Time. Time can be a very fickle thing. Time can come more sooner or later than people can anticipate, and when he does, Father Time can sneak up on you without a moment's notice. The sun's return that brisk, cool morning seemed to a certain female bonobo much too quick. Ari's eyes fluttered open to the warmth of the aging sunlight beaming through the slit in her drapes across her chilled cheeks. She momentarily shivered as she noticed the surprising drop in temperature, and pulled the fur of the deer-skin blanket closer to her chin. She rolled over onto her other side to face the draped door with a satisfying stretch, and for a brief moment, hoped that a muscular, warm body would be sleeping contently beside her. However, she was alone in her birch-woven nest, and a disappointed sigh slipped past her lips.
However, something felt off to her. As Ari thought back to the prior night's conclusion, something odd crossed her mind. She never remembered actually getting up, and returning to her hut. In fact, she never recalled actually crawling into bed!
"Did…did I fall asleep?" she thought to herself, an embarrassed blush coloring her cheeks. "Did Koba carry me home? He must've…unless he fetched a bottle of grape juice plus, and I just can't remember."
But, Ari didn't forget…she could never forget a night like that. Her photographic memory remembered every detail as clear as day, and the recollection of how she felt had her emotions swelling and spreading like blooming wildflowers, sending her passionate heart over the edge with a euphoric sigh.
No, she could see she wasn't delusional. It was true. She was escorted home by her "Prince Charming".
Basking in the growing warmth of the glowing light, and feeling her pulse pick up to a fluttering, rhythmic tempo, she wanted to relish this moment, and capture this cloud nine high in a bottle to keep forever. She felt weightless, and wished the night never had to end.
In the peak of the rush, there came a gentle knocking at the door. Ari opened her full, sparkling eyes to see a silhouette standing in the doorway, and her heart flipped in her chest. She jerked up, using her hands to support herself, and watched as a curious face poked in through the drape. She was met not with the handsome warrior she craved to touch, but with her loving, matriarch sister who arranged everything that made her night so special.
Jubilant waves of excitement washed through her entire body, and Ari ushered Cornelia to come in, the biggest smile beaming across her snout that came across the royal visitor as quite quirky, and she returned the welcoming face with a white smile of her own. "So I take it you had fun?" she asked, a lively pert glowing from her eager face.
Ari didn't know where to begin. "Oh, Cornelia! I had the absolute best night of my life last night! It went so well, and Koba seemed to enjoy himself as much as I did! Though he may not look it, but he's actually a great conversationalist when given the chance! He told me some of the most enticing and exciting stories, he has 37 scars, he's hunted some of the most enormous trophy prey, and, and-!"
Cornelia could see her friend was getting a little too excited, and was starting to babble. "Whoa, Ari! Calm down!" she pressed, holding her paws up to "slow down". "You're signing too fast, I can barely keep up with you! I'm glad you had fun, but give a girl a chance!" she laughed, placing a hand on her shoulder.
Ari felt a flush of red coat her skin, and she rubbed the back of her buzzing scalp. "Sorry" she apologised. "Where's Koba now?"
"By the river, I think" Cornelia recalled. "I came by to check up on you two about an hour after I left. I don't think I've seen either of you smile like that in ages, Ari. It did my heart good to see you two so happy. I'm glad things went well."
Ari's eyes lit up to her friend's kind words, and she felt a jump in her spine when a thought flashed across her mind. She wanted to do something for her. "Cornelia, last night was the most magical night of my life. I can't thank you possibly enough for it! If there's anything I can do for you, you let me know! I'm in your debt!"
This caught the ape queen off guard, making her drop her cheerful smile into a perplexed frown. Why would Ari assume that because she did something out of the goodness of her heart, she needs to pay back the favor somehow? Ari must've known that she didn't expect anything in return, right? The chimp queen smiled dearly upon her friend, and placed a gentle paw on her left shoulder. "Ari, it's quite alright" she calmly assured, never breaking her eye contact with the jubilant bonobo. "I did this for you because I love you. You don't have to repay kindness. The amount of joy I see you experiencing is all the payment I could ever ask for…"
Though Ari thought this was all well and good, and she understood what she was saying, she felt more than compelled to do at least something for her. It was just in her nature to balance out favors. She wouldn't feel right if she did nothing. "Please, Cornelia. I insist. I wouldn't forgive myself if I couldn't do anything. It would make me happy…honestly."
The chimp queen could clearly see in her sister's determined eyes that there was no use in arguing. Ari always had a little bullheaded attitude to hidden under the thin layers of her usual cheerful, introvert personality.
She was a stubborn one all right.
Cornelia sighed with a smile and shake of her head. "I should've expected this kind of response from you, Ari" she answered 'sternly', earning an innocent yet cocky grin from the perky bonobo. "If it makes you happy…very well. If something miraculously comes up, I'll let you know."
Cornelia didn't think it was possible, but her friend's smile grew, and she excitedly grasped her soft paws within her own, catching the royal ape off guard as she brought them up to her chest. "Thank you, dear sister!"
Gently, Cornelia grasped the back of the bonobo's head, and pressed their brows firmly together in a loving embrace. "You're very welcome, Ari" she whispered, pulling their heads apart after a few silent seconds. "Now come, the sun is already ascending over the mountain peaks, and food is prepared."
The rest of the day progressed as normal as any other day had before it. After another successful hunt, and with permission from a kind hunter who was a member of the providing pack, Maurice was given the hide of the large deer. With that morning being particularly chillier than normal, he made up the excuse that he wanted to be prepared for the approaching autumn months. Having believing him, the orangutan could now replace the thin drape blanket from the satchel with the new and improved skin. The boys made another good smuggle after breakfast this morning, and he figured the jar was just about full by now. The bandaged ape smiled with satisfaction that everything was going according to plan, and after tonight, Sarah would have enough fresh supplies to last her another few days.
Taking the tattered, musty curtain from the base of the bag, Maurice folded the skin as tightly as he could. The herds of deer must be preparing for the cooling months to come as well for the fur on this beast was a smidge thicker than normal. Thankfully, it wasn't too thick, and it fit as well inside the bag as the drape did, just taking an inch more of room. Maurice would have to save every centimeter of space he could now if he were to fit the amount of food he and the boys saved. Perhaps, he would have to take two bags if he couldn't fit all of it in. If he left some of the food behind, no doubt it would start to spoil before the next trip, letting their hard-worked rations go to waste.
But then, there was the trouble of having to borrow, or make, another bag. He didn't have the time or resources to make another, and how would he explain why he needed a second bag? He couldn't leave the village to pick berries with his arm 'hurt'. What material did he have that could possibly be strong enough to use?
Then, his eyes caught the drape discarded on the floor.
His beady green eye lit up at the crumbled up heap of fabric, and his thick grey fingers scooped it up to his face, studying it intently. It wasn't much, but it would have to do. Tying the four corners of one side together into a single tight knot, he tucked the makeshift carrier back into his satchel for later, and placed the sealed package back behind his nest out of sight.
Looking at his nest, the orangutan knew it would be a long night. He wouldn't be needed for any schooling today since he'd been replaced until he 'healed'. Before he could talk himself out of it, the large, burly ape crawled onto the soft bedding, and relaxed as he felt his weight sink into the plush leaves and supporting frame. He would need every bit of his strength tonight for the long hike, he couldn't afford his guard to be down with nocturnal predators lurking about the mountain.
With the responsibility to Sarah looming over his head, the orangutan held her safety in his grasp, and forced himself to sleep in preparation to tonight.
The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner he could see her again…
For the entire day, Zoren kept a lookout for the crimson ape with no luck. The evening had turned to dusk, and as planned punishment, he was slaving away at a mortar and pestle by his mentors side as she educated the next generation. He should've felt honored to assist her duties, but his mind was plagued by a thick, crimson fog. All he could think about was that blasted orangutan, and it frustrated him that he could do nothing about it tonight!
Instead, he was here, being stared at like some sort of zoo exhibit by unskilled youngsters, some with the attention span of a fruit fly! He held the pestle in an iron grip, staring into the bowl of herbs and roots like it had stabbed him in the back.
"You're doing. A wonderful job. Zoren. But, please. Not too. Much" he heard Cornelia order him. His rotating wrist stopped in its tracks at her voice, and he let out an exasperated sigh through his nose. Feeling the mortar being taken from his hands, he seemed to flinch as he felt a pleasurable spark discharge from Cornelia's velvety paw as he felt it brush against his own. It shot up his spine, and made him jolt upwards, appearing to the children like the touch had startled him. Was he really so tense that even the smallest of contact spooked him? Cornelia seemed to notice it as well, and sunk her lips into a questionable, concerned frown. "Is everything alright?"
He felt his breath anxiously hitch in his throat for a brief moment. "I am…fine…Just having trouble sleeping. Can't…focus."
Cornelia stared into her pupils eyes. She could tell for some time that he wasn't acting himself. Irritation and short attention spans were symptoms of developing insomnia. But, there was something else about how he hesitated in between signs that just didn't sit well with her. She could sense that something was troubling him, but knowing him, he wouldn't open up if his life depended on it. Not bothering to prod him about it, she brushed it aside. "Alright. Well, could you demonstrate the proper technique to apply paste to a wrapping, like we did with Maurice the other day?"
That name made his skin seethe beneath his fur, but he refused to show it. "Of course…milady."
Several hours later, with the last few remaining fires extinguished and the handful of stragglers returning to their homes, a burly figure lumbered his mass from the confinements of his home, and hauled with it a package strapped across its body. Maurice had been keeping a watchful eye out for quite some time for the right moment to emerge, and when he was confident no other apes were roaming the square, or peeking from their darkened doorways, he scaled the wall down into the courtyard with predatory stealth. He could hear the deep breathing of the many homes he passed under the pitch-black cover of a moonless sky, being wary of his footing as to not make a single sound.
Making his way along the edge of the village till he found the top of the declining trail, Maurice took great care in traversing to the base of the cliff, hugging his form to the jagged, root-draped wall. Above, the snores and dying crackles of the fire pits faded to silence the lower he trekked, finding tremendous relief when he finally felt the levelled base, and plush green grass between his toes. Finding the secret area he and the boys designated for their rations, the orangutan began to dig up the freshly covered earth. He stopped when he felt the tips of his meaty fingers graze the solid surface of the hidden jar, and pulled the container free of its prison. With swift haste, he ripped the top off, and dumped the fresh contents into his satchel. And, like he hypothesized, the bag was too full to hold the entirety of their haul. Good thing he thought of turning his curtain into a second bag, and he poured the remaining scraps into it.
Taking a quick look around the shadowed clearing for any signs of movement before proceeding, he reburied the clay jar once he saw the coast was clear, and hiked back up the high wall into the square. He would have to try and think of another route to get to the redwoods without having to backtrack back into the village. But for now, he would have to take the heavy risk to go through the estate, and under the catwalk like before. An orchestra of snores filled the plaza, anxiety sparking his heels to pick up to a swift but silent trot. He braced his dark form against the high rock face as he fled the square, snatching and extinguishing a lantern in his wake for later use. He ducked his heavy head under the supporting beam as he squeezed his massive frame through the opening, and escaped into the open air of the field. He could see there were dozens of dark homes lining the rutted road into the forest, and he took extreme caution when passing their property. He felt he couldn't be too careful, he was wise to be.
But, what the orangutan didn't take into consideration was while he was too focused on being careful and silent, he didn't take into consideration of being very observant, and was overall blind to the set of eyes watching his every move…and watched as he disappeared into the forest…
Maurice waited till he was at least a mile from the edge of the redwoods before he pulled out his stolen lantern, and clacked a pair of rocks to create a shower of sparks. The wick ignited, and the red skin of the bulb flickered back to life. The flame blossomed a wide spray of bright, rich light around the surrounding trees, covering the orangutan's face with a soft, warm glow. The air was chilly, and the light lifted his spirits. He adjusted the strap on his satchel to a more comfortable position, and inspected if any of his goods were damaged in the escape. Everything was still in one piece, and this brought a smile to his lips.
Securing the flap back over with a tight knot, Maurice held the light up in front of him, and continued down the trail. The flame casted upon the foliage casted dozens of shadows, giving the illusion that the plants were moving on their own as he passed. The nocturnal creatures that nested or were perched above him in the canopy's eyes reflected the bright lantern light, making their eyes glow with intense glares. The sights and sounds were quite unnerving to the bulky ape, but he did his best to ignore it. He was so close to seeing her again, just a few more miles he kept telling himself.
Snap!
Suddenly, something snapped a twig in the distance behind him, stopping the orangutan in his tracks. His eyes widened, and his ears perked at the sound, feeling a chill run down his back. He swallowed a sudden dryness in his throat, and he turned the light to the trail behind. "Is. Someone. There?" he called out.
He waited, scanning the area for any movement, but there was no response. He held the light high above his head, surveying the trees as well. The branches were empty. Taking one last look over his shoulder, he continued forward. As he trekked a few more kilometers, Maurice couldn't help but feel a presence in the area. He could feel a set of eyes bore into the back of his head, stinging like angry bee stings. He watched where he placed his feet, making sure not to rustle any leaves or plants, keeping his ears painfully peeled. Far behind him, he could hear the faintest inkling of it, but he could hear a slight rustling, and he knew it wasn't him. Every few meters, he would stop, and see if they would too. It would take a few milliseconds, but, he could hear a slight delay with their footsteps in comparison to his own. They were trying to match his pace, and mask the sounds of their steps with his own.
Maurice was certain now. He was being followed!
He tried something different this time. This time, he took off at breakneck speed into a full run! He punched the ground, and threw every ounce of his massive weight into his strides, covering several meters at a time. He did this for a good seven seconds, and skidded to a clean halt. Behind, he could hear them throw themselves off balance, and when they tried to match him, he could hear one skid to a halt, while another seemed to fall into the leaves. There were two of them, and Maurice swore he heard one of them mutter an "ow".
Maurice grumbled lowly to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose with a deep, irritated growl. "Oh, for the love of-!"