||The Legend of Taavi ||

|the humans|

            Taavi moped in her special tree all the next day, clutching the fabric of James's shirt in her fist. She refused to eat; her appetite disappeared the day before. She sat hunched over, her knees tucked up against her chest, her arms wrapped around her shins. The heat was stifling, her hair sticking to her forehead, and her skin slick with dew.

When the sun was passed its highest point, she heard rustling from underneath her branch. Terk's wild fur popped into her view, followed by the rest of his head.

"Why're you being all bratty today, Taavi, huh?" Terk swung up beside her.

Taavi shrugged and turned away from him

"C'mon, talk to me. Is this about Kerchak?"

Taavi sighed, "No. Kerchak, I could understand. But, Mama? She's never had a problem with creatures different from her. I mean...she raised me."

"Kala just...doesn't want you trusting them, and then getting yourself hurt."

Taavi grunted, annoyed. "Can we just not talk about Kala anymore?"

Terk picked a papaya off of a nearby tree whose branches had intertwined with theirs, and took a bite thoughtfully, thus ending the conversation. Yet after a few moments of silence, he decided to start a new one.

"What're the humans like?"

Taavi turned towards him. "What?"

"The humans?" Terk repeated with a twang of impatience. "What are they like?"

Taavi waited a moment, just to make sure he was being serious, but his face was quite clear. She uncrossed her arms and leaned her back against the length of the tree, letting her legs straddle the wide branch, and her feet swing freely. She took a deep breath.

"They are..." Taavi tried to find the right words. "They are...so much more complex than we are. Advanced. But they don't use their intelligence to hurt us – like Sabor and the others." She shook her head. "No, they're not going to do us any harm." Then she smiled. "They've been teaching me so much. Their language; I can speak it!"

Terk nodded excitedly, and braced himself for more, so Taavi continued.

"There are three of them. Clayton is the alpha, but he and I don't see much of each other; I don't think he likes me very much. Maybe he's like Kerchak in that way. Porter is the oldest, he's the father of James." At the mention of James's name, Taavi's stomach did a flutter.

"James is the youngest. He's the one who's been teaching me the most. He...cares so much, about the creatures of the jungle, and about our lessons. I've never met anyone like him."

Her voice trailed off, along with her train of thought. Then she caught Terk staring at her, eyeing her strangely.

"What?" she snapped defensively.

Terk blinked. "Oh, nothing," he said, surprised. He finished his fruit quickly, and threw the pit over his shoulder. "The humans sound...nice."

Taavi grinned, "Really? Would...you like to meet them?"

Terk backed up slightly, "I think it would be best if you were the only one they stayed in contact with. Give them my condolences." He turned to walk away, and then paused.

"Taavi?"

"Yeah, Terk?"

He took a breath. "The way you look when you talk about James? It's something...different. I don't think I've ever seen you look like that before."

Taavi swallowed tightly. "Is that bad?"

Terk looked back at her with sincerity. "No," he said, "It's nice. It's...really nice."