Mae x Noa

I'll Never See Her Again (Noa)

Author's Note: Here's another one shot based on Disney's Pocahontas.  There will be two versions: This one is through Noa's perspective, the other one will be through Mae's.  I also included two minor OCs in this one!  I took a few liberties with how Noa's village, and elders establish their rules and laws. 

Noa hung his head in shame, sinking to his knees and burying his face in his hands.  Why did he have to feel this way?  It was his fault that Mae was captured and imprisoned.  Why did he have to care for this human?  For this Echo.  He felt tears run down his cheeks.  He didn't want this to happen.

He heard footsteps in front of him, and the gentle touch of a hand on the back of his head.  Noa lifted his head and realized it was Soona.  "Are you well...Noa?" the female chimp asked him, nudging the young male's shoulder in concern.  Noa shook his head, he blubbered out, "This is my fault." Soona placed her hand on his shoulder, "No, no, no.  The elders...have strict laws..." "But the laws are wrong."  Soona lifted both her hands to frame Noa's face, and placed her forehead against his.  He let out a shuddering gasp at this gesture.

The female chimp pulled back to look in his eyes, "Come, come, come. I have...an idea."

Soona took Noa's hand into her own, and helped him to stand.  The two walked further into the village to where the elders took Mae.  Two male chimpanzees who were just a bit older than Soona stood guard at the entrance.  "Shell... Quartz..." the female chimp stuck her hand out in greeting.  The male chimps greeted the female with a brush of knuckles between each other. "Noa wishes...to look into...the eyes of the Echo," Soona spoke softly, also using her hands to sign certain words to the two male apes.

Shell and Quartz exchanged a look with each other.  They signed to each other for a few moments until coming to a conclusion with a nod.  "You can...see the Echo. But...hurry before...elders come back," Quartz said, pulling back the woven fabric adorning the door frame.  Noa turned to look at the female chimp beside him.  Soona nodded and gently pushed him into the tent.

X.X.X.X.X

When he was inside the tent, Noa briefly looked around the interior to find Mae.  His golden jade eyes widened in surprise and felt relief when he did.  Mae was kneeling on the ground facing away from him, she was placed inside a small wooden structure, and she was curled up into a ball with her head lowered to her chest.  Like the ape in the cage from the children's book.

He walked over slowly and went down onto all fours.  The young ape reached out and brushed his fingers along her shoulder.  The female human turned around quickly in defense, before breathing a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.  Noa had his hand through the bars, hanging limply as he stared at her.

"Noe," she whispered, her sky blue eyes brimming with relief, sadness, and concern for her ape companion.  She placed her tiny hand into his, feeling his fingers enclose around it.

He bit his lower lip, feeling tears stream down his cheeks at the sight of her.  Noa reached his other hand through the bars to take hold of the back of her head.

The young human leaned forward and pressed her forehead against his.  She heard Noa breathe a sigh of relief at this gesture.  She had witnessed the other apes in Noa's clan exchange this gesture of affection between each other.  And Noa was sharing this moment with her.

"I am sorry," the young male breathed against her lips, "I did not wish...for this to happen.  I do not...want to see...you in pain."  "I have survived harsher conditions beyond your village," she whispered, trying to sound humorous.  However, even Noa could sense that her words were meaningless in this situation.  The elders were going to decide whether to kill her, or keep her here as a prisoner when the sun rises the next day.

He pulled back slightly to look her in the eyes, still keeping close.  "None of this... should have happened," he brought the hand that was holding her head to cup her cheek, "this is my fault." She lifted her own hand, took a gentle hold of his wrist, and rubbed her thumb against the grain of his fur.  "If I do die, I don't regret ever meeting you," Mae whispered, offering the young ape a sad smile, "my friend."  He inhaled sharply at this statement, he felt more tears well in his eyes.

Soona called out from the door frame, "Noa...we must go.  The elders are returning."  He exhaled through his nose.  The male ape ran his thumb along the human's cheek once more.  He let go as he stood up, only to catch her hand and squeeze it gently.  There had to be some way to convince the elders to not sentence her to death.

Noa let go of Mae's hand, only for her to continue reaching out to him.  He reluctantly turned away in despair.

He could hear her let out loud sobs after the woven fabric closed behind him, and brushed against the fur on his back.  He ground his teeth together, at her broken sounds and to also keep himself from crying again.