My innocence

Part II : I don't wanna talk about it

Piccolo paid a visit to Dende's lookout the very next day. He was a usual guest to the place, as he had once guarded it himself. And he was close to a father figure for Dende, in whose eyes Piccolo was everything he himself was not. Piccolo was strong, stable and calm like the skies that surrounded the lookout - he was everything Dende was not, everything that Dende had ever wanted to be, and seemed like that was the reason for Piccolo to look after him. Dende was as child to him - and seemed like that fact wasn't about to change any time soon.

Dende felt the sight in his back, but somehow he just didn't care to look back as he was standing in front of a window of his lookout, letting the fragile string of light touch his green face - his eyes, that were following the movement outside, as mr. Popo and Ana took care of his garden - even though it had never been such a big deal to him. Though, he had heard that Kami - Piccolo's blood brother, half of his soul, had loved it when he had been alive. And that was enough reason to keep it alive, Dende thought.

He blinked his eyes and stepped closer to the thin, reflecting glass. With a little smile he followed how Ana kneeled down to touch the fragile leaves of a blooming rose, like it would've been the most precious thing in all excistense. So tender she was - loving like mother.

And all the sudden she turned her eyes towards the window that reflected Dende's light silhouette. The sudden move made Dende startle, and a little blush stroke his green cheeks - but luckily Ana couldn't see that. Yet Dende could see her smile - wave her hand with a warm gesture, that proposed Dende's hand to answer it - and so it did, even that he didn't really realize it before he had done it.

"Dende," he could hear Piccolo mutter all the sudden from the shadow of the central room - and the sound of his serious voice made Dende stand back from the window with alarmed feet.

He turned his sight hastily over his shoulder and blinked with a little confusion on his face. And Piccolo answered his sight with no expression. He just stood silent, strong, with his strong arms crossed across his chest. And for Dende, it seemed like there was something in Piccolo that was more worried than angry with him. But he didn't know if it was any better, since he didn't really want to fail his job as a guardian of Earth - especially not in Piccolo's eyes. Not in his.

"Who's she?" Piccolo asked then, with a voice so strict, that it made Dende grow a little nervous, as he hastily turned his sight to follow Piccolo's path to Ana.

It took a little moment for Dende to answer him. But he didn't do it right away, as he just let his sight follow the slow movement outside.

"She is Ana, a former kai, I think. She came hear to work for our help," he said slowly, turning his sight back to Piccolo's face.

And Dende could see how he furrowed his brow and let his sight stay in the glass for a short, silent while.

"So she seems to be," Dende heard him mutter silently - mainly to his own self.

And that very tone in his voice, the very look in his eyes made Dende grow nervous. He juggled his sight between Ana behind the window glass and Piccolo, who closed his eyes with thoughts that didn't glow trough his face at all. Dende gathered his courage and asked him:

"What about it? I-is it wrong?"

And in his eyes, Piccolo could see a little apologizing, nervous shade. But still he didn't care to smile at him, since his eyes were filled with a little concern as well. And he looked like he was pushing his toughts together, before he cared to even look at his young tribe brother. And Dende felt like the moment, the striking gaze of his eye lasted forever before he said:

"No, Dende. I didn't mean in that way. It's just that -," he begun, but grew silent all the sudden as his sight bounced to the main door.

Ana.

Her elegant hand lightly touched the door. And apparently, she hadn't heard any of the words spoken in that room, since there was still a gentle smile on her pale lips, as she stepped to the shadow of the room. She did a little, polite bow to Piccolo to begin with, but there was nothing in Piccolo, no expression, nor gesture that would've answered her rather attentive gesture. But seemed like she didn't care much, as she just turned towards Dende. She was holding one of his white robes - the very one that had had tea spilled all over it. And now it was clean - white like a dove's feather, like a cloud.

"I'm sorry interrupt like this, but you asked me to bright this to you earlier, ," she said with a soft, silent voice - that was like a dance in a way.

Dende's face grew surprised - though there wasn't too many reasons for that. He gethered his thoughts for a moment and let his voice shiver a bit as he said:

"I - I told you don't have to call me -," he began, but Piccolo's sour sight made him shut his mouth, and hit his sight towards the floor.

"Just leave it. I'll get it later," Dende added right away, feeling as he would've been rude, as he didn't even look Ana in the eye during his words.

Yet Piccolo seemed somewhat satishfied. And was the main goal - at least Dende liked to think so, as he escaped with his sight, that turned back to Ana, as she just smiled as an answer, nodding, and left the robe on the cold stone throne, leaving the room with closed eyes, beeing followed by more sights than just one.

And as her shadow disappeared to the light Piccolo turned back towards Dende and said to him:

"You two shoudn't grow too close."

And those words hit Dende's pointy ears like a sound of the loudest hammer, like a needle, and he turned his head hastily towards Piccolo with a pinkish blush on his cheeks. He hesitated for a moment - as he didn't know how to dress his thought into words that got stuck into his throat. And he didn't dare to move his eyes from the face of his tribe brother - so sour, searious, and yet concenred it was.

"W-what do you mean? Why not?" Dende asked hastily, with nervous, embarrased little voice that got stuck to the edges of his words.

Piccolo didn't answer right away. He just uncrossed his arms slowly, and stepped closer, touching Dende's fragile shoulders with his cold hands, making him tremble a bit, like there was something be feared from the former guardian, who was just worried about his follower, his heir, Dende - and wha was to become with his values, his position in the minds of people of this very world.

"I don't know much about this thing called love on this planet," he begun with a searious voice, keeping Dende's sight within his own, like it was something he had to do - for the young namekian's own good, yet Dende couldn't realize it.

"But I know it when it meets my eye, Dende. And as your kind, I shall say that love is not meant to creatures like us," he continued, turning Dende towards the glass like a piece of the finest of all a papars - like a fragile, weak thing with no power, no will.

And Dende looked. Looked outside meeting Ana's figure, her glowing eyes, that looked above - to the sky with a curious way that would've made him smile if two cold hand wouldn't have ben pressing his shoulders making the situation rather uncconfortable, but there was only one way to undertand it. Piccolo had always been good to him - he had ways been right. So for Dende, there was a lesson to be learned from him - at least so he thought.

"And as Earth's guardian, your only love shall be for this planet," he heard Piccolo say, as the touch of his hand grew distant.

And he left the room with those words, with his cape touching lightly Dende's shoulders, that lost their bearing as a darker thought took over his head. And then he just looked at his feet within the hold of his lonely moment of silence. The moment of his thoughts, that made him raise his hand towards the glass as Piccolo crossed the view with his steps. Ans as Piccolo vanished to the hold of the sky, Dende's sight turned to his clean robe on the cold stone throne. The thing that reflected the distance - the fact how close he would ever be to the touch he would like to feel the most.