[ His eyes follow hers when she checks the rest of the hallway, back to their conversation at hand. Sure. He gets the impulse. Was already confident they were alone, but it doesn't hurt to double check, does it.
He raises his eyebrows at her observation about Thorne's arrogance. What gave it away: their overly flattering account of their own history, the part where they currently reside in an actual castle, the part where they successfully pulled people from other worlds? This place has riches and power galore. And when you've never been small, it's very easy to forget that chances are pretty good there'll be someone stronger lurking around the corner.
It's a silent agreement with her. Brad will never go into detail about why, just that yeah, she's correct. An entire kingdom got a little too big for their britches. It's a fun place to be.
He tilts his head slightly, his body posture settling into something fully relaxed at her confirmation that they're from different worlds. He's still smiling, too, thoroughly unfazed through all of this. ] Oh, we've still got chaos where I'm from, though it's probably different from what you're used to if yours is tied in with magic. Extreme weather events, earthquakes — things like that, though most of it is caused by humans. [ Sometimes he's one of those humans. It's not anything grand; he just likes fucking with people in mundane ways, winding them up and letting them spiral out all on their own. He'll probably do it here, too, once he's secure in his position. ] But nope, no magic. My world went the whole science and technology route. I guess you could call it a kind of magic — just the kind in which there's an explanation for everything, and everything is bound to certain laws of the universe. But nobody really labels it something it's not.
[ Well, some people do. Hippies or whatever. Nobody anybody takes seriously.
The way she smiles slightly, though; the teasing tone. The words that follow it, about the Singularity. Now that's interesting. Brad keeps his demeanour as pleasant as it was before, but it's slightly sharpened now. He's just that little much more attentive. ]
The Singularity is supposed to be that much more powerful, isn't it? I'm willing to buy that, since I don't know of any other place that allows for dimension-hopping. [ He pauses, as though contemplating whether or not to continue. Lowers his voice just a touch, as if this is conspiratorial now. Is it? Who knows; could be. ] Whether you have something like that where you're from or not, you're more familiar with magic than I am. So, expert opinion. Can something that powerful be controlled?
[ It's what Thorne wants, and it's certainly an appealing prospect. And one reason — albeit not the only one — to want to stay in Thorne. Still, he's not greedy beyond reason; there's no point in getting too invested in something that's likely to blow up in your face. The actual, unspoken question is more like how committed to the cause should any of us be. ]
no subject
He raises his eyebrows at her observation about Thorne's arrogance. What gave it away: their overly flattering account of their own history, the part where they currently reside in an actual castle, the part where they successfully pulled people from other worlds? This place has riches and power galore. And when you've never been small, it's very easy to forget that chances are pretty good there'll be someone stronger lurking around the corner.
It's a silent agreement with her. Brad will never go into detail about why, just that yeah, she's correct. An entire kingdom got a little too big for their britches. It's a fun place to be.
He tilts his head slightly, his body posture settling into something fully relaxed at her confirmation that they're from different worlds. He's still smiling, too, thoroughly unfazed through all of this. ] Oh, we've still got chaos where I'm from, though it's probably different from what you're used to if yours is tied in with magic. Extreme weather events, earthquakes — things like that, though most of it is caused by humans. [ Sometimes he's one of those humans. It's not anything grand; he just likes fucking with people in mundane ways, winding them up and letting them spiral out all on their own. He'll probably do it here, too, once he's secure in his position. ] But nope, no magic. My world went the whole science and technology route. I guess you could call it a kind of magic — just the kind in which there's an explanation for everything, and everything is bound to certain laws of the universe. But nobody really labels it something it's not.
[ Well, some people do. Hippies or whatever. Nobody anybody takes seriously.
The way she smiles slightly, though; the teasing tone. The words that follow it, about the Singularity. Now that's interesting. Brad keeps his demeanour as pleasant as it was before, but it's slightly sharpened now. He's just that little much more attentive. ]
The Singularity is supposed to be that much more powerful, isn't it? I'm willing to buy that, since I don't know of any other place that allows for dimension-hopping. [ He pauses, as though contemplating whether or not to continue. Lowers his voice just a touch, as if this is conspiratorial now. Is it? Who knows; could be. ] Whether you have something like that where you're from or not, you're more familiar with magic than I am. So, expert opinion. Can something that powerful be controlled?
[ It's what Thorne wants, and it's certainly an appealing prospect. And one reason — albeit not the only one — to want to stay in Thorne. Still, he's not greedy beyond reason; there's no point in getting too invested in something that's likely to blow up in your face. The actual, unspoken question is more like how committed to the cause should any of us be. ]