Hannibal made breakfast and drove to the office. While in his customized Bentley, he once more thought about how he was going to cook the ram. He decided to go to the store after work and pick up another few bottles of wine to try.
He arrived at the building half an hour before his first client was scheduled. He gave a polite greeting to his receptionist, Suzan. Suzan was a fox who’d been working with him at another company before Hannibal had established his own practice. Apparently she enjoyed working for him far more and Hannibal was not blind to the reason. Suzan had been coerced into servicing her previous boss sexually for over a year before she eventually quit. At the time, she made appointments with Hannibal, who’d just started his practice. He was surprised to see the acquaintance, but apparently Suzan felt as though she couldn’t see any of the physiatrists at her, then, place of work. She thought Hannibal would be easier to talk to as he had worked there not too long ago.
Hannibal listened to her problems and eventually asked her if she’d like to come work for him. She was hesitant about leaving her job, so Hannibal gave her the push she needed. He killed her previous boss and invited her to dine on him. He never told her what he’d done for her or that the pork roast was actually her boss. After the incident she came over to his company.
Suzan had been working the front desk for a little over five years now.
“Good morning, Suzan.” Hannibal had started calling her by her first name after they began sleeping together.
“Good morning, Dr. Lecter,” Suzan said with a coy smile. “Your first appointment of the day is with Mr. James Barson in exactly half an hour. Also, I rescheduled Mrs. Kelly Trem to Tuesday at 4:30.
“Thank you, Suzan. Did Mrs. Trem say why?”
“She said her child is sick again.” Suzan gave a skeptical look.
“Ah, her husband must be out of town then.”
The fox giggled. It wasn’t the norm for Hannibal to gossip about his clients to his receptionist, but Suzan had once been friends with Kelly Trem. She told Hannibal all about their school days as he’d thrusted into her dripping cunt.
Once in his office, Hannibal looked over James Barson’s file. There wasn’t much. Today would be their first session. The snow leopard scanned the one document with mild interest. Mr. Barson was a thirty-three year old stoat. He was gay and currently living with his partner in their downtown apartment. He was on the short side, as most small predators are and had an allergy to treenuts. The appointment had been made because Mr. Barson wanted to discuss a problem in his relationship.
Hannibal sighed and put down the file. Mr. Barson didn’t interest him in the slightest. He instead used his remaining moments to think about how his little lamb back home would try and escape. No doubt Will would be frantically looking for a way out, not that Hannibal would have left the handcuff key. He’d switched the ram’s handcuffs to softer ones so the animal’s wrists could heal, though Will would still be struggling to get out.
Poor Will, he still hadn’t fully comprehended the dangers that would await him if he was ever unlucky enough to get out. Hannibal’s apartment was currently the safest place for the ram, even if it would be a short stay.
Suddenly the phone on Hannibal’s desk rang. The leopard picked it up.
“Dr. Lecter,” Suzan said. “Mr. James Barson is here to see you.”
Hannibal looked at his watch. Five minutes late. “Send him up please. Thank you, Suzan.” Hannibal hung up.
A moment later Hannibal heard three soft less-than-confidant knocks on the wooden door. Hannibal went over and let the man in with a polite greeting. He ushered Mr. Barson to the couch while he sat on a large wingback armchair.
“Please, Mr. Barson, tell me why you are here with me today. I see in your file you wish to discuss some relationship problems?” He phrased it as if it were a question.
“Y-yes.” The stoat paused. Hannibal assessed his appearance. Mr. Barson was a short, skinny man with beady eyes. He wore frayed pants and his jacket looked like it was at least ten years old. Clearly the super expensive downtown apartment belonged to the boyfriend.
“My partner and I, well, my boyfriend, he…” Mr. Barson paused again. The stoat looked around the room as if he were trying to find hidden cameras.
“Mr. Barson, anything you discuss with me is completely confidential. Please be at ease. Would you like some tea?”
“Oh, no, thank you. It’s just hard to talk about.” Hannibal nodded encouragingly. “Dr. Lecter, right?” Hannibal nodded again. “Dr. Lecter, have you ever…now I don’t know if this is a large carnivore thing, but…well…do you ever have, uh, sex with smaller predators and, uh…”
“Go on, Mr. Barson. I’m sure whatever fetish you and your partner are into is completely natural.”
“No, well yes. It is a…fetish. For him. Not for me. I just go along with it because it makes him happy.” Hannibal waited for the weasel to continue. “You see, during winter my coat turns white.” Hannibal was well aware. “And well, my partner Eli. Eli is a wolf. Anyway, it started with a nickname. Eli calls me his snow bunny when my coat is all white like this. He says I look cute like a white rabbit.”
Hannibal made a short note in Mr. Barson’s file about Eli the wolf.
“Anyway, that’s how it started. But recently Eli’s been wanting to get kinkier in the bedroom. He wants to roleplay.”
“What are some of your roleplays?” the snow leopard asked when the stoat stopped talking.
“Well it’s really only one roleplay. Eli likes to pretend that I really am a bunny. When we have sex he pins me to the bed and…” the man blushed before continuing. “He likes to call me his prey and says I look delicious. He likes to chase me around the apartment. I always run on top of the bed and then we…uh, yeah.” The stoat paused for a long time. “I guess I’m just asking if that’s normal for large predator animals. You for instance. Do you ever pretend that your partner is a prey animal during sex?”
The stoat had no idea how common his partner’s fantasies were. Hannibal had many a client who’d come in for this exact thing. Because of a predator’s innate hunting instincts, and the fact that predators were unable to find an outlet for such instincts, they tended to mix their hunting instincts with their sex drive. That and the fact that predators like to feel dominant.
Though Hannibal had never before mixed lust with the urge to hunt…not until he’d purchased a live prey animal. Hannibal never imagined his sexual partners to be prey. He’d never imagined prey to trigger his sexual instincts either…until Will. Will was just so alluring in every possible way. His scent, his body, his mind. Hannibal wanted it all, was aroused by it all, and hungered for it all. He needed to be inside Will. He needed Will to be inside his stomach. And there was something else there too. Will interested him in a wholly other way. Will’s mind interested him. He wanted to learn more about the ram. He wanted to know what made him tick, what his problems were (the ones that weren’t obvious), and what truly aroused him.
Hannibal had never seen another sexual partner, another predator, the same way. He didn’t pretend they were his prey. He would never sleep with someone he deemed food. The rude were food and nothing more. They were disgusting. He wouldn’t touch them in that way. He wouldn’t let them touch him in that way.
That’s another reason why Will was so remarkable. Will Graham was not rude, but he was prey. He wasn’t a predator, but he was a sexual partner, willing or otherwise.
Hannibal suddenly wondered about Will’s sexual exploits. He knew the ram had been a virgin, but surly he’d had some sexual or flirtatious contact. And Will must have viewed pornography from time to time. What did he watch?
“Do you, Dr. Lecter?”
Hannibal was pulled from his thoughts. The stoat wanted to know what was normal. The psychiatrist decided to mess with the stoat a bit. “No Mr. Barson, I haven’t. In fact, I worry for your partner. I’ve never heard of such fantasies and it has me worried that he may not be eating a well-balanced, meat-filled diet. Please watch what he eats from now on. You wouldn’t want roleplay in the bedroom to lead to you being on a plate in the kitchen.”
The stoat gasped. “You think he might lose his mind and try to actually eat me? It always seemed so sex-fueled though.”
“Tell me Mr. Barson, is rabbit Eli’s favorite food?”
“Well, I don’t think it’s his favorite exactly, but he does seem to like it every time I cook it for dinner. Maybe it is his favorite. Maybe he does actually want to eat me. You think I should get him help?”
Hannibal hid his smile. Weasels were so jumpy; they were far too easy to mess with. There was no doubt in the leopard’s mind that the wolf just wanted some kinky predator-on-prey roleplay in the bedroom.
“That is a possibility,” he said.
When he was done for the day, Hannibal left his office, gave Suzan a short goodbye, and headed to the store. He decided to not only get the wine, but pick up a little something for Will as well.
♦ ♦ ♦
Will had spent most of the day figuring out what he should do. He eventually decided it would be best to pretend that the handcuffs could hold him. He didn’t want to just break free and run out of the apartment without a plan in place. Land of Prey was dangerous.
So he stayed where he was, handcuffed to the bedpost, all day. He knew today wasn’t the day to run. He needed to prepare a few items first. He needed a hooded sweatshirt, something that could cover his ears. He needed sunglasses. Basically he just didn’t want to go strolling down the street looking like the prey animal he was. It was like holding up a sign that read: EAT ME!
After he got his disguise, he’d need some type of weapon. The leopard had taken his bullets so he couldn’t use his gun. That meant he needed something else, hopefully he’d be able to steal away a knife from the kitchen.
After that he could leave. This was both the hardest and easiest part of the operation. Hard because someone might recognize him as a prey animal. Will didn’t want to know what would happen to him if some random predator came across him. It was the easiest part because Will already had a destination in mind: the police. Will would go to the nearest police station and he’d tell them everything. He’d start by showing his Prey FBI ID, then tell them about the kidnappings in Land of Prey. He’s explain how prey animals were being illegally auctioned in Land of Predator, then end with how he was kidnapped and auctioned while investigating. They’d take his statement and drive him to the boarder.
Once in Land of Prey, he’d contact Jack Crawford and regale his tale to him as well. Land of Prey would finally learn the truth about the world and they would put a stop to this whole cage business…somehow.
Hopefully Will wouldn’t have to wait too long before he could put his plan into action. He didn’t even know how much time he had before the snow leopard decided to eat him. Would it be tonight?
And what if it was? What could Will do about that? How could he convince the leopard not to eat him? Knowing what he did about Hannibal, there was an obvious answer, but Will wasn’t ready to go through the traumatic experience of being ra—
Will stopped the thought in its tracks. He hadn’t thought about what had happened to him all day and he wasn’t going to start now. No, he wasn’t going to let the beast use him like that again.
After hours of doing nothing part of Will hoped the leopard would be home soon. Hannibal Lecter scared him, but the ram really needed to use the bathroom, that and he was hadn’t eaten anything all day.
After a while, Will fell asleep.
He was awoken sometime later to the sound of the apartment door opening. Will sat up in bed and waited. He heard the leopard walk around for a bit. Then heard the sound of pots and pans. It was a while later when Hannibal came to check on him.
“Good Afternoon, Will” Hannibal said after opening the door.
Will didn’t say anything. He watched as the leopard walked up to the bed. The sun had already gone down and Hannibal turned on the light. The leopard inspected Will’s cuffed wrist.
At the lack of no new injuries or bruising the Snow leopard commented, “It doesn’t appear you tried too hard to escape today.”
“My wrist still hurts,” was Will’s reply.
He watched Hannibal nod. Then the leopard rested a hand on Will’s neck and trailed it all the way down, stopping at his hip, then proceeding to his calf. Will couldn’t help shuddering under the larger animal’s touch and gaze.
Hannibal pulled out a small set of keys from his pocket and freed the handcuff from the bedpost. Will still had the other cuff locked around his wrist. Hannibal lightly pulled the handcuff and Will got off the bed.
“You must be hungry Will,” the snow leopard said.
The ram wanted to give a sarcastic reply, but decided against it. Antagonizing his captor would not keep him alive. He simply nodded. Hannibal was about to walk them to the dining room, until Will stopped. Hannibal turned back around, waiting for Will to speak.
“I need to use the bathroom first,” Will admitted.
“Ah, of course. Let me show you the way.” It was less of Hannibal showing Will and more of Hannibal leading the ram. The handcuffs acted like a leash.
The leopard opened the bathroom door and allowed Will to enter. When Will turned to close the door, Hannibal was still there, waiting against the doorframe.
Will sighed. “You can at least let go of the handcuff. There is nowhere for me to run in this bathroom.”
“Will, you wouldn’t be able to outrun me even if there were a way to escape. You already know that.” But the leopard did let go of the cuff.
Will turned to face the toilet and pretended Hannibal wasn’t behind him. It was a pretty spacious bathroom for an apartment. The tub was large and the sink was made of marble. It looked modern, but also had a certain antique class. The tub was a white clawfoot. The mirror had a gold frame with leaves and roses intertwining around the oval mirror. The floor was a black marble tile to match the sink.
When he was done, the snow leopard led him to the dining room. This room was done in blues with a rectangular mahogany table in the center a vase of sunflowers sat in the middle as the centerpiece. Will was so hungry he could have eaten a few petals.
Once he was seated, Hannibal removed the handcuff from his wrist and cuffed his ankle to the chair leg instead. It was weird to sit on a chair naked and it made Will self-conscious.
Then the leopard left the room and came back with their meals. He rested a large bowl of salad in front of Will and a plate with something Will didn’t recognize for himself.
“I hope you like the dressing Will, it’s homemade,” the leopard said before raising a fork and knife and cutting a sliver of whatever it was he was eating. Will took a bite of his salad. It was good. Filled with radicchio lettuce, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, crutons, and the best dressing Will had ever had. He took another bite. Then he looked back at Hannibal.
“The dressing is good. What are you eating?”
“Steak,” the predator said simply.
“What’s steak?”
Hannibal looked at him and smiled. “Cow.”
Cow. Will was having a hard time processing the information. Hannibal was eating a cow, or part of a cow. A cow. Will had known a cow. In kindergarten. The girl Will used to play with at recess was a cow. Molly. Her name was Molly.
The monster in front of him was eating a cow.
Will lost his appetite.
Hannibal noticed this. “Will, it’s rude if you don’t finish your meal. Here, try some wine. The animal got out of its seat and poured Will a glass with the hand he used to hold his knife. The knife that cut through a cow. Will held back his vomit.
“Will, I would be very unhappy if you were to be sick in my dining room.”
Will watched the leopard sit back down and take another bite. Will looked away. Will focused on the glass of wine. He brought the cup to his lips and poured the liquid into his mouth. It didn’t taste very good. He looked down at his salad. He forced himself to keep eating even though he could hear Hannibal eating not too far away.
They didn’t converse much through diner, but Hannibal did ask Will what he thought of the wine. Will just shook his head.
“Yes, you’re right,” the leopard said. “It’s not quite right, is it?”
After dinner, Hannibal led Will back to the bedroom and handcuffed him to the bedpost again. Will didn’t complain until Hannibal began undressing.
“Hush, Will,” Hannibal said as he started unbuttoning his shirt. “I’m sure you are going to enjoy yourself this time.”
Finnian Siog 