Disclaimer: Pokémon belongs to their respective owners.
Warning: IronWill Shipping with mentions of Twinleaf Shipping.
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He was a hypocrite - because of his pride he refused to admit it – and he knew it himself so very well.
In all of his years of being a trainer, he had found and made only a few close relations that he could truly refer to as his friends. Those circumstances hadn't changed the least bit when he made his residence on the environs of the island. He despised admitting his weakness – this gnawing and aggravating feeling that he felt inside him grew with every passing day – and he busied himself with more rigorous training to perfect his skills. It came to a point where he found it futile to ignore that heart-wrenching pain he felt anymore. He swallowed his pride and accepted the fact that he wanted more than simple companionship.
He was lonely – barren, dry and fractured as the scorched earth surrounding that desolate island that was inexplicably his incarceration.
- - - - -
He didn't expect to meet anyone particular that day and especially not her.
The nearby echoes of lapping seawater and the wafting white smoke told him that the ship from the nearby port city had docked at the island pier, no doubt with another one or two trainers intent of toughening up at the island's harsh grounds. The light, advancing footsteps up the stone staircase only confirmed his conjecture. He turned to face the visitor only to find a girl no less then fifteen years behind him. She lifted her face to look at him with uncertainty before smiling. He felt that familiar twinge again – he simply dismissed it – before introducing himself.
"Oh, hello there. You are?"
"Huh? My name's Dawn," she replied, still smiling.
"It's nice meeting you Dawn. I'm Riley, and I actually didn't expect any trainers to come here today."
"Well, a friend told me that this island was a great place to train. I thought it'd be worth checking out," she enthusiastically chirped.
"If you'd like, you can join me with my training in the cave," he suggested and to some extent, worried about her safety if she were to enter alone.
"Oh wow! Thanks, I'd like to!"
He found it sporadic, a rarity even, that trainers such as herself would even set foot on the island – most of the trainers he had seen were older and more experienced – and more so when she was willing to accompany him with his training. He failed to grasp a realization that even then he was already enthralled by her presence – a shining light at the end of the tunnel in his dark life.
A single seed had been sowed into the desolate soil and had begun to sprout.
- - - - -
The time he had spent with her in the dark mine were the most enjoyable hours he had experienced in his life – although the damp and rocky surroundings were far from desirable conditions. He was constantly amazed at her prowess as a trainer and as a person – the darkness didn't faze her at all. He knew from within that a person like her would travel far and wide – a nagging fact tugged at him – and she'd probably never grace him with her presence anymore.
Her happiness and overall positive outlook on life was contagious – deadly and poisonous even – as he found himself starting to feel more light-hearted and oddly at peace. He observed silently the way she had a light bounce in her step as she advanced on in front of him, humming a cheerful tune to herself.
"Ah!" she cried as she tripped over a rock. He instinctively reached out to grab her arm, preventing her from falling over – abruptly releasing her arm when he realized his actions. She straightened out her hair when she regained her balance and smiled up at him.
"Thanks! I'm clumsy like that sometimes."
"It's alright. It's pretty dark in here anyway."
He had almost wished and hoped that time would stop turning its wheels - however, time has no intention to listen to anyone – to quell the chewing longing to at least catch more glimpses of her more often even as they held off those fools. In a childish hope that she'd remember him with a gift, he presented to her an egg. She seemed overjoyed, smiling from ear to ear, and gladly accepted it.
"Ah, I have an egg here. Would you like to take it with you?" he extended his hand, holding the round object.
"Sure, I'll take good care of it." Her own hands reached out to take the egg from his hands and she cradled it to her chest. Both of them soon parted after bidding their farewells, heading their own separate ways.
The small green leaves started to unfurl, basking and relinquishing itself in the warm sunlight.
- - - - -
The one thing that he didn't count on – which surprised greatly but left him strangely content – that she would initiate the relationship. She often visited him at his small, cramped house on the island, sometimes bringing over food for him – store-bought and homemade though he preferred the latter. She would spend hours telling him of her latest exploits in the region, to which he was more than willing to listen. He enjoyed the days when she would frequent him and his lonely house – he was not the one to openly show that he was – and almost regretted the times when she would soon leave to continue her journey.
"Ah! It's already this late? I'm sorry, but I'm heading back to the city," she apologized, packing her belongings into her bag.
"You can stay a night here in my house if you'd like."
"Oh really? Thanks, you're a such a nice person Riley."
He didn't mind sharing his home with her – her presence made it all the more comforting and soothing to him.
Small iridescent white buds began to appear on the sprig of leaves, signaling a bloom in the nearby seasons.
- - - - -
He was confused and bewildered – it wasn't his character to be perplexed – as to why he would subconsciously react to her presence. He was constantly worried that one day he would irrevocably hurt and break her – she was very strong, he knew, yet at the same time very delicate and fragile. He began to avoid and abstain himself from her – everything from her eyes to her smile – treating her like a plague that constantly pestered him. He knew - from the way her bright eyes would dull and her smile would falter whenever he refused anything from her – that she was confused as much as he was.
He found it ironically frustrating that since he had met her, all sense of logic he had had been turn to dust and scattered. And it was only as so long before his delicate, fragile flower could no longer survive without water and sunlight.
He was still avoiding any contact with her – minimizing his time and interactions with her. She sat with her knees huddled close to her chest on the solid floorboard. He merely glanced at her sparingly – tearing his eyes from the book he was reading time to time - from his place on the settee. The silence between them was thick and suffocating, squeezing all the air from the house.
"… I'm getting tired, Riley," she stated softly.
He felt his throat dry up at her statement and managed a weak reply, "Then you should go home and get some rest."
"… I see." He could hear her voice cracking with every word.
She stood up abruptly, grabbing her satchel on the floor and her scarf by the doorpost, before opening the door. She paused momentarily and turned back.
"Then, I'll be going now."
The finality of the closing door and the lock clicking only amplified the stinging pain he felt – he should have done something then to prevent her leaving.
The white flowers had withered away, leaving only stunted stumps of curling dried-up stalks.
- - - - -
He regretted what he had and what he had not done on that day.
She had stopped visiting him altogether – leaving him to deal with the familiar sense of loneliness he once felt and the pain he thought he would not have to bear again. Days and months passed - he realized he could no longer stand the constricting silence his island confinement held for him – and he made his way to the newly constructed Battle Frontier to the northern areas of the region.
During the first two weeks of his arrival and residence there, he saw her again. However, this time around she wasn't alone. He could distinctly make out a blonde boy standing next to her in the middle of the grand hall.
"Hey Dawn! Let's sign up for the double battles together!" the boy exclaimed before grabbing her hand and running off to the respective counter.
"Okay!" she giggled slightly.
That aching twinge he felt before made a revisit – but it was more painful and burdening than ever before – and he didn't think the pain would be so unbearable and distracting.
His once beloved flower had wilted and would never bloom for him again – he was after all, as scorched and barren as the dry hardened earth.
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A.N: Criticism is much encouraged but no flames please.