Aellisia didn't sleep that night. Her mind swirled with the information that Zilia had given her, the History of the world that she lived in. There was so much for her to understand and she still felt like the things she had been told were only the surface of it all, and there was much depth and nuance that she was missing, and many questions that she wanted to ask for clarification. She absently poked at the fire with a piece of wood as she ruminated on her feelings and let out a long sigh as she looked away from the fire to the sleeping woman before turning away and staring absently at the dirt in front of her. Ultimately she felt it didn't matter what had occurred in the world around her, it had no bearing on her original decision to travel and remember herself, and truthfully from what she had understood all it meant was that she was unlikely to find much of a welcome in the lands of the Humans. She raised her gaze to take in her two sleeping companions and felt a slight smile flitter across her features at the peaceful sight in front of her.
"At least I have two people in this strange new world that I can count upon."
But as quickly as the pleasant thought came to her, another crossed her mind leaving her scowling in disgust as she recalled the potential welcome that could be awaiting them.
"But what if I encounter more like Mathio? What then?"
Aellisia didn't consider herself a prideful woman, nor was she blind to her capabilities. She knew that she could not simply lash out and kill those who meant her or Eahlswith harm, not if she didn't wish to draw the attention of others who might want to retaliate in greater numbers. She reflected on the memory of the spear-fighting technique that she had uncovered within her mind, it wasn't perfect yet. There were still issues with it that she could not quite grasp, and with her newfound knowledge, she also knew that her own spear was simply not up to the techniques movements. She silently clenched her fists, and in the peace of the evening, she made a vow, a vow to make herself get stronger, to ensure that she could protect those closest to her. She quietly got up and brushed herself off, before grabbing her spear and moving away from the camp to practice, a burning in her chest as she resolutely gripped her spear and thought of the pain that Eahlswith contained within her.
"Never Again."
She whispered as she walked, her determination as firm as iron.

By the time that the morning came around Aellisia was covered in sweat and was breathing heavily. She had been practicing for hours at this point and her muscles trembled with the effort she had put in, and her hands were sore from hours of blisters healing themselves over and over again as she got used to adjusting her grip on the fly. She had also come to understand that her hide clothing was not sufficient for her new fighting style, it was too restrictive, and alongside this, she felt that strangely, it was too light, like she was used to this technique while fighting in much heavier gear. Her proficiency had improved dramatically and in the midst of her practice her body had adjusted itself and she realised that she was using a strange breathing technique subconsciously that seemed to be designed alongside the movements she was performing to draw more power, more finesse, out of her. Dissatisfied she felt that the only way she would understand more was to keep practicing and to meditate on the memories and the movements further in an attempt to draw out what she could to improve. As she started heading back to the camp to prepare for the day's travel she reflected on the fact that it wasn't that different from the way that she had learned things in the past. The main difference then was that she allowed her body to move as it wished without letting herself think overmuch on why it did so, it was one of the reasons why she had learned so quickly when she was still living in the heart of the forest with Eahlswith, even if a lot of her knowledge was half-baked and incomplete. Sighing as she entered the clearing, she saw Eahlswith raise her head and meet her gaze sending a querying greeting through the bond, smiling she nodded her head to her friend in greeting and proceeded to her pack to pull out one of the small pieces of cloth inside to wipe herself down. She noted that Zilia wasn't here but if Eahlswith hadn't warned her that she was away then she was assured that she wasn't in any danger at the moment, and had probably just left to do her business in private. As she finished cleaning herself up as best she could she repacked her pack and sat heavily on a large stone by the firepit to allow herself to rest a short while before they had to set off. She pulled her jacket back on and left it undone while she closed her eyes and tried to focus on the sensations she had felt when she was practicing earlier, for a long quiet time she sat there unmoving, her eyes closed and slowly felt her consciousness sink into herself and the memories began to replay in her mind.

When Zilia re-entered the camp after taking care of her morning ablutions she found her eyes drawn to the still figure of Aellisia. In the early morning light, she found she couldn't tear her eyes away, it was like her black hair sucked up all the light that fell on it, her gaze roamed over her face and she took in the sharp cheekbones and curve of her jaw and felt her heart quicken slightly. When she was younger she had always been enthralled by her mother's stories of the Aelven, their bravery, and mystique in the great war capturing her childish imagination. And as she grew older and read what few books she could about them she found herself further immersed in them. Their culture and way of life were as alien as anything she could imagine, but in some way, she yearned to know more about them and until now had never had the capability in this backwater corner of the kingdom to ever even lay her eyes on one. But that had all changed the moment she first saw Aellisia that day near the river. She had of course heard the slander of the church, and seen with her own eyes the way that devotees of that twisted religion reacted to any other species that wasn't their own. But it was the madness in the eyes of Mathio that had really rammed home the insane zealotry that some of their members could show when confronted daily with the very thing they hated. She sighed heavily as she tore her eyes and thoughts away, turning instead to focus on getting ready for the day ahead, based on what she saw around here, this part of the forest was much lighter which could only mean it was an area that had been cleared by the Guild and either had been used, or was still being used currently by either other guild members or other guild associates. She still thought it odd that the route that they had taken through the forest had taken them away from the river and off into this more meandering path that had led them to this point, but it seemed as though Eahlswith was the one leading them so she could only suppose that she had a specific reason for it. As she looked over at the wolf her thoughts were dragged back to what she had said to Aellisia about speaking to the Temple, and she was certain that if they could introduce Eahlswith to the High Priest of the temple assigned to their town he would recognise her as a sentient being and she would be protected. Her only concern was getting Eahlswith to the Temple in the town first without either her or Aellisia being attacked, either by overzealous guild members or if Mathio made it back first, Church zealots.

When Aellisia felt her consciousness emerge from deep in her meditation she fluttered her eyes open, momentarily discombobulated as her mental state realigned itself from her deep dive into the fragmentary memories she contained in her consciousness. Her eyes swept the clearing instinctively and she felt a slight throbbing from concentrating as hard as she had after not sleeping through the night, but she was relieved to see everything was the same as it had been before her meditation. Her concern was unwarranted but that momentary jerk between her conscious mind and the memories she had been buried in had left her with a rising panic that had settled only when she had made sure her surroundings were the same as they had been, that brief check anchoring her back into reality. She stretched and enjoyed the feeling of her bones popping slightly before she forced herself to stand, smiling at Zilia who had obviously been waiting for her to finish.
"If everything is ready we can set off if you're ok with that?"
Zilia nodded and shrugged her backpack on before grabbing her walking staff and testing her weight on her injured leg.
"I'm ready."
Her voice carried across the small campsite and Aellisia turned her attention to Eahlswith who closed her eyes and gave a long stretch before responding.
'I am also ready.'
Nodding to the pair of them She grabbed her own pack and her spear before doing up her jacket. Satisfied that there was nothing else she kicked a few piles of dirt over the campfire and gestured to Eahlswith who immediately set off, leaving Aellisia and Zilia to follow her. Smiling at the human woman who returned it with a warm smile of her own they set off on the last leg of their journey. The day passed in relative silence for the three of them, this close to an area that Humans inhabited had left Aellisia more cautious than she would normally be which in turn had reduced her interest in conversation. As the day passed from morning to afternoon Zilia had eventually managed to get her interest by explaining to her some of the coinages they used in the Kingdom and their relative values. It wasn't until the end of the day started to draw near that Eahlswith's voice cut in through the bond, immediately sharpening her focus.
'I have found the Human's den. Although there are no Humans present, and their scent is greatly faded. I believe that we are safe if you wish to hurry to me.'
Aellisia nodded to herself and turned her attention to Zilia.
"Eahlswith has found a Human camp up ahead, but she says that there are no Humans there, and she thinks it's been a while since they were there. We'll head in that direction and set up for the night."
Zilia nodded at her, and Aellisia saw her hand tighten slightly on her staff, although her face betrayed nothing of what she might feeling. A curious reaction Aellisia thought, but put it out of her mind. As they walked to catch up, it wasn't long until she slowly began to take in the sight of a wall in front of her made of bound logs jammed into the earth, and for the first time since she awoke her eyes took in the sight of human civilisation.