badfic_manor | 15th Wish || Dende || Every Time He leaves the Mannor...

[Dende stirs, waking up on the bridge after his brutal fight with Zarbon. Very slowly he pushes himself up with his good arm and looks around. His head is fuzzy and he is having a difficult time focusing.

He spots his vest robe neatly folded on the snow where he left them. Groggily he stumbles towards them, and slips the vest over his head. While all lethal injuries were regenerated while he passed out, he is still not in the clear yet. His most noticable injury would be his lack of an arm, and perhaps the bleeding spot on his forehead, the rest have been concealed by the robe for now.

He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his blackberry to call for help. Then the shame of not being able to protect the Dragon Balls he had been entrusted with washes over him. He glares at the blackberry and in a moment crushes it in his hand. There, Zarbon would be able to call and threaten him once he found out that the Dragon Balls wouldn't work without the password. He lets himself fall back onto the snow, it felt good on his aching head

((He's on one of the broken bridges, in case anyone is up for helping him~))

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[Iroh pushes the diner's door open and hauls Dende inside. It's a cramped interior, very typical looking, down to the glass case of deserts.

Iroh leads Dende to the nearest seat and places him gently in it.]

[Dende eases himself onto the chair and slumps forward onto the table, resting his head on his arms. Sitting down was a very welcomed blessing]

Iroh... what do we do now?

First, you need some energy. [He orders two herbal teas from the faceless waitress, and two cups of the soup of the day. Anything warm.]

Once you are up to walking again, I think you need to lay low for a while. Zarbon will still be looking for you.

[Dende nods and pushes himself up off the table, it was hardly becoming of him to be slouched over so, injured or not.]

Hiding probably won't be too hard in the city, but what about at the manor? There are only so many places I could hide my presence, and he still my very well find me...

Hmmm. That is true.

[Iroh considers as the food is brought to them.]

We'll have to let the others know. I'm sure others will be willing to help protect you or speak to Zarbon. It wouldn't do to have you exist in this state of fear forever.

[Dende happily accepts the tea, he was thirsty something terrible, but of course he still holds himself properly. There's a ghost of smile at that first sip, though it quickly fades when he speeks]

But the more people who are involved the more danger they will be in...

[Iroh inwardly sighs as he sips his tea. He knew it wouldn't be good, but that doesn't blunt the disappointment at all.]

I do not think that Zarbon will be able to harm everyone. And if they are all willing to help you, then why shouldn't they?

[He starts fidgeting and clawing nervously at his cup]

Because... I'm supposed to be a guardian, it's my job to watch over others to keep them out of harms way. Having them jump into the fray for my sake goes against everything I am supposed to do! I've already failed at my job by losing the Dragon Balls, I don't want to have to go against everything I am supposed to do!

[Iroh puts a hand on Dende's shoulder.]

You may have lost the Dragon Balls, but you have not completely failed in your duties. You still have your sense of honor, and you regret what you have lost. It is that regret, and that honor, that will spur you to fix what is wrong. And if you must recruit the help of others to do so, so be it. There is no shame in asking for others to help you.

But Iroh, What if they get hurt, or worse, die, because of my folly? I would never be able to live with myself...

[He continues nervously chipping at the cup with his nails, completely unaware that he's destroying it]

What if he takes hostages? Last time we fought in France, he defeated me by pretending he was going to destroy the city, and when I went to inturrupt the blast, he attacked me from behind...

[Iroh puts his cup of tea down, both to appear more serious and sombre and because the tea isn't that good.]

Dende. Listen to me. That you take your task so seriously is beyond praise, and I appreciate the gravity of the situation. But no man...or Namekian, can do everything alone. There comes a time when someone's pride and sense of self must be put aside to complete their task. Should someone be willing to give you every bit of help they can, even if that means putting their life on the line, so be it. Do not refuse them that sacrifice.

We don't want to see you fail, Dende, believe me.

You're right Iroh....

[Dende looked down. He knew Iroh was right from the beginning. If the Dragon Balls were misused then it may very well cause the loss of more lives int he long run, and he knew that it was his duty to maintain the Dragon Balls even at the cost of life... although he had always been hoping that just meant his own life. He was still not liking the idea of people putting their lives on the line for him, but he really couldn't do this alone.

He goes to take a contemplative sip of his tea, but when he goes to lift the cup up it breaks in two due to his scratching and picking of it. The bottom half lands with a clunk of the table, tea spilling out everywhere. The top half of the remained in a very startled Dende's hands]

Oh dear...

[A slightly surprised expression pops onto Iroh's face.]

Don't worry about it.

[He grabs his napkin and wipes up the tea in the table.]

When we return to the manor, I'll make you tea myself. I'm sure it will be better than this.

[And a little smile creeps onto Dende's face, and he ervously rubs the back of his neck]

Goodness... I guess I'm just a bit nervous about the whole situation.

[He laughs a little]

I don't even believe I was paying the slightest bit of attention to what it tasted like either!

Trust me, you weren't missing much. There's no use crying over spilled tea.

[He finishes cleaning up the spilled tea and pushes the napkins to the side of the table.]

While it is perfectly understandable to be nervous about this, try and relax now. I don't think any harm will come to you right now.

[He chuckled a little despite the gravity of his current situation. It wasn't really all that funny, but he did need an excuse to laugh a little.]

I'll take your word for it then...

Thank you Iroh. You've been far too kind. I am honored to have a friend like you.

[He smiles.]

And I you, Dende.

[Ever since Lelouch left the manor some time ago, Iroh's felt a little lonelier. He always feels better when there's a young one who he can help guide.]

15th Wish || Dende || Every Time He leaves the Mannor...

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