Trunks opened one eyelid, still rather tired. He sleepily sat up in his bed.
For a moment, he looked around the small, damp room blankly, and then the events
of yesterday came rushing back to him. Wondering what time it was, he rose,
grabbed a lamp from his room, and made the quick journey down the tunnel to
the main cave. He came upon Shirina sitting in front of the fire again, this
time sipping some coffee.
"Mum used to love to drink coffee in the mornings," he silently remembered.
Shirina, who looked up at him, shook Trunks out of his thoughts.
"Well good morning, kid. Did you sleep okay?" she asked.
Trunks nodded. "Yeah, I did," he replied, then pausing for a moment. "Thanks."
Shirina looked at him questioningly. "For what?"
"For taking me in."
She smiled. "No need to thank us… we're just trying to help." She paused for
a moment, standing up, then continued. "Well, you're up pretty early. That's
a good thing, since you'll need to be up before sunrise for training. Grab something
to eat and head out. Caliaf is waiting for you outside."
Trunks walked over to a small wooden table, which surprisingly had a large
amount of food and pastries to choose from. He grabbed a rainbow doughnut and
some orange juice. "By the way Shirina… what time is it?"
"It's about 6 a.m. Hope you're an early bird every morning. Now go on. Eat
up and get out there," she replied, practically shooing him out of the cave.
Trunks gobbled up his doughnut, downed his juice, handing the glass to Shirina
and ran out, wondering what he would learn today.
Trunks walked out of the entrance of the cave, greeted by the soft, white
snow and gentle colours in the sky, showing that the sun was barely beginning
to rise. He looked around for Caliaf, until he finally looked up and saw him
sitting in a large tree. Caliaf waved down at him. "'Morning, kid! Nice to see
you up so early. Trini never gets up around this time, and she always complaining
about never getting to train." He laughed, causing Trunks to smile.
"Well, Trunks, don't just stand there, get yourself up here! You're missing
a nice view too," Caliaf shouted down to him.
Trunks nodded, and spread his wings, about to leap into the air, but a yell
from Caliaf stopped him in his tracks.
"Whoa, slow down! Lesson number one for the morning… I want you to climb up
here," Caliaf explained.
"Climb?" Trunks asked. He shrugged, walked over to the base of the large tree,
and began the rather long journey up to the top.
It was not until several minutes later that Trunks joined Caliaf at the top
of the tree. He shook a little, and his paws had several splinters in them.
Caliaf smiled and tossed him some bandages. "Good job. Usually takes someone
almost half an hour to get up here. And you're lucky I brought those bandages.
You gotta remember, sometimes you'll have to rough it, and takes wounds as they
come." Trunks nodded and slowly began to take the larger splinters, then wrapping
each paw as best as he could.
"Those bandages will help for the rest of the day, though. Your paws will
need the protection," Caliaf continued.
I wonder just what I've gotten myself into, Trunks thought.
As the morning continued on, Caliaf tested Trunks as best he could, pushing
him to his physical limits. He had Trunks run, jump, climb, and even swim in
the icy waters of a nearby river. Around noon, Caliaf looked down at Trunks,
who sat in the snow, trying to catch his breath.
"Great morning workout, huh?" Caliaf grinned. Trunks tried to hide his look
of disbelief, swallowed a lump in his throat, and nodded.
"Well, now that I've seen what you can do, we can start with the fun stuff,"
Caliaf said, walking over to a boulder.
"Tell me, Trunks… do you think you break this boulder in half?" he asked.
Trunks stared at the boulder for a moment, then looked at Caliaf. "I guess
I could if I tried hard enough."
Caliaf nodded and stepped away from the boulder. "Okay then! Show me."
Trunks stood up, slowing regaining his balance, and looked at the boulder,
concentrating. He slowly summoned his strength, his eyes narrowing. He ran at
the boulder, hitting it with all his might. Trunks stepped back as the boulder
cracked in half.
Caliaf clapped, grinning. "Nice job. Now, wanna find an easier way to use
your energy like that?" Trunks nodded.
"Watch this," Caliaf told him as he walked over to a boulder much like the
first one. His eyes narrowed, concentrating, as all his energy was summoned.
Trunks watched in awe as Caliaf's energy began to take a physical form in
his hand. He threw the ball at the boulder without much effort, and the boulder
crumbled into several pieces.
"Wow," Trunks murmured. Caliaf smiled. "Neat trick, huh?"
"Yeah… how did you do that?"
"Well, it's kinda easy once you get the hang of it," Caliaf explained, "Instead
of summoning up your energy, and just using it full force, concentrate on one
part of you, like your hand. It will take the physical form of an energy blast.
Then you can control it and aim at whatever you want. Go ahead. Try it."
Trunks nodded, eager to try, and began to concentrate again. Sure enough,
a ball of energy formed in his hand. It appeared different from Caliaf's, however.
Trunks turned and aimed his energy blast at a rather large boulder, throwing
it with ease. Caliaf watched in amazement, for it appeared as if though Trunks
was shooting a blast of fire from his hand. He watched the blast hit the rock,
and crumble into pebbles. Trunks looked at the remains at the boulder, and then
down at his hand.
"Did I just do that?" he asked in wonder.
Caliaf applauded him. "Yeah, kid. Great job."
A few hours and several boulders later, Trunks and Caliaf began to walk back
to the cave for some lunch. They had just finish practicing their counter attacks.
Caliaf had moves that Trunks had never even seen, so he knew he would have a
lot to learn in the part of his training. They walked in to find Duo once again
sitting at his desk, this time reading a musty, old book. Trini was at her punching
bag again. Once she saw Trunks come in, she began to punch harder. Shirina was
laying out some food on the small table. She greeted them warmly. "Well, there
you two are! I was wondering when you'd come in for something to eat."
Caliaf laughed. "Well you know me, Shirina. I can't go TOO long without food."
Duo chuckled as he stood up and grabbed a few things to eat, then returning
to his desk. "We're all fully aware of that fact, Caliaf."
Shirina handed a wooden plate to Trunks. "Here you go, kid. Get whatever you
feel like eating. And hurry it up too. It's my turn to train you now."
Trunks turned to look at Caliaf, who was already eating. "Yep, kid. He's all
yours, Shirina!" He laughed and continued to eat, practically stuffing his face.
At this point, Trini had to say something. She turned to them, a look of total
anger on her face. "What is wrong with you guys? He just came in yesterday,
but you treat him like he's been here his whole life! You tell me I have to
work hard before you train me, but you agree to train him like it's no big deal!
Well, it is to me! It's not fair!"
And with that, the young blue Shoyru stormed outside before her sister could
counter her angry words.
"I wonder if she's ever going to grow up," Shirina muttered, finishing her
plate.
"Give her a break, Shirina. She's just jealous, 'is all," Caliaf said, finishing
his food as well. Shirina muttered something back, causing Caliaf to break into
a smile. Trunks, who slowly stood up, broke the awkward moment. "I'm done too,"
he announced, handing his empty plate to Shirina, who took it and stashed it
away. He glanced at the wooden table. "Who's the extra food for?" he asked curiously.
"Barock," all three other Shoyrus replied.
"He'll come back and eat when he pleases," Duo explained, opening his book
again.
"Well, let's get going Trunks, I don't have all day. And bring your sword
and bow. This is weapons training," Shirina said, walking outside, followed
by Trunks, who was hastily strapping his sword sheath to his back. "Good luck,
kid! You're gonna need it!" Caliaf shouted after them.
As they reached the caves entrance, Shirina immediately jumped up and land
on a high branch of an old tree, barely opening her wings to glide. Trunks followed
her lead, landing next to her. She glanced at him, and motioned to the ground.
"We're going to test your aim with that bow of yours… how good are you, anyway?"
"Pretty good, I guess," Trunks answered hesitantly.
"Well, you're gonna go from 'pretty good' to great once I'm through with you,"
she replied. Shirina then pointed to what appeared to be a small dot down below.
"That's a pinecone… I want you to hit it with perfect aim," she instructed.
Trunks slowly pulled out an arrow and his bow, aiming, then lowering his arms.
"That's almost impossible."
Shirina shook her head. "Nothing's impossible if you really believe in yourself
and your abilities… now try." He nodded, took a deep breath, aimed, and fired.
His arrow missed the pinecone by a few inches, only chipping the side.
"Try harder, Trunks," Shirina urged. Trunks nodded, pulled out yet another
arrow, and aimed again. This time, he did manage to hit the pinecone, nearly
splitting it in half. She applauded him. "See? What did I tell you? Now let's
keep going."
They continued on, with Shirina pointing out small things, such as pinecones,
fallen leaves, and fruit on other trees for Trunks to aim and fire out. After
a while, nearly before sundown, they worked on sword fighting. Shirina had a
fierce technique, and like Caliaf, had moves that Trunks had never even seen
before.
After his last counter attack, Trunks rested, placing his fire sword next
to him. The flames from his sword quickly melted the white snow around him.
Shirina wiped her brow free of sweat, and smiled down at Trunks. "That was actually
pretty good, Trunks. I'm impressed. In a few weeks, your endurance for training
will at least triple. But for now… I hope you learned something today."
Trunks nodded, slowly beginning to stand up. "Yeah, I did learn a lot. Even
after all my training, I never really thought about the things I didn't know.
But now, I can't for you guys to teach me stuff even the Techo Master doesn't
know about." Shirina laughed slightly. "Well, it's good to hear I have such
an eager student… come on, let's head back. And hope that Caliaf hasn't eaten
all the food we have for dinner."
Trunks grinned and they both headed back to the cave just as the sun disappeared
from the sky. In the distance, Trini watched her sister and the newcomer leaving
to get some dinner. Her eyes flashed angrily and she flew up into the air, hoping
to beat them to the cave.
After a hearty dinner, everyone went off into the different tunnels, heading
to bed and hoping to yet again get an early start in the morning.
As Duo was putting away his books, he looked behind him to see Trunks sitting
in front of the fireplace silently. "Hey Trunks… aren't ya going to bed? You
have to get up early again, and better make a habit of it," he said jokingly.
Trunks looked up at Duo solemnly. "I'm ready to tell you my story, if you'll
listen." Duo sat down on a nearby stool, and watched the young fire Shoyru "All
right then. I'm all ears." Slowly but surely, Trunks began his tale about his
life. How his childhood was filled happy memories of parties, stories, friends,
laughter, and family. How he had looked up to his sweet, strong willed mother
and his kind, yet powerful father. He thought that his life was a good one,
and he had everything he could ask for. But then he came to the part where everything
fell from underneath, and everything he knew was gone.
"…Everything I knew a lie. I didn't feel like I knew who I was. I still don't.
So I took off. Left everything I loved, and I ended up here. You guys were nice
enough to take me in."
Duo looked at Trunks, with a look of awe on his face. This young Shoyru had
gone through so much, and was so strong. He did indeed have quite the past.
"And you said that you were born a fire Shoyru… not painted?"
Trunks nodded. "I'm guessing Alana found me this way. Never touched a paintbrush."
Duo adjusted his glasses, a thoughtful look crossing his face. "Interesting…"
he then paused. "Well, I've kept up long enough just to tell me this story…
it would be best if you got some sleep for tomorrow." Trunks nodded and slowly
went off in the direction of his room. He stopped and turned. "Thanks for listening,
Duo. I needed to let it out."
"No problem, kid," Duo replied as Trunks disappeared into the tunnel. The
purple Shoyru then turned to his desk, opening one of his many large, musty
books. I have to find out where Trunks came from, and how he could be born
a fire Shoyru Maybe it'll give the closure he needs about who he is and him
being adopted, Duo thought. And with that, he slowly began his research
on Trunks' origins.
To be continued... | 
