Marcellus felt someone take his hand, and saw that it was Ava. “What else?” He was on verge of being annoyed for once.

“Well… where are you staying tonight?” Ava asked gingerly.

Marcellus paused for a moment. “Probably the nearest inn. Why?”

“You could stay here if you want. You are a part of the team,” Ava suggested.

“I’m not a part of your team. I’m expendable. Hired help,” Marcellus said, pulling his hand away but not unkindly. “I’m a mercenary.”

“You are not expendable,” Ava whispered. “Not to me, anyways,” she added on even more softly.

His wolf ears were able to pick up the last part though. He could feel some blood rush to his face but quickly forced the sensation to subside. “I doubt Tivon would approve.”

“Don’t worry about him,” Ava responded walking to him, arms clasped behind her back, eyeing him closely.

Marcellus felt the blood rush again and was hard pressed to control it. He had always been fond of her and her of him. Unfortunately, he was incapable of thinking of anyone that way. If only for the fact that it seemed that ruin seemed to follow him like a plague, yet not affect him directly. He had heard it called the “devil’s luck” once. He felt inclined to agree.

Ava had insisted though and he was not about to start making up reasons why he should be at the inn. “Alright then.”

“Excellent,” Ava said clapping her hands together. “Now, I don’t man the bar but I know my way around it. What’ll you have?”

Taking one look at the bar he sighed and walked over to one of the stools. He unslung his great hammer and rested it against the bar before taking his seat.

Ava took a look at it with an expression akin to awe. “How can you carry that thing let alone swing it?”

“Practice, magic, Templar enhancements,” Marcellus listed. “Rum.”

“How does rum help you swing that hunk of metal?” Ava said leaning against the bar with both elbows.

“The drink you offered. Rum,” Marcellus clarified. This actually wrung a smile out of him.

“Oh, pshh, of course,” Ava giggled, a sound Marcellus had not heard since childhood. It was endearing. She deftly brought out a glass and a bottle, flipped the bottle around, and poured a decent amount in the glass before flipping it around again and laying it on the table.

“Impressive,” Marcellus offered.

Ava smiled a toothy grin that was one part prideful, one part embarrassed. “Thanks…. I practiced.”

Numerous broken bottles are what immediately came to mind but he said nothing of the sort. He took a tentative sip of his drink, aware of Ava’s intent observation. “So, the girl. You and Tivon?”

“What, Cathleen? No, she’s Tivon’s daughter,” Ava said bringing up a stool of her own and resting upon it.

“She seems rather fond of you,” Marcellus said as he nursed his drink.

Ava sighed rather heavily. “Yea, I was friends with her mother, Tivon’s wife. And since I seem to be the closest thing to a mother figure around here she has a habit of calling me ‘auntie,” Ava chuckled, “she’s cute.”

“What happened to her mother?” Marcellus could not help himself from asking.

Ava paused for a moment. She sighed again. “It was during the early days of our time with Miracle. Tivon, Miranda, and I were part of a job to hit a supply train carrying food and necessities bound for the military. Tivon was part of the strike team while Miranda, I, and a few others had rallied up some folks and staged a riot as cover.” Ava went silent for a moment. “It didn’t go as planned.”

Marcellus waited for her to continue and when he thought she might not he broke the silence. “You don’t have to speak of it if you don’t want to.”

For a moment Marcellus thought she might not but that seemed not to be the case. “The riot grew more intense than we had anticipated. We thought the soldiers would only resort to nonlethal pacification but that wasn’t the case after the crowd became violent. After the crew Tivon was a part of had infiltrated the cargo hold and the word was out that the train was being robbed the solider mitigating the crowd began to open fire indiscriminately.” She sighed, putting her finger tips to her head. “A lot of people died, two of our own. Then Miranda…. She was gunned down right in front of me. She made me promise to look out after Cathleen. And that’s what I’ve tried to do.”

“That’s war for you,” Marcellus said, setting down his glass. “It has a habit of destroying what you care about.”

Ava crossed her arms and looked away. “Yea, I suppose.”