[Mari]

Coolshaymin

It was an evening Viridi might very well still remember. July 22nd, the anniversary of Arle's birthday party. The mage was nowhere to be found usual and her connection to Viridi was still closed off. Perhaps Viridi had caught wind of the terrible tragedy that had hit the life sphere, killing dozens with Arle being among them. Arle's revival would have unfortunately been much smaller news in comparison, and it was plausible that that small detail may have not even reached the moon yet.

...But--If it hadn't, it was about to. In the form of a rather unexpected surprise. Viridi would likely receive news of it sooner or later. One had to notice these things eventually, right? Tonight, on this perhaps somber night, Arle could be found in her room. Nobody would be able to tell Viridi how the mage got there, nor did she appear to be up to anything fishy. She was just kinda chilling in her room, laying in bed with her eyes closed and a peaceful expression on her face. You'd almost think she were asleep, if it weren't for the way her knees were propped into the air, legs crossed idly in a position that looked too unrelaxed for sleeping. One might come to the realization, if they observed and considered what she was doing for long enough, that Arle was waiting. She was waiting for someone to come get her.

Why had she come back? When had she come back? How did she come back?

One thing was almost certain...

...She was waiting for Viridi.

[Coolshaymin]

"So if we make this modification, we should be able to-Lady Viridi? You are listening right?" Arlon was directing a conversation at a war meeting between him, Cragalanche and Viridi... Since Cragalanche was a stone of few words and Viridi was barely paying attention with her head propped on her hands, Arlon was trying to direct but he did not have proper command over the discussion and was trying to get the Nature Goddess to participate more. In all his years she hasn't been in a state this sad and distant, usually being very into the war topics, she was lost in thought and concern. It was strange but not a notion he did not misunderstand. It's been a while since she has talked to that human and they got intel that she has perished... She is probably taking it out on herself.

"... What?" Viridi spoke up finally after a lengthy delay. "Lady Viridi, we can't keep going on like this. We've been adjusting our plans of late and you have barely put in any input. You are a confident and strong commander, I thought it would take more to break you..." Arlon replied, not usually one to provoke, he decided now was the proper time to reignite his leader's spark. "I am NOT broken, Arlon! I just have other things on my mind right now. We're not getting anywhere with this effort!" Viridi spoke up with much more energy to defend her pride. "Of course, you're right. A change this big needs a lot of planning. I am merely saying you should clear your mind. Go, talk with her and clear both your minds," Arlon suggested in a thoughtful manner.

However, in reply, Viridi just gave a cold laugh. "Is that your idea on a joke, Arlon? I thought you were serene. She's dead and I lost contact with her before that. We both know that is not possible," she replied as Cragalanche just looked between the two as they talked. This was the most talking he has seen from them both in a while. "Really? Apologies. She just looked like she was in her room to me," the serene man apologized to which Viridi's expression changed to one of confusion. "In her room? What are you-?" Viridi repeated, looking to the monitor showing Arle's Room. As she thought, the girl was not in her room at... No wait, she was right there on her bed... "But how did she-?" the Goddess began to question how she got there.

... Either way, Arlon was right. If that was the proper Arle, she should go see her... The memory of her clear conflict back then came to mind which was what cut her off from contact in the first place. "... Meeting is on break. I will be back later,  Arlon, turn off cameras in Arle's room," Viridi directed before getting up and going through the sanctum. In a short amount of time, she was at Arle's door.  Taking a moment she considered just walking in... Before knocking, should not just walk in on a lady's room. "Arle, mind if I come in?" honestly, why else would she be there?... Other than laying in an old bed.

[Mari]

"Come in~" Arle softly replied in a very casual tone, cracking an eye open at the door rather briefly before moving to swing her legs off the bed and sit on the edge. Waiting for Viridi on the other side was a familiar smile, as if not a thing were wrong and nothing had happened. But--...That wasn't really real, was it? People didn't just die and show up again as if nothing had happened to them. So what exactly was Viridi looking at? "Feels nice to be somewhere familiar for once~ ...Not that Hell isn't familiar, but familiar in a good way." the mage went on to announce rather calmly. She had just clearly referenced being dead, but she certainly didn't look like your average undead. But that's just what she was: undead. ...She hadn't displayed any awareness of what she'd seen at the hands of Galacta Knight, nor had she acknowledged the fact that she had someehow gotten onto the sanctum on her own. She was just kind of... herself.

...So what gave?

"Well--Mostly good." the mage quickly corrected. There it was, a brief acknowledgment and the subtle narrowing of her eyes communicating that she had not, in fact, forgotten. "Honestly, I'm surprised you didn't try and throw me out. But there are a lot of things I don't understand. I've never really had a chance to sit down and talk to a god or goddess about their hatred towards humans before. ...I guess most of them probably thought that wasn't a very good idea, or that it was below them." Arle went on to remark with a shrug of her shoulders. One might pick up on how she'd phrased that sentence. It seemed to imply that she knew quite a few gods and that she'd been on bad terms with all of them. This was something Arle had never mentioned before. In fact, Viridi might recall that she'd been rather mystified to meet a deity, very much the opposite of experience she was hinting at now.

[Coolshaymin]

Oh good, it was not one of Arlon's illusions trying to trick from the sounds of it. She did tell him to shut off the camera mainly to make sure he did not try a trick like that to get her to cheer up. Still, it was a surprise Arle was still alive after what she heard about that destruction. She did not get much news from Phosphora while she was down there and... Dark Pit never really left anymore after Arlon's Curry Shampoo Prank. Cragalanche was for the frontlines and Arlon had to stay and maintain the Sanctum. After walking in and turning to Arle with a mixed expression. She was overjoyed to see Arle was okay but she did abandon the Forces. From the sounds of it though, she's been to Hell a few times before... No big surprise considering one of her mentioned enemies. Though how she got back was up for questioning.

Viridi listened and closed her eyes as Arle mentioned what Viridi figured was the issue. Sure, she mentioned a distaste for humans before but Arle made it sound like she knew the full side of the story... Well, to the extent of her past attempts anyway. "I can't throw a girl out of her own room. What do you take me for?" Viridi teased, taking this oddly casually despite the suggested accusations thrown at her. "Besides, you deserve to know despite abandoning your post," Viridi added before looking at Arle with a more serious expression. One thing she found off and before she can trust this situation and that this is actually Arle, she had to ask. "Before that though I have a question to ask. You just suggested you had the opportunity before with other gods and you never acknowledged that before. Just the thing I find funny is you were awestruck by me originally, why was that if you met gods before me?" the nature goddess asked for clarification. Viridi had a good idea what the reason would be given implications even if she did not have much evidence to back it up. She supposes the difference is that Viridi was not like the other gods given Arle was not aware of her past actions at first. Of course, she had nothing to go off of to prove this, never having met the others but it would explain if that was a common occurance why she trusted her enough to join her in the first place.

[Mari]

The expression on Arle's face was distinctly one of a deer in headlights, confusion giving way to understanding as she seemed to work out what she'd just been asked. " . . . They were a lot more... eldritch. Like monsters. Most of them looked pretty scary, and they mostly just greeted me with death instead of curry. Or well--They tried anyway. You're kind of different. I liked that about you." Arle would reply somewhat awkwardly. It was a strange answer when one thought about it. She took a deep breath and lowered her gaze for a moment, reminiscing. "It turns out those gods were just kind of jerks~ Our lives just didn't mean anything to them. Not our dreams, not our suffering. It was all just a cycle of meaningless existence to our creators. And if we had a problem with that, they would kill us and reset the world to its natural state, beginning the cycle anew." Arle went on to explain in a rather exasperated tone, as if she could not think of anything less interesting to talk about. But then she opened her eyes. This time her stare pierced Viridi's soul knowingly, with a sort of subtle intensity that simply wasn't befitting her. It betrayed a hostility that her pleasant smile did not.

"You're not like that. You'd never just... wipe out humanity to serve your own needs. All those people--people like me, my friends, my family. Just... gone because the deities watching over us couldn't find it in their heart to care." Arle went on to remark, just sort silently addressing the elephant in the room by ever so carefully tip-toeing a line around it. It was incredibly obvious that she was doing this on purpose and that she knew the truth by now, but perhaps Viridi had picked up on something ... off about the way Arle was acting. It was almost as if she'd just been putting on a friendly face this entire time. An act, if you will. Arle allowed here words to hang in the air for a rather long moment, just sort of waiting to see the realization in Viridi's eyes as the other became aware of what was going on. " . . . It took me five hundred years straight to kill our creator. I was the only one he couldn't end. Couldn't save a single person, but in the end I set things right. ...At. Any. Cost." Arle finished in a much softer of tone of voice, just barely above a whisper. She would avert her gaze from Viridi mid-sentence. As much as she tried to hide it though, Viridi might still be able to pick up on her voice cracking as she spoke. It seemed to be an emotional topic for her, which was weird because Arle definitely hadn't been 500 years old last time Viridi checked. ...And humans definitely didn't live that long in the first place. Not on Arle's world; not on Viridi's world. The mage would go silent following this, just sort of giving Viridi a chance to defend herself without ever meeting the other's eyes. It was a symbolic gesture.

I can't look at you, Viridi. How could you?

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi listened to Arle as she explained with her eyes closed once again. Maybe she did not want Arle to see her eyes to see the true feeling behind them, but honestly she was just prepping herself up. She imagined this day would come eventually even if there was little chance for Arle to find out. In the end though it looked like she found a way to figure out what happened in her past. It turns out her guess on Arle's feelings in their initial encounter was true after all.

"... You're right. I wasn't serving my own needs but I also did not fully understand. There's more to my dislike for humans than I told you before Arle. Now I will explain the full story of that to give you a better idea," Viridi began as she looked up, not paying attention to Arle's strange 500 years comment and not the averting of her eyes. Now was not the time for that. "As you know, I am a Goddess of Nature. I have been around an incredibly long time, as long as nature in my world. This was before humans were onto the scene, and I am not the one that made humans. They appeared and were strange to me, something I did not understand, they were like aliens. I did not do anything for a long time however as they weren't a threat to balance back then," Viridi began to explain. "The balance is important to me and my Forces exist to protect against threats to said balance. If the order between gods' duties and other creatures causing havoc, it would be catatrosphic. The humans were more and more harmful to nature as time went on, killing it more and more as they progressed. And when they started destroying the land in a war over a wish granting item getting collected that did not even exist, I striked. They threatened the balance and I had to do my job to fix things. Were my actions excessive? I did not think so at the time. I was just doing what I thought had to be done to a species I did not understand at all."

Viridi paused with a deep breath before looking directly at Arle. "That is not the whole story though. I did not understand humans and thought they were all selfish monsters that did not care what they destroyed. Then I met you on Li. After talking to you I realized that my thoughts on humans weren't all right. You cared about nature, you were genuninely good, you were everything against what I thought humans to be. I realized I was wrong after all and I grew attached as a result. You gave me hope for a species I gave up on. I've been modifying the Reset Bomb to make it so it was a harmless reset. Just restoring life with no harm to the existing ones. I only realized I should after I met you..." Viridi added in a broken up tone. Her sterness gave way as she revealed things she'd rather keep to herself.

[Mari]

Arle was quiet as Viridi spoke, a pretty normal level of politeness by her standards. However, when Viridi opened her eyes to actually look at the other she could see the mage was withering beneath her gaze. Arle almost seemed to fade partially from view for a moment, but squirmed and struggled against an invisible force that seemed to mishandle her. A shudder ran through her body as she seemed to break free of its grasp, returning to normal. Noteworthily, she didn't appear surprised by what had happened. Just intensely uncomfortable. The tense and guarded way she held herself seemed to indicate that she might believe this wouldn't be the last time that would happen. " . . . Ehehe--I guess I would've been happy to know that I'd had that sort of effect on you." Arle softly replied, the anxiety present in her voice. "But I'm not the same person you met that day. That's just how I remember it, how I feel..." the mage quickly continued rather incoherently with a little shake of her head. She no longer met Viridi's eyes at all, perhaps resigned to this newfound knowledge. "She couldn't face you when she found out. It was too much for her. The idea that you didn't have any other option but to make a sacrifice on that scale was something she could not handle. She doesn't know anything about that. ...But, she couldn't bring herself to avenge them either. It broke her heart. ...Our heart." Arle would finish, her cryptic choice of words hanging in the air and begging a dozen different questions. Something was clearly going on, but just what was it? Did it matter, given the sort of insight Viridi was being given? "I just... wish I could be myself again, but I gave that up a very long time ago. Forgiveness from me isn't worth anything anymore."

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi was decidedly more puzzled when Arle spoke up. She was talking in a third person and saying she wasn't the same person. What could she possibly mean by all that? And what was this about 'our' heart? She wasn't making any sense and quite frankly Viridi was starting to have enough of all this confusing nonsense. She knew something was up since the beginning but now she was just confused... Especially with how Arle's body just sort of... faded for a moment. Something strange was going on and though Viridi knows what happened for sure now, she was not wanting to be left in the dark again.

"What are you if you're not yourself. You can't be someone else or you are just lying to yourself. Despite that I want to know what is going on now that I filled you in! What is with this existential crisis and why did you fade for a moment!" Viridi commanded information... Though it sounded more concern than an order.

[Mari]

"...Alright. My tale has been forgotten by all but a select few. I no longer understand everything I remember, and I fear that my truth may not align with your own. However, if you would allow me to speak freely for a minute or two I will help you to understand as best I can. " Arle would state in a matter of fact tone, requesting simply for the other not to interrupt her while she gave an extended explanation of just what the heck was going on. Taking a very deep breath, she folded her hands over her lap and seemed to gather her composure. "The battle between our creator and I spanned five centuries, during which our reality and everything in it succumbed to his wrath. By the time I had defeated him, there was nothing left to save. Not even... myself. For winning the madou war and defeating the creator, I was rewarded with... nothing. By taking control of my own destiny, I doomed myself to an... endless non-existence in the empty space my world used to exist in. I-It's..." Arle explained, trailing off and just sort of choking on her words for a moment. She seemed to panic just thinking about her time in the void, anxiously wringing her hands a bit and darting her eyes about somewhat aimlessly as she struggled to control her now labored breathing. It seemed like she might suffer a meltdown if she continued, but the mage quickly struggled to work around her apparently severe trauma. "Eventually--I don't know how long, maybe the better part of a millennia, itfeltlikeaneternity--...I came across a new reality, but could not enter it. I tried my hardest to overcome it, but it did not yield to me. From outside of it, I observed... her. The 'Arle' you've come to know. This new reality would not allow me to exist... because she was the new me, and there could never be a second Arle." 'Arle' continued, a certain bitterness creeping into her expression. "Eventually though, one man did notice my struggles to enter this new world. ...Satan. I was able to convince him to aid me in entering this new world, but it came at a price. I was forced to abandon my identity and live a false life--...as a clown. That was his idea, but frankly I was desperate. Any existence was better than... that. So I played along, but as I got used to being around people again I came to realize I wasn't happy like this. I had been stripped of my very identity, and in my heart I wanted to be myself again. So I turned on Satan."

"Then I challenged that... other Arle for the right to exist. ...She won, and I was banished back to non-existence. That... 'fading' you saw. It is this reality attempting to eject me from it. ...Because when it came down to it, I... couldn't do it. I couldn't leave her to the same fate she did me. ...I thought I could, but when I was forced to answer to the people who cared for her, I faltered. I... gave up. She's coming back, and therefore I'm being banished again." 'Arle' finished explaining, allowing those words to hang in air for a moment. Apparently, the existential crisis Viridi had observed was far more literal than she may have anticipated. Arle then got up and met Viridi's gaze. "Earlier you asked what I was and you made a good point. One I agree with full-heartedly. So I'll say it one more time in defiance of my fate." Arle finally offered standing up to address Viridi directly. As she did this, her appearance shimmered and changed, an illusion breaking down to reveal...

SPOILER: Click to show

"I am Arle. The real Arle. And I refuse to settle for a half-life."

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi gave a silent nod as she held onto her staff and prepared to listen to the mysterious force. She had no expectations of what the truth may be but better to know and not interrupt. So the first part of the answer was the explanation that she fought the god for centuries and at the end there was nothing left so she had nothing to show for it. And then came the interesting and new part to the story. She found the reality her Arle was from and could not enter it due to the risk of a paradox. Due to this paradox, only one of their identities can exist at a time...  And then the tale of how she could not bring herself to banish her Arle due to her friends. Then came her true form...


"So, you are the original Arle before there was a reset in another world if I got that right? I knew something was up but all this paradox nonsense really doesn't make sense with how common dopplegangers are these days. Even Pit has one. Not calling you one, just saying the universe is super picky on what can exist at the same time," Viridi commented at last after the girl finished. "Aside from that, I don't know what to tell you. I'm a bit disappointed my Arle did not get a chance to understand even though part of me expected it wasn't her. What you going to do though, am I right?" she added with a sigh before looking back at the Arle in front of her as if taking her in for a second.

"... Speaking of which, Arle, that does not explain all my questions," Viridi commented... Actually calling the girl Arle with no fuss. "What are you doing up here anyway? Planning to do what the other Arle couldn't? Just going to say that the effort might be wasted more than you might think. Gods in my world are notoriously hard to put down. I may be gone for a little while but eventually my body will regenerate completely even if you do kill me. This power seems to overide the Trophification process but not all bad," She warned and questioned, seeming nonchallant about it.

"Or maybe you wanted to try someone other than Satan giving you a chance at being real. Considering the initial talk though, I feel like you might of just tried to incinerate me if I did not consult you on your identity. But those are my best guesses, what's your answer, Arle?"

[Mari]

Warle's eyes glimmered with interest when Viridi chose to call her Arle. No one had ever deigned to call her by the name she requested of them, not even Lidelle. Yet, it was not lost on her that Viridi accepted the name readily. She seemed stumped for a very long moment as if she wasn't sure what was being asked of her. Her eyes searched space without recognition but, eventually, she seemed to recognize that she'd fallen awkwardly silent and broke that silence with a very familiar yet forced sounding chuckle. A softly trembling hand drifted up to her face, as if to hold her head, which she shook dismissively at an unspoken idea. This time she wouldn't leave the other confused for long, quickly speaking up to explain herself. "Y-Y'know, I'm not sure..!" Warle stammered out rather anxiously, her composure bleeding away at a rapid pace. "I-I guess a part of me just... couldn't stand not knowing the truth. Probably the same part of me that... knew how that 'other' felt. About what she saw. About you. Call it crazy, bu-ut... it's like a part of me remembers... loving you..." Warle continued, trailing off and disintegrating into nervous fidgeting and panicked hyperventilation as she spoke. Somehow, without ever having met Viridi, she remembered being in love with the other. Not only that, but those feelings had compelled her to seek Viridi out. She seemed confused, as lost as the first time she'd confronted those feelings. Warle shook her head fervently as if to rid it of a bad thought clinging to her skull, a shudder running through her body as she seemed to settle back down somewhat.








"For a very long time, all I wanted was to be alive again. ...To be normal again. To be myself. I wanted to see my friends again. I wanted to apologize for being unable to protect them. ...When I saw familiar faces for the first in an incomprehensible span of time and I thought that maybe everything would be okay, ...b-but it's all a twisted lie!! None of them are real! ...They don't know what they are. They don't know who I am and they can never accept my truth." Warle would continue in a soft, bitter tone. But then, as she went on to continue, her bitterness vanished. In its place, her tone became rather empty. She sounded utterly defeated. "Or perhaps... it is I who cannot accept theirs. What is one woman's truth worth if no one else can see it?" Warle went on to remark. She once again shook her head, this time seeming to resign herself with a very soft, wistful sigh. "...No. I don't expect you to be able to save me. Not without banishing that 'other' anyway, and I wouldn't ask you to choose me over her. That wouldn't make any sense. My time has simply come and passed. ...Though, if you knew of a way to put an eternal's soul to rest I would gladly accept it."

[Coolshaymin]

"... So, I take it that your memories and feelings getting mixed up with her's is another result of this paradox issue, right?" Viridi contemplated as she tried to piece together the odd predicament of this strange copy... or original that entered the Lunar Sanctum. Can you even call either of them the original if they come from different realities? It's a bit confusing especially with how this world seems to call her a fake as well. You'd think it would not be that simple for the order but she doesn't exactly have much to compare it to. She was going on about her truth compared to their truth and it all sounded rather pathetic. She could not say she understood and this was thrown at her rather suddenly... Along with the proposal of putting her soul to rest.

"... Come on, can you not be such a downer. This is enough of an emotional rollercoaster as is without you going on like this. How can you really think their reality is a lie anyway? Everyone has a different view of reality so there is always going to be conflicts. Your conflict is just on a dimensional scale. Besides that, you want me to put your soul to rest?" Viridi continued on in a rather harsh way but she had decent intentions. 

"Can't say I can help you even if I wanted to. I am a Goddess of Nature. Life and the environment is my domain. Souls are not in my job description and I am not attempting to cross a line because someone is a defeatist. From my world, you'd want Hades since the managing of souls is his job. Before you get any ideas though, I'd suggest against asking him for help. He is pretty abusing of his job and he eats a large amount of the souls he is supposed to be harboring. Best to avoid him, he is the worst," Viridi advised in warning before breathing a sigh. She was not prepared for lectures after pausing the meeting...

"Besides that, you are way too defeated and not thinking all options. Perhaps there is a way to make a body to tether to that would not pose an issue with Arle? I have no idea what the multiverse's problem is so no clue if that would even work. Still, giving up is always a rather poor decision when there is a chance to change things. From what I hear of Satan, I think you need better sources of help."

[Mari]

"I'm... not sure." Warle replied. For once, she hadn't managed to work out what was wrong with her. She wasn't even entirely sure which memories were her own at times. What Viridi said next though--That kinda hurt. She'd been scolded, but she supposed she hadn't earned any better. She wasn't real to Viridi anyway. She took a deep breath before continuing. "...I know it's a lie because that entire world is just a hollow imitation of mine, made up by that idiot Satan. It's all his lie and he tried to replace me with... that. ...She's his creation, and he chose her over me. The one who remembers him. The one from the original world we both came from." Warle replied in a matter-o-fact tone, a hint of bitterness creeping into her tone as she went on. After a moment she seemed to lose her drive though, as well as her anger.

"I guess you're right, though. Reality is rather subjective when one gets down to it. It's just that I have no one else to share mine with. ...E-Except?" Warle went on to relent, giving Viridi a searching, subtly hopeful look. She had recognized the other's acceptance of her name, and was now curious as to whether Viridi was offering to give her the validation she'd gone without for far longer than any mortal mind aught to. She seemed afraid to actually ask though, perhaps fearful of rejection and being vulnerable.

"...I would accept any help that you could give. The issue is not so much that I cannot find a way to exist, but that I cannot find a way to be happy with the methods available. If only I understood why the universe refused to allow us both to exist, maybe I could do something about it. Is it... alright though? For me to be here with you?" Warle would relent rather reluctantly. She didn't seem to have much confidence in Viridi's ability to save her, but well--What did she have to lose? Except for her existence, of course, but that was already on the table prior to the offer.

[Coolshaymin]

Viridi thought about what this Arle had to say for a moment about her perception of their reality. Well, it did make sense to her when it was put that way. It's almost like how she felt when... But she was planning to put that train of thought behind her. Yet, in a way, perhaps Arle was a bit more validated in her feelings and did not really have something to turn her views like she did. Though, to accept her truth, was it to deny the other Arle's truth? "... Well, it's not like I am going to deny your reality or anything. Honestly feel bad that they have to live the truth of some weirdo. Got to admit though, I understand where you're coming from with this. I would not mind sharing yours," Viridi replied, nonchalantly as if accepting Warle's Reality wasn't too much of a problem for her now.

"Don't worry about it. I am not one to lose confidence quickly when I put my mind on something. Gotta say, not sure why you aren't accepted either but I will put my forces into looking into it and coming up with a plan," Viridi reassured with a smirk before adjusting herself and rolling her eyes a bit. "Though, even though I like you, I can't put my forces towards another goal for free. Sorry, but I am kind of low on forces as is and I have a lot of plans I need to set up. You have to understand, I am doing a big favor a bit out of my way and resources. All I ask is you lend your hand to me getting rid of these infected. If it helps, I already have an idea on what to start on investigating a solution to your problem," the Nature Goddess added on her catch to make sure this Arle was aware she was wanting a bit of help to cover up the resources she is using of her own decision.

[Mari]

For the first time since her arrival, Warle displayed for Viridi a genuine smile. It was rather weird, not because there was anything off about it but because one couldn't help but notice how much that smile reminded them of her blue clad counterpart. Normally you could tell which was which just by looking into her eyes. It was understandable, given that she was at least a thousand years older. Her experiences had changed her, but expression--It hinted at the now obvious. she was still the same person underneath it all. Standing up, she moved over and shifted to embrace Viridi. "Thank you..." she softly replied, ignoring the other's request for the moment. Just like Arle, Warle was slightly shorter than average. However, Viridi, on the other hand, was short enough to make Valorie feel good about herself. More importantly, though, she was short that Warle could effortlessly guide Viridi's head into her chest with a sweet little hug like this. It was honestly complicated by the breastplate, but thankfully it wasn't one solid piece of armor and would give easily, reducing the discomfort it caused. After a moment, Warle would release the other.

"...I don't mind helping out. I'm still kind of in a place where everything feels good compared to the void. The human mind and body just kinda... stop working correctly out there." Warle went on to reply, awkwardly averting her eyes for a moment. It might become clear that she was eupemizing just how screwed up the void's effects on body and sanity were. Apparently, people weren't designed to survive in a vacuum so thorough it could make deep space look welcoming. Go figure! "Maybe I can help convince that other Arle to come back and talk to you. She doesn't really trust me, but I think I can work at her. It seems like she made a mistake, but then again--she's not me." Warle continued on to offer, puzzling over Arle's mind for a moment.