A Shade of the Past

By the time she realized he had stopped speaking some time ago, several silent minutes had passed. Curious, she looked at him...

Tavis shifted his gaze away from her and stood to his feet in a hurry. "Someone is coming this way," he mumbled before she could speak. Then, a man was landing on the ground from the trees above. She frowned knowing he couldn't have flown here. It was not allowed. "Jibben Lel...."

The stranger smirked at him and drawled lazily, "Are you out here guarding, or out playing with a frisky new pet?" Tavis ducked his head in sudden embarrassment, hiding as much of his face as he could. "Damn girl, that shirt is clinging to you like it is about to die if it doesn't!" Samantha flushed at his loud comment.

"Oh, yeah, that boy of yours told us how he found the two kids while flying you here, and that he wanted to fly them back too. My brothers wished to thank you for his assistance, as we all know he would not help us at all if it were not for his affection of you. He seemed very pleased with himself," the gypsy remarked coolly. Jibben's eyes narrowed. "Speaking of which, I need to talk to you privately about several matters, my old friend."

Tavis sighed in resignation. When he stood up to take the other man's hand, they both disappeared! Samantha let out her breath in startled dismay. Where had they gone? She blinked and as quick as that...they were there again! Tavis had a strange expression seeming to look both pleased and disgruntled at once, while Jibben looked stern and impassive like he had issued an order that he expected to be kept.

The gypsy bowed his head to her politely. "I am sorry," he stated softly, "for stealing your guide for even a moment. It was important, I assure you. It was a pleasure to finally meet one of Jenna Karro's daughters. Gabriel always makes us promise to stay away from her and her children. I thought I might sneak in a word before he has the chance."

Samantha smiled cheerfully dying to know what had been said and how the two had spoken at length in a matter of seconds. "That is alright. It was only so short a moment; I hardly noticed you were gone."

"Then, I shall be leaving you to explore Tavis' jungles," Jibben stated. He looked up and suddenly teleported home. Seeing the spell, she understood his quick approach better, but not how Tavis had known about it before he arrived.

Tavis was in a restless state eying her warily. She smiled at him. "Did you enjoy yourself? How long did the two of you spend together before you blinked back?" He didn't answer, so she plowed onward. "Is he one of your old lovers, because he seemed to watch you mysteriously and you couldn't seem to look away from him?" Tavis sighed in irritation, but still didn't answer. "Am I being too nosey?" He looked around unimpressed by her lack of patience or courtesy. "I don't mean to irritate you...I am just," she shrugged faintly, "curious!"

"Like mother," he mused softly, "like daughter."

"Does she as questions," Sammie asked startled. "I was given to think she was too quiet and passive!"

He studied her for a minute before turning away in feigned boredom. "Yes...a week and a half...yes..." He smiled still looking out at the trees. "No, and yes," he finished lazily. She had to mentally backtrack to place his answers to all of the questions she had rattled off. He looked amused knowing she was having a hard time deciding what she had asked and when.

"A week and a half," she burst out. "Surely you did not have that much to discuss!" He flushed still ignoring her dryly. "Oh, oh, I see...Not a former as much as an on-going affair. I take it he is displeased about the kid's proprietary attitude towards you?"

"He said I should leave the Dragon Lands...indefinitely." The softness in his voice was the only indication of the turmoil Jibben's words caused inside of him. "He also said there were rumors of a snow leopard prowling these trees, which is impossible! No one can come here uninvited except the most powerful of creatures. Even then, Justin would feel it. I have also heard the mumbling comments. I have been away from the jungles for a long time. Jibben reminded me that I am still technically the guardian here and should see if there is a rogue prowling the trees."

"Or a real cat that got left here," she suggested.

"If there is a leopard...if...it is not a natural cat. Most of the Dragons do not know what it is, but they talk of seeing it. Earth creatures die here. Even leopards," he added gently.

"The Dragons don't know what it is? It is one of us, isn't it?"

"It has not occurred to them what planet it is from, so they believe it is a beast that accidentally got misplaced by a portal spell, and trapped here when it closed. If they found out..."

"They would kill it," she whispered. "We have to find it before they discover the truth!"

"Jibben also suggested something...terrifying." He had gone pale again. "He thinks the cat is the same creature that I knew once before in a Gypsy Circus. Jibben said the blind creature always puzzled him, and he knew for a fact he had lived too long to be a true cat." His wide eyes found her own. "That creature hates me! It humiliated me constantly..." She blinked considering the problem as he turned away.

"Why would he be here?"

"To torment me," Tavis sneered sarcastically. "I think he is my own personal demon. I swear...he scares the hell out of me...and he knows it!"