Slate awoke with his heart thrumming in his chest, drawn out of a deep, dark and dreamless sleep. As he rested there, staring up at the tightly-woven ceiling with a hand upon his breast, he heard his brother's husky tone bouncing around between his ears. "We are our family, she is not." His entire body, despite covered in a thick layer of fur, was plunged into a great cold sweat, his eyes blinking away sleep that glossed over his amber irises and inky pupils. Swallowing heavily, the charcoal simian rose up in his nest, eyeing the empty spot where Krissa had been resting just hours before he had finally taken to resting. Poppy, instead, resting on her side of the expanded nest, unaware of her human friend's absence. Curious, he glanced around, finding that her backpack had been opened. Slate understood boundaries, but right now his sleepy brain got the best of him. The chimpanzee slipped from his bedding and down onto his knuckles, plodding over to the human's hiking bag. He reached inside with careful hands, finding only a pair of rolled up knit socks, along with her button-up.
A gust of hot air escaped him and he glanced up toward his sister with wariness, wondering if he would wake her up if he were not careful. Like a mischievous little one, he pulled the large sack closer and began to rummage through, examining the book he had given her with intrigue. Then, beneath, he caught glimpse of something else that he found rather interesting. Yet another book, ragged and spilling with loose sheets and pieces of parchment with scrawl. A very weird contraption made of black plastic with two rings of glass staring up at him. Snaking his hand down, he placed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe down on the dry stone beneath him before retrieving the strange object. Narrowing his eyes, Slate examined it further, turning it's alien frame around and around within his leathery hands. The inky brute prodded the clear pieces of glass, peering with apprehension. What was this supposed to do? Something foggy was visible from his end, which drew his attention forward, bringing the set to his fiery tawny depths. Slate was startled by what he saw in front of him, feeling minuscule now as his sister was now the size of a bubble. Bewildered by how something could become so far away in a blink of the eye, he just about pitched the binoculars away from himself.
Then he realised that if he broke them, Krissa would find out. Slate quickly moved them away from his face, he returned them to the backpack and leaned it back up against the wall. Never again would he go through her bag. Not ever.
Exiting his home and allowing Poppy to rest a little longer, the dark grey simian sauntered onwards, peering out and over at the group of males preparing to leave for the day. Typically he would have attended, but with Krissa's odd disappearance that morning, he was more concerned with at least figuring out where she had gone. Besides, from what he could see, Pine was among them... and he still was bitter over what had happened the evening before. Recalling the events, he felt his gut harden. From where his kin sat, smearing war paint across another's front, he noticed how his bicoloured eyes flickered up toward where he was positioned off a few feet. Before he could react, however, Slate curled his lip and pressed onward, travelling forward in no direction in particular. A head of blonde hair caught his attention, immediately sparking his interest. Humans were so close; perhaps Nova knew of where the ravenette had vanished to.
The young girl was just joining two familiar faces, Maurice and Rocket, whom seemed to be discussing something rather cold sober. Feeling a frown lace his lips, he approached nonetheless. They could at least have the decency to take pause and answer his questions. Blue eyes drifted up to spot him and Nova's face pinched to his surprise, nudging Maurice with a dainty pale hand. Something seemed to be the matter, and although he didn't think much of it at first, he came to the quick realisation that his pace had quickened slightly. 'Nova,' he addressed. His fellow apes turned their heads, both with grave looks upon their faces. 'Maurice, Rocket.'
YOU ARE READING
Not Like You (The Simian Forest Saga: Vol. I)
Adventure"The rain grew colder, the canopy enamoured and blushing even deeper shades of auburn and gold. The tension was growing and the entirety of the large ape colony knew that it would snap at a moment's notice. They were all waiting-- waiting for someth...
