Welcome to Gaia! ::

He closes his eyes and pretends not to see him sneaking the icy cold treat, wondering ow he managed to keep it cold as they didn't have a fridge, only a spring house. He figures such ingenuity deserves to be fostered. As long as he didn't do it too often.

Finds himself in the middle of chaos. As Tam had promised, the carpenters were indeed there with the bed, which requires some assembly. Wood is being hauled up the stairs and the sounds of hammering and sawing fills the small cottage. It seems that Tam has also asked the men to build him several storage racks and cabinets for his instruments and music and well as a better kitchen arrangement. (Home improvement look out!)

Out of sight from the men, Tam shifts to fox form and scurries down after him. "Kero, are ye ok? Shall I bring ye some breakfast? Earplugs? A warm blanket?" He is seriously concerned about the way the cub darted through the cottage.

With a sigh, Tam crawls his way back up out of the tunnel and shakes off the dirt, before shifting back into his more human form. There isn't much he can do about the noise right now and it will soon be over. The cabinets and cupboards were necessary to store his precious instruments and music out of the weather. He has decided he wants tostay in the village, at least until Kerobian has grown up. He has noticed that the cub seems to need a more settled life.

Tossing his hair behind his shoulder, he re-enters the house, only to be accosted by two delivery people, who have arrived with a thick feather mattress. The thing is huge and it makes Talesian smile. He really preferred to stretch out when he slept and so he had ordered his bed and mattress to be oversize and large enough for at least 4 or 5 people to sleep in, four or five villagers that is. He had learned early on, that when the common folk shared a bed, they piled in like sardines.

He asks them to wait and climbs up to his room, to see if the bed frame was complete, then offeres to help them carry it up. The two men wave him off and proceed to expertly manhandle the mattress up the stairs with ease. He has notice that everything he has ordered has been top rate when delivered, either made with extra care or selected by someone with impeccable taste. He mentions this to one of the workers who laughs heartily at him.

"Surely ye realize that to have a bard, such as yerself decide to grace our small village with yer presence is an honor, sirra. Ye haven't used yer true name overmuch during yer stay here, true, but the name Talesian is well known in these parts. Now iffin ye don't mind, why don't ye follow yer pet's example and make yerself scarce, so we can get this all done fer ye, hmmm?"

Realizing he really was getting in everyone's way and more than a little embarrassed by all the attention, Tam wanders out into the sitting garden and drops down in one of the rough hewn lawn chairs someone had conveniently left behind. The sun is warm and despite the noise, he finds himself dosing off with the ease of any soldier who has spent time on the battle front can. If your safe and your tired, you sleep, no matter the noise or commotion which is swirling about you while you nap.

Finally Tam is awakened by a soft clearing of a throat and he sprang to his feet in alarm, reaching for a non-existent weapon, then he remembered where he was, blushing nervously. It was only the head workman, standing at the kitchen door, twisting his cap in his hands.

"I beg yer pardon, m'sirra. Didn't want to interrupt yer beauty sleep as ye looked so comfortable. But we've finished the tasks at hand. I've already sent me boys on home and well, it's getting mighty late. The missus will be awanting me fer dinner by and by."

Tam could tell by the twinkle in the man's eye that although it was getting on in the afternoon, he was also pulling his leg. Dinner was a few hours off as yet and he no doubt wanted to stop at the inn on his way through to his home. He stretched and smiled and followed him inside, to examine their handiwork and found himself pleasantly surprised. There is a faint sent of stain in the air, making his nose itch, but the new counter and cabinets are not only finished but stained and decorated as well with a faint green color that goes well with the room sparse decor. He reaches into his vest and pulls forth a pouch of gold and drops in a few gems from a hidden stash as a bonus.

"Tell yer master, I am well pleased." says Tam grinning from ear to ear. "And the bed?"

"Ready fer ye to fall into with yer lady friend, iffin she ever comes to town." says the man with a wink. "And any other maiden fairly won iffin ye so desire... maybe even two of them. That is one big bed, m'sirra."

Tam chuckles merrily. "In case ye haven't looked, I'm one tall person, m'friend. As for me lady friend... I fear we went our separate ways long ago... she claimed I wandered far too far and never gave her the time of day. Nay I need such a bed for I toss over much... a terrible habit, I fear."

The man gives him a wink and leaves by the cottage's front door. Surprisingly the cottage has been swept clean. No trace of their business remains save the items they have built. Tam decides that if he ever wishes to purchase something else for their home, he would go straight back to this shop as it seems to have wonderful workmen, then he notices that someone has been in Kerobian's room. Angry, he goes to check it out, but cannot tell if anything is amiss. He decides to fetch Kero and have him give the room the once over. It may have been nothing more than curiosity concerning the cat and his intelligence, but it may also have been something far more insidious as well.

Tam thinks it is odd that the toy would be missing and while Kero is searching he does a quick look about of his own and finds the toy sitting in plain sight on a shelf in the main room. He calls Kero's attention to it and laughs. "I bet any money he merely wanted to make ye fel like this cottage is yer home too." he says with a grin, taking the precious toy down and handing it to him. "He probably thought ye had outgrown it a bit and was trying to find some keepsake or another to put out here. He wouldn't have taken something he thought ye used all the time."

Then he remembers how clearly he remembers the scent of home whenever he plays his harp and understands. It isn't so much the scent of Kerobian's mother that he smells on the toy as it is the connection in his mind to the smell that the toy gives him. "Kero, taro, would ye sing to me of yer mother?" says Tam quietly as he rummages in one of his cupboards and pulls for his easel and paints.

Then as Kerobian sings to him his memories, Tam begins to compose a portrait of the grand gold dragon who Kero once called mother. He paints not with his eyes, but with his inner ear, listening to Kero's story as only an angel can. He refuses to allow Kero to see the painting until he is done. But once he is finished he tells him to close his eyes.

"Tis' only a sketch, but if I work it too much it won't be the same and I will do the others for ye as well, in time... if ye want." he says guiding the cub to the front of the painting. He steps back to the garden door and tells him to look, then slips outside, so that Kero can have time with an image he has not seen since he fled from his home.