Chapter 3
Josi and Chummi introduced everyone as they came off the ship. Josi introduced the new Barbics while Chummi introduced the ships crew. Only two females were among the ships crew - the cook, Ginger, and her daughter Marina. Tummi's eyes were drawn to Marina. Shelli and Arrow are lovely enough but this gummi was more his style. She isn't fat but she carries some extra weight on her bones. While Gruffi introduced himself and the rest of the Glen Gummies, Tummi walked over to Marina to say hello.
"How was your trip?" he asked politely when he drew near.
The violet gummi smiled at Tummi when he approached. It was a relief to see so many fresh faces after being stuck with the same ones for so long. "It went well, but I'm glad to be off the ship."
Tummi was astounded. Sailing, whether it is air or water, had to be the best feeling anyone could ever have. "You didn't enjoy it? I would have loved every minute of it."
"I did at first," Marina responded, "but after awhile the routine around the ship gets rather boring. I'm more interested in finding out what new places, gummies, and creatures I'm going to see."
"Well, I'm glad you landed here," replied Tummi with a blush. He suddenly became rather shy so changed the topic. "Can you show me around the ship sometime?"
Marina smiled at the round blue gummi before her. Sure he was chubby, but he is rather sweet. He certainly is more polite than the sailors on the ship. "It would be my pleasure."
Just then Gruffi interrupted the two. "Come on, kid. We are going to show everyone to the Glen and we need help getting extra rooms ready."
Tummi complied and escorted Marina back to the Glen himself. While the two where talking they completely missed the conversation between Dagger and Gruffi. Gruffi was telling Dagger about the Barbics at Ursalia and convincing him of staying a couple of days to rest before heading out again.
"Rest is reasonable," agreed Dagger. "I would rather leave as soon as possible. We will stay overnight but I want to set out in the morning. It's been too long. I'm eager to see the Barbics again."
"This is going to be wonderful!" exclaimed Arrow. "I can't wait to see Ursa again." If she was going to say more she didn't get a chance. Rusti was having too much fun in the new land and was finding all new ways of getting in trouble. Arrow spent the rest of the trip keeping her little sister out of trouble. She did get a brief break when Josi scooped up the rust colored cub and held her under his arm like a parcel. Yet, no matter how well Josi held on, nothing can stop of Barbic cub from getting away when she wants to.
~:~
Deep in a lonely mountain rang the sound of a hammer. An old miner and his faithful donkey were trying to find their riches within the rock of the mountain. Their luck was never great, but an occasional nugget or two of gold kept the miner's hopes up.
The wind howling even more at this new location. It was strange; he could almost hear voices in the wind. "There are riches in here. Gold this way," he heard the voices whisper. The miner, although feeling silly for listening to voices in his head continued to work his way through the rock where the voices where directing him. With a mighty blow of his pickaxe a large rock loosened from it's home for the last three centuries. Encouraged, the miner continued to attack the rock until it tumbled from it's pedestal of stone.
"Freedom! Riches!" sang the voices in his head as the miner waited for the dust to clear. When the light finally hit the interior of the hidden cave for the first time in three centuries it shone gold reflecting the riches within. The miner eyes shone with disbelief looking upon his treasure. The wind played with his hair almost lovingly as understanding slowly came to him. With a shout of happiness and greed the miner forced himself into the small cave entrance to retrieve his treasure.
Meanwhile, the voices left him as the once captive furies tested their freedom and flew free. The devilish wind spirits went in search of vulnerable minds to corrupt. Now that the miner truly believed the rocks to be gold he was no fun anymore and certainly no longer of any use since he gave them their freedom.
~:~
Shelli sat in her room alone brushing her hair. Her thoughts were on Gusto and how she had not seen much of him lately. Ever since Josi showed up the two brothers have been inseparable as they were catching up on missed years. She didn't blame him one bit but she did feel a bit lonely without him.
A black winged toucan came winging into her room. A bit startled by the visit, Shelli understood. Arte the toucan is Gusto's best friend and is probably feeling a bit left out, too. "Hello, Arte."
"Hey, Shelli. Would you mind? I have an itch on my neck that I can't reach and the wayward artist is off gallivanting around."
Shelli laughed softly and put the bird in her lap. She eased her fingers carefully under his feathers like Gusto showed her. If she damaged one it would take quite awhile for a new one to grow in its place. Once she was sure she wouldn't damage any feathers Shelli began scratching the bird's neck.
"Ahhhh! Thank you," said the pleased Toucan. When Shelli's fingers finally got tired from scratching she massaged the bird instead. "You are my new best friend," the bird told her dreamily.
"As long as you don't abandon me, I'll be glad to be your friend," Shelli told him.
"Why are you feeling abandoned?" asked Artie. Then the bird realized how close Shelli was getting to Gusto and realized he knew the answer. "He would never abandon you."
"He? Is it that obvious?" Shelli sighed. She was hoping she would be able to keep her feelings to herself because she didn't want to risk scaring Gusto away.
"He loves you, you know. He's afraid to say anything since you ran away from home so you wouldn't have to face marriage. He doesn't want to scare you away."
Shelli was shocked. He loved her? And they were both afraid of scaring the other away. She couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. She was going to have to do something about it but she had no idea what.
Another uninvited but not unwelcome guest came storming through the door. Arrow wore the look of frustration and flung herself onto Shelli's bed. "Why are men so difficult?" she demanded.
Shelli and Arrow were close in age but really had nothing in common so when the younger gummi came to her for advice she knew it must be serious. "That is the nature of men, Arrow. We females are the stronger and smarter ones. They would be lost without us."
Arrow rolled over and propped herself on one elbow to regard Shelli. For coming from a completely unbarbic background this gummi made sense! The young barbic looked rather fetching today. She took the opportunity of the Glen's facilities to take a bath and wash her clothes and hair. She was wearing her hair half up in a ponytail with loose hair framing her face.
"Which one is giving you a troubled mind?" Shelli asked her.
"It's Josi. While we were on the ship we were getting along great - we spent almost the entire time together. Yet, now, I'm about to leave and I haven't seen him for longer than five minutes." Arrow could hardly believe she was confiding her innermost feelings to Shelli but somehow it seemed right.
"I know the feeling. I've been just as frustrated that I haven't seen Gusto."
"I get to go to Ursalia!" squealed Sunni as she, too, burst into the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Arrow. "I'm sorry, Arrow. I didn't know you were in here. I get to go with you to see the barbics!"
"Why would you want to do that?" Arrow asked. "I though the Glens and the Barbics weren't best friends.
"They aren't," Shelli answered, "but Sunni and Buddi are."
"Buddi? I remember that cub." said Arrow with a smile and winked. "All energy and trouble. No wonder you like him."
"I do not like him that way!" loudly protested Sunni.
"Oh, yes you do!" retorted Shelli, "and there is nothing wrong with it. I don't care what is going on between Ursa and Gruffi. You can like whomever you please."
Sunni blushed furiously. "Do you really think so?" she asked shyly."
"Of course you can!" answered Arrow. "Besides, there aren't many of us Barbics left. If we don't go outside the barbic lines for mates then we will become inbred imbeciles."
All three gummies laughed at the thought and the three fell to boy talking while the toucan eavesdropped.
:~
At dawn, Dagger and the other barbics were ready to travel to Ursalia to meet up with their kin. Everyone was set to go except Arrow. She didn't want to leave Josi knew she would go no matter what. Nothing could stop her from seeing other Barbics and Ursa again, not even her heart.
The Glen Gummies had gotten up to see their new friends off, but Josi was not among them. Everyone said their goodbyes and started filing out the door. Arrow hung back hoping, just hoping, that she would get to see Josi just one more time.
"Wait up!" came Josi's voice from down the hall. The pink bear was running towards them dressed in traveling gear with a pack on his back. "I have just one more thing to do before we go." He pulled out a letter he was carrying under his belt. "Shelli, this is for you from your father. I'm sorry, but I have to let Gusto fill in the details." He then turned to his brother and gave him one more big hug. "I'm sorry to leave so soon, brother, but you understand.
Gusto just smiled at him for he understood all too well. "Take care, Josi. We'll come and visit in a couple of weeks when you are all settled."
Josi grinned and turned towards the door. "Well, don't just stand there, girl! They're leaving without us!" He rushed out the door pulling Arrow behind him. The look of surprise on her face was priceless
Josi and Chummi introduced everyone as they came off the ship. Josi introduced the new Barbics while Chummi introduced the ships crew. Only two females were among the ships crew - the cook, Ginger, and her daughter Marina. Tummi's eyes were drawn to Marina. Shelli and Arrow are lovely enough but this gummi was more his style. She isn't fat but she carries some extra weight on her bones. While Gruffi introduced himself and the rest of the Glen Gummies, Tummi walked over to Marina to say hello.
"How was your trip?" he asked politely when he drew near.
The violet gummi smiled at Tummi when he approached. It was a relief to see so many fresh faces after being stuck with the same ones for so long. "It went well, but I'm glad to be off the ship."
Tummi was astounded. Sailing, whether it is air or water, had to be the best feeling anyone could ever have. "You didn't enjoy it? I would have loved every minute of it."
"I did at first," Marina responded, "but after awhile the routine around the ship gets rather boring. I'm more interested in finding out what new places, gummies, and creatures I'm going to see."
"Well, I'm glad you landed here," replied Tummi with a blush. He suddenly became rather shy so changed the topic. "Can you show me around the ship sometime?"
Marina smiled at the round blue gummi before her. Sure he was chubby, but he is rather sweet. He certainly is more polite than the sailors on the ship. "It would be my pleasure."
Just then Gruffi interrupted the two. "Come on, kid. We are going to show everyone to the Glen and we need help getting extra rooms ready."
Tummi complied and escorted Marina back to the Glen himself. While the two where talking they completely missed the conversation between Dagger and Gruffi. Gruffi was telling Dagger about the Barbics at Ursalia and convincing him of staying a couple of days to rest before heading out again.
"Rest is reasonable," agreed Dagger. "I would rather leave as soon as possible. We will stay overnight but I want to set out in the morning. It's been too long. I'm eager to see the Barbics again."
"This is going to be wonderful!" exclaimed Arrow. "I can't wait to see Ursa again." If she was going to say more she didn't get a chance. Rusti was having too much fun in the new land and was finding all new ways of getting in trouble. Arrow spent the rest of the trip keeping her little sister out of trouble. She did get a brief break when Josi scooped up the rust colored cub and held her under his arm like a parcel. Yet, no matter how well Josi held on, nothing can stop of Barbic cub from getting away when she wants to.
~:~
Deep in a lonely mountain rang the sound of a hammer. An old miner and his faithful donkey were trying to find their riches within the rock of the mountain. Their luck was never great, but an occasional nugget or two of gold kept the miner's hopes up.
The wind howling even more at this new location. It was strange; he could almost hear voices in the wind. "There are riches in here. Gold this way," he heard the voices whisper. The miner, although feeling silly for listening to voices in his head continued to work his way through the rock where the voices where directing him. With a mighty blow of his pickaxe a large rock loosened from it's home for the last three centuries. Encouraged, the miner continued to attack the rock until it tumbled from it's pedestal of stone.
"Freedom! Riches!" sang the voices in his head as the miner waited for the dust to clear. When the light finally hit the interior of the hidden cave for the first time in three centuries it shone gold reflecting the riches within. The miner eyes shone with disbelief looking upon his treasure. The wind played with his hair almost lovingly as understanding slowly came to him. With a shout of happiness and greed the miner forced himself into the small cave entrance to retrieve his treasure.
Meanwhile, the voices left him as the once captive furies tested their freedom and flew free. The devilish wind spirits went in search of vulnerable minds to corrupt. Now that the miner truly believed the rocks to be gold he was no fun anymore and certainly no longer of any use since he gave them their freedom.
~:~
Shelli sat in her room alone brushing her hair. Her thoughts were on Gusto and how she had not seen much of him lately. Ever since Josi showed up the two brothers have been inseparable as they were catching up on missed years. She didn't blame him one bit but she did feel a bit lonely without him.
A black winged toucan came winging into her room. A bit startled by the visit, Shelli understood. Arte the toucan is Gusto's best friend and is probably feeling a bit left out, too. "Hello, Arte."
"Hey, Shelli. Would you mind? I have an itch on my neck that I can't reach and the wayward artist is off gallivanting around."
Shelli laughed softly and put the bird in her lap. She eased her fingers carefully under his feathers like Gusto showed her. If she damaged one it would take quite awhile for a new one to grow in its place. Once she was sure she wouldn't damage any feathers Shelli began scratching the bird's neck.
"Ahhhh! Thank you," said the pleased Toucan. When Shelli's fingers finally got tired from scratching she massaged the bird instead. "You are my new best friend," the bird told her dreamily.
"As long as you don't abandon me, I'll be glad to be your friend," Shelli told him.
"Why are you feeling abandoned?" asked Artie. Then the bird realized how close Shelli was getting to Gusto and realized he knew the answer. "He would never abandon you."
"He? Is it that obvious?" Shelli sighed. She was hoping she would be able to keep her feelings to herself because she didn't want to risk scaring Gusto away.
"He loves you, you know. He's afraid to say anything since you ran away from home so you wouldn't have to face marriage. He doesn't want to scare you away."
Shelli was shocked. He loved her? And they were both afraid of scaring the other away. She couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it. She was going to have to do something about it but she had no idea what.
Another uninvited but not unwelcome guest came storming through the door. Arrow wore the look of frustration and flung herself onto Shelli's bed. "Why are men so difficult?" she demanded.
Shelli and Arrow were close in age but really had nothing in common so when the younger gummi came to her for advice she knew it must be serious. "That is the nature of men, Arrow. We females are the stronger and smarter ones. They would be lost without us."
Arrow rolled over and propped herself on one elbow to regard Shelli. For coming from a completely unbarbic background this gummi made sense! The young barbic looked rather fetching today. She took the opportunity of the Glen's facilities to take a bath and wash her clothes and hair. She was wearing her hair half up in a ponytail with loose hair framing her face.
"Which one is giving you a troubled mind?" Shelli asked her.
"It's Josi. While we were on the ship we were getting along great - we spent almost the entire time together. Yet, now, I'm about to leave and I haven't seen him for longer than five minutes." Arrow could hardly believe she was confiding her innermost feelings to Shelli but somehow it seemed right.
"I know the feeling. I've been just as frustrated that I haven't seen Gusto."
"I get to go to Ursalia!" squealed Sunni as she, too, burst into the room. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Arrow. "I'm sorry, Arrow. I didn't know you were in here. I get to go with you to see the barbics!"
"Why would you want to do that?" Arrow asked. "I though the Glens and the Barbics weren't best friends.
"They aren't," Shelli answered, "but Sunni and Buddi are."
"Buddi? I remember that cub." said Arrow with a smile and winked. "All energy and trouble. No wonder you like him."
"I do not like him that way!" loudly protested Sunni.
"Oh, yes you do!" retorted Shelli, "and there is nothing wrong with it. I don't care what is going on between Ursa and Gruffi. You can like whomever you please."
Sunni blushed furiously. "Do you really think so?" she asked shyly."
"Of course you can!" answered Arrow. "Besides, there aren't many of us Barbics left. If we don't go outside the barbic lines for mates then we will become inbred imbeciles."
All three gummies laughed at the thought and the three fell to boy talking while the toucan eavesdropped.
:~
At dawn, Dagger and the other barbics were ready to travel to Ursalia to meet up with their kin. Everyone was set to go except Arrow. She didn't want to leave Josi knew she would go no matter what. Nothing could stop her from seeing other Barbics and Ursa again, not even her heart.
The Glen Gummies had gotten up to see their new friends off, but Josi was not among them. Everyone said their goodbyes and started filing out the door. Arrow hung back hoping, just hoping, that she would get to see Josi just one more time.
"Wait up!" came Josi's voice from down the hall. The pink bear was running towards them dressed in traveling gear with a pack on his back. "I have just one more thing to do before we go." He pulled out a letter he was carrying under his belt. "Shelli, this is for you from your father. I'm sorry, but I have to let Gusto fill in the details." He then turned to his brother and gave him one more big hug. "I'm sorry to leave so soon, brother, but you understand.
Gusto just smiled at him for he understood all too well. "Take care, Josi. We'll come and visit in a couple of weeks when you are all settled."
Josi grinned and turned towards the door. "Well, don't just stand there, girl! They're leaving without us!" He rushed out the door pulling Arrow behind him. The look of surprise on her face was priceless