Transition Plan Chapter 123 - Branch Surfing - French Style

Yesterday's dawn was impressive but nothing like the coming break of day. It was almost eerie, with the sun rising and scattering its light through the mist in brilliant shafts of light blocked by limbs and foliage, giving it a star-like, heavenly quality. The evening rain had subsided, but leaves and branches dripped water with a clock-like cadence, and a nearby stream rushed with new vigor carrying the runoff from the night before. Daybreak gave two young Mangani couples a special start to a special day. The filtered sun fell on the sleeping foursome and its brilliance roused them from their comfortable sleep. They stretched and yawned, greeted each other, but each couple cuddled a few moments more together, savoring their closeness and the nice memory of their unions the night before. Jeanne enjoyed her husband spooning with her, and they just watched the sunrise and the moving shafts of light from their grassy nest.

Finally, Jeanne observed, "I could stay like this all day with you, sweetheart."

"I know. Me too," he noted, squeezing her just a little tighter, and she gave him a very contented trill.

He wanted something more with her to greet the day, and she felt that familiar pressure, but she sat up with purpose, and stated, "Sorry Korak dear, we have work to do."

"Oh? What?" Jack asked with a little disappointment at being turned down.

"Teaching me branch surfing."

"That's true, dear," he acknowledged.

"You'll love it cousin," Jana encouraged.

They rose from their nest and scampered off together across the river valley, and grabbed just a few nut and berry snacks for some energy as they went into the wild flower fields and adjacent forest. Jeanne was amazed by the vast floral field whose scent was so intense that it made her nose wrinkle in delight. Jack picked her an assorted bouquet.

She blushed with his romantic gesture, and took a deep breath of their fragrance, "Korak, thank you, cheri, this is sweet. This whole field: it's so beautiful. I've never seen anything like this in the jungle before."

"It wasn't like this long ago, dear. It was more forested and all these flowers were a grassland that was home to a gazelle herd. But it was leveled and turned into a barren, toxic oil drilling field by greedy men, according to Mom and Dad."

"Oh? How could that possibly be? It's so lovely now."

Jack proceeded to tell an abridged version of the story of the oilmen and his parents' epic battle, allied with the animals of the jungle against those men. and of Tarzan's family crisis to eliminate all the conspirators and corruption within the Clayton estate. Jack also explained how Tarzan discovered his heritage, and how he was conceived during his parents' first visit together in England and Scotland, which made Jeanne snicker. She was impressed that the birds of the jungle reseeded the area with wildflowers to honor the animals' victory over the intrusive humans.

But otherwise, Jeanne was stunned with the entire tale, "I… I had no idea anyone would ever do anything bad against your dear father and mother. They are so kind to everyone."

"Like Grandpa Porter always tells us kids: with great wealth and position comes great ambition and often great corruption. It could happen to us, too, dear."

Jeanne looked at the ground and said unsteadily, "It already happened to us, sweetheart."

"Oh… Yes. Of course. I'm sorry, Jeanne."

She smiled at him, and caressed his cheek, "Don't be. We're married now. Together, we could handle something like that. Just like your mom and dad did. The birds did such a beautiful thing here. No one would ever know this was a polluted drilling field."

"Every once and awhile you can get a whiff of chemicals, but that's not why we're here."

Their gaze turned away from the flower fields to the lush bright green labyrinth of vines and branches, and Jeanne commented, "It looks exciting. Like a roller coaster."

"More fun than a roller coaster, cherie."

She grinned, grabbed his hand, and exclaimed, "Then let's go!"

Climbing for the foursome was effortless and Jack took Jeanne to the area where his father and mother started to train him years ago. He instructed her how to branch surf safety, emphasizing the importance of begin careful. The story of how he almost lost his mother from her fall from the branches in her dress, and how that influenced how they now lived in the jungle, was sobering.

"I promise, dear, I'll be careful," and she teased, giving him a mildly suggestive pose, "Besides, I'm not wearing anything that can get snagged!"

"Don't I know that," he quipped, "Because I kinda like having you around me."

"Well that's mutual, jungle boy. I kinda like being around you, too," she giggled and pecked his cheek.

Jeanne noted that the texture of the branches and vines was really different in this part of the jungle. The flora was so densely packed here that it created sauna-like conditions like a gigantic terrarium. The humidity persisted in this forest, and it had clearly encouraged the growth of moss and algae over everything. There were other places in the Land of the Mangani where conditions were similar, but Jack was right. They had not encountered anything like this thicket and snarl of trees and limbs and vines in the central and eastern African jungles.

Jana and Karnath flashed past them on a more advanced course in the tangled branches above them, since they were already seasoned veteran branch surfers, taught by another expert – Jana's mother Terk. Over the years, Kirok preferred to stay on the ground. Jeanne watched their form. It really was a lot like pairs skating. Jack instructed her what to look for and how to position herself to surf. Stubbed toes and banged up legs and knees were the most common errors for beginners. Jeanne's innate steadiness and nimbleness as a dancer would help her considerably.

They balanced on a branch. Jack held Jeanne's hips from behind, looking down a moderate slope with some gentle curves along the way until the end point to this' bunny slope'. She tightened the rubber strap holding her glasses on her head securely, and nodded her readiness to go.

Jack instructed, "We'll go in tandem, and I can steady you."

While there was nothing going on sexually between them at this point, she joked, "You just want an excuse to hold my hips and look at me from behind, jungle boy."

He admitted, "Well, that's an added benefit."

"Teach me well and you will be richly rewarded later, Korak dear," she promised with a wink.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" Jack exclaimed and they pushed off suddenly with a whoop and a laugh from Jeanne.

Despite the moderate slope, the algae and moss growth was extremely slippery, compounded by the morning mists and the rain from the night before. As a result, they surfed unexpectedly fast. Jeanne was unsteady at first and Jack had to catch her a couple of times when she splayed her arms out to keep her balance when she lost her footing.

But they made it successfully to the end. She turned and hugged and kissed him enthusiastically while doing some characteristically excited bounces, "That, jungle boy, was thrilling! Let's do it again."

They repeated the beginners' run several more times, and she learned to lean with anticipation and to cope with bumps and knots in the branches that would throw her off balance, and to dodge any overhanging branches that would bruise her legs or body.

Pretty soon the morning was gone with many trips down the beginners slope and several other low risk runs. The foursome stopped for a break, and kept their brief meal light with fruits and some nuts from nearby bushes and low growth trees. They all napped together through the strongest heat of the day, and began their second practice session mid-afternoon.

Jack took her to a more complex course, "I think you're ready to move up another notch, Jeanne."

"Me too, teacher," she replied happily.

They tried a couple of harder turns and leaps, but not the 270 degree flat turn or any loops yet. That would be part of advanced lessons in the coming few days, depending on her progress.

…

As their days together continued, Jack and Jeanne maintained the discipline of steadily advancing difficulty on each run.

After mastering several particularly difficult parts of the course, including her first overhead loop, he praised her, "You're a natural for this, Jeanne. Pretty soon dear, you'll be ready for the 'honeymoon run'."

Soaking in the compliments humbly, letting him continue to repair her self-esteem, she asked, "Thank you dear, but what's that?"

"It's the long course all the way through the forest to the cliff and huge dead tree overlooking the valley. Mom and Dad made that run the first time years ago to celebrate their marriage with all their animal friends," he explained, and added details of his parents' honeymoon branch surfing celebration.

"That sounds like a lot of fun for them. I'm not sure I'll be ready for that 'flying toss' Mom C did, but I have another idea," Jeanne noted.

She explained her idea and it got Jack's interest.

So on the next hard banked-turn practice, along a straightway, Jeanne bent over from her standing position, and transferred all her weight to her arms, and did a handstand rushing down the course with Jack who steadied her legs and feet pointed straight up in the air. Her back was arched so she could see ahead. Jack had forgotten she was that flexible. Her hands and arms moved as effortlessly as her footwork. Jack had the wonderful benefit of holding her by her hips that were upside down right before him at eye level, and he had a spectacular close-up view of the front of her shapely dark, unshaven legs, luscious black curls, and curvaceous lower body. It was a welcome sight to behold as they surfed as a couple.

At the end of that practice run, he helped her stand back up, and praised her as she readjusted the strap on her glasses, "You were great. No one in our family has ever surfed in a handstand before."

"So you liked that?" she asked, knowing the view she gave him as she executed her stunt.

"Very much," he stated, with a raised eyebrow.

She kidded subtlety, "See? I told you I'd reward you."

Despite her tempting humor, both understood that her handstand was not intended to stimulate Jack, but added to their fun of branch surfing together. They practiced her surfing handstand several more times, and then they added the next move.

Racing down another straightaway after a hard turn, Jeanne shouted from her handstand, "Now, Jack!"

He reached for her waist and lifted her completely off the course and held her high over his head, with her steadying herself in a prone position above him with her arms outstretched and legs pointed straight back together. She looked like she was flying above Jack. From that position, they spun around in several 360 degree pirouettes with her held high over his head. When a vine came into reach, she grabbed it, pulling her away from him altogether. At the highest arc of the vine, she let go, somersaulted several times, and landed right back in his waiting arms.

She joked in a wide grin, "Mind if I join you, kind sir? You seem like a nice chap."

"Not at all, m'lady. Looks like you're going my way," he retorted, and they both laughed a little but continued on.

He effortlessly lowered her to the branch and they were back once again surfing in tandem like pairs skaters. From nearby, Jana and Karnath hooted and jumped on the limbs in total delight at what their human brethren accomplished.

Jack and Jeanne put the brakes on at the end of the run by dragging their feet along the branches, and they stood in the branch of a big tree, heaving in exhaustion and delight at their creative duet. Jack exclaimed, "Awesome dear. Mom and Dad would be very impressed."

Jeanne grinned with her husband's praise, but was feeling her fatigue, "Thank you, sweetheart. That was so much fun. I love branch surfing. I think that's enough for today. I'm worn out. You earned your reward, teacher."

"Right now?" he grinned in anticipation. It had been since the first night here they'd been together.

"Right now, dear," she said with a longing in her voice.

The moss was soft and thick in the fork of the tree they were standing next to, which gave them a little privacy, and was a perfect quiet place for them as they repositioned themselves for the intimacy they were seeking. What neither knew was that it was the same place Tarzan and Jane had enjoyed each other's pleasures over twenty years before during their own branch surfing practice together.

Jana and Karnath had started their way to rejoin their human cousins, but saw what was happening, and decided another couple of runs down the course far away from them would be a good idea.

…

Over the next ten days or so, Jeanne mastered the art of branch surfing, and added other moves to their runs which included Jack tossing and swinging Jeanne around his body, over his shoulders, and under his legs as they surfed. The human pair guided unerringly down the increasingly longer course. She could easily take the 270 degree horizontal flat turn where Jane had given her mother-in-law Kala the bouquet, and all the loops and jumps, plus her handstands and their overhead pirouettes.

They finally made it all the way with the final tandem vine swing through the dense thicket that ended where the giant root overlooked the valley. Jeanne stood in awe of the overlook that only two other pairs of human eyes had ever seen. She could see the river all the way to the ocean, framed by the peaks jutting up from the sharply carved valley and riverbed.

Jeanne hugged and kissed Jack enthusiastically, and her eyes were filled with the view of the valley as her reward for a perfect run through the jungle tangle, "Omigosh, Jack that was exciting! I love this. Look at this view! Is this all ours?"

He hugged his mate, "You were perfect, cherie. Yes, dear. It is."

She was simply astounded at everything around her and completely ecstatic to be the mate of the heir to the Land of the Mangani. If Jack had told her they would never go back to civilization again, she would be totally content to always be 'of the jungle'.

Jana and Karnath arrived soon after them, and the young female ape praised, "Wow cousin, that was pretty amazing. Those overhead twirls and body twists were the best you've done yet!"

Jeanne blushed with the compliments, "Well, it wasn't anything special. I just added some human dancing moves to our surfing."

Jana wasn't about to let her cousin belittle her talents by adding, "Jeanne, you must have been a great dancer."

Jack joked, "You have no idea how great."

Jeanne grimaced and jabbed him in the ribs.

"Jungle pervert," she scolded half-heartedly.

Jack decided it was in his best interests to change subjects, "So, Jeanne,'we came, we saw, we conquered' branch surfing. What should we do next?"

Jeanne turned to everyone and asked, "Well I don't know. You decide, cousins. This one was Jack's idea."

Karnath rubbed his chin in human-like thoughtful fashion, "Well… your first branch surfing deserves a special celebration. Do you like ants?"

"I love ants," Jeanne answered with a big grin, and patted her belly.

"Well there is a delicious ant hill up the valley only a few hours walk, and there's a great nesting area nearby," Karnath offered.

Jana added, "And Jeanne, dear cousin, eating the soldier ants make you want to… well… you know… a lot."

"Oh? Well now, isn't that interesting… that's sort of what I had in mind," Jeanne gave her husband a seductive glance.

"Last one there's a rotten crocodile egg!" Korak challenged them immediately with a shout.

No one could resist a racing challenge like that, especially Jeanne, and off they went in a huge rush.