Humanum Opus (The Simian Forest Saga: Vol. II)

II. Blood Is Thicker

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She was the talk of the entire colony. There was not an ear that had not heard the mention of her arrival. Koba watched his king carefully from where he sat across from him, addressing Rocket and Luca, a hulking blackback from the gorilla guard. The creature's revolver was settled in front of Caesar, gleaming in the dull grey light. Rocket closely examined it from where he was seated. Clouds had drifted in, threatening to open up and drench the Muir Woods. They loomed over the mountain side, the trees visibly swaying, light flickering from distant torch light. 'Why let her come here?' Luca asked, clearly just as confused as Koba.

He shuffled uncomfortably, teeth gritting as he looked off toward the towering redwood that was Caesar's home, knowing fully well that that filthy creature was safe in Maurice's care. How would the females feel about it? Sparrow would surely be giving the orangutan a piece of her mind right now. Would she even touch her?

'She was hurt. Couldn't leave her to die,' signed Caesar, giving his excuse once more. It wasn't as if he hadn't justified his decision about fifteen times now.

Luca shook his head. 'Humans have done worse,' he pointed out. 'Could know others. Could be a threat.'

It wasn't as if Koba had been saying this the entire time...

There was a pause before Rocket finally came to Caesar's defense. The grey chimp let out a grunt of assertion, turning heads. 'Human or not, she was desperate. Once she's healed, she can be on her way.'

"She was.. alone," Caesar defended. 'If she is a threat, we'll deal with it then.'

Perhaps it was because his king had been raised by these creatures that he could not see how cruel they could be. There was no way that apes could befriend humans— Caesar had seen the blunt end of their short stick, but he had never been treated in the manner that Koba had. The bonobo figured that he at least partially understood why he couldn't stand them, seeing as he could detect a gleam of sympathy within his king's eyes each time he vocalized his opinion. What, did his king pity him? Maybe Caesar was simply hearing what he only wished to hear and ignoring any warning signs... He would learn eventually: once this human made to destroy their numbers, their kind would be forced to put them in their place once again.

Yes, Caesar would learn, and it would be him to teach his king this valuable life lesson.

'We could easily kill her. She looks like a drenched rat,' Koba added, tossing a hand up toward the Royal Tree. 'Frail. Weak.'

'Yes,' Caesar agreed. 'This is why I am not afraid.'

Rocket huffed and his head bobbed. 'Apes together, strong.' Their leader reached over and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder, smiling and panting proudly. The grisly bonobo wasn't interested in this back-and-forth banter now.

'Best have someone watch,' Koba suggested, movements violent and blunt. 'Cannot risk apes getting hurt. Especially Caesar.'

Their great leader was about to respond when the colony were all distracted by an alarmed holler. All heads turned to stare at the sight before them as plodding across the stone surface beneath her feet was the devil herself. The human had shed a layer, its limp and mucky material draped over her arm. She still wore those yellowing denim jeans of hers cuffed sloppily up her ankles, her boots scuffed and ragged beyond repair. Her once ivory and green-striped shirt was now eggshell and brown, a dark splotch of red blossoming from where her wound had bled through; beneath, a button up the color of the sky was turned an ugly soiled shade, the cuffs unbuttoned and the collar bunching over that lip of her sweater.