Gigs: "Walking in the afternoon sun out in the park...enjoying the fresh air and all the intricate "smells" of nature....comes across a faint, but familiar smell....must follow it....mindless wanders through the woods...following her nose...giggling at herself cause she sounds like Sam the Toucan all of a sudden.....then he appears out of nowhere" Gideon. "looks frightened, preparing to run" Gideon: No, please wait. Don't run. I'm not here to harm you. No one knows I'm here. Gigs: "swallows" You sure about that? "Gideon nods" Why did you come? Gideon: I wanted to see if you were ok. I wanted to..."reaches out a hand tenatively and brushes my cheek" I'm sorry, Kimberly. I did not want for any of this to happen. This was not my choice. Gigs: "relaxes shoulders, puts up light shield from Asher and Tam knowing they'd come running if they knew...but not wanting to scare them with a slammed shield either" I'm fine. I know it wasn't your fault. I KNOW who to blame. Gideon: "Heaves in defeat" Still, I'm your Paudun. I should be able to protect you better than this. I am sorry for my failure. Gigs: "raises fingers to lightly cover his on my cheek...takes comfort from the touch of my alpha and the power that rolls off of him" What does this all mean, Gideon. Why do they want me? What's so important? Gideon: The legend is that anyone who recieves the blessing of life from the white tiger will possess the key to the Garden of Eden. The tree of knowledge of good and evil. The tree of life. The fountain of youth. It's all there. The queen remembers...well, anyway....she thinks that vampire kind will gain the ability to walk in the daylight if they can gain access to the Tree of Life. Gigs: That still doesn't explain why they want us mated? Why they want our children? Gideon: There are many legends of the white tiger. Some believe that just drinking the blood of the white tiger is the "blessing of life" the legend speaks about. If they had an army of our children...at least the ones who became white...they would gain great power...they would have access to the daylight world...they would be gods. Gigs: And are we "mated" for life then, Gideon? Gideon: In a manner of speaking, yes. You can see other people..even marry them...have feelings for them that you don't hold for me...but whenever the "heat" descends on you, it will be my voice and mine alone that will calm it. We will be drawn together...there is no stopping it...that's nature. In doing this, they think they've brought Asher under control and possibly Jean-Claude too. They can cement their grasp on the New World. They can possibly gain access to the daylight. If Dragon is right and you are the Absorber, they will have her under their control as well. The Queen's not really interested in that however. She thinks it'd cause dissention between the council members if she were to rise again. What she really wants is access to Eden. She pretty much knows that Asher will not give you up...and legally she cannot force him to do so...but she thinks through a child of ours...she could accomplice her task. Gigs: Can she? Gideon: "shrugs" White tigers are rare. You could have dozens of litters and never come up with another white. Gigs: "a thought dawns" That's why she's interested in the cloning process. She can make millions of them. She can even manipulate the DNA to "create" a white....and under her care it would grow up to obey her. "looks horrified" Gideon: Most likely that is her plan. "Gideon sniffs the air and becomes alert" I have to go. Be very careful, Kimberly. Stay with your master, close by his side. Gigs: What will you do? If Padma founds out what you told me.... Gideon: "smiles" Don't worry about me. I've survived Padma's tyranny for a couple centuries now. I came to tell you I won't let them hurt you if I can at all help it. "nuzzles my cheek in intoxicating roll of presence that floods my being" And I won't let them hurt any child we might have. I can't promise anything else. "disappears into the underbrush" Gigs: "stands alone in the evening breeze watching the underbrush where he disappeared and wondering"