Julie and the Monkey Witch

Chapter 10

Kainak had no trouble navigating the jungle, effortlessly leaping from tree branch to tree branch, occasionally gliding like he was in a Chinese historical martial arts movie. Don't ask me why this wire-fu is in here, because it's a goddamn fantasy AND I CAN DO WHATEVER THE FUCK I WANT—

(GET ON WITH IT!!!)

He wasn't in a hurry at the moment. But he did inwardly laugh at a joke Hilo made suggesting he could have P'li over for dinner. He wasn't wrong, wink, wink.

Unaki, on the other hand, presented an actual threat, and she needed to be dealt with, and that much was obvious. And he had confidence that Manti would handle the situation as he should.

He had to reach the researchers. And if neither of Unaki or P'li were stupid, they wouldn't attack them. He had a clear path to them, as he could smell a particular cologne brand that John Tamou wore, that originated in Australia. The Jungle Dude forgot the brand and scent's name. All that mattered was that it was supposed to smell like the outback itself. Isn't the Outback a big desert? His internal ramblings got to him a bit at the moment, and he paused on a tree branch to get his head back on right. He was pretty sure he wasn't doing things right.

He also caught another, rather foul scent off in the distance, which made him both annoyed and troubled. But he couldn't quite be preoccupied with it, so he refocused on the task at hand.

However, if it was what he thought it might be, he wasn't happy. As strong and skilled as he was, he was amazed he barely held P'li off the first time. He's certainly no slouch when it comes to muscles, strength, and athleticism, but at under 200 lbs, he's tiny compared to most depictions of Tarzan, Ka-Zar, or your stereotypical jungle hunk. Part of the reason was that he lost some weight in those first weeks of jungle survival. The other part came after when he realized a smaller frame put him at a bit of an advantage traversing the jungle.

But even so, if P'li—he was sure the ape monster was P'li and not one of the island's assorted beastmen—was going to go after the researchers, he was in bigger trouble than he needed.

The Jungle Dude stopped in his tracks on top of a branch close to the tree's trunk, then carefully walked onto the edge of the tree branch and into the jungle. He listened carefully.

"I know you're there, you son of a bitch," he muttered to himself. The tick foliage provided the perfect cover for any animal, even human. Evolution and adaptation have many species an extra edge in camouflage, but apes and monkeys were just as adept at hiding. He knew this because he learned from apes and more intelligent hominids, not unlike Tarzan's mangani, except gentle like gorillas and orangutans. They only wanted to be left alone.

But it also meant Oranta and Unaki were not the only ones able to call upon monkeys and apes.

He cupped his hands to his mouth and called out, imitating an ape's call. He carefully waited for the response. He could hear another call off in the distance. That didn't sound like a response. He cupped his hands to his mouth and called out again. He waited, listening intently for any response.

He finally heard something, and it was a response — a big ape from the sound of it. More apes joined in. He triumphantly pumped his fist, thankful to have allies on his side.

A hard blow in the back caught him off guard. He fell off the branch and plummeted past several tree branches until he clutched a vine and swung over to the closest tree branch. He had difficulty landing but managed to get his foothold on the tree branch, and stabilized himself. Still squatting, he looked out past the leaves. He didn't like what he saw.

"Godsdammit, P'li!" he shouted at Unaki's helper, now back in his ape-monster form. "I don't have time for this! Go away!" Okay, he wasn't 100% sure it was P'li, but he did recognize the stench from that time he fought the ape monster at the ruins. And he could see enough of him through the trees to recognize P'li's magical ape form.