[Video]

[makeumypet]

[It's a while before this vampire's daughter speaks up-- more because she's been following each and every one of the conversations. Well, whatever is not locked away from her. Although she would normally have a blank, doll-like expression, tonight, her eyebrows seem to crease with worry and perhaps moreso, frustration

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Voice

[cactusnwhiskey]

[After a little bit of static, a southern drawl is heard.]

There anything you 'specially want to know about, bambina? Can't say I can explain the whole damn lawbook, but I can try to give you answers about the specifics.

Voice

[makeumypet]

[What a strange... way of speaking...]

I want to learn about how justice works here. I came from a time in the far past, sir.

[cactusnwhiskey]

[It gets weirder from here, dearest.]

Welp, I reckon it all depends on where you're from and what you're askin' fer. I figure most human laws are pretty standard no matter what town you mosey into - thou shalt not murder or steal or any of that stuff.

[makeumypet]

I came from the 16th century, sir. It was a time of war and corruption. It taught me that the law was never fair to the poor. I want to know if there had been any difference between then and now.

[cactusnwhiskey]

Well, I reckon it has - we ain't exactly at war and this place seems to be more trustworthy than corrupt, when it comes to the law. [He's seen true corruption of the law system, considering his former boss...]

Sorry t'hear that you feel that way, lil' miss. Though the law ain't killin' people willy-nilly or nothin' like that. We're just regular folks like you, tryin' to make this island a better place fer everyone. That's all. [He unfortunately doesn't know the circumstances of what happened.]

[makeumypet]

What makes you certain that the law doesn't kill?

[cactusnwhiskey]

Don't get me wrong, I never said we didn't kill. We're guilty of that. But I said we don't kill willy-nilly, bambina, we only do it when necessary. Back where I come from, if you were a police officer and you shot someone down, they'd treat it almost like any other murder - interrogate ya and figger out why ya did what ya did - an' there was a bunch of paperwork you had to fill out to prove that you killed fer the greater good, like civilian's lives were in danger or somethin'. Even when you just wing 'em, they still ask you why you had to shoot someone, and have you go through the whole rigamarole. Pretty rough on a police officer, I'd say. [It's why he's glad he's a detective now.]

[makeumypet]

... mm... [She sounds very thoughtful, as if lost in wondering what would happen to her father if he does get caught-- would his offense be treated in this manner?]

This world is truly a different one...

[cactusnwhiskey]

So the law did kill anybody they pleased back in your neck of the woods?

[makeumypet]

Yes. It only served to protect the nobility.

[cactusnwhiskey]

... [He hates to admit that sounds really similar to a situation he had back home. Not nobility in a sense, but, the law did serve to protect someone from their rightful sentence for a few years.] Well, it ain't nothin' like that here, from what I've gathered.

[makeumypet]

I... I see... how does the law settle things?

[cactusnwhiskey]

Way it's s'posed to work, people don't need to worry 'bout the police settlin' nothin'. If everybody followed the law we wouldn't have to enforce 'em. But the law ain't perfect, and never will be. Neither will we and neither will the people we're protectin'. But we've gotta try, to keep order... I mean if we didn't punish criminals, nobody would follow the law then.

[He hates to make it sound like he's condoning putting this poor girl's father away, but, most laws were put in place to protect everyone. Most of them were for the greater good.]

[makeumypet]

Then, what does a punishment entail?

[There's a sharp edge to her voice now. She doesn't like it that it sounds as if her father deserves punishment without any reason save that upholding the law is important.]

[cactusnwhiskey]

Depends on the crime, mostly. If it's murder, there's a much stricter punishment than, say, a burglary. 'course, if it's a murder... well, we'd shoot you fer that in Texas.

[Everyone has to be punished equally for equal crimes. Of course circumstances come into play, but with alternatives available for most vampires to drink blood other than attacking people in the streets, the law was still going to mostly side with civilians. Of course, Jake didn't know the details, so he was rather ambivalent on the issue.]

[makeumypet]

Would you shoot someone if it was done for survival?

[Amy still has little to no faith in the law's sense of justice. So, it's taking her a while to grasp the modern mechanisms behind it.]