Welcome to Gaia! ::

Tam smiles and shakes his head. "Switched elements... not highly likely, but manifesting a new side of an old one which may not have been overly strong just might be the answer. Some talents need a certain level of mental maturity to grasp... and I don't necessarily mean a level of intelligence, but rather a physical level. Mind magic is like that... and a few of the elemental magics are as well. What made him think you have switched elements altogether?" says Tam getting to his feet and slowly cleaning of the table, talking as he moved to keep Kerobian from noticing he was wincing each time he moved his head too quickly.

"Two steps forward and one step back..." mutters Tam under his breath. When Kero looks at him in question, he sighs and explains. "Something Ma used to say to Da whenever Kev or Shia seemed to forget something he thought they had down pat. When a child is growing up, sometimes they learn at such a rapid pace that something they were doing before then gets supplanted... but only for a short time. Usually this pertains to emotional stages but can show up in other ways. Maybe that's what you are experiencing." He smiles gently at the cub.

"Like right now... you are maturer... more attentive than I last remember you to be. I... I wish I could remember these past three years... It's as though I've been away for such a long time and seeing you for the first time since I've left. Was... was I a good mother?"

Tam smiles back, not quite sure he believes him, but grateful that the cub seemed to think so anyway. He watches Kero clean up and begins to question him on his daily schedule and life in the village, growing sad when he learns that their elderly neighbor had not lasted through the last winter. "She was a lovely woman, I wish I had been able to get to know her better." he says with a tiny sad smile. "How did everyone react to the fact that there was this white lioness living next door?"

Tam nods with his familiar twisted grin. "Bet I set quite a few tongues wagging, huh? Anyway... how's your pony... have you been helping John with her upkeep?"

Tam sighs and chuckles bitterly. "Well, all my life I've been setting tongues wagging, so there's nothing new there... only this time it was well deserved. I did a very foolish thing. Has... has a certain troublesome individual been hanging around? I told him I wasn't too happy with him hovering overhead all the time."

Tam looks vaguely concerned then he shakes it off. "He's a big boy... he can take care of himself." he remarks to the air and then pats the bench by him. "Come... sit down... tell me what you've been doing... how are your studies going with Shar? And has Mica talked yer ears off yet?"

Tam laughs at the last and gives him a hug. "At least ye didn't have to sit on it. I got whopped once... not by Ame or Lyssan but by a teacher and then had to sit in class for hours on my throbbing behind. Ma had a fit over that. I'm not sorry to say he was soon looking for a new job. She claims he over-reacted and that inquisitiveness in children... even odd adult looking children... was a sign of intelligence and should never be a source of punishment."