A day in the life of Little Fari

One humid, overcast morning Fari and Inkesha woke up earlier than Little Fari who was still sleeping next to his adoptive mother. The baby had been a member of their family for a month now. Days ago he had learnt to creep like an adult. The parents having noticed their little one was still snoozing turned to face each other then, whispered with one another for a while then, embraced and showed appropriate, even for very young audiences if their son would witness them, forms of affection. After a short time the baby's light blue eyes opened and he regained his hearing having drifted into consciousness. He felt hungry, his first instinct was to tell his mother that, but he observed her and his father clinging tightly together. He pondered about whether he should disturb them or not. He chose to wait patiently. As he was lying in the nest, he was looking at his surroundings to make the time pass faster. He studied the leafy crowns of the trees, ranging from the hues of lime green to forest green, swishing in the wind. After losing interest in these plants his curious gaze shifted to the inhabitants of the bush beside the nest. His pet moth had left the day after she had been brought home but she left a surprise: eggs! Since then, they had hatched, their dwellers, mint green, fleshy, ravenous caterpillars had occupied the shrub. The critters were almost fully grown, they were only the size of two thirds of a giant gorilla's finger, but since Little Fari was quite small they seemed huge to him. The boy sat up to get a closer look at them. They didn't mind their watcher just continued diligently munching on the leaves. They started from a chosen point on one side then, moved their upper body to the other side whilst consuming the leaf, their heads tracing a curve in the process. After devouring a row of leaf parts like this they went on with the row in front of this one in the same way. The little albino gorilla leaned closer. The nearest caterpillar lifted its head and thorax then, opened and closed its dark brown mandibles while moving its 3 pairs of rust-colored true legs closer and farther from each other. Little Fari thought this display was sort of funny. Being motivated by his increasing, unsatisfied hunger he looked at his mother. Since she was still busy with her mate the infant decided to head towards Ishema. On his short journey he witnessed that Terk's mother's nest was vacant and that in King Kong's and Terk's nest she was sleeping next to Terk. He didn't know at first glance which was the daughter and which was the mother who breastfed him after Inkesha whose milk supply was still a little inadequate to fully end his hunger. The idea of visually checking the females' breasts didn't come to his mind. He just chose the lady sleeping next to the silverback and started suckling. Terkina began feeling a warm, wet, sucking sensation on her teat which annoyed and disgusted her at the same time.

"Kong, stop, that's nasty," she said a little sternly without opening her large, greenish brown eyes, desiring to fall back asleep.

The male became conscious and turned to his wife.

"Stop what," he asked.

"What you're doing, you know well what it is" replied Terk a little sharply, who still kept her eyes shut.

"I didn't do anything," he answered calmly.

Anger conceived in the female, her eyes popped open, and the negative emotion manifested on her face. She looked at her husband, but she was surprised to notice it wasn't him who was latched on to her. The male shifted his gaze towards her chest then, back at her. His wife looked at the source of the physical sensation, she was taken aback by its sight.

"Little Fari," she called.

The baby stopped trying to feed and raised his head. Confusion could be deducted from his facial expression.

"I'm not Ishema, I'm Terk. You mixed me up with Ishema. To tell us apart, look at our eyes or breasts. I have greenish brown eyes, Ishema's eyes are orange. My breasts are smaller because I have no milk, Ishema's are larger because they are full of milk," expounded Kong's mate. "Ishema is still sleeping, let's wake her up," she added.

"Okay. How are we gonna do that," enquired the white infant.

"With this," announced the young female after sitting up and picking up the multicolored feather she had found one time while foraging with Kong. "We're going to make her sneeze."

Terkina started tickling her mother's nose with the tip of the feather, King Kong and Little Fari watched with expectation. Ishema's nose twitched, but when her daughter directed the end of the feather into her nostril, Ishema sneezed herself awake. The boy found it interesting that it actually worked. The older female gave Terk a stern look, the little male giggled at this.

"Where is he," exclaimed Inkesha having noticed her boy's absence.

"I don't know," shouted Fari in an alarmed way.

"Little Fari is with us," hollered King Kong.

The parents hastily crept towards the silverback and the two females.

"Little Fari, you really had us worried," scolded the albino's mate. "You left us without telling us you want to go somewhere and where you want to go! Because of this we didn't know where you were when we saw you weren't in the nest! You had us scared! Next time, don't leave us without telling us that you want to leave and also tell us where you want to go."

"Why do I have to tell you if I want to go somewhere and where I want to go," enquired the baby.

"You need to tell us that because we need to go with you and know where you are. You're very little, you're not even a year old yet, you're vulnerable and also different from most of the troop because of your looks. You may not understand why but it's best that we escort you to places and know where you are," explained Inkesha. "So, when you want to go somewhere please tell us that and we'll go with you. This way we will know where you are and you won't end up scaring us like you did this morning," she added.

"Okay," replied the boy.

"Inkesha, Little Fari left you because he wanted milk from my mother," chimed in Terk.

"Oh, I was occupied with Fari, I understand now why Little Fari ventured away. Little Fari, the next time you're hungry and want milk let me know, even when I am busy and I'll feed you," said the brownish yellow-eyed female. "I tell you again, don't wonder away on your own from us but tell us that you want to go somewhere and where you want to go and we'll go with you."

"All right," responded the boy. "I'm hungry," he added.

The female sat down, picked him up and cradled him so that he could nurse. As the infant was suckling Terkina felt something get placed on her head: her mother put her tiara on her.

"Hey," yelled Terk in an angry way at her mother while glaring at her.

"Don't give me that ugly look. You messed with me first. If you mess with me I mess with you," said Ishema strictly with an emotionless face.

"She's got a point," replied King Kong.

Ishema's daughter lifted the headdress off and situated it on her husband's head.

"My, what a beautiful bride," commented Terk in a sarcastic way.

"How adorable," replied Inkesha.

Little Fari stopped feeding, glanced at the silverback for a short while then, continued where he left off. The male took off the tiara then, put it in its original place in the nest. The adults conversed as the infant was drinking Inkesha's then, Ishema's milk. After the baby satisfied his hunger his adoptive parents and he roved to an exotic, fragrant, citric fruit tree. The adults consumed tangerine-like reddish orange fruits having a diameter of a meter. The small albino frolicked around his parents.

"You eat a lot, Mommy," he commented.

The female made a slightly annoyed face at him then, continued filling her stomach. Fari, whose face formed a suspicious smile, beckoned so that the child would near him. The little one crept up to him.

"Sometimes, your mommy eats as much as I do," he announced quietly.

His mate, who was about to place a fruit in her mouth, immediately shut her mouth and glowered at him. An innocent grin formed on the white silverback's face. Not even a minute later the infant crawled up to Inkesha and requested to be held.

"Little Fari, not now," replied his adoptive mother. "I'm still eating, I'll hold you after I'm done."

"Mommy, but I want to be held now," he melancholically protested.

"Little Fari, I'm not going to pick you up now. After I have finished eating I will," she replied partially calmly and a little annoyed.

"I'll hold you if you want," offered the white adult.

The infant crept backward and let his opinion be known as Fari reached toward him.

"No, I want my mommy," he yelled on the verge of tears.

"Okay, I won't hold you then," replied Fari a little tensely. "Your mommy will pick you up after she finishes eating. If she doesn't eat enough you won't have enough milk to drink," explained the adult male trying to suppress the stress in his tone.

"I want my mommy, now," he howled even louder while sobbing.

His light blue eyes, reflecting sadness, were watering.

"She'll hold you after she's done eating, not now," responded his adoptive father, a fully grown version of him, dryly, looking down at him with a stone face.

The little albino started crying noisily. His parents exchanged nervous looks with each other and let the adopted offspring carry on. They knew well that they can't always say "yes" to a child nor let him have his way every time. If they were to do that the kid would become more and more unmanageable as he ages, more disrespectful to others and become a rebellious adult and not take orders from the troop leaders which would cause him to get into trouble. Inkesha finished consuming to her heart's content, she and her husband waited for their son to stop shedding tears.

"Little Fari, I can hold you if you want me to," said Inkesha.

The tired boy looked up at her without saying a word.

"Son, it's time that you know that you can't always have everything your way. I won't always hold you when you want me to. I won't always do things when you ask me to, neither will your father, nor others. I won't always do some things that you ask of me, neither will your father nor others. There are rules that you should follow that are for your own good even if you don't feel like obeying them. There's nesting time for example. If you would go to sleep past that time, you wouldn't get enough sleep and feel bad, you'd be sleepy and cranky. Remember when you stayed up way past nesting time? You remember how awful you felt the next day," expounded then, reasoned the female.

"Yes," answered the baby quietly.

"Do you understand that you can't always have your way? Do you understand that there are rules that you should follow and that these rules are for your own good," enquired Fari's mate.

"Yes," replied the infant the same way as he did previously. "Why didn't you hold me," he asked in an offended way.

"I didn't pick you up because I was eating. I wanted to finish eating without being interrupted. I thought that you should wait for me to get done. Since you still kept wanting me to pick you up when I didn't want to we decided it's time that you learn that you can't always have your way. I know, this was painful for you, but this was for your own good, we wanted to teach you a lesson, not to hurt you," explained Inkesha.

Little Fari kept silent.

"Now, do you want me to hold you," asked the lady gorilla.

"Yes," responded the boy.

The female picked up her adopted son and cuddled him. The white silverback crawled behind his mate, sat down, scooted as close to her as if they were fused together and hugged her tightly from behind. As he was squeezing her, his arms wrapped around her waist and belly, he rubbed his face against the side of her head. His wife had observed his more affectionate behavior ever since she and Fari adopted the baby. It wasn't quite clear to her why her mate was displaying this kind of behavior but she conjectured that it had to do with her being divided between him and the child. Inkesha turned her head towards the male's and returned the gesture. A while later they parted, the female placed Little Fari on the ground and the three wondered back to their nest. The little white male yawned, which indicated it was time for his nap. Inkesha scooped him up and cradled him. He soon dozed off. As he was snoozing, the adults were talking. When he drifted into deep sleep the female slowly and gingerly laid him in the nest.

"I'll be back soon," said Inkesha's husband. "I need to go."

"Okay," replied the lady.

Little did Fari's mate know that Keyta was watching her and her family from behind a shrub. The amber-eyed male slowly and gradually approached her, silently drawing closer and closer to her back. He had noted in his mind the albino silverback's new behavioral patterns which had started from Little Fari's addition to his family. He sat down behind his hapless victim and scooted nearer to her, they made physical contact: he nestled to her and embraced her, he held on tight.

"Fari, you're back already? You were quick," commented Inkesha quietly in a little astonished way. "Woah, not too tight! I just had breakfast. I don't want to lose it. Or you could hug under my stomach, if you want to squeeze me," she added.

Keyta slid his muscular, soot-colored arms onto her lower belly and embraced her tightly while rubbing his face against the side of her head. The female was enjoying this form of affection so much that she relaxed, closed her eyes and returned the brushing of faces to the male.

"Fari, we could do this more frequently," requested Inkesha amorously.

Right at this scene did arrive the enraged and disappointed Fari. What abomination unfolded in his sight could not be unwitnessed. The words that he heard could not be unheard.

"HEY!" roared the albino clamorously with a hideous glare on his beet-red face, his blue eyes vividly shining.

Keyta and Inkesha jerked their heads towards the quite angry male. Little Fari winced out of fright being forced out of sleep. Inkesha was shocked when she discovered her husband was standing over there. Up until that she had thought he was the one loving her. She cautiously turned her torso and head around as much as she was able to and glanced to the side. When she recognized Keyta she grabbed his wrists, swiftly and powerfully threw his arms off, popped up from her sitting place as if it were lava, urgently grabbed the baby and hurried towards her mate on threes, holding the infant in one arm against her chest. The white silverback speedily crept up to the normal-colored one, who ogled at him wide-eyed and remained in one place.

"Get out of our nest," he loudly and savagely yelled. "Don't you ever try to seduce and steal my wife away from me again, you immoral prick," he continued in the same tone and volume then, stood up on his hind legs and powerfully beat on his chest while emitting a roar. Keyta, shame-bitten and without saying a word, slunk back to his empty nest. Inkesha crawled to Fari still clutching the youngster in her arm. The color hadn't fully drained yet from the male's magenta face.

"I can't believe this," he disappointedly yelled in a quieter tone. "That was disgusting," he added more vociferously.

"Fari, I didn't know that it was Keyta behind me, I thought it was you and didn't even suspect it wasn't you, because you do what he did on a regular basis," explained his woman.

"I know," replied the albino adult dryly then, let out a frustrated sigh. "It still sickens me what I saw," he bellowed. "Touching you like that... I am going to tell his wife when she gets home," he added.

"Let's tell her together," suggested Inkesha.

"Good idea," answered the white one.

A while later Inkesha and Little Fari wondered to a place in the jungle where the herb grows which aids lactation. The albino adult watched his family depart, the baby had to crawl at a quick pace to keep up with his adoptive mother. He made sure to stay very close to her. As they made their journey those troop members who had hardly seen the infant ogled at him while speaking quietly to each other about him. Finally, they reached their destination. They weren't alone though: her mother, Mirindi, and her circle was present. These females were occupied with digging for roots or eating of the herb. Most of them had been raising infants or toddlers. The crisp snapping of dry branches on the ground, which indicated the nervous Inkesha's arrival, raised their attention. They weren't thrilled to see the female and her baby. The infant got stared at by multiple pairs of adult and child eyes at once. He perceived he was the center of unwanted attention, he even received a few strange looks and one stern glance, the latter from Indira. The boy slowly crawled under his mother to shield himself from the source of his discomfort and embarrassment. Inkesha noticed his altered behavior and swiftly found the cause: she caught her mother's acquaintances constantly eyeing him. She changed her facial expression to show disapproval and looked at her company. She decided to tear as much of the stems and leaves off the desired plant as she needed. After promptly implementing her move, she placed her loot into her mouth, then, traveled back home with her son. The male was surprised to see them back already and suspected something bad happened due to this and concluding from the plants in her mouth. He enquired from Inkesha about the events, the female expounded to him who she met and how they reacted to Little Fari. The youngster chimed into the conversation, his adoptive parents let him open up and listened to him. They comforted him, but told him he is going to get stared at, especially by strangers who have never seen an albino before, because he looks very different from an average gorilla, but he's not alone, Fari is with him. Inkesha chewed the fresh-picked herb as the white male played with the infant. Hours later not long after noon before the parents and the child were about to go foraging King Kong, Ishema and Terk, whose fur was wet, returned from their tight family get-together. They reported their time together which consisted of breakfast composed of rare and delicious fruits, meaningful conversation with each other while roving in the jungle not far from the troop then, swimming in the ocean. Besides the fun that they had they encountered Sharam on the way home. The aggressive, exiled silverback wanted to mate with Terk stating that she has a pretty face but she's fat but she'll do anyway. Kong tried avoiding a battle with him knowing that he would lose against him by lying that they had changed their mind about having children and after a lot unsuccessful trials Terk is finally pregnant, this is their first child and Ishema's first grandchild, and they don't want to lose it. Ishema was really pleased when she heard the news and questioned her daughter if this is true. The younger female had to mislead her and answered "yes." As a result Ishema became excited and was over the moon. Sharam then, said that he wants to court with Terk's mother after criticizing her exterior the same way as her daughter's. He also added that if his request to mate with either one of them is denied he will end Kong's life. Ishema intervened and said that she doesn't want her grand baby to grow up without a father and her daughter to lose her mate with who she has been with for several years. She volunteered to engage in courtship with the rogue male. After that was carried through Sharam let the party go. When Terk's husband, Terk and Ishema were out of hearing distance from the evil one moreover very near to their band, Kong and Terk fondly thanked Ishema for her sacrifice then, told her the truth about Terk's state and the reason why they had lied to Sharam and her. Ishema, although she felt disappointed, understood the couple. Little Fari, getting bored of listening to the dialogue went to one female to be picked up and held then, requested the cradling from another female. This went on until Inkesha decided to occupy him by playing with him. After the silverback, his wife and his mother-in-law finished describing the events that happened to them and warned Fari and Inkesha not to venture away from the troop when Inkesha is near estrus or in estrus, Fari and Inkesha also shared with them the things that happened to them so far, including Keyta's unfaithful behavior. When hearing the story about the cheating male the ladies were surprised, Kong wasn't taken aback by this, but strongly disapproved his friend's behavior. He let his listeners know that Keyta had been having a difficult time adjusting to his new life since Kurudi was divided between the baby and him. The amber-eyed male also blamed his wife for spending too much time with their daughter and neglecting him. He also started regretting getting into a relationship with his female in the past and letting go of Inkesha so easily after the incident. He wanted more attention from his mate and wanted her to spend more time with him. King Kong also mentioned that he had suggested to the troubled male to explain his problem to Kurudi. He didn't think Keyta took his advice. Days had passed and it seemed that specimen had come to the point where he was trying to get what he wants from another female or females, it wasn't clear to Terk's husband whether he was doing this with Fari's mate only or not. Kong agreed with the idea of telling the unfaithful one's mate about what her husband had done but suggested trying to get Keyta to open up about his problem while reporting the happenings to her in order to help solve his problem. The boy, out of curiosity, asked some questions regarding the conversation. He wanted to get acquainted with the definitions of mating and unfaithfulness, the causes of the latter. He was also curious about the details of the situation of a male being divided between a baby and his mate. The grown-ups quenched his curiosity the best that they could. The group of six set off to find food and have lunch together. Little Fari felt good among these acquaintances and liked being with them because they treated him the way an average one of his species was treated and were kind to him moreover, Ishema was like a grandmother to him instead of Inkesha's own mother. After Fari's wife and Terkina's mother breastfed the little one, Ishema babysat him as Fari and his life-mate reported Keyta's behavior to Kurudi in the presence of Keyta, and Kong and Terk told their story about encountering Sharam to the elders. In the late afternoon, after every troop-member had consumed his or her dinner there was an assembly. These get-togethers were quite rare and their causes ranked as crucial for everybody. Everyone gathered around the older, battle-scared silverbacks, whose fur shined with a hue of silver-grey not only on their backs but on their thighs, buttocks, shoulders and napes of their necks. One of them reported King Kong's, Terkina's and Ishema's encounter with Sharam out loud to the band. Another completed his report where it was necessary. A third one shared the elders' safety measures regarding these encounters. He advised females not to leave the troop on their own but with the company of at least two silverbacks. He also added that females should not leave the band when they are near or in heat to prevent unwanted pregnancy. He suggested that even males should have at least two silverbacks in their company when going further from the band. After he was finished a fourth elder strongly recommended that any offspring let it be anywhere between newborn and older teen should not leave the troop at all even in the presence of adults. The silverbacks of older age finished sharing their information, the band members dissembled, everyone returned to their nests. Fari and Inkesha got ready for a night's sleep in their dwelling place which they had expanded previously so that there was room for three. After they had believed their baby had fallen asleep they turned towards each other and embraced. Minutes later they suddenly felt something forcefully wedge itself in between their touching bodies which startled them. Judging by its size they deducted it was Little Fari, who was now making his way towards their heads after they scooted further from each other so that he wouldn't be scrunched. They cuddled him for a short while then, Inkesha placed him back on his sleeping space. The child soon drifted into sleep, from that point the parents interacted with each other then, fell asleep.