maskormenace | [canto uno

[ A video, clearly the user's first time recording himself with the technology given. Hannibal's face appears on screen, adjusting the angle to one perfectly centered. He takes a step back, all grin. Almost childish, really. ]

Hello. I'm told this is the most suitable means for communication in these parts. I hope you'll forgive me for being a bit new to the concept of filming myself.

[ That aspect of grotesque murder and public display had never appealed to him. It seemed too juvenile, and revealing, even with masks or voice editors.

In this case, he was wearing modest dress clothing compared to his usual choice paisley and ostentatious color schemes and suspicious pocket squares. He crosses his legs at the knee, folding his hands on top, in the expected villainous finger-steeple. ] I have also been advised that this is the quickest means of locating lost loved ones. I would very much like to find those lost ones. Do forgive me for 'spamming' your network. I won't do this often.

[ A brief pause, in which he brushes across a scar on his face, disturbing the otherwise immaculate complexion, with the tip of his index finger. ] I seek a man named Will Graham. He may not be here, but if he is, and you know where he is, I would appreciate any tips. At the very least, alerting him to my presence will be sufficient. I thank you for any assistance in this matter.

[ What used to be the ability to seem professionally distanced from the matter of the man in question had rather crippled with the moonlight consummation of his glorious becoming. After a taxing and emotional affair, Hannibal was left with little time to embrace the difficult to quantify series of emotions it had evoked before he was suddenly...here. ]

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[You understood, in a different time, after a series of most unfortunate events for whoever is so unfortunate to have been assigned as your dermatologist through the healthcare provided.

That sense defying health care that was acquiring a most improbably amount of flesh to restore, to some extent, the appearance of a human to the form that was once this stubbley, paranoid psychiatrist.

You knew, there, had learned rather, the truth about Will Graham, and it was more or less as traumatizing as learning the truth about Hannibal. What had caused an unadmitted degree of admiration from Lecter - that which was once so desperately and obviously craved - was what he could only interpret as spite and anger.

He had to wonder if the healing being in the IC unit wanted revenge, and to what lengths he'd go to get it. Hannibal always wondered things like this. What upon the revelation of his truth had inspired shock and fear, with Will's... He could not yet say, but he wanted to know.

Until then, he felt the smug satisfaction of harboring dirty secrets about all of them.] Hardly lonely, Frederick. You would be surprised how alike some of us truly are, in the end.

Yes, I once thought we were alike. You and I.

[Echoes from years ago, years before. Chilton had yet to face the wrath of Miriam Lass's brainwashing -- but that was close, that was looming. He just didn't yet know why. And as for the unspeakable horror that Hannibal understood so deeply, well, that was unfathomable at this juncture. What Chilton had was a distinct sense of betrayal, a vague feeling of being used, and dread about what the Chesapeake Ripper was rumored to have done to him. But Freddie Lounds (dearly departed from this world) had only hinted, and her scope of time was limited even then.

Will Graham's becoming had yet to eclipse anything.]

I once believed us to be more than... What would you call this? Predator and prey?

[Somewhat exasperated, somewhat bitter.]

You are not even talking about me, are you?

More or less. Words can come with many interpretations. Their presumed meaning can imply much about their receiver.

[Microscopic scrutiny.

As an aside, when he finds out Freddie is gone, he will regret the missed opportunity for lamb chops.]

I prefer to allow labels to others. We are what we make ourselves.

Then I would prefer to be labeled as becoming something other than your prey.

[Dangerous words spoken spitefully.]

You have your immediate interest present. How fortunate for you. [Meaning Will Graham. Sacrificial lamb.] Leave me to mine.

[How the prey might pray. But a plea to a god complex might not mean much, coming from the lips of a blasphemer. Nevertheless, he made an attempt with the anticipation that by asking he might well receive.]

If you are referring to that lovely woman who was so polite and welcoming, then I certainly shall. She's quite charming. I believe sincere congratulations are in order, Frederick. You've really made something of your life here.

[Hannibal's version of the condescending Wonka expression goes here.]

[Condescending or not, those were words that under many circumstances Chilton would be starving to hear. But in this context? A gnarling curl in his stomach clenched tighter, and he felt only apprehension. It was unnerving when Chilton ultimately rejected Lucifer's offer, after months of being courted, when the devil himself finally threatened Chilton's beloved little kingdom -- but unnerving was not the same as agonized.

That was the power of Hannibal Lecter. His thinly mocking praise was agonizing to hear, because Chilton understood the subtle threat so tenderly embedded.]

What must I do to ensure I keep my status quo?

[No beating around this bush. In Baltimore, Chilton craved. He wanted, he envied. He had nothing but his tenure at BSHCI (which Hannibal besmirched) and the inkling of a book to write. But in Heropa, liberated from a doomed affair, Chilton now had something to lose.

And that horrified him.]

[ And there it was. Pretictable, and golden. Blackmailing others without a single word was easy when dealing with a coward. It was triply easy regarding a coward with more to lose than his own sense of importance and reputation.

Uttering the slightest threat against this new companion of Frederick's would have been rude. Allowing it to come into his mind and suddenly offer himself into some imagined position of service to placate the threat that never outwardly worded itself was like being handed a winning lottery ticket. ] Disrupting the status quo was never something I associated with you, Frederick. Though, since you mention it, if you cared to be exceptionally helpful, you could save me some time digging through city archives and phonebooks in search for Will Graham's little shop.

[ He doubted he was going to get an invitation, since he hadn't been sent the video from it. He hadn't expected a view of Will's home, but the public park suggested a desire to keep him out, and that troubled Lecter regarding Will's timeline.

Finding a shop was easier than a house. More people were involved. It was more public. He'd get there, one way or another. Inside was likely to be something that would lead him straight to their home. But until then, he had a lot of research ahead of him, and if anyone felt anything from coerced to obligated to help, he would take it. ]

[It wasn't like thirty pieces of silver, he rationalized. He wanted to prevent the threat of Hannibal's focus idling on someone who didn't know him, who would be taken by surprise -- Raina, of course, was the only imaged individual to come to his mind. Raina reigned over his concerned.]

Hook, Line, and Tinker. [A beat.] The name of his bait shop. One location, in Heropa. Closed on Sundays.

[Will Graham was equipped to take care of himself, thought Chilton. Raina was better off in ringside seating. They all were -- wasn't that so?]

You could have discovered that much anywhere.

[Not to undersell his contribution -- it was more questioning why Hannibal needed Chilton to illuminate that information. As classical the methodology was that Hannibal reeled off (phonebooks, indeed), Chilton knew the man was capable of using the internet.

A display of control, he assumed. How uneasy.]

[canto uno | video ]

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