As the young girl spoke, unfettered by the sight before her, the knight's helmeted head gave subtle twitches, the starry gaze beneath shifting in sudden, rapid motions as he parsed the child's figure. Few dared to approach him when he was a more acceptable display, yet this one was the first in weeks when he was at his least commendable. The girl likely couldn't tell, but the knight's senses all remained sharp and focused, his foul sight belying a fully-capable actor.

"I am... healthy." the knight spoke, the creaking in his voice lessening ever so steadily, his tone gaining vigor "I am ready to fight... ready to [i]serve[/i]. Always, ever."

Perhaps he would have found her laudable, this child that went to reassure a putrid stranger, trying to wrest from him his despondence. But while the knight's senses retained their acuteness, his mind was caught in a pressing myopia, a shortsightedness imposed by his despair that left little room for anything but the gloomy present; he had failed, he was unworthy. He was tainted, the very essence of his existence compromised.

"Truthfully, my Lady's heart must already weep, for I am not waiting for Her grace, but for Her judgement. Her knight has failed, and sinfully so. I wait not to be saved, for I can only be found wanting." His helmet dipped again, hollow gaze directed at the ground "All that's left is to wait in silent shame, for I am knight, and I shine no longer bright."