[ Hawks knows some pretty strange people in his life so someone who seems a touch on the unhinged side? Not his first time. He lets out a little hum at the question. She's the one who wanted to be the hero, he knows from the moment he heard her voice.

However, now he's going to be blunt. ] No. They will face whatever passes for Paladin justice or they will face me. Those are the options. Letting them go is not on the table.

[ The Paladins are equally likely to execute them here, he knows this. If they swept it under the rug and did nothing? He wouldn't accept that either. ]

I am not someone they want to meet. [ He has to make the offer, or else he'd just be an assassin or a murderer, and that's not what he wants to be. ]

It's not about what I went through. I'm fine. I'm standing right here. Not everyone is. That's the problem. [ Hawks cannot care less what happens to him, terrible as that may be. He's definitely heated. ]

I'm acting in the capacity of a hero, not an assassin. I have to extend the offer or I'm no better than anyone else who carelessly takes lives. However, I don't forsee that going well, and I'm prepared to offer the consequences.

[ He's wary of this 'new leaf' they've turned over, but he holds no authority. He can't just make up his own laws and justice standards. That wouldn't go over very well. ]

I'm not a sadist. Besides, a quick kill isn't to spare them suffering, it's to avoid complications. [ Alright, that's a bit more assassin-y than he should be. ]

I haven't even begun to be scary yet.

[ Hawks snorts a little bit at her opinion of his opinion. ] I do see it from that side of it, and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. [ The words are spoken a little bit more like a hissed whisper, some genuine annoyance laced within them. Bold of her to make such assumptions, and he turns his glance over his shoulder instead of looking at her. ]

Nope, I have other leads.

[ Now the feather in her hand makes a little wiggling move, an attempt to get free. ]

[ He gives a shudder when she shoots electricity through the feather and he presses his lips together and finally throws his hands up and starts walking. ]

Do that again and I'm leaving you behind. I can sever the connection to that feather.

[ Hawks is ridiculously fast, he could get away, but there's not exactly harm in having her tag along for now. It's not the first time he's tasted electricity through his feathers but he's not a big fan of it. ]

[ Yes he definitely will be doing that, but for the moment she's spared learning just how fast he can go. ]

I'm not weak to electricity, in case you were getting ideas. [ No more than the next person. She wouldn't be a terrible match up in a fight. ]

I know they are, that's why I want to take care of it. Other people shouldn't have to deal with this part either, when I'm capable of doing it.

[ For the greater good, he's willing to dirty his hands. ]

[ He doesn't care about looking bad. He cares about his reputation because he has to, but he's not actually that interested in it. He wants to help people, and that includes people who are not perfect. He offers the out because he believes people can change, if they want to. Unfortunately, they rarely want to. ]

I saved those I could from the auction, when I first became aware of the trafficking ring, and helped secure and arrest a lot of small fries that were turned over at the time. When things escalated, I went for the sake of investigation which did not go as expected. [ He presses his lips together. Loathe as he is to admit it. ] I was captured and I did what I could to be an annoyance so I would take more than my share of their ire, and protect those around me to the best of my abilities.

Information still came to light though. Now it's about mopping up the stragglers.

Now we're hunting the people at the top. A mix of both armadas, but more weighted Paladin. Those that still remain claim to be turning over a new leaf, but Elah also left. It's all a shitshow.

[ Either way, he's sure they won't agree either. That's what he's here for. ]

If they don't come in willingly that's it. There's no third option. They'll either die through me, or likely die by hanging. It's not going to be pretty, which is why I went alone. Not everyone feels the need to watch something like that.

[ Hawks sighs a little bit at that. ]

It's human nature to want vengeance. But wanting someone to suffer, and actually killing them are two very different things. No matter how deserving they may be in the mind of the person, it will still weigh on the conscience. You're still removing any opportunity they have to turn their life around. You're causing pain to every single person that knows them. That's why killing is considered a serious crime.

I both understand and am willing to deal with those consequences, and am willing to spare others that fate. That's why I'm doing it. There's no need for someone to get their hands dirty if they've avoided this so far.

[ Hawks looks very serious for a moment. ]

Taking a life is always taking away potential. The potential for harm, the potential for good. You should always take that into account.

[ He sighs. ]

That said, this place does not exactly have a robust justice system. We can't just lock them up for thirty years and let them change their minds. Protecting the public takes precedence.

[ At the sound, several feathers shoot out of his wings to go investigate, although he doesn't change his pace. ]

I factored that in. I'm fairly certain these people are not sorry. You're not usually dealing with crimes of this level though. That, and people's motivations are rarely black and white.

Yeah, a lot of people fall into that black and white thinking. Even heroes, but unfortunately the truth is not that clear cut.

[ Hawks huffs a little bit. ] Why do you see it as me protecting them? I want them to stop and I'm going to ensure they do. Offering them a chance to face justice instead of just being killed isn't me showing support for them. It's the right thing to do.

[ His sight is echolocation, so he can't make out those details. He can tell no one is there, and that there are broken items, so he's heading over there to check it out in the first place. At the same time he exhales. ]

Geeze. There are reporters who ask me less questions than you.

[ The answer is surprising enough to make Hawks chuckle. ]

I try not to be a hypocrite. [ She is, however, pestering him. It doesn't seem like she's going to take that as a sign to stop and so he's resigned to it. ]

I did say that, although you seem very interested in hero ethics. [ At least it was an observation, not an indication he will actually stop answering her questions.

Hawks doesn't hesitate though, leaving the chatter behind for a moment while he crouches down to investigate what's fallen. ] Potent. [ He mutters at the strong smell. Despite that, he looks at the bones and frowns, looking not at the foot prints - he'll deal with that in a minute - but rather where the boxes could've fallen from. ]

[ That's annoying, isn't it. Hawks hums. ]

It's going to be both. They're not going to get away from me. They're on foot, I have wings.

[ They can run but they can't hide. He does send feathers in through that window though, trying to get a bit of a look around. He'll be able to get a sense of the general layout, and if there's any signs of life, but after he's done with this look, he'll be taking flight. ]