Welcome to Gaia! ::

Pasa goes to his desk and finds the gem in question. He brings it to Kerobian and holds it out to his hesitantly. All the other gems have been fed to Kero by Tam and he isn't too sure if Kero needs to eat this rock or what.

Tam smiles and urges the still worried child to sit by his mes'sirrah. "He'll sleep easier knowing you are near." says Tam gently pushing him down to the bed. "I have other more important things to attend to right now. So keep a good eye on him for me, OK?"

The boy nods solemnly and takes Tam's place by Kerobian's side.

Tam winks at Rhea and pulls her to one side. "I'm going to check on Ma, something isn't right there and Dad hasn't arrived yet. He might be time jumping and calls to him then will take longer to reach him. It appears that Kero is out of danger but Pasa needs something to do. Could you keep and eye on them for me? After I check on Ma I need to feed the girls."

The boy looks up at her wide eyed, especially when he realizes how she is talking to him. Under her gentle almost non-intrusive guidance, he finds himself sharing his story with her, as he would with anyone from his tribe, mind to mind, soul to soul.

As he has with Kero, Passura soon worms his way into her heart. He is a good child, after all, but not too good. Rhea, like Kerobian, can see the inquisitive mischief maker who lurks underneath and silently curses the strict, austere upbringing he had been subjected to;, but even more so, she finds herself burning with hatred for those who had destroyed the only life he had known before joining them.

For one who has always been able to find his way by listening to the vibrations on hs skin, Pasa finds it hard to understand how anyone can fear the dark, but he promises solemnly never ever to turn off the light. Then he remembers the accident with the stone and asks her about it, wondering outloud if that stone had been one of Kerobian's little night lights.

Pasa remembers his visit to the void and sadly shakes his head. "I try, but sometimes he gets really mad at me. I only want to help... but..." he sighs and looks her in the eyes. "He's teaching me to read though and how to do more than just count things... but can I ask you something... what... what good is multiplication?"

Passura looks at her in confusion. "You already said you have six of them." he says in a troubled voice. "Why would you want to make them another color..."

(He's not being cocky. His people use the barter system. They don't have a monetary base. At least not in his village. He knows what gold is and silver, for that matter... and knows the young women of his village really like the yellow metal, bue he, himself, like the color of the silvery stuff better. Remember he's never been allowed to own anything of his own.)

His eyes grow wide. "But he's so sick." he says in protest, reminding her that although he is a child, he's been raised in a completely different world. She's about to give up when he winks and her and nods to Kerobian, who is actully awake and listening, his eyes squeezed shut... which is what has given him away to the boy.