Growing Up

The Barbics, Glens and any other Disney characters are copyrighted to Disney and we claim no ownership. However, any new characters are copyrighted to Ulisa, Silver Fox and Cheetah the Furry. This plot is a collaboration of Ulisa, Silver Fox, and Cheetah the Furry.

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Ursa and Gritti were glad to get away for a bit. The day had been exhausting. They were tired and quite frankly, Barbics were not open bears. The two wanted some time with just other Barbics. Ursa and Gritti had spoken with the knights a bit but now were more than happy to turn in.

Ursa chuckled as she walked in, Gritti just behind her. Their little cub was asleep, out like a light on top of the covers. He hadn't bothered to take off his belt, his shoes, cloak, nothing. Ursa sat down by him, on her knees and undid and slid his belt off. He turned a little but made no other reaction. Since Buddi's thicker coat of fur had yet to grow in she decided to let him keep the cloak but she did take his boots.

Gritti chuckled at the scene as he took off his own belt and shoes. Most male Barbics took their shirts off when they slept, with the exception of Buddi because of his age but Gritti decided not to. Might make Ursa uncomfortable. Although he sometimes wondered if anything made her uncomfortable.

Ursa slid her sandals off and laid down by Buddi's right side as she placed her belt and helmet by her side. Buddi's breathing was deep and steady. She twirled his hair on one of her fingers for a moment.

"Reminiscing?" a voice inquired. Ursa looked up.

Gritti took the cub's other side but he didn't lay down just yet. Rather, he watched Ursa and the cub. She sighed deeply,

"A bit, I suppose."

"You raised a brave cub, Ursa."

"Good."

Gritti looked at her. Her eyes were downcast. She was thinking about something, something that bugged her as far as he could tell. He couldn't tell if it was about her, Buddi, or something else altogether. Gritti knew her better than any of the Barbics did and even he couldn't always tell.

"Ursa?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure you're alright? I mean-"

"Gum's sake, I'm fine." She turned and Buddi rolled over, flinging his arm so it hit her back. Ursa chuckled. She turned around and faced Gritti as she pried Buddi's hand away and gently set it down beside his cheek. Buddi rolled over. Gritti's body blocked his way and he turned and laid still.

Gritti chuckled low in his throat and said,

"Ursa…Lady Bane was going to kill you."

"I know."

Gritti sighed, "Never mind." He turned over and laid down completely, covering himself up, with a simple, "Good night."

Ursa was silent a moment, considering. Gritti had been full of rage when he'd rushed in for her. She'd never seen such anger in his eyes. And the way he had stood over her the way he did. Ursa felt a warmth flood her face and she turned so he wouldn't see. She rubbed her neck uncomfortably and then said,

"Gritti…"

"What?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

Ursa kept her face away and rubbed Buddi's back with one of her arms and said simply, "For saving my life." There was sincerity in her voice. Gritti turned and faced her back. He gently put his hands on her shoulders and twirled a strand of her hair. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away. Gritti kept waiting for her to tug away and maybe snap at him as she had when he had made such a move in his teen years. She did nothing. Gritti drew his hand away swiftly just the same, with a,

"You're welcome."

Sunni sat up after she heard Grubbi's heavy breathing. He had just recently checked on her. So she knew she had time. Her head was throbbing. But it wasn't a terrible throbbing; it was more like voices. They were telling her…no…ordering her! They said, 'Drekmore' over and over. But there was something besides the voices. Suddenly, she knew what she felt for multiple things.

Sunni slipped through the tent's entrance and looked around. She saw the knights in the distance but she ignored them. Slipping to the last tent, she stuck her head in.

Ursa and Gritti were asleep, Ursa was facing Gritti but had her arms locked around Buddi. Had Sunni truly been herself, she would have been stunned. Instead, she called, softly,

"Buddi…"

He blinked, sat up, and she made a gesture for him to follow her. The cub pried Ursa's arms off and tiptoed by the two adults and trotted after his best friend. Sunni led him behind the tents, into a glade of trees. She sat down and Buddi sat beside her. Sunni grabbed her head and the voices grew louder and louder until they completely overwhelmed her,

"Buddi…"

"What's wrong, Sunni?"

The voices were hissing, 'Gummadoon…Great Book…Drekmore.' She shook her head and as if the voices wanted to keep her soul in check, they attacked her emotions, allowed to them to come out without any restraint. She looked up at Buddi.

He was so sweet! He had a concerned look in his eyes and was leaning close to her. For the first time, she went over her feelings and how she felt. Oh, it wasn't friendship. Well, she supposed it was but it was something else too. Something deeper. She felt like a teenager almost for the first time. She knew what she wanted. Had she been Sunni, her logical side would have taken over and convinced her to discuss it or even wait until she saw Grammi again to speak of it. But whatever Zorlock had done to her had made her a puppet of sorts. Her emotions were in command and they knew no logic. She took on a wide grin,

"Nothing…I just wanted-"

She grabbed the Barbic cub around his neck and kissed him, knocking him onto the ground so he couldn't use his height against her. Her heart knew she loved him. She was overwhelmed by it and knew nothing else. She tightened her grip and pressed as hard as she could, ignoring the look of horror and pain on her friend's face.

"So," Blastus sat and spoke with Ramsei and Plucki, "The glen, you think?"

Ramsei nodded, "They will a better advantage. If we-"

"Won't work."

Turning, the three knights saw the youngest knight had sat up and was lying on his belly, kicking his feet back and forth. He looked at them with empty and broken eyes. He strengthened his voice and said,

"Won't work."

He didn't say why. He merely got to his feet and walked towards his tent, calling, "The Glen won't work. Try something else."

The three adults exchanged glances. Plucki got to his feet and followed his youngest knight into the tent. Ramsei said nothing. He had put his feelings aside and besides, he knew that of all the knights, Cubbi would trust Plucki more than the others. He turned to Sir Blastus. The French knight shrugged.

Cubbi made no reaction to Plucki's presence, merely flung himself down on the sheets and fell silent. Plucki sat by him, carefully keeping his voice kind and not to use that authoritarian voice he had a tendency to use when he needed information.

"Lad, why won't that work?"

"It…it just won't, all right?"

Cubbi had been sitting with his face away but now Plucki grabbed him by his chin, gently, and turned his face. The elder knight's eyes were kind, understanding, but they were also stern. He wasn't about to be cruel but he needed to know why. He'd never known Cubbi to not tell him why. Cubbi was usually quite open with him. So, why was he holding back?

"Lad…"

"It won't! It just won't!" he jerked away and rubbed his eyes with his arm, saying, "I've cried too much already."

He buried his face into the sheets and covered his ears. Typical cub response but for some reason, Plucki didn't challenge it. Rather he said,

"All right, lad."

Cubbi didn't turn to look but he felt the sheets sway a bit as the elder knight laid down to sleep himself. Cubbi wasn't going to cry again. Not like he had before. Why had he broken down like that? He hated himself for it. He buried his face and waited for sleep to come.

Plucki had wanted to press the cub and try and get out whatever caused him such pain. But he had dealt with a cub before, his son Aldi. In fact…Aldi was a lot like Sir Cubbi. Plucki had lost his son when Aldi had just turned eight, Sir Cubbi's age. Maybe that's why he was being so understanding…

The Gummi Captain shook his head and closed his own eyes, waiting for sleep to relieve sad memories…

"Papa…"

Sir Plucki's eyes flew open and he sat up fast. He glanced about. He wasn't in the tent anymore so he immediately came to the conclusion.

"Of course…dreams."

"Yes, Papa."

Tears blurred Plucki's vision.

"Aldi…"

He hadn't aged at all. But Plucki supposed he could appear however he desired in a dream. He looked the same. He was eight years old. For the first time, Plucki saw how much of his son was in Sir Cubbi. His son was Cubbi's age. He was a light salmon color, unlike Plucki's golden and his mother's aqua. His hair was short, curly. He still wore that old knight costume his mother had made for him.

"Papa. Listen to me."

Plucki wiped his eyes and glanced at his son's face. The cub's face was strangely serious, unlike the usually cheerful face had always had. Until that one day…

Plucki shook those memories aside. Aldi was speaking.

"Papa, don't abandon Cubbi."

"What?"

"You see me in Cubbi. It hurts you, I can see it. But he isn't me. You're a guiding light to Cubbi. I got to experience having a father. Cubbi never did. His father left. He's never had a father. Why do you cuddle him? It should be a question of why he is drawn to you. I know I'll never be replaced in your eyes. But can't you look on Cubbi as a surrogate son, like a second son?"

"Aldi…"

"He'll need you, Papa. He'll need you soon. I can see you care about him. More than you show."

"Aldi…why are you…"

"Because I can see what'll happen Papa. And if you aren't there, Cubbi'll join me here."

Plucki sat up swiftly. His hands were cold, clammy. He looked outside. The sun was about to rise. He looked to his side.

Sir Cubbi was still asleep, his breathing deep and even. The Gummi Captain was breathing heavily, from whatever that dream was. Was it a vision or just a dream? Could he take a gamble on whichever it was?

The Gummi captain felt a body brush against his side. Sir Cubbi had turned in his sleep, much as Aldi had done, so long ago. He heard his son's warning echo through his mind again as he watched the cub sleep,

"Because I can see what'll happen Papa. And if you aren't there, Cubbi'll join me here."

Near Past

Gritti woke up to the sound of soft sobs. The cub in his arms still slept but he wasn't at peace. The nightmares had stopped as far as he could tell but Buddi wasn't used to not having Ursa around. The black furred Barbic turned his attention to the small cub.

"Fycan…Fycan…"

Gritti sighed deeply. Poor cub. Fycan was Barbic for Mother. Gritti knew he could try and help Buddi anyway he could. He could hardly do otherwise. But no matter how much comfort he gave and how hard he tried, he could never be Ursa. He could never be 'Mama Ursa.'

The Barbic bear sat up and the small cub still slept. Gritti rose and went to get a hot bath. He was stiff from having to stay in the same position all night. He didn't move a lot when he slept but he did move a bit. But he hadn't moved at all last night. So he needed a hot bath to get all the kinks out of his arms.

He felt a little guilty about leaving Buddi but he supposed the cub would be waking up in an hour or so. He would be fine for an hour or so. Besides if he woke up early, it would probably be easier to get him down for an afternoon nap. Gritti felt a mix of feelings about his current position. On the one hand, he liked the peaceful moments like last night. But on the other hand, he wasn't accustomed to dealing with naptimes or baths or anything of that nature.

And he worried about Ursa himself.

He didn't take too long. He dressed and went back to Buddi's room. Sure enough, the cub was awake. But he wasn't moving. He had his face buried his arms and was crying faintly. Upon closer inspection, his cheeks were dark red. Gritti took a breath and knelt in front of the cub.

"Hey, partner, what's wrong?"

He got a slurred answer in response. The cub slowly lifted his head,

"Say what?" Gritti said again. He recognized the cub's face more now. Shame, pure and simple. At first, Gritti was afraid that he was ashamed at having followed Malachi. Or perhaps the big deal he'd made over nightmares last night. It was neither. The cub wailed,

"I wet the bed,"

Gritti hit his forehead. He'd completely forgotten about that. Grubbi had told Ursa it was a phrase and he would outgrow it in a few weeks. But still…this was something else that just wasn't Gritti's territory. This was --Ursa's-- territory. He groaned out loud and then looked at Buddi.

Bright shameful eyes looked right back at him, with tears of humiliation running down bright red cheeks. How could he scold someone who looked at him like that? Those big eyes were lethal weapons. He looked skyward and said,

"Ursa, get back here."

Far Past

Kuriani sighed, "It's not explainable. It's our moral code."

"We know that much." Gruffi stated simply, "We need details. What is your moral code?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud crashing from above. Kuriani jerked her attention to it. Randi had lost his footing. He and a few others had been working hard to put in the balconies around the huts. Kuriani cursed herself. Why had she insisted that the huts be in the trees?!

But before Kuriani or anyone else could say so much as a word, a blur shot through the branches, snagged a vine and snatched the Barbic by his arm, stopping his fall.

Randi looked up and spied that new Barbic, Ursa. She quirked a brow at him, saying, "You need to get the hang of these branches."

She lowered herself and let the Barbic go.

Kuriani was stunned. The Glens were trying to get her attention but she shoved them aside and followed her descendant. Gruffi growled in disappointment but Kuriani either did not hear him or did not have an opinion of his action. She ran after Ursa, anxious to know more about this strange Barbic. She was from the future!

Ursa knew Kuriani was following her; a female Barbic's footsteps were different from a male's. And since the other female, Stephani, was in the trees, that left the leader. She stopped and turned about.

"Ursa?"

"Yes?"

"If I may, could you and I wander about? Maybe you could tell me a bit about these woods?"

Ursa gave the leader a slow smile, "I'd be more interested in learning about you. I take it that Gruffi and the others need at least a day of rest so…yes."

Kuriani followed her descendant about, anxious. She spoke,

"And I would be interested in knowing about you….koy-asco-ny-socan."

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