You Are Not Ape

Chapter 7

Ash and Blue Eyes were fishing. Or, they were supposed to be, but mostly they were playing and teasing one another. Both boys seemed totally unaware that just above them in the top of the trees lurked a tiny slender waiting figure. She was grinning as she spied down on the boys, watching patiently from her hiding place.

Come on now, just a little closer, she silently urged one of them. Come on ... that's it ... a little more ...

When one of the boys was directly beneath her, the girl opened her hands, dropping a small load of plant leaves sticky with tree sap down on the boys' head. The leaves clung to his fur.

Both boys hooted in alarm before they heard the light giggles from above them.

"Mary!" Ash cried.

Blue Eyes was openly laughing as Mary poked her face out from behind a limb, her eyes flashing mischievously.

"Careless boys," she teased. "Slow boys."

"You knew about this," Mary watched Ash sign to his friend. "You helped her set me up, again!"

Blue Eyes was too convulsed with laughing to respond. What Ash claimed was true, but Mary knew she could count on Blue Eyes not to admit it. Blue was her faithful brother, well, like brother.

Ash playfully shoved Blue Eyes to try and get the Ape Prince to shut up, but that only made it worse.

"I'll get you later," Ash signed to his friend.

Then, he grabbed a handful of the sticky leaves from the ground, and scrambled up the tree towards Mary. She let him get within touching distance of her before hooting with laughter and flitting away with ease.

"You come back here," Ash went to sign, but he almost fell out of the tree doing so.

Mary laughed harder, and Ash growled and plunged off after her. She led him on a merry little chase, letting him get within an arm's reach before she darted away, until they were at a small secluded pool. Mary dropped out of the tree, landing gracefully in the middle of the shallow pool, and waved happily to her oncoming friend.

"What are you waiting for?" she asked him, her eyes wide with feigned innocence. She cupped her small hands and flung cool water over ash's face. "I'm right here."

With another mock snarl, Ash plunged in after her. This time, instead of running away, she charged straight at him, flinging herself on top of him and giving them both a serious dunking in the cool water.

"Are you trying to drown me or what?" Ash spluttered and signed when she finally let him up.

"Aw, my poor boy," Mary's light voice dripped with false sympathy.

When the ripples settled, both young Apes caught site of each other's reflections in the water and burst out laughing at the same time.

Keeping one arm around him, Mary led Ash from the pool. The two young Apes scaled a nearby tree together. They both shook to clear their fur of most of the water. But Mary was still shivering a little, so Ash pulled her smaller form close and they huddled together on a thick branch. Mary began to groom him, carefully picking out almost every bit of the leaves she'd pelted him with earlier. After a little while, Ash returned her grooming gestures.

And they lost all track of time.

A little while later, a light rumble and another hoot caught their attention. They Sprung apart from one another, and Looking around a little fearfully, Mary spotted both Maurice and, surprisingly Lake, coming towards them through the trees.