Evening
Disclaimer- I don't own Dragon Ball Z. I don't own the rights to anything in the whole DBZ universe which I worship so.
Ah well, next to the last chapter. Why all the long faces? Don't tell me you guys like this stuff? Nah, I didn't think so ;) Well another pile of cra- I mean another chapter is just below for your reading pleasure!
-------------------- = Changing view points or location. (Such as switching from Goku's point of view to Piccolo's)
'...' = Thoughts
Chapter 26: Your Heart and Mine
Piccolo landed in the west most corner of the immense forest in which contained Dawn. His expression grew tight and dark as he started his trek forward through the dense foliage. Worries and gruesome fears lurked in the back of his mind. 'Please...be alright.' he whispered inwardly.
The sun was reaching its zenith in the sky as he traveled miles into the jungles bowels. Beasts called out in the distance, and with each blood thirsting roar Piccolo's gut twisted, fearing that her life was snuffed out by the owners of those feared cries.
"Please. Be alive"
----------------------
To the east Goku clambered up a tree and preached there for a moment. His expression serious, for the reality of Dawn bleak chances out in the wild loomed over his thoughts. He liked to think of himself as an optimist, but that came mostly with a fight, or a battle in which his fists would carry with them hope. This was different. They could not even sense her ki, her life force still so small, and her power untrained.
"Dawn!!!" he shouted, but all that answered back were creatures native to the landscape. The birds sang and the insects hummed. But their melody fell on a sad heart as Goku leapt from his vantage point and continued inward, in search of what he considered to be Piccolo's daughter.
The saiyan's jaw grew tight, 'I've never even seen her. I want to.'
----------------------
South of the Piccolo's cave, Gohan traveled in silence, the sun slicing randomly through the canopy. His shoes carried him softly over the damp leaves littering the path he had chosen.
"I hope Dad and Piccolo are having better luck." He murmured to himself. Gohan stepped through a dense shrub like wall, and stumbled into a clearing, and immediately froze. His trained onyx eyes looked at the earth in front of him.
"Someone was here." he knelt slowly and examined the soil, finding paw prints. Yet, these looked like no animal he had seen, and he had seen a lot. The toes looked elongated, more like fingers. "Could this be.. Dawn?" It made a little bit of since. Her father was a tiger, and her mother was half tiger, sort of.
In a flash he noted the direction of the tracks, and started at a fast jog in their direction.
--------------------
Dawn walked slowly in the direction she sensed was north, hoping home was north. Sweat made her obsidian hair cling to her face. Her strides were irregular and sluggish, and she stumbled on uneven earth. The sun glistened against the droplets of sweat on her eyelashes as she blinked through them.
Finally the cub stopped and sank to her knees, her sides heaving. Dawn had never been in this sort of heat for more than an hour. Panic was slowly seeping into her mind as her lungs felt tight and the world around her seemed blurry.
'What if I can't make it?' she leaned forwards, placing her sweat-drenched palms on the damp earth. Dawn's ears were echoing with her heartbeat and the rush of blood following each pounding note. Dawn's mind was growing hazy, so much that she did not hear Gohan walking up behind her, saying her name.
----------------------
"Is that you Dawn?" he stated loud enough for her to hear. But when she didn't flinch, or make any sign of acknowledgment his brow creased. "Dawn?" Gohan stopped just to her left; his eyes caught the ebony stripes and the silky black hair. 'Yeah, this has to be Dawn, she looks so much like her mother, both of them.'
His eyes grew dark when he realized what was happening to her. The labored breathing, non coherent, and covered in sweat; she had heat stroke.
He gently leaned down and scooped her into his arms. At that moment fear wrapped a cold hand around his heart, she was lithe in his arms and literally soaked in sweat. The child made no movement to stop him when he lifted her. "Can you hear me!? Dawn?" her eyes were open, and he could tell she could hear him, but nothing happened.
Gohan launched himself into the air and turned sharply to the right, sailing towards the large lake a few miles away. He clutched her tightly to him and shouted loudly, his voice reaching it peek. "DAD!!! PICCOLO!!!" he flared his ki, to make his location easier to find.
He landed abruptly and rushed to the lakeside under the shade. Gohan draped the girl across his knees and began throwing water onto her by the hand full.
-----------------
Piccolo's ears twitched as he effortlessly heard Gohan call his name, and the panic his voice held made his aura roar to life in azure flames that sent him into the sky, speeding towards his pupil's ki. He knew Gohan had found Dawn, but he feared she was not alive. The sound in the boy's voice was desperate.
-------------------
Goku's sensitive saiyan ears picked up the cry of his son. "Gohan!" he took to the air as well, rushing over the emerald tree tops, their branches swaying greatly in his fearsome wake.
"Please, let her be all right."
-------------------
Dawn couldn't feel her body, and could barely hear the boys' words as he spoke desperately to her. Everything sounded muffled and her eyes seemed crossed, for it appeared as if there were two boys. But somehow that didn't seem right.
Unexpectedly cold fluid started rushing over her fur and across her face. Involuntarily a purr throbbed weakly in her throat as her body shivered softly from the drastic temperature change on her flesh.
-----------------
Gohan paused as he heard, what sounded like a purr coming from the weak creature in his lap. 'I bet this feels good.' he thought off handedly as he pours another handful over her arms. A faint smile reached his lips when he felt his mentor and father racing to help.
But his hope fled when dawn began to tremble, soft at first but her shakes steadily grew rougher, and he had to hold her in his lap. "Shock..." he muttered as he pulled her against his chest to calm her, and hold her still.
His eyes caught a flash of light and he saw Piccolo, followed closely by his father. "Hurry!!! She's in shock!!!" he stood and cradled her against him as Piccolo landed right in front of him in the water.
-------------------
Piccolo reached the lake and caught sight of Gohan under a large oak, holding dawn in his lap. Something inside him seemed to harden like ice, seeing her still form. 'no.'
"Hurry!!! She's in shock!!!" he heard Gohan shout. 'She's alive!' Not a moment passed as he landed as fast as possible.
Something stronger than fear and dread gripped his soul, seeing Dawn in this state; he could see her shuddering against Gohan. "Dawn?" his hands quickly pried her from Gohan. He vaguely heard Goku rush up to them, questioning his son to what was happening, and Gohan telling him. She had heat stroke, bad heat stroke, and suddenly went into shock when he was cooling her off.
Piccolo hugged her against him, stroking her hair softly. "Please." he whispered, almost too soft for Gohan and Goku to hear. Tears threatened his eyes as he heard her heart beating inside her chest like a caged animal. Her skin felt searing against his.
"Goku!" he looked up, but the saiyan already had his hand on his shoulder and Gohan had hold of his gi. Goku lifted two fingers to his forehead.
-----------------------
Goku's mind drew closed, focusing on a single point in space, and in an instant they appeared in his home. Their forms materialized and he smiled for a moment, reminded once again of what a true gift the Instant Transmission was.
His dark eyes turned slowly to the weak form cradled gently to Piccolo's chest. He took in her features, but his eyes lingered on her paw-like fingers, faintly clutching to the namake's mauve gi. She was shivering against him, but an air of love and trust seemed to hover about them.
His eyes narrowed in pain as he watched tears fall from the child's eyes, leaving deep gray trails of damp fur in their wake.
----------------------
Dawn felt herself weightless for a moment, but soon felt arms engulfing her. Fear took hold for a moment, but. The cub inhaled a deep shuddering breath. 'Daddy' that second her heart glowed and the cold horror that had been looming over it melted away.
"Please." her velvet ears twitched his tenor voice seemed to caress her soul, she'd never tell him, but she adored the sound of his voice, even when he was angry with her.
But even with his words of assurance, she could still hear and feel her heart throbbing inside her chest, almost making each inward breath painful. Dawn clutched at his gi, trying to make the world stop spinning, he was the last thing she trusted to be real now, his scent, and the rhythmic beating of his heart gave her hope.
Something odd happened and the temperature drastically turned cooler. The birds stopped singing and all seemed a lot quieter. However, Piccolo did not change, he was still there, and the realization of what had nearly happened to her flooded back into her thoughts, bringing silent tears to her eyes.
-----------------------
Touching Dawn's back softly, Gohan could easily feel her frantic pulse. Concern entered his innocent eyes as he turned to his father, "I'll go get mom, we should probably make a place for her to sleep." He glanced back at Piccolo, the desperation in his eyes made his throat tight. He had never seen his mentor so lost. "The best thing for shock is for her to rest."
With that said, the he turned and quickly left the room to find his mother, whom he found outside tending the laundry. "Mom, we found Dawn and she's not doing so good."
--------------------
Chi-Chi heard her son coming and turned in time to hear him state Dawn presence and distress. Her maternal instinct seemed to switch on and she stormed passed her son and into the Son House.
Her feet carried her swiftly to the room in which held Dawn. "How is she?" she asked Goku sternly. Goku was kneeling beside the girl they had placed on the small couch, with a thick blanket draped over her. Piccolo was standing behind the couch, arms crossed, face closed, cold. But she felt a tempest lurking beneath that quiet expression. 'Could he. love. this little girl?' She wondered and looked down at her.
Dawn was a lot bigger than she would have guest, but when she thought about it, nothing was really, normal, about this child. Her appearance was no true shock, having delivered Dawn herself, she knew about the ears and the gray skin, but she had not expected her to be so, beautiful a little girl. Even with her little ebony stripes, and soft coal ears, she was breath taking.
She leaned over her and placed a hand on Dawn's forehead. "Well, she has a temperature, but with some fluids and a lot of rest. She should be fine." Chi-Chi stole a glance up at Piccolo, and it almost looked as if he released a breath he had been holding. His shoulders went slack and he looked up at Chi-Chi. She could see through his fierce façade, the light in his onyx depths told her he was happy beyond reason.
Chi-Chi patted Goku on the shoulder and motioned him to follow her. Of course he obeyed immediately and followed her. She nodded to Gohan to go as well. She wanted to give Piccolo a moment alone with Dawn.
-------------------
Goku paused before leaving the room and glanced back at his old rival, who was now grasping the back of the couch, staring intensely at the frail figure under the sheet.
'. Poor guy. He's never really been a father before.' He then followed his wife and son into the kitchen. His gaze lingering on Gohan for a moment as his thoughts continued, 'He did sorta raise Gohan, but it wasn't the same thing. He's watched Dawn grow from a baby. '
He sat at the table, watching Chi-Chi preparing some kind of drink, most likely for Dawn. 'I think he'll be ok. Dawn is one lucky girl. So is Eve' His wife abruptly asked him what had happened to Dawn, and he proceeded to explain all that the namake had told him.
--------------------
Gohan helped his mother, bringing her what she asked for. He listened to his father's story and nodded, confirming it to his mom.
"Yeah. and such bad timing, what with them making the wish tomorrow." He hoped it would still go as planned. The balls had been gathered, with Piccolo's help, a few days ago, so all that was left was to make the wish. He trusted Dawn would be well soon, and could go with her mother to make the wish the following night.
"She's cute isn't she?" he added off handedly. Both his parents agreed full heartedly.
------ --------- ------------ --------------- ------------------ ---------------------- -------------------------- ------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's about time I made a cliffie, well a pseudo cliffie anyway. I hope this made up for the last chapter, I know, it was lacking something the others had. But I hope you guys liked this one! A bit long, but I think you guys like that, don't ya? Well tell me, if you'd like longer chapters in the sequel I'll try my best.
Stay tuned for the last Chapter of my pride and joy Evening. I'll warn ya now; it'll make this chapter look tiny. Goodbye! Ja ne! And don't forget to review.
Disclaimer- I don't own Dragon Ball Z. I don't own the rights to anything in the whole DBZ universe which I worship so.
Ah well, next to the last chapter. Why all the long faces? Don't tell me you guys like this stuff? Nah, I didn't think so ;) Well another pile of cra- I mean another chapter is just below for your reading pleasure!
-------------------- = Changing view points or location. (Such as switching from Goku's point of view to Piccolo's)
'...' = Thoughts
Chapter 26: Your Heart and Mine
Piccolo landed in the west most corner of the immense forest in which contained Dawn. His expression grew tight and dark as he started his trek forward through the dense foliage. Worries and gruesome fears lurked in the back of his mind. 'Please...be alright.' he whispered inwardly.
The sun was reaching its zenith in the sky as he traveled miles into the jungles bowels. Beasts called out in the distance, and with each blood thirsting roar Piccolo's gut twisted, fearing that her life was snuffed out by the owners of those feared cries.
"Please. Be alive"
----------------------
To the east Goku clambered up a tree and preached there for a moment. His expression serious, for the reality of Dawn bleak chances out in the wild loomed over his thoughts. He liked to think of himself as an optimist, but that came mostly with a fight, or a battle in which his fists would carry with them hope. This was different. They could not even sense her ki, her life force still so small, and her power untrained.
"Dawn!!!" he shouted, but all that answered back were creatures native to the landscape. The birds sang and the insects hummed. But their melody fell on a sad heart as Goku leapt from his vantage point and continued inward, in search of what he considered to be Piccolo's daughter.
The saiyan's jaw grew tight, 'I've never even seen her. I want to.'
----------------------
South of the Piccolo's cave, Gohan traveled in silence, the sun slicing randomly through the canopy. His shoes carried him softly over the damp leaves littering the path he had chosen.
"I hope Dad and Piccolo are having better luck." He murmured to himself. Gohan stepped through a dense shrub like wall, and stumbled into a clearing, and immediately froze. His trained onyx eyes looked at the earth in front of him.
"Someone was here." he knelt slowly and examined the soil, finding paw prints. Yet, these looked like no animal he had seen, and he had seen a lot. The toes looked elongated, more like fingers. "Could this be.. Dawn?" It made a little bit of since. Her father was a tiger, and her mother was half tiger, sort of.
In a flash he noted the direction of the tracks, and started at a fast jog in their direction.
--------------------
Dawn walked slowly in the direction she sensed was north, hoping home was north. Sweat made her obsidian hair cling to her face. Her strides were irregular and sluggish, and she stumbled on uneven earth. The sun glistened against the droplets of sweat on her eyelashes as she blinked through them.
Finally the cub stopped and sank to her knees, her sides heaving. Dawn had never been in this sort of heat for more than an hour. Panic was slowly seeping into her mind as her lungs felt tight and the world around her seemed blurry.
'What if I can't make it?' she leaned forwards, placing her sweat-drenched palms on the damp earth. Dawn's ears were echoing with her heartbeat and the rush of blood following each pounding note. Dawn's mind was growing hazy, so much that she did not hear Gohan walking up behind her, saying her name.
----------------------
"Is that you Dawn?" he stated loud enough for her to hear. But when she didn't flinch, or make any sign of acknowledgment his brow creased. "Dawn?" Gohan stopped just to her left; his eyes caught the ebony stripes and the silky black hair. 'Yeah, this has to be Dawn, she looks so much like her mother, both of them.'
His eyes grew dark when he realized what was happening to her. The labored breathing, non coherent, and covered in sweat; she had heat stroke.
He gently leaned down and scooped her into his arms. At that moment fear wrapped a cold hand around his heart, she was lithe in his arms and literally soaked in sweat. The child made no movement to stop him when he lifted her. "Can you hear me!? Dawn?" her eyes were open, and he could tell she could hear him, but nothing happened.
Gohan launched himself into the air and turned sharply to the right, sailing towards the large lake a few miles away. He clutched her tightly to him and shouted loudly, his voice reaching it peek. "DAD!!! PICCOLO!!!" he flared his ki, to make his location easier to find.
He landed abruptly and rushed to the lakeside under the shade. Gohan draped the girl across his knees and began throwing water onto her by the hand full.
-----------------
Piccolo's ears twitched as he effortlessly heard Gohan call his name, and the panic his voice held made his aura roar to life in azure flames that sent him into the sky, speeding towards his pupil's ki. He knew Gohan had found Dawn, but he feared she was not alive. The sound in the boy's voice was desperate.
-------------------
Goku's sensitive saiyan ears picked up the cry of his son. "Gohan!" he took to the air as well, rushing over the emerald tree tops, their branches swaying greatly in his fearsome wake.
"Please, let her be all right."
-------------------
Dawn couldn't feel her body, and could barely hear the boys' words as he spoke desperately to her. Everything sounded muffled and her eyes seemed crossed, for it appeared as if there were two boys. But somehow that didn't seem right.
Unexpectedly cold fluid started rushing over her fur and across her face. Involuntarily a purr throbbed weakly in her throat as her body shivered softly from the drastic temperature change on her flesh.
-----------------
Gohan paused as he heard, what sounded like a purr coming from the weak creature in his lap. 'I bet this feels good.' he thought off handedly as he pours another handful over her arms. A faint smile reached his lips when he felt his mentor and father racing to help.
But his hope fled when dawn began to tremble, soft at first but her shakes steadily grew rougher, and he had to hold her in his lap. "Shock..." he muttered as he pulled her against his chest to calm her, and hold her still.
His eyes caught a flash of light and he saw Piccolo, followed closely by his father. "Hurry!!! She's in shock!!!" he stood and cradled her against him as Piccolo landed right in front of him in the water.
-------------------
Piccolo reached the lake and caught sight of Gohan under a large oak, holding dawn in his lap. Something inside him seemed to harden like ice, seeing her still form. 'no.'
"Hurry!!! She's in shock!!!" he heard Gohan shout. 'She's alive!' Not a moment passed as he landed as fast as possible.
Something stronger than fear and dread gripped his soul, seeing Dawn in this state; he could see her shuddering against Gohan. "Dawn?" his hands quickly pried her from Gohan. He vaguely heard Goku rush up to them, questioning his son to what was happening, and Gohan telling him. She had heat stroke, bad heat stroke, and suddenly went into shock when he was cooling her off.
Piccolo hugged her against him, stroking her hair softly. "Please." he whispered, almost too soft for Gohan and Goku to hear. Tears threatened his eyes as he heard her heart beating inside her chest like a caged animal. Her skin felt searing against his.
"Goku!" he looked up, but the saiyan already had his hand on his shoulder and Gohan had hold of his gi. Goku lifted two fingers to his forehead.
-----------------------
Goku's mind drew closed, focusing on a single point in space, and in an instant they appeared in his home. Their forms materialized and he smiled for a moment, reminded once again of what a true gift the Instant Transmission was.
His dark eyes turned slowly to the weak form cradled gently to Piccolo's chest. He took in her features, but his eyes lingered on her paw-like fingers, faintly clutching to the namake's mauve gi. She was shivering against him, but an air of love and trust seemed to hover about them.
His eyes narrowed in pain as he watched tears fall from the child's eyes, leaving deep gray trails of damp fur in their wake.
----------------------
Dawn felt herself weightless for a moment, but soon felt arms engulfing her. Fear took hold for a moment, but. The cub inhaled a deep shuddering breath. 'Daddy' that second her heart glowed and the cold horror that had been looming over it melted away.
"Please." her velvet ears twitched his tenor voice seemed to caress her soul, she'd never tell him, but she adored the sound of his voice, even when he was angry with her.
But even with his words of assurance, she could still hear and feel her heart throbbing inside her chest, almost making each inward breath painful. Dawn clutched at his gi, trying to make the world stop spinning, he was the last thing she trusted to be real now, his scent, and the rhythmic beating of his heart gave her hope.
Something odd happened and the temperature drastically turned cooler. The birds stopped singing and all seemed a lot quieter. However, Piccolo did not change, he was still there, and the realization of what had nearly happened to her flooded back into her thoughts, bringing silent tears to her eyes.
-----------------------
Touching Dawn's back softly, Gohan could easily feel her frantic pulse. Concern entered his innocent eyes as he turned to his father, "I'll go get mom, we should probably make a place for her to sleep." He glanced back at Piccolo, the desperation in his eyes made his throat tight. He had never seen his mentor so lost. "The best thing for shock is for her to rest."
With that said, the he turned and quickly left the room to find his mother, whom he found outside tending the laundry. "Mom, we found Dawn and she's not doing so good."
--------------------
Chi-Chi heard her son coming and turned in time to hear him state Dawn presence and distress. Her maternal instinct seemed to switch on and she stormed passed her son and into the Son House.
Her feet carried her swiftly to the room in which held Dawn. "How is she?" she asked Goku sternly. Goku was kneeling beside the girl they had placed on the small couch, with a thick blanket draped over her. Piccolo was standing behind the couch, arms crossed, face closed, cold. But she felt a tempest lurking beneath that quiet expression. 'Could he. love. this little girl?' She wondered and looked down at her.
Dawn was a lot bigger than she would have guest, but when she thought about it, nothing was really, normal, about this child. Her appearance was no true shock, having delivered Dawn herself, she knew about the ears and the gray skin, but she had not expected her to be so, beautiful a little girl. Even with her little ebony stripes, and soft coal ears, she was breath taking.
She leaned over her and placed a hand on Dawn's forehead. "Well, she has a temperature, but with some fluids and a lot of rest. She should be fine." Chi-Chi stole a glance up at Piccolo, and it almost looked as if he released a breath he had been holding. His shoulders went slack and he looked up at Chi-Chi. She could see through his fierce façade, the light in his onyx depths told her he was happy beyond reason.
Chi-Chi patted Goku on the shoulder and motioned him to follow her. Of course he obeyed immediately and followed her. She nodded to Gohan to go as well. She wanted to give Piccolo a moment alone with Dawn.
-------------------
Goku paused before leaving the room and glanced back at his old rival, who was now grasping the back of the couch, staring intensely at the frail figure under the sheet.
'. Poor guy. He's never really been a father before.' He then followed his wife and son into the kitchen. His gaze lingering on Gohan for a moment as his thoughts continued, 'He did sorta raise Gohan, but it wasn't the same thing. He's watched Dawn grow from a baby. '
He sat at the table, watching Chi-Chi preparing some kind of drink, most likely for Dawn. 'I think he'll be ok. Dawn is one lucky girl. So is Eve' His wife abruptly asked him what had happened to Dawn, and he proceeded to explain all that the namake had told him.
--------------------
Gohan helped his mother, bringing her what she asked for. He listened to his father's story and nodded, confirming it to his mom.
"Yeah. and such bad timing, what with them making the wish tomorrow." He hoped it would still go as planned. The balls had been gathered, with Piccolo's help, a few days ago, so all that was left was to make the wish. He trusted Dawn would be well soon, and could go with her mother to make the wish the following night.
"She's cute isn't she?" he added off handedly. Both his parents agreed full heartedly.
------ --------- ------------ --------------- ------------------ ---------------------- -------------------------- ------------------------------ --------------------------------------------------------------------------
Well, it's about time I made a cliffie, well a pseudo cliffie anyway. I hope this made up for the last chapter, I know, it was lacking something the others had. But I hope you guys liked this one! A bit long, but I think you guys like that, don't ya? Well tell me, if you'd like longer chapters in the sequel I'll try my best.
Stay tuned for the last Chapter of my pride and joy Evening. I'll warn ya now; it'll make this chapter look tiny. Goodbye! Ja ne! And don't forget to review.