A/N: This story will contain various snippets from the life of Syrila T'Soni – an OC that I introduced in the "Strange guest" story. She is Benezia's sister, Liara's aunt and for the most of her life, she suffered from a medical condition…

I do not aim at any specific ending. The chapters will be posted as they come to me and will not necessarily be in chronological order. If you haven't read the "Strange guest" yet, I recommend that you do before trying to read this one.

As always, reviews are welcome.

Thessia, 2196 CE

Liara looked around the room where the attending asari were chatting. The official ceremony was now over and the setting was much more casual.

To an outside observe, the gathering might seem like an ordinary party but was in fact a funeral feast – thrown in honor of the late Matriarch Laya Navis who died only a week ago. The matriarch was well over thousand years old when she passed away. In fact, she might have been one of the oldest asari left on Thessia after the reaper war.

However, despite this fact, very few people knew her. The Navis family was neither ancient nor rich like the T'Sonis or in any way famous. Most of the asari inside the room were either family or close friends.

It was for this reason that Liara felt somewhat as an outsider among them. She was sad to admit that she did not know Laya Navis at all. The only reason she was here was to be a moral support for her recently rediscovered aunt – Syrila T'Soni.

Syrila herself was talking with the other guests earlier but was now standing next to Liara and trying her best to blend in. Normally, she had no trouble in acting her way through any situation, but this day, she was not acting at all. This day, she was genuinely, without any disguise, Syrila T'Soni…

"Dr. T'Soni…" one of the asari approached Liara. It was Laya's only daughter – Erena Navis.

"Dr. T'soni" she repeated as she fought her way through the crowd over to Liara.

"Again, I want to express how happy I am that you decided to honor the memory of my mother today…" Erena said and hugged Liara in traditional asari fashion, followed by a kiss on a cheek.

"I am honored to be received in your home, Matriarch…" Liara answered politely.

"Please, it is just Erena to you…" the older asari insisted.

"Only if you call me Liara, then" she smiled at her in return.

Erena was a few decades into being a matriarch herself. She was Laya's only child but she also had four daughters during her life. Two of those had children of their own now, making Laya Navis a great grandparent by the time of her death.

Adding in the partners of the family members and Laya's friends and the room was quite packed with people.

When Liara first walked inside, everyone was looking at her in disbelieve. Despite being more than half a millennium younger than Erena Navis, the older asari would welcome and treat her almost like a royalty. A common event for her these days that she very much loathed…

In a hindsight, Liara supposed that it was probably for the best that Shepard did not come here with her tonight… the presence of both of the publically acclaimed heroes of the Reaper war would have totally stolen the attention away from the ceremony.

"Are you that surprised? You are probably the most exciting thing ever to walk into her home!" her aunt said to her earlier when she saw Liara's slightly brooding expression.

"Dr T'Soni… Liara, please, if I may be so bold… we are all very anxious to hear how you knew my mother?" Erena asked her the question that she no doubt was very curious to know the answer to ever since she saw Liara in here.

Liara looked at her with sympathy. "I am saddened to admit that I did not know her personally…" she said and looked at Syrila, inviting her into the conversation. "However, my… friend, knew your mother very well. Tonight, I am here with her"

"Oh?" Erena's eyes flicked between them. "You know Syrila?" she suddenly asked, looking at Liara's aunt.

Had Liara been drinking something at that moment, she would be spitting and choking now. Fortunately, she was not drinking anything and so she managed to cover her shock at hearing Syrila's name spoken out loud.

"I did not realize you two have been introduced…" Liara eventually said.

Even though the Ardat-Yakshi condition was cured years ago, she was not aware that her aunt was using her real name publically again. Having lived a life of secrecy, Syrila was more comfortable in anonymity than anywhere else. As a consequence, she so far refused Liara's offers to have her name and standing officially restored.

"Syrila had been visiting my mother for the past few years..." Erena clarified and turned to Syrila. "From what mother told me, you were old friends with her?" she asked and Syrila nodded sadly.

"Then I want to thank you…I happen to know that my mother loved your visits very much"

Liara saw Syrila's downcast expression and she put her hand on her aunt's back to comfort and cheer her up.

"But how do you two know each other?" Erena asked again, seeing the two asari supporting each other emotionally.

Liara looked at Syrila for a moment, wordlessly inquiring on what to say.

"You can tell her the truth, Liara. It is time I stepped out of the shadows… permanently" Syrila said resolutely.

Erena looked at them in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Liara smiled. She was glad that her aunt was finally embracing her family heritage again.

"Erena Navis, may I introduce Syrila T'Soni, sister to my mother and my aunt…"

It would be Erena's turn to spit and choke but she was not drinking anything either.

"You… how? You are T'Soni too? A sister of Matriarch Benezia?" she asked in awed and almost fearful voice.

"I am" Syrila solemnly confirmed with a nod.

"Oh, goddess…" Erena whispered before she made a curtsey to Syrila. "I did not realize! Please welcome to our home, esteemed Matriarch…"

"Please don't…" Syrila said to her gently. "You were always very nice to me and I do not want you to treat me any differently than before"

"I am sorry, Syrila" Erena apologized bashfully. "I just had no idea who you truly were and I feel completely silly right now for not welcoming you properly before"

"You don't have to feel silly… up until recently, nobody knew of my true identity. I have been living undercover for over a millennium" Syrila said, sharing a knowing look with Liara.

"But why?" Erena asked, completely puzzled.

"This is going to be more than awkward, but here it goes..." Syrila drew breath. "I am an Ardat-Yakshi… have been for my entire life"

To her credit, Erena did not even flinch after hearing the name of the condition that the asari people feared for most of their recorded history. A few decades ago, she would no doubt run away screaming in horror, but now?

Thanks to Liara's efforts, there was finally a cure and all the Ardat-Yakshi were vindicated and free to rejoin their people again.

"But why didn't you… I see" Erena said as the understanding came to her. The stories of Ardat-Yakshi managing to stay hidden for centuries were a common occurrence after the cure's discovery.

She then looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Laya… my mother. She knew who you were, didn't she?" she asked.

"Yes, your mother was one of the few persons left in the universe who knew the full truth about me" Syrila confirmed her suspicion.

Erena looked like she was going to faint. "I think I need to sit down…"

Liara and Syrila helped her to a nearby sofa and they all sat down.

"It all makes sense now" Erena eventually said as she grabbed a drink from the coffee table and took a big swing.

"I remember that mother was so happy when the Ardat-Yakshi cure was discovered… when you discovered it" she looked meaningfully at Liara who tried to appear modest as best as she could.

"I did not understand why she was so emotional about it but it must have been because of you, Syrila"

Syrila lowered her eyes. "She meant a lot to me…"

"That's not all…" Erena continued. "I admit that like most asari, my mind was still clouded at that time…" she said with a shame clearly displayed on her face. "I did not speak nice things about the Ardat-Yakshi that day…"

"It's alright…" Syrila quickly said.

Erena laughed. "My mother certainly did not think it was alright. She said I was a prejudiced fool…"

"And then she told me something that I did not understand at the time, but I am beginning to now"

She looked at Syrila. "She said that an Ardat-Yakshi saved our family during the Reaper war… she spoke of you, didn't she?"

Syrila looked at her in puzzlement for a while before she realized what Laya was probably referring to.

"I might have been the one to pay the eclipse mercs who evacuated you from Thessia before the reapers landed" Syrila reluctantly admitted.

"Oh, goddess! Then you have saved my entire family!" Erena exclaimed.

Syrila tried to downplay her role, but it was too late. Very soon, Erena called her daughters over to introduce them to the person who saved them during the war. Syrila became a target for an endless barrage of hugs and kisses. One of the asari put an asari baby – Laya's youngest great granddaughter – into her arms and thanked her heartily for saving her child. By the end of the whole ordeal, tears were streaming down Syrila's cheeks.

Seeing Syrila surrounded by so many people whose lives she touched, Liara felt incredibly proud of her aunt.

"Tell us, how you met grandmother! Please!" one of Erena's daughters enthusiastically called.

Suddenly all eyes were fixed on Syrila who futilely tried to refuse. A wave of "Please!" echoed among the asari gathered around them.

"Very well…" Syrila finally conceded, much to everyone's happiness.

"Laya Navis cared for me during the period of my life that was most difficult. Her wisdom is the reason I am here with you today… she saved my life more than once, be it with words or actions"

Syrila smiled as she immersed herself in memories.