Welcome to Gaia! ::

She played with him for a bit them smiles. "I know. Master Mica, perhaps young Kero could start one or two of his lessons. It's mostly book work and since Master Talesian needed o go somewhere he truly has been bored."

Mica lifts a brow with a frown. "I see, I suppose we could do that... something simple perhaps.... a study on that book I gave you perhaps. Have you had a chance to read any of it... no? That is a shame. Hmmm... do you like puzzles perhaps... thinking puzzles?"

Mica laughs. "I see I have caught your interest... very well... I have something I keep on hand for when my nephews visit. Once a Year I watch over them, so that their parents can have a few days of peace. I'll be right back."

When he returns he is carrying a small wooden chest. In it is a set of tantagrams, a bag of matchsticks without their sulfur tips and three small books. He pulls out a small tray from the box and sets it before Kero then selects several matchsticks and one of the books.

"One book is a series of tantagram puzzles, this one is for the sticks. On each page there are a series of shapes, two to a puzzle, and at the top of the page is listed the number of matchsticks you are allowed to move to achieve the second shape. Now if you get truly stuck, the third book holds hints and solutions. Want to try a few?"

Mica laughs. "Very well, take 7 matchsticks, form an equilateral triangle with six of them, two sticks to a side, Now add your 7th stick in the middle of the triangle, going from the mid point of side A to the mid point of side B, so that now you have a smaller equilateral triangle sitting inside the first one, on top of a trapezoid. This is your base shape. Now the challenge is to move two and only two matchsticks to make 3 triangles."

Mica nods with a smile. "Very good, Kero. Now take six of those sticks. Form two equilateral triangles with them along a single base line touching at one point... kind of like a set of cat ears. Good... now move three of those sticks to form 4 equilateral triangles."

Mica smiles wisely at him. "I need to do a few chores, Kero, so I'll leave you with that one to ponder for a bit. I'll come back and eat supper with you, if you wish. Any idea as to where, Master Talesian went?"

"Actually I'm right here," says Tam walking into the room. He is wearing a cat in the cream expression and winks at Kero. "I went to check up on an old acquaintance. You will be happy to know, Kero, that I don't believe they'll be bothering me again... for some time to come."

Talesian pads over the the bed and climbs onto the foot of it, giving the matchsticks a curious look. He bids Mica farewell and chuckles softly. "I'll do better than an image. besides me head hurts. He beaned me one good before he realized what he was facing."

He curls up and grins. "I went back to the cottage and saw signs that someone had tried to visit... and the scent was a familiar one. Three guesses and the first two don't count. So I went to the inn to complain only he was gone. I would have come back then, but I thought I'd go and try to haul our stuff back from the camp site, at least our fishing gear and ran into him, literally. He was in the tent, waiting,.. I didn't sense him and he was downwind of me, so I didn't smell him either. I started to enter the tent and he got frightened, thought I was coming in to eat him. Good thing I have a hard skull."

Tam tosses back his great head and laughs outloud. "Wrong, kiddo, on all three accounts. Don't you remember why we went camping in the first place?"