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The Boardwalk [Wednesday Evening]

So, he'd promised ice cream and he was going to deliver ice cream. Hannibal was also thankful to the island for growing and giving them this nice boardwalk to walk on. He'd been on these before, during times on the coast, so it was just nice to have one again.

Not that he was going to get mushy and call it a reminder of home or anything. That kind of thinking was for girls.

Now, he was holding two cups of ice cream. "Chocolate or...chocolate?"

[Here for Aliiiiiiiiice but the boardwalk is public so open!]

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"My, the rich and varied choices before me," Alice grinned. "I suppose, after careful consideration, I'll choose chocolate. But if I change my mind and opt for chocolate instead, I hope you'll be good enough to trade me back again."

"Of course," he said and handed her one of the cups. "Chocolate just looked better than the other chocolate. I could have been brave and gotten the chocolate but I chose chocolate instead."

"Very wise of you," she laughed, taking the cup and reaching for the spoon eagerly. "I must admit to surprise that you weren't swayed by the siren call of chocolate. I've heard it can have an appeal."

"Yes, well, I'm pretty strong," he said and puffed out his chest. "Very, very willful, you see. I can resist the best things in life. For awhile, at least."

"Very strong," she admitted, blushing slightly. "That is always the dilemma with temptation. Knowing what one is missing only makes the lure sweeter, and not knowing makes one deathly curious."

"You sound like you're a little experienced with temptation," he said and smiled.

The blush was worse, now. "Only a little," she confessed. "What I've most experience with is curiosity, and following it down rabbit-holes and into trouble. Because if one never jumps in, one never knows what it is one's missing, and it might have been an adventure. My mother always said, 'you know, Alice, that's going to get you into trouble one day' and I'm not entirely certain why she believed it hadn't already."

"Curiosity's not such a bad thing," he said thoughtfully. "Sometimes you can find the best things when you're curious."

"Sometimes, you walk into an adventure, and sometimes, you lose your head," she said, taking a bite of her ice cream. "All in all, still a far better outcome than the alternative, never leaping without looking. Sounds far too dull, I'm afraid."

"Hopefully the losing the head doesn't happen too often," he said, laughing. "Cause, you know, you only have one of those and it's pretty important."

"And it's attached rather firmly," she noted, giggling herself. "I wouldn't mind losing it so much if it were something one could remove and place back on again, but the actual separation bit is far too permanent for my taste."

And bloody. That, too.

"And it might hurt," he said and laugh. "Just a little. Just a flesh wound."

"And of course blood stains are such a chore to get out of clothing," Alice sighed.

"You could always just buy new clothes," he joked. "So much easier."

"I could," she said cheerfully. "I've money now. It was a bit difficult when I started here; a change of clothes, a small cat, a large knife, and myself. My worldly possessions, and not a very good array of school supplies."

"Interesting variety," he laughed. "Large knife, small cat, huh?"

"I strive to be interesting," she said, taking another spoonful of ice cream. "The cat has been mine for a very long time, and the knife proved itself useful. The suitcase quite conveniently allowed for them to separated enough that I didn't fear filleting my cat during the train ride."

"What's your cat's name?" Hannibal asked.

"Dinah," Alice smiled. "She's a lovely cat. Stayed by me even when ... well."

She glanced over at him uncertainly. "I should probably tell you about something."

"Shoot," he said, stopping so he could look at her.

"I spent a few years mad," she said, toying with her spoon. "Rather mad. Not ... really there at all. I perhaps should have said it sooner, except that ... sometimes I tell people, and then they look at me ... oddly."

She couldn't blame them; it was just difficult to see.

"Mad like...angry?" Hannibal asked. "Or mad like...a little unwell?"

"The latter," Alice said tentatively. "It started when something terrible happened. I was injured, badly. And at the hospital ... they all talked about me. 'That poor dear. Whatever shall we do with her now? Has she spoken a word yet? Does she know about her family? That poor dear.' I didn't believe it. If I didn't believe it, if I tried hard enough, I'd wake up."

She lifted a shoulder, still staring into her ice cream. "I didn't wake up. I just ... went away, for a time."

"Ah." Hannibal really had no experience with that sort of thing so he didn't want to patronize her. "How are you doing now?"

"Better," she said, lifting her spoon and eying it critically. "I'm no longer mad. Odd, perhaps, but I always was. I'll never be stable, but I feel that's overrated. If I were stable, I wouldn't chase rabbits down their holes."

She shot him a careful glance, and smiled. "If you'd like to flee, I shan't take it personally."

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