Gummadoon Woodyard

Toni's eyes were clouded over with sweat, tears and thin streams of blood that poured off his face. His face was a stone, fixated on one goal and one goal alone. He didn't know why his mother was so different lately but he meant to impress her, to make her proud of him. His memories of his father were nearly nonexistent but he did remember his father playing with him. Back then, Mother had been nicer, more involved. She'd been thinner, healthier. She'd smiled more, laughed more.

Toni knew he had been an unplanned baby. He knew his parents had never planned on being parents. They were young and active. His father had been an explorer, venturing out, seeking new dimensions, new lands, more gummies. Before, his father would vanish for weeks and return. He had left when Toni had been two or so and the cub never saw him again. Mother insisted she got letters and signals from him, detailing his adventures and telling how he was delayed and unable to return just then.

Toni had his doubts.

Honestly, Toni thought his father was dead. He never heard from him himself and neither did any of the knights. Surely, they would have been the first to tell him of any news. Yet, Gumlittle never had any news on his father. Toni never asked him though. He felt like his mother couldn't be lying about something like his father but he wasn't sure of her behavior at all anymore.

PAIN!

Toni dropped the ax and fell to his knees, clutching his thigh. Blood seeped out of the small wound where the heavy blade had nicked him. It wasn't deep, he knew that but he also knew that it hurt! The cub put pressure on the wound until the bleeding ceased. He trembled, still in quite a bit of pain. It stung like mad and burnt, probably due to the dirt and grime he'd collected on his body flooding into the wound.

Toni whimpered under his breath and then headed over to a nearby rain water puddle and scooped up a handful into his palm, splashing it onto his wound. It ran down his thigh, leaving a thin, light pink stream. It stung, probably from the mud and dirt that had gathered in the water. He probably made the wound worse by adding the dirty water but at the moment, Toni wasn't thinking about that.

The wound wasn't too deep which was a help. Toni had to stop for a few minutes though, waiting for the horrid pain to subside. It felt like fire for a little bit but then it began to fade. The pain never vanished but it gradually became more like a bite than a cut which was better than before. The cub was mad that the cut still oozed a bit; it would probably leave a scar.

Gum! What would Gumlittle do? The knights told them over and over not to touch the axes or the woodpile. Toni's mother thought nothing of it but what if his mentor found out? Gumlittle would kill him, Toni was sure of it. How could he get out of this? The cub eyed the scar critically. It was a rugged cut, from how the ax had slipped down his leg. Toni was a klutz and he knew it. Would Gumlittle buy that he'd fallen off a fence and into one of the farm pens?

He would.

That thought aside, Toni pulled up the next block of wood, despite how heavy it was. The rough bark on the side made his small palms bleed and chap but he kept at it, regardless. If he could get even a smile from his mother that night…or what is it morning? He blinked and tried to see through the pouring rain but it was hard. He shrugged. The point was that he had to get recognition from her!

Swing, fall, swing, fall, swing, fall…

Thus began the painful ritual the rest of the early dawn and into morning.

Gummadoon SickBay

Sarrika was hardly proud or happy with herself. She hated making anyone cry or shrink away in fear or pain but with Sir Blastus, it was a matter of his life. True enough, he was a cub but Sarrika found herself so thinking of him as the adult. That made her job all the more harder. With a child she had always known as a cub, it would have been far easier to remember the simplest things scared, upset and worried the patient but with Blastus, she was coping with one who usually knew what was coming but now did not.

Thank Gum for Plucki and Gumlittle!

And speaking of which….

" No more owies, Big Brother! She mean! "

Plucki stroked the cub's hair, trying to use it as a comforting gesture. " She's trying to make you feel better. "

" She hurts. No more touch! "

Gumlittle had left for a moment, trying to take all this in stride. He knew there was little chance of him or Plucki catching it but that wasn't what clouded his mind. Fear was always on his mind although the fact that Blastus was talking was a comfort in itself. Never could shut that knight up, adult or child form. It was a comfort. But as for his task at hand…

Sarrika had said that it would be best to get some kind of clothes for the child, if at all possible. The fever would fall easier if he was kept warm and while the towels and blankets worked for now, they were not as well a covering as some type of pajamas or even slacks and tunic. So, that was Gumlittle's mission. But what clothes did they have that would possibly fit a two year old?

Well, they didn't but it was possible that Corvi's youngest brother might. Gumlittle didn't want to ask any of the civilians for some, not when they had to be burned. Corvi had been longing to do something to help Blastus he knew so he hoped this little bit of aid would give the cub a sense of accomplishment, that he was doing something.

Gumlittle approached one of the small intercoms they kept in sickbay that led down into the knights' quarters. They were crude, not like the Gummiscope which was quite the advancement. The intercom itself was little more than a metal tube that connected to certain rooms. Gumlittle managed to get a groggy Ramsei. That made him smile for a moment. Ramsei and about half their knights were grumpy as all get out until they had some morning tea. Yet when Ramsei heard Gumlittle's voice, he adjusted his tone.

"Yes, Sir Gumlittle?"

"Cut the formality, Ramsus and that's an order."

Ramsei had to roll his eyes at the oxymoron but he replied simply "Understood. What do you need?"

"Has Corvi come back yet?"

"I think he's still at his mother's house."

"Can you go and get him, ask him for some of Cori's clothes, not ones the cub likes because chances are we're going to have to burn them later."

"Understood."

Ramsei stopped answering then and Gumlittle heard the door open and shut before he closed the connection. Walking back to Plucki who cradled the shaking cub, he stroked his brother's forehead, " Ramsei's getting you some clothes, little brother. "

" Cold. "

Corvi's House

The knock on the door was enough to get Corvi cursing. He had been working and tending to his family all night it felt like. Sleep was a rarity and one that he had just sworn he'd become accustomed to. His dream hadn't even been halfway through and it had been a wonderful one. Blastus was all better and they were out on the field, training together, Blastus, as always, making it fun and creative.

Just a dream, gone with the morn.

If one could consider this to be morning!

Fiddling with the latch a moment, the cub opened it, still in just his boxers, his hair a frizzled mess.

He promptly blushed blood red and felt like a fool and dashed to grab a housecoat.

"S-sir Ramsei!"

"Don't fret so, cub. I've seen far worse than cubs in their underwear."

"That's a real comfort." The cub remarked and tore his mother's housecoat off the wall. It was purple but Corvi didn't care. He pushed his hair out of his face and backed up so Ramsei could come in out of the spring rain. "What can I do for you Sir Ramsei?"

"Gumlittle needs some clothes for Sir Blastus. You know the council reduced him to child form to help better combat the illness? He's about Cori's age at present moment. Could you-"

"Sure…just stay quiet. You wake my brother up and I will personally shoot you."

"You ought to watch that tongue, cub."

"It's early, I don't feel like it." He snapped, cranky with the rude awakening and the early hour but walked into his youngest brother's room, keeping the lantern he carried very low, as much as he could help it. He paused for a moment to check on his brother in his crib. He was sleeping soundly still, mouth half open. Corvi pulled the covers up on him a bit and then went to his sibling's drawers. He opted on two outfits, one being a simple long night shirt and one being of long slacks and a long sleeved shirt. He handed them to Ramsei.

"You need anything else?"

'No, this should do."

"Good. Ramsei," the cub looked at his feet, almost afraid of the answer "How is Blastus?"

Ramsei tilted the cub's chin up. "Ask your questions to me, not the floor, Corvus."

"Yes sir…how is Blastus doing?"

"He's in the best care possible. From what I know, which is very little, he's talking."

Corvi nodded.

"Get some sleep Corvus. I doubt we'll do training today, at least not in the early morning. Perhaps later if the rain dries up some."

Corvi nodded and then closed the door after the Gummadoon knight, laying against the wall, sliding to the ground, burying his face into his folded arms. His dream faded away into the cold reality: Blastus was still sick, and sick enough that the council was forced to use magic. They usually reserved that for the worst of situations.

Rising to his feet after a moment, the cub took advantage of this pre-dawn awakening to start the household chores, pausing to check on his mother.

Her fever was worse.

Healer Huckleberri's Home

"Water's best right now, young one."

Cubbi pouted at the female healer but took a sip of the mug of water and slowly began to down it. His body had been craving it for the past few days. He was smart enough to drink it when he really needed it but all in all, he had not had nearly enough for the past day or so. His body took it in as much as it could. The healer reminded the child to go slow and to sip, not gulp. Sometimes that was hard but he was determined not to look like a disobedient and foolish cub.

As for Timothi, he kept close to the cub, for some support. While the knight hadn't known the cub very long, he did know how much he admired the boy's crazy spunk. It suited him well and Timothi thought it would continue to do so, if only the child could learn to harness it. That was something accomplished with time.

As for Cubbi, his body was well adjusted to this comfortable couch. It had been longing for the rest for days. However, the cub's mind was another matter all together. He feared Plucki's reaction mostly, remembering Ramsei's warning.

"Plucki won't do much worse than lecture, cub."

Cubbi glanced up. Timothi smiled.

"Pluck's funny that way. If yer not hurt, he'll lecture you until your ears burn off or give you chores you didn't know existed but chances are, since you were hurt, he'll be more concerned than angry."

"I…I was trying to help…to lighten the workload."

"I know."

"Never fails." The cub played with the cup in his hands before laying it down. "I always screw it up somehow."

"Hey, none of that!"

"I do…"

"There'll be none of that talk here, Cubbi. None of the knights, myself included, will stand for it."

"Seems like I'm so out of place here sometimes…"

Timothi smiled "We all felt like that at one time or another, as we learn and adjust."

"You did?"

"Still do, sometimes. Tell you what…"

"What?"

"When Blastus is better, ask Plucki to t ell you about his days of training. You're not alone in feeling odd, kiddo."

Lady Bane's Castle

The evil sorceress watched her possession spell with much happiness. Toni, although tough on the outside, was already beginning to show wear. She stepped her ways up just a bit. She did not want to draw too much attention but rather test the waters. When the cub Toni returned, Lady Bane took advantage of this to tear into his confidence, his self esteem, leading the gummi lady to banish the boy to his room, to the corner for bringing in dirt, water and grim.

Toni would be a hard one but the sorceress was much enjoying exploring the limits of the gummi spirit…as well as what kind emotions cracked it best.

Toni's Room

Tears blurring his vision, Toni fixated his sight on the bare walls of his room. They had always been bare but more so lately. He had never felt comfortable putting drawings or paintings or anything of that sort upon the walls. Mother never looked at them. Any work he finished at tutoring, he threw away. Mother wouldn't keep it and Toni didn't think Gumlittle would be interested in his stupid little writings either.

It hurt.

Toni worked hard on everything he did, be it training or schoolwork. He wanted recognition, praise, encouragement. He never received any from his mother, not once. Lately, all he got from her was ridicule. He was actually looking forward to going back to tutoring. Lady Ivory would be sending their success reports home in a week or so. That meant Toni got to show off his work to Gumlittle.

Oh, how the cub craved the praises and 'well done!'s that would generate.

His little heart needed it.