(If you've read the new chapter on A Gentle Touch, don't worry, you're not paranoid if you see the obvious similarities to this one. This chapter starts the exact same, in fact. They drift in different directions near the end, however - this chapter officially marks the split of the time-lines.)
Like the typical Maurice, the orangutan had to get the last word in, but despite herself, Haley hoped for more, and something less vague than what he had told her. Nevertheless, her wishes went unheard and only silence loomed across the troop as they returned home without any more interruptions.
"—Haley, Caesar's friend, could get lost along the way."
Over and over again, his words repeated themselves like a broken record in the young woman's ear, but, like a child who's confused by her parent's Shakespearian quote or the restaurant's fortune cookie, Haley couldn't understand what he meant. Blissfully ignorant, she touched her face with great interest, trying to feel some trigger to Maurice's hint on how she was changing. Naturally, she knew she has changed quite a bit, the burning sun and passing years have taken care of that, but she was growing, so change should be expected, so what was his point then – did he mean to say she changed in personality or soul, or maybe in spirit and beliefs? Of course not, she concluded – she hasn't changed at all. Again and again, she kept denying her intuition's search for the truth, and only a high-pitched screech clawing at her ears was enough to snap her out of her thoughts, the sound startling enough to make her fall the rest of the way down her horse as she was about to get off. Through Maurice's distracting and amused gibbers at her clumsiness, Haley took nearly no time at all before she saw the source of the sound dangling from Caesar's home about the village, waving to grab his attention in case her bellowing didn't. She heard Maurice grow silent as soon as he saw what she did, and while they watched their king rush up the spiral to his home, Haley felt her stomach turn – just like the rest of the troop, Haley knew from the midwife's alarming sound that she was not the bringing of good news.
And so, with Koba still not returned from his supposed hunt, Haley never went back to her own home and simply sat with the orangutan by the school, her anxious eyes permanently glued to the tree house. She still felt something was off about Koba's leaving, and she still wondered what Maurice's words meant, but her worry never wavered, nor did it allow other thoughts to bother her, though she never left to go see if Cornelia was alright either. Like Maurice knew, and like Haley knew Koba most likely assume the opposite to, it was not because of some hatred towards the queen ape that Haley didn't go see her, but rather the opposite. She will go visit later, when Cornelia's better, she decided – she knew the female ape would hate Haley seeing her in such a condition. Despite the atmosphere, Haley felt her lips pull into a sad smile at the thought; she could see why Caesar fell for Cornelia: she was stubborn, strong-willed, and always stood for what she believed, no matter what anyone else said.
Still, the fleeting moment of affection quickly shattered when a familiar uproar broke out at the village gates once again, the sound quickly setting Haley's teeth at edge. After almost no time at all, the same image unfolded in front of her: Malcolm shoved into everyone's line of sight like he was being put on trial. However, her scowl quickly faltered when her eyes flickered over his appearance – even from afar, she could see that he was in no worse state than when she left him at the river; in fact, he was standing tall on his feet, unlike the last time where he was dragged through the mud and kept of his knees. Bewildered, Haley sent Luca behind him a surprised and questioning look, which went unacknowledged when the large gorilla only grunted and looked away. Again, her thoughts were rendered irrelevant when something interrupted, but this time alarm bubbled up her throat, the sight of Rocket getting ready to go alert Caesar sending her shooting to her feet, Maurice's warning coo going unnoticed. "Wait!" Haley called to the chimp in a whisper as quickly as she could, and to her delight, she was able to stop him before he was able to steal Caesar from his ill wife – she knew Caesar would have felt a duty to his people and would have wanted to speak with Malcolm, and she knew Cornelia would have allowed him to do so, neither being something Haley would allow. Yet, when Rocket froze and gave Haley a look that demanded a much-needed explanation, her explanation went lost to her; instead, she simply kept her eyes on him with a silent plea flickering in their depths. She couldn't let him alarm Caesar; even the king of apes shouldn't leave his wife in that condition. No one could've been more surprised than she, however, when she saw Rocket's tense muscles slack under his nearly fur-less skin and he glanced to Malcolm with a defeated look. Without words, Haley somehow knew he understood, and somehow knew permission was given for her to do as she pleased. Though, as she made her way over to the human male, she needed to force herself to ignore the smoldering glares from the apes around her, even though her gaze appeared no different towards the older man.
"I need to talk to Caesar!" Malcolm insisted immediately, and although Haley almost wanted to commend him on his uncanny ability to jump right to the point, his sudden exclamation made her eyes darken at his daringness. Still, she could see the strength and determination in Malcolm's eyes, the one she knew bought Caesar's approval the day he arrived – it was the look that told the king of apes exactly how much Malcolm would do to protect his people when it's necessary.
This didn't matter.
"You can't." Haley spat venomously through the thick silence around her, but still nodded for the Gorilla Guards to ease back, which they did with one or two reluctant steps back. "He said no guns – that was his only condition." Haley explained, "You knew that and you broke it, so, seeing as we don't have a door, feel free to hit yourself on your way out."
"Carver's just an idiot!" He merely continued before attempting a quick step to his side, one that Haley countered with ease, "Please, will you just let me talk to him?" Haley wasn't sure if it was his tone or his choice of words, but they somehow made her eyes narrow suspiciously – he couldn't, could he?
"Like I said, you can't." She threw back carefully, skillfully structuring her sentence like a hook and rod so she could fish for the exact response she was looking for, "He's tending to his mate; she's ill." As if summoned by a medical term, Ellie was suddenly shoved into the picture a few feet behind her husband – she must have followed him – but it was Malcolm's look of dismay and confusion that captured Haley's attention instead. In just that one look, she knew she was right.
"But aren't…" He spoke carefully, though he unknowingly made Haley's heart clench and her blood run cold in horror – she never expected him to speak out about- "You said… I thought you were Caesar's mate?" Just for a moment – a single second – there was a pause in the air around them, everyone frozen while Haley's face grew beet red in shock and embarrassment, but time soon had to tick forward. It was almost as if the troop needed a moment to process Malcolm's words or to concur with whoever was next to them that they heard correctly, but as soon as the scenario processed, outrage screamed across the clearing in terrifying screeches and hoots. Even through his concern for the paralyzed woman, however, Maurice felt a tad bit amused by Malcolm's assumption, not at all surprised with how familiar the two are – though, this amusement quickly dwindled with every minute that the mob grew more out of control. Luckily, Haley wasn't unaffected – in fact, fury and frustration could physically be seen boiling to life inside of her, and finally, she had enough, her blush long-since faded away.
"Shut up!" She snapped at them over her shoulder, and to her own shock, the colony actually listened – some type of involuntary response, she gathered – and allowed her to circle back to Malcolm, just in time to see him relax after the fright the exclamations gave him, "He's our leader, so of course he's not my mate; though, you've had a run-in with the ape that is my mate."
"Please, Haley." Ellie quickly intervened and openly changed the subject, even though Malcolm seemed more curious about Haley's love life than anything else, "We need to talk to Caesar." Without pause, Haley wanted to deny their pleas again, but the desperation in her voice set the hairs on the back of Haley's neck on end. Forgetting that she had no power in the village, she felt torn between allowing them to go see Caesar or not, her jaw clenching while she bit back a lazy answer. Of course, she already knew at the river that they were clueless to Carver's impulses, and so, she knew they could be trusted, but they were human, so could they really be trusted or was it just her human mind giving them leeway. And so, as if searching for answers in the crowd, Haley glanced around her, studying one ape's face and them another, and in no time at all, her earthy orbs landed on a pair of tiny green spheres – Maurice.
"—just be careful which ape's example you decide to follow—"
Maybe, she wondered…
Of course, she already knew what Koba would do: he'd not only deny their offer, but he'd toss a spear at their backs as they were leaving, so what about Caesar? Would he allow them into the village again if it wasn't his son that was attacked, given that it wasn't them who caused it, or would he send them away? Would he remember how he struggled to keep his people safe and think about how the humans are trying to do the same thing? Would he think about the potential danger his rejection would cause for the village – his village – or would it not matter to him? And, whether it's the latter or the first, will she follow him… or her mate?
Eyes flickering away from Maurice's stare, his knowing look making it clear that he knew exactly what she was thinking, she looked back to Malcolm and Ellie, and their nervous looks made her throat grow dry. This was their last hope, she recalled suddenly. Honestly, what was she supposed to do – she knew Koba would have her head if he ever found out that she even thought about this, but still she knew exactly what Caesar would do and what she wanted to do, both the same thing. Yes, she knew the king of apes was engulfed by his own anger, still steaming after the incident at the river, but if it hadn't had been his son, she knew he'd still waver in sending them away, and then there was a nagging suspicion that told her it was necessary to make the three of them meet again – Malcolm, Caesar… and Ellie.
'Ellieshe thought with realization so close to the surface of her mind but never seeming to brake the barrier of subconscious to conscious – still, she knew the woman was her reason for wanting them to pass. And usually, her intuitions were frighteningly accurate.
And so, even though she knew hell will rain down on her for it, Haley lowered her head in defeat, and slowly – shamefully slow – she stepped out of their way, never meeting their gaze. Hesitantly, she signed for Rocket to lead the two to Caesar's home, but no surprise, even her friend paused in doubt"Trust me… please…" She continued saying in the hand language that the other humans could not understand and felt a relieved sigh brush pass her lips when Rocket forced himself forward and did as asked. Only when he already led them halfway up the spiral to the tree house, Haley's worried eyes following them closely, did furious and appalled gibbers start to build through the quiet – she was a human, so she had no right to decide what they should do – and who other than Koba's close friend, Grey, to speak out against her. After all, everyone knew the chimp shared views almost identical to Koba's, and so, the limp with which he stomped towards her with was the most predictable thing that day; not that it counts for much, given all the day's twist and turns. "Koba's mate—" He signed with his apish bark, "—not Caesar's second!"
Unlike the cowering he wanted, however, only a furious and almost apish hiss was tossed back at him, his body involuntarily jumping back when Haley ducked at him, as if daring him to attack. She was already hurt with Malcolm's mistake and furious with the fact that Koba was going to be angry with her later, so she really didn't need to hear his disapproval over the matter – no one's, actually. And so, when he only kept his distance, almost looking disturbed by her sudden warning, Haley felt satisfied, just in time for exhaustion to overtake her again. Dragging her feet back to the hill beside the school, Haley slouched next to the Orangutan and drew a deep, calming breath, more grateful than ever that he decided to keep his comments to himself. When will the day get easiershe prayed to know.
Sorry for the long wait, but here you guys go! Trust me, I've only been busy. Just ask the heathens on the PotA chat I am a part of; I barely have time to chat! ( )
