A night spent at camp with Aifread's crew felt decidedly odd to Velvet; she was used to it being just her and Laphi by now, so the presence of another half dozen people around them gave her pause. They kept a watch, which the siblings had never bothered with for obvious reasons. They snored, one and all, though with various noise levels; that did not interrupt her sleep, but it kept winding her up from the sounds she was not used to hearing. They slept, where Velvet and Laphi simply stayed awake through the night.

As it was, she forewent her usual experimentation with artes in favour of dozing, settled more at the camp's edge with her brother leaning onto her. Most of the time however, Velvet's eyes were scanning the various people there; they had no tents, merely bedrolls and blankets. Emil and Martha were sharing one, both obviously comfortable with the arrangement.

Judith and Alvin had settled next to each other with some room to spare, facing away from the dune the camp sat against. Their weapons were placed in easy grabbing range. Zelos had found his place resting close to the crackling fire, on the side opposite to Emil and Martha. Aifread settled near Velvet and snored up a storm. Ludger, whose bedroll sat empty between the couple and their leader, had taken first watch. At times Velvet felt like his eyes bored into hers when he turned to gaze in her direction, but he never said anything. She could not shake the feeling that he knew she was awake.

Sighing, Velvet let herself fall into slumber again as best as she could. She felt well-rested and more like skulking through the night; however, not alienating her temporary companions felt prudent.

It was a long night.

At least the morning went a little easier; Velvet paired with Zelos to make breakfast and the larger group headed out for Horsa village soon after. She had to admit, if nothing else, Aifread knew how to keep morale up. The mood between his bandits was one of casual companionship; barbs were traded back and forth from men and women alike, with some slack cut to the two who were obviously younger. They joked back and forth and everyone joined in jovially, even the captain. Stoic Ludger sometimes let a quiet comment flow into the conversation.

Velvet stayed out of it most of the time, feeling like an outsider. Laphi did the same, partly because they would not have heard him anyway.

Horsa village, when they reached it in the afternoon, was just like the bandits told them; in ruins.

Bodies were still lying in places, one and all in advanced stages of decay. They were left where they fell, sometimes with parts coming to rest further away as if removed forcefully; a faint, sickly sweet smell hung over the entire area. Men and women and children, though one could only still tell from their clothes and sizes. Aifread's people stood silently, beholding the carnage with various expressions; Alvin and Ludger took it in stoically, a green-faced Zelos had his gaze averted, Judith looked around more than at the remains, and the teens were keeping their eyes on the ground.

"Their valuables are still there," Judith noted after a somber minute. Velvet peered at some of the bodies to find the same. Earrings, necklaces, and bracelets of some kind or other gleamed in the sunlight, still where they were originally worn. She felt a touch of revulsion at the sights still, but it was a small one at most. Velvet had never been around the decomposing dead, just around the recently deceased.

Martha hid himself behind Emil, who hid behind Aifread, who in turn began to walk into town slowly. Velvet and Laphi strode along with the rest slowly falling into step. They found derelict, partly broken, empty houses and more death.

It did not take long for Laphi's head to turn slightly and point toward Horsa's center. "There is a hellion that way." The comment got him a glance from the two who could see him. Velvet just nodded, but Aifread looked him over more curiously then.

"Care to share how you can tell, kid?"

"Seraphim have fine senses for mana and free Malevolence. We can identify other seraphim by how strong they ping that sense and hellions by the Malevolence they keep emitting." Laphi grinned at that point and nodded to Velvet. "Not that it works all the time; my sister emits no Malevolence, so one can't tell from a distance that she is a hellion." Aifread made a thoughtful noise, stroking his beard as they went. His gaze alternated between the two siblings. Without further questions, Velvet returned to watching their surroundings.

Reaching the town square soon after, the odd group found a large if damaged townhouse and several dilapidated shops surrounding it. Living spaces were just as abandoned and here, too, lay the dead.

Velvet was about to suggest she and Laphi round up the corpses to burn them later, but the opening of a door distracted her. Heralded by a cloud of Malevolence surging ahead, a lamia slithered outside on dark blue if dull scales. She looked haggard, hair disheveled and shoulders slumped even while she carried a knife and a freshly killed rat in her hands. "Doesn't look like any kind of monster to me," Alvin supplied from the side. "You sure it's not just a woman?"

"Trust me on this." Aifread tensed up as the lamia's head rose and her eyes left the ground to focus on them. "She's seen us and here she comes."

True to his words, the lamia dropped her catch and slithered toward them with fast, almost hypnotically fluid motions. Velvet stepped forward in turn but pushed down on the gnashing teeth in her palm; she would not feed today, or at least not yet. "We mean no harm! Who are you!"

Her words did not stop the hellion, but they did make her slow down to rake hate-filled eyes over the lot of them. The lamia snarled before focussing on Velvet. "Scoundrels and wenches all, coming here to disrespect the good-" She broke off and wailed in what could be sorrow or anger, coiling up and surging forward.

She caught Velvet off-guard, who thought she would at least finish the sentence. The impact threw her a dozen metres away and buried her under four hundred pounds of angry snake-woman, to surprised exlamations from the bandits. She was unharmed if miffed, considering she let her guard down again despite the teachings Arthur drilled into her.

"Die!" the lamia shouted while she tried to slam her claws into Velvet's face. Her arms were caught in a vice-like grip, an unamused stare leveled at her. Velvet heaved and hauled the lamia off; she landed on her back with a stone-breaking crunch, lying basically head against head with Velvet.

While she was dazed, Velvet extended her domain to cover the whole village; she also drew in Malevolence out of habit. The lamia ceased moving then, just stared up at the sky with wide eyes. Her clawed hands opened and closed slowly, the clapping of feet on stone momentarily being the only noise. Aifread and his bandits reached them moments later, forming a loose circle around the two downed women. Velvet let the lamia rest a moment longer, then released her arms. "Does the name 'Runette' mean anything to you?"

Her downed opponent's head turned and they watched each other upside down, the lamia's eyes taking her in cautiously. "Y-Yes," she croaked. Her tail flopped to the ground and Velvet could see tears form in the corners of her eyes. "That is my youngest sister's name. Do you know her?"

"In a way, yes." Velvet saw Laphi step next to Aifread in her peripheral vision, watching the exchange but leaving it to her. "We met her a little while ago, she asked us to tell you she's well." Her words made the hellion's eyes grow wide, then her lip wobbled. Before Velvet could even take in that much, she wailed again; covered her face to hide the tears, bending inward at the waist and curling her tail around herself while she cried helplessly.

Velvet watched this from the ground for a moment, then she slowly pushed herself into a sitting position. From there she stood, took two steps, and kneeled next to the crying hellion. Aifread quietly ordered his people to loot the stores and something about not taking personal effects; Laphi went with them, leaving the two alone for now. After another moment of indecision, Velvet gave herself a push and leaned forward to pick the lamia up. She surged into her arms immediately, crying into Velvet's chest. "I-It was so h-horrible," she blubbered in-between hiccups while the other woman stroked her back soothingly. "I, I could live with him not l-loving me back, that he, hic, that he left me, but, but then, hic, then that sickness, and my poor little boy, hic, I, I just-" "Shh, it's okay."

She was beginning to understand. Velvet just stood and hugged the inconsolable lamia tight; everyone needed a hug from time to time, she knew that well. So she stayed there, letting her cry it all out.

"And my s-sister," the other hellion blubbered after a while, only slightly calmer than before. "S-She turned into this right when I did. Hic. T-They expected her to save them, hic, all of them thought she'd do it on her own. They, they didn't even hic try! I hate them," she mewled into Velvet's chest right as she fell into another crying fit. "I hate them sohoho much!"

"Yeah, I get it. People are horrible like that." Velvet whispered calmly and held the lamia close.

She did not know how much time exactly passed, but at some point the tears stopped coming. She had a scaly tail curled around her then, a shaking lamia in her arms, and held on a little longer. The other hellion hesitantly lifted her head to look at Velvet, who produced a piece of cloth to clean her face. "Thank you, kind stranger," she mumbled, her voice raspy. "Please forgive me for losing my composure like that."

Velvet finished her work with a soft smile and shook her head. "It's alright. I know these feelings well." The tail unwound and she stepped back to take in the woman. "What's your name? And where is your sister?"

"Enid," the woman introduced herself quietly. She did not meet Velvet's gaze, one hand clasping her other arm. "Rodeen is hiding, in a house at the outskirts. She killed most of the people here in a fit of rage like I never saw from her before, right after she turned. It left her worn out, together with the few wounds she took from the guards. She healed, but she won't leave that place, she's praying to be saved from the insanity clawing at her mind." Enid took a deep breath, shoulders slumping a little further. "I would rather you do not see her; she has not forgiven herself for hurting these people and she won't forgive herself for hurting you."

Velvet did not correct her on who would end up hurt. "You're doing a little better than her, then?"

"Y-Yes. I can keep my mind clear most of the time. I hunt for us, that is at least one thing good about this damned form." She pulled on the tip of her tail in distaste, though Velvet nodded in agreement. At this point however, Enid was curiously examining her fingers; she peered at Velvet afterward. "Strangely enough, the madness is almost gone now. I can think clearly ever since meeting you. Is this, perhaps, your doing?"

"It is." Velvet watched her eyes widen and smiled. "It won't stay around after I leave, but my power pushes back the darkness, makes it easier for you to stand strong against it."

Enid immediately bent at the waist, much like her sister had done. "Have thanks," she offered serenely. "Have thanks, kind traveler." She bowed once more and began to smile for the first time since they met. "Would you be able to do the same thing for Rodeen?"

Velvet took the gratitude in stride, at least outwardly. When Enid asked about her sister, she nodded. "If I can, then I already did, she might just need some time to notice." Then she had to sigh, knowing it would not last. "Just, keep in mind that it will go back to how it was once I'm gone." A moment passed as Enid nodded, a little sullen, but Velvet offered her a smile. "I think you're doing fine, though. Staying in control at all times isn't easy, but if you managed it so far, you will keep doing so."

Now that she thought of it, many, if not all of the prisoners on Titania had kept their sanity by the time she pushed them to riot. There were a lot more hellions capable of holding on than one would expect, though they often hid away somewhere.

"Odd, isn't it?" Both women turned to Laphi, who sat on a piece of rubble neabry. His gaze was directed more at the village than them. "Here we have three sisters, the youngest of which is of high rank in the church. And the middle child just killed her entire village."

Enid's expression fell into deep and obvious displeasure, the same as Velvet's. The lamia was faster to admonish Laphi, though: "And what, pray tell, do you mean by that, young man?"

Laphi was not intimidated, he simply returned Enid's gaze with a shrug. "I am just wondering if this kind of thing is a coincidence, or if it happens more often than we think. There were three of us Crowes too, I am a seraph now and thus have some pull with the church, while Velvet as the middle child killed everyone in our village right after she turned."

Velvet just sighed and ignored Enid's dumbfounded look. 'Some pull with the church', he said; that was one way to undersell the matter, but he had a point in how many parallels there were. "It's probably a coincidence," she finally told her brother. "There were enough differences between those two cases, too."

"I'll give you that." Laphi made to say something else, but he fell silent; his head turned and Velvet followed his gaze, only to find a second lamia beelining right for them. This one had crimson scales, which made the previous conversation even more odd when considering Velvet's own colours.

Enid slithered forward to meet her sister, whose beaming smile was obvious even at a distance; Rodeen surged forward until she impacted Enid with a joyful shout, almost throwing the older sister onto her back from the force of it. "Sister, the gods have answered my prayers!" She all but shouted while hugging Enid tight. "The madness is gone, I am free!"

She almost bounced in place while hugging the other lamia, who wore an indulgent smile and held the embrace for a moment. Then however, she pushed her younger sister back. "It was not the gods, Rodeen." A nod was given toward Velvet. "This kind traveler brought with her a power to force it back. We have her to thank." Velvet remained standing where she was, still feeling a little odd about the mystified, joyful gaze she was given; it would take a while longer to get entirely used to this.

Then Rodeen threw herself into the dirt by her feet, face pressing against the stone. "Oh, have thanks! You are my saviour, oh kind traveler!" She felt more than a little odd now, especially when the accolade continued. Aifread was watching from a distance and she could see him laugh at her visible discomfort. After some time however, Rodeen's voice grew weaker; praise became interspersed with sniffles and whimpers, then she broke down crying much like her sister had before.

Velvet had already made to bend down when a scaly hand touched her arm, drawing attention to Enid. The older Forton shook her head gently. "Let me," she said and made to comfort her sister; Velvet stepped back to give them space. She gave them a bit of time to sort themselves out and checked over her backpack, which was torn from Enid's earlier assault. Velvet spent a few minutes patching it up despite it being irrelevant due to their storage arte. In her own mind, she had a rough idea what she would do with those two; the least they deserved was a proper explanation of what happened to them. Runette had not even known about Malevolence.

Once Rodeen was mostly consoled, Velvet gently took both sisters by the hand and led them into the townhall; she spied Aifread talking to Alvin on the way, but left them to their looting. Laphi had run off to poke around.

Once they were inside and settled on the dusty floor, she started carefully: "Do you two know what happened to you?"

Rodeen spoke first and Enid nodded along: "We were punished for our sinful hearts, being turned into monsters."

"No."

Now both lamias gave her owlish looks, their scaly tails wiggling. Velvet eyed both with stern eyes. "This is not divine punishment. It isn't a curse meant for the sinners. This is Malevolence, the darkness that lives in all human hearts overflowing. The people around you and your circumstances put so much pressure on you that it broke free and transformed you into hellions. They come in all shapes and forms, the Malevolence can transform objects and even the dead. You weren't too weak," she headed off the first thought she figured they would have, "it simply ran too strong."

The Forton sisters listened with rapt attention, much like Runette had when she explained it to her a few weeks ago. Velvet continued as she did back then: "You already noticed the main effects this has; it changes you, not just your bodies but also your minds. That irrational anger is the Malevolence riling you up. But there are not just drawbacks." She pointed at Enid, whose eyes were transfixed on her finger immediately. "You're stronger now, faster. Age won't affect you either. I can't tell at a glance what else changed because it's a personal matter. I know my senses got sharper and an old friend of mine lost most of his human emotions."

Velvet's gaze went from one sister to the other; both fidgeted, expressions changing back and forth as they considered their situation. Enid ultimately broke the thoughtful silence, pondering out loud: "We have always been faithful to the Great Lords, have been kind to others and done no harm. Why would they allow such a fate to befall us?"

Rodeen was next, adding to her sister's question. "Why would they allow for this Malevolence to exist at all?"

"Because they aren't all-powerful," Velvet told them with a shrug. "They are the apex of all seraphim, but they are still seraphim, who Malevolence is still poison to."

She should have put some more thought into her words; the careless explanation made Rodeen rear up and tower over her. "How dare you speak of the gods like that?!" she screeched and almost made to lunge. She made, but did not go through with it. A wave of ominous crimson pulsed through the bandages on Velvet's arm, a sight which gave Rodeen pause.

"Calm yourself," Velvet told her in a flat tone; for a moment she might have attacked anyway, but Enid's hand on her shoulder calmed her enough to sit again. Velvet eyed her intently. "I am aware that the five are powerful, powerful beings. But not even they can just snap their fingers and Malevolence is gone forever. Its inherent to mankind."

Taking a few deep breaths to calm her obviously raging anger, Rodeen coiled up and pressed a hand to her forehead. "Could you tell us more about Malevolence?" she finally asked. Enid remained by her side to stop new flares of her sister's temper.

Velvet, meanwhile, leaned back a little. "It's difficult to explain, honestly. What I do know is that there are eight specific types of Malevolence, eight flavours if you want." She counted them off on her fingers. "Wrath, greed, conceit, cowardice, selfishness, obsession, lust, and despair." Then she cast a glance at the sisters. "Some conform to certain emotions, but just feeling a flash of that emotion does not immediately create Malevolence. Once it gets out of control within your heart is when it starts. Another's Malevolence can affect you as well, if they have too much of it."

Both lamias nodded along, clearly aware that Rodeen's primary type was wrath. Rodeen lowered her head in thought, previous anger already faded. "Is there any way to stop humans from producing Malevolence? And what of the seraphim?"

Velvet just shook her head. "The seraphim produce no Malevolence, but are also far more vulnerable to it. Many of them hide far away from humans out of fear, though I heard more of them live together with humans in this age than ever before."

When she made no motion to answer the other question, Rodeen asked it again: "And is there a way to stop it entirely?"

"Is there a way to stop all humans from having feelings, Rodeen?" She let that question stand, let the lamia's head droop, and hoped neither of them would guess that the answer was not 'no' like she just implied. To change the subject, she carried on with the rundown; her next words had both women perk up: "There is one way to undo this. Once a shepherd comes, they will wield Maotelus' silver flame that burns away all Malevolence. It's the only way to turn back a hellion without killing... them."

She hesitated on the last word, seeing how the ground began to shake. Velvet almost felt the mana racing through the earth and got up after she finished, eyes narrowed. "Now what are they up to?"

She strode outside with a frown, both Forton sisters following curiously; there they found Aifread and his crew watching the earth shift. All but the man himself were awed into silence as the ground reared up to reveal the area beneath Horsa; sand and soft soil churned before solidifying into stone, forming buildings beneath the broken village. Some houses broke down with the shifting, the center of which was Laphi; her brother glowed in faint, golden light as seven arte-circles surrounded him.

A quick glance told her that the lamias were frozen in place as well. Velvet was not; she walked over to where her brother just shifted the ground back in place, then crossed her arms and waited for an explanation. He smiled.

"I talked to Aifread. He thinks that with Horsa finished, people won't look at it closer for a long time. He wants to set up here, so I offered to help him out with an underground base. A few rooms, two hidden entrances." He motioned cheerfully as he spoke, making Velvet feel more amused than annoyed now. "It's just basic because I'm no earth seraph, but I can do that much just fine." As an Empyrean, he did not say. Velvet did not call him on it.

A hearty laugh announced Aifread's arrival by their side. "I like this kid more and more," he told no one in particular and clapped Laphi's shoulder. The boy beamed.

Shaking her head, Velvet turned back around, only to find a once more larger group behind. Zelos stood closest, scratching his cheek and glancing at the Forton sisters. "It's still hard to believe. I know what I've seen, but are those two really lamias?" There were some agreeing sentiments while the two hellions eyed the bandits they found themselves with.

Then Enid blinked and turned back to Velvet curiously. "Why can't they see what we have become?"

Figuring that she might as well, Velvet nodded toward Aifread, who was excitedly chattering with Laphi a little bit away, making sweeping gestures all the while. "You need a certain quality called resonance. It's not something you train or get from somewhere, you are born with it. That guy there has a powerful resonance, so he can see hellions. His is strong enough to even let him see seraphim like Laphi. As a hellion, you get to see them as well." Then she paused. "Come to think of it, we should have found a few more resonant people than we did. Laphi! Did anyone see you who wasn't a hellion?"

Her brother perked up and called back after but a moment: "Only Margaret!" He caught her train of thought as well and neither liked the implications, but they kept quiet about them.

Velvet shook her head and shelved the thought. That was, however, when Enid spoke up while glancing at the men and women around her. "You lot, you are bandits?"

There was some hesitation as none of them wished to draw the apparent hellion's ire. "They are," Velvet finally answered in their stead.

Enid nodded and slithered forward, to where Aifread had joined them. "Let me join."

It was funny to see how many faces that turned, even Laphi was surprised. Velvet managed to keep her expression calm while Aifread just laughed. "Aye, welcome aboard, lady! Doesn't matter who or what you are, you're one of ours now!"

There were some bewildered looks thrown around while Enid grinned with visible satisfaction. Rodeen's jaw worked silently as she leered at her older sister, but ultimately she slumped. "I guess it makes sense. There is nothing left here for you."

Velvet felt that something else remained unsaid, but she did not push. Instead she turned her attention to Rodeen. "What about you?"

"Me?" The lamia remained deflated and looked around. "I will stay here for now to put all those people to rest. And to tend to the town until someone else might come to settle here."

"So it's settled," Aifread chimed in cheerfully, "you'll be one of us, too."

"Excuse me?! I would never join a bunch of thieving outcasts!" She shouted a few more profanities at him, but Aifread merely laughed them off and deflected a few swipes aimed at his face. Even Enid was taken aback by how casual he disregarded the incensed lamia's anger.

"Easy there," he finally started to calm her with a smile, "I won't force you to raid or kill. If we're having a proper hideout, we'll need someone to look after it anyway. I wouldn't want to split you two sisters apart."

"Urgh, alright! It's not like I can stop you!" Rodeen still grumbled after that, but she did not try to attack Aifread again.

Velvet shook her head and took a step closer to the sisters once more. "Just remember that my power will leave with me; you better prepare for that." Then to Laphi: "And you, find a good place for your arte."

"Yes, sister!"

He got what she meant with that; they would leave soon. Velvet watched him trot off for a moment, but then Rodeen addressed her with a weak smile: "It should be fine now. I feel a great deal better, you gave me a chance to center myself. I will not fall to the Malevolence again, this I so swear."

Enid agreed, but then turned to Velvet with her hands clasped together. "That aside, we never asked your name. Would you tell us that much, so we know whom we can thank for this gift?"

Now that she mentioned it, introductions were something they forgot over everything that happened. She could do at least that much. "Velvet Crowe."

"Thank you," Rodeen told her with a short bow. "I will pray for your wellbeing."

Deep down, Velvet felt a little warmer. She knew it would not last, but her very being allowed tortured souls like these two at least a moment of respite. She cherished this feeling, happy that she could once again do something good for another.

That was when Aifread spoke up: "You're not staying around for the party?"

Her first thought was that of course he would throw a party immediately. Her second thought was that she should consider it. With the third, that notion faded. Velvet shook her head. "Sorry, but no. We aren't in a desperate hurry, but we can't afford to waste... no, spend time on this. I'm sure you'll make do without us."

"Ha, that we will!"

They shook hands, both grinning and surrounded by a group of bandits that just grew by two nuns turned hellion. The world was indeed weird.