Welcome to Gaia! ::

**enjoy it... we all deserve to take a break from time to time**

The cottage rocks with the sounds of their snores.

The next morning Tam gets up quietly, not bothering to wake Hopian and goes to the market, so buy food and a bottle of wine. Upon returning the only thing he was able to hear was water running in the kitchen area.

A few years back, Kero had decided he no longer wanted to fetch water from the well and had somehow routed part of the artesian well into the cottage, arranging it to continuously drop down a small waterfall around which they had arranged a tiny garden of green growing herbs. It had seemed like a trivial matter at first, but ever since then several other villagers have hired the cat to do the same for them. It had been one of Kero's better ideas, in Tam's mind.

The indoor plumbing certainly made things easier, but the ever flowing toilet he had come up with next had been a fiasco right from the start. Especially since there had been no system to run it into. Perhaps, in a rvillage which had a central sewer system it would have worked, but not here. So they had reverted back to routing the bath water into the garden outside and allowing the local muckers to carry off the rest.

He wondered if Hopian was up or if he had left as he unpacked his purchases and put the wine up into the rack. He wanted something special on hand for when Kero was able to celebrate this next major step in his maturation.

Deciding to make a large breakfast, he called upstairs to see if Hopian was in and wanted to join him.

Tam holds up eggs and ham, plus a sack of potatoes. "Slice the ham, please." he asks as he peels the potatoes. "Yes, he is always looking for ways to make things easier. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't... but he never stops trying."

**got to go.. be back in about 45 min.**

Pulling out a large iron skillet, Tam begins to make breakfast, frying up the potatoes and ham, saving the eggs for last. He piles two plates full and pours each of them a large mug of strong dark tea.

"Ok," he says putting a jar of salsa on the table along with several hot sauces and condiments. "Choose yer poison and dig in. Ye won't believe what that cub piles on his. Question... ye got anything to do today or can ye give me a hand. I went back and scoped that cave out last night. There's no water in it, so I've either got to open it up and risk her running off on him or run some into it. Any suggestions?"

"Just don't ignite any angry fires that you might not be able to put out..." warns Tam in a gentle scold, knowing full well he's lit a few of his own from time to time and doesn't want Hope to feel the pain of a loved one angered beyond comprehension.

He smiles at him and tlts his head to one side. "Want me to take that collar and leash off ye? I'm surprised Shar didn't offer. She hates to see anything caged up."

Tam frowns. "But that will cause your anger to fester, Hope. Wearing that each day will keep your hurt fresh in your heart, preventing you from going beyond it. Would it not be better to send those to her with that message, letting her realize how you feel first, giving her time to realize how serious you are, then returning to talk things out?"

"It is best to always keep things out in the open. If you felt that strongly... and it is apparent you did, she needs to know this. Life pairings cannot work without mutual input." says Tam sadly. "Of course... who am I to talk... I can't even handle my own problems these days..." he laughs ruefully and finishes his tea and pours some more, offering to refresh Hopian's mug as well.

"Very few pairings work where the input isn't two way. This much I do know. It also needs a bit of honesty... a great bit, to be brunt. Falsehoods, even those which we tell ourselves, undermine the relationship. Fortuny probably doesn't want you to feel this way... not really. I mean who in their right mind want a partner who resents them. She is holding you close out of fear... she doesn't want to lose you, Hope. Remember this. When things look darkest and she seems out of control, remind her that you do indeed love her and would never leave her willingly, that it is she and Salunia you come back to. You may leave to help Kero, you may leave to check up on me, but you go back to her and it is with her, you'd rather be."

"And at least now she will know why you've done so... not guessed why, or supposed why... but honestly knows. She won't be able to deny the fact that it was her actions which drove you away." says Tam wisely.