The sun was higher now, casting clean golden light over the village as Liora approached the guild hall.
Aria walked behind her, fingers curled tightly around the edge of Liora's cloak. Her little feet were tucked into an old pair of shoes that the innkeeper's wife, Marna, had dug up from her storeroom. Still a size too big, but better than nothing.
The guild hall came into view, wide and sturdy, built of pale timber and stone, the banner of the Adventurer's Guild flapping lazily in the breeze above the entrance.
Liora paused at the door. She rarely hesitated here. This was her ground, contracts, payments, updates, but with Aria by her side, she could already feel the stares waiting for her inside.
She pushed open the door anyway.
The hall was lively with chatter. A few adventurers were gathered near the job board, others lounged at the side tables, drinking morning ale and exaggerating last night's monster kills.
All of them stopped when they saw her.
And the child.
"Whoa," someone muttered, not even trying to whisper. "Did Liora steal a kid?"
"She finally cracked?"
"No way that's hers…"
Liora ignored them all, jaw tight, boots clicking softly against the wood floor. She led Aria straight to the front desk, where the guild clerk was, a tired-looking woman named Merin, was sorting through a stack of papers.
Merin looked up, raised one eyebrow, then said dryly, "Please tell me this isn't your new party member."
"She's not," Liora said. "I need a quest."
Merin leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand. "And what, she just follows you around now?"
"She's staying with me," Liora said softly.
The clerk didn't press further. Smart of her. Instead, she flipped through a pile of available quests. "We've got another gathering job near South Forest. Wild carrots and moss blooms. Light monster presence. Easy pay."
"I'll take it."
"Figured. You're early, so it hasn't been snatched yet. Pay's eight silvers on delivery."
Liora nodded and took the paper.
Merin glanced down at Aria, who was standing stiffly behind Liora, staring at the floor.
"…She yours now?"
Liora didn't answer right away.
"Maybe. Don't know yet," she said
Merin's voice softened, just a little. "Well, if you do keep her, you'll need to let the village head know. They'll ask questions if a child keeps turning up at the market with an adventurer who smells like blood and monster guts."
Liora almost smiled. "I'll handle it."
As she turned to leave, she heard one last thing from Merin.
"She's lucky," the clerk said casually. "Some kids get found by the kind of adventurer who'd sell 'em for a few silvers."
Liora paused, hand tightening around the quest sheet.
"… I'd never," she said, not looking back.
Outside, the noise and tension melted back into the sound of street vendors opening and kids playing.
Aria walked quietly beside her, holding the parchment quest sheet with both hands like it was a royal decree.
"You alright?" Liora asked.
Aria nodded, but didn't look up.
"You don't have to come next time. I can leave you with Marna."
Aria's grip on her cloak tightened.
"…Okay," Liora said after a moment. "Guess we're a team now."
The girl gave the faintest smile.
And for the first time in a long while, Liora didn't feel quite so alone.