Dear lord, I always post these so late at night. Well, I always feel as if I write better at later hours. Anyways, enjoy chapter two! (I'll probably edit this later, I'm a little too tired and lazy to do so at the moment.)

*I do not own Pokemon.*

~Chapter Two - Trust~

-Dusk's POV-

I don't know exactly why I had acted the way I did towards this odd girl, but something about the look in her eyes caused myself to give her my trust her so easily. I knew it was a bad decision to give my trust to some character I met in the woods, but I had nowhere else to turn...The only person who was there from me was torn away from myself years prior, and I was completely alone.

I was planning on telling this stranger to go away and to stay as far away as possible...Yet, here I was, running through the forest with her gently in my arms.

As I continued winding through the endless trees, my pace continued to such speeds a simple human could never dream of reaching. The only sound that filled the area around us was the loud crunching of leaves beneath us, until the girl in my arms suddenly spoke out.

"P-put me down!" She demanded, staring at myself with fear as we dodged several large trees. "You really d-don't understand what you're getting y-yourself into!"

Removing my concentration from the path ahead of us, I shifted my eyes to meet her gaze. She seemed to flinch every time I dodged an obstacle, and I felt myself chuckle at how easily startled she was.

As my eyes continued lingering at the girl in my arms, I noticed how her eyes were unlike anything I had ever encountered in my lifetime. Her right eye was a deep shade of velvety chocolate that seemed to swirl towards her pupil, while her left was a striking shade of gold that seemed to almost have a metallic quality as it surrounded her left pupil.

As I continued examining her, I noticed that her clothes were rather odd for this weather, for it was in the middle of spring. Even with the warm weather, she wore a solid black sweatshirt that seemed to be rather large for such a frail girl, and caused her hands to be covered to the point of not being visible. The darkness of the sweatshirt clashed with her pure white skin in such a way that it felt as if her frail skin was glowing from the contrast.

Realizing I was staring, I quickly returned my gaze to the forest before us, embarrassed by how long our eyes had been locked.

"I don't care what situation you're in," I quietly responded while twisting and turning past several boulders. "I have the right to help you."

As her long, brown hair flowed behind us in the wind, she seemed to be deep in thought about what I had just said. Her expression was almost surprised, yet her eyes were filled with confusion. It seemed as if she didn't know how to respond to such a response, so she simply turned her attention towards the path before us.

After a rather long pause, her eyes seemed to fill with defeat and she gave a slight nod, her hands clenching up as they laid against my chest.

As I returned my attention to the endless obstacles before me, I couldn't help but allow my eyes to return to her. Something about this girl fascinated me, and it was starting to confuse me.

I assumed it must've been my worry about the girl that was causing me to feel the need to watch her, for she looked extremely malnourished. Her skin was so pale that it seemed transparent, and she was extremely frail for someone her age. I continually started feeling worry for this girl, but I pushed it to the back of my mind due to what situation I was in.

I had absolutely no right to worry about anyone, considering I let the only person who had ever cared about me perish.

The memories of my past only fueled me to increase my speeds through the oddly silent forest, but I quickly came to a halt as I noticed a familiar, welcoming opening of trees and gave a sigh of relief at the sight before me.

I had been taking solace in this single cave that decorated the hill in this slight opening, for I had nowhere else to go; nowhere I would be welcomed. It was a rather tough thing to become accustomed to, but I had no complaints of my new home.

When I was running from my past several years ago, I had found this small solace in the middle of such an intimidating forest. When I had first encountered this location, it felt as if all my worries had been taken away due to the unique beauty it held.

Every season of every year, unique flowers continually decorated the soft soil beneath me. Even in the chilling, lonesome winter, there were soft, white flowers that painted the otherwise lifeless ground. It always confused me, but I held no complaints of the unique environment.

The flowers were accompanied by a calm, slight stream that broke the silence this location held. The shallow body of water was always crystal clear as it twisted through this opening, and was always purely sweet. However, the winters were dead silent as the pure water froze over.

I had been living in this location for several years now, and it had become my one true home. I had never gone too far from this opening, afraid of what dangers I would encounter. Or, what dangers I would bring to others.

As much as it pained me, I had to separate myself from others as much as possible. I had no choice but to do so, for my past was something I could not separate myself from. But, I had quickly failed my only goal the instant I saw this girl sprinting through the forest.

I gently placed her bare, tiny feet onto the soft flowers beneath us as I grabbed her hand. We were shielded by the trees that surrounded this opening, but the sun was rising and we would be easier to be located.

I quickly pulled her with me towards the familiar cave, realizing I had been out in the open for far too long. I hadn't meant to stay out in daylight, but the sun had risen before I had a chance to return back.

I don't know why I took her with me, I just couldn't stand her uniquely beautiful eyes filling with pure terror. The last time I had seen such a look in someone's eyes was when the love of my life was stolen away from me, and I refused to see such an expression again in anyone's eyes.

As she clumsily followed behind me, I quickly turned my gaze towards her and felt a slight laugh leave my lips. She was staring at the colorless flowers beneath me with a look of pure amazement as we walked through them, and I felt my heart warm up to her even more at her innocence.

"W-why are we here?" She quietly asked, her attention still on the plain flowers beneath us. "I don't understand-"

I stopped walking as we reached the opening of the lonesome cave, turning towards the girl with nothing but pure understanding in my expression.

"I'm sorry for taking you here without asking if you were okay with it," I apologized with a slight laugh, placing my free hand on the back of my head. "You just seemed so scared, I didn't know how else to react."

She suddenly removed her eyes from the flowers, her dark hair flowing in the slight wind behind her. I felt myself flinch as she suddenly shifted her attention to myself, her eyes filled with sadness.

"You don't understand," she whispered in a defeated tone while her eyes filled with water. "I-I really can't thank you enough for your actions, b-but you don't realize what you're getting y-yourself into."

I felt myself stiffen up as the sadly familiar expression of pure fear once again creeped onto her face, and I felt my posture tense up as memories of my past flowed into my mind.

However, I knew that this was no time to ponder over what I couldn't change. So, I gladly replaced my pained expression with a forced, warm smile.

"You don't have to stay here," I kindly whispered while I released her hand. "But, you're welcome to stay until you know where to head to."

She continued staring at me, her odd eyes filling with several emotions.

"I won't stay for long," she sadly whispered while avoiding my eyes, walking into the shaded cave.

I gave a slight nod at her response, slightly disappointed from her shortage of words. I knew I had promised myself not to interact with anyone; not to become attached. Yet, this girl had forced myself to go back on such a promise against my will. Even though I had now lied to myself, I felt lonely at the idea of once again living isolated from all life.

She slowly slid against the cold wall of the cave until finally making contact with the stone floor beneath her. She gave a slight sigh as she brought her legs to her chest, holding them close to her heart.

I gave a sigh of defeat while I clenched my hands, realizing I truly was getting myself into more than I should be. I knew that I wouldn't be able to leave this girl on her own, for something about her fascinated me... I don't know why, but I wanted nothing more than for the pain to leave her eyes...to see her smile again.

As I walked through the entrance of the cave, my eyes focusing on the only other being before me, I sat directly across from her on the opposite wall, ignoring how much I was breaking the promise I had kept for four long years.

-Blaire's POV-

"You said your name was Blaire, right?" The discolored Gallade gently asked, clearly attempting to spark a conversation.

"Yes," I matter of factly stated while holding my legs closer to my being, pressing my forehead against my knees.

I was grateful for him taking me away from my Father's Pokemon...But, I just couldn't find the energy to talk to him, for the only emotion that filled my mind was eating at my energy. I felt nothing but pure terror the second I realized that I was stupid to run...my father was surely going to find me. He was already on the hunt for me, and so were his Pokemon...No matter how I wished I could, I could not hide forever.

I was incredibly ignorant to think I would be able to sleep without any fear of the following day, for he would always look for me. And, he would eventually win the battle...I could not live the life I had always dreamed of.

"I see," he whispered with a slight, forced laugh. "You can call me Dusk, it's a nickname that an old...friend of mine gave me."

I suddenly lifted my head off my knees, moving strands of my long hair out of my eyes while I gave him my full attention. I was shocked that he even wanted to continue the conversation, for this was the first time in years anyone spoke to me as an equal.

"That's a rather...odd name for a Gallade," I whispered with a quiet laugh as I gave a soft smile. "Is there any reason behind it?"

He stared at me with amused eyes, clearly glad he had gotten me to engage in a conversation.

"Yes," He responded as his warm expression was replaced with a sad smile. "I evolved using a stone of the same name years ago, so my past trainer gave me the 'odd' nickname."

I felt my interest in this Pokemon continue to grow, for his eyes that were spilling with kindness were now lined with pain as he spoke of his past.

"Why d-don't you have one now?" I quietly asked, my curiosity taking over my thoughts. "I-if you don't mind me asking."

He gave a soft, pained chuckle at my curiosity while he broke our eye contact.

"It's a long story," he sadly whispered while avoiding my gaze. "I'd rather not eat up your time about things I can't change."

Clearly, this memory was not a good one. His kind eyes seemed to fill with regret as he removed them from mine, and I knew I had no right to hear such a story after we had just barely gotten to know each other.

Even with these thoughts in mind, I wanted nothing more than to remove the tortured look in his eyes. We both seemed to be struggling through situations that we could not get through on our own, and I didn't want anyone else feeling as if they were alone.

"I have time," I gently responded, wanting nothing more than to remove the pain that his kind eyes contained. "If you want to t-talk about it."

After a rather long silence that was filled with the dancing leaves outside this small cave, he closed his eyes as he placed his head against the rough cave wall behind him.

"I will sum it up," he whispered in a dead tone while his continued keeping his eyes shut.

There was a long pause as he simply sat there, and I felt my curiosity grow.

"About four years ago, I was the Pokemon of a very respected trainer," he mumbled while I stared at the flowers outside the chilling cave as they ruffled in the calm wind. "We won countless tournaments over the course of several years, and we eventually became very...close."

I turned my attention to him in awe, imagining him on the battlefield. He continued holding his eyes shut as he sat in silence, and I took advantage of the silence to observe him.

It was hard for me to imagine such a kind Pokemon showing no mercy in a battle, but I could easily tell he had plenty of experience in battles by the way he dodged the trees in the forest at such extreme speeds. Even when he had stared at me while he sprinted past the countless trees, he had managed to dodge every single obstacle in our way. His eyes weren't even focused on the path that was ahead of us, yet he dodged every object with such ease.

"She meant...everything to me," he continued whispering in a pained tone as he gave his attention to the white flowers outside. "But, I wasn't able to protect her. And now she's gone."

I immediately knew what Dusk meant by gone, and I felt myself rush with guilt for asking him about his past. I truly had no right to force him to continue explaining, so I closed my eyes and felt emotions rush through me at the idea of what pain he must of felt for not being able to stop losing someone.

I continued feeling myself feel strange amounts of sympathy for him, for his situation was rather similar to my own. I had also lost someone I cared deeply for, no matter what I had done to stop it. I had lost my father to his sorrow years ago, and I could do nothing about it to bring him back to me...He was truly gone.

"Blaire," he said while is voice broke from the emotions of his past, his eyes suddenly meeting with mine. "I've given you my trust, s-so don't lose it."

As our eyes continued locking, I gave him a slight smile at his words.

"You can trust me, Dusk."