"You said it would definitely be here!" The girl from the moving village screamed in anger as they dodged the smelly projectiles of yellow-bellied monkeys.

  Tai Tai clenched his dagger. For four whole days, they searched for the rabbit.

  Seeing a berry bush, he searched for berries but none was found on it. The last three berry bushes were the same. A familiar pulsing pain came from his stomach.

  He recalled the last two teams they met: just as hungry and agitated as they were, and no accomplishments to show for it.

  The yellow-bellied monkeys eventually chased them out their territory.

  "Tai, there's a team up ahead and they look strong. Let's go," Trian from the moving tribe sprinted into the dense foliage. Tai climbed to an elevated branch and jumped from tree to tree, following the faint movements within the foliage below.

  He glimpsed a bug in the corner of his eye, moving unnaturally. It was faint, but it was definitely not something a bug would do.

  This was the third time it happened in the past four days.

  Not far away, a couple thumblings were nursing injuries while arguing among themselves—not much different from his team. Trian approached them.

  As he emerged from the foliage, the foreign team tensed.

  "Relax, I come in peace," he raised his hands in the air. "All my team wants to know is if you have seen any hares."

  "No, we haven't." A thumbling raised his spear against Trian, ready to attack. Trian backed away with his arms in the air.

  Tai glanced at the bug and returned to his team with Trian.

  "You sky village girls are all the same!" A bulky thumbling from the ground village growled. The thumbling in question scowled at him, not backing down.

  Tai sighed. It has been like this and is getting frustrating. He stepped in, blocking the bulky guy's line of sight. "We don't need this right now." The guy's intense eyes bore into him as if he wanted to rip him alive, only basic reasoning holding him back. Tai looked right back at him.

  The bulky thumbling growled underneath his breath and snapped, "Fine!" He stormed off to his fellow tribe member, ignoring everyone.

  "We've been searching non-stop. How about we take the rest of today off. A fresh mind and body is better than tired one," Tai looked at everyone hopefully. Even the quiet ones in the group visibly relaxed at his suggestion. He sighed in relief.

  Searching for a hideout, he glimpsed another bug, twitching ever so unnaturally. He took another glance, scratching his head. Could he be seeing things? His herbal knowledge was, after all is stronger that his knowledge of animals. He just began learning recently.

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  Besides, the thumblings here are older than him and have all been in the forest longer than he had. They should have noticed too, right?

  No one had any unnatural movements or even looked in that bug's direction. They soon found a safe hideout.

  His fellow village member, Tisca, nudged him as they relaxed for the day. "You're pretty strong for a newbie. I'm ashamed to say I've been here two years now, and I can't beat you in a fight." Her eyes seemed to twinkle, and Tai looked away, a bit bashful at her compliment.

  Trian, who was nearby, nodded in agreement and continued to sharpen his blade. Where Trian stored that blade, he couldn't figure out. He was sure the guy outclassed him in knife skills.

  He scooted next to Trian. He whispered, "Have you noticed anything? Anything out of place?"

  Trian paused, glanced at him out the corner of his eye, then continued sharpening his blade. His lips were pressed into a thin line,"We're all competitors here Tai." Trian gave him another glance that he didn't quite get, then sharpened his blade some more.

  Tai left Trian to squat in an empty corner. He felt like a junior that knew nothing right now. All around him were persons who were at least two years older than him. He was the youngest. It didn't feel so since he had been the vanguard, one of the strongest in battle.

  Yet now...they seemed suspicious. He eyed them subtly, one by one. Some persons stretched their tired muscles, some staring blankly, and some catching sleep. Everyone seemed so...clueless.

  He frowned, and got up. "I'll be back in five minutes." Some team members grunted in acknowledgement. He could feel Trian's gaze as he left.

  Retracing his steps, he found that odd caterpillar. Creeping towards it on all fours, he held his weapon held in guard.

  The caterpillar, sensing him, stood on its hind legs. The humanoid-like actions made his blood freeze. He immediately pounced in for the strike. The haunting memory of the centipede flashed in his mind.

  "Woah there, young one," one of the caterpillar's many arms flexed towards its body and pulled down in a zipping motion. Revealed inside its body was a thumbling, grinning at him.

  "You've passed."

  Tai frowned as he calmed himself. The thumbling eyed him from head to toe, nodding.

  This guy exuded an aura he only felt from Tenma. He was dangerous. His breath control was so stunning that he would not the slightest clue this thumbling existed if he were not before him, not to mention his casual stance. It was one that would be able to defend against all his attacks.

  "Passed? Passed this test?" Tai probed.

  "Yes."

  He looked at the grinning thumbling, feeling odd. What are these lies? "...what do I do now?"

  The man chuckled, "You could go back to base, frolick in the woods, even tell your team about me and have them pass too. Anything."

  "What about the next trial?"

  "What next trial?" The man smirked at him. The caterpillar thumbling zipped up its thorax and returned to its prior form.

  Tai turned around and walked off like a wooden mannequin, unsure of what to do. He suddenly recalled the cheeky yet determined glint in Tenma's eyes when he mentions this trial, and the odd circumstance where he laid on the roof with him for hours. Was that a farewell?

  His heart ached. It ached alot.

  He leaped from branch to branch, mindlessly feeling the myriad of personalities from each tree. Some calm, some greedy, some fierce...

  Then he remembered Turan, that thumbling with the earthy green eyes.

  Also that book, 'The Lore', that felt as real as the skin on his back.

  He recalled Trian's odd look, saying we're competitors...

  And Tziporah saying he was brainwashed...

  But was he really? He felt more real to himself than ever before.

  Now that he thought about it, what had Tenma been training him to do? Are all these skills simply to survive this forest or to make an all-rounded leader? It didn't sound right. Tenma gave too much effort in making sure he knew how to kill efficiently.

  Was he going to be an assassin?

  He sped up, heading to the riverbank base. There it was, empty. Maybe he was the first to pass, or maybe there was a trap here. Tai hid high up a branch and waited.

  A faint wind blew, and he felt a hand rest on his shoulder. He met Tenma's eyes, neither saying a word.