I could name few things more horrifying. Theft merely changes the ownership of material possessions. Murder, indeed, takes lives and sounds more hurtful, but is usually quick. This, though? Those people have to live with the memories and experiences for the rest of their lifes, potentially hurting for decades. Whoever inflicts such pain on another person, I am no longer willing to call human. That is merely a monster, and we all know what happens to monsters.

-Purple Heart


It was a bright day in Leanbox, contrary to the dark thoughts roiling just below the populace's surface. The trial had been a public affair, though it was over before many even noticed.

Evidence and testimonies had been gathered beforehand. Then, to validate those, the Leanbox National Court had inferred confirmation from the Lady Tome herself. Histoire, in a bout of speed unmatched, replied within three minutes and confirmed the order of events, as well as the culprit.

The Lady Green Heart thusly declared the defendant guilty as charged; his punishment would be merciless, as it always was. By the CPUs word, capital punishment awaited this being. The Red Ring.

Vert looked impassively at the young man stood atop the pedestal. The noose had been tied around his neck by her personally, as it always was. She already forgot his name, unwilling to remember something she considered so filthy.

This man was being hanged for sexual assault. On a minor, no less.

It was a private execution deep in the bowels of Green Sigil; just her and and the convict. Making it public held the risk of making things messy, which she preferred not to have. It was a clean affair here. At least this one did not try to beg or shout for their mother, as some of the men and women she executed over the decades did. He simply had his eyes closed, waiting for the end.

Vert obliged, pushing the one button it took. A moment later, the hatch right below his feet fell open; the rope pulled taut and after a momentary fall, the man's neck snapped. Simple and quick.

Perhaps it was not as quick as Noire's choice to personally behead anyone who received capital punishment, or as simple as Blanc abandoning them naked in the middle of Lowee's eternal winter, but she preferred her own solution. Then Vert shuddered as she thought back to Neptune's preferred method.

For all her kindness, the purple goddess could be the most vicious of them all quite easily if she so desired. Trials involving capital punishment, usually restricted to cases of sexual assault and severe cases of mass murder, were always cleared with the complete records of Histoire. The death sentence would not be handed out to someone who did not deserve it, and harsh punishments awaited any accusers who were found out to be lying.

As such, knowing with certainty that judgement fell upon the correct person, Neptune had taken to burying them alive. Excessive, even the other CPUs thought so, but she argued that as they inflicted so much pain on other beings, a clean death is not appropriate for a monster; it is a privilege of people, so she argued whenever they brought it up.

Vert shuddered and turned the train of thought away; Neptune would not change her mind.

Instead, the blonde returned her attention to the dangling and slightly twitching body; five seconds had passed, so she gave it another five to make sure it was over. Only then did she push another button, this one being locked before the first was pressed. Unseen mechanisms detached the red rope and the corpse immediately dropped into the open hatch. This pedestal had been erected right atop one of the furnaces used to power the Basilicom's engines.

While Vert disagreed on her friend's methods, she did agree with Neptune on the fact that people like this deserved no proper funeral. Granted, due to news having hit the public by now, no one would attend either way. Sexual assault was not a common crime in any of the nations, but that made cases of it just stand out more.

Once the hatch clicked shut, Vert quietly turned and left. All the remaining tasks were left to Yvoire, as she was still too disgusted by the whole matter.

In addition, she was better served looking after the victim while her Oracle tended to the paperwork; switching the position would have been suboptimal.

Vert soon wandered the corridors of Green Sigil, clad in a form-fitting robe in her nation's main colour just like all the staff. With her sashaying being more out of reflex than conciously created, she remained oblivious to the attention she garnered as usual. Not that it mattered to her right now, her mind being on the poor girl she was moving to meet again.

Kerry, so her name, was fourteen years old and a native Leanboxian despite her pale complexion. Her parents' statements and previous records painted the girl as lively and cheerful; she loved sports, having played basketball in one of the youth groups around the capital.

What Vert found, both from her own meetings with the girl and the two therapists she saw so far, painted a different picture. Subdued, apathetic, and jumpy was what became of Kerry. Her parents barely managed to coax her into a normal conversation; they visited her every day and stayed for hours, though they were understanding of the current measures. The girl was in Vert's care for three days now and likely would stay there for two or three more before returning home. Before that point, Vert wanted her to find a therapist she was comfortable with.

Nonetheless, Kerry's weak gaze hurt the CPU at her very core; she so hated to see anyone like this. Even if the girl already perked up the slightest bit, the road to recovery would be long; if there was a full recovery to be achieved at all. Such experiences changed people, sometimes scarred them for life.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a high-pitched scream from the direction she was walking toward. All matters of importance ceased as Vert took up speed, dashing through corridors and around corners so fast she appeared like little more than a blur to those she passed. The only one she felt a little sorry for was one of the interns walking the other way with a stack of papers in his hands. She did not have the time to affect the wave of displaced air following her charge.

About five seconds were the time it took her to arrive. What she found, however, was peculiar.

There was Kerry, of course; the girl sat huddled against a wall, eyes glued to the much larger figure kneeling on the ground. A familiar large figure, packed with muscle that his green vest and camo pants barely hid.

Bungie groaned and held his stomach. "Damn, girl, what did they feed you? Do we have a Candidate no one told me about?"

Vert had no idea how to react to this for an instant, then concern over the girl won out; she knew Bungie, he would be fine if he could still crack jokes. It only took the CPU a moment to approach the scared child, making sure to stay in her field of vision. Curiously, Kerry did not flinch back from her; quite the opposite, she quickly hugged her in search of comfort, burying her face in the blonde's chest.

Vert conceded that she spent too much time teasing people, as her first instinct was to chuckle with an amused note. This was not appropriate, so she curbed the notion. Her arms lightly wrapped around the shaking girl, one hand gently stroking her head. "Shh, it's alright, sweetheart. You're safe." She continued to speak softly, feeling her charge relax bit by bit.

Meanwhile, Vert thought and considered her downed Maker; he still muttered under his breath but for all the imposing figure he cut and the tough persona he showed the world, she knew he was a gentle man. Not one to hurt a child.

Bungie took another deep breath and grimaced, his stern gaze directed at the floor before flickering to Vert, somewhat visible below his disarrayed sunglasses. In addition, the hard lines faltered slightly and he grunted as he pushed back to his feet, though he remained slightly hunched over. "I'm alright. Think I scared her by just walking in; why'd you put a kid up here?" He had a point. This was the Makers' lounge after all.

Vert offered him an apologeptic smile as she cradled the inconsolable child. "My bad, I thought you all would be out until this evening. Will you be alright?"

His initial response was a thumbs up, quickly reinforced by a grin. "I'm tough, don't worry." Then his eyes flicked to Kerry and he grimaced again. "Was a close call, though. I'd probably need your healing hand if I hadn't gotten up my Awakening in time. Damn." That last comment likely regarded the sheer force he had been punched with, which Vert could understand.

However, striking through the defensive properties of an engaged shroud, even weakened by being put up hastily... she knew this was not an easy endeavour in any way. Therefore, Vert gently separated herself from the faintly sobbing girl to look her over; just as she expected, it was not just fear that drew out her tears. Kerry's hand had turned an ugly blue and purple in various spots, the bones within broken and shattered by the force she put into that one attack.

The CPU carefully took a hold of her charge's cheeks and gently forced them up; the gesture drew Kerry's attention up to her face, to a motherly smile which let the child relax the slightest bit more. Vert wiped her tears away with both thumbs as she spoke: "Shh, it is okay. I will take care of your hand now, sweetie. Can you hold still for me?"

Her gentle voice soothed the girl, who nodded after a moment with unshed tears still brimming in her eyes. Vert gently raised the hand Kerry had been cradling, holding her by the wrist while it began to shine in green light.

"You sure that's fine?" Kerry flinched upon hearing the gruff voice, throwing her head around to find Bungie standing awkwardly in the room. "Her bones are broken, shouldn't a doctor set them first?" Upon seeing the girl's visible distress however, he leisurely stepped back until he leaned against the opposite wall. "Don't mind me, kid."

Kerry blinked, but her delayed thought process was interrupted by Vert scoffing at her Maker good-naturedly. "I have you know that I am a certified doctor." Of course he actually meant the fact she was not supposed to do that much when human personnel was readily available; Neptune had a point when she said Vert coddled her people after all. In this case however, Vert felt like making an exception. "And I am good enough to do it in one go."

Her magic slowly seeped into the unresisting child, soothing the burning and throbbing within Kerry's hand. It slowly trickled around dislocated fragments of bone, coating each and every one as Vert assessed the damage. Which was not a little; adding to it were the four bleeding marks in the girl's palm, as she had punched with her fist clenched instead of her fingertips lying on said palm. The force of her swing drove all four nails into her flesh.

At least this was something Vert could treat quickly. The bones required more focussed attention, especially in a hand. So many little bits and pieces which were needed to make it function. She broke at least one bone in every finger, her palm, and her wrist. Vert carefully examined the girl's arm and found a few slight fractures which she could simply close without trouble.

For the rest however, she needed to carefully push and pull with her healing magic, a task most mages could not even fulfill because this type was inherently bad at manipulation. It was supposed to seep into a wound and seal it shut. Yet Vert was a CPU, so such adjustments came to her without much trouble; nonetheless, even she needed a good while to treat such an injury.

In the meantime, Kerry's gaze went from the pretty blonde tending to her, to the hulking man who she just attacked. With her panic chased away, the girl recognised him immediately and went pale. "L-Lord Bungie, I'm so so-ah!" She made to move her arm, but Vert's grip was like a vice around her forearm, making it impossible to do so; her magic had numbed the hand itself and held it still. She did not even avert her eyes from her work, merely tsk-ing at Kerry without any further comment.

The girl squirmed a little, but stood still as she had been told. Her eyes had become big and filled with tears again, directed toward the man in the room; Bungie merely raised his hands in a defensive manner, though. "Now don't cry on me, kid. It's fine." For emphasis, he clenched a fist and slapped his muscled abs. The man did not even flinch despite the bruise he just hit. "See? No harm done."

Kerry breathed a relieved sigh, though Vert could not help but chuckle quietly; Bungie was always too soft toward children, even going so far as hurting himself to alleviate their sorrows.

If nothing else, the noise drew Kerry's attention back to her. Vert's smile brightened even though she did not meet the girl's eyes, both hands occupied with the slowly healing hand. "Be at ease, sweetie. Bungie is the strongest man in all the lands." She left the part that Kerry's strike would not be enough to hurt him implied, if only so she did not actually have to lie.

"Damn right I am," her champion added with well-deserved certainty and pride. Bungie stood at the top of his generation of Makers; neither he nor Vert could have foreseen the women who would so thoroughly overshadow him and take the spotlight away. Neither the teen in Leanbox, nor the young adult in Lastation, and definitely not the ten-year-old in Planeptune.

"But seriously," he told Kerry with a big grin, "you hit like a truck. If you could do that without breaking your hand in the process, you'd be golden for Guild work." His words made the girl's eyes go wide, though she remembered her last attempt to move and stayed put.

"You really think so, s-sir?" As she calmed, her voice took a soft quality that made Vert in turn feel at ease; the slight stutter only reinforced the picture of gentleness this girl was, lean from the sports she did, yet still in the process of truly blossoming into a woman. Pale for a Leanboxian and with dark grey hair that fell onto her back.

By herself, Vert could understand why someone twisted would target her; she was already pretty and would become a beauty within a few years. Yet the soft gaze in her eyes already faltered as the conversation stalled, the momentary shock leaving her system and bringing back whatever bothered her.

"Yeah, I do. Just, uh, don't punch a teacher like this, yeah?" Kerry blushed over the joke while Bungie snorted at her reaction. "Anyway, you mind if I-" He took a step closer, but the almost instinctive step back on the girl's part gave him pause. "Alright, that's a no. I guess I'll take my leave for now. You handle this, cutie pie."

Vert chuckled again and straightened up before throwing her friend a wink. "I will. Now off with you." She spared him the nickname, if only so Kerry did not get the completely wrong idea; she was not an acceptable target for teasing right now.

Bungie being so free in addressing her was a nice change of pace from all the polite Makers she had recently. He left with a grin and a wave, shutting the door behind himself and leaving Vert alone with Kerry. The girl appeared flustered by the exchange, though she kept it to herself.

"Now, how about we have a seat? Is there anything you want?"

"I'd like to go to school again," the girl muttered while she was led to the centermost couch. "I don't like being in here all the time." She did not appear consoled by Vert's presence for now, but the CPU put little meaning into her observation. She simply took Kerry's hand and held it gently; having someone just being there, she knew, could be a great comfort.

"Just a few more days and you can do that. Please be patient with us." The hand in her grasp twitched, then Kerry blinked and looked down at it. Vert could not help but chuckle. "Yes, dear. All done."

She let go so the girl could test her mended bones, finding them in fine condition despite the fact they broke not too long ago. "T-Thank you, ma'am," she offered with visible astonishment. "I had no idea people can do that with healing magic!" And her smile was a real one, which gave Vert hope.

However, she merely put a finger on her own lips. "Few can, it takes a lot of effort and practice." Which meant that it was mostly the CPUs and one or two magical geniuses in each generation. "Let's keep it a secret, though."

"Oh. Okay?" Vert cheerfully ignored her charge's questioning tone and leaned back, the prim and proper posture melting away. The intended lull in their conversation was meant to push Kerry's thoughts back onto other topics she might want to talk about. It took a while, but this was definitely not wasted time; Vert could ponder her next steps in this matter and several others while she waited.

A minute or two had passed when Kerry spoke up, more timid than before: "There, there is one more thing." She immediately had Vert's undivided attention, which appeared to fluster her again. Yet the girl pressed on: "Was Lord Bungie saying the truth? That I can make it big?"

The blonde's widening smile should have said it all, but she carefully did not chuckle before having made herself clear, lest she may appear as if she was laughing about the idea itself. "My, I can not say for sure, but if he believes you got potential? I trust his judgement." A half-truth, really. Vert had seen what Bungie saw, but she would not make her status as CPU any more obvious. "Do you want to try?"

Kerry took the bait immediately, though her response was a shrug. "I don't know," she answered truthfully. Then she clenched her fists, expression darkening considerably. "But I do want to try martial arts. I hate being so weak that this, this-"

The girl cut herself off, but Vert did not need her to finish. She carefully wrapped one arm around Kerry in a sidehug, gently squeezing her shoulder. "Then go for it." Her charge nodded, but remained silent with her eyes closed. Vert let her soak in the warmth of another's presence for now.

"Yeah. I'll try. I'll get as strong as my Lady, and Lady Nitroplus."

This time however, Vert could not help but chuckle; the sound drew Kerry's attention immediately and the CPU grinned back at her wryly. "Except that both Lady Green Heart and Maker Nitroplus focus on speed and not strength, sweetie. Try Bungie."

She actually broke into giggles when Kerry pouted at her, the girl slightly flustered and successfully distracted for a short amount of time again. Yet it did not last; the gloomy expression returned soon after, though now streaked with determination: "How do I go about finding a teacher? Do they advertise on the internet or something?"

Her innocent question brought a fond smile on the blonde's face. She relaxed into the soft couch and made a disregarding motion. "Do not worry about that. If you want to, I can go look into it for you." Yvoire would do that if she did not take care of it quickly, she knew, but Vert felt she had a better grasp on Kerry by this point. "It's not much of an issue."

"Really?" She nodded and Kerry offered a weak smile of her own. "Thank you, ma'am."

"It is nothing. And please, call me Vert."

The girl relaxed a little, though a bit of tension still remained within; it would take a while to work that out with her. Either way, she had to remember to look for female tutors and instructors; given what happened to Bungie, Vert figured that Kerry might be jumpy around men for a while. A good martial arts teacher had to correct their student's stance if they did it wrong, after all.

She briefly considered doing it herself, to take some time and instruct the girl personally, but discarded the idea. As much as Vert liked the prospect and felt the need to spend time with Kerry until she was better, this girl was only one out of her many citizens. A tragic one, yes, but even that did not give her enough priority to be put over matters of state. As it were, Vert had too little time for her paperwork already. Her routine of gaming for four hours every day was something she could take time away from, but she already knew it would not work out.

If nothing else, Neptune would slap her for coddling again. And she would be right, as Vert had no indicator of Kerry being special enough to warrant a CPU's personal attention. That privilege went to Lyrica Langley alone in this generation. 5pb., as the up and coming idol had named herself, was on the rise.

With that in mind, she decided to take care of it posthaste; after having a pleasant conversation with Kerry, that was.

. .

. .

Arrangements were made quickly and Kerry went into her lessons with mixed feelings. She still remembered clearly just why she wanted this, but she also loved sports. Sadly, having to transfer to an all-girls school due to her phobia of most things male except her father and brother left her without her old basketball team; her new school already had a complete team and integrating herself there was difficult at best.

So she did not and threw herself into practicing stances, punches, kicks, movements, everything she could. On top of it, she added all kinds of general exercises to get her body into a proper shape.

Yet she never truly stopped feeling cold. The shudders of foreign hands on her body, the pain and helplessness. She continued to train until her body hurt, forgetting the past sensations. Her tutor told her to stop earlier, but then she merely transferred the taxing parts to her private time instead. Kerry rather lay on the ground with a racing pulse and aching muscles than remember.

The girl carried on and on with her training, until her body broke down one day and she woke up in the hospital. Surrounded by her mother, father, brother, and sister. As well as her teacher, who almost immediately chewed her out for going too far again.

Yet this did not stop Kerry. Even with her therapist noting good progress, she still felt the memories creeping back into her mind, and so she trained. Sometimes to another breakdown. And another.

Except that one day, she stopped breaking down. The girl merely walked home and fell asleep, exhausted.

. .

. .

Three years had passed when Vert next heard of Kerry. She did keep her eyes on the records after the matter, but found nothing indicating trouble and no suicide. The breakdowns only began when her attention had already shifted elsewhere.

Then, about a month after she appointed her new Oracle, she received the results of the Guild's aptitude test for minors.

It appeared that no one mentioned to Chika that this test was a hoax. Then again, there was one name in there which Bungie had entered into the register a while ago. So Vert checked it anyway, out of idle curiousity.

Kerry had delivered a fairly average written portion with little surprising insight; the usual fare about wishing to help the people of Leanbox and so on. Not that it mattered, though Vert always liked to see it actually written down.

The results of her physical examination, however, were outstanding. She outperformed all of her peers by at least one order of magnitude. In everything. She ran faster, lifted more, struck harder, and generally cast her shadow over everyone else, up to and including the professionals the Guild hired to oversee the process. Vert could imagine them to be quite shocked about a budding woman matching men who spent many years in this particular field.

Her curiousity piqued, the CPU quickly finished her remaining workload and made to leave the Basilicom; finding Kerry proved to be simple in the afternoon, seeing that she worked out in her backyard. With her parents at work and siblings out of the house, she was all on her own.

Vert quietly leaned against a decorative tree planted next to the sidewalk, watching the girl; she had just begun to do push-ups.

Curious, the CPU counted along while taking in the muscled frame in front of her. Kerry had been lean three years ago, now her body was firm in a way that conveyed itself even from sight alone. There did not seem to be a single bit of fat on her body, aside from what Vert would call a proper chest. Blanc would throw something at her if she said that in her presence, though.

She soon found out where this change came from. The first fifty push-ups made her nod in approval. The next hundred found Vert impressed. By the time Kerry passed three hundred and fifty, the blonde got concerned. This was not even remotely an amount one should do in succession.

At five hundred and two, probably due to miscounting, Kerry slumped onto the soft earth with a pleased sigh. She was drenched in sweat and her arms wobbled a little, but she appeared so happy that Vert forgot her concern for a moment.

The girl rolled onto her back and took deep breaths; as she did however, her eyes fell onto her audience and her head turned. Vert offered her a smile that was returned a moment later, then she stepped toward the fence. "May I?"

Despite the fact they had not met in three years, Kerry did feel a certain familiarity and waved her over without hesitation. "Of course, hah." Her breathing was still somewhat laboured, but she quickly recuperated and sat up. "Can I help you?" Her voice had become softer than it used to be.

Before she responded, Vert took the last steps and gracefully swung herself over the waist-high fence; she had one hand placed on it so it did not look too easy, though. Moreover, the blonde was well aware of the teen's eyes being on her body and what the sudden movement did to it. She chuckled merrily and hid her mouth behind one gloved hand as she stood. "My, my."

Her reaction prompted Kerry to blush and avert her gaze with a mumbled apology. Which only made Vert chuckle again. "There is no need to be embarassed. Being curious is just healthy and I do not mind you looking." Her words were delivered melodically as she sashayed over to stand with Kerry, who quickly got to her feet. Not that the reassurance alleviated Kerry's state much.

It remained oh so amusing that even leanboxian girls and boys could be flustered so easily with a few select words and mannerisms. Her people were the most open on the matter of intimacy, yet even they could not stand against their goddess without healthily flushed cheeks.

But this was enough of the teasing for now, Vert decided. She offered a hand to the sitting girl, who took it only reluctantly because her sweat would soak the white fabric. The CPU did not care much, she simply pulled Kerry up. "There we go. I have been looking over your test, which is why I am here. My name is Vert."

"Oh. Oh!" The girl blinked and quickly wiped her hands off on her shorts when Vert offered a hand to shake, then quickly followed through. Her grip was weak, the kind Vert knew belonged to someone afraid of hurting another with their full strength. "I-Is there a problem?"

"Not at all, Kerry." The gentle nudge on the fact she did not give her name drew a slight twitch of embarassment, but Vert moved on without giving it much more attention: "Do you usually do that many push-ups in one rep?"

Now the young woman began to smile, much more softly than one would expect from someone who apparently exercised harder than professionals. "Yes, ma'am. Five hundred per rep and then some other stuff."

Going by how cheerful Kerry turned out to be about it, Vert began to get an idea for why her physical examination had ended up that way. Yet she could not help but worry a little as well. "Is that really alright? Does it not hurt?"

Strangely, this only widened Kerry's smile. "It used to, but that stopped, oh, over a year ago?" Her eyes rolled sideways as she thought, unable to remember the exact time. "Now it feels good to push myself that far, so it's actually fun."

Vert's own expression remained in place, though she felt befuddled in the privacy of her own mind. This was not something she had encountered before, which made her curious, delighted, and worried at the same time.

She would look into this later; for now, there were other matters to discuss. "Shall we sit down somewhere?"

"Oh, of course." Kerry nodded quickly and motioned for Vert to follow; her family's little backyard contained a small garden of flowers and some vegetables, well-maintained and looked after. They placed a wooden bench in its center, covered from rain by a pavilion. This was where Kerry led the CPU and had her sit.

She had to admit, it was quite the lovely view. A hedge to the back hid one from curious gazes from the street and most of the garden could be seen from this position. Vert nodded to herself and turned to Kerry. "Now then, I was curious. Your answers on why you wanted to join early were quite clear, but I wondered if there was more to them?"

Or, in other words, everyone knew that 'wanting to aid Leanbox' did not apply to most of the teens who wished to join. They only wrote it because they expected that this was what the Guild wanted to hear. Kerry fidgeted, unsure whether she had been caught, and nodded shily.

"I, I feel like working with the Guild would give my life actual meaning. I'm just... floating around right now, I guess. So I figured I should try to get in early, do something." The young woman hesitated, throwing a cautious glance toward Vert. "Does that make sense?"

The blonde nodded benignly; she intelectually knew the issue of feeling without purpose, though her own existence inherently possessed such. "It does, and you are not the only one. Do you think you did well?"

She mostly asked out of curiousity, but part of it was also to determine how Kerry thought of herself. About as expected, her expression turned somewhat sheepish and she lowered her gaze a little. "Well, um, I think I did well on the physical part. But I probably messed up the theory, there was just so much and so little time."

The older woman hummed softly and offered a sly look to her new junior agent. "Mind, basically everyone does bad at the theory; it is not supposed to be easy to get a special license." For a moment, she considered to keep teasing about whether Kerry made it or not.

Unfortunately, her decision never truly mattered because Kerry pushed the conversation elsewhere. "I see. Um, have we met before?" Upon Vert's curious look, she elaborated: "It's just, I feel that I have seen you before... oh." And as her mind went and produced memories, the girl lowered her gaze further. "Oh, you were there back then."

Vert did not like how that soft tone of voice suffered into being emotionless, or how the girl by her side shuddered. She carefully and slowly reached out, making sure her approaching hand could be seen well. Kerry noticed, but did not slap her away. So Vert squeezed her shoulder, firmly but without actually hurting the girl. "I was. You came far."

Kerry relaxed somewhat, uttering a long sigh and leaning into her touch. Her voice was weaker than before. "I try, but it's hard. Some days I still remember... that." She obviously forced the words out, which was why Vert squeezed her shoulder again.

"You do not need to speak of it if you can't. Do you still see your therapist regularly?" Kerry nodded slowly and received a reassuring smile for it. "That is fine then. You just have to keep going, that is all we can do in matters like these."

Be it Vert's wistful tone or her choice of words, Kerry noticed something in what she had been told, her eyes wandered back toward the blonde, meeting her gaze with a mixture of curiousity and resignation. "How do you know how all of this feels?"

She did not notice the momentary widening of Vert's eyes, or the sick twist in the CPU's stomach. Her question had barely any outward effect, yet it had caught the older woman completely off-guard. Vert's thoughts went back into the distant past for a few happy moments.

Then she let out a sigh of her own and let go of Kerry. Her expression lost its gentleness, morphing into wistful remembrance. She rarely spoke of the matter, but it felt appropriate in this case.

"It is not the same kind of experience, rather the opposite. With a similar final result, though." She gently pried off her right glove, pulling up finger by finger before taking it all off in one last pull. A simple band of metal came to light, sitting on the deity's ring finger. She beheld it with a sad smile before turning her eyes back to Kerry. "I used to be married, long ago."

The young woman did not understand where she was going with this, eyes flicking between Vert's expression and the ring on her finger. "Y-Your husband... died?"

She was reluctant out of consideration, though it would not have changed the response. Vert nodded, fingers absently running over the old ring. "He was such a kind soul. I never thought I could fall in love with a single person like I did after meeting him. He was compassionate, always yearning and working to bring other people happiness. We had a wonderful fourty years together, the happiest years of my life."

Kerry's mouth opened in thoughtless wonder, then clicked shut when her mind caught up. She had meant to say that Vert did not look any older than her mid-twenties, much less sixty and up. The realisation just who she spoke to sent the girl into a stupor. Her Lady merely smiled and acknowledged that her indirect reveal had been noticed.

"I could not have been happier back then. I never thought I would come to love a human like this when I was born, and yet, there he was." Her expression fell further when she remembered what came after, though. "But it remained a fact: he was human. While I remained young, he grew old and eventually died of old age."

To this day, Vert could feel a sense of longing, of lingering pain and emptiness, deep within herself. Some wounds, she knew, would never truly fade. She carefully made to grab her bare hand with the gloved one, her ring finger out of reach so as to not damage the memento. "That was four hundred years ago. I was sixty when we married, a hundred and six when he died. I was a mess for the next ten years to follow."

Kerry kept her head lowered, listening yet unsure what to say. Vert did not need her to say anything. She remembered how devastated she had been, how hopeless the whole world felt. Even with her fellow CPUs staying by her side and doing their best, every day had been horrible back then.

This, she knew, was the true reason no Candidate of the current generation would ever be allowed to be with a human. None of the four wanted to see their own sibling devasted in such a way.

She let out the bad memories with a deep breath and gently pulled Kerry into an embrace. "Heartbreak is a horrible, horrible thing for a CPU. It has been so long but even with so much time, it still hurts sometimes. So I feel that I understand what you are going through, my dear." Kerry nestled into her side, remaining quiet. Vert simply stroked her head. "I had my dear friends tending to me, taking care of me when I needed them. And you have me to do the same."

Kerry remained still a few moments, accepting her words and gestures. "Okay." Her voice remained weak, but there was steel in it. Vert simply continued to comfort her charge. She had made her choice; this one would definitely receive her special license. She could tell Kerry would go far.