Dragon Ball AG: Saga One - The Journey Begins

Chapter Eight: Happy Birthday

After that sparring session against Omar, Noca and Holline continued on the journey to the west. They decided to try and avoid stopping at any smaller villages while they believed they had enough supplies. This gave them the chance to finally start using their camping gear and staying out in the wild. It was a big adjustment but both of them treated it like an adventure, which is exactly what it was, and managed to make it fun.

Noca kept up with some light training, mainly sorting out his stances and positioning. He started trying to delve into some meditation but found it increasingly difficult. There were just too many noises going on around him and with Holline there he just found it too hard when trying to switch off. It didn't help that he didn't have any experience with mediation and had no idea of what he really needed to do. It just made him tired and he almost drifted off to sleep a couple of times.

Noca had to find another way to keep his mind and body active, so training was the best option. Unfortunately, he didn't really have anybody he could train against. Eventually, Holline spoke up about how she would like to be given some pointers, something that Noca was against initially but Holline insisted that she was more than capable of learning, and even mentioned the good point she might be needed if they encountered any issues. Noca obviously gave in and let her join him with his light sessions.

Noca taught her the basic form that he knew from training with his mom and helped Holline learn a stance. Noca wasn't sure he could train her enough for any sort of heavy combat, but even Noca wasn't ready for real combat. Holline liked that Noca was involving her and it became a part of the routine. A routine that involved a certain number of hours travelling, and only stopping for the night. The result of all of this: they were very tired.

A month passed by very quickly, and the duo found themselves approaching a small settlement.

Thursday 19th October Age 791

They wandered into the little village. It appeared rather run-down. The buildings were old, and small. The people didn't appear to have much, and nobody paid any attention to the two kids. Noca and Holline were wary as they continued to walk through, intending to pass by and move on as quickly as possible. They didn't want to cross anyone that might hold a grudge against them.

As they started to get away from the small houses, they noticed a man pulling a large box up a path to another small house. He was struggling. As the kids approached, they noticed the man was rather small, very wrinkled and clearly elderly. He was wearing some sort of brown robe that was ragged and dirty. He had very thin white hair that was receding quite badly. He didn't look in any real fit state to be dragging that large box up a hill. Noca moved towards him.

"Hey, excuse me," Noca said, politely. He tried to keep his tone as calm as possible so the man wouldn't be spooked. He turned around and smiled up at Noca, he was only a little bit smaller than the boy, but he had a hunched back.

"What can I do for you, young man?" He asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering if you needed a hand with this," Noca said, motioning to the box and smiling at the man. Holline stepped up beside Noca and whispered to her friend.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Being nice," Noca whispered in response. The old man seemed satisfied with the offer.

"Oh my, how kind of you. Yes, please," The man said, stepping away from the box and walking up towards his house. He seemed to hurry his walk showing that without the box his movement was certainly better. Noca lifted the box fairly easily. It was heavy, but nothing he couldn't handle. He carried on up the path the man had run along, towards the small house that was situated further away from all the others. The old man left the door ajar and Noca pushed it as he stepped inside with Holline and set the box down.