"You let them do WHAT!"
Brittany sighed. She was staring at the remains of
the fire, trying to lose herself in the curls of smoke
issuing from the embers. She'd made almost a hobby of
it, often taking her books done to read in front of
the curls of wood smoke. More often than not, she
threw pine she'd scrounged up on it, inhaling as she
tried to suck up as much herbal information as she
could. This island was a uranium mine of plants that
she knew she was going to need, and so crammed with
plants she felt she was going to need that she
wondered if the Guardian had read her mind, and
responded.
She finally turned to Brighty and said, "I let them
go and check out the tempro."
"YOU PROMISED ME!!!"
"Brighty, do you really think I could outvote them?
Especially Mike. If he wants to do something like
that, he won't take 'no' for an answer." She paused.
"Maybe from you. Maybe from Jared. But I doubt from
me."
"Britt..."
"Brighty..."
He padded up to sit beside her, leaning against her.
She stroked the fur on his face, and the curl on his
forehead, before throughly scratching the itchy part
of his head. He sighed softly, and said, "I hope
they're all right."
She looked down and sighed again, lightening her
scratching to a tickle. "They're all right," she
finally said heavily. "I made them promise to come
back if they even were scratched. Or hurt, I think,
was the generality."
"Do you think they will?"
"They care for each other enough to not want to see
the other die, so I'm pretty sure, yes."
"You don't sound sure," he said politely, looking up
at her.
"This is not the time to analyze my statements,
BrightHeart Raccoon," she replied, voice nearly harsh.
"I'm concerned..."
"Why didn't you go with?"
She smiled now, a hazy half-smile that really didn't
want to make the effort to be a true smile. "I don't
have the notes prepared to give a speech on sexism,
and then tie it in to my friendship with Mike and
Jared. Let's just say that they'd rather I'd stay a
background character, and let them go on all the
adventures."
He pondered for a moment, then said, "That sounds
almost mean."
She shook her head in reply. "Actually, they have a
point. I wasn't qualified at home, and I haven't
suddenly become qualified because I was taken here.
Still, how am I going to learn unless I practice?"
"I don't know much about that sort of stuff," Brighty
said quietly, the bulb on his stomach dimming slightly
with the uncertainity in his voice. "But I didn't
become a full fledged Care Bear Cousin until I'd gone
on at least two or three missions and had proved I
knew what to do."
"Care Bears--and their Cousins--go to school?" she
asked, slightly interested and grateful for anything
to take her mind off of the two gentlemen.
"Sort of. We usually learn from the elders--
SwiftHeart Rabbit in my case."
"So who's the oldest?"
"Grams Bear, with the youngest being the four babies-
-Hugs, Tugs, SweetHeart and WarmHeart."
"Who?" she asked, eyebrows furrowing.
"SweetHeart and WarmHeart were born just before I
left. One's a hippo, one's a falcon," he replied
matter-of-factly, with the oddest hint in his voice.
Almost sounds like sorrow, she reflected. But in a
Care Cousin? Hmmm, I am going crazy.
"How exactly are babies born?" she asked.
"Well, when we feel we need more youngsters to help
pick up the load..."
"You don't die, do you?" she asked very suddenly.
His light bulb dimmed very abruptly 'til it was
almost out completely, before igniting carefully.
"Yes and no," he said quietly. "We 'fade' out when
all the caring is sucked from us. It doesn't happen
very often...but its a tragic event for us all."
She hugged him softly against her in reply,
attempting to comfort him. "Tell me more about the
birth process," she quickly said.
"Well, when we feel we need more young ones, we
gather in the Central hall of Care-A-Lot and
concentrate our Stare on a piece of shaped cloud...and
make it into a Care Bear. When the Care Cousins were
in the Forest, we tried it with mud or leaves, but
cloud seems to work the best. That's what makes us so
soft," he recited matter-of-factly.
"So Care Bears don't have sex, then?"
There was a soft choking sound from him, and when she
looked down BrightHeart had miraculously changed from
a dark purple to a cherry red color. In other words,
yes. She giggled softly and patted his belly,
thinking, Mike will flip his lid, and Jared...well,
Jared will want to discover the secret. A hum escaped
her lips. Maybe I shouldn't mention it to him--I'd be
the guinea pig.
Just then, a cry of "WENCH!" rang over the campsite,
signaling that the boys had returned home.
“I’d better go see what they want,” she said gamely,
and he pushed himself away from her, and she rose.
The pairs met halfway, and the latter pair nearly
fainted.
“Jared!” Brittany yelled.
“MIKE!!!” Brighty cried out, nearly screamed.
The two boys(men)boys(MEN!)MEN were slathered in dust
and plant life, finely intermingled with mud, and in
Jared’s case, blood. Of the two, though, Mike looked
worse; Jared’s fury had protected him mostly from the
brunt. Still, as Brighty’s eyes widened and tears
were shed from his soul, Brittany was moving Jared
toward the caves.
“What happened out there?”
“We got into a fight.”
“WITH WHAT?!”
“Uh...” he stuttered for a second; he was in the lull
of a frenzy, the aftermath of a fight, and his brain
was dissecting the battle and pointing out his flubs
within it. “Well, there were these clay things...and
wraiths--ghost forms--and plants...”
She picked a piece of red grass out of his hair.
“Plants?”
“Walking, scratching, biting plants.”
“BITING? I don’t have a tetnus shot to give you.”
“I eluded their mouths...”
“...but not their claws?”
“Total accident. I wasn’t prepared. And then...”
Sudden sympathy filled her face. “Spider complex?”
“Spider complex,” he mumbled back.
There was a pause, an almost strangled pause, before
she started the conversation back up again. “I should
have you two go dip yourselves in the spring.”
He sent a cocked eyebrow glance at her; she seemed
totally serious. Ah, but looks may be deceiving,
especially in the fairer sex, he thought quietly, a
wisp of a smile joining the glance.
“But then you’d have to watch us naked,” he finally
pointed out.
“Uh-uh. I have things to do, preparations to attend
to, poultices to make. I’ll send Brighty--has he
finished hugging Mike yet?--with you. He’ll be
fascinated, I’m sure.” Now came the hint of a smile
from her, the softening of the expression that denoted
some humor had infiltrated her features.
“Think Mike’ll handle it?”
“He’ll be fine. If he truly wants, he can wade in
his underwear, I don’t care.”
“So what happens when we get out? Do we catch a deer
to skin for clothes?”
“The Guardian will provide,” she said, pure yet
somehow sardonic.
He seemed to nod, then winced suddenly; she caught
the movement and immediately halted him. "Stay here,"
she warned. "And if Mike catches up, tell him you two
are getting a bath. I just want to wash anything off
to get that first layer--or two--of dirt so that you
aren't immediately infected."
She dashed off in a hurry, leaving him to watch her
trailing ponytail flung high in the air. Her hair is
SOO long, he said to himself softly. Pain had begun
to seep into his mind, a soft, mewling pain, one that
demanded attention. He checked his arm again, the old
scratch and the fresh one mingling together; the other
arm bore similar marks, though really, they were only
scrapes.
"Where did she go?" Mike asked, coming up beside him
and dragging BrightHeart along with. The poor Care
Bear looked worried, the lines of that emotion etched
deeply, very deeply, into his face, and his eyes and
lightbulb glowed with the urge to care. Mike, o great
observer that he was, hadn't noticed. He surpressed
the urge to laugh.
"To get.." he started, but then, suddenly, Brittany
was there, cloth in hand, bowl in the other.
"Kneel," she demanded in such a voice that he had to,
and she sopped the cloth, wrung it out, and began to
sponge off his wounds. He hissed a sharp intake of
breath at the first touch, as the wound grew hotter
and hotter, yet the flesh was uncolored. She turned
to the other arm, asking, "Does it burn?"
"Just a LITTLE," he said through gritted teeth.
"What..."
"Cayenne in tepid water," she said. "Easiest thing
to whip up with my knowledge--and probably one of the
best. If I'd had time, I would've added comfrey."
"You realize I don't know what this means," he said
humorously, eyes sparkling at her. She lifted her
face and smiled at him, then looked back to the
wounds. Finally, she finished with him, and said, "Go
take a bath."
"WHAT?!"
This from Mike, whose face was overly unhappy. "Go
take a bath?" he said.
"You need one, don't you?" she said.
"Well..."
"Listen, I'm going to be here, whipping up my potions
and teas for you two. Take Brighty with you--I'm sure
he'll find it intruiging. Heck, play 'Dunk the
Raccoon' if you want," she replied, eyes fierce, her
take-no-crap attitude asserting itself with brutal
force.
"Brittany..."
"JUST GO DO IT, MIKE!" she yelled. "We'll talk about
it LATER if you so desire. With that, she stabbed at
the cut on his forehead with the cloth, and he winced.
"Unless you'd rather stay here and have ME clean you
off."
There were flashes of anger, sadness, and...fear? in
his eyes, and reluctantly, he trugged off. Jared
followed, chatting at him; his terse replies showed
his mood. She sighed and stepped back toward the
cave.
"Why were you...so mean?" Brighty asked.
"I wasn't, BrightHeart. I was concerned. And
sometimes, when you're concerned, you have to..push
people," she sighed, her voice old. A pause, and she
looked down on him, then said, "Aren't you going
with?"
"Nah," he said. "I don't like playing 'Dunk the
Raccoon.' It's too messy."
She grinned, and the two of them paced back to the
cave to ready the medicines.
* * * *
The night was a rosy color, soft pinks and purples
blending to make a spectacular display, and the clear
water of the sweet sea reflecting a golden path to
them. Brittany sat on the beach, looking like
absolute hell, but at total peace; both men had come
through their bath fine, and were resting up. She'd
done that intentionally--drugged them up, that is,
with private zest--and then gone and tried to bath.
But she couldn't. A mixture of paranoia and modesty
held her back from bathing in Jared's Spring. Maybe
tonight; it would be dark, and she'd be willing to
bath in the dark. A delicious shudder of adrenaline
ran through her, then faded; her mind was abuzz with
questions, most unanswerable, and everyone knows
questions kill a moment.
She tugged at her hair, bringing it around,and
picking some plant matter out of it. She managed to
get them to take most of what she wanted them to, and
they hadn't complained TOO much. According to her
inner clock, Brighty should be waking them up soon,
and they'd appear for dinner groggy...but they needed
their food.It was so amazingthe amount of infections
one could get from small scrapes and punctures:tetnus,
staph, cocci, and more. Then they'd get double
infections, maybe even triple infections due to the
tropical nature of the island. And in that case, what
would the Guardian...
Shutup and STOP worrying! she yelled at herself, and a
wisp of a smile lingered on her face. She COULDN'T
help it, though, her mothering instinct kicked in. Now
her smile widened, for if they were going to be here
for awhile--forever wasn't it?--she might find that
instinct EXPANDING to something totally different.
WHOA! STOP THAT TRAIN OF THOUGHT RIGHT THERE!
Her smile broke into a smarmy grin, and she respected
the controls she'd placed, though she knew that
eventually they'd have to face that issue. Right now,
though, she was too tired and happy from her sucess
with the gentlemen to care.
What you should be doing is starting the fire, her
mind said softly, and under this gentle prodding, she
stood up and prepared to go set fire to the stack of
materials on the beach.
It was then that, purely by coincidence, Brighty came
speeding up to talk with her. Unsure of his velocity,
he smacked right into her. Unsure of her balance, she
tumbled back and slid down the beach, which gave way
easily and deposited her in the water.
There was no sound except the soft lapping of the
disturbed water on the beach for a moment, and then
Brighty said, "Brittany?"
A pause, then "YES, BRIGHTY?" she replied in her I'm-
trying-to-conceal-exactly-how-pissed-I-am-at-you
voice.
"Um, are you wet?"
For some reason he couldn't fathom, she burst out
laughing. Sitting up in the water (and sliding back
further for that reason) she called out, "Yes,
Brighty, I'm wet. SOAKED, in fact."
Another pause, and he said, "I guess you could get
your bath now."
She nodded. "I guess so." Playing around a little
bit with the water, she asked, "What's the status of
the men?"
He smiled; there was such an ironic trace in her
voice on that word, MEN. "They're all right, but they
should be coming this way soon..."
"HOOOO, BRIGHTHEART! HOPE YOU LIT THE FIRE!" came the
loud, close voice of Jared.
Brittany cursed harshly, and Brighty didn't blame
her. "Brighty, I'll be back as soon as possible," she
whispered lowly, then ducked under the water. With a
push, she set off, the waters parting easily and
smoothly before her, golden droplets clinging to her
hair. He watched her swim out a little, then dive--
and vanish.
He was still watching, wondering if she would surface
or if she was actually part fish, when the gentlemen
came up. "BrightHeart Raccoon, what are you looking
at?" Mike asked, kneeling to see if he could get the
CCuz's viewpoint.
"A beautiful thing," he said with a sigh.
Mike looked out, and admired the sunset as well, the
red sphere now nearly vanished. Suddenly, a look of
puzzlement came over his face. "Didn't we see the sun
rise from this same direction earlier?"
Jared appeared at the other side of Brighty, and
grinned at Mike. "It's the Island, Mike. Maybe the
Guardian moves it."
"Why though?" he asked.
"Maybe to help align our wake/sleep cycles,"
BrightHeart suggested. "Awaking at sunrise, sleeping
at sunset, or soon after."
"Maybe because they're pretty, Brighty," Jared
suggested, grinning even more. "By the way, thanks
for lighting the fire."
"But I.." he started, but turned to see the
flickering red flame waving at him from the gathered
material. And he nodded, whispering in his head, My
thanks, Guardian.
And the fire flared brightly red--something he
presumed to mean "Your Welcome"--before turning its
usual, placid orange-blue.
The boys started over towards it, and Brighty
followed at a slow pace. He thought he could see a
slight shimmer, and then Jared picked up a food bowl.
He grinned. "I love the service here," he said.
"It's wonderful," Mike said, nonplussed. To say he
was used to this was an understatement; already,
strong feelings were developing about what "fast food"
really meant. His eyes automatically flicked around
the fire, seeing Jared wiggle to get comfortable,
Brighty pick up his food, a solitary bowl...wait, that
wasn't right. "Where's Brittany?" he asked, his eyes
peculiar.
"She'll be right back," Brighty assured them quickly.
"So you know where she is," Mike said.
"Well, not really."
"But you know when she'll be back?"
"Uh-huh."
Mike seemed about ready to ask another question, when
Jared smoothly interrupted, saying, "It's all right,
Mike. She ALWAYS comes back, and you know it!"
Mike tensed, then relaxed. "You're right, Jared," he
said, digging into his bowl. For dinner tonight, it
was soup, a different kind to each...his was a
delicately flavored egg drop soup, and from what he
could see, Brighty was having vegetable. What Jared
ate he had no clue about, though it did look like
Ramen noodles....
They munched on their food as the sun dipped into the
ocean, giving off one last bit of light before dying
in the sea. In response, the flames slowly increased,
with Brighty tapping the wood every once in a while to
make it look natural. He knew that the gentlemen
sometimes resented the intrusion by the Guardian into
the micro facets of their lives; he, never having
privacy, didn't give a hoot. The moon rose, and Jared
finished, scooting back a little bit as the silver
light played on the water.
A strange sound came to their ears. It was...a soft
smacking noise, followed by a sucking sound. Their
eyes met as one, and Mike reached for the sword that
wasn't at his side, and let fly a muted curse. Jared
calmly produced the amalgam dagger that Brighty
recognized as Brittany's, and he cemented his glass
into the sand before getting to a crouch, finger to
his lips. Slowly, in shadow, he moved down the beach,
a thin layer of clouds across the bright, full moon
leaving only the red one for guidance, and that wasn't
much help. In fact, it only seemed to help camouflage
him more.
"He needs backup, especially if its one of
those...things," Mike growled, voice barely above a
whisper.
Brighty winced. "None of them could've reached here,
Mike," he said softly. "This place is too well
protected for that."
"You can sense the...what do they call them?"
"Wards."
"You can sense them?"
"I wouldn't be a magical creature if I couldn't
Mike," he said, giving his friend a soft smile.
Mike's face managed to crack enough for a smile, and
yet he still crouched himself, looking for something
to guide him.
Suddenly, a shriek sounded up the beach, and their
eyes met for a second. Then, the clouds over the moon
vanished, and bright silver light flooded the plain.
And all it showed...was Brittany, standing there,
barefoot in the sand, hands on her hips looking at the
water.
Where Jared was.
Brighty muffled a laugh, and Mike tried to surpress a
smile, as the two of them made their way down the
beach to assist.
"Stupid idiot," Brittany was muttering under her
breath as she looked into the water. The dagger was
stuck in the sand near the shoreline, and Jared was
floating face up in the water, eyes closed. "Could've
gotten himself killed."
"What happened?" Mike asked.
"Well, I was on my way back from a bath, when
suddenly this madman came charging out of the
darkness, dagger glinting. I yelled, then hit the
deck. He tripped over me, dropped the dagger, and
ended up in the ocean," she said, tone rueful, sigh in
her voice.
"You were taking a bath?" Jared asked, head popping
out of the water. "Hey, can I join you next time?"
"Jared, cut it out," Mike said, walking to the edge,
voice edgy. "Are you going to come out, or not? You
know you're not supposed to swim until an hour after
your meal."
In response, Jared tried to get up. And tried. And
tried again. "Mike," he whined, "I think I'm stuck."
Mike sighed, and waded into the water to help his
friend. As soon as he neared him, up out of the water
launched Jared, tackling him in the shallows. Mike
went down in a yelp, and soon the two were wrestling
in the watery sand.
Brittany and Brighty stepped to the shoreline,
Brittany shaking her head. "Men," she decided, "are
idiots."
Brighty looked up at the moon, then at the water,
then at her. "Uh-huh," he said, then, in a flash,
managed to get behind her and push her in. She
tumbled and fell into the water in a splash, then came
out with vengance in her eyes. "You little!" she
started, wet hands clawing at his fur as she dragged
him in and threw him out to see. Then, suddenly,
Jared appeared to splash her, and she threw water at
him, hitting Mike...
And from the fire, the Guardian watched.
* * * *
A short time later the four of them sat on the sand
around the fire, the heat delicious on their bare
feet. Or, in Brighty's case, raccoon feet; no matter
the species, it still felt good.
"So, what happened after you and Jared met up?"
Brittany asked, eyes anxious. She was sipping a cup
of tea that she'd made herself--though the Guardian
supplied the honey--and finger combing her long,
tangled hair.
"We got attacked again," Mike said.
"By a few more than a couple of those plants things,
and even some of the clay boys from the first meadow,"
Jared put in.
"Sheesh," she muttered, taking a sip. Her eyes, to
Brighty, glowed in the firelight, and there was an
unmistakable sheen to her skin that hadn't been there
before. Bathing does wonders for my friends, he
thought. He was personally working on a glass of milk
and trying not to listen to the violent talk--it hurt
his ears.
"The first opening I saw..."
"You made, Mike," Jared interrupted. He seemed to
pale as the story went on, and Brighty often caught
the sympathetic looks that flew from Britt to him.
Mike rolled his eyes. "All right, I made, if you
have to be specific," he mocked.
"Thank you."
"Your welcome."
"Any time."
"No problem."
"Anyways!" Brittany said strongly, eyes dark.
"The first opening I MADE we ran through, and didn't
stop until we were halfway up the trail to the cave.
By that time, both of us were aching for breath, and a
little messed up. I noticed Jared's scratch was
bleeding more than it had been, so we headed back."
Brittany sipped her tea, looking quietly reflective,
and Brighty glanced around at the other three. "That
must have been frightening," he finally said.
"It was a bit...harsh," Jared replied, and another
sympathetic glance flew from Britt to Jared.
A little more silence, which was enough time for
Brighty to try and gulp at the last bit of milk in the
glass. He'd just gotten to it when Brittany said, "So
when are we going back?"
Brighty nearly spat out his milk, and Mike looked
twice as surprised. Only Jared was able to be calmly
ruffled, eyeing her strangely.
"We?" Mike asked.
"Going back?" Brighty said, voice rising an octave in
worry.
"Yes," Britt said. "We have to, remember? The
answer to Jared's dream lies somewhere in there!"
"Britt, why do you keep including Brighty and
yourself?" Jared asked in a sharp, gentle voice. "I
thought you didn't want to get into situations like
that, and I know Brighty doesn't."
"Actually, it's not a matter of whether I want to or not," she said,
shooting a thick glance at Mike.
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