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"What will you have me do... in exchange for you helping me." whispers Bez softly in a strained voice. "He probably won't even look at me."

Bez nods glumly. "I would have done so anyway. Just so it's clear to ye, despite whatever he's said about me... I do love him, Kerobian... with all my heart... we just have this problem of seeing eye to eye..." He stands up and flows down the tree, hopping the last few feet to the ground. "So where do you think he might be? I'm afraid to try to touch his thoughts right now... It will only make him run further away..."

Bez nods and starts to walk in that direction. Suddenly his knees seem to buckle. "He's going to kill me..." he whispers softly to himself. The he forces himself to go on, step by quavering step.

Eventually he comes to the clearing and there, in the center of the eldrich circle, bathed in a pool of liquid moonlight, lies Ai, for all appearances alseep, curled up in a tight ball.

Bez creeps forward step by step, then lies down just outside the ring, a few feet away. Sighin he practically breathes the Lioness name. "Ai......" no more than that. But the word when he says it embodies all that she is and makes Kerobian's skin crawl with anticipation.

One moment goes by, then two, then suddenly her eyes spring open and she's in attack mode. Snarling, she crouches, her tail savagely slashing back and forth.

Bez starts to look up and she's on him, eyes blazing like liquid emerald fires. Before Kero can do anything to interfere she's atop him, his neck in her massive jaw and yet the great panther makes no move to defend himself.

Snarling she shakes him savagely. And if he strains his ears, Kero can hear through the snarls and sobs. "Never... never will you harm him... never...."

And still Bez merely lies there. If anything he makes it easier for her to get a death grip by exposing his neck fully to her fury.

She shakes him again savagely, blood flying all around soaking into her fur and running down his heck, then suddenly it is as though a plug has been pulled and she collapses beside the panther, weeping hysterically. Bez painfully roll to one side and feebly licks her face.

"He's fine, dulcha... he's fine... I never touched him..." he soothes in a soft rumbling purr. "How could I when he means so much to you..."

Ai pulls herself together, then turns to look at the great panther lying next to her, a muffled moan comes from her mouth then a keening that sets the forest on edge. "Beeeeeeeeez......." she wails stumbling the short distance to his head. She licks at his face and tries to stop the bleeding, but nothing seems to stop it. "Beeeeeeeeeeeeeez!!!!!!" she screams, her rumbling roar heard all the way back to town.