"Climb."
  "Climb?"
  "Yes. Go." He nudged me forward, and I debated just running now or not. Standing in front of the tree, I noticed carved-out grooves and used them to climb. Behind me, I heard the man snort, and he suddenly was beside me, his claws digging into the bark. "The holes are for the children."
  "....Oh."
  "Keep climbing." The man looked amused and was pushing me again when we reached the first branch that lead to a bridge. More people were staring now, and I realized why he was so shocked by how I looked so much like him and yet not. Sure, I looked similar enough to them that I knew we were the same species, but I lacked a few features they had, and I was a lot paler than them- save for where my skin was black like theirs.
  My eyes wandered over the people and village until the man had me standing in front of a large building secured on several branches. He pulled a colorful curtain to the side and led me inside where it was a lot cooler than outside.
  "Elder Durga, we have a guest." I saw a woman adorned in shells and beads sit up straight on her throne near the other side of the room. She, too, only wore a loincloth like the rest of the other residents in this village I had seen, but she wore more armbands and hair ornaments than the rest.
  "It can't be...." She mumbled before I suddenly found myself wrapped tightly in a hug, and I was confused beyond belief. "Aadya!" The woman looked older and taller, but she was incredibly fast and incredibly strong. She was nuzzling her face into my hair, but abruptly stopped and held me at arm's length. "You're not Aadya...."
  "E-Elder Durga....Aadya has been dead for over two decades." The man softly said, but the woman hushed him with a raised hand.
  "Then explain to me how this woman looks so much like Aadya." She questioned but didn't give him any chance to answer. "Where are you from?"
  "I....don't know."
  "....What's your name?"
  "I don't know that, either." My voice went quiet, and she began to inspect my head and flip my ears up and down.
  "I see no signs of head injuries or dried blood- though I do smell blood on you. Not your own...."
  "What?"
  "How did you get here?"
  "I-I woke up on the beach."
  "Mmm. Memory loss. How....odd." She cupped my cheeks and tilted my head up. "You bear a striking resemblance to Aadya, but you do not wear tribe clothes nor dawn their mark. Not even the tribes in the other worlds dress in this manner."
  "....Other worlds?"
  "Dimensions, dear. They are as plenty as the leaves in the trees, and some, our people took refuge in long ago. Many returned here once it was safe, but a few remained where they were. However, we still keep in contact- a must when we are as few as we are."
  "Um, ma'am-"
  "Elder Durga."
  "Elder Durga....I'm very lost, aren't I?"
  "Oh, darling, you were lost. But that is no longer." She grinned, showing her sharp teeth and dimples. "Come, you must be hungry."
  At first, I had been extremely on edge about being in a strange place and having no memories, but the longer I was there the more comfortable I felt. Sure, being poked and prodded by curious children was annoying, but I came to find out that they did it because, according to them, I was as pale as a newborn.
  Elder Durga allowed me to stay with her to help me get accustomed to how things were done around the village, and I found learning it all was rather easy seeing as the people were very open with me. However, even as I was laughing and talking to others during mealtimes, I felt as if there was something very important that I had left behind.
~
  "Nonnomen!" My ears perked as my name was called, and I saw Jugar waving me over. I had been helping a boy braid his hair but passed it on to the girl that had been playing with my hair so that I could go see what Jugar wanted. "Guess what today is." He grinned, placing his fists on his hips.
  "....Lunae?"
  "Yes, but not what I meant." My eyes narrowed as I had to think, but I was just drawing blanks. "Initiation."
  "That's today?"
  "You've been here a month now and you're still equal to the toddlings, Nonnomen. It's time to move up."
  "But I'm not ready!"
  "Pah! You'll do fine. The toddlings pass all the time."
  "The toddlings can blend in, Jugar. And I don't know if you've noticed or not, but I reflect light." I gestured at myself, proving my point as the sunlight made me look even paler with a glow.
  "You worry too much." He waved his hand before turning away. "All you have to do is stay hidden until morning."
  "Yes, hidden from an animal trained to retrieve contenders." My tail twitched as I raised my hands. "Jugar, this thing has night-vision, and I'm reflective- it won't even need to catch my scent trail, I'll be a beacon!"
  "I would hope you'd still cover your scent trail, Nonnomen. The toddlings at least know how to do that much. Are you really going to let a group of children show you up?"
  "They have a camouflage advantage I do not."
  "They have white fur just as you do."
  "But-"
  "Nonnomen, they are children. If they can do it, so can you, even with your disadvantages."
  "I'm going to strangle you if I fail." I stated, and Jugar burst into laughter as we reached the starting point. The group of children taking the Initiation today were gathered in a line as a hairless beast with black eyes and green skin was sniffing each child. They all ranged in size but it seemed the biggest of the little beasts was assigned to me. As soon as I got into line, it was sniffing at me, catching my scent.
  Its head was boxy, and its body was muscular but stout. It could run rather fast, climb trees, swim- it was the perfect creature to use in this trial. The toddlings and I had to evade these things for the rest of today and into the night, passing if we lasted until morning. Fail, and you were dragged back to the village by the little beast assigned to you whether you liked it or not.
  "Pull the eretrries back." Someone called and the beasts were held back by other members of the village. "Remember, toddlings, you have one hour before your eretrri is released. Get ready to begin." We turned toward the forest and got ready to run.
  "Whoo! You can do it, Nonnomen!" Jugar hollered, and I groaned. As if I didn't stand out already as it was....
  Elder Durga blew a horn, and we raced off. I quickly lost sight of the children, leaping over plants in my way to cut straight to the stream. When I reached the water, I dropped down and rolled in it, cutting my scent trail off before quickly getting an idea and grabbing handfuls of mud. Rolling on the river bank, I covered myself in mud- now I had camouflage.
~
  "Nonnomen, I hope that's mud."
  "It's mud." I replied, standing where I had been the previous day. Only two people had failed this Initiation, and I was neither of them.
  "Welcome to the tribe." Elder Durga softly smiled at me, handing me a black armband with a single shell on it.
  "Thank you, Elder Durga."
  "Now, please, go wash yourself." She chuckled before moving on to the child standing next to me and handing her a matching armband.
  "Jugar!"
  "No, no, no, no, no! Don't touch me!" The male bounced away from me to avoid getting dried mud on him.
  "Come on, don't I deserve a victory hug?"
  "After you are clean, maybe." He kept his hands defensively raised, and I laughed at him before proudly showing off my new band.