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"But you were porting before you got sick... weren't you? I could have sworn you were porting again." Ai looks at his face and draws back. "Wait a minute... you don't think I did something to...."

"Why in the name of all that is holy wold I want you to go through all that again... I'm proud of what you've become."

Ai shakes her head. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be hard on you... and I don't really think I am... do you truly feel like I'm coming down on you too hard ? Haven't I told you to talk to me if you felt I was wrong about something... not insulting me to my face by talking snide to me... but a down to earth talk?"

Ai pulls back some more, the hurt in her face plainly visible. "I... I hurt you?" she stammers awkwardly. Suddenly she disappears and Bez moans.

"Oh hell... that did it... " he closes her eyes for a bit, then nods. "Listen Kero, I need to go after her. Don't worry I'll bring her back, you go finish lunch, alright. Hopefully this won't take long." Then he, too, pops from view.

He might be angry but Ai is devastated. That probably wasn't the best way to start a conversation with her in the mind state she's been in. She hasn't even recovered physically or emotionally from her very real, very near unintentional suicide. Man, does he need to learn some tact. But then that has been one of Kerobian's failings, no matter the age he's at. Oh well, done is done. He's stewing in the kitchen and Bez is dealing with the emotional meltdown. And this northern spirit is chuckling under her breath... isn't that the way things often happen? In spades? Rather than thimblefuls?.

Might not have happened had he said that when she hadn't been stewing herself for the better part of a day, thinking she'd done something terrible and driven him away. And Talesian would have been hurt, but he would have try to worm out of Kero why he felt that way... ah well... that's life in their world, I suppose. Poor Bez, if he sticks around, he's in for some bumpy rides.

Bez and Ai don't appear for lunch. In fact they don't come back until everyone is sitting down for dinner.

Bez merely dishes up them each a bowl of stew and carries it to the table while Ai, with rede rimmed eyes, meekly crawls up onto the bench in her usual spot. She hangs her head and mumbles an apology for worrying everyone.

"I... I am sorry I kind of lost it..." she stammers to Kero, refusing to look him in the eye. Her voice is kind of husky and strained. "I... won't do that again..."

She picks at her food, not really eating, then leaves the table before everyone is done, going to her chair in the living room. After the lecture she got from Bez, she was expecting such a reaction, but it didn't make her feel any better knowing her mate was right. In fact it made her feel even worse. It wasn't right. Kero could say things to her that hurt like heck, but she wasn't allowed to tune him out or get mad. She had to listen and try to understand. Well she'd listen, but understanding was hard when the other person wouldn't even try to understand as well. Curling up before the fire, she buries her face between her paws and wishes the world away.

Bez eats in silence until he notices Hopian trying to say something to him, then reaches up and pulls an earplug from his ear. "Sorry... she was kind of loud... here... maybe you can use these someday..." he remarks tossing them to the white lion with a twisted grin, glad that Fortuny was eating in her usual spot in the living room.