Aveline ran her fingers through her hair, then moved her hand to her chin. She was fighting back tears already, and she hadn’t even begun her story. She took a shaky breath and let it go, trying to keep it from catching in her throat. Karina let go of her shoulders, stepping back with the rest of them to give the daímona some space.

“Cereza,” Aveline began, “was — is — my sister. She went missing fifteen years ago during an orc raid on the vineyards surrounding our home.”

Farrah heaved a quiet sigh and pursed her lips. Aveline’s attitude towards her since they met now made complete sense. Of course, she hates me, Farrah thought. Half-orc, whole orc… What does it matter in the face of something like that?

Aveline continued. “She was four at the time. I was seven. My parents… they lost themselves in their individual grief. My father gave in to fits of rage and kept my mother and me on a short leash. That didn’t seem to bother my mother much — she hardly ever went outside after Cereza was gone. To her, it was like she was still there.”

The daímona could no longer hold her sorrow at bay. Tears began to flow freely down her lilac cheeks, which were rapidly deepening into a darker shade of purple. Karina held out the handkerchief towards her once more; Aveline took it, though she did not bother to wipe away the still-running tears.

“Mother would always have the table set for four. She’d make sure that Cereza’s room was regularly cleaned, her clothes laundered, her birthdays celebrated… She even went so far as to still have parties in Cereza’s honor. People came — despite knowing that the guest of honor wouldn’t be there — mostly because they didn’t want to incur my father’s wrath and ruin their business connections.”

Aveline looked up at the others; it was the first time since starting her story that she had done so. Each of them had pity in their eyes — even Vice, who Aveline was sure would be unfazed by it all.

“Mother never really got over Cereza’s disappearance. She was so different after it was all over. She used to be so happy and caring all the time, but… afterward, she was a shell of a woman. A shell with a painted mask. And the hardest part of it all wasn’t just losing my sister and my best friend. It was losing my parents as well.”

Karina cocked her head. “Did something happen to them, too?”

Aveline shook her head. “No… not exactly. Nothing physically happened. But for all intents and purposes, they were gone. My parents lost their baby, and that sorrow consumed the both of them. Father threw himself into his work, hardly ever coming around even for meals. And Mother… Solas above, my mother…”

The daímona began to openly weep. Her head hung down, and her shoulders jerked erratically. Karina made a move to step towards her, but was stopped when Vice brushed past her. The theosian removed her gloves and knelt down before Aveline, taking the daímona’s hands into her own. Aveline twitched at her touch and met Vice’s gaze.

The theosian’s once pitch-black, pupilless eyes were now ringed with whites and two violet irises. Aveline drew back instinctively, but Vice’s grip held her fast.

“Aveline,” the theosian began, her voice thick with emotion, “I am so sorry that this happened to you. But know that you are not alone. You are never alone.”

The daímona shook her head and sniffed. “Vice, I appreciate the effort, but you should know that I’m not the religious sort like you are. I don’t have a god that I can keep with me wherever I go.”

Vice smiled, and Aveline saw a sadness in the theosian’s eyes. “That’s not what I meant, though that can be a conversation for another time. What I mean is… I too have a sister. She is not lost to me, but she is my flesh and my blood. I would kill anyone who hurt her. I can imagine the kind of pain you have experienced, and I have felt some of it myself. I lost — well, we lost — our parents long ago. Our mother was our only caretaker, and she died when we were still children. Our father thought it best never to show his face after our birth. I know what it’s like to lose the people that you love.”

“Yes,” broke in Karina. “As do I. My parents… they disowned me a few years ago. I haven’t spoken to them since it happened.”

Farrah opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated. Aveline saw this and sighed. “You too, Farrah?” she asked.

The half-orc looked into Aveline’s eyes. Several moments passed in silence as Farrah thought about the fact that that was the first time Aveline had called her by her name. In the daímona’s eyes there was no longer any anger or disgust; Farrah could finally see what was at the core of this smart-mouthed, fire-slinging sorceress.

Grief, she thought.

Farrah’s gaze fell away from Aveline’s. “Aye,” she finally replied. “I lost my father several years ago. Occupational hazard, I guess.”

A spiteful retort flared at the edges of Aveline’s mind, but she pushed it away as soon as she felt it rear its ugly head. I’ve got… I’ve got to get over this, she thought. Who cares if she has orc blood in her? Does that mean she’s inherently a savage? Of course not — but every time I look at her…

Aveline sighed. “What a tragic bunch we all are, aren’t we? The bards could sing songs about us…” she trailed off.

She sniffed and wiped at her eyes with her sleeve. Vice let go of the daímona’s other hand and stood, rising back to her towering height. Aveline looked up at the theosian and gave a sorrowful smile. As Vice stepped away, Aveline noticed that her eyes had gone back to their usual black.

“In any case,” she began, “once I realized that my family was content to leave Cereza’s fate unknown, I left. I joined the Black Flame, hoping to perhaps find some sort of information on the orcs that took her. I guess I figured that all criminals knew each other in one way or another. I was wrong.

“No one knew anything about the raid — or at least, no one would talk about it. After joining the guild, I knew that my parents would never have me back. Not after sullying the good name of Bloodvine. So I spent several months doing jobs and scraping together a way to provide for myself and — after I’d found her — my sister. I was working for the Black Flame’s branch in Castele when I was pulled to the ventral plane with the rest of you.”

“So you’re familiar with members of the guild?” Farrah broke in.

Aveline hesitated, then spoke. “Yes, but not those who live here in the capital. I worked in a different city, so I’m not sure anyone would know me here. But the mechanics of the guild are the same across branches. It would be no problem to actually get into the guild hall.”

“Well, I hate to bring the conversation back ‘round to more… trivial problems, but that child took all of my money with her into that passageway. Is there a chance we could get it back?”

Aveline put her hands on her hips and trained her eyes upwards, the gears of her mind turning. “Yes… I could get it back. But what about Firecrest? We sort of just took off. What if they’ve already sent someone to fetch us, and we aren’t there?”

Farrah let out a heavy sigh and leaned her head back, rolling her eyes. She looked back down at the group. “I guess we should split up, then. Aveline, you know how to get in, so you and I can go and get my money. Vice and Karina can meet with the people at Firecrest. That okay?”

The theosian and dragonblood nodded, but Aveline made no move. She glanced between the three others before her, pursing her lips. Farrah cocked her head.

“Aveline… is that okay?”

A few moments passed before the daímona responded. She seemed lost in thought, and Farrah reached out to touch her. Aveline snapped back at the movement. She nodded. “Yes, of course. I’ll show you the way in.”

“Right, then…” Farrah began. “Vice, Karina, you two go see if Raghnall is at Firecrest. We’ll be along shortly.”

The theosian and dragonblood turned to leave, but Aveline reached out and took hold of Vice’s arm. “Wait,” she said.

Aveline reached for her ear and unclipped an earring, then handed it to Vice. “I’ll be able to find you as long as I’m wearing the other in the pair.”

Vice looked at the piece of jewelry with a mild distaste, but she put it on anyway. Immediately, she could hear Aveline’s voice in her head — but the daímona’s lips weren’t moving.

Don’t react, she heard Aveline say. Keep it quiet. If anything happens, let me know — we’ll come running.

The theosian shared a glance with Aveline, then turned and departed with Karina, disappearing around the corner onto the sidewalk. Aveline looked back at Farrah; she was staring at the wall. The daímona joined her, and both of them spent several moments studying the painted script.

“So,” Farrah began after their silence, “how do we start?”

Aveline smirked and brought a hand up, snapping. A single, orange-yellow flame danced on her fingertip.

“With fire.”