Entry tags:
week three - post-trial
[ As soon as their trial is dismissed, there's very little hesitation in who Hannibal heads to.
Naturally, he does give Will's hand a squeeze, a quick "I'll see you later," but with all the chaos of the day, there are other people he needs to see and tend to. In fact, so many that he almost wonders about who to go to first, but... His bias wins out. For each of the people he's taken a liking to so far, there was perhaps no one where that was as true as Xion. So, he goes to her. Follows her, if necessary, and when he speaks her name, his voice is full of sympathy and concern. ]
Xion—
[ But it's only her name. She'll let her drive the rest of this. ]
Naturally, he does give Will's hand a squeeze, a quick "I'll see you later," but with all the chaos of the day, there are other people he needs to see and tend to. In fact, so many that he almost wonders about who to go to first, but... His bias wins out. For each of the people he's taken a liking to so far, there was perhaps no one where that was as true as Xion. So, he goes to her. Follows her, if necessary, and when he speaks her name, his voice is full of sympathy and concern. ]
Xion—
[ But it's only her name. She'll let her drive the rest of this. ]
no subject
[ He nods along, though he does lapse into a short silence. It's a rather unusual question, and it's not quite one he considers often, so it takes him a genuine moment of thought to come to a conclusion. He could give a psychiatrist's answer, and it dances on the tip of his tongue, but he ends up giving a more honest one. ]
Strength is to survive. I mean survival in a broad sense here, not necessarily as something physical, though it can be. Strength is to look into the face of struggle and carry forward, not without fear, for fear is a part of us— But with as much understanding of that struggle as we can grasp.
[ He looks to her, and he gives a small nod ]
...Here, it's more literal than it tends to be. But I would define it the same way in Baltimore. When we look into the abyss, whether it is a game we're forced to play in or the despair of a trauma past, we can't avert our eyes from it. If we continue forward, then that, to me, is strength.
no subject
It's ... both similar to and different from what Harry said to her. She's starting to wonder if she should ask everyone. What kind of answers she'd get. ]
Dr. Lecter, I ... want to keep moving forward, but I want to do it with my friends beside me. I may not be able to keep them safe, but ... I want to try. I have to keep trying, [ she whispers. ]
no subject
[ His response is immediate, and by contrast to her whisper, his voice is stronger and more certain. Hannibal is trying to encourage her through his words, and he's not very subtle about that, though he believe she would respond best to more straightforward things. Subtlety and leading may be harder when she's so "young." ]
I'm afraid that I can't promise that things will get better. Not immediately. Our situation doesn't lend itself to that. But even in the face of all of this, I hope you don't give up. I may not have known you long, but I feel that you're a strong person, Xion. So I believe you can have the very strength I've described.