Animals could sense when one was sad. And Tavi, having the senses of an animal, could easily feel Damon's almost immediate switch. He could lie to humans, Lily and Carver and Ren and everyone else, but the subtle change had to have been more than obvious to the creature. He gladly put his arms around the creature quickly, pulling him into a brief hug. "Thank you, Tavi." He said gratefully. "I'm glad to be here for you." He stood, brushing the slight dust off his pants. "Tavi, would you like to see M'u and Ami?" He knew where they were. They were lying on sanitized gurneys in the basement, the only sets of remains there. Damon felt he almost owed it to the creature, who had no one else of his kind, to see what had to be a very distant relative of him. And the person that had showed him kindness, as Damon had done for Tavi. It was almost like a bout of ancient deja vu, really.

"See M'u and Ami? Sleeping?" Tavi's ears were angled in a way that indicated slight fear. He had never seen a dead person before, or a dead something like him. He usually only saw birds or other animals that he ate. He didn't know if it was a good thing to go see them when they were supposed to be guaranteed peace and tranquillity for eternity. But he also wanted to see if it was true... That M'u looked like him. "Tavi follow," he said finally after much thought.

Anyone new that met Tavi were often surprised about how he acted and even took time to think things through. Roland even wanted to do many tests on Tavi's intelligence, but Tavi had grown bored and fell asleep. That's why he liked Damon. His friend always treated him like one of his own, but still made sure that he could understand what was being said.

Damon smiled, turning and leading Tavi on to the basement. Avoiding elevators again, he used the stairs, showing Tavi the way by stairwell. Avoiding the floors downward, he led Tavi on until the windows didn't line the walls and it became cooler. A hallway stretched on in front of them, and one branched off to the left leading to the elevator alcove. This hall was somewhat dimly lit, until one got to the end, pushing open the double doors that led into the lab. Glancing around, Damon found no one there, and only four empty gurneys. Raising a brow, he was about to turn to Tavi when the door to the right opened and the overseeing anthropologist entered. "Ah!" He spoke quickly, stepping around the gurneys and lying eyes on Tavi. He paused, studying the creature. "So I take it you and your... ah... familiar little friend want to see them?" He asked Damon.

"Yes." The explorer replied. "So you've finished your examination? With minimal manipulation?"

"Of course! I have the utmost respect for the dead, Damon, please..." He ushered them through the door. In this room the gold sarcophagus stood on a pallet, which was on a flatbed and covered with protective glass. "I've even taken the liberty of working all night to secure them both when I returned them!"

Damon stepped forward, pulling up a tall stool beside the sarcophagus for Tavi. "Come on up, hm?" He motioned to the creature and looked inside. Both sets were perfectly intact, nary touched, and did look rather peaceful.

Tavi followed Damon down the stairs and the long, spooky hallway. He could hear many voices down here, behind the walls. His ears followed them, his tail drooped slightly and he walked as close to Damon as possible. Tavi didn't like this hallway. He knew something bad happens down here. He looked up at his friend for comfort as they entered another room. The man that greeted his looked at Tavi with a strange glint in his eyes, as though he longed to slice him up. It was gone in an instant and the man directed them to the next room.

"Tavi scared," he whispered to Damon, making sure the other couldn't hear him. Tavi jumped onto the stool and peered inside, his eyes falling on the dried and colourless body of M'u. He did indeed have ears and a tail just like Tavi. He stared and stared for a long time, wondering who this man had been, were there others? Ami lay next to M'u, positioned so that the two embraced each other even in death. Tavi glanced at Damon, but his gaze only lingered for a second before going back to the two mummies.

They did seem perfectly at ease. The protective glass would keep them safe as long as there were people around to make sure of it. He put a hand on Tavi's shoulder, patting him to get his attention. "They look nice, don't they?" He asked easily. "They'll be brought up soon, and put in their room." After the slabs that had come from the tomb were put up, since they'd had to be taken down in large sections. They would be set up quickly, though, and the floor would be laid only after the sarcophagus was set in.

"So you better get on up there." The anthropologist spoke suddenly from the corner of the room. "Best make sure they're doing things right, you know how well builders work without someone half competent to guide them!"

Damon nodded. "Tavi, do you want to come with me? They'll bring M'u and Ami up later." The way the creature was staring, he almost doubted he wanted to move. But now, perhaps he could tell Tavi the whole story since he could understand it.

Tavi tore his eyes from M'u and jumped down from the stool, afraid to stay with the creepy man. He could look at them another time. "Tavi come," he said, making the other man freeze and stare at him. Tavi looked at him back and left the room, waiting for Damon to follow. He really didn't want to be down here any longer and hoped M'u and Ami were still sleeping peacefully.

He followed Damon back up the stairs, quietly and not really paying attention to the echoes this time. He didn't feel happy anymore and felt something stranger... A feeling he had never felt before. "Tavi different..." He looked up at his friend with watery eyes. He rarely cried, why did this sense of loneliness make him want to now. "No more like Tavi. Tavi alone..."

They had made it to the top of the stairs when Tavi's voice caught his attention. It sounded so different... Crouching, Damon put his hands on the creature's face. "No, Tavi. You're special. Different, yes, but special. There may be others like you, but we just haven't found them yet." Perhaps they would someday. He couldn't just sit idle and say that Tavi was, indeed, the last of his kind. His kind had to live on the mountain he'd come from before. But he did hate to see how the creature's eyes teared up when he spoke, how his voice sounded so forlorn. It broke his heart and made Damon want to protect him, keep him safe and chase away the sadness that was obviously there.

"I'm with you, Tavi." He promised. "I might not be like you, but I can be with you. Is that good enough?" Hopefully it was. Hopefully it made Tavi a little more content, accepting his state of affairs.

Tavi sniffed, licking the man's hand. Damon was right. He may not be like his friend, but Damon would always be here to protect him and teach him. He smiled sadly and blinked the tears away, staring up at the man's face. He did seem genuinely worried about Tavi's sadness. He leant up and kissed the man's nose, rubbing his face against Damon's and purring. "OK Damon. Tavi happy with Damon." Even though he still felt sad and lonely, he was happy to have a friend like Damon.

Damon smiled, pulling the creature into a hug. "You'll be okay." He promised. "We'll look for more like you. We'll find some." A beeping in his pocket pulled him away, digging in for a communicator. Only text was available, though:

50% wall cover. Inspection needed

Standing, Damon motioned for Tavi to come along. "It's getting finished." He said. "Soon M'u and Ami will be in their new home." It was a finality that every discoverer longed to see. That their discovery was perfectly safe, in a place for everyone to see and learn about, forever.

Tavi wondered if the man was making false promises. He wished he could find something out there like him, but in a way, he was happy being the only one. He was very special and precious, one of Damon's greatest discoveries. Even if they were to find more of Tavi's kind, he would stay with Damon forever. He promised this in his mind, rubbing again against the man. He jumped slightly when he heard a beeping. He had never seen Damon use that small black thing before and he really wanted to see what it was. He stood shakily on his two feet, leaning against the man for support and sniffed at it.

He poked it with his nose, as if expecting it to try and run away. When it didn't, he just stared at it with a confused look.

Damon smiled, letting Tavi hold the phone. "It's for talking to other people far away." He said. "But don't press the buttons." It would be so easy for an accidental push to erase all the numbers he had stored. Of course he wouldn't be angry at the creature for his curiosity, it was natural, after all. But regarding numbers, Damon's mind simply wasn't cut out for it. He'd have to go through a lot of others if he wanted certain numbers back.

They walked back to the new exhibit room and Lily met them. "Hey! So everything's been going so well! I think by three this afternoon we'll have all the walls finished!"

"Already?" Damon asked. "That's certainly... quick."

"Yeah, I know. But they're using a new adhesive. It can hold up to a thousand pounds within four square feet and dries in ten minutes."

Damon widened his eyes in an impressed manner, and turned to Tavi. "Like it?" He asked, indicating the inside. If Tavi didn't, he'd make them change whatever it might be.

Tavi carefully held the phone, walking with Damon back to the room. He constantly looked down at it, surveying all the buttons and its black glossy screen. It smelt of electricity, dust and Damon. It seemed to be quite old and beat up, as though Damon had had it for many years.

Once they returned to the room, Tavi showed Lily the phone. "Ff... Fone," he told her, holding it up. "Damon's ff-fone... Makes beep!" He stopped and listened to what Damon said, hearing his name and a question asked. He looked around the room, amazed at how clever Damon's kind was. It looked almost exactly like the room in the caverns.

"Good. Tavi sure M'u and Ami like."

Damon nodded at Tavi's acceptance, and stepped out to the idle workers that had paused to await confirmation. When he gave them a wave, they nodded and got back to work as more slabs began to be wheeled into the unfinished exhibit. Pulling Tavi out of the way, he returned to Lily. "It's getting along very nicely." He told her. "Judging by the speed, how long do you think it'll take for the whole thing to get finished?"

"Oh... I'd say about three more days." Lily rubbed her hands together. "And, Damon---the media is arriving. If you want, I can take your place and you can get Tavi away from the cameras. I'll have Ren go with you in case any independent paparazzi want to ambush you."

Damon smiled, and looked around to Tavi. "Want to go look at other things?" He asked. "Lots to see, I can tell you all about them." Even though he'd only been present for a few discoveries here, excluding the most recent one, Damon loved to research, and got to know a lot of cultures. And even if he didn't know something, the museum would answer that question easily.

Tavi handed the phone back to Damon, not wanting to lose his friend's important object. He sniffed Damon's hands and licked them, rubbing against him as he always did. He looked over at Lily, listening to what was said. When Damon addressed him, he grinned and almost wagged his tail with happiness. "Damon show Tavi!" He purred loudly, leaving the room and waiting for the man to follow. He wanted to show Damon the armour and weapons on display. They reminded him of something that he couldn't quite remember.

"Follow Tavi!" he called to his friend.

Damon ran after Tavi, hurrying to keep up with the creature as he took off, leading the way down the hall, through a few doors. Damon had to wonder what he was so interested in seeing again, or at least showing Damon something he'd found. It was on the same floor, it appeared, down a few different hallways and into the Jamarian exhibits. Full of blades, armor, remade figurines depicting battles and fights against other countries. Shining armor that had been kept in pristine condition even after their caretakers had long gone and dust had begun settling on their metal frames stood in glass cases and against walls, worn by wax mannequins that always unnerved Damon for reasons he couldn't pinpoint.

"So what's here that you want me to see so badly?" He asked Tavi, glancing down to him. "Something about Jamari?" He couldn't understand why Tavi would be so intent on this country, an island so far away from Egypia entirely.

Tavi tilted his head, listening to Damon. He led the man past the steel armour and showed him a case that displayed many different spears. "Tavi run, many like that," he said, remembering the weapon the villagers used for hunting. They weren't exactly alike, but Tavi remembered the long shafts ending in sharp points. They were used to hunt, mainly the large bears that wandered through the mountain's forests. The night Tavi had ran from his home in the mountains was the night these weapons were used in the hunt for him.

"Mountains have like that, many..." He looked over to Damon and wondered if the man had understood, if only a little.

Damon scrutinized the items, the spears. It had come around very early in the Kasuki Dynasty, before such precision blades had been developed into knives and swords. "Tavi..." He crouched the same way the creature was. "You were being hunted? With spears that look like that on the mountain?" What civilization lived on the mountain that would hunt to kill Tavi? The first thought was his own kind, the civilization that Tavi branched off from or was even born from. But why was it those of his own kind would hunt him down, try to kill him, if not to scare him off the mountain? "Why, Tavi?" He asked. "Why would they try to hurt you?" The question might bring back hard memories, but up until this point Tavi had been more than a conundrum. This way he might learn more about him.

Tavi tilted his head, listening to Damon's questions. Why had they chased him and tried to kill him? He thought they were his family, part of his home. "Angry. Stranger scary, people angry," he screwed his nose up, focussing hard. He wished he could answer his friend's questions. That was when he remembered a word, one that had been thrown at his woeful mother. "Demon. Evil. Tavi demon... Evil." He hung his head, finding it hard to admit this to Damon.

"Damon. Is Tavi evil?" He felt tears in his eyes, so he blinked hard, his tail laying limp to his side.

Damon lowered himself to Tavi's level and studied him. "Evil?" He repeated, and tilted his head. "Well, let's see..." He moved Tavi's hair. "No horns are hidden up there." He poked lightly on Tavi's back, between the shoulders. "No wings or spines..." He willed Tavi to open his mouth. "No long fangs, or a forked tongue." He smiled in a reassuring manner. "I can't see anything evil about you. I don't know why they called you evil. Maybe something happened, and they needed someone to blame. They just decided you were the easiest, and took all their fear and anger out on you." He didn't know why Tavi's own kind would call him a demon, or evil. But Tavi didn't need to worry about anyone calling him such things anymore. Or at least, he would have someone to turn to if they did.

Tavi purred happily, glad that his friend didn't agree with those people. Of course he wasn't evil or a demon. He was Tavi. He was happy and free, loyal and kind. He rubbed against the man, still happily purring. He wished he could curl up on his lap and sleep, but he also wanted to see more of the museum. "Damon, show Tavi more?" He gestured towards the stairs leading down to the other floor. "Teach Tavi."

Damon smiled and nodded, standing upright. "Sure, Tavi. Come with me, okay? We'll start here." The Jamarian exhibit was full of their secrets and discoveries. The Kasuki Dynasty had been beautiful, by the paintings, figures, sculptures, and pottery that had been found littering old tombs, temples, and villages. Jamari's people built their villages and cities atop hills and mountains, to be closer to their gods and goddesses. It also allowed their fields to be drained if they received too much rain and the naturally occurring springs in the pockets made for well-used public bathing areas.

They went around the floor, out of the Jamari exhibit. The Galinthias empire was the largest of its time over four thousand years before. The emperor Panos had a firm had and was known for being paranoid. Gender roles in Galinthias didn't exist, men and women did the same jobs and were married regardless of partnership. Their gods and goddesses often walked among humans in human form, having children with humans that were revered as kings.

There was so much to explain Damon simply didn't until Tavi showed interest. He felt it might overload the creature, so much at once, or confuse him entirely. Though the more he spoke, the more he hoped Tavi would develop full sentences. He didn't mind the creature speaking in third person, since Tavi was his name, after all.

Tavi followed his friend and listened intensely, asking questions when he could. All these people that had lived in many different countries and different times... It excited him. Tavi had never thought that the world was this big, only knowing of the mountains, jungle, and now, the city. To think there were many other places that Tavi had yet to see. Once they had finished on the first floor, Tavi was starting to feel sleepy. He searched about for a place to sleep, but there was nowhere safe for him. He yawned and stared up at Damon, mewing sleepily.

"Tavi bed now," he said. He glanced about again. "Tavi head full."

Damon looked around to Tavi, and nodded. “Sure, Tavi. We can’t sleep here, though.” He had to think about his options now. He could take Tavi back to the hotel to sleep... But then he’d have to either leave or get his words through on their communicators. Many times it was hard to explain something when one wasn’t there with the project, but he doubted they would need his guidance now. It’d take the rest of the day to get the wall-covering slabs up, even with quick-sealing adhesive.

He nudged Tavi along through the exhibits and toward the exit, and sent a message to Lily to let her know what was going on. She responded immediately with an okay, and Damon was free to go with Tavi back to the hotel.

Tavi walked slowly now, his tail drooping slightly. He felt so tired from the day's adventures and all the knowledge rattled around in his brain. He could feel himself getting smarter and hoped that one day he'd be just like Damon. But right now, his head was so full it felt like it was going to explode. That and remembering his past made him feel ill.

Once they finally reached the room in the hotel, Tavi dragged himself over to Damon's bed and climbed up on it, curling up tightly and almost instantly falling asleep. He snored slightly as his dreams came in and out of his mind. Dreams about Jamarai and dinosaurs, his home in the mountains and demons... He slept soundly for almost 3 hours straight without waking.

Damon closed the door to the room but didn't lock it, and went around to the table that he'd left full of his things. A few books, notebooks and journals. He scooped up two---his unfinished journal and a book of maps yet unfinished in certain places. One needed to be finished and he'd intended to start working on it since last night. Going around to his bed, which was occupied by a strange, sleepy human-like creature, Damon was easy when he settled down alongside him and leaned against the headboard with a pen and, first, the journal resting against his knees. Now he wrote about the day. How well things were going off without a hitch, the work on the room, the way the anthropologist had kept the mummies true to their original states. If he recalled correctly their positions, M'u's tail had been especially long, draped around both of them, as a strange head-wrapping was on Ami's head. It had appeared to extend much further than his body. Perhaps his hair. But why would he grow his hair so long? Damon had yet to read the whole story of the two as they shared rule, but intended to do so before work was begun on the floor.

The door to the room opened suddenly, and Lily came in. "Aww..." She clasped her hands in front of her and a smile lit her face when she laid eyes on a curled Tavi still sleeping. "So adorable, Damon! You're lucky he attached to you so fast!"

Damon rolled his eyes, but smiled nonetheless. "What's going on, Lil? Did they get things finished?"

"One more wall to go, the furthest from the entrance. I just came to check up on you guys."

"We're fine." Damon assured her. "I think I wore him out with all the walking..."

Lily laughed quietly, going to sit on the other bed. "Well, cats are notoriously quick to tire." Damon nodded, setting aside his journal and flipping open his book of maps to start work on the area of Farik that had yet to be filled in.