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 looked up, spied Gritti. The Barbic strong bear shook his head and then smiled, his way of saying he would keep his mouth shut. Ursa gave him a 'you-better' look and nodded. Buddi was calmer now. He still clung to her like glue but his tears had stopped. He'd wiped them on her clothes but she didn't care. She wanted him to stay this way; Sweet Gum, if only he could stay a cub the rest of his life. Oh, she would have loved it. Just to be able to cuddle and spoil him until the rest of her days. But she knew that was not to be. Still, for the time being, she would enjoy it.

"I thought you were furious, Ursa." Gritti teased her. Ursa looked up at him. She turned to Buddi and stroked his hair. Taking a moment to gather her thoughts, she replied,

"I was…but not anymore…"

"Ursa…"

"Gritti…are we being fair to him? Is it fair of us to throw all this responsibility on his shoulders?"

"What brought this on?"

Ursa sighed, leaned back. Buddi wasn't heavy so it was more a sigh of confusion and lost ways than one of strain. "Somethin' he said last night."

"What did he say?"

Ursa looked up at her second-in-command. "That I'm his rock, his strength. That he tries to cling to childhood as long as he can because he believes when he grows up he won't have that anymore."

"Did you tell him that was nonsense talk?"

"I thought about it. But I didn't. He was too upset. He was in tears so I just tried to dry those first. He fell asleep before I could really do much."

"Before you could or before you _wanted_ to?"

Ursa's glare would have halted the dead. Gritti backed up, "Hear me out, okay?"

"Hurry it up and you better have a good excuse for that."

"Ursa, Buddi might be to blame for trying to cling to his childhood but you're part of the problem. You aren't _making_ him let go."

"Gritti…how can I? He's scared; he's frightened. And he has every right to be! He _knows_ what he has to fulfill. He knows he is the last. That's a lot of stress for anyone to handle. And Buddi has never been very self-confident in the first place. I thought it was a phase but it isn't."

She got up and laid Buddi down on her own bed before turning to face Gritti. "What I can't figure is how he _got_ that way! Did I push him too far?"

"Ursa-"

"Is that why he doesn't believe in himself? Because of me? What kind of mother am I?"

"A slatc good one, period." Gritti walked behind her and grabbed her shoulders. She tried to shrug him off but he overpowered her and made her sit down in one of the chairs. He worked his hands into her tense muscles. "Ursa, he loves you. Everything he does is for you. Maybe he pushed _himself_ too far. Your pressure might not have helped but I doubt it was the key cause. You're right. Being the last of us has its own pressure and that is probably the key reason. Buddi's too clever sometimes."

He kneaded her muscles a little more and she loomed her head back, with a low groan. He chuckled and began to work on the back of her neck. She let out a low moan of pleasure. He smiled,

"I dunno if it's this battle or Buddi or both but you need to ease up. You're as tense as a bowstring."

Ursa chuckled low in her throat, "Well, I keep you around for a reason you know," she teased with a half grin.

"Oh is that why?" he joked back at her. "It isn't for my dashing good looks?"

"Shut up and get over yourself." She snapped, strangely defensive. She closed her eyes and leaned back, wondering why such a statement made her feel that way. She'd never done that before…

Near Past

By the time Ursa got back to the meeting place, Buddi was asleep, slurping on his fingers, his head against her shoulder. She shook her head. She _really_ needed to break that habit of his. But not tonight. The other Barbics let out great sighs of relief when they saw Buddi and Grammi took a wide smile. Ursa's clan rushed forward but then backed up when they saw the cub was fine. Ursa shifted the cub's weight a little bit. Gritti offered to take him, no doubt feeling guilty about not having kept a closer eye on him. Ursa shook her head, gestured him away. He backed away. She wasn't angry at him; she was just glad to have Buddi safe. Ursa addressed the Glens.

"Thanks for your help."

"Of course…but we really can't stay any longer. We need to go."

Ursa nodded, "I wish you luck."

That said, the Barbics turned and took to the canopy. Ursa wondered what had become of those three Barbics who had leapt into the spell but she did remember reading that most spells were mind controlled. Perhaps they had their minds set on a completely different time. She knew what time.

That also set her mind to something else. She knew she was being cold but she was not about take a chance when her cub was involved. She put Buddi in his room, locked him window and then went back to the assembled Barbics,

"This has taught me much. In light of what has happened, the threat we've been put through, I'll pass this: No more outsiders."

"Hurry Zummi!"

"What's the gush Ruffi…er, I mean, what's the rush Gruffi?"

"I just wanna get out of this time." The Glen leader glared at Grammi although there was not _true_ anger in his eyes, more like annoyance. But just as Grammi always did, she ignored it. Turning to Zummi, she nodded and said,

"For once I agree with Gruffi, let's go Zummi."

The magician nodded and fumbled around his clothes for the spell. He could never seem to put it in the same place twice. He always had to search for it. Finally, victoriously, he held it up.

Zummi spoke a few words and the four Glens vanished once again.

When the spell wore off, the Glens found themselves still in a built up Barbic establishment but further back. It was younger but not as young as Kuriani's time. This meant there was no need for disguises, thank goodness. But now it was-

"Who's there?!"

Looking upward, the Glens gasped. For a moment they swore it was Ursa. But no…this Gummi…this Gummi was a giant! She loomed over them, far more than Ursa had. She…she…she made Tummi look like a five year old. Gruffi looked even younger; even he looked intimidated.

She was Barbic, no doubt. Her fur was light tan, about Ursa's shade and she had blood red hair. She kept it pulled back in a bun but some of her hair still trailed down her back. She wore a dark forest green tunic, black slacks that went to her ankles. She had a black bow swung over her shoulder, complete with a small quiver that rested on her back. Red feathered arrows stuck out it. In half the time it took to blink, she had both arrow and bow drawn at them, her eyes burning. She had to angle it down because she was so tall. But what surprised the Glens the most was the fact that she was so agile.

She was _very_ heavy with cub.

"Who-" Tummi began. The Gummi interrupted,

"That is hardly your business, outsider," she hissed dangerously. Tummi backed up. The Gummi's eyes weren't cruel, yet cautious. She tightened her bowstring, grinding her teeth.

"Please dear," Grammi tried, "we mean no harm, we're lost."

"Auntie Una!"

The Gummi turned as a small black cub ran onto the scene. He was well muscled for a two and a half year old but still in diapers which was obvious by the way he ran. He stopped by the Gummi's leg and said,

"New gummies?"

The Gummi, whom the cub had called 'Una', groaned out loud,

"Gritti…"

Gruffi and the others about choked. Thi…this was Gritti?! They had gone back a ways. But the good news was that this meant the only present Barbic they needed to worry about was Grubbi. He would have been about…well, not terribly young but not old yet either. And…Una!

It suddenly clicked…Una; they'd heard that name before-

"Urnri!" Una lifted her head. From the branches, there stirred another motion…male. Another Barbic dropped.

"Gritti!"

The small cub laughed and ran to the adult's leg, hugging it tightly, "Mycan!"

The glens turned their attention back to Una…

_This_ was Ursa's mother?

Present

Plucki stopped in his room, ran to his window and called down to the other knights, waiting,

"Start without me. I'll be along."

He darted back in without waiting for their reply. Why…why had he run? This…Sweet Gum, this couldn't happen again! The memory of his first experience with the 'Fire Plaque' still cut deep. The knight walked back into his room, darted into his private bath chambers.

Plucki splashed some water on his face. He couldn't panic. It…it _couldn't_ be Fire Plaque. They…that illness had only been around long enough to…to take his wife and child. He clenched his fists in sadness and anger. He bowed his head, groaned, and then felt something smack his cheek. He looked up, his face turned white.

"Plucki Gummi! What is wrong with you? Go back to that poor cub!"

"I…Illsi…"

Where his reflection should have been was his late wife. Her sea green hair still fell in beautiful waves. Her aqua fur still was smooth, as it had been years ago. She wore her same clothes, that long flowing gown that had illuminated her dark eyes beautifully. But her eyes were narrowed with anger and disappointment; a look the Gummi Captain remembered quite well. For a moment, Plucki said nothing. Then Illsi spoke again, her voice sad yet firm.

"It _is_ Fire Plaque, love. You know it."

"It can't be, I can't lose anyone else."

"You don't have to. Plucki, Aldi was not a fighter, we both know that. Neither was I. Cubbi is. But you know that he cannot fight this alone. He can't. He needs you. Strong as he is, he's still a child. He's alone here, only Sunni is even close to a parent source and she can't deal with this."

"Illsi…I cannot cope with this again…not like before…"

"And _leaving_ Cubbi alone, afraid, will prevent that?!" she all but bellowed. The image swirled and Plucki found himself staring at the young knight's room. The cub had crawled from bed, made it to the bathroom to throw up but now was lying on that stone cold floor, shaking with cold. Tears ran from his eyes. Plucki's own eyes felt wet.

His wife's face faded back into view. "You _love_ him, my dear. You know it. He isn't Aldi but you love him just as much as Aldi, but differently as well. Don't stand there and tell me that you'll leave him that way."

"Illsi…"

"Aldi and I fought because you were there, love. You gave us something to fight for. But we were weak already. Cubbi is strong, a stubborn fighter. He has a chance, a chance Aldi and I never had. But he needs something to fight _for_. Someone to give him the knowledge that he is not alone in this fight, that he has not been abandoned. Will you deny him that, simply from your own bad memories?"

The fear and sorrow left the knight's eyes, replaced by anger and determination.

"Not while there is breath still in me."

Plucki turned and ran out into the hall as Illsi's image vanished.

Cubbi shook, trembled, like a leaf. Everything…everything was cold…so cold. Everything hurt. Everything. Even lying here, the nausea was terrible, his head throbbed, and his throat burned like fire. Tears slipped through his eyes. If he opened them, everything spun. But he was alone…

"'Lone," the cub moaned, half conscious. "'M 'lone."

"No," a strong familiar voice answered as it lifted him from the ground, supported him in his arms. Cubbi's vision swam but he saw Plucki's eyes, soft yet strong. "Not anymore."

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