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[camebefore]

Should anyone see a small piglet running about wearing a little Red Cross vest, I would like it returned to me. It appears to have fled when I was pulled away from this place. It would be helpful if the few supplies it had carried with it were still intact but it is not required.

[The young man speaking to Wonderland has a curious lack of emotion in his face and dark eyes. The reds in the iris are more pronounced than before, giving a hint to the annoyance he's experiencing. Matters being beyond his control is not something he enjoys. Unlike the other Hannibal, this one is casually dressed in a grey shirt and dark jeans.]

For those that don't know me, I am Doctor Hannibal Lecter. I am a surgeon, unlike the other Lecter about. While I am not part of the clinic or those involved, I am an emergency room surgeon should someone fall out a window. Again.

Or encounter rabid crocodiles in the basement.

Again.

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[thehobbsgirl]

You're back.

[ It's not the warmest of welcomes, but Abigail is clearly glad. She had liked this younger version of Hannibal, and what's more, she had been hoping to get to know him better, to learn more about him and her mentor by proxy. When he had vanished, she had told herself she didn't care, but some part of her had been disappointed ]

How did you get pulled away? [ Why waste too much time on pleasantries; she hasn't spoken in any depth to anyone who has left here and come back. Can he blame her for wanting to understand how it happened, why it happened ] Did it just happen out of nowhere?

[camebefore]

Abigail.

[His accent breaks up her name into the odd way of saying it the same as the older one does. There is a small smile that sneaks out to greet her, restrained soon enough. Showing emotion isn't something he or the older version does well.]

I don't know. I remember sleeping and then I was back at Johns Hopkins. Life was as I had left it, but then I was walking across the street. I looked up to see what a noise was, then I was here.

[Her? No, he doesn't blame Abigail and is willing to indulge her. Others? Not so much.]

I see you have survived. Have the others?

[As if he hadn't contacted them.]

[thehobbsgirl]

[ Oh. Well, that doesn't give her any useful information, but she can't hold it against him. Part of her hates not knowing the mechanics of this place, what causes people to disappear, to reappear. But what chance does she really have of understanding it? And if she did, of controlling it in any way at all? ]

They're fine. [ She can't speak for everyone in Wonderland, but their two mutual acquaintances are perfectly unhurt. The fact that he frames it as survival is interesting. She knows there is some danger, living here, but surely not THAT much? Could it just be a bad translation? Abigail can't help noticing that this Hannibal's accent is thicker than the others, and perhaps there are still some things that have different connotations to him. ]

So when you went back, no time had passed at all?

[camebefore]

[Survival is still part and parcel of who this version of Hannibal is. A month hasn't been enough for him to fall out of that mindset of hunting/killing and into living in his human suit as a young doctor.]

Good. I had sent a few messages and not heard anything yet. I am... glad you are all still here.

[An emotional response isn't something easy for him to admit when it's true instead of his usual false artistry. He is pleased to see her and to know the others are still about. This has, in effect, become a sort of home.]

None that I was aware of. It seems more a blur than real memory of being there. I may have merely been asleep and dreaming somewhere here in Wonderland versus returned to my world. Had I gone back, I assume I would have memories of searching for signs of any of you.

[thehobbsgirl]

[ Is that just flattery, she wonders, or would he really have searched for her if he was returned home long enough? It is so hard for her to get a read on this Hannibal, and she isn't sure why. ]

Really? You wouldn't just... go back to your life and try to forget all this ever happened?

[ Abigail would, but if she's honest with herself, she would miss this place. It's been a nice reprieve from the real world, for her. Besides, it wasn't like she'd left anyone behind. She wonders if it is the same for Hannibal - he didn't mention going to look for loved ones, if he had truly gone back. That tells her something... ]

[camebefore]

[His head tilts towards her at the question. He takes a few seconds to give it thought before firing off the first answer that comes to mind.]

No, I would not forget it. I don't forget anything. I would not want to forget any of you even if I could. Given the technological constraints of 1951, I would have done the best I could to try to locate any of you, see if you existed there.

[He looks as if he means it if that counts for anything.]

[thehobbsgirl]

[ Most people would probably take 'I don't forget anything' as a boast, but Abigail has seen evidence of the older Hannibal's exceptional memory, so she believes him. That doesn't surprise her; what does is his confirmation that he would have wanted to find a version of her in his own world. Abigail sort of understands why the other Hannibal might like having her around. There are so many circumstances that conspired to throw them into each other's lives. But the fact that, absent all those, this Hannibal still seems to enjoy her company... it's kind of flattering. ]

Well anyway, I'm glad you're back.