Chapter 2: BLOOD
All five strangers looked at Avery, expressions changing for four except the one who was panicking only a couple of seconds ago. He still had worry on his face aimed at Avery, whereas the rest looked confused, just as Avery was.
The four kept looking at Avery, then the third tallest out of all of them said with a commanding voice "What language did he just speak?"
Unknown to Avery, and because it was the language that felt natural to him, after waking up, he said his first sentence in the English language.
The commanding figure looked at the second-tallest guy in the group who had always been on his right side and then asked "Ripply, do you understand the dialect? I know it's not Scrimis, and it doesn't sound like Hephsi either, but I could be wrong. You're the only one fluent in the two languages here, so what do you think?"
All four, including the panicking one, looked at Ripply and Ripply looked at Avery, who was still trying to process the fact that he could understand a different language now when he couldn't a moment ago.
Avery patted his ears a few times, then placed his hands on the sides of his head, wondering if he was imagining what just happened. He had a skeptical nature and it was rearing its ugly head.
"It's definitely not Hephsi. Looking at the pug, it's obvious that he's not from around here," Ripply said, while doing his best to assess the situation.
"Yeah, he's definitely not from here or Scriiz. We of all people would know if someone his age was from there" said the leader as he crossed his arms and grimaced.
Ripply grunted.
"I can't say I've seen anyone that looks like him while out on one of our ventures, but you never know," Ripply said, then shrugged "There are so many kinds of people out there that it's hard to tell. Although, the real question that I want answered is how did he get here—?"
"Centshuu, Ripply, what the hell are you guys doing, talking about useless things, when a monster is right there?!" The panicking member of the group said hurriedly, pointing at Avery and grimacing with disapproval.
"I say we get out of here and leave the guy who, for some mysterious reason, was lying in the middle of the forest. I know what I felt when I touched that—"
"Shieve, again with that nonsense? How many times am I going to tell you that there's nothing wrong with your hand? Also, we're not in the middle of the forest, so don't exaggerate. If you're not going to contribute anything, then shut up and let the rest of us handle the situation like we normally do!" Centshuu, the leader of the group instructed with an exasperated look aimed at Shieve the complainer.
Reluctant to follow instructions, Shieve crossed his arms and looked away, all the while still grumbling and complaining to himself.
Centshuu, who was looking at him, rolled his eyes and then turned his head in the other direction.
He faced one of his other compatriots. This one was a quiet-looking guy with slanted eyes and was also the tallest of the group, standing at six feet five inches.
"Kove, you're the one with keen senses, so help me out here. What do you think happened and how did this pug get here?" Centshuu asked and Kove squeezed his face.
Kove did a little walk around where they all stood, taking note of many things at once and, after a short while, he returned to where he was standing.
"So, what did you get?" Centshuu asked, smiling because he knew Kove wouldn't disappoint.
Kove pointed at where Avery was sitting, taking everyone's, including Avery's, attention to the surrounding ground around him(Avery), which was littered with freshly broken branches and leaves.
"Okay, got it. What next?" Centshuu asked.
Next, Kove went down to get a pebble.
Avery, who didn't understand what the silent man was doing, tilted his head and raised a brow. On the other hand, the other four, who trusted that there was a method to the madness, waited for the result.
Suddenly, Kove threw the pebble directly upward toward the canopy of trees that surrounded them. This was a thick forest, so the canopy had very few openings for beams of sunlight to pierce through.
However, directly above them was an opening bigger than the rest which the pebble shot right through.
It was a completely vertical stone throw, which meant that the stone was supposed to come back down after reaching its highest point. However, no such thing happened.
After waiting a few seconds for the pebble which didn't come back, everyone looked at Kove, who brought his arms to his chest and started demonstrating what he was about to say.
"Just like the stone I threw, the pug must have entered a parallel stream from wherever he was and that's what brought him here. Because of how high the canopy is, he must have slammed into some branches and got pulled him out of the stream, hence why he has broken branches all around him," Kove explained, using his hands and fingers to give a good representation of what he thought had happened.
Centshuu looked up at the opening in the canopy and then stuffed one hand into his pocket.
"Then he must have been the one who created that hole. Hmm… Because of the direction the wind is blowing, it's shrouding the fact that the top leaves and branches are being pulled by the stream in that direction" Centshuu said, using his other hand to point at the opening in the canopy and then sliding it towards the east, which is the direction of the parallel stream.
Centshuu placed a hand on Kove's shoulder, smiling proudly as he said "Thanks for the good work, Kove. You're always a great help when needed… unlike a certain someone."
Shieve smacked his tongue and rolled his eyes, saying "Whatever. I'm helpful when I want to be, you Jackass."
Without meaning to, Shieve's and Avery's eyes locked, then he grimaced with concern and looked away. Avery, on the other hand, looked confused as to why the stranger had such a huge contempt for him.
"Now that we have an idea of what happened, what do you say we do about the pug, huh, Centshuu?" Asked the last member of the group, who was a short and burly man with a thick red beard and a scar of an animal's claw mark along his right eyebrow.
Centshuu looked at him, pausing for a moment to think, and then he smirked and looked at Avery.
"Mosey, Ripply, Kove... come with me. Let's go find out who this pug is and maybe do something about his situation. Shieve, you can stay here if you want. Who knows, maybe the pug has fangs, and he'll bite that nose of yours if you get too close" Centshuu said, then chuckled as he took the first step toward Avery, who had been trying to stand up but was still too weak.
Ripply was the first to follow behind Centshuu, which from how he moved seemed like a common occurrence. Next was Kove who smiled at what Centshuu said to Shieve and, last was Mosey who laughed his heart out, making sure to infuriate Shieve.
Shieve frowned at them, crossing his arms and looking away. "Suit yourselves. Don't blame me if something bad happens 'cause I know I've done my best to warn all of you" he said, but was left on deaf ears.
"Stupid jackasses. Nobody ever listens to me in this group—" Shieve mumbled, looking at Avery's clothes and grimacing at the condition they were in, but then, he looked a bit lower at Avery's belt and his eyebrows raised in interest.
"Nice design," Shieve whispered, then looked down at himself as he placed his hands below his novel, using them to mimic a belt buckle. He licked his lips and smirked "Very nice design indeed"
Centshuu and the rest got close enough to Avery, then stopped. The leader seemed more carefree in his approach, whereas the remaining three looked ready to attack and protect their leader in case Avery tried anything stupid.
"Hey pug, can you understand the words coming out of my mouth? I don't think you can, with the strange language you spoke earlier and all, so let's see if we can find a way to communicate—" Centshuu said, but was cut short by Avery, who spoke.
"Yes, I can… understand the words… you're saying, although… you're talking so… fast that it's hard to keep… up," Avery said, speaking the same language as Centshuu and the rest but doing so slowly.
Hearing this, Centshuu smirked "Good. Looks like you know how to speak Scrimis, although barely. At least, that makes it easier for us to communicate, so tell me, who are you and where did you come from?"
Avery grimaced at the pain he felt in his arms, which was gradually subsiding the more time went on.
"My name? My name is… Avery Reed and where I come… from? I come from… I come from… Hmm, I don't… remember" Avery said with a surprised look on his face.
He could feel the information roaming at the back of his head, but for some reason, he was having a hard time grasping it.
('Maybe if I give myself time, I'll remember. Not just where I come from but my other memories that seem to evade me too. Memories like what is the passion that's making my chest feel so tight? It's like there's something I should be doing right now') Avery thought in English, at which time, Centshuu and the rest had given each other skeptical glances before focusing back on him.
The common consensus among them was wondering if Avery was lying about not knowing where he was from or not. How could he remember his name but not his hometown? Sounds fishy, they thought.
Centshuu saw the weakened state that Avery was in, and so, he decided that pressuring him wasn't going to do anything productive. He decided to change the topic to something he was more curious about.
"Alright, A-ve-ry, give me the answer to this question if you can remember. Why is your shirt all burnt up in the front, but you don't seem to be hurt? Secondly, Ave-ry, whose blood is that all over your body and face?" Centshuu asked and Avery's eyes widened.
Avery, who had been distracted because of everything that had happened so far, started to feel the wetness around his jaw, chin, neck, and chest that he hadn't before.
He quickly swiped his fingers across his chin, feeling the wet and thick substance that transferred to them. He took them to his face to see what it was.
He saw blood on his fingers, which shocked him.
("Whose blood is this? Is this my blood?") Avery asked himself in English, then hurriedly patted his neck and chest, which was when he felt the holes in his shirt.
He pulled on his shirt to see the bloody and hole-filled mess he had on which seemed to have been created by some form of fire.
"Doesn't look like it's your blood if you ask me," Centshuu, who could tell what Avery was thinking by actions alone, said, and Avery looked at him with more shock.
Clearly, he had been in some kind of accident involving fire for his shirt to be in the condition that it was in, so why would Centshuu say that the blood on his body wasn't his? Avery wondered, but then, he thought about it and things became even more confusing.
('I don't feel it. I don't feel the pain of an open injury on any part of my body where the blood is. Is this really not my blood? What happened to me and why can't I remember anything?') Avery asked himself, utterly confused.
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
South_Ashan
South_Ashan Moving forward, unless stated otherwise, anything written in () is meant to be understood in English.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
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stone