as lecter approached, the being drew back slightly in his seat with a soft intake of breath. even after months in this circus, surrounded by people, the being had not forgotten the abuse he had suffered at the hands of mankind throughout the preceding decades. fear had been ingrained into him too strongly to set aside, by this point; however mild and benevolent this man seemed to be, the being was not at all inclined to trust him enough to permit close proximity, especially in a small tent like this one. he preferred to maintain a healthy distance between lecter and himself, if possible — but he was not impolite enough to voice that carelessly aloud. the body language spoke well enough for itself.
once more, he looked lecter up and down, this time with an added degree of wariness. the way that this stranger looked at him was entirely new: he looked not with fear or with disgust, but with admiration, as though the being were some glorious exhibit in a museum. at its core, that seemed positive, but there was something about it that unnerved the being nonetheless. it was human nature to fear anything monstrous or, in particular, corpse-like; if lecter did not fear him, then he could be no ordinary man. “ —if you will forgive my frankness, sir, humankind as a whole has given me no reason to trust any of its members. why should i put my faith in YOU? ”
He noticed the way the Being tried to keep the distance between them even. But Hannibal did not move from his spot. In his eyes this was NOT cruelty. This was NOT manipulation. THIS WAS LOVE. His own special brand of it. The Being’s question however made the doctor look away momentarily in reflection, fluttering his lashes as he chewed over his words. ❛ Men believed the earth to be flat due to what they saw. The horizon was not curved, therefore if one sailed towards it for long enough they ought to fall off into the emptiness. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable concept … Were we not HUNGRY for more and we would never have discovered our planet to be round. Would have never traced constellations nor learned about our eternal waltz around the sun. ❜
Lecter kept his hands folded behind his back. He wished to reach out and brush his fingers over the Being’s poorly constructed skin. A sign of reassurance to most but surely an alien and intimidating gesture to his host. The thought of gentleness WOUNDING someone pleased Lecter. ❛ Many of my peers do not believe you exist. Even I had my doubts, but now that I’ve met you ❜ The doctor was surprised to find himself parting his lips as if, for a moment, he had been left BREATHLESS. So very few works of art stroked that sense of AWE within Hannibal. And yet, there he was. ❛ It is as if Orion has fallen into earth. ❜ Keeping a constellation restrained under a circus tent was dangerous though. A fire of CATASTROPHIC proportions wasn’t a possibility but a promise. ❛ Leaps of faith may result in wounded legs or extraordinary findings. All it takes is a moment of reckless bravery. ❜
