Threat of the Threads
Gummi Bears are not mine. I got the idea for this story a while ago but thought it would prove confusing. However, after reading a story of Angel Raye's that manages many time jumps without confusion, entitled Lost in Time, I decided to try and put it on paper. Please R&R!
"Buddi! Sunni! Cubbi! Will you three stop getting into mischief?"
The called cubs whirled around and grinned in answer. Gruffi sighed and said out loud,
"Why do I even ask?'
Ursa looked over from the fire. She, Buddi, and Gritty had agreed to spend a holiday with the Glens, to learn more about each other. In return, the Glens would learn more about them and join them for their Night of the Burning Stars, two weeks following. This holiday the Glen Gummies called, Festival of the First Snow.
"Let them play, Gruffi," Ursa cut in.
"They're just getting into trouble!"
Gritty stood,
"They're cubs; cubs get into trouble."
Grammi came in from the kitchen and hissed,
"They're right, leave the poor dears alone!"
Gruffi snorted but didn't reply. The three cubs giggled and then asked, as one,
"Can we play outside?"
Ursa and Grammi replied,
"Sure, just stay close and watch the time. Be in before dark."
The three nodded and ran off. Ursa chuckled and turned back to the fire. Gruffi looked at her,
"You just let him run off like that? Not even an adult with him?"
Ursa raised an eyebrow at Gruffi,
"Buddi's a Barbic, he can handle himself. And he's smart."
Her glare met Gruffi's. Gritty sighed,
"Oh Gum. This is gonna be a long day."
* * *
Zummi looked at the small brown cub by his side. Cubbi had gone to bed a few hours ago and Sunni a few minutes ago. The Barbics were staying the night. Ursa said that Buddi usually went to bed about thirty minutes after Sunni. So Buddi was looking through the Great Book with the magician.
"Zummi?"
The purple gummi looked over and the cub pointed to a page that was alien to Zummi. He'd never seen it before. Buddi looked at the adult with inquisitive eyes. The magician smiled and read over the cub's shoulder.
"By Gum, a sime travel tell…uh, a time travel spell."
"Really?" Buddi's eyes lit up "Neato!"
Zummi smiled and read it over,
"Amazing, a spell that allows you to control the time you go to and the tmount of time you're ahere…uh, the amount of time you're there."
"Cast it!" Buddi was ecstatic!
"Oh no, no, no Buddi…this is so complex.."
"But…you're a magician!"
Zummi stared at Buddi,
"Buddi, you have another reason, don't you?"
Buddi stopped a minute,
"Ursa…she's a great guardian but I wish I could have seen my birth mother, even if it was only for a few minutes."
Buddi looked at Zummi,
"Zummi, please…it's a way. If you could-"
"Buddi!"
The cub turned, Ursa was in the doorway.
"It's past your bedtime Buddi. Come on."
"Okay Ursa, be there in five minutes."
"Buddi!"
The cub looked at her pleadingly,
"Come on, Ursa, just five minutes?"
"No."
"Zummi wants to show me something really fast…promise five minutes!"
The Barbic leader ground her teeth and then said,
"All right, five minutes, no more!"
She trusted Buddi. Maybe she was also being lenient because this was a holiday. Not a Barbic holiday but a holiday nonetheless. Besides, it usually took him about five minutes to come anyway. She could allow him some extra time.
Buddi turned to Zummi, eyes pleading. The magician gave up. He always caved under that look.
"Transum…portoum Buddi toum-"
"Buddi! Zummi, stop playing around with the foolish magic!"
Gruffi's voice was agitated; apparently, he and Ursa had fought again.
Buddi felt a sickness overwhelm him, a dizziness that made him slump to his knees. His hands began to flicker.
"Zummi! What's going on?"
The magician was swiftly hunting the Great book for an answer.
"Zummi!"
The magician nearly screamed. The cub was transparent and flickering in and out of reality. Buddi looked up and begged.
"Help me…"
Then, in a flash of golden light, he vanished.
Zummi stood stunned a moment and then cried,
"Buddi!"
* * *
Buddi woke up slowly. He glanced around and demanded,
"Where am I?"
He spied two small forms approaching. He sat up. The oldest of the pair looked about nine, while the other was about six or so. The youngest was a female with deep red hair and a yellow tunic on. She had tan fur and her face had an aura of familiarity to it. The oldest was male and was deep coal black and he wore a brown tunic. Like the girl he was barefoot and had an atmosphere of familiarity around him.
"Hey!" the girl ran to Buddi and demanded,
"Who are you? Never seen you before!"
Buddi rubbed his head,
"Long story."
The girl stuck out her lower lip. Obviously not liking that answer, Buddi asked,
"What's the date?"
The girl laughed,
"Ya don't get out much do ya?"
The male cub sighed,
"It's summer, duh."
"I meant-"
The girl broke in,
"Mid summer, 1343, duh!"
Buddi gasped and then stared at the girl…her eyes.
"Ursa?"
The girl was stunned for a brief moment. Then she recovered and demanded,
"How do you know my name?"
Buddi ignored her words. He couldn't believe it. Zummi's spell had taken him back twenty-seven years, when his Guardian was just six! Buddi jerked to the male cub. Those eyes…
"Gritty?"
Th black cub ground his teeth,
"What? How do you know who we are? We've never seen you before!"
"Ursa! Gritty!"
The two cubs turned and Buddi gasped,
"Grubbi!"
The healer was a good twenty years younger. The Grubbi Buddi knew was fifty-six, this one was in his late twenties! He had shiner hair that he still had in a ponytail. His muscles were not as large and his frame was smaller. His eyes didn't have the knowledge Buddi was used to. Judging from his face, he had just recently become trained as a physician.
Grubbi looked at this cub, stunned. He'd never seen the cub before but could tell that he was Barbic. His muscles had yet to develop, he looked about two years older than Gritty, around eleven. More that that, he was staring around stunned.
"How do you know my name?"
"I…I…' Buddi nearly answered and then swiftly remembered that if he told them who he was, that might very well alter the future, his present. He answered,
"I…I've heard about you."
Ursa snorted,
"That isn't a good answer."
"Ursa…" Grubbi's voice was threatening. He raised an eyebrow and said,
"I could easily contact your mother."
The girl crossed her arms and pouted but said nothing more.
Grubbi turned back to Buddi,
"What's your name, son?"
"Buddi."
The cub kept staring at Ursa and Gritty, as if he knew them. Ursa didn't like it. She glared at Buddi. Buddi made no response and then finally said,
"You're cute."
Ursa stomped her foot against the ground. "Don't call me that!"
Grubbi chuckled and said to Buddi, "Ursa-"
"She's tough, I know." Buddi answered, "She's a warrior, not cute."
Ursa seemed stunned; how could this cub read her so? But she smiled,
"Yeah!"
She glared at Grubbi, "But can I train…NO! They don't let me…no fair!"
She glared at Gritty, "They let him," she added with a jerking of her thumb, "But not me."
Grubbi sighed, "Ursa, you're not old enough yet. Gritty's training because he's nine. When you're nine, you can train."
"Too long!"
Buddi chuckled a little. Then he looked around at the trees some more. Oh Gum, it was true, this was Barbic Woods. His home…
"Buddi?"
The cub turned, Grubbi smiled.
"I need you to meet our leader, Gianni and our healer Theanrn. He needs to check you out. Just in case."
Buddi nodded. Grubbi almost picked him up but the cub asked,
"Can I use the vines to follow you?"
Grubbi asked,
"You can do that? You know how?"
Buddi nodded. Ursa threw a fit.
"How come he knows and I don't? You won't teach me!"
Grubbi sighed, "Ursa…
"It's not fair!"
"Ursa!" the gummi snapped and grabbed her arm, "You're going the right way for a slapped behind."
Ursa spat on the ground, "Not fair!"
Gritty sighed deeply. He didn't know what to do when she did this except let her let her steam out. She didn't know how to let it out positively yet like he did. So she still threw tantrums. Grubbi let her scream a minute or two and then hissed,
"Ursa Barbic, stop it!"
Ursa made no outward sign she'd heard Grubbi. Buddi was stunned; no wonder Ursa kept pressing him to let his anger out right. She'd never been able to! Ursa stomped her feet down hard, screaming again for them to teach her,
"Ursa Marie Barbic!"
Grubbi stormed over to the girl, his patience worn out. She was only six but she needed to learn that she had to be patient.
Grubbi snatched the girl around her waist and smacked her backside three times. She howled in pain but didn't cry. Grubbi sat her down and said,
"If you keep that up, we'll never teach you!"
Ursa sat down and pouted. She glared at Buddi.
"Not fair."
Grubbi put a hand on the young cub's shoulder,
"Follow me."
Present"What do you mean you don't know where he is?"
Ursa's anger was clearly evident. Gritty pulled her back although he was almost as bad as Ursa was. Buddi was their future. Buddi was their only cub. And all the Barbics had come to look upon Buddi as their own although none as much as Ursa. Gritty and Grubbi came in second in closeness.
Zummi took a breath and said,
"I don't know where he is. I dish I wid…uh I wish I did."
Grammi walked over and grabbed Ursa's arm,
"Land sakes, Ursa, calm down. You aren't gonna find Buddi any faster if you panic."
Ursa turned to Grammi with every intent of telling her off, but the female gummi's eyes were so pleading, so begging, and Ursa bit down her words.
Zummi spoke again, "The spell got goofed."
Gruffi rolled his eyes,
"See? Every time you do magic things get screwed up even worse than before."
Zummi narrowed his eyes,
"Actually Gruffi, you interrupted the spell and that's what goofed it up."
Ursa whirled to Gruffi with a look that could have killed the undead. Gruffi took on a firm position but inwardly feared her. He didn't fear her as a general rule but he knew that she looked upon that cub like a son and he feared an angry mother more than anything else.
"Gruffi…" Gritty grabbed Ursa by her arms and told her,
"Breathe, Ursa, Breathe."
The Barbic female tried to calm her temper and ground her hands into tight fists. Gritty tightened his grip as he felt her muscles condense. Ursa took a breath and let her muscles fall limp again. She said simply,
"You can let me go, Gritty."
Her best friend reluctantly did so. She looked angry enough to throw Gruffi into next year. But she instead turned to Zummi.
"If it was a spell, can't you undo it."
"No, it's a sime travel tell…uh time travel spell."
"Time travel?"
Ursa's heart froze in her chest. Grammi grabbed her by her elbow and rubbed her hand. For once, Ursa didn't reject. She merely kept her gaze on the magician.
"Buddi wanted to see his birth mother. This spell I planned on letting him see her a few minutes. But Gruffi interrupted the spell before I could tell it what time and how long there. Gum knows when Buddi is."
1343
"Turn you head toward me, Buddi."
The cub did as Theanrn asked. It felt odd and a bit scary for Buddi to have anyone but Grubbi examining him. But they didn't know him here and he couldn't reveal the future. So he tried to behave.
"Okay, good boy. I think that's enough. I don't know where you're from but you're definitely Barbic."
"A Barbic cub?"
Buddi turned and saw a Barbic in the doorway he'd never seen before. He was a tan shade with a dark black tunic. A sword swung by his side. He walked in and introduced himself as Gianni, the Barbics' leader.
Buddi just nodded. Gianni asked if Buddi would stay a while and the cub's reply was he wasn't sure. Buddi wasn't sure how this spell was working. He had no idea how long he'd be here. He just knew he wasn't supposed to be in this time, all he'd wanted was to see his mother for a few minutes, maybe an hour and then go home. He missed Ursa already. She was here but she was a child. He didn't want her as a child; he wanted her as an adult, a teacher. Someone who could tell him what to do.
"Buddi?"
It was Grubbi again, his younger version,
"Buddi, it's getting late, do you want to turn in or do you want to watch the adults a little while longer?"
Buddi's yawn gave his answer. Grubbi chuckled and picked him up. He walked past Ursa's room on his way to Buddi's and walked in briefly. He sighed to himself,
"I pity her mother, she's a little terror."
Buddi giggled and looked at his guardian.
She had her hair sprawled all her the pillow and she was slurping on her fingers. Her other arm was flung onto her headboard. Grubbi chuckled and pulled the comforter over her body. She made no reply.
"She sleeps like a rock."
Buddi merely smiled; it was uncanny how much he and Ursa were alike in different ways.
* * *
Buddi watched Ursa play with gritty from the treetops. Ursa wasn't allowed to swing yet because she didn't know how. He longed for home, for familiar adult faces.
"Hey there, little one." An unfamiliar voice called.
Buddi turned and saw a female Barbic, looking about thirty. She had deep red hair and wore a dark green tunic. Her feet had on ankle high boots and she was very tall, about as tall as Buddi's guardian.
"Who are you?"
The female didn't reply, "Not important. Just wanted to see how you were. You've been here for how long?"
"Six days."
"I bet you miss your home?"
Buddi nodded. He did miss it; he wanted to go home. Why wasn't Zummi undoing the spell to bring him back? He didn't care if Ursa yelled at him, he wanted to go home. By Gum, he was homesick.
Buddi laughed to himself, he was in Barbic Woods and he was homesick.
Ursa glanced outward, cautiously. Gritty had left to get something to drink. Ursa watched with envy. Gritty could swing, no fair.
Her ears picked up a sound. Looking outside the trees, she spied humans. She smiled, if she could force them off, maybe they'd teach her something. She crept forward with a child's enthusiasm.
Buddi saw this and leapt up,
"Ursa!"
The female Barbic beside him jerked to attention at Ursa's name. She got up and saw what was going on. She screamed,
"Ursa Marie Barbic! Get back here!"
The girl either didn't hear her or ignored her. The Barbic turned to Buddi,
"Stay here."
Then she grabbed a vine and swung towards the inevitable fight.
Ursa screamed and backed up. The humans were too strong. She covered her head with her hands. The blade never hit her. She opened her eyes.
"Mommy!"
The red haired Barbic turned around.
"Go Ursa!"
"Listen to your mother, Ursa," a male voice called. Ursa looked up and a tan furred Barbic male, shorter than her mother dropped down. He had on a green shirt and black slacks. He had his sword draw. It was Warrio.
"Daddy!"
Warrio turned to his mate and the two stood in front of their daughter. The female spun her sword around,
"I don't know what you want, but you aren't laying a finger on my daughter."
Buddi watched all this in shock when he realized whom he'd been talking to.
"Una, Ursa's mother…my 'grandma'."
Buddi watched the battle…it was tragically short.
Una and Warrio easily chased off most of the humans but two of them remained. One took note of Ursa still around. He threw his sword like a knife.
Ursa froze, staring with wide eyes at the approaching blade.
Una leapt in front of her daughter, taking the blade through her chest.
Ursa screamed,
"Mommy!"
Warrio whirled when he heard his daughter's fierce cry. Seeing his felled mate, he let out a roar of anger and attacked. He fell one human and took the other one out but in return received a blade to the heart.
"Daddy!"
The retreated humans were returning. Ursa turned to her mother. The red haired Barbic smiled faintly,
"Go little one. Go my Little Ursa."
"But…Mommy…"
Una forced herself up and kissed her daughter on the forehead.
"Go."
Then Una died. Ursa let out a scream of pain. A hand grabbed her and yanked her into the trees. It was Gritty. Buddi watched this with tears streaming down his face. Ursa buried her face into Gritty's chest, saying over and over,
"Mommy, Daddy! Mommy! Daddy!"
An eerie feeling passed over Buddi. He began to flicker in and out. The spell was activating again. He looked at Ursa. An odd glimmer had taken her eyes. She stared at her dead parents and her eyes turned hard and cold, as an emotion rushed over her eyes; hate.
Often many times, Buddi had seen that look, whenever he asked her why she hated humans so. She just answered,
"They're humans, that's all you need to know."
Now as Buddi recognized that glimmer in her eyes he knew why.
"So, this is why. This where your hatred was born, Ursa."
Then he flickered out of that time and into another.