Caesar

The next day Caesar was riding his horse down towards the old, hydraulic dam together with Blue Eyes, Lydia, Rocket and Maurice. The group of six humans was leading them to the place they wanted to go, followed by several ape guards keeping their distance. Cornelius was clinging to Blue Eye's fur, looking curiously at the strange sites and people that surrounded him. Normally, such young ape children were not separated from their mothers – or taken out of the village, for that matter. But Cornelia was getting sicker and had needed the respite.

Caesar's frown deepened at the thought of his wife's sickness. This morning she had trouble getting out of the nest and her wheezing was only getting worse. It didn't matter what herbs Sparrow provided her with or how much Tinker tried to keep the Ape Queen comfortable by adjusting and padding the nest. Cornelia was deteriorating. Fast.

He gritted his teeth in concerned frustration. All he wanted right now was for the humans to be done with their task as fast as possible so he could return to his hut and take care of his wife. Sometimes, he really cursed his position as leader of the colony and the time it took from his family.

Caesar looked over at Lydia in thought. He had pulled her aside after Malcolm had left the village, inquiring about how Cornelia had been doing while he had been gone with the other apes. Her report had done nothing to comfort him. Still, he was glad that the woman was honest with him and was there to keep an attentive eye on his wife, even if it pained her to see one of her dearest friends in such a state. It warmed Caesar's heart to know that his wife had found such a devoted friend – and in a human, no less.

Now, if only Blue Eyes could do the same…

The Ape King pursed his lips at the thought. His relationship with Blue Eyes was slipping through his fingers like so many tiny grains of sand, and he had absolutely no idea how to fix it. The adolescent refused to listen and Caesar could only look on as his son had begun to prefer Koba's company rather than his own father's.

Caesar sighed tiredly as he looked ahead again, focusing on the humans in front of him.

He trusted Koba like a brother. He was an ape and had stood by his side for many years now – even saved his life a few days ago. But his open dislike for humans had a clear effect on the Ape Prince that concerned Caesar. He did not want his son to develop the same, all-consuming hate that resided in Koba – it could only lead to destruction.

These musings were still bouncing around in his mind as they arrived at the dam and the humans began working. Lydia kept a respectable distance, he noticed. She dismounted her horse but never joined the rest of the humans in their effort to clear out the workspace, choosing instead to prowl around the area like a restless predator in an unfamiliar environment. Her movements were calculated and it was clear that her eyes followed each individual with open suspicion. Caesar's stomach flipped at the sight.

Had she really been so thoroughly conditioned to reject her own kind? True, the one they called Carver had shot Ash and was worth keeping an eye on, but did the rest of the humans really deserve such mistrust? Had her time with the apes left her unable to connect with her own species?

Just as that thought passed his mind, Caesar noticed Carver approach Lydia as she stood near the water, casually placing himself well within her personal space. The ape saw how Lydia's body language changed immediately, her entire posture tensing as she stared straight forward. Carver didn't seem to notice or care as he began to speak.

"So, you live with these… apes, huh?" His voice was low, perhaps trying to speak so that the apes nearby wouldn't hear. They did, and Caesar noticed how Rocket straightened himself on his horse and Blue Eyes fidgeted with Cornelius' fur.

The way Carver eyed Lydia up and down made Caesar want to bristle. He almost expected the woman to inch away from the human male to distance herself from him. True to her stubborn nature, though, Lydia stood her ground. She was not one to back away from anything.

"Yes." She answered curtly.

The man lifted an eyebrow at her, openly eyeing her cleavage. Her jacket had been left open due to the humid spring weather, and Caesar did have to admit that the shirt she wore underneath hugged her figure nicely. That was no reason for Carver to make such advances, though, as they were clearly unwelcome.

"How long's that been goin' on?" He pressed on, his hands casually stuffed into his pockets.

"Long." Lydia replied.

"Wow, you're about as eloquent as they are, huh?" Carver drawled, smirking. "I never did catch your name, sweet cheeks."

Maurice grunted beside Caesar and he noticed how the orangutan's brow furrowed in obvious distaste.

Lydia was quick to brush him off.

"And you won't have to, if all goes well." She turned to the man and regarded him with a stoic expression that Caesar knew spelled trouble. If she had ever faced the Ape King with that stare, Caesar knew he would probably have recoiled. Carver was different, though, and leaned in closer with that smirk still plastered onto his face, even if it did seem more forced now.

"C'mon, girl. I'm just trying to make conversation here. Surely you can appreciate that after living with these animals for so long, right? Bet I could show you a good time, too, if you'd let me…" His hand reached out to grab at Lydia's forearm hanging by her side, and Caesar almost sprang off his horse to come to her aid. What was it this human was not getting? Her signs of rejection were clear, even to an ape, so why did he press on like that?

Before Caesar or any of the other apes could move a muscle, however, Lydia's blue gaze turned cold and deadly as she grabbed on to Carvers wrist with a speed that Caesar could only marvel at. The human male winced as she pressed her fingers into a particularly painful spot on his wrist and seemed momentarily stunned by the sudden shift in power.

"W-What the fuck?!" He gasped, eyes widening in surprise and pain.

Lydia yanked him down until they were at eye-level, since Carver was slightly taller than her, and spoke in a low, threatening voice that made Caesar's skin prickle with anxiety.

"Don't you dare talk about them like that while in my presence. The only thing I could ever want from you is that you to stay the hell away from me and the only good time you could ever provide me is the sweet fucking moment when your lousy ass leaves these woods for good." Her grip on Carver's arm seemed like an iron band and the man looked to be trying his damned best not to whimper at the force Lydia was showing. She took half a step closer to Carver, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "Was that eloquent enough for you?" She added, letting go of Carver's wrist the moment she finished her sentence.

He took two steps back from her, a mixture between shock and anger flickering across his features as he nurtured his aching wrist.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? They're not even your own damn species and you-"

"Hey! Carver! Get over here and help us, man! There's a reason we brought you along!" Came the voice of the man they called Kemp. Caesar wasn't sure if the man had seen the conflict and was trying to prevent it from escalating or if he really did need Carver's help. He was glad for the distraction nonetheless. Carver looked about ready to slap Lydia – not that he'd get away from the dam alive if he did – and Lydia herself had her hand dangerously close to the dagger strapped to her leg. There was no doubt in Caesar's mind who'd walk away from that confrontation as the victor.

"Comin'!" Carver yelled as he turned away from Lydia, a deep scowl marring his face. "Savage bitch…" He muttered in retaliation as he left, shoulders hunched and arms stuffed into his pockets once again.

Lydia, however, kept her head high, seemingly unbothered by his insult, if her face was anything to go by, and she visibly relaxed once he was far enough away. Rocket climbed off his horse and went to her, grunting so she wouldn't be startled as he laid a hand on her shoulder. The expression on her face changed in the blink of an eye and she was once again the smiling and easy-going Lydia Caesar knew. Really, it was amazing how her whole demeanour changed simply by the touch of someone she knew and cared for.

Caesar was glad Roy had been charged with protecting the village while they were gone, though. If Caesar himself had felt provoked by the way Carver had approached Lydia, then he was certain that Roy would have been livid. She was spoken for, after all.

As if the mere thought of Roy had conjured it, Lydia turned to the apes with an embarrassed sigh and asked them, in sign, not to tell her mate what had occurred. It would only make him feel bad for not being there, she reasoned. They all merely nodded in agreement.

And so, the humans' work commenced.

Caesar was relieved that Carver was too occupied to aggravate Lydia further, but had his mood soured instantly when Maurice told him that Koba was still mad after their argument the previous evening, when they had taken the humans' weapons and destroyed them. It had been a condition for them to work at the dam that they hand over their guns and let the apes destroy them. The only one who had any real objections to it had (of course) been Carver, but they had all complied in the end. Caesar had thought that this would be enough to make Koba feel safe about the situation – showing him that they had the upper hand by ridding the humans of their only means of defence.

No such luck – Koba's hatred was too strong and his scars still too fresh.

And what was worse, Blue Eyes seemed to sympathise with this sentiment.

Caesar let a rough palm glide down across his face, releasing a deep, worried sigh. This was already spiralling out of his control and leaving him with a heavy feeling in his chest.

Soon, Caesar was broken out of his reverie by an earth-shattering explosion which startled the horses and made Rocket hoot in worry towards the dam. Cornelius clung tightly to his older brother and Lydia's head snapped towards the scene with keen eyes. She didn't seem to be readying herself for a fight, however, which calmed Caesar's immediate fear of an ambush.

She seemed apprehensive, more than anything else. Worried, even.

When some of the humans rushed out, frantically asking for help, Caesar's suspicions were confirmed and the apes didn't hesitate to assist them. It was quite a dramatic event, but they quickly got Malcolm and Carver out of the caved-in tunnel and Ellie immediately began tending to Carver's injured leg. The man was whimpering and hissing at Ellie whenever he deemed her ministrations too harsh, and Caesar barely kept himself from rolling his eyes at the man's behaviour. Sure, it was a flesh wound, but it was neither a deep, nor long cut.

Lydia still maintained a respectful distance, even if she had helped pulling the men out of the tunnel, and watched with keen eyes beside Caesar as Malcolm approached. The man still had a few splotches of dust on him and generally looked quite tired – but relieved, nonetheless.

"Thank you. You saved our lives." He spoke gratefully, casting a quick look towards Lydia as well. She only gave a short nod in reply, hands buried deep in the pockets of her deerskin pants. Malcolm gestured briefly towards the dam as he continued to speak.

"We've got a lot of debris to clear now…" His tone seemed apologetic and his eyes were full of uncertainty as he looked at Caesar. The Ape King knew that this would be a setback for them and resisted the urge to groan at the prospect of having them stay even longer. All he wanted at this point was to go home to his hut and tend to his sick wife.

But he knew it wasn't their fault. They had no way of knowing that the tunnel would collapse. They all would just have to grit their teeth and get on with it.

"How long?" Caesar asked, still in his gruff voice. Words could still be hard to produce for him, but he liked to think that he'd gotten better – he had certainly had more training at it during the last couple of days.

Just as Malcolm was about to answer, Cornelius seemingly got bored of clinging to his brother and decided to wiggle out of his grasp. Blue Eyes hooted nervously and got down from his horse to go after his brother, but hesitated as Cornelius jumped onto Ellie's back to investigate what was going on.

Caesar couldn't blame his youngest son for being curious and did not move to retrieve him. The little chimp had, so far, only ever met one human in his young life and was otherwise surrounded by apes. The pull towards the strange-looking creatures must be irresistible to the ape child.

In this regard, Cornelius already reminded Caesar a great deal of himself when he had been a child. Blue Eyes had always been more careful and hesitant about new things, which Caesar had seen as an advantage at first – less time spent trying to keep the child safe.

At least, that's what he'd thought.

Ash had more than made up for Blue Eyes' apprehensive nature and the Ape Prince soon mastered the art of rule-breaking from his honorary cousin.

In any event, Caesar hoped Cornelius would be less inclined to get into trouble than his father and brother.

Lydia seemed to tense up beside him at the situation and Caesar nudged her discreetly with his elbow to calm her down. Even if he didn't like his son being so close to Carver, it seemed like Ellie and Alex were quite friendly towards the ape child. The way they smiled and reached out their fingers for him to grab stirred some feelings in the pit of the Ape King's stomach that he thought he'd long since buried.

It was just like how Will, Charles and Caroline used to play with him…

He noticed from the corner of his eye how Lydia quickly shot him a questioning look before turning her eyes back to the scene, seemingly deciding to go along with it and relax. She even cracked a small smile when Cornelius looked back at her while holding Ellie's hand, a soft, happy grin across his small face.

The spell was broken slightly when Carver decided to complain, asking Ellie if she was done with the leg and sneering at Alex for looking at him funnily. Cornelius paid it no mind and began investigating the area surrounding them. Caesar noticed how his eldest son seemed to relax more when his brother moved away from the humans.

Really, Caesar thought as he turned back towards Malcolm to speak, what would it take for Blue Eyes to see them as anything other than enemies?

"Hey, HEY! Get out of there! Hey! I'll kill you!" Carver's voice suddenly sounded loudly, pulling everyone's attention to him as he shot up from his seat and stalked towards Cornelius with lightning speed, pulling out a gun from the case the child had been investigating and threatening him with it.

Caesar's heart plummeted through his gut at the sight as Blue Eyes lurched forward to protect his infant brother, hissing and spitting as the gun was pointed towards him.

Lydia was not far behind, pulling out her bow and arrow and aiming it at Carver with a look of pure fury painted across her face. She didn't get the time to fire her arrow, however, as Caesar himself had already attacked Carver in a fit of protective rage, ripping the weapon out of the human male's hands and aiming it straight back at him.

"Don't! Don't!" He pleaded up at the Ape King as he lied on the ground.

The look on the man's face could only be described as utterly pathetic as he held up his hands in surrender, his eyes full of fright.

Caesar felt no pity for him.

"Caesar, no!" Malcolm intervened, making Lydia spin and point her arrow towards him instead as he moved forward with outstretched hands. The gesture was probably meant to be placating, but it didn't do much to deter Caesar.

"Please! I didn't know…"

"You would have if you'd just checked this piece of shit's luggage." Lydia's voice sounded, her tone as icy as her stare. Her grip on her bow tightened visibly as she continued to speak.

"You knew he already shot one ape. You knew what he thinks of them and still, you didn't check!?"

"We should have! I know! I didn't think he'd be stupid enough to do it!" Malcolm answered frantically, his gaze shifting between Lydia and Caesar himself pleadingly. The Ape King was faintly aware of Maurice rumbling soothingly in the background, trying to diffuse the tense situation. When he locked gazes with the old orangutan, he was made aware of how Ellie and Alex were both cowering on the ground in fear, while Kemp and Foster were both standing back, ready for a fight but helpless without their weapons.

It was one final look into Malcolm's eyes that, in the end, made Caesar lower the gun, turn around and toss it into the river. This man was trying to protect his son, just like Caesar was. His only fault was that he had been way too trusting of Carver.

"Human leave now!" The Ape King yelled harshly, making all the intruding humans flinch.

Lydia still hadn't lowered her weapon as Caesar went to pick up Cornelius and stalk back towards his horse. She only did so when Caesar grunted at her, signalling that everyone else was mounted. Her icy glare remained as she, too, went to get her own horse to follow the apes, leaving behind the humans to be escorted back to their camp by the guards.

What a mess, the Ape King thought as he hugged his youngest son tightly to his body, riding up the hill while pointedly ignoring Blue Eyes' accusatory stare.


Lydia

It wasn't until Lydia's forehead met gently with Roy's back in the colony that she felt truly calm after what had happened at the dam.

For the entire ride home, she had remained in the back of the group, staring ahead stiffly as she went over the events again and again in her head. She had partly blamed herself for not inquiring further about what the group had brought with them. She, of all people, should know that humans like Carver would try to find a way to sneak a weapon with him. He clearly didn't think much of the apes or the promises Malcolm had made to them.

And Malcolm had, obviously, put too much stock in the man to begin with.

And it could very well have costed Cornelius his life today.

The thought made Lydia's heart ache and her teeth grind against each other harshly. It was bad enough that Cornelia was showing no signs of improvement and Blue Eyes was more distant than ever towards Lydia, but if something would have happened to Cornelius because of her own obvious lack of foresight… Lydia knew she wouldn't have been able to stomach the guilt.

Maurice, seemingly having noticed her state of quiet distress, had broken her out of her thoughts with a soft touch of his hand on her arm, which had made her look at him slightly startled.

"Not your fault. You had no way of knowing that this man would trick us. Seems like he even tricked his friends." The old orangutan had signed reassuringly. Really, sometimes it was like he knew what everyone was thinking.

"I should have anticipated it." She had countered half-heartedly. "I know humans. This kind of human as well…"

Maurice had shaken his massive head at her and urged his horse forward to join the rest of the group as he signed back at her.

"You have been apart from them for a long time."

She had wanted to protest at what he had been implicating; that she had forgotten how deceitful humans can be because she had been with the apes for so long. That she had put her experiences with her own kind behind her.

Because she knew that she hadn't. It was part of the reason why she still occasionally woke up in the middle of the night, clenching the furs covering her so tightly that her fingers ached.

No. She hadn't forgotten. She had merely ignored.

Ignored the mistrust that had kept her, Roy and Orion alive way before they had arrived in Caesar's colony.

And now, they were on the brink of a possible war because of it.

Roy was quick to ease her mind when she explained what had happened (though she pointedly left out the part where Carver had approached her), when they had entered the safety of their hut and sat down together. Their home was warm and coated in a soft, flickering light from the fireplace in the middle of the floor. It washed over Lydia like a tidal wave of comfort and safety, making her shoulders finally slump as she leaned against Roy on the floor. He laid his long, hairy arm around her back and calmly told her that it wasn't her fault. That she couldn't possibly be held responsible for Malcolm's carelessness or Carver's stupidity. She didn't know these humans and had no idea of how to tell who was friend and who was foe.

"The way I see it, they could all be foes." Lydia spoke quietly as she leaned into the crook of Roy's neck. The arm he had wrapped around her squeezed her softly and his other hand went up to gently grab her chin, tilting her head towards him so she would meet his green eyes. They held nothing but affection and worry for her, and Lydia found herself melting against his side at the sight.

"Or. They could. All be friends." He reasoned softly. She liked the quiet rumble of his voice and the calming effect it always had on her when she was distressed. It wasn't as deep or commanding as Caesar's, but neither was it as shrill and sharp as Koba's.

He pecked her nose affectionately and Lydia couldn't help but smile at the feel of his rougher lips against her skin.

"All except one…" She argued in a murmur as she referred to Carver. The discussion was tiring her quickly and her muscles ached from being tense for most of the day. All she wanted to do right now was bury herself in Roy's impossibly warm embrace and forget all that had happened for the past couple of days.

But the world would not afford her such a luxury, because no sooner had she nuzzled her head back into the crook of Roy's neck before one of the midwives tending to Cornelia pushed aside the skin covering the entrance to their home. She looked briefly startled at the scene in front of her before telling Lydia that Caesar had asked for her.

That was when Lydia noticed the annoyed hoots sounding from outside her home, signalling that something wasn't quite right.

Is it ever these days? She thought as she reluctantly disentangled herself from Roy's arms to follow the young female ape. Roy trailed after her out of the hut and up the spiralling steps to the Ape King's home. He didn't have to, as Caesar hadn't been asking for him, but she knew he was probably picking up on her growing weariness and had decided to join in as moral support. Lydia was thankful for his insight.

Really, nobody knew her quite as well as Roy did.

As they entered the home of the Ape King, Lydia immediately stopped dead in her tracks when she spotted Malcolm standing near Caesar and Ellie sitting by Cornelia, rummaging through her backpack. She felt her muscles tense all over again, the tightness rippling up through her body and she knew her face, quite involuntarily at this point, was shifting into a stern expression. Lydia imagined it must match Caesar's quite well at this point.

At the sight of her, Malcolm's hands shot up in a placating manner once again, showing her that he had no weapons and didn't want to fight. It was a gesture Lydia was beginning to associate strongly with him. It seemed that he was beginning to be more afraid of her than he was of the apes.

Had she really removed herself so much from her own kind that they had begun to fear her worse than they did an entirely different species?

Lydia tried not to let that stray thought distract her as Caesar began to speak.

"They want. To help. Cornelia." He jerked his head towards Ellie, who was staring at Lydia with unsure eyes. "With medicine." Caesar clarified, to which the woman nodded and held up the items she intended to use.

"Will you be helping them with the dam, then?" Lydia asked stiffly, still unsure of what Caesar was implying. He nodded, his ever-present frown still in place.

"You will. Stay with Cornelia." He gritted out. "Make sure. Everything. Goes well." His gaze was imploring, almost pleading as his eyes locked with Lydia's, and the human woman understood. He wanted her to keep an eye on what Ellie did, what she used and how it affected his wife.

"I don't know much about medicines, Caesar." Lydia replied, feeling hopeless. "But I will stay."

He didn't seem put off by Lydia's lack of knowledge and merely nodded before he turned to Roy, who was still standing in the doorway, following the conversation closely.

"You will stand guard, Roy. Protect the village, so that Lydia can protect my wife." The Ape King signed calmly. Malcolm and Ellie seemed to be trying to follow the exchange, but clearly had no knowledge when it came to sign language. Roy only nodded and turned to leave quietly, shooting Lydia a concerned look as he did so.

She paid it no mind as she moved to sit on the other side of Cornelia, opposite of Ellie and beside Tinker, who was holding Cornelius in her arms. The child was squirming to get to his mother, but seemed to calm down when Lydia reached over to offer her hand to him, palm upwards in an open gesture. He grabbed it and held on tightly as he gazed up at Lydia with his big, green eyes. He looked even more like his father than Blue Eyes did, even at such a young age, and Lydia couldn't help but crack a small smile at the child.

She then briefly turned to nod towards Caesar, signalling that it was okay for him to leave, and rested her other hand on top of Cornelia's arm in a reassuring manner. The Ape Queen was too far gone in her fever to notice and Lydia felt how she was sweating under her fur.

This was bad.

Caesar went with Malcolm soon after that, leaving the small group of females to themselves. The silence was awkward as Ellie's eyes shifted between each individual in front of her before finally letting her gaze settle on Lydia's face.

"I'm going to treat her with some antibiotics now. It should take care of the infection she seems to have, but…" Ellie trailed off as she pulled out the supplies she would need and showed them to Lydia.

She lifted an eyebrow at Ellie, silently urging her to continue.

"I would recommend the treatment to continue for a couple of days…" She shifted uncomfortably under Lydia's scrutiny.

"And you can't do that?" The dark-haired woman prompted the newcomer, continuing to stroke Cornelia's arm as she did so.

"Caesar only gave us one day… Insisted on it." Ellie said in a quiet voice.

Even so, her words echoed loudly through Lydia's head as her features shifted from stern to slightly shocked. Seems like trust was really in short supply by now, even by Caesar's standards.

"Do you think it could work anyway?" Lydia asked, trying her damned best to keep the uncertainty out of her voice. This was not ideal. She might not know much about medicine, but she did remember having been treated with antibiotics a couple of times as a child and the treatments usually lasted for a couple of days. If Cornelia's infection was as severe as it seemed, Lydia knew one day wouldn't be enough.

Even if she did not trust these humans, Lydia was aware that the medicine Ellie provided was Cornelia's only chance of getting better at this point.

It wasn't often she cursed at Caesar's stubbornness, but this time…

Ellie's answer was as Lydia had feared.

"I don't know…" The woman rubbed her arms as she looked down at Cornelia's face, scrunched up in discomfort. "I mean, it might. But I can't be sure. This seems pretty severe already. Caesar didn't tell me how long she's been like this." Lydia nodded at Ellie's words with a serious expression, feeling how Cornelius' grip loosened as he fell asleep in Tinker's arms beside her.

Really, he couldn't even have given them that much? Lydia thought as irritation crept up through her chest. This was his wife they were dealing with here!

Well, if he wasn't willing to provide the information needed, Lydia would.

"She gave birth the day the apes met you guys in the woods. She has been feeling under the weather even before then. I think this pregnancy has taken its toll on her."

Ellie seemed surprised at Lydia's willingness to help, but nodded at the information. A grim look found its way onto her features as her gaze shifted from Lydia to Tinker and back.

"Then this might call for more than one day of treatment…" She said, worry evident in her voice.

Lydia shared a look with Tinker, who cooed helplessly with eyes full of distress. This was their friend. Their queen.

And this woman's intentions seemed pure enough.

Lydia's lips set into a thin line before she spoke up, looking imploringly into Ellie's eyes.

"Treat her as well as you can now and I'll speak to Caesar about it when he gets back." She said calmly. "Cornelia is my best friend. The reason why I was allowed to stay here in the first place. I'm not gonna let her husband's stubbornness get in the way of her getting the treatment she needs."

There was a finality in Lydia's voice that left no room for discussion, but also a tenderness that seemed to catch Ellie off-guard. She looked stunned at Lydia's words, pausing as she was filling a syringe with what Lydia could only assume would be the medicine for Cornelia. A look of slight awe and understanding appeared on Ellie's features, and Lydia almost felt uncomfortable as the woman continued to regard her with that look.

"They really mean a lot to you, don't they? All of them?" She spoke softly.

Lydia nodded solemnly as Tinker reached over to grab her hand, the one that Cornelius had previously held, and ran her thumb over Lydia's knuckles in a gentle manner. The movement caught Ellie's eye and her expression softened further.

"The apes are my family. This village is my home." She said finally, when the quiet of the hut became too stifling for her to bear. Ellie nodded as she went on with preparing the syringe. Tinker eyed the object nervously, seemingly knowing what it was for and tensing her grip on Lydia's hand for comfort. Cornelia didn't even flinch when the needle pressed into her skin and the liquid was pushed through the needle and into her bloodstream.

The only sound that could be heard was Tinker's soft cooing as Lydia stared at the syringe with a blank expression.

"This is a very powerful antibiotic, just in case Caesar decides not to let us stay longer. I don't know if it'll get completely rid of the infection, though." Ellie explained as she pulled out the needle from Cornelia's skin. "It should take the worst of it for now. She should be more or less okay later in the evening if it works well."

Lydia nodded for what seemed the umpteenth time that day and patted Cornelia's arm gently.

"Thank you…"

She didn't look at Ellie as she said it, but the other woman seemed to understand all the same.

"No problem. I just hope everything will be okay so we can all go back to our normal lives soon." Ellie spoke as she put her supplies back in order. Then she stilled and looked questioningly towards Lydia.

"You're… I take it you don't want to come with us? Live among humans again?" The question resonated through Lydia's head and made Tinker look at her with curious eyes.

"No. I don't want to live among humans again. I left that behind years ago and I've been quite happy ever since." Lydia answered curtly, making Ellie flinch slightly in response. She almost felt bad for her sharp tone, but couldn't find it in herself to apologize for it. That chapter of her life was over and done with and the mere suggestion that she should return to it triggered a deeply rooted concern in Lydia's gut. A sense of anxiety that had been dormant for years, but had come into full bloom the moment the apes had encountered Malcolm and his group in the forest.

Experience had taught her that humans meant trouble. Strife. Conflict.

And now it was here. They were here, offering her to come back to them. To return to the chaos she'd spent the better part of the last six years pushing out of her mind.

No. She couldn't go back to that.

Lydia straightened her posture a bit and hoped that the apologetic look in her eyes was enough to convey that it wasn't a rejection of Ellie as a person, but the suggestion Ellie had presented that didn't sit well with her.

The woman smiled slightly and nodded, deciding to change the subject to ease the tension.

"So… Do you live on your own in one of the huts here? I haven't seen any other humans around."

Lydia cocked her head slightly to one side, as she so often did, and quickly eyed Tinker for advice on how much she should tell this woman. Ellie seemed genuine enough, and Lydia's gut feeling told her that the woman could be trusted. But her gut feeling had also neglected to tell her to check up on the group's luggage earlier in the day, so how trustworthy was it really?

The female ape smiled slightly and shrugged.

"She seems okay. And Cornelia is not trembling anymore, so the medicine must be working. I think we can trust her." She signed to Lydia quickly, earning a raised eyebrow from Ellie as she observed the exchange.

Tinker was right, though. Cornelia had been trembling ever so slightly when Lydia had first laid her hand on her form but now, it seemed to have stopped. She also didn't feel as clammy to the touch as she had only a short while ago, though her skin was still burning hot.

It was to be expected – the medicine wouldn't magically make her better in a couple of hours, but it was a start.

Lydia decided to answer truthfully.

"No, I don't live alone. I share a hut with two chimps and my dogs. My son is probably taking a round through the village with them right now."

"Your son?" Ellie inquired, her eyes filled with confusion.

"Well, adoptive son." Lydia was quick to clarify. She easily forgot to add that bit of information, since everyone in the colony knew – it was quite obvious, after all. But Ellie had no way of knowing, and Lydia did suppose it must sound a bit strange.

"One of the chimps I live with. I rescued him together with his adoptive father when he was young and we've been together since then." She couldn't keep the fondness out of her voice as she spoke of them. It had been so long since she'd found them that it seemed like half a lifetime ago.

Ellie nodded in understanding, though there was still some doubt left on her features. The expression on her face reminded Lydia of a young child who was piecing together bits of a puzzle.

"And his adoptive father? Was he the one you came up here with? The big one?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yep. That's the one." Lydia confirmed with a smile. Ellie seemed startled at the new expression on her features, but returned the gesture nonetheless. She seemed more at ease after that, and Lydia almost felt ashamed for having been so mistrustful of the woman in front of her.

"So are you two… I mean do you…?" Ellie seemed to struggle with forming her next sentence, though Lydia could anticipate what it was about. The apes had all been courteous enough to not outright ask her for the first couple of years, but humans were… different, in that regard.

Tinker grinned widely, showing her formidable fangs to Ellie and nudging Lydia's arm meaningfully. The woman in front of them didn't seem frightened by the gesture and smiled knowingly at Lydia with not a trace of disgust or malice in her features.

That caught her off-guard and she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Yeah, well… we are sort of… you know… an item." How else to describe it? It wasn't like they were married by either human or ape standards and even after five years, it was still something most of the apes didn't mention on a day-to-day basis. It was something unspoken. An accepted taboo throughout the colony.

And Lydia had been certain any human, no matter how open they were towards the apes, would find it absolutely revolting.

Ellie seemed to sense her surprise.

"Well, that's certainly unorthodox… But who am I to judge?" She shrugged as she zipped her backpack closed. "I mean, I had my suspicions from the way he looked at you when he left, but I didn't want to pry."

Lydia chuckled at that.

"At least not right from the start, right?" She teased with a raised eyebrow, making both Ellie and Tinker laugh as well. Then she sighed and looked up at the ceiling in exasperation. "It's that obvious, huh?"

Tinker nudged her shoulder again, her eyes full of mischief as she signed again.

"It was always obvious!"

Lydia grinned and pushed her friend light-heartedly in retribution before translating what she had said to Ellie, who had merely stared at them in confusion, though still with an amused smile on her face.

After the laughter and banter died down again, Lydia looked down at Cornelia's face in concern, petting her arm softly.

"I really hope your medicine helps." She spoke quietly.

"I hope so too. It's still too early to tell." Ellie responded just as quietly. "She'll have to get another shot of antibiotics in the evening, then another in the morning and again in the evening. It would be preferable to continue for three to four days to be sure that the infection is gone…"

Lydia shifted her position to sit more comfortably as she nodded, Tinker's hand joining hers on Cornelia's arm. If the Ape Queen was awake, but somehow too weak to respond, at least she'd know they were there for her this way.

An odd thought struck Lydia, then, and she looked out through the glassless window of the hut in thought.

"You know… this is the first pleasant conversation I've had with another human in six years…" She spoke softly, as if she feared that saying it out loud would make the conversation turn ugly.

Instead, Ellie smiled softly and placed her hand beside Lydia's on the Ape Queen's arm, stroking the fur against the grain with her thumb.

"I'm glad I could help."