Avery hesitated at Tanya's doorway, looking down at the instructions she'd been given, and then raised her hand to ring the bell.
Moments later, the person who Avery assumed Tanya was, opened the door.
"Avery," she greeted. "I'm Tanya, come on in."
"Hi," Avery replied, somewhat shyly. She entered the room and looked around, trying to remember something, anything, but nothing came to her.
"It's ok," Tanya told her. "Take a seat, let's see if there's anything I can do to help."
Avery nodded. "They told me that I used to be here a lot... with you, I mean."
"Yes," Tanya smiled, sitting opposite Avery on an armchair. "You had lessons with me, outside of your regular lessons."
"I can't remember, I'm sorry," the younger girl shrugged.
"Not a problem," Tanya told her, reassuring her with another smile. "That's what I'm here to help with. Are you ready?"
"It won't hurt?" Avery asked, though she instinctively knew that it wouldn't.
"Not at all. Just relax, close your eyes, it might help you to relax."
Tanya waited until Avery looked comfortable, then she slowly slid her presence into her mind, careful not to trip the alarm system Avery had installed a few years ago. It looked like she'd worked on it over the years, so it wouldn't activate with Tanya's familiar and friendly presence, and she took a moment to study it, marvelling at the creation. She had only been 14 when she had designed and created this, no small feat, and they had thought she was a potential Master back then. She almost smiled with how foolish that notion was now.
After poking around a bit, she found the cause of the problem. It was a large shield, obviously guarding around the girl's memories, but the puzzling thing was, from the conversations that Tanya had had with the Hanson family, Avery wasn't even aware how to use the full extent of her power right now, so there was no way this was done by herself.
She frowned, thinking. They had said that Avery disappeared without a trace from Italy, only to show up in New Orleans a couple of weeks later, minus her memory. There was no telepathic imprint here, whoever had done this, had been very thorough. But how had they used Avery's own power against her? Even a Master, such as herself, and with her skill level, still would not be able to subdue Avery's own telepathic energy.
Though she knew it was pointless, Tanya threw every skill she knew of against the shield, trying to unlock it. But she knew that the only person who would be able to, was Avery. But Avery was unaware. She was going to have to start again, teach her the basics and go from there, as they had, many years ago.
Before letting herself slip from her mind, Tanya repaired the damage that had been done, nothing too extensive that required tools, and bolstered the weak shield that Avery had already created. She slipped gently from her mind, and touched Avery's hand to let her know it was finished.
"So?" Avery's eyes were expectant, then clouded with disappointment when she realised she still had no idea about her past life.
"Well," Tanya smiled slightly. "If your parents don't mind a house guest, I might have to accompany you back to Tulsa."