Gummikon was a small town but pleasant enough. In fact, for how small it was, it really was a bustling place. Gummies going to and fro, market places, large buildings of museums and schools, small gardens and play grounds here and there, made for a very "alive" feeling to the place.

Ursa hated it.

There were way too many people here. Ursa loved her clan, she loved her race, there had never been any doubt on that but she, like many Barbics, was a very private bear. She liked to stick to her family and her clan. She had a handful of friends that she liked the company of but being among so many gummies made her feel uncomfortable. While she trained her clan to control their claustrophobic tendencies (which at least 90% of Barbics possessed), she had to admit she had her own as well. As she walked through these crowds, she monitored her breathing a bit. When the crowds began to thin out, she nearly let out a physical sigh of relief. There seemed to be areas of less congestion and that was a relief.

Approaching the middle of the town took some doing and not just from the crowds. Despite the existence of the sky car system, much like her son, she preferred the old fashioned route. It took a bit longer but she was always a fan of physical exercise and despite being uncomfortable, she was also interested in seeing how gummies had expanded in these towns.

Being a bit of a celebrity, she could have done without that. She was easily recognizable, despite there being only a few photographs of her and no recent ones. In fact, the last photograph she remembered allowing had been her last grandson had been born from Buddi's son several centuries ago. However, there were enough descriptions in the books and legends to make her an easy one to spot.

She had lost track of the number of people who had approached her, inquired if she was "the Ursa Barbic?" and offered her assistance in whatever she needed. While flattered, it was irritating. She just wanted to get this meeting with Silverberry over with and return home. While Buddi's message had prompted hope into her heart (and Gum bless his stubborn streak) there was still an underlying doubt, a fear of there being nothing that could be done. She was trying to ready herself for that, if indeed it was to be her fate to only be mother to Buddi, then Natur had still blessed her beyond measure.

Tearing herself from these self-defeating thoughts, she stopped in front of the large building that Silverberry had directed her to enter. It was about three stories high, light green in color with quite a few flowers and plants around the front. It gave it quite the cheery atmosphere.

Taking a breath, she entered and was greeted by a light plum colored gummi at the front desk.

Who recognized her right away.

Stammering out an excited, "W-warrior Ursa! Hello, or greetings, or whatever's appropriate. Welcome, of course! Is 'Warrior Ursa' the appropriate title? I've been debating what to call you, you see, and, well, I thought that sounded the most, you know, fierce."

Pushing her hair out of her eyes, Ursa responded, "Silverberry is expecting me, isn't he?"

Being spoken to only lit the overeager girl's face more. "O-o-oh yes. I will be glad to walk you up if you—"

"I think I can find it myself, just tell me where to go." Ursa interrupted her. If she could avoid unwanted attention and questions, then she would welcome the quiet trip. While she was sure this made her come across as slightly unapproachable and a bit rude, for the moment, she didn't care. This entire situation already made her uncomfortable.

The gummi secretary sobered as she seemed to recognize she might be irritating the Barbic. "Yes, of course, Warrior Ursa. The second floor, the third room on the right. We have floor lifts if you desire—"

"I'll take the stairs. More reliable." She interrupted and the lady gummi pointed to the nearby staircase. Ursa gave her a nod, then stated, with a half-smile, "Thanks." Despite not liking the attention for the most part, she still got a kick out of the way people would stare after her when she spoke to them, as if they had been approached by Natur herself. So long as they did not pursue her, it could be…intriguing.

Heading off, she passed a few rooms on the way to the stairs and the sounds of whimpering from one made her pause. She recognized those types of cries so she stopped in the doorway. Peering inside, she saw all kinds of machines and small beds and occupying one very small cradle bed was a tiny cub, breathing lightly.

Despite that this cub was a turquoise shade and had all sorts of apparatus and monitors around him, a sharp memory cut through her mind as she recalled so many centuries ago cradling a tiny brown cub in her arms, whimpering similar cries when he entered the world early and despite it all, surviving. As it always did when she thought of her son, her heart filled with such a strong love and pride that it nearly brought tears to her eyes.

As she watched the little one breathe, her hand drifted to her lower stomach and the reminder of why she was here reignited that desperate hope in her spirit. Turning from the room, she headed up the stairs, her eyes focused and she was determined that no matter how awkward this was, no matter how…uncomfortable, she would endure what she must…for a simple chance.

She wasn't sure what she should have expected but seeing a gummi flipping through a medical textbook when she rapped on the doorway of the room was actually quite reassuring. Judging from what Buddi had told her, Silverberry had been taken aback when he had met Buddi but Buddi, in his impulsive nature, had just shown up. She'd been able to give the poor bear notice. She hoped that would keep his fanboyisms to a minimum.

His face when he turned to her had only a pleasant smile. "Ah, Ursa, please come in." His greeting was very professional and friendly and lacked any of the awestruck nature she had become accustomed to. That in itself helped her relax so she entered, sitting in one of the chairs. There was an exam table in the room but she deemed that for now the chair would suffice. Silverberry simply moved his chair to be facing her and set his book aside.

"Your son was able to provide me with a lot of information," he began, getting right to the point which Ursa was grateful for. That was how Barbics lived; no use in batting around the bush, get to the point, that was how things got done. "But as much as he knew, I need to get some things directly from the source."

Ursa gave a nod, and got right to the point herself, "He said you told him that you might be able to help me get pregnant."

"Judging from the information he gave me, I'd say that there is a very high chance, yes. We've made lots of strides in that in the last few years. However, I'll be able to give you a more definite answer after I get some more information."

Nodding, the Barbic settled back in the chair, coaching herself to let down that personal wall she kept up so often. It helped to think of that little cub and of when her own Buddi was so small. Gum, to have that again…

"First, let me confirm a few things with you. Could you give me your current age and birthdate?" he asked very professionally, jotting some things down on paper.

A nod, the Barbic leader replied, "October 10 1339, by common standards. I'll be 681 in a few weeks."

"Ah, an early congratulations to you." He told her politely, "Your son is quite knowledgable of you. Most gummies I know lose track of their own ages after the first two hundred years." He gave her a gentle smile.

Ursa rewarded his kindness with a half smile of her own, "Buddi has always been attached to my hip. Only gummi commander I know that still refers to his mother as Mama." She smiled widely at that though and it did not go unnoticed.

"I can see you took your task of raising him close to heart. Quite a feat and you appear to have done well by it." He ended the topic there and went on, "I have been looking up some potential causes of your difficulty but I must ask a few personal questions and I may even need to perform an exam but we shall address that as need to."

Ursa nodded simply, again, calming herself by focusing on her goal, and with the image of her little Buddi and the image of that tiny cub she saw. "Ask me what you need to."

"Well, I would just like clarification that you have no injuries to your uterus or genitals, do you?"

Ursa shook her head, and much to Silverberry's relief, did not seem off put at all by his abruptness. He did remember reading most Barbics, especially those from the older years, tended to be blunt. It worked well in his favor! "I've had a few injuries over the years but none to those areas. And all the injuries I've had have healed without issues."

Silverberry nodded, jotting that down. "Do you recall when your hormonal cycles began?"

Pausing, the Barbic thought. It seemed so long ago and she supposed it was. "I was fourteen."

"Anything unusual when they started?"

Ursa gave a nod, "They were never consistent. Mine never evened out like they were supposed to. Sometimes they would hit once a year, sometimes four times a year and each one was different lengths of times. Sometimes two days, sometimes three weeks." She shrugged, "Completely unpredictable so I just learned to deal with them when they reared their heads." She locked eyes with him, "Grubbi could not find anything malignant with them though. No growths or pain or anything of that nature. I just assumed that it was what I was dealt. So I coped with it,"

Silverberry nodded, "I see. And they are still unpredictable to this day?"

"Yes."

"Your son mentioned that you have made several attempts before at conceiving. Could you give me some more detail on that? Partners? Time?"

"Only ever had one partner, as he's only had me." She responded firmly. "Gritti. We were…awkward for a bit because…" She froze, bit her lower lip then forced herself to go on, "I suspected my odd hormones would mean I couldn't give him a cub. Then, when we finally tried, it only confirmed it for me." She seemed deflated, sad, an odd thing to see on such a strong warrior. "We first tried when Buddi was about seventeen or so. Tried about four times a week for four months or so. Then, took a break. Tried again two years later, more frequently. Kept that up for about a year." She scoffed lightly. "Never thought I would get tired of sex but I started to dread it."

She paused then went on, "Grubbi said that emotions could interfere so we stopped for a while. That kind of became our pattern for a century or so. Then, I suppose, we just gave up." She frowned, her ears drooped, just slightly. "Gritti tried to propose mateship to me a few times but I turned him down. Couldn't give him cubs." She smiled sadly, "Not that I was ungrateful for Buddi. I'm not. He's still my world. But…I wanted to give Gritti his children. I knew he wanted them. That was something I couldn't give him. Better for him to find a mate that wasn't broken." Lifting her head again, she went on "But my stubborn son and Gritti refused to leave it at that. Finally accepted his mateship three years ago." She shook her head again, "We tried again, not long after we were mated, once more for about six months. Nothing. For me, that was the final answer. Thought that accepting it would make it easier but no. Then, Buddi came to me and said it might not have to be that way." She eyed the healer, "Have to admit, I don't want to get my hopes up…"

Silverberry nodded, "Understandable but, Ursa, in the past few years, we've made huge strides in the field of reproductive medicine. From what you're telling me, I think what may be the issue is your body is having difficulty ovulating."

Ursa raised a brow but nodded, "Releasing eggs. Grubbi told me years ago that everything was intact. So you're saying my body isn't producing the eggs or just is having trouble getting them where they need to go."

"Most likely the latter. It's very rare that there are no eggs at all, especially if you have otherwise normal reactions in your cycles. It's just their timing and frequency is off." He eyed her again, "And Buddi told me that you were able to produce milk?"

Ursa nodded, "When Buddi's mother, one of my best friends, was pregnant, I started taking herbal supplements to help her when he came along. She was small and we were afraid she might not produce enough." She heaved a sigh at the reminder of her old friend, "When she died in childbirth, Buddi took to me naturally. He was breastfed exclusively until he was six months and I continued it at night until he lost his first baby tooth, when he was four." She knew a lot of gummi clans found that odd so she added, "It's a Barbic tradition."

Silverberry gave no indication whether he personally felt it odd and merely nodded at the provided information. "That gives me more faith that it will simply be a matter of getting your cycles to produce regularly, which there is an herbal remedy for. Fairly new but quite effective in most cases. You do not have any herbal allergies?"

"No, Healer." She stated simply, trying to keep that pesky hope from overwhelming her again. Yet, could she not be excited at the prospect? That was okay, wasn't it?

Silverberry turned and pulled some gloves from his desk, stating to her, again, all business, "I do need to check for any potential issues before we agree to try this though. If there are preexisting conditions, I need to be aware of them."

Ursa, to her credit, did not even flinch. She stood, moved to the table and readied herself. Outwardly, she remained calm but inwardly, she had to admit that the idea of anyone but Gritti and Grubbi seeing her down there was unnerving. But to be so close…to have a possibility. Another child! She would endure!

"Not that I doubt Grubbi's skill but a good healer will always double check with things of this nature. That and I'd guess the last time you were examined was quite some time ago?"

"You could say that." she answered truthfully, glad that his tone was only inquisitive and in no way condescending or chiding. That'd irritate the heck out of her. Nobody's business down there unless she decided it was!

Silverberry was grateful for her straightforward nature. Especially with female patients, there tended to be a sense of embarrassment, despite him being a healer. He approached her and admitted that he blinked a bit when she unstrapped a dagger from her inner thigh. She set it on the side table with an "Old habits die hard, Healer." He could only nod. She was a warrior but still! Many things he expected with pelvic exams but that was a first!

He was grateful that embarrassment was not the case with her, more grateful at her ability to stay still and more grateful still when he found nothing out of the ordinary.

He turned his back, allowing her to compose herself as he threw out his gloves and cleaned his hands, "I see no potential problems. I will be glad to send you home with an herbal remedy. Mix one teaspoon with one glass of water and take it every night for the next three months. Within three weeks, you should notice a change in your cycles." He smiled at her as she took her former spot in her chair, "Once you notice a predictability, feel free to begin trying again. If there is not a noticeable difference within a month regarding your cycles, please come back and see me. Likewise, feel free to return throughout the process. If we need to try something else, we shall."

He rose and mixed together some dried herbs into a large pouch which he turned and handed to her. Ursa took it, gingerly, before tucking it into her tunic. Such a small thing yet it could potentially give her what she wanted, something she wanted so deeply. Another son or perhaps a daughter? A brother or sister for her Buddi. Dear Gum, please Gentle Natur, let it be so…

"Thank you." She said softly, emotion-choked. "If you require anything from me or my clan, please…ask."

"Thank you, ...Ursa." She caught his hesitation, his desire yet his withdrawal.

"Healer? Is there something?"

"I do have a request but it is a bit personal..." He stated softly, slowly.

Ursa gave a nod to him. "Healer, you've gotten as personal with me as anyone can. You've potentially given me something I have wanted for centuries. There is nothing you can't ask me. If it's too personal, I'll let you know."

Slightly relaxed by her reply, Silverberry inquired, "Would it be forward of me to ask about your son's mark-the mark of Natur."

Ursa's face stiffened a bit at the memory but then relaxed almost as quickly, "You've heard the legend about it?"

"I…have only heard bits and pieces, Ursa." He assured her, settling in his chair, "The stories about it are inconsistent but I have heard it..saved him from death?"

Ursa gave a firm nod, "Buddi would be willing to let you see it, I can tell you that right now but the actual events he might not. He remembers some, but not all."

"I see. I admit I would very much like to see it for myself, and perhaps even - if I am not too bold - be allowed to examine it? A bit too curious for my own good, I'm sure. It's…an intriguing concept, saved literally by divine intervention. Even if he could only tell me some—"

"Healer." Ursa interrupted him, "If you want to know what happened, ask."

"Ursa, I do not wish to cause you pain in the memory—"

Shrugging, Ursa replied, "It is a painful memory but one that gives me hope too. If you want to hear about it. Ask."

Smiling eagerly a bit at her forwardness, Silverberry fought hard to remain professional and to control the glee he felt in getting this particular story right from the source. "Could you tell me about that event that led to the creation of the mark on your son?"

Ursa settled back in her chair, relaxing. "I can…"

Ambushes were not uncommon and this one had even been partially predicted. They had known something was lying in the wake though they were not entirely sure what. Their scouts had stated it looked to be trolls, or perhaps fey-allies. It was difficult to tell but nonetheless, they carried a heavy dislike for gummies.

It was supposed to be a simple trip from Barbic Woods to Ursalia, bearing supplies and catching up on the news from the city. However, when they passed through the High Mountain Pass, not even three hours from the city, the ambush came.

They were trolls, but trolls armed with new weaponry. Odd weapons. Crossbow like weapons but they did not shoot darts but simple hardened shards of obsidian. Sharp and dangerous. However, they had greatly underestimated their opponents!

There were probably ten trolls but Mardi and Lundi were taking them down swiftly. Ursa and Gritti darted right towards them, cutting several of them down with their swords. Grubbi fought back with his spear. And Buddi, despite being only sixteen, took down quite a few with a sharp aim from his bow. He took to it so naturally…

"Buddi! Behind you!"

Mardi's cry was so desperate, so petrified, a cry that Barbics scarcely heard in battle. Ursa instantly jerked to see what caused Mardi such panic and her heart dropped. Her son was half turned, having instantly moved to see what danger approached him.

The single troll behind him fired his weapon at the same time as Ursa screeched his name.

The troll in front of her lost his head swiftly to her blade as she tore down the snow splattered mountain cliffs, rushing at her son. Grubbi pitched his spear and it found its mark in the trolls' chest. Mardi and Lundi made swift work of the only troll remaining.

But not before that last one had hit his mark.

Even as Ursa tore towards her son, she saw the obsidian blade pass through her son's chest, right dead center. It landed not two feet away from him, lodged in the ground. Buddi stared at her, a moment, as if not comprehending. His eyes drifted to his chest as that dark red blood, death blood, instantly began to pump from his chest. He managed to lift his eyes a moment and she thought she saw fear in them, panic, before they glazed and he collapsed to the ground.

"BUDDI!" She reached him first, rolled him onto his back. Her hands became coated in his blood almost instantly as that river poured out of him. She pushed her hands against the wound,such a small entry wound but when it left…

It was oozing so much blood, "BUDDI, look at me!"

Grubbi had reached them by that point and swiftly yanked her off, tossing her aside gruffly as he sought to stop the blood. Much as Ursa had done, he sought to slow the bleeding but it was pumping, it was pouring. Dark red, the horrific shade of death. Tears in his own eyes, he sought to find the source and found to his horror that the obsidian shard, while small, had been large enough and fast enough to tear through the heart muscle itself, tearing it literally in half and opened a horrible gash in the chest cavity. Grubbi could see it through the grisly wound even as the blood literally drained out his body. With the split of the heart, it had split the aorta, the largest vessel in the body.

Buddi's empty eyes told him enough but all the same, he tried to work a miracle. He tried to find something to stitch, something to compress.

There was no heart muscle left to revive, nothing he did would make it beat again. He tried. He tried to find a vessel to patch, a way to make that heart muscle whole again but to no avail. He worked for a good ten minutes, even when after the first two minutes, he knew the cub was gone. Worked even as the nearly entire blood supply of their only child spilled onto the snowy ground. Worked as those frightened eyes never moved, did not blink, did not react, just stared and saw nothing. As Ursa screeched and yelled at her dead son to "WAKE UP! YOU WAKE UP DAMN IT!"

It was when he finally slumped to the ground, head turned away that realization set in.

"NO!" Ursa yanked her son's limp form into her arms, "NO! BUDDI TIMBA, LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME! YOU AREN'T DYING! YOU AREN'T DYING, DO YOU HEAR ME? ANSWER ME! ANSWER ME!" Her screeching gave way to something worse, a heart breaking screech of pain, the kind of pain that is not describable, and makes one crumble. She buried her face into his blood soaked chest, tears flowing out of her eyes nearly as quickly as the blood had left him. "ANSWER ME, DAMN IT! MAMA IS TELLING YOU TO…ANSWER ME."

Her entire body began to shake with sobs even as she refused to relinquish her grip on his little body, even as it went cold in her arms, with its nearly entire supply of blood gone. She didn't noticed her clan members fallen to their knees, sobbing in the ground just as she was, openly. Didn't hear them praying, beseeching, begging.

She was fixated on her little son even as she rocked back and forth, clutching him tight to her chest, saying, over and over, ""

They had sat there for a good ten more minutes in the cold snow, just huddled around their lost one when it happened. Ursa, who refused to let go of her son, felt the entire body, now cold, turn warm in an instant. The body jerked, twitched and she knew that was not a response after death, not like this.

Then, oh, Gum…

Buddi blinked rapidly and his eyes flew open. Not glazed, not white, but shining as bright as ever, darting to and fro. She felt the empty veins in his arms through her vice like grip suddenly pulse when out of nowhere they filled. The fallen chest rose and fell again.

All the color left her face, as she tried to comprehend the miracle in her arms. Her Buddi…

It wasn't until he lifted his hands and brushed her cheeks and said, "" that the reality of the situation truly hit her. He…somehow…was not dead. Yet…he had been. But now he wasn't. Yet..

A warm, beautiful glow, every color of the rainbow settled on her son's chest, right over that wound. It looked like the rays of the sun, shining out in every direction before it receded and vanished right into his chest. It changed shape and became a simple leaf shape before fading to a single shade of green.

The wound was sealed shut.

She heard it. The Thump-thump of his heart.

He was warm again.

He spoke.

He moved.

He breathed.

And the leaf. That simple leaf only meant one thing to them. That was the symbol of their Mercy Age, of beautiful Natur.

Yanking Buddi tight into her arms, nearly smothering him in her embrace as she kissed him, rocked him, held him, Ursa screeched to the heavens, tears running down her face, " THANK YOU, GREAT NATUR! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! "

Then, all the rest of her clan started to repeat the same chant, even as they laughed and cried and pulled their only child into a tight embrace. While Ursa only had eyes for her little one, she still heard it. It was a sound like music, like all the beautiful sounds of nature combined into a voice:

" Not Done yet Child. You are not NEARLY done yet. "

Ursa wiped away the tears that always came to her eyes when she recalled that day and gave the healer a soft smile, "My Buddi would be glad to visit you and tell you his point of view. I've seen a lot of things Healer but nothing as beautiful as that, when Natur gave me back my son."

Well, to be sure, the healer was absolutely stunned. He'd heard the rumors; that Natur - the Barbic demigod also referred to as the Age of Mercy - had touched Buddi and he'd been healed. One claimed that he hadn't even been wounded but the shard had passed right through him and he unscathed, only to leave the mark in its place. Another had him speaking at great length to Natur and being told all of life's mysteries, only to forget when he'd been healed. None of the rumors he had ever caught were spoken with as much truth and strength as he'd just witnessed. And this was as much from the source as he could get, for Ursa's perspective was just as important as Buddi's.

At first, he wasn't sure what to say. And he was glad for Ursa's patience as she waited for one in the silence as he absorbed the tale. "And... He was... dead?"

"Yes. It was exactly as I described. Hard to forget every detail when you witnessed the murder of your only child, only to have the life flood into him again and blood enter him from nowhere at all. Then the profound joy and gratitude I felt for having him returned to me... No matter how old I am, I'll remember every detail of that day."

"And then, you heard Natur speak to you?"

"She was speaking to Buddi, but I heard it, yes."

"Er, I don't want you to take this as skepticism but I must ask... How did you know it was Natur speaking?"

Ursa frowned at his query, for the thought never entered into her head that it could be anyone else. "Because it's Natur's mark on his chest, and only Natur can thwart death. I know she's believed in most by Barbics but you've got to know that not even Gum grants salvation from death's grip."

He sighed and nodded and Ursa could see that death was no stranger to him. Maybe she shouldn't have been so blunt. He was a healer after all and he probably saw as much death as any warrior. Probably hated it more, too, given his profession was to heal.

"As I said, I mean no disrespect. I don't doubt anything you've told me, but as a healer I find myself asking a lot of questions about miracles. Namely, why are some spared and not others."

"Natur said he wasn't done. That was true enough, given everything he's accomplished with the Gummi-Fey war and uniting the clans."

Silverberry gave her a smile. "Yes but, Ursa, if Natur is so powerful, why did she simply not prevent his injury to begin with? Is there a negative higher power out there as an opposing force to Gum and the Ages? Or-"

"Look," Ursa interrupted gently. "I'm not sure what you believe but I believe there doesn't necessarily need to be an unseen evil battling with the Four Ages. Is there sometimes? Probably but the way I see it-we're given life, we live it, things happen. And, sometimes, Natur has additions to the great plan. If we can't always get there under our own steam, there are times where she's stepped in. Don't know how else to put it." She shrugged.

"Yes. That is a much more comforting thought."

"I agree." Ursa stood and extended her hand toward the healer. "Thanks... for everything today."

He smiled warmly and accepted the personal gesture of thanks. "It was my great pleasure. Again, if you notice no change within three weeks, or simply want to stop in again, contact this office and they'll get hold of me."

"I will." Ursa turned to leave but paused, a grin on her face. "Healer Silverberry?"

"Yes?"

She turned her grin to him. "About evil forces versus the idea that we make our own path... If I ever happen to see Natur, I'll ask her for you."

And she left the healer a shocked expression, for he could not tell whether she was serious or not.