Cross was accustomed to people finding him intimidating, so Helena's hesitation about him would not have surprised him. It wasn't that he deliberately tried to be intimidating but that he didn't modify his basic persona for any reason. It would never occur to him to try to put another person at ease. He fell into step behind her, asking, "Tree?" A pause. "Predators?" It was as if words were currency and he didn't want to spend them unwisely; Cross never used unnecessary words to say anything. Predators were the only reason he could think of why the inhabitants of this place would climb trees to sleep.