[The horror and sympathy on Hunter's face are...he doesn't know. He can't place his own reaction to it. It's awful to put this on a kid, even if the kid is a fellow homunculus; it's good to know someone cares; and-]
[He's going to lose that sympathy immediately if he ever talks about his role in the war, isn't he. Effiom may be a world away, but that doesn't make him any less Effiom's butcher if anyone finds out what he's done.]
[And what was done to him- to Joba-]
[There are parts of his story that Hunter never needs to hear. The broad strokes should be enough.]
[But the broad strokes are enough to make Huvrye's heart sink to the floor when Hunter starts talking. All of that, and he still says they're alike-]
[But it turns out that's only to an extent, and that extent falls far short of Huvrye's crimes. Congratulations on getting out in time to rebel against the genocide instead of actively participating in it at a very high level. He's already doing much better than Huvrye in that regard.]
[On top of that, Hunter had never had a choice. Huvrye was always on track for some higher role - elite homunculi are too specialized, too expensive, to stay in the rank and file for long - but he could have remained a sniper, or in spec ops, if he weren't horrifyingly good at his job. He'd climbed to his position over a mountain of corpses back when he'd thought it was the right thing to do, but at least Effiom hadn't groomed him for it. Hunter had been created and raised (and Grimwalkers can be made as children, and grow up, and age - he trips over the concept and files it away for later) to be the right hand man of a genocidal maniac for his entire life - the latest in a long line of Grimwalkers all raised like Hunter had been, who all got wise and rebelled.]
[(The latest in a long line of Jobas, some part of him whispers, and he shuts that down fast.)]
[But...Hunter got out. Hunter has friends who stood by him despite who he'd been.]
[(Deep down, the part of Huvrye that paid for his actions in blood and gore at Kyriena's hands is quietly terrified for Hunter's friends. The part that still misses Joba, that aches for any meaningful connection with someone who understands, is jealous. He shuts those down too.)]
They sound like good friends.
[It is deeply sincere. Hunter may have been led around by the nose just as badly as Huvrye, but he'd gotten out before the damage was too bad, and if Huvrye is understanding him correctly, he'd prevented the worst of the killing and his friends were still alive and would be with him if he hadn't ended up here. Differences in their alchemical makeup aside, Hunter is one thing Huvrye never was: lucky.]
I don't know what people think of Grimwalkers where you're from, but if your friends already like you for who you are, then why would they care about what you are?
[He's genuinely trying to understand. There's a chunk of context here that he still doesn't have.]
same terrible, terrible hat
[He's going to lose that sympathy immediately if he ever talks about his role in the war, isn't he. Effiom may be a world away, but that doesn't make him any less Effiom's butcher if anyone finds out what he's done.]
[And what was done to him- to Joba-]
[There are parts of his story that Hunter never needs to hear. The broad strokes should be enough.]
[But the broad strokes are enough to make Huvrye's heart sink to the floor when Hunter starts talking. All of that, and he still says they're alike-]
[But it turns out that's only to an extent, and that extent falls far short of Huvrye's crimes. Congratulations on getting out in time to rebel against the genocide instead of actively participating in it at a very high level. He's already doing much better than Huvrye in that regard.]
[On top of that, Hunter had never had a choice. Huvrye was always on track for some higher role - elite homunculi are too specialized, too expensive, to stay in the rank and file for long - but he could have remained a sniper, or in spec ops, if he weren't horrifyingly good at his job. He'd climbed to his position over a mountain of corpses back when he'd thought it was the right thing to do, but at least Effiom hadn't groomed him for it. Hunter had been created and raised (and Grimwalkers can be made as children, and grow up, and age - he trips over the concept and files it away for later) to be the right hand man of a genocidal maniac for his entire life - the latest in a long line of Grimwalkers all raised like Hunter had been, who all got wise and rebelled.]
[(The latest in a long line of Jobas, some part of him whispers, and he shuts that down fast.)]
[But...Hunter got out. Hunter has friends who stood by him despite who he'd been.]
[(Deep down, the part of Huvrye that paid for his actions in blood and gore at Kyriena's hands is quietly terrified for Hunter's friends. The part that still misses Joba, that aches for any meaningful connection with someone who understands, is jealous. He shuts those down too.)]
They sound like good friends.
[It is deeply sincere. Hunter may have been led around by the nose just as badly as Huvrye, but he'd gotten out before the damage was too bad, and if Huvrye is understanding him correctly, he'd prevented the worst of the killing and his friends were still alive and would be with him if he hadn't ended up here. Differences in their alchemical makeup aside, Hunter is one thing Huvrye never was: lucky.]
I don't know what people think of Grimwalkers where you're from, but if your friends already like you for who you are, then why would they care about what you are?
[He's genuinely trying to understand. There's a chunk of context here that he still doesn't have.]