Trunks looked around at the snow-covered trees in amazement. He had never seen
anything like it. Pure white snow covered every inch of the ground, glowing
in the pale light of the stars and the moon.
Before Trunks knew it, he and Caliaf had reached the entrance of rather large
cave.
"Come on, kid… in here," Caliaf said as he disappeared into the cave. Trunks
nodded and walked in after him. The darkness slowly began to fade away as they
drew closer to the main part of the cave.
He blinked in surprise and awe as they came into a rather brightly lit room.
It was perhaps the largest part of the cave. There were also several tunnels,
leading to smaller parts of the cave itself. And inside where 4 other Shoyrus.
A red female Shoyru sat near a stone-carved fireplace, reading a scroll. A purple
Shoyru with glasses sat at a small wooden desk, writing on long scroll. A female
blue Shoyru who appeared to be Trunks' age was practicing her fighting skills
against a punching bag. And a solemn looking shadowed Shoyru sat in the corner,
his eyes closed, meditating.
Caliaf walked up to them as Trunks stayed a few steps behind. "Hey guys." The
red Shoyru looked up. "Caliaf! Yeesh, where have you been?" she asked, and then
paused, seeing Trunks. "Who's the kid?"
Caliaf motioned to Trunks. "His name's Trunks. Had no place to go, so I told
him he could hang with us for a while."
The red Shoyru nodded. "That's fine… Hey Trunks, nice to meet you. I'm Shirina."
The blue Shoyru stopped practicing and wiped her brow with a small towel.
"And what you makes you think he can stay with us, Caliaf? You should have
asked the rest of us first!" she said.
Shirina glared at the young blue Shoyru "Do you keep forgetting, Trini, that
Caliaf's our leader? If he says the kid stays, he stays," she shot back, then
turned to Trunks, who hadn't been given the chance to say anything. "Ignore
my little sis, Trini… she can be a real snob sometimes."
"I heard that, Shirina!" Trini said, glaring at her older sister.
Caliaf shook his head in amusement and whispered to Trunks, "Don't worry. They're
always like that. It's a sister thing, I guess."
As the two females continued to bicker, the purple Shoyru who was seated at
the desk glanced up from his writing and stood up. "Oh! Hello there! Trunks,
is it? Pleasure to meet you, I'm Duo!" He smiled warmly at Trunks, extending
his paw.
Trunks shook it. "Nice to meet you too." His gaze fell on the silent Barock,
who had already opened his eyes and gotten up.
Barock silently glanced at Trunks for a moment. "Strong kid," he said and disappeared
into one of the several tunnels in the cave.
"Erm… Barock never really says much, Trunks… don't take it personally," Caliaf
explained. Trunks just nodded.
Shirina turned to Trunks, sizing him up for a moment.
"He's right… you're pretty strong for someone your age, Trunks. You train?"
she asked.
"I used to… I stopped a while back," Trunks replied.
"Well, I'm sure you can train with us," Duo suggested.
Caliaf and Shirina glanced at each other, and then nodded.
"Sounds like a great idea," Caliaf said.
"Wait a minute! He's going to train with us? You hardly ever teach me anything,
and we're the same age!" Trini said hotly.
Shirina glanced at her sister again. "This is different… Trunks here has some
serious potential."
Trini glared at Trunks, who was trying his best to remain quiet.
Either way, it appeared that he and Trini wouldn't exactly be the best of friends.
"Then it's settled. Welcome to the 'Masurao Hyousetsu', kid," Caliaf said,
grinning.
"The… what?" Trunks asked.
Trini snorted. "Doesn't even know Japanese," she mumbled, walking off in the
direction of a tunnel before she could be scolded.
Duo adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Roughly translated, it means, 'Warriors
of Ice and Snow'."
Trunks once again glanced down at his fire coat, then at his fire sword, which
was strapped to his back in its sheath.
"I don't think I'm going to fit in very well," he said quietly, looking down
at the ground.
Caliaf shook his head. "Nonsense! We'll teach you everything you haven't learned."
Duo nodded. "It doesn't matter if your main element is fire."
Shirina agreed. "Exactly. So, make yourself at home. Duo, can you take Trunks
to his new room?"
He nodded. "Sure thing! Follow me!"
Trunks silently followed Duo, feeling lost yet again in a deep sea of thoughts.
"Home? Could this place ever become a home to me?" he wondered silently. He
continued walking in the darkness, the only light coming from Duo's lamp.
Trunks followed Duo down one of the many dark passageways. The purple Shoyru
walked along, a brightly lit oil lamp in his hand, as Trunks looked around at
the walls. They finally reached a small room with a light already glowing from
within. Duo turned to the silent Trunks and smiled warmly. "Here's your room.
Hope you like it. If ya need anything, feel free to ask me."
Trunks slipped off his sword's sheath and placed on the small cot. He glanced
around at the rather bare room. To the side, was small desk with oil lamp similar
to Duo's atop of it. A wooden chest laid in front of the cot, perhaps a place
for personal belongings.
"Thank you," Trunks finally replied.
"Oh, it's no trouble. Are you hungry right now? You seem to have traveled
quite a ways," Duo asked.
Trunks shook his head. "No thank you, Duo," he said quietly.
The purple Shoyru tilted his head, wondering what the story behind this young
fire Shoyru "Well… try to make yourself at home. Don't let Trini and Barock
get the best of you. And training starts early in the morning."
Trunks nodded silently, sitting down on the cot next to his sheath. The sheath
tilted and a flash of gold tumbled to the ground. He quickly reached for it,
examining it for any scratches. Duo peered over Trunks' shoulder at the shimmering
object in his hand.
"Nice locket… where'd ya get it from?"
"A friend… my best friend… she gave it to me before I left. It's all I've
got to remember her by," Trunks said quietly.
"Oh, I see…" Duo replies, getting a closer look. "If I'm not mistaken, that's
the Imperial Sun Locket, correct?"
Trunks looked up. "How did you know that?"
"Well…" Duo smiled, adjusting his glasses, "I've seen several pictures of
it in my books. Yes, a very special locket indeed. And the Imperial Star Locket?"
"She has it. It was mine."
Duo nodded. "Well then… I'll leave you to your own. And… if you ever feel like
talking, you can come to me first. I'm a pretty good listener, and I think you've
got quite the story to tell."
For the first that day, Trunks broke into a smile. "Okay. And thanks Duo. Good
night."
"'Night, kid."
To be continued... | 
