A Gentle Touch [UNDER REVISION]

Introduction

Eight years – it's been nearly a decade since the battle on the Golden Gate Bridge and nearly a year since the fiasco with the apes, and after years of Chicago crumbling under the yellow and red glow of war, the battle was turned nearly nonexistent, leaving the apes to wonder if the humans had all died out, especially after the virus begun to pick those final few as its victims. Settled at the top of a tall waterfall in Muir Woods, the colony continued their lives in peace, getting comfortable in the afterglow of freedom, but is it ever so simple? Led by Caesar, they've all become accustomed to their new lives, only a few older apes on the ape council to help him lead their people to a better future – Maurice, Rocket, Koba, and Luca, the leader of the Gorilla Guard.

The Gorilla Guard, the wall of the village: the name, on its own, described the purpose of the group and the members in it perfectly. The Guard was meant to stand strong, never waver, and to protect the village with their lives if necessary. They were there to be huddled behind whenever danger lurked close by. None of them had weakness and none of them ever stepped out of line, no matter how blurred the line was, but all of this only made it so much more strange who they chose as their head – Luca. Raised in captivity, left to be nothing but a spectacle in a zoo, no one had expected the gorilla to become as powerful as he did, but still his strength rivaled any others and landed him the position as protector. Yet, it wasn't that which made him such an unconventional candidate– it was the fact that he was anything but rigid and unfeeling. Luca was kind, gentle, and caring, something easily seen once you get to know him, and even though he had an overwhelming sense of duty, he always remained considerate and open minded. It was because of this that his small eyes studied the village intruder with a strange uncertainty, an inkling of no threat bubbling up his large chest.

Following in the footsteps of the Guard's example, Buck, the very first gorilla Caesar had trusted and a gorilla who had unfortunately lost his life on the bridge, Luca knew it was his position in the troop to protect everyone, but as his green orbs flickered over the young human girl, he felt the need to protect tugging at his heart – the need to protect her, not the apes.

An hour had passed since the hunting party returned and broke the apes' illusion of isolation from humanity, Rocket carrying one of the bare-skinned creatures under his arms like the day's game. Despite the young woman thrashing and writhing under the chimp'shold for release, the young apes stared at her in awe, never having seen a human up close – or from a distance, really. Still, they all stood a safe distance away, fear churning their stomachs when they recalled all the tales Maurice told in class about zookeepers and the scientists at Gen-Sys. Luca did watch motionlessly from atop the watchtower as the human female screamed to be let go and got dragged through the mud to be tied to a wooden pole, a small whimper escaping her when ropes pinched at the delicate skin of her wrists, but now, as he studied her tied, dishevel, and tired figure, he shuffled uncomfortably on his knuckles and feet. He didn't know why, but he couldn't stand the sight. From the nasty discoloration of her hair to the filth spread across her skin and the unfitting clothing dangling from her slim frame, he couldn't seem to associate her with the flat-faced and clean humans who always watched him in the zoo and who destroyed their own world – though, before the awakening, he didn't think much of them, so maybe he just didn't pay enough attention. Nevertheless, before he had a chance to think much of it, Luca found himself swinging down from atop the watchtower and crashed onto the ground by the woman's feet.

His retracted nostrils flared with an offended huff when he saw her stiffen in fear, but then, only a second later, his tense muscles slacked, a pair of earth-colored orbs peering up at him and boring into his eyes shakily. They seemed dull and dark, no doubt having lost their fire in the presence of so much unwanted war and death, and they were glossed in terror at the sight of him, but strangely enough, he found himself lost in their depths, a foreign and strange warmth hollowing out his heart and clasping around his stomach – it felt as if the forest grew under her gaze, their color so close to the soil on which the apes live. A gentle depth could be seen behind the fear she watched him with, and somehow, it only confirmed the suspicion he felt about her meaning no harm. Had he eaten something bad, he still wondered, however, when his stomach lurched nervously again.

It must have been a year – or maybe just a few seconds – before Luca finally furrowing his brows with deep intent and stepped closer. He ignored the fact that she ducked away from him and hide her in some confusing attempt to protect herself, and simply raised his long, thick, and powerful arms above his head. As he hammered the pole deep into the ground so she could slip the ropes over the top, he never would have imagined that he and the human, Haley, who turned out to be an old friend of his king, would become friends, nor that he would grow to enjoy her company as much as he does.

Finally got this one started! ^^ And I thought I should give it a bit of an intro, so why not put it in Luca's POV to show what he thought when Haley arrived? Anyways! Please remember to comment and tell me what you think and if I should continue!