Welcome to Gaia! ::

They stare at him, shaking their heads slowly.

Ai nods. "Bez and I... and you two as well, as you are our children... have a unique distinction of having a very rare blood type. I'm not even sure what they would call it. Over my time on earth I have learned that it can be given to anyone and will heal them far faster than any other transfusion. Anyone of our kin would have this blood type, though those of us who were the first drawn from the pool seem to have the strongest affect on those who have shared it. In effect it heals by recreating the body from the inside out.In other words it returns a wholeness to the body. But Kero is a voidic mage... and... well... undead to boot. Well, not exactly undead... ummm unliving... no that's not the term I'm looking for... beyond death seems more appropriate." Ai shrugs and shakes his head.

"Over thirteen million years ago, Kero died... he was murdered... but it really wasn't his time yet and his strong vibrant soul clung to life so firmly he did not pass beyond the veil which seperates the living from the dead."

"You don't look dead." says Ari softly. Mara nods in agreement.

"In many ways he's not." says Tam with a troubled smile. "It wasn't his time yet, so his tie to life was unusually strong. His body may have died, but his spirit was not yet ready to move beyond. Many this happens to become lost souls. They lose their sense of identity, in time fragmenting into the stuff from which magic flows. They themselves are not made o magic, but their spirits are closely aligned to it. Those that lose their sense of self break apart and it is these pieces which the kitsune use to recreate their kind. Some spirits become fixiated on certain events, usually their deaths and becomed tied or linked to specific places. People call them ghosts. Others remain whole but forget who they are and depending on how they behave we call them poltergists or haunts. Kero began to search... perhaps it was preordained perhaps not, but in time he met my uncle..."

Ai listens fondly as Kero relates the story of how he met Hopian and the things he and his blood brother had done. Most of it he knew, having heard it before, but never in a continuous manner. It had been fed to him, piece by piece, in broken fragments, an smidgen here... a quick tale there... and never in one sitting.

Mara looks at Bez with a puzzled frown. "Hopian's people live in prides... and Kero grew up in a village... why were we kept way out here, away from eveyone? Were you ashamed of us?"

Bezernia shakes his head and walking over to his daughter kneels down by her so he can look her in the eye. "You are my daughter, and I am very very proud to say that. You have nothing to be ashamed of, but mayhaps I do... and if I do, trust me Kitten... it isn't you or your sister. The two of you are perhaps the best things that have ever happened to me. And we are here, because this has been my home for more years than I care to count. Your mama and I decided to raise you here, not because we were ashamed of you, but because we wished to protect you. I've hinted at this before, saying that someday I will tell you the why of it... I...I..." he bows his head, searching his heart for an answer. The girls were not yet old enough to defend themselves, but perhaps a touch of the truth would help them understand.

Ai steps forward and rests a hand on his shoulder. "be strong, dulcha..." he sends with a feather like mind touch.

Bez sighs. "But are they ready for the truth. How will they be able to look me in the face?"


*I'm going to go shopping for a couple of small gifts... sigh... if I'm lucky, I'll be back soon... LOL... but with the luck I"ve been having it may take some searching. cya l8r!*