Hunter ran as fast as he could to get to his room. Each time he took a breath, he felt it becoming quicker and quicker, and not because he was running. He only made it halfway before he had to stop because he couldn't breath. It was terrifying; he felt like almost no oxygen was getting into his lungs. It almost felt like he was choking. He couldn't force himself to calm down, and that only made him start to hyperventilate more. What if someone found him like this?!

He felt his back hit the wall, and found himself sliding down into a sitting position, his knees pulled up to his chest. His vision swam, and he shut his eyes, burying his face between his knees. Was he really a clone? He didn't want to believe it, but he knew what he saw back there.

After a few seconds, he brought his head up and his hands clutched at his hair. "I'm a clone," he managed to feebly say. He shook his head as his eyes stared widely at the ground. "I-I'm a clone. I'm a clone." Saying those words out loud only made it worse. His mouth felt dry, but a very unhinged giggle escaped his mouth. It just occurred to him that he was shaking violently. If anyone saw him right now, they'd probably think he looked like a mad-man.

"It-It can't be that bad, right?" He felt something shuffle in his pocket, and next thing he knew, the red cardinal was perched on his shoulder. "So-so what if I'm an artificially created witch...It's not like-" Not like what? Not like his whole life was a lie? Not like his only purpose in life was to serve Belos and nothing else? There was absolutely nothing good about this!

Hunter felt his palismen lightly peck his face. It was cheeping, but he couldn't make any sense of it at the moment. He brought one hand up to swat it away, but then hesitated. If he really was this...this Grimwalker-clone-thing, then chances were Belos never cared about him. He was always told to serve his uncle because he gave him everything-a home, a staff, a purpose-but now it was sounding more like he was purposely created to be used as a tool. A tool, and nothing else. Was that really how things had been this whole time, and he'd never even noticed? Was he so blinded by his need to please the emperor that he never realised Belos never actually never did anything for him to return? All these years spent serving Belos...That really was the only thing he was created for, huh…

He couldn't even begin to describe how much this hurt. Instead of swatting the red cardinal away, he reached his arm up to stroke its feathers. He just sat like that for a couple of minutes, just petting the bird until he was able to regain control of his breathing. If he really was a clone...If he didn't mistake what he saw for something else...Then it meant his little new friend was all he had. The creature didn't abandon him earlier that day at Eclipse Lake, not even when Hunter was giving up on everything and told it to go find a better witch. And now that he made some new horrifying revelation about himself, the cardinal was still with him. He never knew palismen, with their wild magicness, could be so loyal.

Hunter closed his eyes, took a couple of long, deep breaths, and then turned his head to look at his palisman. "I don't know what to do," he admitted to the bird. "I...For the first time in my life-" In his artificially created life, but he didn't want to think about that any longer right now. "-I don't know if I should…" he sighed, deciding to not finish that thought. He was going to say 'If I should stay here and serve Belos,' but he didn't think he could ever stand to be in the same room with his so-called "uncle" again. Not after knowing his whole existence was a lie.

"C'mon, let's just get to our room. We can decide what to do then." We, he liked how he felt he could say we. "Don't want any guards wondering what I'm doing here." He wrinkled his nose. "Or worse, Kikimora." Now, wouldn't that just be awful.

It took a lot to get his feet to move up all the stairs it took to get to his room. His fight with the Blight girl and his not one -but two- mental breakdowns was really getting to him. He was honestly wondering right now if it would have been better if he'd just stayed at Eclipse Lake and slowly died in his self-dug grave. Then he wouldn't have to be so darn confused right now. Then he wouldn't have had to face Belos ever again.

The cardinal chirped again, and now that he was able to focus a little more, he could once again understand what it was saying. 'It'll be alright' it said.

"Will it though?" Hunter mumbled, running another hand through his hair. But when the bird nuzzled against his face, a slight smile came to his lips.

'I know where to find help if you need it.'

Now, Hunter wasn't sure what that meant, but he wondered if it had something to do with the human or Blight girl. Though he ended up fighting both, they still offered him more kindness than anyone had in a while. He wasn't sure if they would want to help him anymore though, not after he took the key and threatened them. He disappointed those two girls, and he knew from experience that that never ended well. If he asked for their help, they'd either slam the door in his face or fight him again, neither of which he wanted.

Yeah...Despite his palisman's words (or chirps, of you will), he didn't deserve a second chance. He didn't deserve their help or kindness, not after what he did earlier. He definitely wouldn't forgive himself if he were them.

"Thanks," the teen replied with a rather sad expression. "But no one will help me now."