There is a whisper in Versi's head at those words, a quiet, shadowy thing carried up from the darkness below. But the young Exalt doesn't notice it for a second. Her focus has been on Smile, a young Exalt like her, but with a more painful fate and place in Creation. What was one more iota of unease, a brief chill across the nape of the neck? It was a chill night and they were discussing dark topics. Versi simply placed a hand to the back of her neck for a moment, barely thinking before looking back towards Maiden, frowning.
"You deserve better than that. Than just hoping they'll get better."
Slowly, hesitantly at first, Versi took a step forward towards the Deathknight. Drawing close, the Lunar smiles, placing a hand upon the Abyssal's shoulder before drawing her arms around Smile, hugging the strange little figure. It wasn't much, and the young Lunar felt that keenly, but there was honest warmth behind it, a few tears gently dropping down her face. No one should feel that alone.
Versi lingers in the embrace for several long seconds, the source of her bloody wound forgotten. Smile was like her, another lonely Exalt, trying to make sense of the world. She'd just... chosen a darker path towards that. She shouldn't be blamed. This wasn't her fault. The young steward sniffed a little as she drew away, meeting Smile's gaze with a frown of sorrow and regret. What could she offer someone in this situation? The Maiden's life wouldn't improve with Versi just giving her a hug. The young traveller shook her head, a touch dejectedly.
"I don't know what I can do to help yet. But I want to. I don't like being hated either. It's not just Deathknights no one trusts."
Sighing, the Lunar looks up towards the night sky, considering the points of light. She sighed, the sight was pleasant, but reminded her of that first night in Creation. And how far she still had to go in her objectives. The little Lunar looked across to Smile, trying to seem encouraging.
"A lot of things are wrong in Creation. If we can learn about them, work out how we got to this point, perhaps we can make things better. Or at least work out where to start, perhaps?" She met Maiden's gaze, trying to see if she agreed with that idea at all. It seemed like one more thing they might have in common.
Spoiler: OOC
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Can't find a good justification for any of Versi's virtues kicking in here. Compassion? Braga's not been hurt, or in direct need of sympathy. Conviction? Arguing with Braga, whilst something that's pretty OOC for Versi, doesn't act against her core beliefs. Temperance might work for emotional restraint, but it's Versi's lowest virtue and wouldn't boost things enough. And Valor... doesn't make sense for confronting Braga; he's not that powerful.
And... that eliminates Versi's chances of boosting this high enough to defend against it.
So yeah, Poisoning the Will now active on Versi. Industrious, can I get a confirmation on the duration? Versi will resist for the first day likely, have an argument the day after that, and then not apologize... until the end of the duration. One scene of erosion will be rebuilt fairly soon after this goes wrong, barring other interference