In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

~Martin Luther

Touya's swanna was a graceful and beautiful creature and he knew it. That personality had its roots planted all the way from back when he had been a mere ducklett, back when Touya had first met him walking on the ledge of Driftveil Drawbridge, his whole body swaying as he showed off his rather admirable balance to his fellow duckletts. Unlike most of its kind, the ducklett had had wings far too short and weak to carry his weight and get him off the ground for more than a minute. Despite the clear mocks he kept receiving from the other duckletts, however, the ducklett took pride in not being like other duckletts and had taught himself the art of balance – something his so called friends were not very talented at. Every morning when the drawbridge was set down, the ducklett would puff out its chest in determination and walk off from his nest to the bridge and jump on the reil, walking all the way from the Nacrene's side to Driftveil and back.

The day when Touya happened to stroll across the bridge was like any other day and the brunette had gotten to witness the ducklett on its daily walk. For the longest time the two had just walked side by side to reach Driftveil, Touya mesmerized by the part water-type's talent and the blue feathered pokemon himself curious for the trainer's strong and respectable aura. They got as far as to the middle of the red bridge before the other duckletts appeared and started screeching at their comrade. For a moment Touya had considered chasing them off but as soon as he had noticed how the noises only made the balancing ducklett lift its chin up and fasten its pace like it was nothing, like he was so much better than the rest, he had abandoned the idea. Clearly this creature didn't need his help. So instead of helping, Touya smirked in amusement and challenged the proud little bird to a fight, which ended up with the ducklett joining his party inside a mostly black colored luxury ball. Upon hearing the story and seeing the newly caught team member, Touya's mother had chuckled and cheerily dubbed the ducklett "Fabian" for its fabulous demeanor. Although Touya hadn't been too happy with his mother naming another one of his pokemon without his consent, Fabian himself had listened to the name with his round eyes glistening in excitement. Even to this day Touya would call the creature by its given name every now and then just to chuckle at how the now full grown swanna would let out a happy sound past his delicate, long peak and lift his chin up like he was the king of the world.

Due to Fabian's inability to fly back as a ducklett, the creature had been overjoyed when he had finally evolved into a swanna. His short wings had grown into a size that was even notably larger than an average swanna's and he was proud to show them off to anyone willing to watch. After some practice with his new, capable wings, flying had become an easy task for Fabian and something he was looking forward to all the time when he spent his time in his luxury ball, waiting to be called out. Thus it was only natural for him to be happy when his trainer finally taught him the hidden move, Fly. It was his greatest honor to be able to carry the trainer who helped him achieve his dreams of flight. Although at first Touya had been doubtful of the bird having the strength to carry his weight, his doubts had been quickly proven wrong. It was almost like carrying the 65kg, muscular trainer was no effort at all for the swanna and it never ceased to amazed Touya.

Even now as the wings of pure white flapped on both sides of Touya, he couldn't help but admire the strength of his beloved water- and flying-type. Fabian was taking his sweet time as he soared through the sky, flying past the sandy Route 4 and the ditantly flickering lights of Nimbasa. Touya knew the way to the secret heading all too well, having visited there several times during the past few years. It was a place he was very fond of. It was often peaceful there, for travelers hardly ever got lost that far within Lostlorn Forest. So it was secluded, to say the least. The perfect hideout for someone who was well known around the region, but cared little for his popularity. Or just someone running away from their trainer as a way to prove them they had no power over them in the end.

Although Fabian wasn't in a haste, they arrived to their destination quite quickly. It was just in the Lostlorn Forest, after all. No further. The sun was still only rising up and the forest air was filled with morning moisture and a faint veil of mist had spread across the forest, only managing to hide the roots of the trees. Frost had covered some patches of grass all around the opening with a sparkly, white icing that was like a warning of the harsh winter to come. Some bird pokemon were chirping in the trees around, the sound of it echoing from the branches so that a traveler could not locate the said pokemon. Not too quickly, at least. Touya didn't care for the singing though. He had a goal in mind already, a place to go to before hastily returning to his new companion.

Just a couple hours ago in Castelia, in the safety of their hotel room, Kyouhei had broken down into tears in Touya's arms. After a long while of sobbing and embracing, the still hungover young trainer had fallen asleep. Touya had stayed with the boy for a while, carrying him back to the bed gently on his arms and tucked him carefully in. As Kyouhei had not shown any signs of waking up anytime soon, Touya had decided to leave him there until he came back from his annual pilgrimage to his hidden sanctuary. So he had left a note for Kyouhei on the night stand, telling the boy that he would return to the hotel well in time for lunch. Hopefully the poor, messy haired chap would be feeling better by then, considering how he had looked like a complete wreck.

Fabian let out a displeased sound at the feel of the frost under his toes. Touya granted the swanna a reassuring smile and patted his slender head. The pokemon lifted its gaze in curiosity and tilted its head, gaining an amused chuckle in response.

"It's okay, buddy. It's different this time", he told Fabian, smiling faintly. "I won't stay for long. Just going to say hello to our old friend and then get back to Kyo right away. Okay?"

The swanna still remained grumpy, so the trainer searched his pockets for its pokeball. He then lifted the round capturing device up, gently bumping the white seal of the familiar luxury ball against the creature's beak.

"You want to warm up in here until then?"

Fabian responded with a quick nod. Touya gave the pokemon's head a one last pat before calling it back inside its ball and putting the ball back on his belt. He then let out a deep sigh, briefly looking up at the now faintly orange toned sky before starting to walk out of the opening, deeper into the woods.

The entrance to the grotto was barely noticeable from behind the well covering pine tree branches. The only distinct feature that showed it wasn't just any small space in the middle of the forest was the small, yellow ribbon that had been tied to one of the branches surrounding the entrance. It was a mark Touya had put there to make it easier for him to find the place. It was clear that the ribbon had been there for a long time, for it was shabby and torn with dirt stains on the formerly silky, clean fabric. Spotting the ribbon, Touya headed towards it and lifted the branch with the said ribbon up, just enough to crawl under it into the grotto. The sight that was revealed within was a cozy and familiar sight. The trees formed a small roof right above Touya's head, a roof through which you could still see the sky at some spots. The space was small and covered with dried leaves, which made a crunchy sound when stepped on, as well as moss. The moss made the grotto a comfortable place to walk around or even lay in. Right at the back "wall" of the grotto was a tiny pile of stones which was covered with wilted flowers. The smell of the place was the smell of the forest, one of pine tree sap and morning dew, and it made Touya smirk for a moment.

"I'm home", he whispered mostly to himself, but gazed longingly at the pile of rocks as he did so. "Ange, old pal."

It was difficult to think of the place as a tomb. Even harder to consider it as the tomb of the very pokemon that got its first born egg there. Touya's slightly orange toned, brown eyes were filled with the pictures of the days long in the past, the days when his starter had still been alive. Oh, how he missed those days. Back then everything had been just beginning. His starter had been just a little snivy with a rebellious attitude, N had yet to reveal himself as the King of Team Plasma and the world had been full of options, of roads to choose. Now his snivy was a serperior buried right in this very grotto, N was gone and Touya was left with a title he had never really wanted to begin with. How could everything change so much in just three years?

After a long moment of silently standing there, freezed still by a wave of emotions, Touya shook his thoughts off and walked over to the grave, kneeling in front of it. His eyes instinctively turned to stare at his own lap instead of looking directly at the grave. Perhaps out of humility. He hadn't still fully forgiven himself for letting something as bad as a deadly strike befall on his own starter, his first companion.

"So... how are things for you?" he asked quietly. "Playing with Legendaries? I don't know if they let you do that. I'm just assuming so."

He paused for a long while, simply concentrating on the utter silence around him. Weird how it felt so wonderfully relieving and horribly creepy at the same time. The trainer soon broke the silence with a small laughter.

"I bet they do. They seem so nice from what I've heard. Some of them, at least. I'm pretty sure that Xerneas is a good guy."

As there was no answer other than the ever quiet flickering of the rays of the morning sun through the branches above, Touya's smile faded slightly. He seemed to get lost in his thoughts for a second before he snapped out of it and started looking through the stuff in his backbag.

"Oh, right", he muttered to himself. "I got you something, Ange. Remember that cute little bow we saw a minccino wearing at the musical?"

The search was soon finished and Touya pulled a tiny bow out of his bag. It was a cute little thing made from an expensive-looking fabric with light blue and pure white stripes decorating it in a vertical pattern. He smiled upon finding it and gently moved to place it on top of the pile of stones, neatly in the middle of the wilted flowers.

"I bought it for you", he explained. "A long ago, to be honest. I was saving it up to give it to you on a special day, for celebration."

The smile returned, this time brighter. Yet the distant, longing look in Touya's eyes remained.

"You know. For our adventure's anniversary", he said, voice fading into a whisper towards the end. "It would have been a month ago. We would have been traveling together for five years..."

A breeze blew in the branches, causing a couple yellow leaves to fall into the grotto. One of them landed on top of Touya's cap and stayed there because the trainer wasn't moving. He was frozen. Lost in bittersweet melancholy over a long lost friend. He managed to keep smiling, however, and even hummed happily as he imagined his starter's reaction to the cute little decoration.

"You would have looked adorable wearing that. But I guess it's no use... I'll leave it here so you can always see it."

A sigh. The former champion straightened his posture somewhat to a more comfortable one and hesitated for a second.

"...I'm feeling better nowadays", he told. "The team is doing great, too. Lancy evolved not long ago and is now a full grown serperior. You're probably super proud of him. Larvesta is a tough one to raise, though. She's still a little timid."

Another pause. Touya took a deep breath thinking of what to tell next.

"And... I met this new trainer, Kyo. He's inexperienced and needs a lot of practice, but he's got is heart in the right place. I think he has potential."

No answer, as expected. The brunette closed his eyes and fell backwards onto the mossy ground, laying there with his arms spread open as if to invite someone for a hug. The chocolate eyes opened partly and stared at the sky peeking from behind the branches with an absent look.

"I'm traveling with him now. Mentoring him", he continued. His voice had gotten more serious, more thoughtful. "And he seems reliable. He even protected me when Cheren was yelling at me. He's really understanding, too."

He laid there completely motionless for so long. The sky was slowly starting to turn a bluish hue and the place was turning brighter every passing minute. Touya no longer looked at the branches or the sky behind them. He was looking beyond all that, into the space and into the endless dimension of his own feelings. While he did that, he thought of Kyouhei. Thought of how sweet the kid was to him, how he clearly was putting up an effort to cheer him up and make him smile. It had been a long time since people had last been that nice to him without wanting anything in return, like a battle or a favor. Kyouhei was being nice out of the goodness of his heart. It was a weird thing to acknowledge, seeing how filled Touya's stomach up with fluttering little butterfrees. Not only because he felt flattered, but also because he felt like he should return the favor somehow. Yet he didn't know how to. Sure, he was mentoring the kid and all, but that deal had been established before he had learned to know just what a sweetheart Kyouhei really could be. On the other hand, the rookie didn't seem to mind not getting a returned favor, so maybe there didn't really need to be one? Touya shook his head with a tired sigh. He was just over-thinking it. Favors like everyday kindness didn't really necessarily have to be returned. The returning happened naturally, after all.

Now that he thought of it, it was kind of weird how fast a friendship could be born. All you needed was a happy little accident running into each other, maybe a couple words exchanged and a smile. That smile was the most important factor out of the three. Just like when he had first met Bianca and Cheren as a kid. All of the three of their parents had been chatting about boring adult things together. It was a gathering for all of their families to spend time together and, at first, the three of them had as much as been scared of each other. It hadn't been until Bianca had downed a pair too many cookies and a whole liter of lemonade that even Cheren and Touya ended up being dragged outside to play tag by the hyperactive Bianca. The blonde green-eyed girl had always been the bravest out of the trio. She was like a ribbon tied around the bunch of friends, connecting them all to each other and making sure no one was left behind. Without Bianca, Cheren and Touya would have been just rivals striving for knowledge. But with the cheery girl around, they didn't care about which one of them was the better trainer or researcher. All they cared about was that they were having fun. And lots of it.

In a way Kyouhei seemed to be the perfect mixture between Touya and Bianca. While he was cheerful and friendly like Bianca, he was also determined and ambitious, like Touya had been in the beginning of his journey. Not to mention that they looked alike, a coincidence that even now made Touya chuckle in confusion. How likely was that anyways? Maybe they were somehow distantly related. At least Touya felt like they could as well be related. That messy haired rookie felt like more of a sibling than even Bianca or Cheren had ever felt. It was like the two of them had always secretly known each other via something greater but had just now been able to meet up face to face.

"He feels like a little brother", Touya whispered as he pondered the thought further. "I feel like I need to protect him from becoming... as bitter and burnt out as I am."

A little brother who cared about him so much that he burst out crying when he heard that Touya had attempted suicide. That felt kind of good, actually. The brown haired champion smiled to himself, closing his eyes once more. The mere thought of the young trainer was enough to have him smiling. How weird was that? And here he had formerly thought he would never be the same. That he would never again really be as happy as he had been back as a rookie. Yet the happiness had been brought back to his life as simple as in the form of a newbie trainer who hardly knew what he was doing.

"Maybe it's about time I stop mourning over the past", he thought to himself. "Sure, N left. That doesn't mean I can't start over and find someone new now, does it?"

In the silence of the hidden grotto, Touya made an even more silent decision in his mind. And as he did so, for a brief moment he was certain he felt the ghosting touch of a long tail caressing his hand as a form of comfort and encouragement.

A/N: Again, I took an eternity to update. Sorry about that. This summer has been a little busier than I expected. In a good way, though. I'm feeling amazing. :D

There's been new followers popping up every now and then and you guys have no idea how much that means to me. Every time I've seen an e-mail from this site telling me about a new follower or a review, I've been squirming to myself and rolling on the floor with pride.

So thank you, everyone. I'm glad you've taken the time to actually read this fic through and even be as nice as to leave a comment every now and then.

I hope you all are having a wonderful summer!