Verai walked slowly around the Steppe. The rain felt... no less intense, but maybe less desperate, less panicked, the cold a refreshing chill instead of a sharp freeze.

He could listen to rainfall for hours, a gentle white noise that drowned out ill thought-

But today could not drown out crying, more obvious as he stepped near to Zapdos' ascent. Silvermoon. The kind trainer he had met. They'd been at the raid, too.

Carefully, Verai sat next to them, hearing them instantly sniffle and try to act like they weren't crying. He didn't say anything, just sitting there, listening the rush of the rain.

Verai sat, quiet and still, and let Silvermoon speak. At first, he was confused- had something happened to Tuesday? She seemed prolific enough that word would get around quickly, were that the case-

But Silvermoon answered quickly. Tuesday had fought against Zapdos, even at the end.

At first, it seemed far fetched- something he would have noticed- but his attention was admittedly focused, during the end. But was it something Tuesday would have done?

Don't make the mistake of supporting one who won't support you.

He's selfish.

Yes, it was.

But his own souring views didn't matter- Silvermoon was clearly deeply affected. He let out a slow sigh. "It's very easy to villainize someone when they do something we don't agree with."

He felt Silvermoon turn to look at him. "When we make a decision, we do it with all the information we have. But that's not all the information there is. Especially if we're making a terrible decision." He looked towards Silvermoon, giving a gentle smile. "Kazuki convinced me to turn on Zapdos. Despite everything. He argued it was safest for everyone playing if Mistra was cleansed- even if it meant the death of three people. The good outweighed the suffering."

"It's not a question of whether Tuesday did the right thing. Why did she do what she did?"

A question he was going to have to ask her, himself. But that, too, was for later.

Hugging Silvermoon had not even been a thought. He felt they needed it, and from the desperate way they grabbed at him… they had. And, as before, their questions were not easy, but important. "Silvermoon… there is something important you must remember." He gently pulled free of the other trainer, and looked at them intently. "Whatever Tuesday says, in defense of her actions- her answer will not be good, nor bad. Her motives were sufficient enough for her actions. But- But you have to decide whether or not you can abide that answer. If her answer soothes your fears."

Silvermoon felt so young- far too young to have to deal with such complicated emotions, such tangled issues. "If her answer is reasonable to you, that is alright, no matter what answer she gives. But if it isn't… that's also alright. You can only do what your heart believes in."

He heard them start to cry, again. "This world… you can be anything you want, here." He said it so full of hope, of peace. "Why not take the opportunity to be the best person you can?"

Verai blinked, and thought. They didn't… sound quite ready, but it wasn't his decision to make. "We will," He agreed gently. "Others… can't make us better people. They can only show us how to improve ourselves. You are the only one who can make you a better person."

Was he getting too… dad? Probably. He got to his feet, shaking himself out a bit. "But I think what would help both of us is getting out of the rain. Do you agree?" He held out a hand, relieved when Silvermoon took it, and pulled themselves up. "This way," He said, leading Silvermoon through the Steppe, back to his little cave.

He sighed upon stepping into the warmer air, moving to stoke the forge, feeling the heat on his face. Verai then started the process of removing his armor, pinning his hair up to keep it out of the way.

Verai didn't answer right away, pulling off his breastplate and setting it on the worktable. He hummed gently. It wasn't an unfamiliar question. ".... we found the Prince on the edge of the Steppe. He was nearly dead, and still chained. We healed him, got him food, clothing, and armor, and brought him back to the Shrine. Perhaps part of myself felt indebted- he'd given us all a Boon, and had left his own land. Perhaps I wanted to ensure no one else was hurt and alone. Perhaps I just… found solace in the quiet."

He turned back towards Silvermoon, thoughtful. "We all have our places we haunt. And maybe that will change. Perhaps, I'll find more comfort and reason in Ostellia, when it opens up. But… for now, my home is here." Just as Kazuki's was Precipice Shrine, just as Tuesday's was her T.E.A. Shop.

Verai just looked at them, feeling the thrum from the gentle trace of DNA. Zapdos' power, faint and fragmented and condensed, offered for… what? A bit of advice? A past kindness? The impulse was to deny- that he'd not done anything worth receiving something so precious.

But, now and then, he had to take his own advice. It wasn't about whether or not he felt it was earned- it was about whether or not Silvermoon felt it should be offered.

"Thank you," Verai said, dipping into a bit of a bow. "You're right- it does mean a lot to me. I fear I can't repay the favor so evenly, but…" He had more DNA, actually, quite a bit now that he gave it proper thought. His own from the raid, some he'd gotten from Tuesday months ago, and then with Kazuki-

He pulled the DNA out from his UI, twisting and pulsing, and heard Silvermoon gasp a bit. ZYGARDE DNA- he had no idea what it looked like, but hopefully it would be… something they could get use from. "Does this seem alright?"

verai offers zygarde dna