Contrary to the bustling deck, the crew quarters were near deserted. I decided to visit Eol in the sick bay. The room was rather furnished better than the rest of the ship, but didn't smell sterile, I was thankful for that much. Looking around, I found it near empty for a few who had come down with various stomach problems. I took a few steps, the hardwood floor feeling slippery underneath, must have been polished just recently. I glanced at the tables around the nightstands of some of the other patients: pictures, mementos, the occasional vase of flowers. I saw Eol, clutching his stomach like he was about to vomit.

"Hey there, word has it that you're air sick..." He groaned in response.

"SHH..." I look up to see a cat tending to him, one I knew from the Gala, dancing with Eol.

"Aren't you the one who..." She shot me a dense glare to interrupt me. She looked back down at Eol and stroked his fur, calming him down immensely. She picked up a small bowl of amber liquid, with a few slices of ginger root floating just below the surface. She tilted Eol's neck up and slowly poured the liquid into his mouth. A swallow later and Eol soon relaxed. After a silent moment, Eol was out like a light. The cat stood up and tilted her head to a door. I followed and soon we had a private place to-

She drew a knife on me, I pulled up my blade to intercept, the impact making a loud clang on the sheath. I grabbed her wrist and jerked the knife out of her hand, immediately pointing it at her throat.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!" I barked, my lips curled back in a snarl. Her eyes were unyielding, hostile and cold. She stayed silent, I leaned in close, pressing the knife against her throat, "I have half a mind to report this insurgence to the captain, give me one good reason why I shouldn't." I lifted the point from her jugular to allow her to breathe.

"You smell just like them..." Like who?

"Like those Putrid, wet nosed Alphas that took my BROTHER!" I threw the knife into the floorboard, slowly turning around.

"So, you think all Alphas are evil then..." I glanced back at her with a cold stare equalling hers. "You better change your attitude, that fallacy will most likely lead you to a course of action you may someday regret."

"What makes you different, huh? Why does the Captain trust you enough to let YOU on our ship."

"Because I'm trying to help... besides... I'm not a Diamond Dog."

"Then why do you smell like one?"

"Still going on about that, are you? I don't know why I smell like one, I just do, Eol said something about wolves having almost the same scent as Alpha-"

"You liar! Wolves have been-"

"-Extinct for centuries, I know... and yet still, I'm here, don't believe me, then look at my paws." I lifted up my arm and pulled back the sleeve of my dobuku to reveal my arm, skinner than that of a diamond dogs, Eol mentioned that wolves had smaller paws. She looked at it in shock, her face changing to that of... fear.

"Get away from me..." she started to cower back from me, "Demon..." I clenched my teeth as I heard those words spoken to me, one I've heard many times before.

"What did you just call me?" I tried my hardest to calm my tone down, she started to cling to the wall, trying to find some way to get out. She found the knob of a door and opened it, swinging the door as wide as she could and slammed it shut on me. I looked down at the knife, and slowly picked it up. I looked at the blade, shining with a blueish tint. From sniffing it, I found it to be laced with poison from a flower, one used for the blow darts of the Diamond-Dogs. After trying the locked door, I went back to Eol's bed.

"Hey there..." I sat there, wondering what words to say to one who's probably asleep by now, "... get well soon." He started mumbling a name.

"Elli, Elli," I heard him whisper. I looked back at the door that the cat slammed, finding a nameplate with the name 'Elli' scratched onto it. Things didn't make sense, I stood up and knocked on the door, only to be met with a harsh yell.

"LEAVE!" I took that as the signal that I was not welcome anymore in the sick bay. I walked back to the entrance, giving a quick 'Get well soon' as I passed the bed. I didn't want to dwell on what she said to me, I had more important things to do.

I went up to the top deck, the crew's actions dying down a bit after the initial take off. By now, the ship's engineer probably has full control now, so there wasn't much for the crew to do except maintainence. Among the other crew members I spotted Ubi up on one of the masts, tightening some of the lines. He was the person I needed to see.

"Ubi," I shouted, "Meet me in the training room when you're done, bring a bow..." He stopped what he was doing and looked down at me in confusion.

"I want to see if your... skills are up to shape..."

A few minutes passed, I was already in the training room, the interior furnished with some red carpet, weapon racks adorning the walls, and an alcove leading to what I guessed were the showers. Ubi came shortly after, carrying a longbow. His face showed a nervous intrigue, one I would hope to banish.

"Stand over there on that side, and ready your bow..." He opened his mouth to object, but I shot him a glare. He shuffled across the rug, seeming to drag his feet.

"So, what do you want me to do?"

"Notch the bow," I spoke with the words heavy and grave, "... and aim it at my heart..." His eyes widened in shock.

"But..."

"Ubi," I crouched into a low stance... "Do you trust me?..."

=Ubi=

'What was he thinking?' I stood there, not knowing what to do. I looked at the bow in my hand.

'He wasn't really serious was he?' I looked back at him, standing with his hand over his sword, a dead serious gaze on his face. He looked like he meant to kill me.

"Well do you?" he asked again. I didn't know what to do or think, 'Was this some kind of test or what?' I grasped my bow, the one he handed to me during the battle of the bandits. I had kept it since, he never asked for it back. 'What did he have to gain, asking me to shoot him?' He stood upright again.

"In order to continue, I need your absolute trust, I can't have your faith waver simply because of my actions, or my resolve."

My jaw was gaping at his words, how did he know?

"I am not one to lie when it comes to important matters, so you have no means to question my future actions. I see you not as beta or follower, but as family. Therefore I must ask you, do you trust me? Not as Alpha or Superior, but as a brother..." His eyes let out a soft gleam from the reflection of a lamp nearby. Could he really have seen through me, that night, that I still wondered whether or not, if it came down to it... No, don't think about that... I want to trust him, but there's something about him, something that I hate about him.

It was the same thing with Oles... He was the same thing.

TRUST NO ONE!

No... I want to trust him..

He will betray you...

How can I be sure...

Kill him, aim for his HEAD!

No... He... He trusts me...

He thinks NOTHING of you...

No... he'd...

How can you be so sure that he won't end up just... like... Oles...

"Ubi..." I looked up at him when he called me, "If you are not ready, I will not force this on you... but in order to continue with me, I need to know that you trust me... else," he turned around, "When we arrive at Gem Fido, stay on this ship, and don't follow."

"What?"

"You'd have much better luck to find your mother in an airship, and much safer at that. I don't do this of my own accord, but for Eol and everyone else willing to risk their lives to help..." he glanced back, "I'd rather die than see any of you hurt under my arm, or to see you abandon me when I need you the most. If you're not willing to trust me, then it's best we go our separate ways here and now. It's the same thing I told Eol, you're not a slave to me, so you are free to go wherever you will, I will not stop you, nor will I try to bring you back. But do me a favor to save me any hardship or bad feelings in the future, either pass this test, or leave the clan." His words hit me like a cannonball.

Did I really want to leave? I closed my eyes to think about it.

HE LIES!

No... He speaks the TRUTH!

Then PROVE IT!

He said he would help find mom, and I...

... believe him, like you did Oles, spare yourself the betrayal. Just a slip of your aim and you won't have to worry about the-

HE is NOT OLES! He... he's....

'I see you as...'

... family...

I nock the bow and pull back the drawstring, holding my aim true.

'If there's a chance that I can rebuild my family again, I'll follow him to the ends of Equus.' One thing was still sketchy, why would he ask me to shoot an arrow at him as a test of trust?

"So, What is your answer?" My eyes opened to see him still standing there, waiting. Without hesitation I let go of the bowstring, letting the arrow fly. In a split second, all I heard was the shattering of wood and a slight ring in the air. It all made sense then...

=Aoi=

"A wavering heart will always miss its mark, but a strong and steady heart will always hit home." I sheathed Kokuryu with a smile, "This test tries three things, skill--in order to hit the target as well as swing the blade accurately, respect-- when one is willing to lay down their life on the line, and trust-- in the target's skill and the archers, and is also why I asked..."

"... Do I trust you..." he said softly. I spotted Griffin coming in from the stairs.

"Hey guys, I'm up. You haven't been properly introduced to the crew, and I have some newbies to scare the life out of, so, should we get going?"

"Why not?" I shrugged and looked back at Ubi turns around to leave, seeming relieved. I hoped he was ready...