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Tam glances into the garden and seeing this, runs out to give them all a good bye hug.

Kneeling by Pyropian he laughingly tells him that the next time he feels the urge to tell his father like it is, to remember such observations usually come at a great price... a tender hide.

"But I have a suggestion fer ye, for what it's worth. Take it like a man... lion... whatever. Look him in the eye, say that while ye disagree ye will take what's coming and do so. Don't cringe, don't whimper.... don't act afraid in anyway. Iffin ye know yer right, show it in the way ye behave, don't argue... don't raise a fuss... pretty soon he's going to start seeing how much ye've grown and treat ye accordingly... Now yer mother... that's a lost cause, I fear... she's always going to protect ye... it's in her blood."

"Ah, but he loves you, right? So he isn't going to go too far in his punishments.... trust me. Part of that is him and how he keeps himself in check. Extreme honor judges oneself far harsher than it does anyone else. He looks formidable, but he's far too wise to do you lasting harm. He sees what happened to Hopian and does not want a repeat of the pain, the distrust and the anger that followed. Besides, he's trying to raise you to be an adult, correct? So if you start acting like a calm mature adult, he's going to start treating you like one." says Tam tapping him gently on the nose.

Tam laughs and shakes his head. "Like right now... pouting and whining?" he asks gently. "Also, telling someone the truth is fine and dandy, but rubbing it in their face with sarcasm isn't... understand?" he remarks with a grin, shaking his head.

"Young people seem to think that since their parents knew everything as they were growing up... they should know everything now that they are almost there, themselves... Trouble is... we don't know everything, never have and never will... some truths have to be shown to us, some we have to uncover on our own... and others we never will discover.

"When children are small, their troubles are small and their questions simple. It is easy to come off sounding as though we are the ultimate know-it-alls. But we're not, there are questions which we have no answers to ourselves. Of course no one likes having that fact rubbed into their noses, so go gently. Parenting is a difficult journey... just when ye think ye got it down pat, the terrain shifts and we're lost once more. You will understand this someday, when you have children of yer own... until then remember this... no matter how many books a parent may read that tells them how to raise a child, each child is unique unto itself... What works for one does not always work for another... Figuring out what works and what doesn't can take a lifetime of effort, so cut us a little slack, ok?"

"As long as he doesn't give me a long hard lecture about all the half truths I've been known to spout fine... but what I've just said is plain honest fact... and we should all remember it." says Tam with a wink, getting to his feet and brushing of his knees.

Tam chuckles softly and goes to hug the others as well. "Don't be strangers..." he tells them with a smile. "I'd prolong this farewell a bit more, but I promised to make tea for Saferia. She's upstairs looking after Kero."

Tam chuckles to himself, going inside and putting on the teapot, waiting for the others to join him. He pulls down his tea chest and sighs as he examines it's depleted state. "Man I need to do a bit of shopping.... major shopping. We're low on almost all our staples."

Tam grins at him. "The way Kero and I drink it... it better be." he laughs selecting a heady citrus blend, known for it's relaxing benefits. "Is there anything Saferia likes in her tea? HOney? Sugar? Lemon?"

Tam quickly puts away the citrus tea and digs out Kero's hidden stash of mint tea. It really isn't a private store of leaf, as Shar had given it to both of them, but he preferred the stronger headier varieties. The kettle begins to sing, so he pours the water over the tea and sets it to steeping, then pulls down a few of the fresh baked rolls left over from dinner and a bit of jam. If Saferia is anything like Shar she might enjoy a small snack with her tea, especially since healing Kero no doubt left her a bit peckish. Once he has things set up, he peeks into the living room, to see if she's come down yet or not.