Two years had passed, and very much had happened. For one, many of my friends had settled down, a few even had their own children. Ash had a daughter now. A cute little girl with dark fur and her father's brown and green eyes. She was much like Ash, but she had her mother's patience. Her name was Xena. Brent and Deja had also had a child, a cute little boy named Emory. He was quite the opposite of his mostly soft spoken parents. He craved adventure, and he got many other children in trouble when he convinced them to go along with his antics. Lisa and Thade recently married, just a few months ago. So far they've not given any hints to having their own children, but Deja and I suspected it won't be too much longer. But there was a couple who had just announced a new pregnancy.
Caesar and Cornelia were having another baby.
We were all ecstatic for them. Especially Haze, he couldn't wait to have a little sibling, besides, he loved children. Though he was only just transitioning out of childhood and was skipping between prepubescence and adolescence, he loved the younger kids, and they loved him. He and Harley are still as close as ever, both of them were learning to fish and forage, and from what I've heard, they're both excelling. I was happy for the both of them, soon enough they'd be joining Caesar and Blue Eyes' hunting bands to learn close and personal.
Sage and River had grown very much, and they were both very talkative. Many of the newest generation were, each one speaking aloud more and more. Many apes' speech had improved very much, with the help of our human friends. Many had a kind of silent agreement, those who were willing to accept the help got to learn from humans how to pronounce certain words correctly and more easily, and in exchange many apes taught humans how to sign. My human anxiety had gotten much better, no one had had the guts to try and physically hurt me, though I had been talked down to before. I ended up surprising myself, I had stood up for myself for the first time in my life.
Living with the apes had changed me, made me braver, more confident, and it allowed me to end the sneering and teasing by myself. Once the message had gotten across to the few who had the courage to disrespect me in such ways in my own home that I wouldn't stand for it any longer, I was left alone. What really shocked me, was the fact that a few even apologized to me. That had been the last thing I had expected, but who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I accepted their apologies, although timidly. I didn't want to have that baggage on my shoulders, all that was over and behind me, and if they wanted to recant for their misdeeds I wasn't going to stop them. In all honesty it was a great relief.
My twins were in school now, being taught by Maurice. The wise old orangutan had needed to up his game in the teaching business, as the children just kept learning faster and faster. The twins had grown very much, and while Sage was still small, she had caught up with her brother greatly. River was curious about everything, he was always trying to get into things, and he spent a lot of time questioning things. Not in a bad way, though, he wanted to know how everything worked and why everything was. Though always trying to answer his questions got tiring after a while, Blue Eyes and I were proud of him anyway. Sage had a thirst for knowledge as well, but she was quieter about it than her brother. She would rather try to figure it out on her own first before asking certain questions.
She had shaken her shyness off to an extent. She was shy around strangers, but once she got comfortable, she was humorous and charming. River had those traits as well, though he wasn't timid like Sage, he greeted openly and warmheartedly. Sage had retained the irises she and I shared, a part of me had wondered if maybe they would turn green and stay green, but like the majority of me had assumed, they hadn't.
River was very protective of his sister, and vice versa. They reminded me very much of the relationship I had with both of my brothers, and I couldn't be more proud in the close bond they shared. My son had grown very much, and while he wasn't overtly large for his age, I couldn't help but be prided by his growth, both mentally and physically. He loved solving problems in his head, but the problem with that was he was also good at sneaking around obstacles, and Emory's influence had turned the child into an avid prankster. You can imagine my mixed feelings towards that.
At this moment, I was happily asleep beside Blue Eyes. Or at least I had been, until a weight climbed onto my hip.
"Mom," a voice whispered.
I breathed in and tried to go back to sleep, but my daughter tried again. "Mama, wake up."
"Don't give in, Rain. She'll go back to sleep." Blue Eyes groaned from behind me, woken by the sound of Sage's voice. I don't know if it was the protectiveness, but Blue Eyes had turned into a very light sleeper.
I sighed and rolled onto my back, Sage sliding to sit on my tummy. "What is it, Sage?"
"You gave in." Blue Eyes moaned, flipping to his back as well, his hands went to slid down his face dramatically. I gave his arm a half hearted swat and rubbed an eye, trying to pay attention to my daughter.
"Can I go play with Pericles and Harley?" She said, her fingers tracing the scars on my stomach.
I paused. "What time is it?"
"Um...sunrise..."
"Why so early?"
"Don't know." She signed.
I raised a suspicious brow. "Blue Eyes." I lightly shook his arm. He had started snoring again, but when I shook him, he snorted awake and propped himself up on his elbows. He grunted tiredly in acknowledgment.
"Sage, Peri and Harley. Yes or no?" I sighed, wishing for just ten more minutes of sleep. A couple I didn't know had a child two days ago, and I had accidentally spent longer than I intended at the celebration last night. Blue Eyes was there even longer than I, so I knew he must have been aching for more sleep.
"Where's River?" He asked groggily.
"Went with, Uncle Ash." Sage answered with her small little voice. "Can I go?"
"Where?" Blue Eyes asked, not seeming to recall my recent words.
"With Peri and Harley." The both of us answered in unison.
"I suppose. Be smart" He hinted at her to not pull anything. I don't think either of us could deal with scolding our children this early.
"Thank you!" She squeaked, leaning down to hug me.
I rubbed the back of her shoulder, "thank your father." I reminded her.
"Thanks, papa." She moved to him and kissed his cheek after giving him a hug. He reached up and cupped her upper back in return before she darted out of the hollow, the vines swinging in her wake.
Both Blue Eyes and I let out a breath in unison and rolled onto our sides, facing each other. Blue Eyes pulled me into his arms and I kissed his throat. "More sleep?" I murmured.
"You always know what to say." Blue Eyes sighed humorously, letting our heads rest together.
I smiled and nuzzled into him, relishing in his warmth and the comforting pine sap scent of his fur. He adjusted his grip on me and we drifted off together in the dimly lit hollow.
-two hours later-
When I awoke again, it was to the feeling of something pressed to my mouth. I recognized the feeling immediately, and started returning Blue Eyes' kiss softly. I reached up and lightly rested a finger on his jaw as the kiss continued. When he pulled away, I opened my eyes and loosely laid my arms against his shoulders, my fingers lacing lightly behind his head.
"Morning, Bird." He said from atop me.
"Good morning, Blue." I answered, turning away to yawn into my pillow. "The twins are still out?" I asked. He nodded with a grunt.
"We should probably go check on them, huh?"
"Probably."
"Please don't let anything be on fire." I muttered as we got up. I found a shirt to put on and ran my fingers through my hair quickly. I paused when I felt Blue Eyes comb his fingers through the underside of my hair. I turned around and fixed his bed-head while he continued to groom out my hair. When we were both satisfied with our work, we twined our fingers and made it out into the sunshine.
My eyes scanned the village for my two troublemakers, but I didn't see them. Blue Eyes and I exchanged a glance and started going around the village, asking if anyone had seen either of the twins. We didn't have any leads until Maurice found us.
"Looking for the twins?" He asked.
Blue Eyes nodded and I replied, "Yeah, have you seen them?"
He pointed us towards the healing hut, and Blue Eyes and I were immediately alarmed. Why would they be there? Both of us hurried toward said building, but in the back of my mind, I noted that Maurice didn't seemed particularly alarmed, but of course, my mind pushed that little thought aside and started thinking of ways they could have gotten hurt. They'd banged themselves up before, and though I had no evidence to believe they were terribly ill, I still couldn't help but think of every possible way they could have been injured.
When we made to the hut, I spotted Sparrow inside, and she told us that they were upstairs. That immediately calmed me down, the upstairs floor was mostly used for training apprentices and such. But neither had thus far shown any interest in becoming an Oba, so that left Blue Eyes and I to wonder why they would be up there. We climbed the wooden ramp that had been built to connect to the second floor, and it wasn't hard to find them after we breached the next floor.
A soft smile drifted over my features when I seen a group of children sitting straight and erect, listening to old Deuce's lecture. Blue Eyes and I exchanged a smiling glance, and we stepped to the side to listen in on the rest of the old Oba's words of medical wisdom. Of course none of it was very advanced, but still, the small group of maybe six children listened intently, soaking up every word. Blue Eyes and I leaned against a wall, our fingers laced once again. But soon we had to draw back, because the lecture drew to a close and like ants, the children dissipated.
"Whoa, hey there. Where's the fire?" I laughed, stepping in intercept my son and daughter as they darted past.
"Mom! Hi, what doing here?" River exclaimed when he jumped into my arms.
"Looking for you. Have you been here this whole time? I thought you were with Ash." I replied, glancing at Sage, who now resided in her father's arms.
"I was. But we came here." He signed.
"Any reason?" Blue Eyes asked.
"Curious." Sage, River and myself chimed in unison.
All four of us chuckled, and Blue Eyes wrapped an arm around my waist, his other adjusting so Sage could sit in the crook of his arm. I felt a strange concoction of sadness and pride twinge at my heart at the thought that she wouldn't be that small forever. And neither would River. It made me tighten my grip slightly around him. He wouldn't be this small forever either. He had the build of both his father and grandfather, and I knew, even in his young age, that he would without a doubt have the burly build his bloodline included.
"There's the happy family." A voice chimed. We turned to see Deja approaching, her mask doing nothing to conceal the smile in her evergreen eyes.
"Hi, Deja." I smiled.
"Hi, Auntie Deja." The twins chimed together.
"Hello River, little Sage. How are you both?" She replied, happily greeting my children. Remember when I mentioned that the colony's verbal speech had improved? Deja was no exception.
"Fine, thank you." They said, once again in stereo. I wasn't sure if it was the twin bond between them or not, but they had a habit of saying things at the same time. In any other case, I would have found it comically cliché, but as their mother, I was biased, and found it completely adorable. Another thing about them I was prideful about was their manners, Blue Eyes and I had started teaching them the importance of good manners very quickly after they were born. There was no way I was going to raise a rude child, let alone two.
"Do you two happen to know where Emory is?" She asked, taking up an opportunity to check on her son.
The twins exchanged a glance and shook their heads. "Sorry." Sage signed.
"That's alright." She nodded. "I was just checking." She signed back. (ITALICS)
"Want us to keep an eye out for him?" I offered.
"Would you?" She smiled gratefully.
"Sure." Blue Eyes nodded.
"Thanks guys. I should go. People always getting scraped up." She shrugged with a smile.
"Okay. Say bye." I added to the twins.
"Bye Auntie Deja."
"Bye."
"See you later, guys." She waved, giving a wink to the children.
With that, we excited the building. "Did you guys eat breakfast?" I asked.
"A little. Not much hungry then." River answered.
"Hungry now?" Blue Eyes asked.
River paused to think about it. "Hungry now."
"What about you, little love?" I turned to Sage as we walked. She nodded her head and leaned against Blue Eyes' chest
"Breakfast for lunch it is." I chirped happily, smiling at the thought of food. You'd think that with the feast that had been laid out last night, I would have eaten my fill. But, alas, my old enemy of forgetfulness had kicked in and food spaced my mind completely. But now I was working up an appetite, and rabbit and some nuts sounded perfect right now.
Okay, so! Here's the sequel, I hope to hear what you think as this progresses. I'll do my best to update frequently, but school and all that other important crap come first. I really hope you enjoy the story :)