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Tam is perched on a rock at the far end of the garden, while Bez sits in Tam's favorite chair.

"So when are you going to tell him the truth?" asks Bez quietly.

Tam sighs and takes a sip of his tea, grimacing at the taste. "I need to talk to Hopian first. Trouble is, He's already breaking through... that fall he took, coupled with everything else has awakened him early... yet he is far to young, He needs a good twenty or so and has had only 5.

Bez snorts softly studying his mug. "I still say you were a fool for agreeing to it in the first place. Look at you... you've got yourself all wrapped up in a dream... that bubble is not going to last, Ai, and when it bursts you are going to get hurt... you know it. Why did you do it anyway?"

"Because I love him... he's a friend... he needed me."

"I love you.. I NEED you..." growls Bez savagely.

Tam snorts softly and shakes his head. "Love is selfless, Bezernia.. it gives freely and makes no demands. You have never truly realized this. You do not own me. I am my own person. Once I might have been willing to let you make my decisions for me... but no more... and until you realize this, there will remain a bottomless gulf between us."

"I still say you are a fool... look at where those decisions have led you?" snarls Bez savagely.

"It's time for you to go." says Tam quietly. "And I must ask you not to come to him if he calls you again."

Bez chuckles sourly. "You forget. If I am called, I am forced to come. Maybe you should make that clear to him... Thanks for the tea, Ai. It has helped... a little, though seeing you sane and whole has helped even more." A rough wind blows through the garden, scattering leaves about in it's wake and when it is gone, so too is the dark haired visitor.

Tam picks up Bez's mug and holds it close for a bit, looking at the heavens, then he carries both it and his own indoor, placing em in the washtub on their dry sink. He looks to see Kerobian's mug, still sitting on the table and sighs heavily. Picking it up, he carries it to the cub's room.

**or is there twisted **

Suddenly Tam remembers he needs to lock the door and turns back to check on the back door, leading to the garden.

** busted**

Tam comes into the room with the tea, wearing a small frown. "Kerobian," he says sitting down on the edge of the bed and handing the cub his tea. "We need to talk.

Tam sighs. "If you don't sit up and stop all that fake log sawing I'm gonna pour this stuff all over you."

"Over the past few years I've tried not to be a dictator like so many parents I know. So I've denied you very little. True?"

He hands the mug to the cub and waits until he has a good grip before continuing. "I'm afraid that after tonight I'm going to have to invoke a certain level of parental/guardianship rights. One, you are not to contact Bez unless I ask you to. No ifs... no buts... no nothing. Until he forsakes the darkness he has chosen to embrace, he will only bring you ruin. Two, you are not to ask me about who or what you are. I'm not denying you this out of spite, Taro. And I promise you that I will tell you everything you need to know as soon as I can. Just not right away. I'm sorry... I know that is not the answer you wanted to hear, but it's all I can say at the time. Needless to say, when the time is right, when you need to know... I will tell you everything. On my honor as one who once sat at my lord's feet, I promise you that even if I have to return from beyond to do so, I will tell you."

Tam wipes his face and sighs. "You are not a monster. Would I love you so much if you were? And it has nothing to do with the fact that you are adopted. Parents love their children, true, but they have little choice in the matter. Part of it is instinctive... part of it is that they see a tiny bit of themselves in their young. But I chose you to love. I love you, not because you came from me or because something deep inside of me says I have to love you, Kerobian. I love you because you... yourself... are worthy of being loved. And I have never ever lied to you. I will admit I haven't told you all the truth... and it troubles me to no end sometimes that I have been forced to do so. But it is to keep you safe... to keep you free... and to keep a promise to the one who asked me to raise you, a promise to make certain you had the best possible of lives you could have."