Chapter
Two: Silver Key
Buddi stirred and stretched. He was
confused a minute then remembered. He knew it had to be Celina. The first night
they'd been back his dreams had been haunted by her. But then he went to Ursa
and Gritty. They provided heat and comfort and his nightmares had stopped. But
the underlying concern was still there.
The cub looked outside. He
remembered. Ursa had said that they would explore, looking for a reason for
this revival. He turned to her and shook her. She groaned and rolled over, into
Gritty. The Barbic woke and smiled. Buddi shook her again.
"Come on Ursa."
She groaned, her voice muffled by
Gritty's chest.
"It's too early, Buddi."
Gritty smiled at the cub. "If you're
that anxious, go play a bit."
Ursa cut in, "Just don't go too high
and stay close."
Buddi beamed and jumped up. "Okay."
Gritty watched the cub leave and
turned to Ursa who had buried her face in his chest. "Tired, Fearless Leader?"
"Oh shut up."
* * *
Buddi looked out over the forest,
inhaling the scent of the familiar woods. The cub hadn't gone completely to the
top again but he'd gone fairly close. He had never dreamed that he'd stand here
again. He had given up on that. The child accepted that the only time he'd swing
through the trees again would be in his dreams.
But here he was. He wasn't dreaming.
He'd pinched himself last night to make sure of that. He was definitely living
this. He couldn't believe it but he was.
"Buddi!"
The cub turned at the sound of his
name. Gritty was standing on the balcony, waving up at him. The cub beamed and
swung back down. He landed outside the balcony. Gritty laughed, plucked the cub
up by his armpits and set him back down inside the railing.
"Having fun?"
The cub nodded, with those young
eyes sparkling. Gritty smiled and playfully pulled the cub's hood down over his
eyes. Buddi pushed it back up and gave the adult a playful glare. Gritty just
gave him a smile and winked his good eye.
"Well save your strength, kid.
You'll need it. We're exploring as soon as we eat. Ursa's cooking."
Buddi made a face. "And this food will
be edible, yes?"
Gritty laughed, "Ursa's not that bad
a cook."
Buddi looked at him and said, "Guess
not. When do we eat? I'm hungry."
Gritty shook his head. "You're
always hungry."
The cub giggled and wound around the
adult, finally stopping grasping his strong arm.
"I'm a cub. It's a given."
Gritty shook his head. "Well, you've
got me there, partner."
He grinned and ruffled the cub's
hair. "Even when you were a baby you ate like there was no tomorrow. I think
you woke Ursa up five times a night with that hungry cry of yours."
Buddi blushed. Gritty caught the cub
in a headlock and gave him a noggie.
"Stop it Gritty!"
The adult laughed. "Naw, you're still
the same you were then, little and a mischief maker."
The cub broke free and Gritty smiled
at him. "I still remember that. A tiny little cub, with chipmunk cheeks. Ursa'd
leave you with me when she went to train. Every day when she left, you'd stretch
out to her, saying 'Mama 'Sa! Mama 'Sa!"
Buddi flushed again, a deeper red.
Gritty smiled.
"Sorry, am I embarrassing you?"
The cub nodded and then beamed.
"But if ya want my forgiveness, you
gotta catch me!"
That said, the cub leapt over the
banister, caught a hanging vine and was gone into the canopy. Gritty laughed,
grabbed a second vine and swung up after him. But the cub was still the swift
one and took ahead easier. Gritty smiled and swung beneath him, in the lower
branches.
Buddi stopped and looked around for
Gritty.
Gritty grabbed the occupied cub
around the waist and pulled him down. The cub yelped in surprise and then
laughed.
"Gotcha." The adult declared the
obvious. Buddi squirmed like a pig but there was no way he could get loose
without gritty allowing him to. Finally, the adult let him go. Buddi stuck his
tongue out at Gritty. The adult smiled.
"Someone's gonna pull that thing off
if ya keep doing that."
Buddi merely smiled and did it
again, crossing his eyes.
A new voice chuckled and said, "You
keep that up, your face might stick that way."
The two turned and Ursa walked out.
"Food's now." She stated simply.
Buddi immediately ran to catch up with Ursa.
"Ursa, can I explore today? Huh?
Please?"
Ursa laughed. "Yes. But you have to
eat first."
Buddi smiled. "Okay, okay."
The three swung back down to the hut
where they'd eaten all those months ago. Ursa had made some breakfast cakes,
water and some bread. She sat plates in front of the two and sat down herself.
Buddi ate swiftly. Ursa finally said,
"Don't eat so fast Buddi. You'll get
the hiccups."
Buddi smiled and asked, "So can I
explore?"
"Once you're done, yes."
Buddi gave her his child's grin,
took a bite from his breakfast cake and jumped up, "I'm done."
Ursa sighed. "I give up. You can
dart back in here for lunch or grab some berries in the trees. You know which
ones are poisonous right?"
Buddi rolled his eyes. "Yes. You
practically branded that onto my brain."
Gritty pulled on Ursa's sleeve. "Are
you sure the berries aren't cursed or anything?"
"We all still have that faint sixth
sense about our woods, Gritty. You know for a fact that sense would have picked
that up. I checked last night after you two fell asleep, that's why I was
tired. There is no magic in the woods. Whatever magic was used to resurrect
them has faded. But we still need to know why they were resurrected."
Buddi grinned. "Leave that to me!"
That said, he swung out into the
woods.
* * *
"Sunni!"
Sunni smiled and ran. She, Cubbi and
Tummi were playing hide and seek and she was searching for a place to hide. She
could hear Cubbi approaching so she darted into a closet. Moving amid the
different coats and such, her foot hit something hard.
The cub fell, flat on her face.
Sunni growled as she got up. She
stood and lit the candle in the closet. She had to strain to see but she could
make out a small trapdoor.
"Where did this come from?" she said
aloud. "I never knew this was here."
She blew and the dust revealed words
carved into the wood. She recognized them.
"These aren't Glen! These are
Barbic! But…what do they mean. I bet Buddi could tell me. But why is Barbic in
the glen?"
She tugged on the door. It was
locked. She examined the lock. It was a curved lock. A shape she and never
seen, and she knew that no key in the glen would fit that lock.
"Someone wanted this to stay
locked."
* * *
Buddi looked towards the setting
sun. It had been a while since he'd seen this in the woods. But he also knew he
should head back soon. His stomach was telling him that. But as the cub turned
to leave a shimmer caught his eye. Curious as always, the child swung down to
the source. It had come from the ground.
The ground was actually mud. It had
apparently rained here as well. The cub sat on his knees, let them sink into
the earth. The sunlight hit the ground and he saw the shimmer again.
Without a second thought, the cub
plunged his hands into the cool mud. It flowed over his fur, making it clump up
and harden but his curiosity overwhelmed all else. He knew Ursa'd reprimand him
for getting muddy but he didn't care. The mud went up to his elbows and some of
it splattered his face. The cub felt something but he couldn't get a good grip.
Finally, he laid his cheek into the mud and squirmed until both his arms were entirely
submerged. He got whatever it was in his hand and yanked it back up.
It was coated in mud. The cub wiped
it on his tunic, to see what it was.
It was shiny, and sparkled like
gold.
It was a silver key.