TRUST

*Inhale* *Exhale* *Inhale* *Exhale*

*Inhale* *Exhale* *Inhale* *Exhale*

Avery started to hyperventilate, moving his hand around his chest as he tried to find, but strangely, couldn't feel any open injury. He only felt internal pain, which most likely was from slamming into the tree branches and falling to the ground from the canopy up high.

The more he panicked, the more bits of his spotty memories were unlocked, specifically memories from after he appeared in the clouds. He only unlocked flashes which confused him even more.

Centshuu looked at his friends, all of them concerned about Avery's mental state, and then he looked back at Avery, scratching the side of his head as he thought of how to fix the situation.

"Hey, hey, it's fine, pug— I mean Ave-ry. You don't have to force yourself to remember how you got like this if you don't want to. I'm sure there's a sound reason why there's so much blood on you. After all, you were caught and brought here in the parallel stream, so you might have fallen through a pool of some animal's blood that was caught in the stream with you, so relax" Centshuu said, having an exasperated look on his face.

Kove and Mosey, who were standing behind Centshuu, looked at each other with disbelief, then they looked at Centshuu, wondering if he actually believed what he was saying. They knew him well enough to know that he didn't.

Ripply stepped one foot forward, getting in line with Centshuu's right-hand side and saying to him in low volume:

"Is that how you want to play it? I thought you wanted answers. Also, what about the stuff he has... here? Aren't you going to ask about that either?" Ripply asked, tapping the middle of his forehead.

Centshuu looked at his right-hand man and then said "You saw the pug's reaction after being asked a specific question, right? Don't know about you, but, I don't want the reason why Junior over there loses his marbles to be smeared on my conscience."

Ripply was quiet for a moment, flicking his eyes at Avery, who was trying to calm down, then flicking it back to Centshuu.

"What are we going to do now? Don't tell me you trust anything he's said so far. I know Shieve has his issues and both of us rarely ever agree on anything, but still, I'll admit that he's kind of right. It's strange and mysterious that the pug is here, parallel stream or not" Ripply said, making sure to be quiet enough that only he and Centshuu could hear what they were conversing about.

"You're the brains of this group, so what does that head of yours tell you? Do you think he's been lying all this time and is pretending to have been brought here by the stream? If that's the case, then what's the play here?" Centshuu asked, and Ripply went quiet for a few seconds.

He flicked his eyes back to Avery, who had managed to get calm, stared at him for a moment then flicked them back to Centshuu in front of his face.

"I don't know. I don't think so" Ripply replied, sounding disappointed in himself and his lack of certainty.

Centshuu smirked "Then leave it to me to handle this. By the way, the pug looks super scrawny with the oversize clothes he has on, so what harm could he do?" He asked and then turned to Avery.

Looking down at the defenseless young man in front of him, Centshuu decided to change tactics.

Centshuu squatted down and got to Avery's level, which made Mosey, who is the muscle of the group— hence why he feels like he's the unofficial bodyguard of Centshuu— to jolt.

"Hey Centshuu, what do you think you're doing getting so close to—?" Mosey contended, but Centshuu raised a hand, gesturing that he stop talking and relax, which he did, albeit pessimistically.

With no one left to challenge his actions, because Kove never does, Centshuu dropped his raised hand on his thigh, which increased his balance. He sighed and smiled at Avery, who wondered what he wanted by getting this close to him.

("Can I help you with—") Avery asked, but then stopped when he realized that he was speaking in English. He changed dialects and then started over "Can I help... you with something?"

Centshuu smirked "I'm surprised. Your Scrimis seems to be getting a lot better. There weren't as many breaks that time, compared to before, which means you're a fast learner, which also means you're at least above average in intelligence."

Avery grimaced and replied, "Thank you?"

Suddenly, Centshuu's smile vanished, and he became serious, putting Avery on guard about what he was going to do or say next.

"It's good you're smart because it means you'll be able to understand our predicament a little, and by our predicament I not only mean mine and my friends' predicaments but yours as well, Avery" Centshuu said with a rather threatening undertone.

"My predicament?" Avery asked, and Centshuu nodded slowly.

"You see, my friends tell me it's not a wise idea to trust you, which I have to admit is good advice. I mean, someone from unknown origins just pops up out of nowhere and coincidentally happens to be in our path after coming back from a job? Sounds kind of fishy if you ask me", Centshuu said.

Avery's eyes fidgeted as he flicked them through all the strangers and potential threats in front of him.

"Like I said, I don't remember... where I'm from or... how I got this much... blood on—" Avery said, but Centshuu cut him off.

"I know, I know, you've said that before, although, more articulate than last time, if I should say. Still, you must know that you're not giving me much to work with here. You see, my friends and I aren't bad guys and, if possible, we would like to help you out of this mess..." Centshuu said, then gave Avery a quick look from top to bottom.

"A nice bath, a warm meal, fresh new clothes if possible. I would like to help you get all that, Avery, but sadly, I just can't trust you. You don't look like much of a threat the way you are, but what if you are a Trojan and the real threat is somewhere else, waiting? You see the problem, don't you, Avery?" Centshuu asked.

Avery gulped, understanding that he was completely at the mercy of these five healthy-looking men. If they decided to hurt him, then there was nothing he could do to stop them or defend himself as he was the only one in a weakened state.

"If you're worried about... me stabbing you... in the back, then you can just leave... me here. I don't know how... but I'm sure I'll find my... way out of here", Avery said, and Centshuu frowned.

"Don't press your luck, pug. In case you don't know, this is a seriously massive forest. It'll take days to travel from one extreme to the other and that's only if you know where you're going. It's very easy to get lost here, and once you do, you're most likely to die from different things like poisoning, being mauled by a wild animal, dehydration, cold, and so on before you escape, so don't go talking a big game." Centshuu said with an annoyed tone and demeanor which made Avery blink multiple times, thinking he had offended the man.

"Still, that's the only option I... can think of to relieve all five... of you from thinking that I'm a... threat. You can just leave me to... find my own way, and it'll be like we... never even met. Your conscience would... be clear", Avery said with a nervous smile.

Centshuu grunted and then leaned closer to Avery, which made him a little more imposing.

"I could do that, as you say, but then, my conscience, you know. Also, like I said earlier... Tro-jan. It doesn't matter if we take you with us or leave you here, because if my friends are right not to trust you, then the result is the same and I can't have that. It's my job to lead these guys, so I can't willingly lead them into a trap", Centshuu said, and Avery's demeanor became grim.

('This guy, he's already made up his mind about me and nothing I say will be able to change it. If only I hadn't been hurt, I'm sure I would have been able to get out of this situation and them alive. Wait, why am I so sure that if I was in full health I would be able to handle myself in this situation? For some reason, it feels like I'm used to conflict. I don't remember but, did I use to be a fighter—?') Avery thought but was cut short when Centshuu, who noticed that he had dozed off in deep thought, snapped his fingers in front of his face.

Avery jolted when he snapped out of deep thought.

"Wondering thoughts? Thinking of what to say?" Centshuu asked with a smirk on his face.

Avery frowned "I was just thinking that... all five of you have already made up your... minds about me and anything I say will... only dig me deeper into a... hole I can't come out of," he said.

Centshuu shrugged "Maybe you're right. I mean, put yourself in our shoes, can you really blame us for doing that? You can't, can you? Humans are all about self-interest and self-preservation, even if they have to do what goes against the grain. Others might call it being selfish, but that's an argument of perspective." He said, then paused for a moment to sigh.

"If you want to blame anything, then blame that memory of yours."

"My memory?" Avery asked, looking confused.

"Yes, that. If you can at least tell us something to go off on, instead of crying when asked a simple question, then maybe we'll know enough about you to give you an ounce of trust. What I'm saying is to look within and try and tell us what you do remember. If it's something that starts to chip away our doubts, then I'm sure my friends will be more than happy to help you out. However, if it is something useless, then things are going to become unfortunate for all of us" Centshuu said, adopting a hostile tone towards the end.

Avery's eyes widened as he understood the clear but also vague threat that was just laid out to him, then he looked down, trying his best to remember what he could.

Nothing tangible from before he appeared in the clouds was coming through. All he got were feelings tied to certain important events in the past that he couldn't remember. As for the rest, he only saw flashes.

('I don't know how helpful the flashes of things I can remember are going to be, but anything to help me in this situation') Avery thought, then looked at Centshuu and started relaying what he could remember.