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Old Name: Tannaesa
New Name: Menodora

Story: Tannaesa used to be a scout. She would patrol the outer-reaches of her colony's land, guarding it. She was a pretty good scout, too; she was alert, wary, borderline distrustful, but with a discerning eye and an ear for the truth when it happened to be spoken. She thought she was prepared for, ready for, had a plan for everything that might cross her path.

She was wrong.

Tannaesa, it turned out, was looking the wrong direction. The biggest threat to the colony was not to be found outside of the colony - instead, it was found within.

Tannaesa had gotten distracted, one morning, on her patrol. There had been a commotion at the eastern-most border of her colony's land; an argument by strangers that had gotten loud, and that was enough to put her hackles up. It took a while to determine the source of the noise, and then longer still to send the arguing strangers on their way.

Maybe if she had been a better negotiator, or been more forceful. Or maybe if she had simply killed them - they were intruders, or near enough, after all - then things would have turned out differently.

Or maybe she should have ignored the commotion. Maybe, as a scout, someone who was supposed to always be alert to danger, she simply should have sensed when something wasn't right at home.

Whatever she should have done - and every day, she thinks of new things she should have done - she did what she did, and when she returned home, everyone was dead.

Well.

Almost everyone.

Everyone except the would-be usurper and his gang of outsiders. A traitor, one who sought leadership and did not care the price he paid for it, nor for the broken remnants of a colony he would lead at the end. He had tried to rise up against the colony's leader, thinking that others must be as unhappy as he himself was; he'd gathered allies in secret, thugs who claimed no land or family for themselves, and he'd made his move. He'd made sure the scouts were occupied elsewhere: not all of the scouts had been so lucky as to return from their planned traps and distractions.

Tannaesa was the only one left.

He smiled her, his maw bloody, his claws glinting. He'd spoken such sweet things - he'd told her she could be his mate. Wouldn't they make such lovely children? So strong. So capable, unlike the rest of this pathetic colony, whose bodies he stepped on and over as he approached her. He would show her what true power was, if only she would let him--

She did not let him. She lashed out at him, but instead of finishing the job - and likely getting killed herself, for she was grievously outnumbered - she ran. She left her poor, dead colony behind her and ran as fast and as far as she was able, up to the mountains, barely stopping long enough to eat or drink. Sleep was a forgotten friend, with what rest she had coming in fits and spurts. Every creak of the trees or brush of leaves was the traitor, bearing down on her, wishing to end her life or worse - make her live, with him, in the mockery of her home that he had claimed as his own.

She could not stop. She could not trust anyone; she had no idea how far his reach extended. He could have spies anywhere, waiting to give word that she had been spotted.

When she collapsed on the edge of the Starborne colony's land, she thought she would simply die there - and that was fine with her, after countless days, weeks, months of running. Instead, she awoke, in the care of the colony's healers, who were diligently restoring her to life. She had no idea why they would go to such lengths for a stranger, especially a half-dead stranger, but she had no choice other than to accept their ministrations. She was too weak to do otherwise.

Eventually, she regained the power of speech. It had been so long since she'd spoken to anyone. Not since...

When they asked her her name, she froze. What if they were restoring her on the traitor's orders? How could she trust kindness like this, ever again?

When they asked her name, she lied.

Now, she tells herself that Tannaesa really did die out there - somewhere in the wilderness, or on the edge of the colony's territory. Tannaesa died with those she loved - her colony, crushed and broken.

In her place was Menodora, who had a new colony, a new job, a new life...and maybe, maybe, a chance to be happy.

As long as Tannaesa, and her past, remained dead where they belonged.

Why did they change their identity?: Two reasons: guilt and self-preservation. Her self-loathing would've been enough for her to want to leave herself behind, over her perceived failure to protect her colony and then her perceived failure to avenge it. After guilt is deep fear that the traitor who killed her family is after her, either to mate with her or to kill her, and either option is unacceptable in her eyes. As such, she has adopted a new name and a new life; most of the time, she's successful in keeping her old life buried - she never speaks of her past, or what brought her to the colony, but she has found immense peace under the stars, and hopes one day they will tell her why her story had to go the way it did.