Lydia
The four chimpanzees had appeared suddenly as Lydia's group had trekked through the forest. It had all been silent, eerily silent, when the dogs had begun to growl viciously and Roy had stood up in alarm, hackles raised and muscles tense. Lydia didn't have time to take out her bow before a chimp, slightly smaller than Roy and with bald patches all over his body, had dropped down from the trees above, looked at them as if to confirm that what he saw was real, and emitted a loud screech, which was soon followed by a series of similar screeches from three other chimps, who were still perched on the branches above the strange group.
Roy moved to stand in front of Lydia with the dogs flanking them, baring their fangs at the strangers. Orion had moved to cling onto Lydia's chest with a fierce grip on her jacket and had begun to cry from the screeching around him. A pathetic noise that tore at Lydia's heartstrings. The human herself tried to remain calm and show that she was no threat to the newcomers. It was clearly her they had a problem with, if their eyes following her every move was anything to go by. She held Orion to her chest and moved to stand closer to Roy, whose fur was still standing up in a threatening manner.
That's when fast movements could be heard through the trees.
With a dull thump, another chimpanzee landed beside the first one they'd encountered. He was tall, just as tall as Roy, and regarded them with a suspicious, yet surprised frown. More apes began to appear in the trees around them, all hooting and screeching angrily. After a moment of pause as he took in the group in front of him, the tall chimpanzee lifted his hand and all sound ceased. The only thing that could be heard was the dogs, who were still growling, their eyes trained on the large ape.
"Blaze, Storm, down!" Lydia's command was calm, yet firm, and the dogs visibly eased up. They were still on guard, but not openly hostile now. She wished the same could be said for the apes that surrounded them. Many were giving her less than friendly looks, while others openly bared their fangs at her.
The tall ape's eyes shifted from her to Roy, to the dogs and back to her again. He couldn't see the little chimp that clung to the human for dear life, but he could hear the soft cries. Lydia stepped out from behind Roy and the tall ape's eyes widened.
"Are… are you Caesar?" Lydia asked.
She tried to keep her voice calm and neutral. The other apes began to hoot in confusion but stopped once again when the tall chimp lifted his hand. He looked surprised by the question.
"Yes." He gritted out the word. It seemed hard for him to speak. He had a pleasant voice, though, and Lydia was glad he made the effort.
"Who. Are. You?" He had to take a breath between each word and Lydia idly wondered if he knew sign language. It'd probably be easier for everyone if that was the case, so she began to speak, while simultaneously signing what she was saying. It was difficult with Orion still clinging to her, though he'd stopped crying and was now looking around at the other apes in obvious fright.
"My name is Lydia and this is Roy and Orion. We've travelled far to find you."
She wasn't sure why she added that. Maybe to underline the importance of what she was about to ask of him, maybe to encourage him to listen in the first place. In any case, he signed for her to continue. So, he did know it after all! What a relief.
"I have heard that you are the leader of the apes here in the woods. It's the only place I have ever heard of where the apes have gathered and live together. We've come to ask you if you'd be willing to accept Roy and Orion here into your colony."
Roy's head whipped around to look at her sternly. She knew why. She had purposely excluded herself from her request and he was angry that she didn't even try. Before she had a chance to continue, Roy began to sign to Caesar while huffing somewhat angrily.
"Lydia too. She has no home and no one else! She is Orion's mother!"
This statement seemed to get Caesars attention. He looked at the chimp in Lydia's arms with confusion, though his eyes were softer than before. She had begun gently stroking Orion's back in an effort to make him stop crying and it seemed to have the desired effect. Caesar turned to Roy now, regarding the large male with a questioning stare.
"And what are you to the child? And to the human?"
The question hung in the air for only a second before Roy stood up even straighter and proudly answered:
"I have taken him as my son! I raise Orion with Lydia!"
Caesar
This was beyond confusing for Caesar, if not more so for the other apes in the colony. He had decided to take the strange group back to the village, where he could gather his council and make a decision based on their views. Still, he had so many questions running through his mind. Where had they come from? How far had they gone to get here? Did this mean there were other apes out there who, somehow, had also become smart? Why was this woman even with these apes? What was the relationship between this group's members actually?
Roy had proclaimed that he was the adoptive father of Orion. That he'd taken him in as his son. He also claimed that the human was the child's mother. This seemed a strange arrangement to Caesar. A human and an ape, raising a child as a pair? Very strange indeed. Unheard of, even.
Still, he was intrigued. As outrageous as this arrangement seemed, seeing a human and an ape working together like this tugged at Caesars heart. He had long hoped that apes and humans could live side by side in peace, yet hadn't had any example of this so far to show for. Even so, there was still the question of what to do with this strange little group.
They had come from the north-west, from a place the human woman called Minnesota. Caesar had only a vague idea of where exactly that was, remembering that he had seen it on maps in one of Will's books many years ago. But the fact that it had supposedly taken them about a year on foot to get to the Ape Colony told him that it must be far away.
It had surprised him immensely to learn that there were, apparently, other apes out there who had been exposed to the virus that Will had created. From the humans who got infected with it in San Francisco, it had spread far and wide, and apes who had come into contact with the infected humans, in zoos, laboratories, sanctuaries, had begun to become smart.
And got killed for it.
The grown male ape who travelled with the human, Roy was his name, had explained that he and several other apes were being cruelly treated while being tested on to find a cure. Lydia had stumbled upon the facility they were being held in by chance and broken them out. It had only been Roy and the ape child, Orion, who had survived when the human captors had discovered what was happening.
The human then took over and explained that she had seen Caesar and his apes' escape across the Golden Gate bridge on the TV five years prior and heard multiple reports about it until human civilisation had fallen apart. Having no better alternative than to hope against hope that they would still be alive somewhere in the Muir Woods, Lydia and Roy had decided to start the long journey to San Francisco.
Now, Caesar wouldn't turn away apes who wanted to join his colony. Apes needed to be together. That was what made them strong.
The only question was what he should do with the human.
Koba had been adamant on killing her the moment he'd seen her enter the village, even if they had taken her backpack and the weapons she carried. Maurice was currently going through her things to make sure she didn't carry anything with her that could endanger the colony. So far, he'd found nothing. They were all gathered around the Law-Stone of the village. The one that carried the symbol of the apes, as well as the rules they lived by. Cornelia was sitting beside Caesar with Blue Eyes in her arms. His son seemed slightly frightened of the strange, long-legged being standing before him, yet also openly curious. The new ape child in her arms had clearly caught his attention as well.
"Humans do not belong here! Not with ape! Dangerous!" Koba insisted for the umpteenth time. He was signing vigorously and kept shooting death glares at the human woman. Caesar had to admit he was impressed with how well she ignored it. Most humans, if not all, were frightened of Koba.
"She took care of an ape child for a year. Protected him and brought him here from far away. Why do that if she is dangerous?" Cornelia interjected while giving Koba a defiant look. Caesar liked that about his wife. She had a fire in her and was not afraid to speak her mind.
Cornelia had been wary of the human too. After all, Cornelia had been born in the wild and captured by humans, so she had good reason not to trust one on principle.
However, she could see that the child in Lydia's arms felt safest with the human woman. Orion's arms were around Lydia's neck and he looked curiously around from under her chin. He had, luckily, stopped crying, but he seemed to still be frightened by all the strangers that surrounded him.
"Humans play tricks! Humans are patient! If she stays here, all apes are in danger!" Koba insisted.
As Caesar looked at Rocket, he realised that he seemed to have trouble deciding what his opinion was on the matter. He was reluctant to accept the human too, Caesar knew. Though he had not agreed with Koba about outright killing her, he had bad experiences with humans as well, and thus, had his doubts about letting this one stay.
Maurice had been far more forthcoming. The fact that she had managed to take care of a small ape for so long, as well as gaining the favour of a grown male ape, spoke volumes according to him. Such devotion was rare, even among apes, he argued. Caesar had to agree with that.
Many more apes had voiced their opinion, but Caesar was still in doubt. Before he could interrupt the argument between Koba and Cornelia, the human caught Caesars eye and raised her hand, asking for permission to speak. The Ape Colony fell silent as the human began to simultaneously speak and sign.
"I see my presence here is unwelcome. I had my hopes but never really expected to be allowed to stay. I don't want to be the cause of unrest in this colony, Caesar, I hope you know that."
Her voice was calm and collected as she held her head high to meet his green stare. Koba huffed in disbelief while Caesar merely nodded. She ignored the bonobo completely.
"That's why I have decided to take this matter out of your hands. I'll leave on my own accord…"
Roy immediately turned to her and shook his head violently while grabbing her shoulder in a tight grip. Caesar observed the scene quietly with a calculating stare.
"No! You should not have to leave! Orion needs a mother! We are a family!" His hands moved frantically as he signed and Caesar saw a desperation in his eyes that had not previously been there.
"I'm sure there are at least a few females here who'd be willing to take him in, Roy…"
Lydia's voice was quieter and strained now. There probably was someone among the females willing to do that, Caesar thought, but as he looked at the child staring concernedly back and forth between his surrogate parents as they argued, he wondered if that really would be the best for the little chimp.
"It is not fair that you have to leave because you are human," Roy insisted stubbornly, "you are ape inside. That should be good enough."
What a strange thing to say, Caesar thought. He looked over at Maurice with a raised eyebrow, but the orangutan was clearly just as puzzled by the statement as Caesar himself was.
"It doesn't matter what I am on the inside, Roy. If people are not willing to get to know you, if they fear you and keep their distance, they're never going to see that in the first place." She retorted with a stern look.
"It can't be helped. I'm not going to stay where I'm not wanted." She looked down at Orion with sad eyes and Caesar was suddenly reminded of Will, his adoptive human father. It sent a pang of hurt through his chest that he hadn't felt in a long, long time.
The Ape King tried to ignore it as he continued to listen.
"Orion should grow up with his own kind. Have playmates his own age. Find a female he can be happy with someday. Here, he'll be able to have all this and I'm not going to stand in the way of that." She looked up at Roy again, but with much softer eyes than before.
"And you need to stay here with him. You're the only ape he knows and trusts."
Her voice was breaking and Roy put his forehead to hers in a comforting gesture. Caesar was baffled by the whole scenario, though his features didn't show it, his frown and hard stare ever-present on his face.
He decided it was time he made his decision known, though there wasn't much to decide, really, since she had clearly made her choice. He grunted loudly to catch everyone's attention.
"The human will leave," he signed, "but we should also help her, because she helped ape." He looked around at the other apes gathered there, daring any of them to challenge his decision. His stern gaze pointedly rested on Koba for longer than any of the other apes, but the bonobo only huffed sourly and turned his head. Most of the apes nodded in agreement to their leader's statement.
An act of such kindness should not go unrewarded.
"We will give one of our horses, to make her travel easier, and food for three days, to show our gratitude." Caesar signed. There was a murmur of agreement among the rest of the apes, though both Cornelia and Maurice still looked unsure about the decision to make Lydia leave.
Caesar turned his gaze to the human woman.
"Is there anything else you want to ask for?" He questioned. The woman titled her head slightly to one side in thought before answering.
"Actually, I think it'd be best if you kept the horse." She said thoughtfully and began to explain her reason for declining the gift before the apes could take offense.
"It is a very generous gift and I am honoured that you'd even consider it, don't get me wrong… but a horse would make it difficult for me to stay hidden on the roads. Other humans would notice me easier… some might even want to attack me to steal the horse," she reasoned.
"And besides," Lydia continued," I didn't bring Roy and Orion here to get rewarded. I did it because it was the only right thing to do. It was the only way I could think of that would let them live with other apes."
Caesar could see the logic in what she was saying. Yet there was one part of her statement that puzzled him.
"You don't want to be noticed? Why? Are you not going to try and find other humans?"
This time it was Maurice who asked. It seemed like he had thought the same as Caesar, as his brow was furrowed in confusion at this little piece of information. Who wouldn't want to be with their own kind?
"Let's just say that I have a good reason not to trust other humans. I'd rather be on my own." Was her cryptic answer.
Caesar couldn't read her expression as she said this. The moment Maurice had asked, her face had slowly turned into a stoic mask that Caesar, despite his year-long experience with humans in his childhood, had never been met with before. Roy, however, seemed to know what she was talking about, as he gave her a sideways glance and held his head low.
He was obviously coming to terms with the fact that his traveling companion was going to leave soon.
Perhaps Caesar would approach the ape later to inquire about this peculiar answer from the human. For now, he decided to accept her explanation and signed for some of his apes to retrieve the food they'd be providing for her journey.
The Ape King would at least give her that much.
