They both woke up again just as the sun was setting. Oran tore off his other sleeve and wrapped a piece of it around a tree branch to make a torch.
"Is there any kind of villages or towns nearby?" He asked Rose as he continued making some more torches.
"Yes. There's a small off-the-grid town a few miles away. We can go there and that'll be easier to find our way back to the cities." Rose answered.
"Sounds good. Do you have a map?" Oran asked.
"No. I didn't have anything with me."
"Then we should leave now. The sooner we get there the sooner we get to face Dragon again." Oran said with a smile.
They set out for the town and traveled through the forest. It was dark out but Oran's makeshift torches gave them just enough light.
"So where does this town come into play? And why are we so worried about finding it?" Rose asked, trying to distract herself from the cold.
"We can rest there, get some food, and then find our way back to civilization." Oran explained. Rose nodded and they continued making their way towards town.
After a long hike they finally reached the small town. It was about five tiny houses surrounded by trees. As they got closer a couple of townsfolk saw them and went to greet them.
"Well hello there folks." The man greeted them. "Don't get a lot of travelers this far out into nowhere. What brings you two round these parts?"
Rose and Oran introduced themselves as they entered the town. They told them they were just a pair of travelers that had gotten lost on their journey and they were welcomed warmly by the townsfolk.
"Welcome to the little community of Stomping Acres. My name is Arthur, and I am the leader of this little place. If you two need some shelter for the night there's plenty of room for you at the inn."
"Thank you, we'd be happy to stay here." Rose said with a sweet smile. Oran stood there with his arms crossed glaring at all the townsfolk. Some of them were pointing and whispering as they saw his tail.
Arthur smiled and motioned for them to follow him. He led them to a cabin in the middle of the town.
"If you two will just head on in, I'll bring the keys. The Innkeeper's wife will take care of you." Arthur said as he unlocked the door.
Rose and Oran walked in and Oran placed his unused torches on the bed. The Innkeepers wife came in and brought them the keys as well as a spare change for clothes.
"You kids can go ahead and have a bath. Just bring us your clothes after and we'll have them cleaned before you leave." The woman said kindly.
"Thank you ma'am," Rose said.
"There's a bathroom in the back. Can I get you two anything else?"
"No thank you ma'am." Rose replied. When the lady left Rose grabbed the clothes she left for her and went to the bathroom.
"What are you doing?" Oran asked her confused.
"I'm going to take a bath. You just stay here and rest, and please don't harass any of these nice people." Rose replied as she closed the door behind her.
Oran just scoffed and sat down next to the fire.
Rose was soaking in a warm bubble bath. Her nerves and her muscles had been tried the past few days and this was one of the best things she had felt in a while. She couldn't help but think about Oran. She couldn't stop thinking about her enemy who she was forced to team up with. She was constantly vigilant knowing that he could still destroy the planet at any moment. She didn't fully trust him, but she had to. The Saiyans were her only chance at protecting the planet from Dragon.
Rose stepped out of the bath and began to drip dry but she was startled when the door opened. She turned around and saw Oran standing in in the door way. Rose was completely naked and could feel herself blushing.
"Oran! How did you get in here?" Rose yelled angrily.
"The door wasn't locked. I just came in here to ask if you wanted some food Arthur offered us." Oran said calmly.
"Get out damn it!" Rose yelled as she tried to cover herself with a towel.
Oran looked confused but stepped out of the room and closed the door. Rose was embarrassed, annoyed, and angry. She felt her whole face was bright red. She sighed and began drying herself off before getting dressed.
Oran was laying down and looking at the ceiling. He was so tired and just wanted to sleep, but thoughts of Dragon clouded his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about the danger looming over all their heads. Rose came out of the bathroom still blushing as she glared at Oran. She was wearing a pink nightgown the Innkeeper's wife had left her.
"Can you please just leave me alone? I'm tired and I'd really like some sleep!" Rose demanded as she sat down on the bed.
"Why are you mad at me?" Oran asked genuinely confused.
"Because you were just staring at me naked!" Rose shouted.
"So? What's the big deal. Saiyan warriors have to get naked in front of each other all the time when we have to change into our battle armor."
Rose finally understood. The Saiyan's had a much different idea of how modesty worked. "Well it's…it's different on Earth. You shouldn't just stare at my naked body like that."
"Oh. Sorry. I guess I don't know what goes on in the world outside of my own race. Well since you're already dressed I'll leave you alone now. Goodnight." Oran said as he turned around and laid down on the bed.
"Wait, you said Arthur brought us food." Rose asked shyly.
"Oh yeah. I put it over on the table. You can have what's there, I already ate." Oran said as he turned over. Rose got up and got some food and sat back down on the bed. Oran was still sleeping so she ate in silence. After she finished eating she started to pack up her dirty clothes and took them to the Innkeeper's wife so she could clean them. When she went back to the inn she found Oran asleep on the bed, but he was tossing and turning restlessly. She walked over to him and hesitantly kissed his forehead which made him settle down. She smiled sweetly and laid down next to him.
It was morning when Oran woke up. He was shocked to see Rose was next to him. He got up quickly so he wouldn't wake her up. He looked around and saw the Innkeeper's wife cleaning the dishes and cooking them breakfast.
Oran sat down next to Rose. "Hey, you awake?" He whispered to her.
Rose just nodded.
"Good, I wanted to ask you something."
"Yeah?" Rose replied curiously.
"Are you still angry at me for staring at you yesterday?"
Rose smiled softly and shook her head. "No, it's fine. I'm not mad at you anymore. In fact I think you've earned my trust. Now let's get ready to go. We have a long day ahead of us." Rose said as she stood up.
"Right." Oran said as he got up.
"Can you turn around please, so I can change." Rose asked as she pulled her clothes out of the basket the Innkeeper's wife had brought them.
Oran turned around and waited patiently for her. Rose put on her clothes and then she and Oran prepared to leave. They got a map from someone in town, collected their torches, and began walking through the frozen wasteland again. They spent the entire day trekking across the frozen tundra. The sun was starting to set so Oran lit a torch and they kept on moving. They finally stopped at a cave to rest for the night.
They continued moving until they finally found their way back to a big city.
"Hey, I can sense some of my friends's power levels." Rose said as they walked into the city. The two of them began flying over the city until they ran into Root, Lumber, and Azalea. "Guys it's so good to see you again!" Rose called out as she flew to her friends who all immediately got on guard when they saw Oran. "Guys relax, he's on our side now."
Root, Azalea, and Lumber all slightly relaxed and hugged Rose.
"What happened? Where did you guys go after we got separated?" Rose asked.
"We got to the city here and we've been waiting here since." Root said.
"I'm so glad you're okay. So do you have any idea where Dragon might be?" Rose asked.
"Dragon? I haven't sensed him anywhere. But we should keep watch for him." Lumber said.
"You guys keep talking about sensing people? Do human's have some kind of power to sense people's power levels without a scouter?" Oran asked confused.
"Well, it's not something exclusive to humans, but the rest of what you said is right. We could teach you guys how to do it too. If only we had some time to train." Rose said.
"Well, maybe we do." Oran said. "Dragon's got a huge ego. He won't turn down a good challenge. So if I can persuade him to give us time to train, then we'll have a better chance at beating him."
"That sounds like a good plan. We should try to find a large open space somewhere to train" Azalea added. "But we should try and find the others first."
"That's a good plan," Rose agreed as the five of them began flying in search of the others.
They found Applo and Pino on the outskirts of town with Violet, Lily, and Branch. Rose quickly explained Azalea and Oran's plan to them.
"Sounds like a good idea," Applo said.
"Yes, there should be plenty of wide open spaces to train." Violet added.
"But this all relies on us convincing Dragon to let us train." Oran said.
"What do you mean us?" Pino asked.
"Dragon won't fall for something like that if I go ask him alone. With the three of us together there's no way he'll refuse." Oran explained to Applo and Pino.
"Alright, we'll help you convince Dragon. I want to beat him too."
"Great." Oran said happily. "But our scouters are broken, so we need one of you to lead us to Dragon."
"I can do that." Rose said.
"Then let's go." Oran said.
