THE WARDEN AND NIGHTRIDER ARE HERE (D170)

[osteothropy]

[Sans is blue.]
[Lambert is dark red.]

[ Supervisor’s Channel ]

All right. [ Lambert’s voice is brisk and business-like, for once, though it still has that familiar edge of sarcasm to it. ]

Okay. [Sans is here, too.]

I’ll get to the point. You know the next stop’s not like our usual. [ To say the least. A beat, before he continues: ] Keep an eye on your people. Make sure they’re actually following the rules, not freaking out and getting us all into shit.

[ That feels like a tall order, though, under the circumstances. ]

That goes for you, too. Keep your head on straight. Any problems or troublemakers you can’t handle on your own, let me or Sans know. This isn’t a performance stop -- if anyone who works for you is assigned to patrol or the nightrunners, they answer to us first.

Speaking of ‘keeping your head on straight’... some of you might remember a certain stop we had a ways back where a few certain someones almost got the guillotine for failing to abide by a similar set up of stuffy royal standards. Let’s not have a repeat of that, cause from the sounds of it the RM might not be able to save you this time.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, this is your opportunity to remain blissfully ignorant.



[ Public Channel ]

[ Lambert’s voice is terse, and irritable: ]

Our next stop’s called Heartstone Manor. We’re going to go over some ground rules to make everyone's life, especially mine, a lot easier.

[Sans is also here.]

The RM has already covered a lot of this in her announcement, but it is officially our jobs to make sure that it sinks in. Dealt with True Fae before? Then you know this isn’t a joke. Yes, your fashion sense and table etiquette are now a matter of life and death. This is me, Sans, telling you to take this seriously. Hopefully that means something to you.

To summarize the gist of what was said, here are some basic RULES. The Nightrider and I will be watching. So, even if the Prince doesn’t catch you, we will.

[Sans recites “The Rules” like he’s just whipped out a pair of reading glasses and is quoting them from an official document:]

DO:

• Follow the daily schedule
• Follow dress code
• Be polite to The Prince and his servants
• Keep your radio on you

DON’T:

• Whine about everything
• Seed rebellion or talk about rules breaking on the network
• Make any deals or promises to other fae servants
• Lay any hard disses on The Prince, ever, under any circumstances
• Don’t sweat the small stuff: this is gunna grate on a lot of us, so just focus on the end goal… which is not dying

Don’t mess it up.

That, too.

Comments

[starseedling]

Why not?!

[Steven's voice cracks, and you can only imagine the look of anguish he's probably sporting at the moment.]

We're the only ones that could help them - he could be hurting them, and there's no one else that can do anything!

[whattaprick]

[ Lambert, being Lambert, is more annoyed at the emotionalness than anything else. ]

Or they could be there because they want to be, just like some of us have our reasons for being with the Carnival.

[starseedling]

[Tough luck champ, this isn't stopping any time soon.]

We don't know that! What if they don't? Other fae aren't like the Ringmaster, it's bad...!

[whattaprick]

So what do you want us to do? Kill the Prince?

[starseedling]

No!

[When he first says it, it sounds like it should be obvious... but is it? How else are they supposed to do it? They could just defeat him, couldn't they? And let the servants get away?]

W-We could just... help them escape...

[whattaprick]

Really? And what if they can't live outside the Prince's realm? What if they don't have anywhere to go? What's gonna stop the Prince from coming after them, or us, and keep them from ending right back where they started?

[ There are other ways to end something like this, if they're bound against their will. Curses can be broken. Fae can be tricked. But Lambert has enough problems with fae. ]

[starseedling]

[And just because Lambert likes over the top emotions so much, Steven starts crying. It's not 100% obvious over the radio, but it's hard to imagine it being anything else. His voice wobbles.]

I don't know.

[He sounds just as pitiful and helpless as you'd expect.]

[whattaprick]

Exactly.

[ As much as Steven's voice is pitiful, Lambert's is a snarl. It's debatable if this would be a better or worse conversation in person: Lambert's angry, though it isn't directed at Steven at particular, and that would only be hell for empathy. ]

You don't know whose life you could be screwing up.

[mirrortide]

Hey! Leave Steven alone! At least he's trying to figure out how to help people trapped there!

[DONT MAKE LAZULI COME KICK YOUR ASS LAMBERT.]

[whattaprick]

Who says they're trapped?

wow that is such an unfitting icon pretend its this one

[mirrortide]

Who says they aren't?

[She's trapped, ergo there must be others too.]

[whattaprick]

Since when did you become an altruist?

[mirrortide]

If you hurt Steven, I will hurt you.

[The answer is never, for the record.]

[whattaprick]

Why would I have to?

Seems to me like he can do that all on his own.

[puddingemote]

Hey, Lam-san. He's a little kid.

[Like what the fuck man.]

[whattaprick]

So what?

Can you think of any other little kids who can willingly go to hell, survive a month thinking they're a changeling without going crazy, and heal someone back from death by spitting on them? Because I can't.

[ Is he insulting Steven or praising him...? Hard to say, with how flat his voice is. ]

He's seen enough to know better.

[mirrortide]

[JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE RIGHT DOESN'T MEAN YOU'RE RIGHT.]

You better hope I don't see you any time soon.

[insidescoop]

LAMBERT!

[buddy u better not]

[stillwinningthehardway]

[And here's Scout's contempt for authority figures having tempers.]

Control yourself. I don't disagree with everything you're saying, but you're not helping us with this display.

[whattaprick]

This is me controlling myself.

[ He could, for example, be straight up using magic to shut Steven the hell up. ]

[stillwinningthehardway]

That? I was better at controlling my emotions when I was four. We're going into a bad situation, Lambert. We're going to have to rely on each other.

If you have to hurt someone, leave the kid alone and try me. [Scout no]

[whattaprick]

Well, since you're such an expert, maybe they should be taking lessons from you.

As much as I'd love to take you up on that, I've got something better to do.

[stillwinningthehardway]

[She's getting Anakin-feelings and not liking it.]

Maybe they should. I'm telling you, don't crawl up our nostrils and get us all killed because you just have to lash out.

[From Scout, that's profanity.]

[whattaprick]

Then do it.

[ Lambert sounds less audibly caustic, but his voice is strained with the effort of not snarling again. Not easy, with a mouth full of sharp teeth. ]

I don't want anyone getting killed either.

[ But it's one thing to know that and another to try to forcibly change decades of bad behavior into being the leader he absolutely was never trained to be. Nobody's every expected anything from Lambert before except to duck his head and keep trudging, but the survival at all costs instinct that's served him so well alone doesn't play well with others. ]

[stillwinningthehardway]

[She hears the effort, it's good he's making it, but Scout is nooot happy about this.

It's a good reminder, she tells herself. She can't trust anyone, in any circumstances. Anyone can snap and she won't have any idea until there are tiny bodies in the garden and so much screaming-

Suppression. Neutrality. It's a bad idea in the long run but this isn't the place or time for anything else.]

Yeah. I know.

Let's just get this done.