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Jonah: Jonah had resumed his slaughter of the monsters in the raid, his hammer shattering skulls and bones with ease, as he looked for a key to progress to a higher level. His shirt long gone, and his body and face were splattered with the dark blood of the zombies and ferals he'd fought. That was his purpose in the raids. He did not expect to defeat the leader; he was there to keep any of the creatures from wreaking more havoc than they already did. Moving steadily, he paused as he came in to one of the large rooms and saw no one immediately present, an oddity in these things. Leaning against a wall, he began to wipe some of the gore off of the weapon, keeping his head up and alert for more creatures to show up.

Robert PrattRobert moved silently through the raid, moving from floor to floor by picking pockets and looting bodies that had been discarded and left behind. He didn't fight unless absolutely necessary, to protect the young or those he loved. Violence was abhorrent to him, and he could not understand those who chose to do harm to others. He usually stayed in shadows to protect himself from the guards or zombies or such that were found within these buildings. He was resting in a large room when.... well, he didn't know what it was that came in. It looked fairly horrific to him, but it wasn't like anything he'd seen before in one of these buildings. He moved closer and observed, and when it began to clean a weapon, he dropped the shadows from around himself and smiled at it. His hands moved before his chest and created the sign of the Light, even creating a little globe light to shine within the center of the symbol he'd made. "Blessings of the Light be upon you. Are you well?"

Jonah: When the person popped up in front of him, Jonah could not stop his instincts from kicking in. Shifting his rifle to his shoulder, he sighted along it, expecting whatever had appeared to be a threat but...it wasn't. Instead there was a little man with...light in his hands? The killer dropped the gun a little but kept it in his hand. "I'm...fine." Confusion was apparent on his face as he studied the other male, not sure where he had come from.

Robert PrattRobert didn't flinch when the gun was aimed at him, because it was hardly the first time it had happened and it certainly wouldn't be the last. Instead, he simply stood there smiling, looking up at the thing he guessed was about a foot taller than he was. His own weapons were on him if needed, but they were still cloaked in shadows so that he always appeared unarmed. It was especially handy while walking around the streets - especially with the trigger happy police this town seemed to have. The thing before him said he was fine and Robert nodded in a friendly manner, eyes drifting to the hammer as well as the blood, bone and other bodily fluids and pieces that dotted the beast. "Might I ask.... What exactly you are and how you came to be in here? You don't seem familiar to me I'm afraid."

Jonah: He frowned as he was inspected and looked the man over. There was not the appearance of a threat about him but the killer was still wary of him. The question posed to him was odd. It was clear to him that the other man was a vampire as well so he answered it straightforwardly, seeing no reason to hide his identity. "I'm a vampire. I...walked through the front door?" Letting the gun hang from its strap and sliding the hammer back in to its loop, he offered a hand. "My name is Jonah, and you are?"

Robert PrattRobert eyed the hand for blood and gore before he reached out his own and clasped the man's hand in both of his own. "Robert. Pleased to meet you Jonah. And what brings you here this evening then?"

Jonah: "I try and make it to all of the raids." His handshake was firm and after a moment he relaxed his hand and tried to be somewhat friendly. "It's...necessary. Why are you here?"

Robert PrattRobert didn't mind a firm handshake, his own was fairly firm as well. When his hand was released, he slipped both his hands in his pockets and relaxed against the wall beside the man. "You make it to them all just to kill things from the looks of things?" His eyes went over the man once more before returning to his face, though he was still smiling. "As for me, I'm here to help people and protect them."

Jonah: He stood up straighter at the comment about him being there merely to kill things. "Like I said, it is necessary." There was no sign of carnage on him and he asked, "And how do you do that?"

Robert PrattRobert gave a little shake of his head at that. "Perhaps here, in this one. But you said you go to all of the raids. Which means the ones that are full of humans as well. Correct? So you kill humans, for no other reason than them doing their jobs, to put food on their families’ tables and roofs over their heads. Yet you kill them. Correct?" He turned his head away and coughed politely, some scent or other from nearby catching in his nostrils. "As for me, I can teleport people away from danger, or teleport the danger from them. I can also heal them, or I can summon zombies to distract the danger, to allow the escape of the one in danger. There's all manner of things I do on a regular basis to help people and keep them safe."

Jonah: "I've done what is necessary to deal with a threat. The only humans I've killed are paladins that put us all in danger." This was not exactly true for his entire history but was accurate enough in the current moment. Though the man's demeanor still seemed friendly, Jonah had lost much of his own. "So you treat the symptoms."

Robert PrattRobert shook his head, his tone becoming more firm now. "I'm afraid, I don't believe you. You said you go to every raid, which means you have killed members of various gangs. It means you've helped kill off these monsters, and humans, to enable yourself or others to get to the floor which has the human controlling everything on it, so that they can be killed. You're fooling yourself if you think those deaths were necessary. You are simply exacerbating the 'problems' the more close minded of the community think there are. For example - have you taken a picture of yourself and looked at it recently? You are a walking, talking breach of the masquerade, just for looking how you do. Why would you modify yourself like that, to then kill innocent humans to supposedly 'protect' us? That's ridiculous!"

Jonah: He grit his teeth and did his best to keep his tone level. "Those gangs put us at risk. Most are dealing in our blood now. Every one of these brings attention to us that we don't need yet." His mouth formed a thin line when Robert commented on his appearance. "You think I choose to look like this?" The killer laughed and shook his head, "I stay in the sewers and out of sight so I don't breach the masquerade."

Robert PrattHe just grinned at the man, amused at his obvious irritation. "Really? How did you get here? The nearest sewer entrance and exit is blocks away. And what do you mean you don't choose to look like that? There's not a chance you're going to get me to believe you were born like that, happened to come to the right town and managed to find an idiot vampire with a big enough sense of humor to murder you. As for the gangs - how do you know that they put you at risk? You know what they do with the blood do you? You really think they are stupid enough to let their 'fishing spot' out, so that just any lunatic can come and muscle in on their territory? Some of you lot really are dense!"

Jonah: "Celerity to the door and then slip in. You'd be surprised what people don't pay attention to and how easy it is to pass just wearing a hoodie." He forced a deep breath, calming himself. "And no, I didn't always look like this. Why I do now, I don't know. I do what I have to do to stay unseen." He shook his head at the ignorance of the last statement. "There's more than one gang in the city, the Broussard figured it out and we took them out yet there's still Blood Thieves. Not that hard to figure out that more than one gang knows about it."

Robert Pratt"Yeah, you and I both know that you can't be precise with celerity. There's not a chance you manage to hit the door every time. And perhaps you look like that as a punishment from Lux for your violent ways!" He said, looking the man over again and wondering how even in a hoodie he didn't get noticed with the size he was. Robert would have certainly turned and looked for one. "And of course there's more than one gang in the city. And you and the rest have no idea how the Blood Thieves are set up. You might have cut off the head at the top, but like a Hydra, there are plenty of heads in the organization to step in and keep their own branches running. None of you achieved anything but to piss us all off. So you simply reap what you sow!" In his annoyance, he hadn't realized he'd said 'us' instead of 'them'

Jonah: Jonah might have continued the conversation as irritated as he was but two things paused him. The reference to a punishment from 'Lux' (whatever that was) and the slip of the tongue saying 'us'. Pulling the hammer from the loop, the killer held it near the other man's head. "If any were punishing me, it would be Nox. And if someone were to be punished, I believe it would be the one working with the Blood Thieves."

Robert PrattRobert shook his head and didn't move from his position. All he did was lift his hand to push the hammer to the side as he chuckled. "All right Thor, stand down! Jeez!" He chuckled, shaking his head. "Nox is a lie, made up by the elders to control the young ones and keep them in the dark. Personally, I have an inkling that Nox is a remnant of Muga, perhaps one of his followers who found another way to bring him minions. Lux would punish you for having potential you didn't meet by turning to the Darkness. As for the blood thieves, yes, I work with them. I am one of them, from before my murder and before your kind destroyed all those I loved and called family. Why would I turn my back on those in need, regardless of current public opinion?"

Jonah: He wanted to crush the little man's head but that was not what was required of him. Shaking his head, he moved the hammer to his side. "Because it endangers the rest of us." He bit his tongue, keeping himself from insulting the other's beliefs as he had been insulted but could not help but point out one flaw in his logic. "You seem to be moving around an awful lot for someone that was murdered."

Robert Pratt"Yup, and I seem to have supernatural powers and all sorts of things. I was murdered, the life I had was taken from me. I might have been given another, but that doesn't mean the first wasn't destroyed. So don't try that pro-vamp ****." He shook his head, fed up hearing that sort of rubbish. "And what endangers you? What proof have you got that shows you were in any danger at all? Hmm? None. People just started murdering the blood thieves and turned it into a ******* GAME!"

Jonah: His hand gripped the well-worn handle of the hammer as hard as he could, his arm shaking. "You don't get to talk to me like that. Yes, I killed as many as I could because the community decided that that was how to keep all of us safe, but I argued to ally with them. Regardless of what might have been, they went to war on us. All of us. My childe was attacked for no reason by them." He had forgotten about the attack on Storm as she rested outside of the stronghold of the gang leaders until this moment and the anger came rushing back to him.

Robert Pratt"And who threw the first punch?" He'd read the boards when he'd been turned. He'd heard the stories from within the gangs. No blood thief had harmed a vampire, until after a vampire had harmed a blood thief. The culling had happened, the game had happened, and only then had the blood thieves risen up and taken the initiative and started attacking vampires. And Robert couldn't blame them one bit. "Your childe is a vampire, and the vampires had declared war on the blood thieves. How many blood thieves had you killed 'for no reason'? And you expected them to sit back and die and not fight back in the same way you all fought them? You entitled and self-important prick. What makes your life so much more important than theirs?"

Jonah: "So it's ok for them to judge every single vampire for the actions of a few but it's unfair for the same to be done to them?"

Robert Pratt"I believe the vampires judged them first and declared war on them. They simply defended themselves from a threat that had been made. Again, the blood thieves did nothing to the vampires but offer them cash. There was nothing to judge us for. Yet we were all marked for death by the vampires. You can hardly have expected them to ask a vampire which side they were for before acting. Not after all that was put onto CrowNet about how it was planned to wipe out every single blood thief. And damn right - I passed them all the information from the boards so they knew what was going on and could protect and defend themselves. It doesn't change the fact - it was the vampires who declared the war and the vampires who threw the first punch. If you didn't want your childe involved, you shouldn't have murdered them and you shouldn't have killed blood thieves and you should have fought harder to stop the slaughter. You didn't, so you are to blame for the attacks on your childe"

Jonah: "Say that again."

Robert Pratt"You heard me I'm sure. There's not that much distance between us!"

Jonah: "Then I think we need to see whose god favors who more."

Robert Pratt"Oh? And how would we do that then?"

Jonah: "We could fight, but I have a feeling you would say that would be against your beliefs." He rested the broad top of the hammer on Robert's chest and pushed. "I am Nox's Hammer. My favor is my strength. What has your god done for you?"

Robert Pratt"You can hit me if you'd like, I won't stop you. If you think that will make you feel better - go for it. However, it only proves my point." He didn't move with the push, simply swayed backwards and then forwards once more as the hammer was brought back. "As for Lux, she saved me and has shown me the way forwards. I am happier than I've been for years of my life and perhaps given time, you too could find her way child"

Jonah: "If she's anything like you, a pretentious ****, I seriously doubt it."

Robert PrattHe chuckled and shook his head. "She is better than me in all things and she is what we all strive to be like. However, we were all human and we are all fallible. And you thinking I'm a pretentious **** is your own opinion. It's wrong, but I presume you were once human too, and so you too are fallible. But if you think anything of yourself, you will find the right path and then your curse will end. Seek forgiveness, find your humanity, and see what happens"

Jonah: He returned the laugh, no happiness in it. "My opinion is based off how you chose to speak to someone you don't even know. I hope the Shadow Realm finds you often."

Robert Pratt"It does, but Lux sees me through his realm. As for me, I chose to speak to you how you spoke to me and about those I care about. It's not my fault if my words struck a nerve and rang true to you."

Jonah: Jonah turned on his heel and walked away from the man, offering his back if the poor excuse for a creature wanted to strike at him. He was deluded and lost in whatever game he was trying to play and the killer would have no more part of it.

Robert PrattHe laughed as the man walked away and Robert called after him. "As I said, perhaps when you mature you will find the right path child. Lux will be waiting for you when you find yourself and she will embrace you with open arms and remove the curse. You will see. Find your humanity and you will see!"