He nodded along, his mind far away. Sentiment had given the other away, as it had so many other contractors looking to play the dismal hand of cards they'd been dealt by Labukas. They hadn't quite yet learned to hide them from view and it showed. Hound wondered if Kartahn's ability could work around the Oath's rigid terms... if a civilian was harmed accidentally in the fray, would the contractor retain their powers if the situation was "fixed"? For a brief moment, he saw Cassidy's face in his mind's eye, the look of shock and incomprehension that he'd taken up when the attack he'd redirected had hit a fleeing innocent. Then Hound shook his head once, rather forcedly as if to shove it out of his mind. There was no room for sentiment or regret, here.
"I see. Skill or no, you have willpower... you didn't give up on that woman." It wasn't reliable, though. It got easier to watch people die, easier to watch your comrades die. Hound couldn't voice his concerns, of course. They would just have to bring Kartahn's control up to par before the apathy set in. It was very doable, the Hunter assured him, practically cracking its knuckles in anticipation. "Asking you to care about the fate of strangers is impossible, I know. I'm not looking for promises. This war must seem very far away to you, even though you're already a part of it. But I need to hear your answer tonight. Will you make an effort to work with us?" While his words were gentle, the tone behind them had become steely. Without moving a muscle, his presence expanded ever so slightly, like an interrogator's shadow made larger by a single light source.