Within a single heartbeat, I stood ready for the coming confrontation. The air around me shimmered with power as my wings, bathed in the pale silvery light of the crescent moon, gathered the elemental mana, preparing it to unleash a fury of searing light in a single concentrated flash. Once the enemies were blinded and confused, I would strike them down swiftly and without mercy.

But then, something unexpected happened - they all bowed.

[Greetings, starchild.] clear, melodic voices resounded in unison across the midnight forest path, as they all lifted their heads, their almond shaped dark blue eyes staring at me in wonder.

I was milliseconds away from striking at them with full force, but this reaction of theirs took me by surprise, and I hesitated.

“Should I attack them?” I wondered, unsure of their intentions “They don’t look hostile...”

I played with the thought for a few seconds, before discarding it.

“It wouldn’t feel right.” I thought for a moment, before reluctantly releasing the swirling mana, allowing the surrounding scenery to sink back into pitch black darkness.

I wasn’t about to trust them just because they seemed nice though, so I made sure to put some distance between ourselves before I descended, keeping my senses sharp at all times.

As I glanced back in their direction, I caught a glimpse of a smile forming on their faces, which only served to push my vigilance even further. Various scenarios played through my head as I steadied my breathing and calmed myself down, even if only a little bit.

Seconds passed as we were locked in this uneasy stalemate, and after a while of neither side taking any action, the silence started pressing down heavily on me, turning the whole situation somewhat awkward. When I couldn’t bear it any longer, I decided to return their greeting, and probe around to see how they would react.

[Umm, hello?] I spoke meekly. After all, this was my first time interacting with anyone who wasn’t outright hostile towards me, so yes, I was a little shy.

As if right on cue, the male standing at the front of the group, garbed in some weird, metallic yet oddly flexible armor, started speaking:

[My name is Enrandil the Shieldbearer, my friend. I am the leader of this group. May I have the honour of knowing your name?] asked the man with a gentle tone in his voice.

He wasn’t holding any weapons, at least not any that I could see, but he was firmly gripping his slightly oversized kite shield. It was still a relief to know that I didn’t have to fight them - for now.

[W- well, …] I stuttered, before going completely silent.

The calm demeanor of this group had allowed me to somewhat soothe my agitated mind, and seeing as they didn’t show any ill will towards me, I really wanted to answer their courtesy in kind. But there was a catch - I didn’t have any name to give them to begin with.

Enrandil seemed to interpret my silence as denial of his request, as he spoke:

[It’s alright, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want t-]

[No!] I interrupted him hurriedly. Some part of me didn’t want these people to dislike me. Some part of me didn’t want to be alone any longer. If my kin could get along with them, why would it be any different in my case?

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[It’s not that! It’s just that I don’t-] I was about to answer him truthfully, when a tiny, weak voice spoke in my head:

“No! Don’t let them name you!” It seemed familiar to me, but considering how weak and distant it was, I couldn’t tell whose voice this could be.

I was getting impatient. Familiar or not, I couldn’t stand the newfound sensation of shame, that I found myself experiencing at this very moment, so I replied curtly:

“What name should I use then?” putting a bit more edge to my mental voice then I originally intended.

“I don’t know!” Shouted the voice despairingly. It seemed to be losing volume rapidly, as if something was obstructing its ability to speak to me.

“We’re sharing the same body, so just use my name for all I care!” Said the voice faintly, before fading into nothingness as abruptly as it came.

Then it finally hit me, whose voice I was talking to.

“SILVIA?! Is that you?!” I roared at the phantom of her voice that was there just a moment before, but no answer came back. As I was about to call for her again, another voice interrupted my thoughts:

[Excuse me, you were saying?] Asked Enrandil with a noticeable hint of expectation in his voice.

[Um…]

It would appear that today was to be a day of close calls, very close calls indeed…

“Yet again left with no more than a few seconds to decide my fate. Brilliant.” I grumbled inwardly.

“Using Silvia’s name doesn’t sound quite right though. It’s as if I was taking her place... but doesn’t she have two names?” an idea popped inside my head.

“Silvia Skye. I remember that there used to be a lot of other people with that second name in her memories, and most of them seemed to be somewhat close to her…” I started seriously considering that option.

“I think I’m quite close to her too, so it should be fine, right?” Time was ticking and I didn’t want to drag this on any longer than necessary…

“Yea, I like the sound of it as well. Sounds like sky. Let’s go with that.” I rejoiced inwardly.

[My name is Skye!] I announced in an oddly cheery voice, surprising myself as much as the others.

The streak of surprises wasn't over yet, as the moment the words left my mouth, my whole body started glowing with an intense light. It only lasted for a second or two, but the shock was sufficient enough to leave me in a daze. Enrandil on the other hand seemed unfazed.

[It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Skye.] said the man disheartenedly.

I barely paid any attention to him though, as I was currently reveling in the joyful feeling of having a name I didn’t know I ever wanted, or needed.

[To tell you the truth, I was hoping you were unpaired.] he started again, gaining my attention this time, seeing as he was talking about something I didn’t understand, and such topics could be dangerous.

[But seeing the sign with my own eyes…] Enrandil paused for a second, before changing the topic: [So, where is your partner? I’d like to ask them a few questions.]

I truly had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed to assume quite a lot about me, and breaking such assumptions could result in me revealing a piece of information I would have otherwise preferred to keep to myself.

“Damned if I do, damned if I don’t, huh?” I pondered for a while, ultimately deciding to ask him anyway.

I would prefer failing while knowing why, rather than messing up somewhere along the line and never knowing the cause. But once again before I could open my mouth and ask anything, as if in mockery of my decisions, I was rudely interrupted by Silvia’s voice inside of my head.

“Wow, I really wasn’t expecting this to happen… but HOW? I am not an elf!” Unlike the last time though, the sound of her voice was loud and clear as if she was standing right next to me. It wasn’t my voice, the one she used to talk with the mage, but the voice of her heart, the one she used in her memories. A quiet, soft feminine voice.

“Silvia?”

“Oh, you heard that?” replied the voice inside of my head, continuing with: “You know, you really should reply to him before he misundersunderstands agai-”

[Did anything happen to your partner?] It would seem that Enrandil had once again misinterpreted my silence.

[You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to…] he added quickly, and this time, I thought I’d take him up on the offer.

[Yes, I would prefer not to talk about it…] I didn’t even get to finish the sentence before Silvia butted in:

“Are you really that dumb?”