A/N: Sorry, again, for the wait. I'll just warn you now that there may be
times when I can't write, whether it be from lack of time or lack of
inspiration. I'll try my best though, to get chapters out as quickly as
possible. Anywho, read on!
Dende's Love
Chapter 10: Visions
Linden walked back to her room from yet another shower. They had been training consecutively for the past weeks, and showed a vast improvement since she had first landed on the planet.
Piccolo had been training her mentally, as well as physically, and you could see it in the cat-like way she moved, more silent now than ever. Her hair had grown past her knees, and she kept it still in a braid, but managed to loop it through itself enough times to make sure it was securely out of her way.
As she started brushing her long locks, she let her mind wander to her relationship with Dende. She didn't miss the looks he gave her out of the corner of his eye. The way he watched her while she was training, thinking that she was too caught up in her fight to notice. Things he did, like give her a rubdown after a particularly grueling training session, brushing her hair when she was too worn out, brushing her cheek with a kiss when he left her to sleep for the night. And rushing in when she woke from her nightmares.
She sighed, and lay down on her bed, naked, and covered her backside with the blanket. She had come to like sleeping on her stomach, finding it easier to pillow her head on her arms, and more comfortable in general.
She let her hair fan out above the blanket to dry, as she drifted into sleep.
~She found herself in a room, the walls, ceiling and floor changing color. She walked around, wondering where her mind had brought her to.
*What am I doing here?* she asked of the room aloud. She was unconsciously biting her lip, a habit betraying her nervousness.
*I brought you here, Lin-chan,* came the reply. Only one person ever called her that, and she whirled around to see him standing there.
Her face drained of blood, and she wavered, as if about to fall. *Lou- chan?* she asked faintly.
*Of course,* he replied, a soft smile on his face as he walked towards her and placed a hand at her back.
*Wha-How?* she asked shakily. Her face was slowly starting to regain it's color.
*My spirit,* he started, his smile now tender, *not to mention my heart, is always with you.*
*But, you look the way you did before you died. I can't be sure that my mind isn't just making this up,* she replied, wary, but slightly hopeful.
Loumil's face took on a thoughtful expression. *My brother.... was only my brother in blood. That is the only thing we have in common. I came to you because I wanted you to know how much I love you. And to give you some semblence of peace. Take time, heal, and defeat Doquenis. You are the last hope for our planet, koi.*
Linden smiled now, *I miss you, and love you. I will defeat him. I give you my word, on behalf of our lost world, and, as you said, the last hope.*
Loumil kissed her brow, her eyelids, her cheeks, and finally her lips. *My love, you remain in my heart always. Take care, and do not be afraid.*~
Linden sat up quickly, gasping for air. She shook her head, trying to dispel the images there, yet wanting to hang on to them for forever.
/But where does my heart lay now?/ she wondered, thinking of shy Dende, and then thinking of her lifemate. /Why must I choose?/
She shook her head again, and turned over, the blanket sliding off of her as she did so. Her hair felt damp, and cool on her feverish skin. She groaned, and let her forehead fall on her clasped hands.
/Linden, concentrate. You made a vow to defeat Doquenis. Now do it, and put all other..... matters aside,/ she instructed herself.
She let her mind drift into the nothing state of meditation, that awareness of everything and nothing, as her parents had taught her all those years ago.
She relaxed slowly, minutely. Then she pulled the blanket over her backside, now cooler, and slid into the world that is light and color.
-----------------------------morning-----------------------------
Linden fairly growled in frustration as she failed, yet again, to block an attact from Piccolo. She shook her head, temper tears flying. She went at him now, switching from defense to offense, and praying that she'd get it right this time.
After two more grueling ours of physical training, they went to the mats of the main room. Sitting indian style, she didn't face him, but they faced the opposite directions from eachother, backs barely touching.
She inhaled deeply, and let her mind carry her to the normal 'battlefield' that they mind-sparred in. She looked much the same in her mind than in the real world, but in her mind, she wore the traditional clothes of the Lousenthican Royal Warriors, the symbol of the sun with the moons at each ends on the front of the garment.
Piccolo came at her, and she flinced in both worlds when he landed a sharp mental blow. She responded in kind, but no rewarding flinch was forthcoming. One of the more prominant lessons was to never let any more injury show to the enemy than is possible. Another was to always respect their ability and never underestimate.
She schooled her face to a neutral expression and let her mind drife just inside her special place. This helped her to keep up better, while still fighting. She felt another mental blow, even as she blocked his blow, which felt as physical as anything, even though they were not on a physical plane.
She did not flinch that time, or make any motion that it had hurt. His eyes showed a slight glint of approval and then went back to blank.
He came at her harder then, and she responded in kind, matching him almost blow for blow, but keeping that neutral expression up even as her body wanted to flinch when he hit his mark.
They stayed on the plane for another hour, and then she was dismissed, but she could plainly see, now, that he was glad of her improvement.
/I don't know what did it,/ he thought, slightly puzzled, /but it sure worked well. Only 6 more weeks, and then 'he' arrives./
His thoughts were kept private, but he also kept a tight rein on his anger at the evil that once again disrupted the peace. He figured that he should be used to it by now, but still, he gave the evil all the disdain it deserved, and during battle it showed.
He shook his head, and flew silently back to his place by the waterfalls. He sighed, and drank his fill of the water.
He stiffened slightly, automatically, when he sensed another presence, and immediatly relaxed when he knew it was Gohan.
"She's getting better," he said calmly, his voice tinged with the awe he usually associated with Piccolo. "In both areas. She was strong when she got here. Is she very much stronger now?" he inquired.
Piccolo answered, "She is not very much, but some. And whatever happened between the last session and this one seems to have..... given her even more of a will to fight than she had to begin with."
Gohan nodded, "I noticed. I was watching, in both areas."
Piccolo smirked, "I know. I sensed it. She was concentrating to hard on the exercise to notice you, but that's just as well."
Gohan grinned, "Yeah, that and you couldn't have gotten me to stay away." He frowned. "I don't want her to hurt Dende, and I think he's falling harder with ever passing day."
Piccolo shrugged, a gesture that he unconciousley used, now that he was around Gohan more often. "I don't know what to tell you, or them. In that area, I am lacking."
Gohan smiled warmly at his friend, "But you make up for it in all others. I have to go, old friend. Videl is waiting for me."
Piccolo nodded to him, and gave him a warm look, "Take care."
At the lookout, Dende was looking at the stars. /What can you tell me, ancestors? How should I be for her? 'What' should I be for her. Please hear my cry,/ he concluded, his heart and mind filled with confusion and Linden.
A/N: I apologize for the wait! I hope you liked this, and sorry that it's slightly sad. I'll try and update as I can. This might be a long story, and it might be a shorter on, I'm not sure yet. But I'll probably get more involved in the training than I was before. It might not be perfectly accurate, but I'm trying! There are definately going to be 5 more chapters after this one. Again, sorry for the wait. Please review! I love hearing from you! Always, Chero/Angel
Dende's Love
Chapter 10: Visions
Linden walked back to her room from yet another shower. They had been training consecutively for the past weeks, and showed a vast improvement since she had first landed on the planet.
Piccolo had been training her mentally, as well as physically, and you could see it in the cat-like way she moved, more silent now than ever. Her hair had grown past her knees, and she kept it still in a braid, but managed to loop it through itself enough times to make sure it was securely out of her way.
As she started brushing her long locks, she let her mind wander to her relationship with Dende. She didn't miss the looks he gave her out of the corner of his eye. The way he watched her while she was training, thinking that she was too caught up in her fight to notice. Things he did, like give her a rubdown after a particularly grueling training session, brushing her hair when she was too worn out, brushing her cheek with a kiss when he left her to sleep for the night. And rushing in when she woke from her nightmares.
She sighed, and lay down on her bed, naked, and covered her backside with the blanket. She had come to like sleeping on her stomach, finding it easier to pillow her head on her arms, and more comfortable in general.
She let her hair fan out above the blanket to dry, as she drifted into sleep.
~She found herself in a room, the walls, ceiling and floor changing color. She walked around, wondering where her mind had brought her to.
*What am I doing here?* she asked of the room aloud. She was unconsciously biting her lip, a habit betraying her nervousness.
*I brought you here, Lin-chan,* came the reply. Only one person ever called her that, and she whirled around to see him standing there.
Her face drained of blood, and she wavered, as if about to fall. *Lou- chan?* she asked faintly.
*Of course,* he replied, a soft smile on his face as he walked towards her and placed a hand at her back.
*Wha-How?* she asked shakily. Her face was slowly starting to regain it's color.
*My spirit,* he started, his smile now tender, *not to mention my heart, is always with you.*
*But, you look the way you did before you died. I can't be sure that my mind isn't just making this up,* she replied, wary, but slightly hopeful.
Loumil's face took on a thoughtful expression. *My brother.... was only my brother in blood. That is the only thing we have in common. I came to you because I wanted you to know how much I love you. And to give you some semblence of peace. Take time, heal, and defeat Doquenis. You are the last hope for our planet, koi.*
Linden smiled now, *I miss you, and love you. I will defeat him. I give you my word, on behalf of our lost world, and, as you said, the last hope.*
Loumil kissed her brow, her eyelids, her cheeks, and finally her lips. *My love, you remain in my heart always. Take care, and do not be afraid.*~
Linden sat up quickly, gasping for air. She shook her head, trying to dispel the images there, yet wanting to hang on to them for forever.
/But where does my heart lay now?/ she wondered, thinking of shy Dende, and then thinking of her lifemate. /Why must I choose?/
She shook her head again, and turned over, the blanket sliding off of her as she did so. Her hair felt damp, and cool on her feverish skin. She groaned, and let her forehead fall on her clasped hands.
/Linden, concentrate. You made a vow to defeat Doquenis. Now do it, and put all other..... matters aside,/ she instructed herself.
She let her mind drift into the nothing state of meditation, that awareness of everything and nothing, as her parents had taught her all those years ago.
She relaxed slowly, minutely. Then she pulled the blanket over her backside, now cooler, and slid into the world that is light and color.
-----------------------------morning-----------------------------
Linden fairly growled in frustration as she failed, yet again, to block an attact from Piccolo. She shook her head, temper tears flying. She went at him now, switching from defense to offense, and praying that she'd get it right this time.
After two more grueling ours of physical training, they went to the mats of the main room. Sitting indian style, she didn't face him, but they faced the opposite directions from eachother, backs barely touching.
She inhaled deeply, and let her mind carry her to the normal 'battlefield' that they mind-sparred in. She looked much the same in her mind than in the real world, but in her mind, she wore the traditional clothes of the Lousenthican Royal Warriors, the symbol of the sun with the moons at each ends on the front of the garment.
Piccolo came at her, and she flinced in both worlds when he landed a sharp mental blow. She responded in kind, but no rewarding flinch was forthcoming. One of the more prominant lessons was to never let any more injury show to the enemy than is possible. Another was to always respect their ability and never underestimate.
She schooled her face to a neutral expression and let her mind drife just inside her special place. This helped her to keep up better, while still fighting. She felt another mental blow, even as she blocked his blow, which felt as physical as anything, even though they were not on a physical plane.
She did not flinch that time, or make any motion that it had hurt. His eyes showed a slight glint of approval and then went back to blank.
He came at her harder then, and she responded in kind, matching him almost blow for blow, but keeping that neutral expression up even as her body wanted to flinch when he hit his mark.
They stayed on the plane for another hour, and then she was dismissed, but she could plainly see, now, that he was glad of her improvement.
/I don't know what did it,/ he thought, slightly puzzled, /but it sure worked well. Only 6 more weeks, and then 'he' arrives./
His thoughts were kept private, but he also kept a tight rein on his anger at the evil that once again disrupted the peace. He figured that he should be used to it by now, but still, he gave the evil all the disdain it deserved, and during battle it showed.
He shook his head, and flew silently back to his place by the waterfalls. He sighed, and drank his fill of the water.
He stiffened slightly, automatically, when he sensed another presence, and immediatly relaxed when he knew it was Gohan.
"She's getting better," he said calmly, his voice tinged with the awe he usually associated with Piccolo. "In both areas. She was strong when she got here. Is she very much stronger now?" he inquired.
Piccolo answered, "She is not very much, but some. And whatever happened between the last session and this one seems to have..... given her even more of a will to fight than she had to begin with."
Gohan nodded, "I noticed. I was watching, in both areas."
Piccolo smirked, "I know. I sensed it. She was concentrating to hard on the exercise to notice you, but that's just as well."
Gohan grinned, "Yeah, that and you couldn't have gotten me to stay away." He frowned. "I don't want her to hurt Dende, and I think he's falling harder with ever passing day."
Piccolo shrugged, a gesture that he unconciousley used, now that he was around Gohan more often. "I don't know what to tell you, or them. In that area, I am lacking."
Gohan smiled warmly at his friend, "But you make up for it in all others. I have to go, old friend. Videl is waiting for me."
Piccolo nodded to him, and gave him a warm look, "Take care."
At the lookout, Dende was looking at the stars. /What can you tell me, ancestors? How should I be for her? 'What' should I be for her. Please hear my cry,/ he concluded, his heart and mind filled with confusion and Linden.
A/N: I apologize for the wait! I hope you liked this, and sorry that it's slightly sad. I'll try and update as I can. This might be a long story, and it might be a shorter on, I'm not sure yet. But I'll probably get more involved in the training than I was before. It might not be perfectly accurate, but I'm trying! There are definately going to be 5 more chapters after this one. Again, sorry for the wait. Please review! I love hearing from you! Always, Chero/Angel