Clarice

Once Mallory entered the main hall and it had been filled with many familiar and unfamiliar faces, she found a place to sot down by Almura, Franco and Swaine.

Almura looked intrigued and asked. "What do you think this is about?"

Mallory shrugged in response. "I cannot be sure what this is about exactly. We will just have to wait and see."

Goddess Seshat arrived in front of the main hall where there was a wooden podium in front of her which was used for book readings or reading prepared speeches. "There are not many things to update everyone on this time but there are some things that most are already well aware of so I will go over them first for those that have been away."

She continued after a little pause. "There have been changes to the city we live in and there have been some changes to the way we do things but there have been improvements made so we should be thankful to those who were behind it or participated.

Everything started once we gained a new Familia member that is Mallory who has already done much good for us all even if everyone does not yet see it that way. She has been granted the alias 'little witch' after reaching level two in such a short time.

I hope that she can continue to grow and to become a valuable part of this Familia. Mallory has not been the sole person to have merits during this time so I will continue to speak of the others.

Clarice has returned with her own team of adventurers and has had her status updated. She is the second person within our Familia to reach level three so our Familia has grown even more. Now I will hand this place over to Clarice."

She stepped down and a woman in her late twenties had stepped up in her place.

She had a very calm and reserved aura while she was tall and slender with silver hair and grey eyes.

Clarice was wearing a pair of black formal pants, shoes and a blazer that was over a plain white shirt and a grey tie.

She stepped behind the podium and raised her head up to look towards those in front of her. "I am Clarice for those of you that are new here. I lead a small group and am usually on missions far away from Visa City so it is not strange that you may never have heard of me."

I am the second level three in this generation of Familia to appear and I will continue to support the Familia. I would like to greet the new level two so could Mallory please come up?"

Clarice wasted no time in making her presence known and called up Mallory too who had been mentioned by Goddess Seshat.

Mallory became the centre of attention and had to take a short breath before walking up the stage.

Clarice shook her hand and said like she was encouraging Mallory. "Continue to work hard. Maybe the Familia can gain a third level three soon."

Mallory nodded a little as she shook her hand. "I will do my best."

There was a strange feeling within her body and the hairs on her tail and ears seemed to have stood up a little more than usual. 'This.. why would I be feeling anything from within the Familia?'

The more that she adjusted to her strange physique that attracted evil energies or auras, the more that she came to pick up on when her body was absorbing them from her surroundings.

There was nothing felt until she shook hands with Clarice so she couldn't help but think to herself. 'I cannot suspect my own Familia but.. this feeling, should I trust in it? Something is not right here.'

Her eyes closed and then reopened which showed the aura of the person in front of her.

There were some bits of malicious aura that were targeted towards her that her body was absorbing small traces of but there was a strong aura of death and evil lingering around her body.

A shiver went down Mallory's spine and she let go of the hand of Clarice before bowing a little.

Her minor slip up of pulling her hand away had been covered quickly by her bowing a moment later then she stepped down to find a place to sit.

Clarice raised a brow to her actions but turned back her attention to the others. "My adventurer group has been making great progress and is expanding to the point where we may be able to step into the more dangerous areas or go to Orario in the future.

I hope that everyone can work together to help our family name be spread further so that more can know of her greatness."

There were cheers and clapping that followed so Mallory and the others joined in before Clarice had stepped down.

"To the Seshat Familia!"

"Seshat adventurers will soon be playing a much bigger part in the Familia in the future it seems."

"With such promising youths, the Familia is on the rise."

Mallory sat listening to them with a complicated look on her face. 'I do not know much about Clarice but I have a bad feeling about her. Is her goal really for the betterment of the Familia or is there something hidden?'

She could not judge so early if Clarice would be someone that could be harmful to herself or the Familia but there were some clear signs of malice directed towards her.

It was not her place to judge how Clarice lived and survived outside of the city but her aura was not the kind of aura that someone possessed if they had lived a clean life.

An adventurer would have their hands dirtied eventually whether it was with the deaths of their allies or enemies.

Mistakes could be made on expeditions and there were times when quick decisions needed to be made for the sake of the survival of the group or its main members.

An adventurer could run into all kinds of situations on their travels and could take on tasks that put them in harms way or with their fair share of enemies.

Not every enemy or problem could be solved with a light punishment or taking it easy on them when the other side was a threat to the adventurers allies and could cause more problems in the future.

The leader role was filled with making the hard calls that nobody else could so Mallory did not feel like she could judge Clarice when she never had that much experience herself.

It was not like she was the only person within the Familia that had an unclean aura that had a large amount of deathly aura around them.

There were those that had taken part in the protection of the city that had taken the lives of others too when they had been required to deal with troublesome groups in the area or to defend the city against invaders.

What she did not like or trust was that what Clarice had said to her did not show her true intent.

She thought to herself. 'Is me being here and having higher talent getting in her way or is there another issue? Jealousy perhaps?'