Aellisia smiled as the human woman hobbled over to her in excitement dropping her backpack as she did so. Zilia collapsed to the ground in front of her and carefully ran her hands over her, checking for any injuries before pressing the back of her hand against her forehead to check her temperature. Finally satisfied Zilia sat back from her, her eyes continually flicking upwards from her eyes to her forehead, Aellisia smiled as she assumed this meant that her mark was visible now and waited for Zilia to ask the questions she could see bubbling away behind her eyes.
"You have questions?"
Aellisia spoke in the human tongue, in the memories of her mother and father they had spoken a similar yet different tongue, at the back of her mind she knew that it was the same tongue that she had spoken earlier before her collapse. After she had awoken, the memory of that language had remained and with it, her understanding of the common tongue that Zilia spoke had lept up in comprehension and she found that her previous lack of understanding was gone, leaving her as fluent in it as she was in Aelvenish. Zilia for her part looked surprised at the smoothness in the way that Aellisia spoke, none of the halting stuttering speech she had previously displayed was present instead, she spoke the language like one born to it. For a few moments, Zilia gathered herself, sorting the questions she wanted to ask in her mind, questions that had increased with those three simple words. Finally, she met Aellisia's calm gaze, the only evidence of curiosity from the Aelven was one raised eyebrow and the slight suggestion of interest twinkling in her silver eyes.
"Firstly, I wanted to say how glad I am that you seem alright. You have no idea how worried I've been about you, me, and Eahlswith I mean."
The woman's tone turned slightly embarrassed as she corrected herself at the end of what she was saying. Clearing her throat, Zilia continued.
"And secondly I want to apologise to you about Mathio, I knew that he was starting to turn against you, but I never expected him to go downhill the way he did. I have no excuses, but please believe me when I say I truly truly meant no harm by not saying anything, I never expected things to turn out the way they did."
As she spoke, Zilia's tone conveyed her hurt, and her guilt, at the events that had transpired. Aellisia for her part was surprised, she liked the woman that was true, but she did not feel that they had gotten to know one another well enough for the human to feel so guilty about the actions of her travelling companion.

"It's fine Zilia, I knew he had grown to hate me as much as he hated Eahlswith, and yet did nothing to rectify the situation. I am as much at fault as you may be for the outcome of this situation."
So saying Aellisia bowed her head slightly in apology causing Zilia to look at her in surprise before waving her hands.
"No no! You didn't do anything wrong! I knew of Mathio's connections to the church, but I never expected him to have bought into their bullshit the way he did!"
At the mention of the church, Aellisia's eyebrow twitched slightly in interest but bit back her question until after Zilia had finished speaking.
"And besides, you were more than good about the way you handled everything, the only person who wasn't was Mathio, after you spoke to him about the way he was acting he just went a little crazier around you and Eahlswith, the things he said to me about the two of you..."
Zilia shuddered slightly as her words trailed off, her eyes looking to the fire as if seeking its warmth and some solace in the flames. Shaking herself out of her reverie Zilia returned her gaze to meet Aellisia, her gaze still held a hint of the guilt she felt inside.
"What happened to you? I knew you seemed angrier than usual, but then you started shouting in the Old Tongue and collapsed. And you speak common so smoothly now, let alone that mark on your head, I don't understand any of what's happened."
Aellisia let the woman ramble as her words ran out of steam, choosing carefully her next words to respond to her questions. She still wasn't sure how much to trust Zilia with, but she felt a debt of gratitude towards her after her actions when she collapsed. A stab of anxiety hit her heart but she fought it down as she decided to tell her most of the truth.
"To understand everything I have to go back to before I met you. I... Have lost many of my memories, all I know is that I was chained somewhere and managed to escape, and it was in that escape that I met Eahlswith. She helped me and taught me and sheltered me as I recovered. Ultimately we lived together for almost a year until she agreed to leave our home together to try and recover my memories and understand why I was trapped in the first place."
Aellisia's voice had started firm as she gazed off into the forest, but her voice had become more and more brittle as she spoke. Clearing her throat and trying to shake off the overwhelming emotions she was feeling, she schooled her expression and began to speak again.
"Some memories and skills have slowly returned as we have travelled, but when I met the pair of you I had hoped that perhaps that stimulation would increase the rate at which they returned. On the day of my collapse, I do not recall why I responded the way I did, I was simply angry and tired, and frustrated. As I slept I remembered more of my past, my parents, and with those memories I recalled how to stop hiding this mark, my Comharra Teaghlaich, as well as the language I spoke to you before I collapsed, this Old Tongue of yours. In remembering that language it seems to have filled in the gaps in my knowledge about the Common tongue, hence the ease with which I am speaking to you now."

After she had finished speaking there was a long silence where it became obvious that Zilia had many questions about everything she had just revealed. Although she had kept her summation of her journey short and to the point, she had revealed things that were highly personal to her, and it left Zilia stunned. After a few moments had passed the human shifted to sit closer to her, seemingly hesitant for a moment before she reached out to grasp one of Aellisia's hands with her own, before she spoke in a soft sad tone.
"I'm.. Sorry Aellisia, sorry that happened to you. And thank you for telling me this, I can only imagine how difficult it was to speak of."
Aellisia for her part slowly returned her gaze to look at the woman whose face was filled with sympathy for her.
"I can't begin to imagine what it must be like to forget your past. And I'm so glad you found someone who cares for you like Eahlswith does. If there's ever anything I can do to help you remember anything, don't hesitate to ask, I'll help you as much as I can."
Aellisia nodded, not trusting her voice to remain steady. This was the first time she had told anyone other than Eahlswith about her past, and her lack of memories and she felt oddly vulnerable at the moment. They both sat there for a time, as Aellisia let her emotions settle within her before she spoke again.
"Thank you Zilia, I felt I owed you the truth about me after all you've done for me. Especially after you defended me from Mathio."
Zilia's face lit up slightly with a warm smile before she spoke, giving Aellisia's hand a gentle squeeze.
"Of course I did, you saved my life, and his the ungrateful bastard. And unlike him, I won't betray someone who has been nothing but kind and helpful to me."
Aellisia was grateful for the woman's words, although she had tried telling herself that she had barely known these people for four weeks. The fact remained that for her and for what she remembered four weeks was a long time, and the human woman had been for the most part open and honest with her, a fact that had caused her to trust Zilia more than she had Mathio. As Aellisia reflected on these facts she finally cleared her throat a little and spoke again to air her remaining doubts.
"Why exactly did you turn against Mathio? Surely you have known him far far longer than I? And why have you been so welcoming to me and Eahlswith?"
Zilia's face became troubled as Aellisia questioned her, biting her lip slightly as she furrowed her brow with her green eyes becoming contemplative.
"The answer to your question is incredibly complex, so I'll try and make it as concise as I can."
Zilia let out a long sigh and released Aellisia's hand, rubbing her temples for a moment before she continued.

"I trusted Mathio only as far as taking jobs with him extended. This job was last minute, and as one of the few Herbalists who was both a member of the Guild and also the only one available when Mathio put this expedition together naturally, I was the one asked to accompany them. I never went on any requests with less than three other people, especially with Mathio. The way he looked at me at times made me uncomfortable, but for the most part, he was reliable."
Her troubled face as she spoke took on a bitter look as she sighed again and continued.
"The group we were with, was made up of less experienced members of the guild and our expedition was for four weeks into the forest, to hunt and gather as much as we could from the listed herbs and animals. At first, things went well, but Mathio grew more frustrated with our members, he felt that we were taking too long and too few risks, giving up good opportunities for larger beasts and monsters."
Absently Zilia clenched her fists, and Aellisia could see her clenching her jaw, irritation evident.
"He was the one who decided to push us to hunt that Owlbear, convinced the others that we could do it. And after we failed...."
Zilia's face became sorrowful, and her tone softened as she thought back to the fight, Aellisia could only wait for the woman to gather herself, unsure of what she could say to help.
"He blamed the others you know? Felt that it was all their fault and that somehow he was free from blame. Damned fool. After meeting you it shook him I think, neither of us nor anyone I know in town has seen an Aelven for decades, your kind is rare this far from your homeland. And although I knew he was a member of the Church, I never expected him to have bought into the hate they spew."
This was the second time that Zilia had mentioned the church and it aroused Aellisia's interest in them even further. Adding them to the endless list of questions that she wanted to ask about.
"I know only of your kind through my mother's stories, and I've always wanted to meet someone like you ever since I was a little girl. And hearing Mathio slander you and your kind, insult the very people that had saved us the way he did. It disgusted me. And the way he looked at me... Changed. When he tried to convince me to abandon you and Eahlswith I refused, and then when he tried to attack you I knew I had no choice, help the man who had become obsessed with his hatred, or help you. The one who saved us, it was not a difficult choice to make."
Zilia had turned to look at the fire as she spoke, and her voice trembled as she spoke. Unloading her feelings the way she had, and telling Aellisia everything had wrought a toll on the woman and Aellisia could see how upset she was. Taking a breath, Aellisia said the only thing she could think of at that moment.
"Thank you for trusting me Zilia, I promise you, I won't ever betray your trust."
Zilia gave her a sad smile and a nod, and together the pair sat side by side, staring into the fire and each lost in their thoughts.