(drawing slowly out of a stoop, jonas looks to the altar and bruno standing at it.)

You've got rats? Like, pet rats? (here it comes, though it's not said with disgust. on the contrary, jonas sounds envious.) That's so cool. Man, pets are great for that. They're just an unjudgemental audience, which is more than I can say about even the nicest people I've met. Everybody's got a mean streak in them.

I've been told over and over to just "try" with them, but I'm like... if they don't try, then why should I, right?

(on the tail-end of his rant, wind gone from his sails, his shoulders lift in a self-conscious shrug.)

You know... if we stuck to nice topics all the time, everyone would run out of things to talk about.