Chapter Three: Preparation

            Buddi woke up the next morning with pain shooting through his left arm. Ryo’s handiwork. He knew the Barbic had not meant to hurt anyone but the Barbic’s temper always did it for him. Buddi looked down at his wrapped arm and rubbed it gently. Then a voice said,

            “I told you to stop rubbing it.”

            Buddi turned. Ursa walked in and took the bandages off his arm. The welts were still there as they would be for several weeks. Ursa dipped her fingers into a cream and wiped it onto the welts, trying not to push too hard. She’d felt welts herself. They hurt.

            “Ow,” Buddi winced, as Ursa pressed on them a little too hard. Ursa rewrapped his arm and then got up. She had dressed but Buddi hadn’t. But before she left, she said,

            “Buddi?”

            “Yeah?”

            She reached into her sack and removed his flute. She handed it back to him. Buddi stared at her.

            “Good deeds make up for bad ones.” She explained. “You may have disobeyed me but you acted as true Barbic yesterday, taking pain for another. You’ve won your flute back.” She smirked. “Besides, I think that pain is punishment enough for that weapon room deal.”

            Buddi beamed. “Cool. Thanks.”

            Ursa smiled. “You can thank yourself Buddi. But you’re welcome.”

            She started to the door but said,

            “Oh and Buddi?”

            “Yeah?”

            “I’ll be getting you for training in about an hour and a half. When the sun’s about in the center of the sky.”

            “Why do you always tell where the sun’s gonna be?”

            “Because you’re always outside.”

            Buddi shrugged. “All right. But why early today?”

            Ursa looked at him. “Does it matter?”

            “No, but I’m just curious.”

            Ursa gave him a gentle smile. “The danger demands attention. I want you ready.”

            He nodded his understanding and waited for her to leave before getting dressed.

            He was determined to have some fun in the short time he had.

* * *

            Buddi was lost in music. It felt good. He’d been without it for almost a day but he’d felt naked without it. He’d been out for about an hour. He’d slept in. He’d asked Grubbi about it and he’d said that the cream that Ursa and Gritty first used was only used right after the welts were formed because they made you sleepy.

            Buddi didn’t think of that now. He started to switch to another song when someone tapped his shoulder. He took his flute out of his mouth and turned. Ursa gestured upward. Buddi looked. The sun was almost directly overhead. He sighed and put his flute away.

            Ursa smiled. She led him over to the training area where they’d set up the frame when he took the Test of Bearhood. Another frame was there, the Barbics used it to develop their sense of balance. Ursa gave him a boost up onto the top and then leapt up herself.  She reached into the compartments on the side and tossed him a staff, like a spear minus the spearhead.

            “You got a break the last few days Buddi.” She told him. “I want to get your reflexes back and then we’ll break for lunch. Then, I want to see how you do hand to hand. Then…” she said with chuckle at his depressed face. “Then, you can go.”

            Buddi nodded. Ursa suddenly struck out at him with her staff but he blocked her blow and counterattacked. But Ursa easily blocked it. Buddi watched her staff with one eye and kept his other locked on her face. Ursa taught him how to look like he was just watching her but really watch two things at once.

            Ursa struck out at him again, three different blows at once. Buddi blocked all three although he had difficulty on the last one. Ursa took note and struck out again, blows similar to the ones she just delivered. Buddi knew he couldn’t block the last one so he ducked. The momentum of the blow made Ursa a little swaying in her stance. Buddi planted his staff on her shoulder and used her to propel himself to the other side. Then, he swung at her and knocked her onto her back. But Ursa had learned more than he, as she was older.

            With a quick swipe of her staff, she knocked his feet out from under him and another nudge sent him spiraling off onto the ground.

            Buddi sat up slowly, rubbing his head and then the backs of his knees. Ursa leapt down beside him.

            “Good job, Buddi.”

            Buddi gave her a glare that was all Barbic.

            “Oh sure. Rub it in.”

            Ursa laughed again and pulled him up. “I meant it Buddi. You used my own body against me.”

            Buddi shrugged and handed Ursa the staff. “Guess.”

            She walked ahead and he ran to catch up with her. She looked at him, her eyes showing pride and yet confusion. He knew that she didn’t understand him. She liked to train and spar but she couldn’t understand why he didn’t. Ursa had told him when she was his age; you practically had to pry her away from the training with a sword.

            “Well,” Buddi said slowly. “I guess with this new danger, I should know how to fight, huh?”

            Ursa smiled at him. “I know you don’t like it Buddi. But you’ll need it.” She paused and said, “Still in one piece?”

            He nodded and told her, “Sure, the ground broke my fall…. among other things,”

            He rubbed the new bruise on the back of his knees as they walked in for a brief break.

* * *

            “I realize that this is a long shot but could you slow down…just a tad?”

            Ursa helped the child back up. She’d let him take about an hour break but now they were doing some hand to hand. As of the moment, Buddi was losing horribly. She had given him a dull spear so that they wouldn’t hurt each other but she was too fast.

            “Sorry Buddi but no.” she met his eyes. “Are you gonna ask an enemy to slow down because they’re going too fast?”

            Buddi shook his head, “No.”

            She nodded, “I didn’t think so. Your problem is you think too much. You can’t think, react!”

            At the word, ‘react’ she swung at him but he ducked. But Ursa used this moment when he had no guard up to deliver a swift blow to his temple, knocking him onto his side. She sighed.

            “See?”

            “Yeah, yeah. I know I think too much.”

            Ursa knelt to his level and said, “There’s a time to think and a time to fight, Buddi. You think before a battle and after. A battle is where you fight. Comprehend?”

            “I do but my body still waits for me to think.”

            “Train it otherwise.”

            “I’m trying.”

            Ursa smiled and pulled him up. “Well, just keep trying. I’m patient.”

            Ursa swung out again at him. He blocked but she was so fast! He couldn’t counterattack, just block. They kept this up a few more minutes; with each blow Ursa pushed him closer to the edge. Finally, when he was about a foot or so from the edge she swung again but he missed the block and she jabbed his left eye with the end. Luckily, it wasn’t the speared end but she was still shocked at what she did.

            Buddi felt the pain, like fire in his eye. The movement was instinct. He jerked his armed hand and slapped the spear from Ursa’s hand and onto the ground, and then he sank in his stance, clutching his eye. Ursa pulled him up and helped him down off the frame.

            “See what I mean?” Ursa countered as she pulled the spear from his hand and picked up her own. She put them in the compartment near the frame. “You didn’t think doing that, did you?”

            “No, it was automatic. It hurts.”

            Ursa led him inside and pulled some ice from their icebox. She pulled her handkerchief from her pouch and wrapped it around the ice before pressing it against Buddi’s eye.

            “Hold it there so it won’t swell.”

            “Check,” he said as walked over to the sink and washed the dirt and sweat off her hands. Then, she smiled.

            “You did good today, Buddi,” she said as she came over and took his hands away. “Sorry about that though. Didn’t mean for the blow to actually connect.”

            “It’s okay-ow!” He swatted her hands away as she tried to get his eyes open to get a better look. She’d given him ice to dull the pain but now she needed a better look to see if she could give him some cream to put on it. He tried to draw away but she just held his head still.

            “Oh, hold still, you little imp,” she chuckled and looked closer. Buddi tried to close his eye but Ursa held it open. She looked a minute more before letting go and pushing the ice back onto his eye.

            “I think the ice should do it.”

            “Great, now I have two patches on my face, one on each eye.”

            Ursa merely smiled. “Aw, it’ll fade in a day or so.”

            Buddi looked at her hopefully. “So can I go now?”

            She nodded. “Just hold that on for at least an hour.”

            Buddi nodded and ran out of the kitchen. Ursa sat down and sighed. That act of Buddi’s had been instinct. If he came up against this Celina…after that vision that he told them about, it made her heart freeze to think of what she could do to him. But what scared her more was that unlike some villains, she knew that this enemy would have no mercy in her heart.