I stared at the brash young lady for a long moment as she held her hand out to me. Finally I shrugged and took her hand in one of mine, gloves meeting dark skin. I gripped her hand tight and shook it, once, before releasing it. "I am Fil'ayn Kiljarden, most commonly known as 'Hunter'." I returned my hand to my side as I scanned the street and the buildings around us as we walked. All was quiet around us - the good and fair citizens of the city having long since retreated to the night; to the taverns, their homes, the inns - only a wary few still roamed the streets. Guardsmen nodded to us as we walked by, their eyes hesitating on my collar for a moment before moving on to the young woman beside me.

"What, precisely, do you think I am, Svalesin?" I paused in my steps and turned to look at her, bringing my silver gaze to bear on her smaller form as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do you think me a rabid serial killer? I hope not - else you choosing to walk with me to an abandoned location is more than just bravery or simple foolishness, it would be the height of folly. No. Nor am I a member of the Guard, to arrest criminals that have been preying upon they city, harming them." I shook my head, and leaned towards her, bearing down on her with an intense stare.

"I am a Huntsman, girl. My normal prey are not men, they are monsters. Literal beasts that hunt the wilderness, that feast on flesh, that terrorize. When someone like me is called into a city, to pursue criminals, it is because what they have done is so far beyond the pale, that the men and women in the government have washed their hands of them. We are past the stage of trials, of peers, of the judge and the jury. There is only me, the executioner called upon. However many children you think these scum have harmed - there are more. I have tracked this group across the nation, their depredations have left a mark in nearly every major city across Alerar. Families are terrified to walk with their children outside without being tethered together in some of the smaller townships." I snorted and stood up straight, shaking my head. "No, girl. These are not just criminals, but monsters in men's form, terrorizing this country. You do not call the police upon a true, vile monster - you call those trained to put a permanent end to their threat." I blinked, once. That was.. more than I had talked at one point in a while. Something about this girl's naivete - I couldn't tell if I wanted to crush it out of her, expose her to every single dark secret lurking in the shadows away from her pure little gaze... Or shield her, send her home. Leap to the rooftops and leave her to her own devices, and eliminate the child-snatcher ring before she even reached the building. So what if she thought me a monster for it - what was one monstrous man, as opposed to twenty, thirty, or more? I shook my head, and pulled my hat lower over my eyes before I turned and walked on.

"There will be bloodshed, Svalesin. Perhaps it will be a good idea to have you along after all - for the children." I doubted the kids would want to run to a man who was coated in blood, even if they did witness me killing those who had taken them.