'My leg, it's fine? Wait, why did I feel like I had broken it?' Avery asked himself, for some reason having flashes of him landing on a metallic structure and breaking his leg.
'Hmm, was I wrong?'
Mosey looked at Avery with annoyance and asked aggressively "What are you complaining about, pug?! Is there something wrong with you that we don't know about?! If there is, then you better spit it out now before I find out later!"
Avery grimaced, tilting his head and pondering why he was so sure that his leg was broken a moment ago when it appeared to be perfectly fine now.
"No, my mistake. I think I was just imagining things", Avery said apologetically.
Mosey grunted and then looked down at Avery's feet. He said "Seems like you can stand on your own. Can you walk on your own though? 'Cause if you can, then good. I'm already getting smears of blood from your body on my shirt and I can do without that, thank you."
Avery tried to walk on his own, but the pressure of supporting his weight seemed to be too much on his hurting legs. Just like with his arms, chest, and back, his legs still felt the pain of falling to the ground from the canopy and his recovery time was a bit slow, to say the least.
Avery smiled "Sorry 'bout your shirt, sir, but it looks like you're going to have to help me out. My legs and other parts of my body still hurt a little, so I'll be needing all the support I can get. Or, you can let me walk on my own, and I'll just end up slowing everyone down. Your choice"
Mosey saw the smug look on Avery's face and he grumbled.
"Whatever, pug! Just come along and keep quiet until you're spoken to", he said, then started helping Avery walk forward. But then, before they could take their first step, they stopped, seeing Centshuu standing in their way.
Centshuu had come back because he had something important to do with Avery.
"Centshuu?" Mosey asked as both he and Avery wore questioning expressions.
"It's going to take us some time before we reach our destination, and because of these thick forest leaves, the breeze in here is only going to get cooler, which isn't good for such a scrawny-looking pug. I can't have you shivering on my watch, so here, take this and cover up" Centshuu said as he took off his leather jacket and threw it over Avery's head, blocking the tired young man's vision.
"There's a used handkerchief in there, but for you, it should still be clean enough. Use it to clean the blood on your body after you wear the jacket and throw it away when you're done. We can't have you raising questions and drawing unnecessary attention when we arrive at the joint", Centshuu instructed, then returned to take the lead, by which time Avery removed the jacket from his head and saw the man's broad back.
'Scars?' Avery thought as he saw animal claw marks on the back of Centshuu's right arm, which used to be covered by the jacket's long sleeves.
"You're one lucky pug, you know that, right? Centshuu doesn't take that jacket off for anyone. From what I've seen, it means too much to him, but don't mistake me saying that to make you think that he's a sentimental person, 'cause he ain't. He just likes the jacket for personal reasons. For him to allow you to wear it and get your blood all over it, really says a lot. Better not ruin it!" Mosey said, drawing Avery's attention to his face, which was when he saw the claw mark scar above the shorter man's eyebrow.
'Another scar' Avery commented internally, then looked around and saw that each of the five guys— Shieve included— had some form of animal-related scar on their body.
'Just who the hell are these guys? What do they do, and why were they in this forest in the first place? 'Cause from how they've spoken, this isn't a place people usually enter' Avery asked himself. He wouldn't dare ask these questions out loud, especially when they were just starting to warm up to him.
"Alright pug, put on the jacket, so we can leave with the rest," Mosey said, sounding a bit mellow and accepting of Avery, which could only be because of Centshuu giving him the jacket.
It was like Centshuu had shown all of them that he liked and trusted Avery. As such, being hostile to him just didn't sit right with Mosey anymore.
Avery looked down at the jacket in his hand, then looked at Centshuu who was walking away, and then he yelled "Thank you for helping me, a stranger, when you didn't have to and also for this!"
He raised the jacket into the air to signify what he was talking about.
Without looking and still marching forward, Centshuu chuckled then gestured that Mosey and Avery should hurry up, which Avery took as the man telling him that he was welcome, putting a smile on the tired young man's face as he wore the jacket.
"Alright, I'm done. Let's go", Avery said to Mosey, and the shorter man helped him walk forward, all the while cleaning the blood on his face, neck, and chest with the handkerchief Centshuu left for him in the jacket's pocket.
After a few steps forward, Mosey said "By the way, the name is Mosey"
"What?" Said Avery, who didn't expect to be spoken to.
"My name, it's Mosey. That guy who hardly says much is Kove, the one sneaking mean looks at you right now is Shieve and the one who looks like he's smarter than all of us is Ripply. I'm sure you already know Centshuu, so there's no need to introduce him to you", Mosey said and Avery grimaced.
"Why are you telling me everyone's names? I thought you didn't like me or wanted to talk to me", Avery replied, and Mosey looked at him for a few seconds, saying nothing all through.
"Yeah, about that. Looking back, I guess I was being kind of a jerk, so don't think much about it. It's clear that Centshuu trusts you and I trust his judgement, so I don't see why I should remain acting cold towards you. Also, you haven't done anything to deserve such treatment so..." Mosey said, and Avery, who was surprised to hear this, chuckled.
"Thanks, Umm, and I also apologize. I thought you would be very grumpy because of the way you look, and I think that's one of the reasons I didn't want your help at first, but I guess I was wrong about you— about all of you, well, almost all of you", Avery said, looking at Shieve towards the end of his sentence, but then he was interrupted by the man walking next to him.
"Even after I say that, don't for one second think that I'm not going to be keeping my eyes on you. Make one mistake that'll give me the impression that you're going to be a treat to Centshuu, then, as the one who has put it upon himself to watch his back, I won't hesitate to make you wish we never found you in this maze." Mosey threatened and Avery went silent.
He turned his head to the burly man walking beside him and how matter-of-factly he looked after him basically threatened his life. Avery then glanced at the other four, and minus Centshuu, all three showed signs of being aware of his every move. Some less obvious than others.
He took his sight and placed it where his next steps were going to be. Then, he sighed and said "Duly noted"
Mosey grunted.
"Good, now hurry up, so we aren't left behind," Mosey instructed, then nudged Avery to double his pace.