[[This story is by a real life dæmian, who talks to and projects their soul on a daily basis.

It is based off of the events of March 19, 2007 when I met that little voice in the back of my mind, Sik'is.

Flames are not welcome.

I do not own His Dark Materials, the books that helped me understand the concept of dæmons.

I do, however, own myself.

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It had started out perfectly normal. Wake up on a weekend, plop down in that hard, wooden chair in front of the computer, log onto IM. Of course I'd slept late that day, so most of my Internet friends were already up and online.

I couldn't know that the conversation I would be having later would change my life in a small way.

Surfing my usual haunts in cyberspace, nothing really new was happening. I'd started talking to a newbie on a message board that I mod on. He'd brought up the subject of dæmons, and me being me, asked for more information about them. His own dæmon, a gray fox, helped him explain to me.

Umby says:

So, do you want to find your own dæmon?

Minnow – I'm not random, I just have many thoughts! says:

Sure. How do I do it?

Umby says:

Try visualizing an animal in your head.

Minnow – I'm not random, I just have many thoughts! says:

A'right.

Minnow – I'm not random, I just have many thoughts! says:

Ok, I saw like a dark cat-type thing. Not really… catish though.

Umby says:

I don't think it was a cat. You don't strike me as a feline. More as a mustelid.

That was the first time I'd seen my dæmon. It wasn't even really him, either. His appearance wasn't refined, and it was likely that hei only looked cat-like because I was used to being around cats so much. It turned out that when I got his looks more specified, hei was a pine marten. Think cat-sized weasel.

However, the dæmon didn't have a name yet. Did I name him? Or did hei already have a name, and I just needed to be told it?

Minnow – I'm not random, I just have many thoughts! says:

How do I name him?

Umby says:

What's the first name that pops into your head?

Minnow – I'm not random, I just have many thoughts! says:

Uhmmm… Atreyu.

Alright, I admit it. My dæmon's first name was a band. I justify myself by saying that before then, I'd never even heard of the band. It was just a name that popped into my head. Now, though, after realizing that the name Atreyu just didn't fit us, hei goes by Sik'is.

However, naming and visualizing was just the first hurdle we had to overcome. Next, I actually had to talk to him. Now this might seem crazy, talking to an invisible animal in your head, but it's really not. It's just that little voice in the back of your head telling you not to touch the hot glue gun, or that you should really be doing your homework when you feel like playing video games instead.

Back then, speaking with Sik'is was a problem. It's still a bit hard, and wei don't talk much, but I've gotten used to having those little comments pop into my head when I'm being particularly idiotic or just need a little cheering up.

That one day, that one conversation on March 19, 2007, has changed my life, albeit in a somewhat small way.

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Fellow dæmians are encouraged to post comments on here with their own dæmons' names and forms.

This isn't really a fanfic, persay, but since His Dark Materials has influenced my thinking on dæmons, I figured I might as well post this in here.

Maybe I should write a random fanfic later…

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Our status as of the writing of this story:

Unsettled, favorite form is European Pine Marten (Martes martes).