Aspen
When I walked into the residence that evening, I was not surprised to be ambushed by Keir, Nimra, and Korran, who were waiting for me in the foyer.
"Why did you take so long to return home? Did something happen to my precious little one?" Nimra asked, her voice filled with worry. I did not address my mother's concerns yet. I had something more important to address first. Sensing Rakesh nearby, I made a request. "If it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you please prepare a small meal for me? I'm feeling quite drained from the energy smoothies I've been consuming." Rakesh nodded in acknowledgment before disappearing from my perception.
When I turned to address the others, Nimra and Keir each grabbed an arm to pull me down the hallway then into the family entertainment room. Korran followed us on his phone. I was released once we arrived. They all got settled on the various sofas and chairs. After I sat down on my usual part of the sectional sofa, I heard the TV connecting to a video call. Lux appeared sitting in our enclave apartment in Myrris (10th District of Solhara). "How is Little Wolf doing, brother?" Lux broke the silence when none of us spoke. " She was sleeping when I left. I'm a bit late because I was taking the time to tell our youngest about herself and also a few stories about us in hopes of jumpstarting her memory."
I saw the hope in their expressions. I didn't want to crush their hope but I had to set their expectations straight now so they didn't affect Moonbeam later. "While she didn't show any negative reactions to what I told her, she didn't show any positive reactions either. I'm still not sure how extensive her amnesia is at this point, but what I do know is she isn't mentally unwell." I pause for a moment to accept my delivered meal from Rakesh when he slid a lap table onto my lap with my dinner on it. He then retreated to stand by the door.
"She understood everything I said well. She didn't show any misunderstandings about any elementary concepts like numbers, what an ocean was, or how to eat properly. So I suspect she has a form of dissociative amnesia called systemized amnesia. She appears to have only forgotten specific categories of information, not everything." I drink some water to wet my throat. I know I will be talking while I eat. These four would not be satisfied otherwise.
"From my observations, I have concluded that she is at least not aware of the various races, our culture, our history, or about designations." I use the contemplative quiet as an excuse to get some solid food in my stomach. They won't be in their thoughts for too long. We could be here all night if they really get into their heads to turn this into a planning session. Good thing I already thought of a plan of action on my way home.
As my constant companion since the womb, I'm not surprised Lux figures this out. "So what is her recovery plan going to look like?"
"My proposed plan for her is that after what I estimate to be two weeks of necessary hospital rehabilitation, we can then transition her to home recovery. In the first two months along with her required mental and emotional conditioning, we will work towards bringing her up to speed academically, physically, and in her essencecrafting. Hopefully, that will be all we need, and this will just be a refresher. She was a fast learner before, so let's hope that is still the case."
Keir nods his head, and I can see a smile appear in remembrance. Even though she was frail for many years, that never stopped her learning speed. During that time, she was always asking questions, wanting to understand so she would be on equal, if not better, footing than her peers when she would join them in the capital. When did that change? Why did she start hiding her learning aptitude?
"If everything has gone according to plan and her soul-to-body ratio is stable enough after a few days of rest from her learning and training routine, I intend for us to perform a ritual to restore her memories. This should bring her soul-to-body sync rate to 100%. Getting her soul rooted to her body is the most important issue. Every part of the recovery plan is for this end goal. If her soul isn't properly rooted, it will ripple into other issues that could cause at best permanent essence stagnation and at worst a slow, agonizing death."
Everyone's gazes were very intense. Keir's was the least intense even compared to Lux's through the video call. He gave a nod I didn't realize I needed. One of us wasn't faking keeping his cool and right now that was an absolute relief. Then again Keir did inherit the title of Ajei Warlord from Korran for a reason.
I had to keep the perception of me being in control so that everyone else can relax and not continue to freak out at how much of a ticking time bomb Moonbeam's situation actually is. Right now, my hold on Lux's, Nimra's, and Korran's emotional states is the only thing keeping them from visiting the Dillard Towers tonight. The impressions I'm getting from Keir and distantly from Azrail both have a mischievous intent to them. I'm not sure if I should be worried about that or not. Also, why is Azrail very obviously awake? Azrail must have noticed I was aware of him, because suddenly it felt like I was given a pat on the head, then he appeared sleeping to my senses again.
I decide that I will be a good son and not tattle on him. It will be fine. Even if he is awake, he can't yet get out of the wards Nimra and Korran placed around him. If they don't figure it out in a day or so, I'll mention that they should check them. We really did not need the Chaos Demon causing mischief until we better understood what happened with Moonbeam.
I just breathe and collect my thoughts. So many threads to untangle and manage. I wanted to just sink into the sofa—finally home—but I couldn't relax. Not yet. I had to finish setting my family circle's expectations for keeping Moonbeam safe and whole.
Today has been one of the most exhausting days of my life. Once done here, I'm going to take a long, uninterrupted sleep. I've earned it.
My dozing thoughts are interrupted by my twin's voice. "You think she will be ready after only two months? I agree that the month of Dreyrune would be the ideal month to do the ritual but don't you think we would be pushing her too fast? She has always been strong but somehow strangely fragile. Will she really be ready, brother?" Though his expressionless face doesn't easily show it, the worry tone in his voice is apparent to my ears.
"Yes, I do actually believe she will be ready. She is changed. Different now. As you spend more time with her, you will see what I mean. I don't want to ruin the surprise for you all." My amusement brought curious and intrigued looks upon their faces. Real hope was lighting their eyes. She may not be who she was before but maybe she can be who we always knew she could be when she wasn't holding back to accommodate lesser beings.
"To finish up, I will go ahead and forewarn that the ritual won't give her perfect recall of all her memories. She will most likely remember core important memories and related memories more than simple memories like if Keir enjoys rock music over classical. That isn't important in any way." I couldn't resist poking at my younger brother. I got a grin and a middle finger in response. This brought chuckles from everyone.
"The actual integration of memory will put her into a stasis that will roughly last about two weeks. After that, we can assess what she will need further academic refreshers on so she can be completely caught up with her academy peers. Her physical training under Keir's brutal guidance will continue until he is satisfied, which means she will probably never be done training until she can beat him at least three times." Keir doesn't even disagree that this will be the case. His grin just grew with delight.
"The rest of us will continue our focus on her other training and emotional well-being for the remaining time before she returns to the academy for the spring semester." At this comment, everyone, including Rakesh behind me, made it clear by their auras that they did not want her to return to the academy. "Yes, during our talk, I told her about her enrollment in the Sentinels of the Accord Academy. It was the one thing she was most interested in besides the stories about us."
"She is very interested in continuing her education to become a Sentinel. I do not recommend dissuading her from doing so. If nothing else, it will give her a goal to strive towards in her recovery. It will push her body and soul to connect. Desire and ambition will be powerful tools for her. We can provide her with all the information she needs to make an informed decision but do not try to sway her one way or another." Everyone, after a tense moment, gave their reluctant agreement.
Now that I was done talking, I fully concentrated on my meal. I am ravenous. Consistently managing our circle's violent emotions, coupled with maintaining a monitoring connection with Moonbeam today, is draining me rapidly. If I must continue this for the next few weeks, I might have to resort to using an amplifier artifact. At the notion, a weight settled in my gut.
I hope this situation will only persist for a few weeks at most. If it goes beyond two weeks, I fear I might become murderous myself. Then, Keir would be the only one in our circle who remains clear-headed. Remembering the mischievous impression I got from him earlier,a mischievous smirk attempts to spread across my face, but I quickly suppress it before anyone notices. While that would satisfy a part of my chaotic soul, I do not wish to unleash the Ajei Warlord upon Solhara… or do I? Maybe a little chaos wouldn't be so bad. Just to remind everyone who we really are behind the smiling masks.