Aellisia drifted in the darkness. There was nothingness around her, no sound or sight and she felt like her limbs were trapped, there but inaccessible when she tried to move them. She began to panic slightly, her mind cast back to that terrifying time before she woke up, before she remembered that she was a person. She struggled and screamed into the emptiness, but her voice was silent, she threw herself against the invisible bonds that held her, and time and time again she fought and screamed. Desperate not to return to the before time, to not lose herself again, to not forget again. Her struggle continued for hours or days, she didn't know which. And she refused to give into the emptiness, with all of her will she denied it, desperately holding onto her memories of Eahlswith, of the humans and the forest, but most especially of home. She let those memories fill her and flow over her embracing the warmth and succour like a lifeline tethering herself as a whole being. With the small strength that warmth gave her she fought against the emptiness, her thoughts of home fueling the struggle until she felt the emptiness stretch, and then break. She didn't feel as though she were trapped anymore, her limbs and her mind were free. But still, Aellisia felt the darkness surrounding her and felt that she was still somehow trapped here. Turning her consciousness around she could see no point of reference to guide her and after searching over and over again she moved through the darkness in a random direction, and yet at the same time what felt like the right direction, her thoughts of home sustaining her. She moved endlessly through the darkness, and when she was finally losing hope, when even her memories of home were not enough to sustain her anymore there was a sound like something cracking that drew her attention. Aellisia focused on that sound until finally, she could pinpoint where it was coming from. Rushing towards it there was a pinprick of white light that grew in size as she approached it. There was a warmth coming from it that beckoned her forward, and without even thinking about what it could be she let herself fall into the light and as she did so felt that warmth envelop and surround her as the darkness gave way to light.

Aellisia looked up at the man sitting next to her, his features so similar to her own but with eyes of amber that filled her with warmth, and the intricate knotwork tattoo that spiraled over his brow and temples. His ears were not pointed like her own as at some point they had been crudely cut into an approximation of human ears, but his face was gentle as he looked at her, his eyes soft in their gaze as he smiled at her, his dark brown hair falling over his forehead as he tilted his head in question.
"My little one what occupies your thoughts so?"
Aellisia let out a huff and held up the piece of wood she had been working on as she pouted at him.
"It's ugly and I hate it and so will Màthair."
The man gently patted her on the head and then drew her in for a hug before pulling back and looking her in the eyes.
"Your Màthair will love it, just like she loves you little one and the birthday gift you give will bring her much joy, she would never hate anything you gave her."
The man's voice was soft as he gently patted her head for comfort. She closed her eyes for a moment and reveled in the warmth it brought her and let her pout fade into a happy smile before opening them again and looking at the little wooden carving she was working on. It was supposed to be a carving of a rabbit, but one of the ears was a little too long and she thought the body was too big, and she was sure it would look crooked when the little pendant was put on the string.
"Really?"
She asked with a slight tone of disbelief as she looked at the gift with a serious face that only served to make her look a little cuter as she tilted her head to the side. The man laughed as he watched her face and ruffled her hair, making her pull back in annoyance and pout at him again.
"Really really little one, I promise that she'll love it and treasure it like she and I treasure you."
Aellisia felt her face light up in an face splitting smile as she threw her arms around him and snuggled into his chest ignoring the scratchiness of the rough brown burlap shirt he was wearing, she felt him gently wrap his big arms around her and she closed her eyes before whispering.
"Thank you for teaching me how to do this, I love you Athair."
She felt the little chuckle he gave reverberating through his chest before he spoke, his soft voice echoing through her ears.
"I love you too my little Aellisia, my beautiful daughter."
Aellisia kept hugging her father with her eyes closed and let the warmth wash over her as the memory faded away.

When she came back to herself Aellisia was floating in the void once more, yet finding herself next to the bright spot of light. She regarded it and felt joy in her soul, it was one of her memories and she knew that now she had reclaimed it, it was forever hers once more. As she reveled in the recollection, of seeing her father's face she cast her consciousness around her and saw a few other pinpricks of light off in the distance of the void and she quickly realised that they were all memories. Aellisia realised that they weren't all of her lost memories, but some of them, and if she wanted she could access them in this place and reclaim them. That realisation alone filled her with warmth as she looked at the myriad spots of light around her, she had desperately wanted to remember herself for so long and now here they were, just within her grasp. She saw each one and could feel a pull from it, beckoning her to come closer, to seize and grasp the secrets they contained and make herself whole again. With a single thought, she drove herself towards the nearest one, driven by the insatiable need to Know. And as it drew closer she stretched out her senses and pulled herself into the light once more.

The warmth of the fire filled the room, and Aellisia shifted uncomfortably on the hard wooden chair, her face stinging as her Mother lowered herself in front of her. Her mother's silver eyes regarded her with a slight crinkling as a soft smile tickled at the edge of her lips, her long tail curling up around her as she put Aellisia's hands within her own.
"All done little treasure, I'm so proud of you for not crying."
Gently her mother reached out to tuck a stray strand of her matching black hair behind her left ear before tenderly stroking her cheek with her thumb.
"This is your big day Aellisia, your Athair will be back soon with a surprise I asked him to get while he sold some of our furs. So make sure to give him a big hug and a kiss when he gets here, OK?"
Her mother's voice was full of warmth as she spoke, the sibilance she had when she pronounced her S's gave it a unique tone that Aellisia loved hearing, so despite the pain she was feeling for sitting so long, and the pain from the application of her Comharra Teaghlaich, she could not help but smile at her mother with love.
"I will mama! I promise to give pàpa the biggest hug ever!"
Her mother's musical laughter filled the room as she leaned forward to hug her daughter gently for a moment, before leaning back again a sparkle in her eyes. "Would you like to see now we're done little one?"
Aellisia could feel the excitement bubbling in her heart and hurriedly nodded her head. The anticipation helped her wash away the pain in her face and butt from sitting for so long while her mother had worked. If it hadn't been for the numbing potion her mother had gently washed her face with before, Aellisia would be in an extraordinary amount of pain. But this ritual was important for their people, it marked her reaching ten years of age as well as her ties to her family and their people. As her mother slithered away to get the small mirror in her room, Aellisia marveled at the gentle play of colours as the firelight caught the cerulean hues of her mother's scales. She never tired of the sight and thought that her mother was the most beautiful person that she knew, and as always a slight pang caught her heart at the thought of not having a tail like her mother. Her parents had explained it was because she was a half, that her father was Aelven, and her mother was a Beastyal of the Lamia tribe. But at least she had inherited her mother's eyes and teeth she thought while sighing. As her mother returned Aellisia's face brightened up and she was trembling with anticipation, barely able to sit still. Her mother laughed again with that musical tone and slowly lowered herself before flipping the mirror around holding it so she could see her face, and Aellisia's eyes widened with shock and joy. Her mark was that of a tree, its mighty and wide branches spreading over her forehead with its trunk extending down her nose, the silvery blue of the special ink seemed to shine when the light caught it and for long moments she could say nothing, so caught up was she in the sight. When she caught her mother's smiling face waiting for her to speak she cleared her throat and her voice came out almost a whisper.
"I love it, Mama!"
She threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around her mother who returned the embrace after placing the small hand mirror to one side before whispering in her daughter's ear.
"While we wait for your Athair, I'll show you how to use your mana to hide it from the Hyumen's"

When Aellisia returned to the nothingness, she would have gasped for air had there been air to breathe. Her head was spinning as she recalled the faces of her father and mother, and the memory of receiving her Comharra Teaghlaich. For the first time since she had awoken in that cold dark place, it felt like the emptiness in her soul had filled in a little. Memories and knowledge returned to her with the right context for once and she felt satiated in her very being. She looked at the other light spots in this place and felt a burning desire to explore every one of them, to stay until all had returned to her. But even as she started to move toward the next one, there was a tugging at the back of her mind that grew more and more insistent. At first, she ignored it, but when it increased in urgency she stopped and irritatedly focused on it. Clarity came to her as she did so, and as she focused on the sensations she was feeling realisation struck her. It was Eahlswith! Her friend was calling to her, trying to reach her in this place Spinning around she sought for the feeling of that tug, trying to figure out where it came from, and with some concentration could feel the path as if it had always been there, just muted. Aellisia hesitated as she looked at the other memories waiting for her to discover them and almost wanted to stay here forever until everything had returned to her. But the pull grew insistent once more, and the worry Eahlswith was feeling came at her in waves now. Swallowing her desire and with great reluctance she started to follow the pull, but as she did so she vowed that now she knew this place existed, she would return here, and she would reclaim all that was lost. And so she turned away and let herself follow the pull as she slowly returned to consciousness once more, sure that she would be able to return.