Calling

[Raditz]

Due to Vegetasei's desert nature, druids were considered something of a valuable commodity. In recent generations though, with the enroaching use of technology and the growing lack of respect for nature, fewer and fewer were taking up such training. A similiar fate was happening to just about any mystical form of training, as the race adapted more for sheer brute force and energy based combat. Besides, with Frieza's annexation of their race, there was just no room for it.

After his initial mission and on his return to the planet, Raditz didn't receive much greeting. Like most saiyajin children, he got shipped off planet on a mission and only returned once it was finished. His first mission had him sent off when he was five as he had been born during the war with the Tuffles. He was now returning home after a couple years on Age 733. The moon had become full in the last couple of months he had been on his target planet, allowing him to finish the rest of the job quickly.

Once out of the pod, he brushed off his black and brown armor and then his black leggings. He then shook his head, fluffing his messy mane that ran down in waves of spikes to his knees and adjusted his emerald scouter as he started heading off the landing pad. There was someone waiting for him, but it wasn't anyone he knew. "All cleared then, are we?" It was one of Frieza's men, not a saiyajin, that greeted him once he ambled over. The soldier looked like a purple fish man to him. Gross.

The shaggy haired boy just stared at him, eyes as big as saucers as he lowered his hands from his scouter. Technically, it was cleared. There might have been a slim chance a large portion of the populace had fled. Well, if slim was equal to 'he kind of sat there and watched them flee with a wave' at least. But even at the age of seven, Raditz was not an utter idiot, he wouldn't go about saying there were survivors. "Uh. Yup." The guard nodded, keying something on the digital pad he had in his hand. The kid sat there, staring at him as the man seemed to no longer acknowledge him.

Taking the hint, the small monkey wandered away. The station was incredibly alien to him now, modeled like icejin buildings; cold, bland, lifeless. It didn't feel saiyajin at all, like the homes they made in the rocks and the mountains. Despite feeling hunger gnaw at his gut, he quickened his shuffle to get out of the building, completely skipping the mess hall. He wasn't sure if he would ever get used to the icejin buildings. Despite how much of a maze it turned out to be, Raditz eventually found an exit that lead outside to more metal floor as far as the eye could see and not a speck of dirt.

Raditz frowned, brows knitting together as he looked around. The hell was this? He was on Vegetasei...right? The little saiyajin took an experimental sniff or two. Sterilized, dead metal. Great.

He wanted to go home, or whatever that was. Even though he hadn't seen him in a couple years, Bardock was a hard man to miss and he certainly hadn't seen his father on the mad dash out of the building. He didn't remember his mother too well. All he knew was, he had arrived home on schedule. And with no one waiting for him. He assumed that was probably how it would be for the rest of his life. The kid's shoulders slumped. That was really, really depressing.

Shaking the melancholy thoughts out of his head, Raditz just took off at a sprint in any direction. Eventually he would have to come across some desert or a bit of oasis jungle, right? It took him longer than he thought, but he managed to find an exceptionally large patch of oasis jungle. There were large, thick trees with multitudes of fronds hanging down, a surplus of leafy palms, large brightly colored hibiscus plants. The water pond was quite big, deep, and he could see whiskered fish in the semi-clear water. There were a few small animals, but nothing he would consider plentiful enough for eating until he looked the trees over. There was a lot of ripe looking fruit, ready for the picking. His bushy tail wagged. That was more like it!

But something about the spot felt...exaggerated. It was big, bountiful, but maybe moreso than what one could consider normal. He frowned, looking around. It had escaped his attention before, but there were a couple saiyajins in the oasis too. But these saiyajins weren't wearing armor like the rest of Frieza's soldiers. One was, but it looked to be one of the saiyajin army elites.

"Lookit what we got here, a pipsqueak." The tone was affectionate in it's taunting as a short, somewhat portly man wandered over. His hair was long, scruffy, pulled back in a messy ponytail and his had a thick beard on his chubby face. He was dressed in an outfit of leather hide, with the armored shoulder plates adorning his round shoulders. He held large bowl, packed high with various fruits and vegetables in his one arm. The larger saiyajin poked him on the top of his head with his free hand as Raditz simply glared at him, "Whatchu doin' here, short stuff?"

"I wanted away from the ugly building..." Raditz grumbled, eyes locked on the overflowing bowl. He went cross eyed, leaning up on his toes for a better look and maybe determining if he could get some of the food. The chubby saiyajin chuckled at him, though he made no move to offer. The shaggy maned child growled a little, "How come this place is so lively? I thought the oasis jungles were littler."

"Littler he says." The other saiyajin grunted, setting down the bowl within reach. No sooner had he sat it down, Raditz was munching away, not letting even a morsel go to waste. He gestured towards the rigid space station behind them while the boy ate ravenously and listened. "We druids usually help them grow more, be more bountiful and what have you. It used to be a piece of cake job until that Frieza started building those monster stations. This was just a small bit, we had much more than this! But now it's that. And we have no more of our people taking an interest in the old ways. They're all blasting off into the stars and blowing things up now. Beating the tar out of nature. It once was a technique of subtlety, raise enough pestilence, locusts, have nature force 'em out...That's some real power there."

Raditz frowned. He had pulled the bowl into his lap and shifted it around, chewing thoughtfully. That sounded like a great job. And it sounded so cool. He had an image in his head of sweeping away cities with tsunamis and tearing them down with wicked winds. He stopped munching on some berries to grin at the man in excitement. Why didn't anyone tell him he could learn to do stuff like that? "Can I do that too?! That sounds awesome!"

"Huh! Really, kid? Well that would be great! I'm kind of surprised a little bugger like you wants to shoot for it though, it's takes some serious work. And it's not really a training route Frieza or even the King really give the okay on..."

"I don't care...It sounds awesome, they're just a couple of buttheads."

"Huh huh...Kids say the darndest things. All right, squirt..." The chubby saiyajin really couldn't turn down a possible recruit, it wasn't like they had any other youngsters breaking down their doors to learn and he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he didn't try. of course, odds were either the kid's parents or a soldier would come looking for him, but that didn't mean they couldn't get some training done. "You're gonna be workin' with ole Meron here and I ain't gonna be an easy teacher. So finish eatin' and let's go see if we can't work somethin' out."

~+~

Meron had to pull some strings in order to let Raditz at least have a sabbatical from purge missions under the assurance that he was training to be faster and more efficiant. Whether that really happened or not was a moot point, his job was to teach the boy about how to work with nature instead of smashing it, how to work some of the magic and other details that went into being a druid. He gave the kid credit in that he was a pretty fast and enthusiastic learner. Meron had a feeling, if he really stuck with it, he could be a strong druid. His parents would probably disagree severely, as it wasn't making his power level any more potent, only his mystical power.

They spent the next year training in the oasis jungle outside the space station. Part of the work involved him helping the more proficient druids and their own respective trainees expand the flora. In the course of the year, it had grown to a respectible size, steadily creeping along to breath some life into the wasteland ahead of them.

Near the end of the year however, Raditz was starting to get messages on his scouter. Apparently they were wanting more saiyajins than ever on purge work and there would be no more sabbatical. If he weren't returning on his own, one of the soldiers would be along to brief him...and drag him back if they had to.

Raditz gave a whine. He didn't want to leave. In fact, he refused to, even if Meron had argued that he had to. The kid removed his emerald scouter and after stepping away from the others and dinner, he tossed the device over on the space station grounds. He didn't want to purge, he didn't want to sit in an empty pod in space for months on end, and most of all he didn't want to leave his family.

'I hate the armies. What do they need me for anyway? It's not like I'm that strong. They won't notice if I don't come back either way. Not like they noticed...' He frowned at that train of thought. Meron had told him holding grudges was not a healthy thing. Exhaling deeply, Raditz turned from the lifeless station grounds to go back to their rustic little camp.

[Selypa]

Why did she get stuck with these missions?

... Why?

The wind whipped past the petite yet powerful woman as she flew through the air, a faint rose hue around her as her ki propelled her through the sky. An emerald scouter rested over her eye, beneath the bangs that swent to the right. Unlike other saiyajin woman, her hair was cut short, something that some saiyajins thought to tease her about, as their race was known for the wild, spikey hair that seemed untameable. In fact, it pretty much was untameable. Anyone who taunted her though, recieved a crash course in pain.

Sighing softly, she allowed herself a twist in the air, flying upside down before she writed herself, the light glinting off the gold earring piericng her right ear. The left earring was hidden beneath the scouter, something that should have been painful but wasn't. Like she would many years, she wore the fushia under garments that ended far too short, and the bare basics of armor. White gloves rested on her hands, and white boots on her feet. Both of her legs were bare even of the knee armor.

It had been her misfortune to lose the dice game to Toma. The crew had returned to the planet to celebrate their last mission, which included a great deal of drinking, boisterous laughter, sparring matches, stories, and a few other things that Selypa would punch someone for suggesting at a later date. The celebrations, all of them, had been quite enjoyable. They never had long to rest before their next mission, so no one was surprised when a soldier came with orders. What did surprise them, however, was the fact that it was a mission to retrieve a child. Once they heard the name, there were various eyerolls, groans, and snorts of laughter. Then, they began to dice to see who would have to fetch the damn kid. The dice game eventually came to both Toma and Selypa in last place, both desperately trying to beat the other. Then, Toma rolled out a good set of pips, and his bark of laughter caused Selypa to punch him in the face.

And then she went out to hunt the damn brat. According to the files, he had some sabbatical or whatever out here in the grounds... All right. She was lying. She knew exactly where the damned druidic camp was. So she flew there, and-

Her scouter began to blip, and she glanced down, seeing a form trudging along the ground. Without missing a beat, she dived down, rocketting to the ground until she flipped in the air, landing on her feet with ease in front of the boy.

"Kid, what are you doing? You were given orders." Selypa gazed down at the boy, not even going for a greeting as she crossed her arms over her chest. Her violet eyes watched him, studying him, and noting with some horror that he was still pretty damn scrawny. Saiyajin children rarely grew all that much until they were a few years before twenty, but still! He should have at least had a few more muscles.

"What the hell have they been teaching you?"

[Raditz]

"Ack!" The last thing he expected was someone dropping from the sky on him. He flailed and fell back onto the grass. 'I guess that's what I get for tossing away that dumb scouter.'

Due to his change in attire, his lack of physical work was more than evident.He had traded in the majority of his plated stretch armor for the lightweight leathers the others wore, except he had forgone the shoulder guards. The tunic came down a bit above his knees and he wore black shorts underneath. His boots and gloves were still the standard issue like what most other soldiers had.

He climbed to his feet slowly, almost fearfully. Meron had said they would send someone to get him, he just didn't expect someone so soon. Without his scouter, he couldn't tell how strong she was, but he had a feeling he was pretty outclassed anyway. She seemed to have the confidence to prove it. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to know her, squinting at her for a second in thought.

'I don't want to go, I want to stay here...' He wracked his brain, thinking of a good spell that maybe would send her away. The most he had was a fairly weak sleet storm, it might confuse her, but it wouldn't stop her.

His dark eyes scanned past her. He knew the others knew, he could see them watching. But it didn't seem like anyone was interested in intervening.

'Crud...I-I guess I see how it is.' Raditz growled at her. Even with friends around, he had to be alone in some way. But he wasn't going without some fight. If they had an issue with a beat up kid coming back, well, they would just have to deal with it. "I don't care about no stupid orders. I don't want to go back. So NYEH!" He stuck his thumbs in his ears, waving his hands as he stuck his tongue out at her in a mocking fashion. The kid stopped his face making as he got a brilliant idea!

'I'm a genius! But...She has her scouter. Crap!' Well, it had been a brilliant idea. Raditz had thought to put his limited training to some use. A fog cloud to obscure her vision, then he would hide and use the tree shape spell to...well basically become a tree. But the scouter would give him away before he had the chance to properly channel for the shape shift. He huffed, shoulders slumping slightly as he cocked his head, "I'm kinda screwed here, aren't I? I want to keep training as a druid! I don't wanna go back, I've only gotten so far!"

[Selypa]

The violet-eyed warrior gazed at him, her expression stoic as she watched him, noting his skittish behavior, and wondering, why again, she was here.

The first thing she noted was the complete lack of the plated armor that was universal for the saiyajin now. Even if he had worn a lighter version like hers, it would have been better then nothing at all. His dark eyes studied her for a moment before looking past her, no doubt looking for help. Unfortunately, there was no help for him. It was time for him to go back to his job. Play time was over. She didn't miss the way his eyes kept flickering to her scouter, either.

Great ape tits, what was running through this kid's head? What brilliant schemes was he considering pulling off to try to lose her? Whatever schemes they were, he apparently realized that it was pointless to try to run. Really, it would make things easier for both of them in the end if he just went now instead of forcing her to chase him or some shit like that. If he was anything like his parents, however, he was going to end up fighting her. She knew that all too well.

"Look kids, it doesn't matter if you care about the orders. You're going and that's that. You're a saiyajin, not a damned muddy grubber." Selypa retorted, violet eyes flashing momentarily, her lips twisting a bit more in a frown. Were they teaching the kid no military discipline out here? Her tail lashed for a moment before resuming it's gentle waving. If she could help it, Selypa always preferred to have her tail out. She liked feeling the wind on it, and liked getting use out of it. It was a long tail, one to be proud of, and not one to hide by wrapping around her waist... Unless she was fighting, in which case it was something of a weakness, like all saiyajin tails.

Unable to help herself, a sigh escaped her. Unfolding her arms, the short woman squatted down to be on his eye level, her violet eyes steady on him. "Fraid so, kid. I've got orders to bring you back, and I'm not giving your father a giant fuck-you just because you want to play out here more." Her head tilted as she regarded him.

"Raditz, you've got some pretty big shoes to fill, and you're a bit behind right now. Sure, you've been training out here, but to the rest of our people, that doesn't mean a damn thing. The way of the saiyajin is that of the warrior now, not the druid anymore. And your old man's one of the best. So guess what, kid. You need to show the world that you're Bardock's son in truth."

[Raditz]

Raditz could tell she was reading him and without a doubt reading him pretty well. Most of the current spells he had required a build up of power and of nature's energy. He hadn't learned how to speed the process up yet. It filled him with dread that being dragged back to the army would make the past year's worth of work worthless. He had seen some of the other students go, more complying than him and even insisting he do the same. He wanted none of it. Now the recruiter was here to do the job.

His tail bobbed in the air behind him, bristling slightly as she started to speak at great length. She was dismissive of the druidic ways, even mocking, to which he bared his teeth in a growl. Where did she think some of the food came from? Or how Vegetasei had steadily started to plume, a little at a time? It wasn't fucking fairies! If he ever caught her enjoying an oasis at some point...Yeah, pow, right in the face with an ice storm. How would she like that then?

"Well, Meron says it should be both ways. That people are just forgettin' cause of the dumb technology. But I told him most other saiyajins are too stupid to be druids. Just like you an' just like my dumb dad." Raditz growled. What did he care about living up to expectations to follow in his father's footsteps? He wasn't his father!

Wow, why did he feel so angry now? It took him a moment to figure it out. He was being repressed and held back from what he aspired to be. The other people wanted to make him be something else, something he really didn't want to be. He had no clue how much they would want that too, he would have his fair share of beatings to come, just so they could force him in line. The boy stood tensely, muscles stiff, fists clenched.

"You can tell my dad I give him that big eff you or whatever. I'm not playin', I'm trainin' an' I'm stayin' here!" Regardless of being on the lower end of the power scale, no one could say that Raditz wasn't a stubborn, gung ho little bastard. He pounced at Selypa, aiming a kick at her head even though he was pretty confident she expected an attack and would probably lay him out. He'd go fighting, not bowing his head in submission.

[Selypa]

Cute. The kid thought he had guts.

Selypa found herself grimly amused as she watched him, watching the way his rage seemed to build with the words that had so casually left her lips. Well it was just too fucking bad what Meron said. It wasn't the way of the saiyajin anymore.

There was one thing he was mistaken about, however. She wasn't an idiot. She knew that druids were probably needed. After all, going wild on a rampage and killing things was a great and all, but not if you couldn't eat. And with how much a saiyajin needed to eat... Well, one could draw their own conclusions.

Still, she let none of this show. Let him think her to be an idiot. Besides. There was something more important to take care of.

Her violet eyes flashed at his words. No one insulted Bardock around her, especially not his own damn son. While she was impressed by his ferociousness and saw potential for him to become a great saiyajin warrior, she wasn't going to let him speak that way. No, Selypa was going to show him what was what.

As the kick launched at her, Selypa didn't grab his leg, but instead bent completely backwards, almost contorting her body as she easily dodged the attack. One leg unfurled from beneath her, striking out to knock him into the air, leaving her in an awkward pose of one leg extended while her torso bent backwards, her other leg still curled beneath her. Tilting backwards, she pushed herself into a backflip and watched him before grabbing him as he fell, taking hold of his grubby little shirt in one white-gloved hand. Her long tail lashed behind her as she regarded him with cold eyes.

"You want to be a badass, huh Raditz? Is that it? You want to spit in everyone's face and inform them that you're going to be some little dirt-grubbing moron? Then guess what." Selypa growled as she shook him by his shirt, hard. "You're going to fight for it. You want to be a druid? Then you have to beat me in a fight. Then you have to defeat Captain Bardock. If you can defeat a lowly soldier like me, then you're going along the right path. And if you can defeat someone as powerful and intelligent as your father, then you can come right back here and learn."

Selypa lifted him until his eyes were level with hers, her violet eyes bright.

"Until then, you are a saiyajin and you will act like it. You will return to the army, and fight. You will follow your orders, grow stronger, and prove yourself an asset. You're as weak as a toddler, and it's pathetic."

[Raditz]

'I really, really don't like this lady...'

No one could blame him for giving it a try. At least he did that much, instead of bowing his head like some submissive wuss like the other trainees. Unless it was going to get him killed, he was the type to fight. But when his life was on the line...He wasn't above getting out of it somehow, even if he had to beg. He was a firm believer of 'Live to fight another day'. Today however, there was little chance he would be dying, since apparently they were short on bodies for purging if they needed him.

He grunted, wincing as he was kicked into the air. That was no surprise, even without a scouter he knew she was pretty over his head in strength but that hurt more than he expected. Apparently she hadn't aimed to hold back too much. He wondered what he had said had pissed her off, cause it was apparent she was mad about what he said. He could see it on her face. If he knew just what it was, he wouldn't shut up with it just to drive her nuts. As he fell back down, he was prepared to jump away at the right moment but she caught him and started to shake him.

"Y-Yeah..." He stuttered during the jostling, shaking his head when she stopped. "You're some big bad warrior smackin' a kid around an' shakin' like a dumb dog. You and my dad aren't worth the stupid time to even think about, let alone fight. So eat me."

He was going to have to fight for it? That was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard. Adults were stupid, adult soldiers were even worse from what he could tell. And they wanted him to be the same way? That was just dumb. He knew someday, he'd get them back and he hoped that day would come sooner than later.

His round eyes squinted resentfully at her, showing the female saiyajin how much he loathed her at the moment. "You're as ugly as Frieza and that's scary." He snapped and did just as she claimed he wanted to do...He spat at her face.

Let it be said, Raditz really had no clue when throwing in the towel was highly recommended.

[Selypa]

If someone had to ask her if she gave a flying shit whether or not the kid liked her, she'd have to give a firm no. So the kid thought he was tough shit. He was nowhere near that level. Not yet.

Someday, Raditz would thank her. Even if he eventually dropped out of the army to take up this druid business again, he would thank her. What she was doing was teaching him about life. He was a Saiyajin, and there was something to be expected of him. After all, they were the strongest warriors in the galaxy, possibly the universe, and expectations had to be met. Not to mention, if someone decided to challenge him, she didn't want him to be helpless.

He was Bardock's son, and he wasn't going to be a disappointm-

... The little bastard just spit in her face.

The air almost crackled around her. Oh she had been nice before, but enough was enough! The little shit was going to spit in her face?! (The comment about her appearance didn't even phase her. In fact, she had dismissed it almost immediately.)

Still holding him by the shirt, she turned instaneously and slammed him into the ground. "You want to play in the earth!? Then have a mouthful, Raditz!" Then, without even giving him a second, she grabbed his tail, yanking him up. He wanted to push her buttons? Then she was going to pull his fucking trigger. She knew that he had never even thought about training his tail, and it was going to fucking bite him in the ass.

With his tail in hand, she began to carry the small boy back to the city.

[Raditz]

Yeah, the spitting had probably been one button too many but that was a horrible habit on his part. But she said he wanted to spit on people so he was just giving her what she wanted! Right?!

Getting slammed into the ground was rough, but nothing in comparison to his tail being grabbed. He was unaware that the tail could be trained, no one enlightened him really and unfortunately no one ever would. The squirmy kid went as limp as a noodle, hissing and growling at the pain in the fifth limb. Crying a little had sounded real good, but he held that back with all the reserve strength he could. No sense in giving her the satisfaction.

Odds were when she managed to toss him to the wolves, she'd give his father a nice earful. If he could, he'd give her one more dollop of mouthy goodness but it was likely she'd be well out of range. That didn't stop him from fantasizing though.

Raditz tried to squirm but moving made the pain even greater. If he could, he'd try to give her a nice bite but the grip on his tail had his strength sapped. The long haired boy was stuck being carried along back to the station. Everytime they passed something, his fingers flexed, wanting to reach out to snatch onto whatever could be in range for one more fight but he couldn't muster the strength for it. So he settled for an irrate huff, keeping as still as possible as he stared sourly ahead.

"Y'know...I really...hate you." Not like it mattered to her, he was sure. To him, she was just some mean stranger who had a bug up her butt and to her, he was some brat who didn't want to cooperate. His eye twitched from a pang of pain. "I hope you die...on one of your dumb missions."

[Selypa]

She might be a low-class saiyajin warrior, but she was not one that most sane people wanted to mess with. Or if they did, they had better enjoy the beating they were getting soon after.

Her temper sometimes got in the way. More then once, someone on the crew had to restrain her, though often times someone said 'Fuck it' and just let her loose. After all, it was always a good laugh when the tiniest member of the team went fucking apeshit on someone. Oh yes. Many an adventure like that had ended in a drinking party.

The only courtesy she granted the pint-sized apeline in her grasp was the fact that she wasn't hauling his ass across the ground. Even in her rage, she was still aware enough to make sure that his tail didn't get pulled out by a snag in the ground or something similar. If she was as sadistic as his uncle, she would have been swinging him. Instead, she just carried him, though if he was too much of a brat, she'd give his tail a squeeze.

"Don't care, and don't care." It was impossible to tell if she meant it or not. Of course, in later years, she'd appreciate the sickening irony of that statement. For now, she was content with trudging across the land with the brat in her gasp, scouter over her eye.

Bardock was going to hear about this...

[Raditz]

Just like Selypa, it was questionable as to how sane Raditz was. It certainly didn't show when he was facing off against his superiors. Or rather, the people who thought they were better than him. While they might hold their strength over his head, it was a grim yet satisfying fact that they were all worm meal in the end.

'No last minute tricks? Nothin'? Come on...'

His mind struggled to think of something as they drew close to the station. He hated submitting, he wanted to fight this some more. But no, she had to be a tail grabbing cheat. If only it had been a little longer, he could have learned to turn her into some stupid pint sized animal. Then who would be laughing? However, the spell did have something of a limit, especially against stronger opponents. There was a wide range of other things he could learn to use on her, like making roots attack her. That would probably surprise the hell out of the female. Make the trees come alive to beat on her. He grinned.

The boy let himself mull those details over, a welcome distraction from the tugging on his spine and the sting in his tail. 'She can't take that away at least. And maybe I don't purge wherever they send me? What would they do then?'

Actually, that was a very interesting question. He arched a brow, coming back to the present moment. "Hey...If I don't purge...What would they...do?" The question was bound to get some ill reaction, he was even worried she'd sit there and shake him by the tail for considering it. But now he was morbidly curious, even with having a feeling that the answer couldn't possibly be good.

[Selypa]

If she was a fraction less pissed off, she might feel ba- Wait. No she wouldn't. Remorse wasn't something that she had, and she was as sadistic as any other bloodthirsty saiyajin.

It was fustrating how stupid this kid was. Couldn't he see that she was doing this for his own damn good? No matter how much he wanted to play in the earth, he had to learn to defend himself, and how to be strong. Otherwise he would be forever ridiculed and no one would accept any help from him, no matter how much they needed it. Saiyajins were proudful sons of bitches, and the idea of fighting that didn't involve ki blasts or punching something in the face was laughable to most.

The petite saiyajin kept walking, tail lashing in the air behind her. The kid seemed to be behaving by now, something that was disturbing. Had no one taught the brat to control his tail?

Raditz's words, however, brought her back to the present. Her angry violet eyes turned to him, watching him for a long moment.

"You want to know what happens if you don't purge like you're supposed to do? Let's play a game. You guess the word I'm thinking of. It starts with a 'D' and ends in '-eath.' Can you figure out what it is?"

Actually, that was a bit harsh. More likely they would be ridiculed, and beaten by their comrades, or used as a measurement of weakness. Or in the rare case of complete uselessness, ex-communication. Either way, it was unacceptable. She was pretty certain she could have given him a better answer had she not been pissed to high hell..

[Raditz]

The tip of his tail twitched and while the walk was not very long, they were coming up to the station now, his back was starting to kill him with her holding onto his tail. His squirming started again, despite the pain.

"Yeah, whatever...Put me down! It's not like I can outrun you or nothin'." It sounded like he had no real choice but to purge. At least he had sense there. If it came down to putting his life on the line or killing someone, well hell's bells, he was going to kill.

"You must suck at what you do if you get jobs like goin' 'n' pickin' up kids like me, huh?" Raditz decided, despite further potential pain, he would poke and prod at her dignity until she put him down. Or gave him a great reason to shut up. He growled, kicking his feet with some difficulty as he winced. "I bet you're the weakest one in your squad, and they're prolly all guys so it's like 'Eh, send the woman to do it!' an' then they laugh at you while you're gone."

Actually there was one insult on the tip of his tongue, but it was debatable how far it would be pushing his luck to haul off and say it. 'I bet she's the squad whore,' he thought to himself. Regardless of some self control, the runt snickered outloud, which sometimes got a little louder the more he thought about it. He wondered if he would get stuck in some platoon with one of those. It sounded weird. 'Better not, I'd rather be alone and not deal with people like her for days and years on end. That'd be like some frickin' nightmare...'

One of the sentries outside the station looked up through his open visor to see Selypa approaching with a kid. Despite the helm, it wasn't hard to figure out he was some manner of reptile due to his scaly face and limbs. He didn't bother giving any honorific salute, which was a habit of the occassional non-saiyajin soldier. The senty pointed at Raditz with a hooked claw that poked out of his gloves, "You know, there's a mess hall with a cafeteria so you don't have to eat your brats. Just thought you should be aware." He gave the female saiyajin a smug smirk.

Raditz's head whipped around to look at her, "You eat your own? Gross. That explains a lot though..."

[Selypa]

Finally, the damn kid was beginning to get the picture. Really, Raditz was going to have to start behaving and throw away that damn stubborn- ... She almost couldn't finish that thought without laughing. A saiyajin, not stubborn? It was unthinkable. Somehow, her face managed to stay straight as she kept walking, violet eyes glancing down at him.

"I'll put you down when I damn well feel like it." Selypa retorted, not even responding to the jab. "And I wasn't chosen for the job. We tossed diced. You should be grateful it was me, and not Toma or Panbukin. Panbukin would have gobbled your punk-ass up for a snack and forgotten all about you."

It was cute how he tried to use gender to egg at her. Maybe from someone who was actually a threat to her could actually get her to respond angrily to that. But to a kid that was just trying to goad her? He would have to try a lot harder to do that. Now, if she had actually been assigned the duty specifically, she might be a bit more sensitive. But it was a damn dice roll. Besides. If there was one thing Selypa did, it was train her ass off. She wasn't going to be anyone's weakest link.

Of course, the reptillian's comment was a different matter. The violet-eyed saiyajin actually found it somewhat annoying that most of Frieza's army seemed to view the monkey-tailed warriors as barbarians, idiots and savages. Some of it she understood. Bullshit like saiyajin eating their own, though? Yeah she didn't get that.

Now she set Raditz down, giving his tail the faintest of squeezes as if reminding him that running as a bad idea. Then, she let go and turned to face the soldier completely, violet eyes narrowed.

Without any warning, she plunged her hand into his chest, purple blood spilling out as she seemed to effortlessly break the armor over his torso. Selypa watched the soldier coolly, as though she had just crushed a fly. "I'm sorry. Did I do that? I felt hungry for some infants. Maybe I'll find the eggs your kind shits out and make myself some fancy caviar. Next time, I better see a salute."

Jerking her hand back out, she turned, knowing there would be no next time for the reptillian. The other guard started to respond, but her gaze just turned to him, coldly daring him to try to challenge her. Shaking her soiled hand, she splattered violet blood against the body and walls as she grabbed Raditz's shoulder, pushing him in.

"Let's go."

[Raditz]

After the display with Raditz simply looked at her with an arched brow, rubbing the small of his back before he wiped some of the spatter the had reached him off his face. That was just gross, but not entirely unexpected. When she pushed him, he grunted and had to do a little jump to avoid stumbling over the fallen guard's tail. The other guard shifted away as they went by and called for a clean-up crew as he muttered something about 'tempermental Saiyajins again' into his scouter.

"Salute you? What for? You're just another grunt, so it's not like he owes you any respect." He certainly felt no respect for her and he kept her face in mind so that next time they met, though that was highly unlikely, he'd be able to show her again. Hell, he still wanted to spit at her one more time before leaving. His tail hung down lazily and grateful for no more pulling or squeezing, for now anyway. Were he in a better mood it would be swishing back and forth leisurely. But of course the buzzkiller was still behind him, so there was nothing to be content about.

"Shouldn't you be going somewhere now? Not like I can leave the building now that I'm here, they'd shoot me before that happened." Truth be told he wanted her out of his hair as soon as possible.

They started past the cafeteria as they made their way to the docks so he would be sent on his way for the mission he had tried to avoid. Part of him wanted to eat since he had yet to for the day, but he didn't even want to do that! So he ignored his complaining stomach. At least that was something she couldn't make him do, though if she tried cramming something down his throat, he'd have some pleasure in biting off a finger at least. He wanted to get this nonsense over with and leave already so he wouldn't have to deal with anyone he couldn't blast to smithereens for a good long while.

"So, where's my stupid father anyway? Getting drunk or something? Or chasing tail?" Despite her preaching so favorably for the man and eagerly punishing him for his disrespect, the boy still held little regard for him. Raditz remembered with some chagrin that the last time he dealt with his father, the man had been seriously drunk off his ass and had mistaken him for some sort of fuzzy pillow. The fact that one of his cronies had come out to retrieve him instead of his father himself had spoken volumes to him.

'Booze over the boy apparently,' he thought in with dark humor, 'Like when he was more interested in being drunk off his ass and laughing at me while that poisonous snake got stuck in my damn hair...And I think he was the one that stuck it in there to begin with.'