Hellboy raises his eyebrows -- or the general area where his eyebrows would be, if his face wasn't interrupted in that region by two filed-down stumps of horns. He hacks off a chunk from his flapjacks with the edge of his fork, spears it and sticks it in his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, he eyes Fern.

As far as origin stories go, it's far from the strangest he's heard. Objects being turned into people isn't particularly difficult. The issue in his experience is usually convincing them to turn back.

"I think that's a different ball game, kid. It's ok, homunculi can be pretty difficult to get on with. Tend to be kinda cranky."

He waves his fork around, broadly indicating their surroundings.

"So what's the deal with this place?"