Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Bonds and Beginnings ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Ryven was awakened rudely by a sharp poke in the side. She let out a small cry and shot up, looking about for the source. She found Piccolo standing above her, his arms crossed over his chest. She looked up at him questioningly as she stood up, favoring her ankle and putting most of her weight on her right foot. She strapped her sword to her back.

"What was that for?" she asked crossly. Piccolo remained stolid.

"You wanted me to train you, right?" he asked. She nodded again, still not getting it completely.

"Yeah."

"Well then, it starts today. Get ready, I shall give you 15 minutes." he replied, turning away. Ryven's jaw went slack, but she quickly recovered and limped after him.

"Don't you think we should wait till my ankle's better?" she asked, pulling up beside him. He flicked his intense black eyes toward her.

"If you are strong, you will forget it and go on anyway." Piccolo stated in reply.

"A-alright," Ryven faltered uncertainly.

"This training prove very trying for you. I do not doubt that you will hate me afterwards, and to be honest, I do not really care. But in the end, you shall be a better person, if you prevail."

"I understand," she replied, sounding a little more adult than a child should. She started to turn away, but stopped herself. "I never got your name."

"Piccolo. You may call me Piccolosan or Sensei."

"Alright then, Sensei." She replied, then turned to take her fifteen minutes.

A quarter of an hour later, Ryven was standing not too far from the cliff she had fallen from, some twenty-five feet from where Piccolo was stationed opposite of her. Her cloak fluttered around her, as did his, black and white in the breeze. Snowblind was lying on a rock formation at the base of the cliff, watching and waiting to see what would happen next.

"You have the gift to manipulate you inner energy, your ki. But there are other ways of using it." Piccolo said from a distance, the breeze carrying his voice. Ryven nodded.

"How so?" she asked, eyeing him warily.

"You can use it to fly. And to increase your speed." He replied. Ryven nodded.

"To fly? Wow, how would one accomplish that?" she asked, her voice being honest with her curiosity. Piccolo let a small smirk cross his face as he strode over to her. She looked up at him, expecting him to start to show her how. However, to her surprise, he picked her up off the ground, walked to the edge of the cliff and looked over. Ryven's eyes grew wide as her breath grew faster, sensing what he was about to do.

"Piccolosan...what-" she started.

"Learn how to fly, or die." he stated, then tossed her over the cliff. Ryven pealed out a scream as she fell head over heels toward the inky blackness of the seemingly bottomless canyon, panicking almost instantly. She heard Snowblind calling out to her in her head frantically, the wolf feeling her panic as well. She closed her eyes and continued to scream until she heard a flapping beside her. Suddenly Piccolo was floating down with her, his arms crossed calmly in front of him, as if he were waiting for something.

"Come on, girl. You are going to die if you do not figure out how to float." He said loudly over the rushing air around them. Ryven glanced up at him wide eyed as the bottom started to come into view.

"HOW SENSEI HOW?!?" she screamed, panic-stricken. Piccolo didn't give any hint of helping her.

"Come now, the bottom is not getting any farther away." He told her calmly. "I know you can do it, Young One. You have the potential, you just have to calm down and stop panicking like a blithering idiot."

Ryven's screams started to taper as she tried in vain to calm down, attempting to concentrate as she plummeted to the bottom. However, nothing happened, and the bottom grew nearer still.

"IT'S NOT WORKING, SENSEI!!" she shouted, trying to hold back her panic. Piccolo merely frowned.

"You are not trying hard enough."

"I AM TRYING!" she shouted irritably, her panic nipping at her heels. She closed her eyes in the effort to try and concentrate, looking for her inner energy she focused on when she made her energy balls. Blocking out Snowblind's frantic calls for an answer, she found her center and focused on floating. She thought of feathers and clouds, dragonfly and butterfly wings, all in the attempt to stop her fall. She growled a little as she concentrated, her fists clenched. Suddenly, as she let her mind drift, she felt that the air was no longer moving around her. Opening one eye, she discovered that she was stationary in the air, Piccolo hovering beside her. Looking down, she saw that she was still high in the air over the jagged rocks and rushing white water, but still too close for her own good.

"I- I'm floating," Ryven stammered hoarsely, sweat from her fear slipping down her brow.

"It looks as though, does it not?" replied Piccolo, hovering. Ryven nodded slowly, looking down. "Now, how are you going to get back up?"

"I don't kno-OOOOOOOOW!" she said, but as she started to talk more, her concentration ebbed, and she plummeted down once again. The bottom being closer this time, she didn't have enough time to focus, so she fell headlong into the icy water below her, narrowly missing some sharp, pointed rock jutting out from the rapids.

Ryven fought her way to the surface, working to keep her head above water as she looked for someplace to swim ashore. Her ankle throbbed with a vengeance as she kicked at the water, feeling the wrap on it start to unravel. Upon finding no place to swim ashore at the time, she was pulled under again and rolled about on the river's floor until her combined strength and an under current thrust her back up to the surface. Ryven coughed and gagged on water, feeling it harder to breathe as she struggled to stay afloat in the ravenous water. Finally she spotted a place that looked like a sandbar, and she rejoiced as she found she was flowing right for it. As she reached the sandbar, she crawled up upon it, collapsing momentarily in fatigue. She coughed up lungfuls of water as she laid on her stomach, panting and gasping for air.

"Are you going to be alright?" Piccolo's voice asked suddenly from behind her. Ryven picked her head up weakly and coughed more water, her chest feeling as if it were going to rip itself apart. The Namek held out his hand to help her up, and Ryven stumbled to her feet, gritting her teeth as she felt her ankle buckle under her weight. She stood there for a few minutes, not really knowing what to expect after the whole ordeal.

Suddenly Piccolo was gone, seeming to blur from her sight. She blinked and looked about her, suddenly receiving a foot to her side, almost knocking her into the water again. Ryven cried out and fell to her knees, the water slapping over her hands as she pushed herself up at arm's length. Looking up she caught a glimpse of Piccolo coming at her again, but this time she was ready. Leaping to her foot, making sure not to jar her other, she bounced nimbly aside and tensed for another attack. The Namek stopped short of the water and rebounded, rocketing toward her like a locomotive. As he drew near, Ryven found no place to dart to. So, on instinct, she drew her sword and slashed at the oncoming figure.

There was a dull thump as something hit the ground and kicked up some dust. Ryven's jaw went slack as she saw Piccolo's arm lying on the sandbar, bleeding purplish blood onto the ground. Piccolo's face contorted in pain for a moment, then stood up straight. Ryven, however, covered her mouth and dropped her blade, suddenly rushing over to him.

"O Goddess of Three I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to - to - I mean, oh my Gods I'm soooo sorry please forgive me-" Ryven rambled in a panic. "My god your arm's - how are you going to...oh damn you're going to bleed to death! Hold still-"

Piccolo grunted and jerked himself away from her, receiving a puzzled look from the elf. After a moment of seeming collecting his thoughts, his countenance contorted as he let off a cry of pain. Ryven backed up a few paces and watched in morbid curiosity. Suddenly from the stump that used to be his arm, Piccolo sprung a new limb. His scream dissipated as the new arm dripped with yellow goo, his low, rough voice panting in the effort.

"Sensei...?" Ryven ventured. Piccolo straightened out and looked toward her, his breath calming down.

"I know that your sword techniques are fine. This is not a sword exercise. Put that thing away before I do something harmful." Piccolo growled. "You have...angered me enough."

Ryven nodded sheepishly and unbuckled her sword harness, slipping her sword into it and tossing it aside.

"So what would you be teaching me, then?" she asked, coughing some more.

Better fighting methods. How to harness that power of yours." He replied simply. "So defend yourself."

"But don't you think I should after you've taught me- WHOA!" she shouted suddenly as Piccolo came at her at full force. She dodged at the last minute, landing on her ankle and twisting it wrong. Screaming, she fell to her knees and clenched her eyes closed, grabbing at her ankle. Ryven cracked her eyes open just in time to see him above her, powering up an attack in the palm of his hand. Ryven let out a squeal and suddenly flung both hands in front of her, meant as a block but ending up as a counter-blast for Piccolo's attack. The two blasts collided just inches from Ryven's head before she rolled away, struggling to her feet.

Piccolo was suddenly behind her. "You can do much better than that, girl!" He shouted, a ki beam coming from seemingly nowhere. Ryven screeched and attempted to jump out of the way, only she wasn't fast enough. The beam caught her full on and forced her back into the river.

It went on like this for some time, ending only when the canyon grew dark with the coming evening. Piccolo began to float out of the canyon, not in the least fatigued, leaving Ryven on the sandbar. Ryven looked up at him, wet, dirty sore. Her lungs burned from almost drowning a few times, and her ankle no longer supported her under the strain she had put on it. She knew that he wasn't going to help her up to the top, so she had to somehow get herself back. Grabbing her sword and scabbard, she strapped them on her back and closed her eyes. She sat cross-legged and attempted to gather her wits about her as she tried to tap into her inner energy reserves. Grunting a little, she rose off the ground and into the air, trying to rise from the canyon. However, she only rose half way out of the ravine before she felt herself start to falter. Her eyes flew open as she made a mad leap for the rock wall, grabbing onto some footholds before she fell. As she felt her ki dwindle she hung from the rock face, panting and feeling the sweat run down her neck. Looking up the darkening cliff, her tired eyes making the top to be too far away. However, Ryven knew she wasn't going to get to the top by clinging there. Slowly she reached up to the next rock and pulled herself up, slowly making her way up the cliff.

Above her, Piccolo sat cross-legged in shallow meditation, ignoring Ryven's familiar as the wolf paced the cliff-side. The sun had sunk low in the horizon, and the pink shadows had darkened to deep violet as the light drained from the land. But as the landscape grew darker, there was no sign of Ryven emerging from the ravine. Snowblind whined nervously, looking over the side of the cliff, and then to Piccolo.

"She will be fine, wolf." Piccolo said without opening his eyes. Snowblind sneezed.

~Will not. She's exhausted. I can feel that much.~ the wolf told him irritably. Piccolo's eyes snapped open as he stared at the canine.

"You talked to me." He stated. Snowblind sneezed again.

~Well, that would be the obvious answer.~ Snowblind replied crossly, ~I talk to Ryven all the time. Speaking of which, are you just going to leave her down there?~

"Until she makes it up, hai." Piccolo replied shortly. "She is tired, hai, but she is still making her way up here."

As if on cue, Ryven's hand slapped the pebbles of the cliff's edge, gripping at it tightly and almost frantically. Her hand froze there for a second, but then chords began to stand out on it as she started to pull herself up. Snowblind made a trotting beeline to where she was scrambling up the side; whining and licking her hand clean of the dirt and blood. Ryven's other arm came up, her head poking up over the side. Her face was contorted in pain and sheer will, sheened with sweat and caked with dust and sand. She let out a small cry as she boosted herself up a little more with her good foot, getting her chest and above over the edge of the cliff. After she had done that, she leaned over on the sand and coughed a little, panting into the sand with utter weariness.

Piccolo leaned over a small bit and offered his hand. "Ryven."

Ryven looked up and saw his hand. Pinching her brows, she hesitated for a moment, but then offered her shaky, scraped up hand toward her sensei's, clenching her eyes and almost expecting him to throw her off the cliff again. To her surprise he didn't, but merely lifted her from the cliff's edge and set her securely on the ground. Her ankle instantly buckled, spilling her on the ground in a dirty heap on the sharp pebbles that littered the desert floor. She shakily unsheathed her sword and used it to help herself up, her arms flexing as she put all of her weight on her right foot and the sword. Snowblind padded over to where she stood and brushed up against her, looking almost defiantly at Piccolo.

~Well, I hope you're happy, Mr. Greenman.~ Snowblind spat out rudely. Ryven moaned and harshly slapped him on the nose.

"Can it, Snowblind." She mumbled almost incoherently, turning carefully away from the cliff. She hobbled away from the ledge and settled some distance away, sitting against the high rock wall and sticking her ankle out in front of her. Digging in her bag she always carried, she pulled out a ragged woven blanket and laid it out over the sand. Snowblind trotted next to her and laid down, curling in a ball against her as she eased her wounded self onto the coverlet and closed her eyes slowly.

"You will want to make a fire, girl." Piccolo said lowly as he took his long strides to where she lay. Ryven opened one eye to look at him, no emotion playing over her features.

"Can't." was her simple reply. "Al'Thor can see a fire from miles away out here, especially if he were looking for mine. Can't risk it, don't worry about it."

Piccolo frowned. "Fine then, freeze. I do not see how he could find you out here anyway." Ryven laughed huskily and closed her eyes again, curling up and making sure not to jar her ankle any more than she had to.

"You don't know Al'Thor like I do, you wouldn't understand." She murmured into Snowblind's soft, white fur. "You don't know how ruthless he is."

"If that were the case, then do you not think he would have found you by now, with all the energy you were putting off today?" the Namek pointed out flatly. Ryven suddenly snapped her eyes open and gave him a look of urgency.

"What do you mean?" she asked suspiciously. Piccolo sat down upon the sand and crossed his legs, closing his own eyes as he clasped his hands in his lap.

"You expelled a great deal of energy today in your ki signature. Any baka could have sensed it." He replied coolly. Ryven's eyebrows arched urgently as she pushed herself up at elbow's length, gazing at him worriedly.

"Dammit! He could be on his way any time now!" she exclaimed, somewhat irritably. "And I'm in no condition to face them. I didn't want to do it, but it looks like I'll have to use this thing after all. Since they're already on their way, I might as well."

~Ryven, are you sure that's wise?~ Snowblind asked. ~You haven't used it in a while.~

Piccolo raised a brow as he listened to the conversation, holding off on his meditations for the moment.

~Well, it seems I must, because there's no way I'm going to be able to hide now, if he's found a new way to find me.~ Ryven sent to her familiar. ~And there's no better time to try and use it then now.~

~But last time you tried to use it, you almost weren't coherent enough to fight. ~

~If that's true tonight, they're far enough off that it won't matter. I have to risk it.~ With that serving as her final argument, she unsheathed her sword and laid back down, seeming to get comfortable. Snowblind whined nervously.

~But if you do that, I might not be coherent either. ~ the wolf complained. Ryven merely smiled as she placed the blade on her chest.

~I'm sure you'll live through the experience.~ she laughed softly. She closed her eyes, and her sword began to glow a bright blue until the light slowly enveloped her whole body. Piccolo opened his eyes and saw the light, pinching his brows in slight confusion as he wondered what she was doing. Slowly the light grew brighter, and the air around her grew colder. Ryven's ankle began to reshape in its soggy brace. Bruises, nicks and scrapes began to disappear from exposed skin, and slowly her breathing became clearer as the water seemed to disappear. Finally, after a few minute's time, the light slowly began to fade. Ryven lay on her blanket, her eyes still closed, but her breath slightly quickened. She opened her deep blue eyes and blinked a few times, staring at the now starry night's sky before attempting to move.

"See, Snowblind? It wasn't that bad." She whispered to her wolf, reaching out to pet it softly. "All's we need now is a little rest. Just for a few..." Ryven trailed off at the end of her sentence, drifting off into sleep, leaving Piccolo to stare at her, dumbfounded, until the next morning.