can always do both," the doctor says. "Both things are worth being handed down and remembered. Marco Polo might even be going to have read your account! It's generally known he wasn't the first to go all the way, return, and tell about it."

[thewidewideworld]

"Marco Polo?" He asks curiously, sipping his wine. He's enjoying this quiet intimacy, his free hand resting casually on Hannibal's thigh.

[cook_the_rude]

"A man from Venice who made the journey to China in the late 13th century," Hannibal says, "returned after many years, and wrote a book about it. He wasn't believed at first because his description of the sheer size and numbers seemed so exaggerated. While not by far the first European to travel to China and write about it, he's the most famous, a household name even in my time."

[thewidewideworld]

"I have no desire to be famed but it would be good to write my travels and observations." He muses, biting his lip. "Perhaps I will ask the bar for a second book, if they are not too costly."

[cook_the_rude]

"They are not," the doctor says. "I have a number of blanks here, as I use them to take notes about my patients. I can give you one."

[thewidewideworld]

He shakes his head. "Thank you, sir but I'll pay for my own. I will be alone soon and must learn to make my own way in the world." He leans up to press a very soft kiss to Hannibal's bared shoulder. "But the offer is very much appreciated."

[cook_the_rude]

Hannibal smiles down at him, and kisses his cheek. "They are not expensive at all, even if you take a good, solid one. You want it to be able to withstand long, arduous travel."

[thewidewideworld]

"I think I should have to leave it here, and write in it when I come. Such fine paper would be strange and hard to explain should I be found with it."

[cook_the_rude]

"That may be even wiser," the doctor says, stroking his cheek.

Pause.

"Thank you for this. I would like to do it again another time, in some way or another. Combine music, food, therapy, talk with the pleasures of the flesh. I promise that I will always give as good as I get, and I do keep my promises."

[thewidewideworld]

Sinric turns his head to kiss Hannibal's finger. "Sir, I would like that very much. And I have no doubt of your word. You are a learned and honourable man and a kind friend. I would be very glad to spend more time in you company."

[cook_the_rude]

"Well," Hannibal says, "then we shall!"


[[OOC: Wrap here? Shall I post this?]]

[thewidewideworld]

{ooc: perfect and yes, please? It would be the start of a wonderful friendship if Hannibal wasn't Hannibal.}

[cook_the_rude]

[[OOC: It still is -- for a given value of 'friendship', because Hannibal IS Hannibal!]]