Faolan is certain that he's putting his neck out on the line for a man who is a convicted murderer. And that, while he believes the other man to be innocent of the crime, he doesn't have any concrete evidence but Sirius' word on the matter. He's not quite sure what evidence they have against Sirius either however. It sounded from the way that the other man had described it like the whole thing had been really rather botched from start to finish.

Of course, that doesn't negate the fact that Sirius somehow escaped from being wrongly imprisoned of this crime. Which was, of course, another crime in and of itself. He's hoping to stand forward on behalf of the other man and, with Daryl there as his witness, he thinks he might stand half a chance. Or at least, he thought he did. As he quietly stands back and watches the scene unfolding with the group before him however, as he slowly watches Lancelot be poked and prodded by the Night Council, watching the other man actually begin to lose his temper (if only in the slightest) -- Faolan realizes that this exchange might be far more difficult than he had first considered.

Once he is certain that it's their turn however, he does his best to focus on the task at hand -- he can react later about Lancelot, at Lancelot, all he wants. For this moment however he must stand his ground on behalf of Sirius, a loyal member of Hillingdon. Perhaps more loyal still, provided Faolan can get him cleared. He hopes he's not about to open a whole new can of worms, admitting to the fact that he's knowingly been harboring a criminal within his faction for the last few months. And done absolutely nothing legal about it.

Faolan steps forward, motioning Sirius and Daryl forward with him before turning to the Council themselves. He is a bit more used to being in front of this lot than he supposes they are. He hopes that he makes a good impression on them appearing thus. Daryl for one he knows is still wary of him being Sylvia's pocket hunter, after all.

"I am here to speak to you today to ask pardon for a member of my faction," he begins, glancing at Sirius to reassure him (hopefully not a false reassurance at that) before back at the Council themselves. "Twelve years ago, Sirius Black was falsely accused of the murder of a close friend. He had in fact been framed. Framed by a person who as yet remains at large. But our justice system did not discover this fact and, being in such a state of shock, Sirius was not able to adequately defend himself at the time. No one did, and so for twelve years, Sirius served a prison sentence for a crime he did not commit. He has been forced to take matters into his own hands, to break himself free, in the attempt to prove his innocence."

He glances at Sirius again. "Escaping from prison was the only chance Sirius could see of clearing his name. But he cannot do so alone, on the run from the authorities. Thus I stand before the Council to beg pardon on his behalf. The Law has failed him before. I ask now that we do not do so again."

Faolan clenches his teeth hard. He will admit, Sirius isn't selling things for himself very well, nor had he done so in the moment of the trial itself for that matter. But he supposes that's where he should come in. He was not there at the original time of the crime itself. But he is here now.

"One of his closest friends had been murdered," Faolan protests. "Would any of you be accountable for your own actions if someone you cared for lay inexplicably dead at your feet? The neighbor was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it's unfortunate that Sirius threatened him, but he should hardly be held accountable for what he might have said at the time. Was there any physical evidence linking the man to the murder?"

He glances between the members of the council. "Was there any further investigation done into the crime itself? I doubt it. Finding a smoking gun at the scene is not the same as proving it is the gun that shot a man, however. It was simply convenient to tie Sirius to the murder and let the whole matter be put out of sight out of mind. And perhaps that was the intention in the first place. A fact which might have been uncovered at the time, if anyone had ever cared to look for the clues."

It is a bold move, and Faolan knows that he is toeing the line here. But he also believe in his hunters at Hillingdon, and he believes in justice (and vengeance, for that matter). And Sirius certainly did not receive justice, when he had been accused of such crimes.

He bows his head slightly at her, understanding what it is she is saying and what she is not. "I have no evidence to prove his innocence, no," he confirms. "But there was never any evidence to prove his guilt for that matter either. It was my understanding that the Night Council's pardon might offer him a clean slate, and with your blessing, that is what we request. Sirius will be accountable for his actions from here on, just as any man should. But he is not a murderer. And he deserves the chance to prove himself."

Faolan can only hope that he is making sense. The more he talks, the more he's aware of how this could count against him, the more he questions the Council's judgment, the more danger there is for him personally. He would really rather not wind up a statue for trying to argue his case, even if it was in the name of a good cause.