Transition Plan Chapter39: First Homecoming Part 26
Tarzan, Jane, Kirok, and Terk traveled together in earnest toward the White Rock, a huge white pillar of granite that rose thousands of feet above the jungle directly and jutted out from the rest of the mountains. It alone of all the jagged peaks had no vegetation on it, and was a stark off-white, flat-topped pillar contrast to all the green of the mountainous jungle surrounding it. Many considered it spiritual or holy. Several bird species called it home. All held it in awe.
But not so with Terk. Getting to the White Rock was an inconvenient obstacle as she, for the umpteenth time, asked Tarzan, "Are we there yet?"
"We're close, cousin," Tarzan replied, trying hard to be patient. Again.
"My feet hurt," Terk complained a few minutes later.
"I know Terk, but we just stopped to rest," Tarzan sighed, slowing the pace a bit to accommodate her grievance and discomfort.
"I'm over five months pregnant and I'm still doing fine," Jane announced in an attempt to give some perspective, just about totally fed up with her friend's constant whining for 36 hours.
"Oh, sure, Jane. Not counting all the times our slave driver Tarzan was carrying you," Terk snapped.
Jane just sighed and trudged on. She was hot, sweaty, and grimy, with stringy hair like the rest of them, but she hadn't said one negative thing. Tarzan constantly took her in his arms to give her relief. He was so sweet.
With only a few minutes of hiking further, Terk crabbed, "Kirok, I'm getting tired of looking at your butt in my face on this trail all the time."
"OK, dear, we'll switch places. I happen to like looking at yours," Kirok kidded, trying to lighten it up.
Hearing the hidden innuendo, Terk scolded, "Kirok, don't get any closer. Time for that later…"
Jane and Tarzan laughed while Terk gave her mate a long scowl as they switched places.
It wasn't long before Terk complained again, "I'm hungry."
Without saying a word, Tarzan climbed up in a tree, plucked one of Terk's favorite fruits, plus one each for the others, and gave it to everyone. He didn't break stride. Kirok and Jane munched while they walked, grateful for the refreshing burst of energy and liquid it gave. Jane's eyes twinkled at her mate and offered him a bite of hers. He took one and stole a quick kiss from her too, which is what she wanted.
Terk grumbled, hoping for a stop instead of a snack-on-the-go, "Thanks…"
A little while later, the sweetness of the fruit Terk made her mouth dry, so she whined, "I'm thirsty."
Again without breaking stride, Tarzan pulled out his knife, hacked off a bamboo stalk full of water in its segments, and handed it to her. This time Terk was silent. He offered a piece to Jane but she was fine from the last stop, joking about her increasing pregnant bladder intolerance if she drank again, and joked that it was supposed to be the male of a mated pair that marked the trail. Tarzan was amused that she seemed to have to 'go' all the time now, and had to help her stand each time, but reflected what a good sport she was about this trek, and kissed her quickly on the move as they continued. They simply never could get enough kisses from each other. Even the little ones were wonderful.
A few minutes later, Terk exclaimed, "Ow! Ow! Owww!"
She hobbled and hopped, and finally Tarzan stopped the hike. They all sat on their haunches.
"Terk, what's wrong now?" Tarzan inquired, resisting the urge to yell at her at this latest interruption.
"I have a blister," she groaned and displayed her foot to her cousin, wiggling her toe right in his face with its tiny blister.
"Easily rectified," Jane said cheerily, stopped, looked at the jungle flora, chose some leaves and a couple of pods carefully. Popping them into her mouth, she made a poultice and found a sturdy leaf.
She approached Terk to put it on her blister, but Terk resisted, "Eww Jane, you chewed on that? Blehhh. People germs…"
Jane really had reached her limit of patience, but stayed calm, "Terk, my friend, I'm your sister. Sister spit is no worse than Jana's drool, and you and I get that on us all the time."
Jane was privately very glad they'd left Jana with Kala and Terk's mother to be watched. One petulant gorilla child on the trail with them was quite enough.
Terk replied, a bit embarrassed, "Oh. Right…"
Jane knelt next to Terk, with the poultice and leaf bandage in her hands, seeking a decision, "Do you want to feel better or not, Terk?"
"Yes, please, sister Jane," Terk tried to smile, attempting to be more grateful.
Admiring his mate's care and patience for his whiny cousin, Tarzan was less patient and asked tersely, "Terk, is there anything else you want?"
Terk admitted, "I want to be there,Tarzan."
"Well you are," Tarzan smiled, and directed their gazes forward.
White Rock was directly in front of them, dominating the view ahead. They had just arrived at a huge clearing. Every species was in awe of the huge White Rock, even when it was barely visible from most places in the land of the Mangani whenever the tree canopy was thin enough to permit a look. But now the view was overwhelming, as you could not look any direction ahead without seeing it in all its grandeur. A pair of rocky mountain creeks flowed down its sides, almost waterfalls at some points, framing the rock, and the streams tumbled and splashed down the sides and collected in a tranquil pool at the base of the rocky pillar, reflecting its massive face in the calm water. The water was refreshingly cold, coming from so high a summit. The pool drained into a creek that emptied ultimately into the river that divided Tarzan's land and flowed through the jungle valley to the ocean.
Jane was totally impressed, and took his hand in hers, and kissed his cheek, "Tarzan, it's beautiful!"
They had ended their trek through the jungle and strolled in silence almost reverently into the huge open field. As they progressed into the field, they could see how it opened up from the dense jungle at the base of White Rock that held the pool, ringed by jungle trees all around them but for the rock itself, and displaying its natural splendor rising above it all. They gazed up at the huge promontory, and its uninterrupted view from the pool. Eagles and predatory birds soared near its rocky summit and the echoes of their screeches were inspiring.
Despite having not complained like Terk had done, Jane was also grateful for the journey to end. Walking was becoming more difficult for her, and she started to have to do the 'pregnant woman waddle' that she knew would only get worse from five months on. The baby had been very active, being jostled constantly by the long hike, but seemed to settle down now that they had arrived. Tarzan had thankfully carried her much of the way, and he would not accept her apologies for her putting him in that position. He loved caring for her, even though it was tiring. Immediately upon seeing the cool water, she knew how to reward him.
They were all hot, sweaty, and dirty, and had some scratches from rocks and branches along the way. They all eagerly quenched their thirsts with the cool, clear, fresh mountain waters. Terk and Kirok fell exhausted together on the nearby soft grassy field and took a much-needed nap. Tarzan was tired, but remained focused on his task for the Jungle Council, examining the land for the right way to set up the gathering place. Watching him work, Jane was not ready to sleep either, especially with Kirok and Terk asleep in each other's arms.
They were effectively alone for a few moments.
She left her bow and arrow on the shore and waded into the water slowly, getting goose bumps all over. Her breasts stiffened in the cold water, and she shuddered with the sudden temperature change as she immersed herself slowly up to her neck in the refreshing clear water. Tarzan stopped what he was doing and watched Jane. She held her breath and completely immersed herself in the invigorating water, and then rose up for maximum visual impact toward Tarzan, with everything above the middle of her thighs exposed to her husband, legs invitingly apart, and her body streaming water. She pulled her hair behind the back of her head, squeezing the excess water out, and let it drape around her neck and front. The combination of the glistening wet, beautiful curves of her bosom, hips, and very prominent pregnant stomach, framed by dripping tendrils of both areas of her wet hair staggered Tarzan. He could not resist her. The more pregnant she became, the prettier she was to him, and she savored that. That was not always so with civilized men toward their pregnant mates.
"Come in dear, the water is fine," she beckoned quietly, and splashed water at him carefully, not wishing to awake Kirok and Terk.
Presented with this beautiful view of his soaking wet wife against the backdrop of the pond and the White Rock, he decided that planning could wait. He didn't hesitate a moment, "Gladly, Jane."
He ran into the water, dived forward underwater, disappeared for a moment while Jane settled back into the water up to her neck and vainly searched for him, giggling knowing he was playing an underwater game of hide and seek with her. To her absolute delight, he rose up silently right next to her and spit a mouthful of water at her. She shrieked happily discovering him, and he kissed her full on the mouth, wrapping her in his arms as best he could, limited by the girth of her baby bump. While they were too tired to cavort in the wonderful cold water like the did in many other lakes and streams, they did swim quietly, holding each other closely. They essentially slow-danced in the pond, pirouetting like a ballet couple gently entwined, and savoring their hugs in the swirling clear, cool water. For a moment all her extra pregnancy weight was mercifully buoyed by the water and it restored her. She slowly guided him to the rocky escarpment where one of the rushing mountain streams entered the pool. One moss-covered rock was soft and smooth, and she leaned against the wet softness with him treading water in front of her.
She placed her fully extended arms around his neck, interlacing her fingers behind his head, leaned in, and kissed him with intense passion, "Tarzan, thank you so much for carrying me so much of the way. You must be exhausted. I am getting to be quite a load now."
"That is no matter, Jane. I wish no harm to come to you or our child. That was not an easy trek for you in your condition; it was nearly all up hill, and it pretty much had to be done on foot, with only few vines in this part of the jungle."
"I know, thank you. That's why it is even more special what you did for me."
She pulled him closer and held him as close as her new girth would allow.
She mused, "Can I thank you properly before we start getting ready for the Council?"
Tarzan never wanted anything on this earth but the blessing of her love for him, and she always gave it so freely in heart, mind, and body. Anticipating what she had in mind, his body prepared for her and she felt him against her, to her great satisfaction. She parted his lips in a tender, long, deep kiss and he reacted even more urgently. Carefully she wrapped around him, and he flexed and stretched forward around her baby bump and quickly they were one. As much as they enjoyed the new intimate spooned methods that allowed them continued relations while pregnant, today in this special place, they discovered it was still possible to be together face-to-face, which was always the best way since they could still kiss, enabled by them being suspended in the water. They laughed at each other's clever but somewhat awkward ways to not squeeze their child yet still enjoy their fun together as husband and wife. The noise of the rush of the creek masked the sounds of their ecstatic happiness together. Afterwards he carried her out of the water, and they lay down near their friends for their own nap, entangled and thoroughly spent by their loving and the long trek. Even their child was mostly quiet inside her, after being kept awake so long by being jostled by their activity and the hiking.
…
Refreshed by their nap, they prepared for the Jungle Council. Using her artistic skills, she found indelible inks from roots and prepared paint. On flat, thin, light-colored rocks that had spalled from the face of the White Rock that Tarzan gathered, and on slices of wood that he cut with his knife, using reeds cut to be erstwhile paint brushes, Jane drew the images of many different animal species expected to be there in the next day. Tarzan placed each sign in a big half circle framing the pond, being cognizant of not putting species next to each other that considered the other species a succulent morsel. There were rules of engagement for the truce between competing animals when they met in the Jungle Council, but Tarzan was smart enough not to tempt fate.
Finding another raw material she needed in the nearby woods, she shouted in delight, "Bamboo! This is perfect! Tarzan, come over here and cut some of these big tall stalks for me."
"How many?" he asked as he withdrew his knife for the task.
"Until I say, vassal!" she ordered like a queen and bumped his nose with hers. She smelled delightful to him after being refreshed by their swim and lovemaking. Her hair was still wet and clung to her.
The field was soon littered with bamboo. From some, she directed Tarzan to fashion perches for the bird species to alight above the rest of the animals, and keep predators from being tempted by birds on the ground. To protect the smaller animals and rodents, he made platforms for them in much the same manner. The sounds of tapping the poles into the ground awakened Kirok and Terk and they were eager to help. Terk was back in her normal jovial mood.
The rest Jane wove into a gigantic mat with stringy vines.
"What is this for?" Tarzan puzzled a moment.
"You'll see. Have you ever heard of a 'diorama', dear?" she teased.
He smiled with her clever idea, "That will be perfect, Jane. I was just going to scratch a map into the ground."
"That's why I am the creative artistic girl who helps you be the best Lord of the Jungle you can be, Tarzan," she teased about her 'superiority' and kissed him.
Using the several hand drawn maps she'd made after each body-camouflaged reconnaissance mission, by nearly nightfall, with all four of them working together, the three-dimensional diorama had realistic looking-derricks, buildings representing housing, dining, work, and even the suspected location of previously unknown kennel. Everything was made from rocks or blocks of wood or other gathered jungle objects. Guard towers and even clumps of moss and bark with sticks like rifles representing the guards were placed on their diorama. They were careful not to use edible objects lest some members of the Council feel like they could help themselves to the diorama as a food table. The trail to the beach and other intra-site paths were drawn on the bamboo mat. Fires were made from little piles of pebbles gathered from the pond with fire-orange lily petals simulating the fires. Terk and Kirok were very helpful as well, though Terk was tempted to play with all the 'toys'. Tarzan enjoyed making the barbed wire fence out of thorn bushes. That was his idea. No one would miss that visualization.
"I'll make an artist out of you yet, husband," she praised and pecked him on the lips while he labored.
They were ready for the Council and enjoyed their well-earned meal of the area's local insects for the hard days work. They were stuffed.
When it got dark, Kirok and Terk wanted to love each other, having slept through their human siblings' time in the pond, and convinced Tarzan and Jane to do likewise in their nest. The couples thoroughly enjoyed the closeness of their side-by-side intimacy, having never actually done that together simultaneously.
Nestled in their mates' arms following their joint lovemaking, Jane reached out to Terk across their adjacent nests, and took her hand in a sisterly way reassuringly, "Isn't this wonderful?"
In a rare tender moment, Terk replied, "The best, sister. With the guys we love."
A thousand unblinking eyes carefully watched the two couples as they had made love and then slept, curious about why their land had been invaded. But for now they just watched.
...
Authors Note: For Tarzan movie fans, their tender ballet in the water before their lovemaking is a tribute to the Johnny Weissmuller and Josephine McKim's subtle nude swim scene in the classic "Tarzan and His Mate" (Josephine was a fell Olympic swimmer with Weissmuller and the body double for Jane star Maureen O'Sullivan).