Second Floor Common Room, Saturday Afternoon

[wantstodirect]

Tony put the DVD for the Roman Polanski version of The Scottish Play into the player and went to make popcorn while the FBI warning came up on the screen. He plopped down on the couch with his popcorn and pop and waited for a few people to arrive before starting the movie itself.

[Open to all!]

Comments

[wantstodirect]

Tony nodded. It kind of made sense. Made him think of Henry. "Reminds me of a friend back home. Sometimes you're dealing with the man, sometimes with the prince." Or the vampire.

[glacial_queen]

"Exactly," Karla smiled, happy that Tony understood. "Protocol also deals with preventing a Warlord Prince who is riding the killing edge from killing anyone by accident, choosing Province and Territory Queens, how to greet stangers, all sorts of stuff."

Again, mostly invented to prevent the Blood from murdering one another over which fork to use.

Okay, that might be an exaggeration. Slightly.

[wantstodirect]

"'Riding the killing edge.'" Tony didn't know the phrase, but it sounded like Henry when the Hunter was out in full force. "What is that? How do some rules stop it?"

[glacial_queen]

"Warlord Princes are aggressive and tempermental. They can be a witch's best form of protection or her most terrifying nightmare. The killing edge is when thar aggression and violence comes up to the surface. It's like there's something inside of them, forcing them to be violent. Though, of course, they do their damndest to control it. Some things make them more volatile, and push them closer to the edge, though," Karla explained, voice serious. The killing edge was no place for levity, even when talking to someone who would never see it. That she knew of, anyway.

"A good Queen, one who has the completest trust from their males can sometimes stop it, with a word or a touch. The males surrender their wills to her, and so they aren't being driven anymore. The easiest thing though, is to make no threatening gestures, speak softly, move slowly and ask for help. You don't want to set yourself up as threat or prey, but asking for help, especially as a female, redirects their killing rage into other channels. Physical labor is usually best."

[Must sleep. Night!]

[wantstodirect]

Sounded a lot like Henry. Even in the way Tony could sometimes get him to pull back, mask the Hunter. He couldn't pull rank on Henry but he could get him to dial it back just by being himself, someone Henry would never knowingly hurt.

He couldn't tell Karla about Henry, though, since keeping secret protected Henry. Even if they were thousands of miles away, well, Tony had his own protective streak.

"How do they become Warlord Princes?" Tony asked instead, wondering if they were that world's version of vampires.

[glacial_queen]

"Warlord Princes just are," Karla answered, shrugging. "It's a caste, just like being a Queen or a Black Widow. A male is a Warlord Prince or is not. There's no 'becoming.'"

As for her world's version of vampires, that would probably be Guardians. Close enough for government work, anyway.

[wantstodirect]

Tony smiled. "Your world is really different from mine."

[glacial_queen]

Karla laughed. "So I realize every day I am here. My world at least has unicorns."

[wantstodirect]

"It sounds pretty awesome most of the time. Just different," Tony said.

[glacial_queen]

"It's amazing," Karla confirmed. "Well, the good parts are. The bad are..." horrific "...pretty unpleasant. We're a Realm of extremes, I think."

[wantstodirect]

"There's good and bad in every world," Tony said soberly. "Evil always finds a way."

[glacial_queen]

"That's depressingly true," Karla said with a sigh. "You sound not at all unfamiliar with this world's evils," she said delicately, letting him take it as a question or not.

[wantstodirect]

Saying, Yeah, I've watched reality TV, would probably be lost on Karla.

Tony shrugged. "I've seen a few things," he said. "There's a lot of good out there, too."

[glacial_queen]

Sad, but true. And how the mun envies her ignorance!

That was enough of an answer for Karla. She knew not to pry when discussing evils. Too many wounds, too many scars for casual prodding. "Your world does have some amazing things, too," she said. "That," she said, pointing to the teevee, "travel to the stars, satellites that tell you where you are..."

Someone had been talking to Ender. Karla would probably have added fast food and microwavable meals, if only someone had been kind enough to introduce her to either.

[wantstodirect]

"Unicorns and honey-pears," Tony reminded her. "And pickleberries."

[glacial_queen]

Karla smirked. "Are you counting pickleberries as good or bad?" she asked. "I can't quite tell."

[wantstodirect]

"Haven't decided yet," Tony said.

[glacial_queen]

"Wait to make the decision after you offer them to someone else," she said with a grin. "It'll probably change your perspective."