I just wanna talk about how SCARED Hans must've been during the prologue, at least up until they got to Bozhena's. Initially afraid they'd get caught by the camp, the fear left and shot right back through his heart when he looks over and sees Henry wounded and bleeding. A lot. Then having to watch as Henry, while injured, tries to find a path through the rocks. Then watching as both Henry and Mutt fall from the top of the rocks. And then when he finally gets to Henry after the fall he just... Won't. Wake. Up.
And when he finally does wake up, he can tell immediately that things are very wrong. The strong, unbeatable, stubborn person he's come to love care about needs his protection for once. And it's terrifying. Because he can't fail him, not when Henry has always come through. I just love how you can see his thought process when Henry starts to hallucinate, he simply just doesn't believe it at first. It's also most likely the first real time he's seen Henry's raw unmasked motions about Skalitz, seen his heart open and bleeding for everything he's lost. And he has no idea how to comfort him. They get more frequent, more horrific, and longer as time goes on. Henry is slipping and slipping fast.
It's been said before but him saying 'please' when they reach the hut. Is just so HUGE. At this point I do believe Hans hasn't fully realized his feelings. Though he does still have a VERY strong affection for Henry, seeing as how he is the first and so far only friend he has ever made. (I'll do another post about when I think both of them fell and who fell first, later.) He just can't lose Henry too, not after the others at the lake. Not when he already felt the beginnings of guilt for their deaths clawing up into his lungs.
Just been thinking about what must've been going through his head at the time.
