Monstrous appearances

Monstrous Appearances

A short fanfiction written by sphekso
Illustrations by me, +Elisabetta Palmeri 

Summary:Will approaches Hannibal and Alana in a new form... A werewolf. Hannibal is predictably calm, but Alana panics and wants to understand this new side of Will. Either way, they both attempt to tame him. Can either of them reach through?

Notes: Despite the presence of Werewolf!Will, this story isn't part of the canon Exoterism storyline. It's a sort of "what if"... what if Will had his first transformation much much later than how we see in the webcomic? And what if Will was even a little... different than usual? So, it's a completely different universe, but we hope that you all will enjoy it!

 ***

Alana shot back on her heels, crawling back to the wall as far as she could. “What… What are you?” she demanded.
The man—or thing—she asked couldn’t respond. He just growled and slowly approached her, his muscles rippling under his dark brown fur.
Hannibal stepped toward the monster. “Will,” he said. “Will Graham. I know who you are.”
The monster turned to him and snarled. It seemed… hurt?
“Calm yourself, Will. I understand you.”
The wolf-thing started to growl, then drew back in small cries.
“Hannibal? What is this thing?” Alana demanded.
“Hush,” Hannibal said. “Give him his own time to come around.”
The monster staggered back. It crowed a howl at no one in particular, throwing its head back to scream, then looked back to the two humans in its sight. It ignored Hannibal, but snarled at the sight of Alana.
“Please, Will, calm down,” Hannibal said from the sidelines.
“Will,” the monster groaned. It was barely a word, but Hannibal understood it. He’d been waiting for a word like that.
“Yes, Will,” he said. “Calm down. Calm yourself for us. You don’t want to hurt Alana, do you?”
With that, the monster shrank back. It looked back and forth between them, clearly unsure how to proceed.
“You… You’re Will, aren’t you?” Alana ventured.
The monster whined a little and pushed itself back against the far wall.
“Will Graham?” Alana asked. She stepped toward the monster.
“Alana!” Hannibal snapped. “Be careful!”
She shook her head. “He just doesn’t know who he is,” she said. “I’ll remind him…”
The monster roared as she approached him, but didn’t make any moves to flee. 

Its furry legs and arms remained braced against the wall.
 “Will?” Alana pressed. She moved still closer to the monster. “You’re Will?” She was close enough now to almost touch the creature.
It howled a genuine howl, like she’d touched it to its very core.
“Careful, Alana,” Hannibal urged. “It might be Will, but it’s still…”
“I don’t care,” Alana snapped. “Will! Will Graham! Are you in there?”
Against all odds, the monster relaxed and reached its head toward Alana.
She stifled her fear and reached out to pet the monster’s head.
It cooed appreciatively, and in the sensation of touch, it began to warp. Understandably, Alana staggered back, and reality seemed to shift around the monster she’d touched. She—and Hannibal—couldn’t describe what happened in human terms, but after the dark gust of wind, the creature before her became a man. And that man… She knew that man. It was…
“Will Graham,” she muttered.
“Where am I?” Will asked. He was naked and confused. Seeing Alana looking down at him, he rapidly covered his crotch with his hands.
“Will?” she ventured.
“Where… How did I get here?” Will asked.
“That’s not important,” Hannibal intoned. “What’s important is that you’re here with us now, and that you’re not going anywhere. Isn’t that right, dear Will? You’ll stay with us?”
Will was confused—and even scared, maybe terrified—but he knew he was safe with Hannibal, and especially with Alana. “Can someone… get me some clothes?” he asked. He was still childishly holding his hands over his crotch.
“Shit,” Alana muttered. “Of course. Hannibal, can you get him some pants?”
Hannibal chuckled. “I can. But I doubt you mind so much, do you, Alana?”
Alana scowled at him. “He’s in trouble. How can you ask that? He was just a… A thing. Find him some clothes, Hannibal. Forget your old rivalries.” She paused, searching Hannibal’s face. He seemed almost… Unsure? Which was unlike him, to say the least. “Hannibal,” she said. “You know I’m with you. I just want to see him taken care of. I’m yours.”
Hannibal smiled. “Very well, then,” he said. “I’ll take care of him. Will?”
Will shook his head hard. “What’s going on?”
“You were lost,” Hannibal said. “But I think we can help you be found. Would you like that?”
“Lost?” Will wondered. “Well… If Alana’s with you, then…”
“I’m with him,” Alana said.
“Yes,” Hannibal added. “She’s with me. So what do you say, dear Will? Will you let us take care of you?”
“How… Why… What am I?”
“It’s not important,” Hannibal said. “What’s important is that you’re in our care.”
“Your care…” Will trailed off. “Alana’s in your care, isn’t she? Then I’m on your side. I’m on Alana’s side.”
“Good,” Hannibal replied. “That means we can get started.”
“Started with what?” Will asked.
“Your training,” Hannibal said with a grin. “As soon as you change again.”
“Change?”
“Hannibal, isn’t this a little much?” Alana asked.
Hannibal scoffed. “He is what he is, Alana. The only thing we can do is guide him along his path.”
Alana sighed, but didn’t resist.
“So Will… The next time you change, I’ll be here.”
“There’ll be a next time?”
“Oh, yes,” Hannibal said. “A next time, and many times after that. So… Don’t you want to do it in an orderly manner?”
“I guess I do,” Will said. “But…”
“But?” Hannibal asked.
“Can you find me some clothes?”
Hannibal laughed. “Of course, But you’ll only tear through them later.”
Will didn’t seem to care. He still had both hands pressed to his crotch. He didn’t care about Hannibal’s eyes, but there was Alana. He cared very much about what Alana thought about him. Still, she’d seen him as a monster, so what could she care about seeing him as a naked human? He sighed and let go.
Alana wasn’t as sure as he was. She blushed and turned away. “Hannibal?” she asked.
“Yes, dearest?”
“Take care of him, alright?”
“Of course,” Hannibal said. “I wouldn’t dream of anything else.”
“Thanks.” She began to walk away, then paused and looked back to Will. “I liked him once. Maybe loved him. But that was before you.””
Hannibal smiled at her. “Oh, I’m aware. But that was a long time ago, wasn’t it? Before his incarceration, and before… This.”
“Whatever this is,” she muttered.
“He’s changed. It’s some kind of wonderful, isn’t it?”
“I don’t think so,” she said, turned, and walked away.
Hannibal didn’t say a word in her absence. The silence said everything that needed to be said.
For his own part, Will didn’t have a word to share.
He just wanted some clothes.

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Out of the Rain

Out of the Rain

A short fanfiction written by sphekso
Illustrations by me, +Elisabetta Palmeri  .

Summary:

Alana appears at Hannibal's home seeking comfort in the middle of a rainstorm. Takes place sometime during the first half of season two.

****

Hannibal opened the front door, and there she was: a rain-soaked angel, just the one he’d been sketching when she’d rung his bell. The small overhang of his porch did nothing to protect her from the elements. “…Alana?” He wasn’t a man who was used to surprises, but seeing her here like this so unexpectedly was enough to give him pause.

“Let me in?” she asked. Thunder rumbled in the distance. “Please?”
“Of course,” he replied. He stepped aside and ushered her in.
She closed the door behind herself and stopped with her hand still at the knob, her back turned. “I couldn’t sleep,” she said.
“Are you alright? Let me look at you.” He took her hand, and she finally turned to him. Tracks of mascara ran down her face, and tears welled in her eyes. She threw herself against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in her sopping-wet hair to kiss the top of her head. “What happened?”
“I told you,” she said, “I couldn’t sleep.” She began to shiver.
“Come, let’s get you warm. I’ll light a fire.” He kissed her head again.

“Don’t leave me,” she urged when he broke the embrace. “Don’t…”
He tipped her chin up. “I’m not leaving you. You can stay as close to me as you need.”
She grabbed his hand in both of hers. “Don’t let go?”
He nodded once and led her into the den. “I’ll need my hand back,” he said. He gestured to the couch. “Go ahead and sit. I won’t be any time at all.”
She darted her eyes between his face and the couch. “I… okay.” She let go. Her whole body cringed at the loss of contact, but she was still able to step away from him to sink into a spot on the sofa.
He fidgeted with the fireplace until it roared to life. Warmth filled the room. “You should get out of those wet clothes. I’ll find you something to wear.”
She whipped her head from side to side. “No! I don’t… don’t leave me.”
“I really must insist,” he said. “I wouldn’t want you to catch cold.”
“Be fast,” she said, and shut her eyes tight. He had a feeling she wouldn’t open them until he returned.
He took his leave and found one of his dress shirts and a pair of boxers. Sure enough, her eyes were still squeezed shut when he got back to the den. “Here,” he said. “I’m back, see?”
She opened her eyes and visibly relaxed. “Thank you,” she said, taking the clothes from him. She stood and stripped out of her wet blouse and pants, making no effort to preserve her modesty. The shirt hung down to her thighs, and her panties were dry enough, so she set the boxers aside. He’d brought a towel for her as well. She ran it through her hair.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much,” she replied.
“One more thing.” He took the damp towel and wiped at her face to clean off the smudged mascara. “There we are,” he said. “Now tell me what’s wrong.” He sat next to her and she immediately laid her head in his lap.
“I… I had a nightmare. God, that sounds stupid.”
He stroked her hair. “It doesn’t sound stupid. Dreams can be powerful things. Tell me, what happened in this nightmare?”
“It was about Will,” she said. “I dreamed… I dreamed I saw him with Abigail.”
“And what were they doing?”
She shuddered, not from the cold, but from her own thoughts. “I dreamed I saw him kill her.” Another shudder wracked her body, and before he could reply she began to cry.
“Shh, shh. It’s alright. Everything’s alright. It was only a dream.” He linked his fingers through hers.
“He killed me, too,” she said through her tears. “After he killed Abigail, I mean. He cut her throat, and then he stabbed me to death. There was so much blood… spraying from her throat… he stabbed… so many times…”
“Why didn’t you call?” he asked. “I could have come to you.”
“I didn’t feel safe there,” she said. “I couldn’t be alone, not for one more second. I know he’s locked up, but… It felt like he was about to walk in the door. It still feels like that.”
“Well, I’m here now, and no one’s going to walk through these doors. Not without getting through me.” He raised her up from his lap and looked deep in her eyes. “I’m glad you chose me to come to,” he said.
“I don’t have anyone else.”
He swiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “You don’t need anyone else,” he said. “I’m here for you.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips across her forehead. “I’ll always be here for you.”
“I know.” She tilted her head up to him. “Hannibal…”
“Shh… I know.” He pressed his mouth against hers. She welcomed the kiss, coming back with soft, slow movements. The quiet sounds of their kiss mingled with the crackle of the fireplace and the patter of rain on the roof.
“I knew you would understand,” she said after they parted. “I… Is it wrong that I want you when I think about him?”
“No,” he replied. “Not wrong. We’re the only two men you’ve ever truly cared for. Am I wrong?”
“You’re not wrong,” she said. She kissed him again, harder this time, more urgently.
“Your emotions are confused. Your heart is torn in different directions, is it not? And one is to…” he trailed off.
She leaned back and stared at the flames as they licked their way up the fireplace to the chimney. “No, you can say it. One is to a psychopath.”
“A psychopath?” he asked. “I thought you believed Will wasn’t in control when he… acted.”
“I was fooling myself,” she said. “And my feelings for him have never been concrete. Not like my feelings for you.” She turned to him with a slight smile. “My feelings for you are bedrock.”
“God, you’re beautiful,” he said, and leaned in for another kiss. He gently pushed her back against the armrest and moved his body over hers. He kissed her neck, her collarbones, and the exposed flesh of her chest before returning to her lips. She whimpered against him and folded her arms around his back to pull him deeper into the kiss.
“Hannibal…” she whispered, “would you take me to bed?”
“Of course,” he said. “You’ll be able to sleep in my arms. This I promise you.”
“No nightmares?”
“Not one,” he said. He rose from the couch and took her in his arms. “Come,” he said. “We’ll have a nice rest.”
“I’d like that,” she said.
He carried her from the room, leaving the fire smoldering in embers. The last of them winked out just as sleep took her under.

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