Ursa and Gritty smiled as a bleary eyed cub walked into the kitchen. Buddi rubbed his eyes and then looked up to see two adults and also the two he happened to be closest with looking at him, small smiles playing at their lips. Buddi felt his face grow hot and knew his cheeks must have turned cherry red.
Ursa gave a small and low chuckle
and said,
"Thought I was gonna have to wake
you for lunch, Buddi."
Buddi blushed a deeper red. Ursa
smiled and motioned him to her with one hand. When he got close enough, she
pulled him onto her lap. He knew she wanted to know something by that stubborn
and determined look in her bright eyes. And he thought he could guess what and
sighed deeply.
Ursa quickly confirmed his
suspicions.
"Buddi," she looked him directly in
the eye. "You woke up twice last night. I've never known you to have two
nightmares in one night. And I've known you thirteen years. I've never known
you to call for me either. Even when you were little, you waited for me to come
or you came to me. I know you saw terrible things last night. The fear in your
eyes told me that much. And now you're going to tell me exactly what you saw,"
she tightened her grip on him. "Or I'm not going to let you go."
Buddi sighed again. "Can't I eat
first?"
Gritty cut in, "After you
tell us."
Buddi groaned deeply. "Fine. I'll tell you."
The cub didn't hesitate. He told
them about seeing the woods burn again. Of that prophecy he heard as he saw
everything he loved die. He tried not to let his voice crack but he knew that
it must have at least twice. By the time he finished, his throat was dry and
Ursa handed him some water and gave him a small squeeze.
"There's one, Buddi." She gave him
one of her rare slow smiles. Usually when she smiled it was instantaneous but
her slow smile was used for comfort and it spread slowly across her face,
altering her expression from stern and serious to caring, in gradual steps.
Gritty winked at the cub with his
one eye. "Get through one more, cub."
Buddi sighed. "That wasn't a dream."
Gritty and Ursa exchanged gazes. But then turned back to Buddi. He swallowed and told them.
Told them about the spirit, about
his struggle to breathe, and finally, the spirit's fierce warning. Finally, he
looked up at Ursa from his position in her lap.
Ursa smiled at him and hugged him
gently. "Buddi, it'll be okay. I promise."
The cub looked at her, eyes wide and
innocent. She ruffled his hair. "I mean it, Buddi. That's a promise."
Buddi gave her a smile and nod in
return. Then, he leapt up, grabbed a small breakfast cake from the counter and
raced outside. Ursa was still stunned at the cub's energy. She knew she had
been that wild but it was hard to believe now that she was an adult. It was
amazing how much a few years had changed her.
She remembered when she was
eighteen, when she'd first lifted her sword. She'd been immature, reckless. She
was still a tad reckless but that was in her nature. But she also found
incredible was that as a Barbic female, she would usually have asked for help
when it came to raising cubs. But raising Buddi had come naturally to her. She
never had asked for help. She still didn't. She knew him inside out, much to
his dismay at times. She always knew what he was feeling, when he was sad,
worried, or lonely.
When he had been an infant, it had
only taken her a day or two to recognize his different cries. When he was
hungry, hurt, or cold. She could still tell by the way he acted what he felt.
More than that though, when he was little, he'd been very close to her and
still was although they did not reveal it much.
She smiled to herself and followed
the cub outside.
The ground was wet from the recent
rain. Spring was coming.
Ursa sat down on the fountain edge;
an arm draped over one of her knees and watched the child.
He'd taken one of the racket sets
out. They were slender sticks, a tad flattened at the end. She remembered the
game. She'd played it when she was little and then even more when she was a
teenager. Cubs just thought it was fun but now as she was an adult and could
look with a grown up's perspective she saw the game had improved her agility
and traction.
To play, it had a small ball, not
very big. Buddi could hold it in the palm of one hand. The paddles at the ends
of the sticks were slender too so one had to have good hand and eye
coordination to play. The Barbics threw the ball at the wall and tried to hit
it back before it hit the ground. When tossed between players, the goal was to
keep it in the air.
Ursa ducked suddenly as the ball
missed Buddi's racket. She caught it in one hand and stifled a chuckle with the
back of her hand as he lost his traction and fell to his knees and then onto
his face.
He got up and jogged over to him.
She handed him the ball back and said,
"Watch your feet, Buddi. You're
slipping up."
Buddi pouted, playfully. Then, held
his racket out to her. "You play."
Ursa pushed it back. "No, Buddi.
I've got some stuff to do. I just decided to check on you for a few minutes."
Buddi's grin fell. She never spent
time with him anymore, unless it was night or training. He sighed, deeply.
"You…you can't take fifteen minutes
from your day to play with me?"
Ursa gazed at his eyes, so pleading.
She sighed herself and said,
"Buddi, those eyes of yours should be declared lethal weapons. But I can't. I need to train myself. I've been slacking."
Buddi grasped her hands.
"Ursa, come on! You never hang out
with me anymore. How long could one match take? Just one?"
Ursa groaned. He had a point. In
Barbic Woods, she had hung out with him more. Because he was a swinger and was
actually pretty hard to keep up with. It had been more fun in the woods. He was
truly at home there. She smiled, memories overtaking her reason.
"All right, you win Buddi. I'll go
get my racket."
Buddi beamed. She was true to her
word and came back out, her racket in hand. It had a slender paddle than his.
Buddi tossed the ball to her.
She hit it back easily. She
purposely hit it low so he could give her a decent hit back. He did, hit it
hard. She returned it, her strength restrained so he could keep up. Over the
years, Ursa'd learned how much strength was too little, how much was too much
and what amount provided a fun challenge.
She kept her strength restrained
until a particularly high hit. She caught the ball on the end of her paddle,
held it high over her head and bounced it up and down, in hopes of irritating
the cub. It worked.
"No fair! Ursa, that's cheating!
You're too tall!"
The Barbic leader chuckled as the
cub tried to jump up and knock the ball down. Ursa smiled and finally tossed it
back.
They went for about another hour
before Ursa put an end to it.
"You're tired Buddi. I can tell."
She took the child's racket and smiled. "You're quite good though Buddi. But
for now, I think we both need a break," she noted the way he had a hand to his
belly and smirked again, "and a bite."
The two walked in. Buddi said,
"Ursa? Know what?"
"What Buddi?"
"You're still a good playmate."
She gave the boy a grin.
"Thanks kid. I may be an adult but everyone learns to play when they're children and some things you just don't forget how to do."
