Chapter Twelve: Worth
The two cubs finally drew from each
other, exhausted and still a tad overwhelmed. Sunni spoke out,
"We should free the adults. All we
did was delay those humans. If I know them, they'll be coming back."
Buddi nodded in agreement. "I'll
stay with the GummiScope, to chase them off if they try to come back. You free
the adults. But don't tell the Barbics I'm awake."
"Why wouldn't you be?"
"I…I went into a 'Breach of Life,'
when Celina was playing with my head. I drew inside myself. Alina brought me
back." He grinned. "And I want to surprise them."
Sunni smiled back, and nodded before
heading down towards the courtyard. Buddi sighed and sat down again. He was
tired and felt beyond exhausted. Both physically and mentally. But more than that,
he wanted Ursa. He'd been scared and he wanted his 'mama' now. She'd helped him
win. He listened to her and it paid off.
But Buddi wanted her now, wanted her
with him. He smiled.
Sunni would bring them out soon.
Knowing the Glens, they'd leave as soon as they knew the danger was past. It
would be dawn by the time they bid their farewells so they would leave to get
home as soon as they could. Buddi was glad. He liked the Glens, especially
Sunni and sometimes Cubbi. Those two cubs made great playmates. But right now,
Buddi just wanted to be with the other Barbics, family.
Especially with Ursa.
He fixed his sights on the horizon,
to guard if need be, and waited.
* * *
"Grammi!"
The elder Gummi looked up along with
the others from within the bars. Their mouths dropped at whom they saw.
"Sunni!"
The yellow furred girl smiled and
swiftly retrieved the keys and unlocked the door. The questions came then.
"What happened?"
"Are you alright?"
"Where's Igthorn?"
She giggled. "First off, I dug
myself out of that little epic of depression, thanks to Cubbi." She gave him a
smile. "Second, I'm fine if cold and hungry. Third, Igthorn's gone and so is
Lady Bane. We chased them out."
"Who?"
"Us: Me and Buddi."
Gruffi's mouth dropped. "You two?
Two cubs?"
Sunni nodded. "Although, it was
Buddi mainly. He planned the whole thing and did the more dangerous stuff." She
smiled. "I can fill you in later when we get home but first I gotta let the
Barbics out. Where are they?"
"Down in the next room. But…where's
Buddi?"
Sunni smiled. "He wants to surprise
them so he's outside."
Grammi winced. "That child's outside
in this weather. My gracious." She started to the door but Sunni grabbed her
arm and shook her head. She said before the adult could say anything,
"he has his reasons. So I keep his
secret. In fact, I think he really just wants to be alone with the Barbics
now."
The Glens exchanged glances and
nodded in agreement. Gruffi spoke,
"Well then, go let them out. We'll
meet you outside.
Sunni nodded.
Of all the Glens only Gruffi could
have recovered so quickly. Two preteen cubs against humans and their army? And
they won?
Sunni ran out, towards the separate
room. The Glens were too stunned to follow, so they merely went outside, stood
under the shelters they had and waited.
* * *
"Ursa! Gritty!"
The Barbics tuned as the Buddi's
best friend ran in, holding keys.
"Sunni!" Ursa was stunned and ran to
the door; not failing to notice the barrier was missing. The others, at seeing
that, followed.
"Where's Buddi?"
Sunni looked at her, trying hard not
to blow Buddi's secret. But it was hard. Ursa's eyes were pleading, desperate.
She looked like…well, like a mother. Sunni bit her tongue and tried to look
baffled. "Well, he isn't in the city. That's all I know."
Ursa stumbled backward, where Gritty
caught her. By Gum, it couldn't be. She fought down tears and turned from
Sunni. Her baby, her angel? Gone?
Sunni let the Barbics out and added,
"We got Igthorn out but I'd be on your guard."
Gritty nodded as his best friend was
in no condition to answer. He looked at her, pityingly. He said, "How is
Igthorn gone?"
"Let's just say, that I had some
help. Help in the form of a planner and a fighter."
Gritty grabbed her shoulder, "What
does that mean?"
Sunni smiled but gave no answer.
"We're leaving now. Sorry that we couldn't help you more than we did. But we'll
see you."
Gritty knew by the stubborn tone of
voice that he would get no further answer. Ursa's voice tended to take on that
same tone. But still it was frustrating. But he only nodded as the girl ran
off. The Glens did need to get back as the sun was beginning to rise and it was
still raining. They didn't like to be in the way, and probably felt the Barbics
would need time to recover. Besides, he knew they wanted to get home.
But Buddi? What happened to the
little Barbic? Gritty put his arm around Ursa's slenderer shoulder and slowly
drew her to him. She didn't reject. Her face was passive, emotionless. The
black Barbic growled and slammed one fist down into his other palm. Gritty
refused to believe the cub was dead. He was just like Ursa; he was just too
stubborn to die. He wasn't dead! He couldn't be! The Barbics knew though that
the chances of a Gummi surviving invasion by a human were pretty slim. There was
a chance and that's why Ursa held her tears in. She still believed he might be
alive. But she also knew the chance was small. She gestured and so they headed
towards the main hall, hearts heavy.
Ursa said nothing. Her eyes were
downcast.
She stopped in the rain and merely
let the wetness take her. How could she not have revealed her love? Why did she
hide it, only now to be told she might never see her cub again? She swallowed
and stared up at the clouds. Gritty turned and walked back to her.
"Ursa?"
She made no answer. Just looked at
him with a blank face, devoid of any emotion, either good or bad. He guided her
in, towards the door. Grubbi had started a fire. The older Barbic pulled on
Ursa's arm and she came, like a puppet, following her strings.
Gritty tugged her in and sat her
down. The fire danced over her face.
But she refused to say a word.
* * *
Buddi gave Sunni a wink as he
watched her leave. He'd seen Ursa stop and watch the rain until Gritty pulled
her in. He was surer than ever now that she did love him. Granted, his
doubt had faded but seeing that from such a strong warrior erased any other
doubt he had.
He climbed down from the tower and
slowly made his way to the main hall. The rain was still pouring; it looked
like night. But the sun was rising. Buddi opened the door quietly, shook the
water from his hair before staring down towards the sitting room, where he
could hear adult talk and the crackling of a fire. His wet body longed for
flames and heat. But the child crept forward slowly, his feet barely making any
sound when they touched the ground.
He walked until he was directly
against the door. His breathing must have been heavy.
Because he was heard.
But that was fine by him; he
couldn't take it anymore.
He wanted Ursa.
* * *
None of the Barbics knew what to do.
Ursa was silent, not saying a thing. Not even Gritty could get her to talk. So
they were almost thankfully for the breathing they heard. It came from outside
the door. Ursa, despite her obvious pain was still a warrior and drew her
sword. The whole of the clan stood and waited.
Ursa was furious. Did those demons
dare come back? Did they want to torment her by throwing…by showing her that
Buddi…. she shook her head and hissed.
"Whoever you are, show yourself
now."
She didn't have to say anything else. The
door opened.
He was soaking wet. The moisture on
his clothes was dripping off and some trailed down his cheeks, almost like
tears. But there was joy in his bright eyes, relief.
Buddi smiled at them.
Swords clattered to the ground. Ursa
swallowed, her heart throbbing. Alive…he was alive. She swallowed again and
stammered,
"Buddi?"
The cub stared at her a moment, took
her in. Her eyes, full of concern and love. He e saw it, plain as daylight. Her
whole form screamed, relief and love. He smiled at her and then ran into the
room, ignoring the throbbing pain in his leg. He pushed it aside. He just
wanted her arms. He just wanted her. Leaping up, he flew through the air and
landed in her outstretched arms. She wrapped him tightly, as he wrapped his
legs around her waist.
Ursa hugged her soaked child close
to her, relief and happiness nearly bursting her heart. She thought she knew
how much she cared for the boy but she knew nothing. Just as a birth mother
could place no height on her love or how far she would stretch for her child,
Ursa could not. Her voice came, slowly as the shock dulled.
"Buddi…what…what happened?"
Grubbi cut in, "You woke up!"
Buddi nodded, still clinging to
Ursa. She didn't mind that. But she did ask as she held him,
"Buddi…don't you ever do that again!
Gum, are you trying to give us heart attacks!?"
Buddi shrugged as Ursa sat him down
by the fire. Grubbi whispered something to her and she nodded. She didn't give
Buddi time to protest and stripped his damp clothes off him before giving a
warm towel that Grubbi had retrieved from the bundle near the door, for events
like this. Igthorn and Lady bane had left this room well enough alone.
Buddi looked up as the adults
gathered around, Ursa and Gritty flanking him although he leaned towards Ursa,
Grubbi sitting in front and the others scattered about. Ursa smiled at him,
hugged his smaller form closer to her. He let her, relieved. He didn't have to
say it; she was his 'mother' so to speak. She knew.
Finally, Grubbi continued, "Buddi…no
Barbic has ever woken up from a 'Breach of Life.' You're the first. If you can
tell us how…we may be able to help those in the future that endure the same
fate."
The Barbic smiled. "And I'm just
plain curious."
Buddi smiled. But before he could
start, Gritty demanded,
"First, how did Igthorn and lady
bane get chased out?"
Buddi sighed and leaned against
Ursa, using her like a wall of support. By Gum, all these questions. He was
tired. He wanted to rest. He felt eh deserved it. But he said softly,
"Fine. Then, I've got a date with my
bed."
Ursa chuckled, a delicate sound that
generated low in her throat. Buddi leaned against her chest and listened. He
loved to hear her laugh. As a leader, it was a rare thing she did. At least to
the other Barbics, she was far more carefree with him, even played with him at
times.
Ursa slipped her fingers through the
boy's hair and said,
"Well okay then. But just give us
the gist, Buddi. You can go into the detail after you rested."
The cub nodded. And slowly told them
that he'd planned it, every detail with some help from his memories of Ursa. By
the end, he was fighting sleep and had sunk deeper into Ursa's arms. She held
him, didn't push him up, as she would have usually. Softly, in a tender voice
she saved for these situations, she said,
"I know you're tired, Buddi. But,
please. Tell us how you broke out of the Breach."
Half out, the cub murmured against
Ursa's dress,
"Alina."
"What?!"
The shouts were in unison and the
cub was jerked wide-awake. Ursa was staring at him. The others' faces were
locked with his. He swallowed hard and drew closer to Ursa, nervously. She
noted and waved her hand saying,
"Back off a bit, Barbics. He's a cub
for Gum's sake."
The group gradually did peel the
penetrating glaze from their eyes but still waited the cub's answer.
He spoke, softly; so that the
Barbics had to lean into hear,
"It's an empty plain, like the
inside of a cloud but feels like the ocean. You fall and fall, the pressure
forcing you down. You can barely speak as there's no air but you can hear your
thoughts, like you spoke them…"
Gritty interrupted him. "And yours
were?"
Buddi sighed, deeply. But slowly, he
repeated what had gone through his mind, clinging tighter to Ursa:
"I tried but I failed. I'm not a
Barbic. I'm not even half Barbic. I don't deserve the Barbic blood I was born
with. Fate, you're a cruel player. As it is, I'm not even half Barbic. I failed
Ursa and the others. I never was good enough for them. I'm better here. Alone…"
The cub turned from their stunned
looks, burying his face into Ursa's chest. By Gum, he didn't want to remember
the worthlessness he'd felt. He didn't even want to think about it. All he
wanted to do was concentrate on was Ursa's warm arms. But she put a finger
under the cub's chin and lifted his face to meet her eyes.
"Buddi? How could you think that?
You're as much Barbic as I am. How could you possibly think otherwise?"
The cub shrugged. "I…I…Celina fed me
false visions. And I guess my limited self confidence did the rest."
Ursa gave her child a smile and
stroked his cheeks with one of her fingers. He leaned against her again. He
went on, where he left off.
"Then, I heard her. That voice was
so familiar. And when I looked up…there was Alina, in my mind with me." He
sighed and felt his will to stay awake weaken. He leaned deeper into Ursa. "She
fixed the altered memories more me, woke me up. And she helped me out when I
needed it."
The cub stopped talking, closed his
eyes completely and stifled a yawn. Ursa stroked his face again.
"You're brave, Buddi. Barbic in body
and in spirit. Never forget that."
Buddi looked up at her, saw the
shimmering love in her eyes.
A smile spread over his features,
despite the tiredness he felt,
"I don't think I'll ever again have
a need to forget."
That said, the cub nuzzled down into
her arms, her love clearly evident by the way she hugged him back, and the cub,
with more confidence and love in his heart than he thought was possible, slept.
End
of Book Two