War Technicalities [UNDER REVISION]

Human Work and Stubbornness

[Unrevised. 5 Years Old. Prepare for inconsistencies with previous chapters.]

Naturally, Haley did not feel offended or surprised by the fact that the group of humans were reluctant to step out of their vehicle in the middle of a crowd of glaring apes, even more so when they were handing over their guns, but she was agitated when the woman's eyes, once again, glued themselves to her with such an intense curiosity that it made her uncomfortable. Nevertheless, Haley didn't acknowledge the lady's stare even once while everyone waited, and only peeked back through the trees while she was swinging back home, and when their eyes shockingly met, she couldn't help but feel that she needed to recognize the older woman, so why couldn't she?

Maurice could clearly see something was nagging at Haley as she sat next to him by the fire that night, Rocket destroying the weapons on the other side of her, but he didn't dare to ask what it was – not that he really had a choice as she endlessly advised Rocket to be careful not to pull or touch certain things on the guns, her family having been a group of people who enjoyed hunting for sport. Luckily, the distain she held on this was written all over her face and obvious enough that no ape seemed bothered by her family's ways – everyone knew that she never enjoying killing unless it was for food.

To Haley it felt, just for a while, as if the day was going to end with the comfortable silence that loomed across the village, but with eavesdropping ears, she heard Koba's voice shatter her hope immediately.

"Human work." He drawled out to his leader as he motioned to his many scars and blemishes, his growl thick and rough, "Human work. Human work."

Unlike Maurice, Haley kept her eyes away from the argument and on the ground by her filthy feet, her still-nude arms only hugging her knees closer to her flat chest while her toes dug nervously into the mud. Somehow, she felt as if she had no right to look, not even when Koba's insolence was crushed by a single look from Caesar, and instead, she felt a persistent need grasp and tighten painfully around her heart. She felt almost overwhelmed by the need to rush over to her mate and embrace him- hold him- kiss him, and tell him that her actions were human work as well, but it wouldn't have accomplished anything, she realized – he didn't even think she was an entire human, after all. She knew that he just said that out of anger and frustration, but it didn't matter; if he was able to say it, he was thinking it, and if he thought it, he meant it.

Quickly, the fact that he's been ignoring her for the last few hours was made irrelevant, and so was the fact that the other apes began to do the same thing when they noticed the growing rift between the king's right hand and his human mate – that is, everyone except the other apes on the council, Ash, Blue Eyes, and Cornelia, who didn't seem to care either way.

Watching Koba rush away in a knuckle-walk, holding himself as low as possible under the eerie and accusing quiet, Haley sighed softly. "Maurice?" She called the orangutan's attention with a small hum, happy to hear him circling back her way immediately, though she didn't have the courage to look him in the eye before she continued, "What am I – human or ape?"

There was a confused pause, a concerned frown moving to Maurice's non-existent brows, but eventually he signed in slow and sluggish movement, "Why not both?"

She should have known he'd say something like that, she realized with a tired and displeased chuckle, unintentionally making Maurice add, "Haley can be first of a kind."

"I suppose I can." She mumbled, but the sarcasm that hang heavy on her words didn't go unheard by her friend.

Nonetheless, that's where the conversation ended and he was left to watch her as she stood and snuck from the village, assuming she was heading back to the waterfall to think. Like clockwork, he gave Caesar a troubled glance behind him regardless, but only to find the ape already watching her leave with an unease as well – both of them knew she was too stubborn to listen, however, so neither budged, but unfortunately, this kept them oblivious to the fact that she had no intention of going back to the waterfall that night.