A Chained Memory

Tam felt a small spark of something when she was called Jenny, but shook it off. She slowly began to uncurl her tail from around Aura.
"Oh, actually, I'm Tam. Jennifer is my... other self." Tam responded, but shaking her head. It wasn't important right now, and would take too long to explain. "A midara, you say? Can you describe it? Or do you know where it is?" She asked, her voice patient and calm, trying not to pressure the girl. She wanted to be offended by the mention of 'midara' and 'threat' being used in the same statement, but it was an undeniable fact of life that some midara were dangerous. And besides, now was not the time to get into an argument with a girl who probably didn't even know the meaning of the word.

Aura frowned, trying really hard to sense it again, then sighed in resignation.

"I am sorry, Jen-... Tam. I never could see it, not even when my head felt like splitting." she paused. "I have been feeling it ever since this morning, but it was very weak that I thought the pain of yesterday did not quite leave me." she flashed a smile. "But I remembered it today! The feeling I could now call 'Midara'. Each time I felt it, it grew stronger and stronger... until I could sense a tangible distance between us."

The girl placed her hand below her chin. Now she was really curious, what could this dreaded word be? Why did Draja call it a threat? "And you know of it? Of Midara? There are more of them?"

Ix looked at Aura somewhat surprised "We are all midara... Adri, Tam, Jenny... In my case, I'm only half midara, my father is human and my mother midara..." She explained "Same goes for my sisters, some has more midara blood than human, like my sister Xana who is full midara..."

Tam nodded.
"Indeed. This is, in fact, the Midara Sanctuary, to give it its full name. But don't worry, only the most peaceful are allowed here. Adrianna has made sure of that." Tam responded. "But, on the outside, there are some bad apples who give us a bad name. All the more reason we need to investigate to be sure."

"A Midara then? If we knew what it looked like, we could actually have some semblance of an investigation. I could search your mind for a trace memory, but something tells me it won't be that easy," she stated.

Aura looked at them with a confused expression. With the exception of Tam, everyone appeared as normal people.

"I...see. Am I midara as well?" she asked, scratching her head.

Adri's words made her gaze shift, avoiding eye contact. "Search my mind... I..."

Out of all her new memories, most of the bad ones involved the searching of her mind. She was afraid of what would happen next, of the pain and of whatever revelation they would unearth. But... she gave them her word.

"I will try my best to help everyone." Aura faced them with a smile.

"I'm not entirely certain what you are. It is quite possible you are a midara..."
...but I suspect she's not.
Tam pondered. "Whatever you are, you're welcome here, as I'm sure you've heard countless times already." Tam commented. Her attitude towards Aura seemed almost protective. In many ways, Aura reminded Tam of Jennifer. Perhaps that was why she was being so nice to her. Or perhaps it was because she saw Aura as a means to some end. It seemed that Tam didn't even know for sure herself, but she trusted her instincts.

"I may be able to help reduce her pain with my own magic, if you attempt the search." Tam suggested.

Tix raised a brow "It's hard to tell for sure, as you can see it's not like all midaras have non-human characteristics." Tix explained "Some just look like humans."

Ix was following the conversation, when Adri proposed the search through Aura's memory she wanted to help "I can help too... If we combine our magic we may be able to reduce the pain even more."
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Meanwhile, Sirius had been investigating since the moment he heard the name Draja, it sounded familiar... He heard that name before, but where? He started to dig on his books, books from the long lost past he kept to himself, books with dangerous secrets, no one should try to reveal, after a long time, he finally found it "No way... Draja... The cataclysm... Just... What are you, Aura?" He mumbled as he kept reading the book.

"Then let's begin, we'll start by putting you to sleep, Aura," Adrianna stated. "Are you ready?"

The girl maintained her smile; she would not be seen faltering, not after what happened. She hesitated for a moment, before nodding to the witch of her Sanctuary.

Reduce the pain? Aura wanted to believe every bit of that. Still she remained tense as memories of the first day's incident clawed their way back into her head.

Tam slowly sent her tail to surround the girl.
"Okay, you are going to feel a bit drowsy, and you may be tempted to push through it, but I need you to just let it take you. I need you to trust me, okay?" Tam commented, as the tail began to slowly wrap around Aura, not waiting for her response. After all, she'd already put together the resolve to do this, and Tam was not about to let last second jitters get in the way of what she really wanted.

"Relax your muscles. Let your mind drift. Focus only on the sound of my voice. You are safe. Pain is just an illusion of the mind. Let the feeling on my soft, warm tail take you. Now close your eyes. You are floating on a cloud. It's time to sleep. Sleep... To the land of dreams. Where nothing can hurt you." Tam's magic flowed into her tail, enhancing it's already amazing feel, and her words pulsed with power, imposing their will towards Aura. Having to do this again so quickly after before was slowly beginning to take its toll on Tam. Her magical energies were still perfectly aligned, but the source, Tam, was beginning to dwindle. Normally, Tam would be able to easily keep this going, and magnify the intensity of her energies, by draining from Aura, but that was counter to her objective now. She needed Aura to be at her strongest, whilst also falling asleep, for her pain resistance to be any good.

I'm beginning to feel... a little... strange... commented Jennifer, who sounded rather drowsy herself.
Don't worry, Jen. Conserve your energy. If you need to sleep, go to sleep. Tam responded. I'll wake you if I need you.

Seeing as Tam was already using her magic, Ix approached Aura, placing her hands gently on her cheeks "Just relax Aura, we'll make our best to reduce the pain." Her hands started to glow as Aura felt a warm light washing over her "Remember we are here for you." Ix's warm light, combining with Tam's magic, helping Aura to relax, and sleep peacefully.

Tix approached Tam "Here, you'll need it more than I do." She said starting to give the kitsune her energy "Don't get too used to this."

"Alright, I'm going in now," Adrianna stated. I'll look through what memories you've unlocked and see if I can find something in whatever you sensed. While I'm at it, I'll keep an eye out for anything interesting."
Adrianna delved into Aura's mind, shuffling about the numerous memories she'd freed already whilst keeping very mindful of any oddities within her.

Adri found herself back in Aura's consciousness. The same white void without end, where embers of the past, too small to see properly, were floating about. It was still there, where she last saw it: the nebulous mass of fragments, floating about in a perpetual vortex, with three golden rings rotating around it, sheltering it in a golden sphere.

But now the void had a semblance of structure, much like a house whose foundation had already been laid and just a handful of rooms were built. It all started to look very similar to the pearlescent corridors Aura used to walk in. Few silhouettes of light wandered about the hall, never opening any of its black doors.

The girl's entire mind was for the witch to explore and unravel. Would Adrianna attempt to break a Lock, now that Tam and Ix were helping? Would she continue off the beaten path, into the newly formed chambers? Or maybe she would like to examine the silhouettes from up-close.

Adrianna took to exploring the corridors and her curiosity, gazing upon the passing silhouettes closely as she made her way towards the new structure. "Let's see what's become of your mindscape..."

She stood face to face with the white shape. It's outline... she was looking at herself. Adri glanced over the others as well. Most were unknown, undefined, except the few gathered around her. They all took the form of someone. The gray Jennifer, or was it Tam? The pale, transparent Dixi... The dark one, Tix.

But then, another one came, phasing through the white wall. A shape so brilliant its shine was only matched by the Locks'. She walked with careful steps, passing from one room to another. The barriers of Aura's mind were nothing to this new silhouette. Adri knew immediately who it was...

Ix...

Adri knew what was happening here: the structure slowly building itself, silhouettes taking their forms and doors; lots of locked doors. With this knowledge in mind, would the witch continue?

"I see, mental visualization of everyone she knows. Alright then, let's take a look see..." She stepped towards the nearest door and moved to open it, unlock it if need be.

The decision was made and with it, the consequences as well.

With a simple thought, the door had opened before her. There was no resistance, no magic. Just regular memories and thoughts mashed together, as would be in any mind. Inside, Adri saw jumbled-up memories of events that just happened, with a few standing out clearly from the others. Aura's hidden thoughts lingered with them.

It was a ranger fleeing in fear. Why are you...running? What did I do wrong? Please, come back...

The lady is nice, very nice to me. I must express my gratitude. It was then when they met. The Adri silhouette entered the room as well, standing in front of the real Adri. It would appear this was her room.

She wants to help me! She wants to make me remember... but why?

The silhouette darkened, emanating a dreadful aura.

Please stop, please stop, please stop....

Then it all turned to embers, impossible to comprehend. The silhouette returned to her original white color. It seemed this room was clear. Would the witch continue?

"She must've thought I was a monster after that first lock..." She felt her heart sink for a moment before electing to continue onward. Theoretically, moving through the mind should be comparatively harmless next to break her mental locks

Adri went through another door close to that one, opening it up just as easily. As she thought, Aura should not feel any pain from this. Checking her body from outside, Adri confirmed her theory: Aura was sleeping soundly. So she deemed the process harmless to the body and continued.

Entering the next one, Adri found it empty of silhouettes. The thoughts were hers for the taking.

Father, why are they talking about you like that? Where are you?

Suddenly, a figure entered the room. It was dark and ominous. Tix... Adri looked at her hateful eyes.

D-dangerous?... I don't want to hurt anyone! Why is this happening to me? What did I do wrong?

Stella... are you out there somewhere? I want to go back... Please...

The Tix silhouette moved out of the way, as if compelled by a greater force. There was no more use for this room. Would the witch continue?

"Stella...?" She pressed onwards, feeling a growing concern for Aura's mental well being as things progressed.

Another room, another mess of thoughts and memories. It seemed the silhouettes did not even bother with this one.

My name?

Adri saw that the entire room began to rumble at the mere mention of the word.

It hurts... but for you I...

The tremors grew in power. Looking back, all of the known silhouettes could be seen watching Adri from outside.

My name...

Lag-lag-lag-lag-lag-lag.... Aura! And just like that, everything calmed down. Aura! Aura! Aura!

Such a beautiful na-

Suddenly, the memory came to a halt, being phased out of existence just like the others. Adri pondered... All of those memories... so brief. At first she didn't look into it so much, but with the disappearance of this one, it was obvious something was not right here.

The path, as always, was open. Would the witch continue?

"Why is every memory so brief, and it seems they all cut off a touch abruptly, but this one was a harder cut..." Of course, she'd continue on feeling her concerns increase as she contemplated the potential outcomes of completely unlocking all her memories. All the while, she kept a passive eye out for any essence indicating what had made itself know as Draja.

The luminous silhouette of Ix awaited in the next room, waving at Adri. It seemed out of all the figures, she was the one most resembling of her real self, with Ix's radiant smile and happy expression. The memory unfolded. And the thoughts with it.

Ix! I... you are-

And just like the one before, the memory was cut short; this time even more abruptly. The Ix silhouette looked sad before walking off through a wall that was not supposed to lead anywhere. Adri would look through the other doors as well...but they were empty. All of the memories and thoughts, gone. There was only the door at the end of the hallway, likely filled with nothing as well.

Having seen all of this and going so far, the witch would continue.

Adri continued onward, rushing to the final door intent on covering every inch of what's open to her. "Is she still wary of me? Maybe she's subconsciously closing me off..."