The mouth of the river was babbling as per usual, it's rapids churning against the surface of the jagged rocks beneath its surface. The clouds had returned and were now allowing a fine mist to fall upon the Simian Forest, although the sun peeped through on the rare occasion, bringing a warm touch of honey to the wood. Beach pebbles skittered and clattered beneath Slate's feet, his amber depths washing over the scenery before him. An osprey chattered off in the distance, it's sharp cry drifting far out over the oasis. The brute's leathery mitts flitted, making gestures that were no doubt from his own frustration. He had had nothing but trouble today, what with the human giving him a kick adding onto his eldest sibling's hostility. Pine had been doing better with thinking before he spoke, but it seemed as though he had finally cracked under pressure. Slate's tongue ran over his teeth as he gazed out across the water, the lingering taste of venison still within his mouth.

Birds warbled from up in the trees, enjoying the gentle spray that was slowly drenching the ape's thick inky grey coat. This had not been how Slate had expected his afternoon to go… not at all. "Pine… stupid mouth," he grumbled to himself, reaching up and scratching at his chin. A great hiss of hot air erupted from his nostrils, his shoulders slumping slightly. Reaching down, Slate picked up a stone and began to roll it in his hand, much like the human he had observed would with that strange pebble of her's. He had been watching her out of his own curiosity, although he attempted to justify it and convince himself it was nothing more than making sure that she was not a threat. It hadn't been until he had decided to get to the bottom of things and approach that he had really fallen into something he hadn't intended to happen. Hearing her speak that morning, watching her face change from time to time along with the tone of her vocals, it seemed as though she would change from one human being to the next. At first he had figured there was something wrong with her, watching her prance along the fallen redwood next to her nest, but as he caught on, Slate had figured out that the girl had simply been reading.

It was like any story an elder would reenact for the rest during feasts… more or less. This girl had some strange way of doing it. Stories of war nearly three years before was still told, to a point where it was practically imprinted into his brain, so what she had been doing was… refreshing to say the least. From a very young age, Pine had influenced Slate greatly. The two had been one in the same, each being the other's shadow; it wasn't until he had had a gun forced into his hands that they had began parting ways. Where Pine held an assault rifle, Slate held a spear. It wasn't ape.

Wasn't ape…

Slate turned his head as he felt his jaw for a moment longer, peering in the direction of the log off to his right. It was settled down the shore, ominously reminding him of where he had left the book. Sniffing in distaste, snout twitching. Slate suddenly pulled himself up to all fours and began to knuckle forward, heading for the log. Perhaps he could toss it in the river and rip the pages out… would the human enjoy finding the sheets littering her camp? Definitely not, but it would be very amusing. She had kicked him, so it was only right that he got back at her. Right?

It didn't take him long to clear the distance between him and the log, his gaze washing over the line of greenery not far off, being sure to check for any eyes that could secretly be watching him. With a huff, he rounded the side of the log, his attention falling upon the book that lay splayed upon the wet stones.

The book… where was the book? Not only was the worn saffron cover nowhere in sight, but the discarded pages that had created an erratic path as he had plodded along were also missing. Slate let out a few confused pants, his tawny depths searching over the pebbles, although it was clear once he had rounded the other side of the log that the item had vanished. A frustrated growl turned into an explosion of pant-barks, he slammed his powerful fist into the pebbles beneath his feet. Slate couldn't contain the panic and anger beginning to climb up into his chest from deep within his guts. Had Pine returned before he had left the ape's home? It had to have been him; the human could not have tracked him while he had been traveling up through the trees. The pines swayed in the breeze as the rain began to pick up, falling steadily now and creating ripples across the surface of the water. A low rumble of thunder rocked through the clouds above Slate's head.

It did not take him long to return home, taking the long route there and looping around through the thick undergrowth. Passing through the huts and past the fan-trees, he ducked beneath the cover of the large hanging leaves, crab apples scattered across the dark earth and roots beneath his paws. Picking a few up, he rolled them around within his hands, crouching next to a young bonobo who peered at him curiously from where he rested next to his mother. She was older than he, old enough to remember Caesar for sure, considering his passing had been a mere paw-full of years ago. Her green eyes probed at him, and thus he turned his head. Her facial features were gentle, which brought him a bit of comfort. Woven twigs garnished her crown, asters gently peering in buds and blooms among their withered and entwined surface. This was… Lake's mother, he recalled. Mist, wasn't that her name? A smile graced her lips, which pursed. Snorting irritably, he looked away, clearly more interested in his brother. The large male was settled off a ways across the clear, grooming with a few other female chimps. Spoon, his mate, rested closest to him, her sisters separate but only an arm's length away.

The soft clucking of the mother chimpanzee not far from him in the shielded area brought his attention back to her. 'You seem stressed,' signed the female. 'Brother does not…' Slate barely knew this female, and thus simply shrugged and shifted his weight from foot to foot where he was resting. At first, all he did was grunt in reply, but then he finally turned to her. 'How long has Pine been there?'

'Some time. Fire went out when rain started, he left from Rocky Slip to join the girls,' responded the mother. Her keen emerald eyes followed Slate's as the two returned to observing Pine. "Something… wrong?" Slate took note of how her voice sounded, her gentle scent filling his nose. It relaxed him, although a huff of frustration escaped him nonetheless. The sky snarled once more, lightning illuminating the steely-lit forest, earning a soft whimper from the white-tail at her side. Frightened, the child scampered up his mother's side and clung to her breast, burying his small pale face into her sternum. "It… getting dark. Storm starting…" observed the female. Her eyes danced along the canopy which was visible from beneath the large richly-colored leaves. Slate found himself resting back upon his haunches, the hooting of his tribe mates filling the air, excited by the angry clouds. Slate finally decided it was best to wait until Spoon had left Pine well alone, his head tilting to engage with Mist. 'Your son…' he signed. 'Twig. He doesn't like the storm.'

Amusement twinkled within Mist's eyes. 'Yes,' responded the female, lips parted in elation. 'His name was going to be Thunder. Ironic, don't you think?' The two of them exchanged puffs of laughter, Twig's large doe-eyes glancing between the two. Bird calls mingled with the empire's noise, the babbling river bubbling away, off a few feet behind Mist and Slate.

Leaning forward, his chin rested within his palm, elbows resting upon his thighs. 'I used to be frightened of weather like this too,' Slate recalled, pointing to himself. Pausing, his index brushing his thin lips in though. 'I bucked up quick though. Pine wouldn't let me be nervous.' Bringing a paw to his chest, he gave it a pat. A grunt escaped him, and then he spoke. "Apes strong. That's what Pine.. taught me." When Slate turned his gaze over to rest upon Lake's mother, she was smiling pleasantly. Nodding, her hand graced over Twig's small fuzzy back.

'And you are strong. Fine hunter, just like Button had been,' she replied, recalling her deceased husband. Button had been a strong chimp, rather large for his kind. Mist and he had met some years after the first rising of the ape empire, raising Lake together. Slate, of course, had been about her age, but focused on hunting earlier because of his sibling's interest. Poppy had taken her time elsewhere, and still studied medicine just as she had before Koba's reign. Afterwards… she had become more reliant on the two of them and dropped the shaman dream of her's. Being small, as well as female, she hadn't fought; not like Pine and he. There had been a certain amount of time where the twins had been divided morally, and although the two came together once more after Caesar had finally sent the tyrant to hell where he belonged, things had been left to scar over, gnarled in placed between the siblings.

Pine thought like Koba had.

'Hail taught me and Pine,' he signed, followed by the gesture for father. Something stirred behind her eyes. Although the trio of siblings had never known their parents and thus had been bounced between the tribe's females as they grew, Hail had steered them onto the right path as a father-figure, even after the war (granted, with Pine as best he could). The lightly colored ape -similar to Grey, Koba's notorious follower- had followed Caesar with all that had been in him, even despite being wary of humans. Noticing the solemn look in Mist's emerald gaze, Slate let out a gentle pant. "I'm sure… Button and Hail have gone on.. many hunts before." Her head bobbed and then turned away, gazing off as rain drained off their shelter. Thunder rumbled once more. Slate took a deep breath through his nose, audible in the silence. He then grunted and hauled himself to his quads, ducking out and into the open.

'Nice talking to you,' Mist signed as he glanced over his shoulder.

Slate's head bobbed in response. 'Thank you for the company,' he gestured. The hunter hadn't really spoken much to Mist; the two of them rarely interacted, mostly because the women were mostly stationary and rarely helped with hunting. Ambling through the grass, he made for his brother, when his gut soured. Their eyes met, his tawny depths briefly exploring the grey and brown bichromatic set he carried, before he abruptly turned and headed up toward the river. Crossing over to the other side and underneath the massive arched root of one of the fan-trees, he headed for the huts nestled off past the towering giants, eyeing the path ascending to the main level of the Education tree. Perhaps Hail would be inside, chatting with Ring, his mate and his son Salt. The grass was wet and squishy beneath his knuckles as he paced his way forward. The tall andropogon tendrils created a wall that lead off toward the crop fields and the majority of ape homes came close, but just before Slate could push his way in, something caught his eye. Brushing it off at first, he allowed himself to wander inside the long grass, heading for Hail's home, when he stopped with a sudden wave of dread. His heart hiccuped within his chest and he turned, creeping out from the grass and peering up at the winding staircase attached to the thick trunk of the tree.

Caught upon one of the sharpened logs was a pale leaf- no, a sheet of paper. As his head careened back, rain splattering his cheeks, he felt his gut harden and quickly trotted over to the side of the towering fir once more, ambling up the stairs and coming to where the paper fluttered in the brisk wind. Slate hastily tight-roped out onto the long protruding branch and snatched the paper just before it blew away in the claws of the storm's breeze. Gawking, he read a few of the dark blots of letters and drew it closer to his face, examining the damp surface. His head then tilted to the side and he nervously looked toward the swaying canopy of needles and the dark gathering of sharpened logs. Slate needed that book back. He couldn't let it stay up there… hopeful that no ape was present above, he escalated along the path, following it as he normally would, the paper crumpling within his grasp. His pace slowed as he reached the top, stepping with confidence as he made his way inside. Just as he wound around the corner, he was met with a flash of pale skin and milky hair, his eyes flashing as they fell upon the tribe's only human member. Her blue eyes were full and intelligent, golden-tipped lashes fluttering. "Nova," he huffed, quickly hiding his expression of surprise.

'Slate,' she signed, gently smiling and crouching next to him. The fifteen year old's long hair cascaded over her shoulders, the tan human shirt covering her torso smudged and dirty. Her feet were clad in sneakers, dirtied from days upon days of being worn outside. After Caesar's passing, she had grown up under Maurice's wing, held dearly in the old orangutan's heart. The teenager was growing marvelously fast, her legs long and her once innocent features becoming more elegant. She had become a good friend of many of the royal family, and at times took care of Cornelius when Tinker or Lake were not present. 'What are you doing up here?'

The dark grey male chuffed and glanced past her, catching a glimpse of the inside of the tree. 'Maurice, where is he? I need to-'

A gurgle of greeting erupted from inside as the aging orang slowly knuckled and swung forward. Slate, brushing by Nova, approached the larger ape with a dip of his head. The orang's left hand reached out and rested upon Slate's broad shoulder in greeting, before sliding up to pat the side of his ear. Maurice's emerald eyes were sharp as ever, although the edges of the hair upon his jaw were beginning to grey at the ends. 'Wonderful rain we're having,' gestured Maurice, a fond little twitch of his lips gracing his attributes. 'It will bring nourishment to crops and make the river grow fat. Perhaps more fish can be caught.' If anybody had a fantastic grasp upon sign, it was Maurice.

'Fish would be nice,' added Nova, balancing her way along the edge of the classroom before joining her surrogate sire as he wondered back inside. 'Would be a nice change from deer.' Slate followed in silence, eyes darting around his surroundings. Outside, the rain hissed against the longs, the damp wind gusting in on the occasion and causing the torches to flicker where they rested. The orang guided them deeper into the room until they were finally dry, and rested back with a loud gust of air. Leaves fluttered up into the air, then returned to the floor. 'Now, what brings you here?' inquired the large orang, another burble bubbling in his throat sack. Slate's gaze was wandering for a moment before he caught sight of the saffron buckingham cloth; his head then snapped around, his attention returning to Maurice.

'Looking to borrow-' he awkwardly remarked, followed by a gruff rasp in his throat in order to convey he was serious. Settling back upon his haunches, he brought both hands up and pressed them together. Slate then opened them, yet kept the edges of his coriaceous mitts together, as if mirroring how to extract the information from inside the item. 'Book.'

Maurice's ape-brow rose as if in surprise, his lips pursing. Realizing how strange this was, he added, 'For Poppy.'

Maurice hovered for a moment, olive and gold-flecked eyes examining him, before he let out a rumble from within his breast and turned his head toward Nova. The girl had already been off near the stacks of books on the opposite wall, and turned with curious royal eyes. 'Nova, would you please help Slate?' requested the greying orang, to which she responded with a nod. Her attention then fell upon Slate, who felt his chest tighten and allowed his amber eyes to fall, avoiding her probing gaze. After a moment, he dipped his head in acknowledgement and knuckled his way over to the milky-crowned human. Nosing his way through the books nonchalantly, he listened as she offered a few to him, ignoring the one that lay separate upon an old woven stool. His eyes shot between her and the item in question. 'This one is about dragons. White-tails love it,' gestured Nova with dainty hands. 'Poppy might find it simple, but nice.' Nose twitching, Slate scrunched his snout up and expressed disinterest.

"Need challenge," the chimp remarked, fingers reaching and gently dragging across the spine of a few to his left. Maurice had so many that he wondered how the old Bornean wrapped his head around it all. Perhaps if he described it, he could trick her into getting it for him. 'Many books. Only need one. Lots of words.'

Nova and he met one another's eyes; she seemed puzzled. 'Maybe Dictionary?'

Slate grunted and shook his head. 'Already read dictionary,' replied the ape, puffing through his nose and beginning to wander, eyes combing the piles. Impatience was beginning to burn within his belly, his hair nervously beginning to ruffle along his shoulders. Maurice seemed to be noticing this from a ways off, having paused his scribbling upon the tree bark. "Need many pages, need- need-" Nova watched, following behind on her hands and knees.

The Bornean suddenly piped up, lips parting as he gurgled aloud and then chuffed, causing Slate to pause and his head to turn. 'Since when are you so picky with books?' he asked, leaning back on one leg and using his arm to support him as he stood.

'I'm not. Poppy is,' replied Slate, his gestures rather hasty. Finally, he came to the smaller pile of books; they all appeared to be worn out and messy, as if they had been used greatly. Picking up the book, he felt the damp cloth's stiff surface beneath his paw. Just as he was opening, he heard a soft, breathy sound peep from Nova and felt her hand upon his forearm as a warning, but it was too late. Pages fluttered out and the spine practically hung by a few shreds of fabric, damaged from his own rough conduct. Slate immediately allowed the book to fall and moved away from Nova, pant-barking gently in a manner that told her to leave him be. He didn't wish to scare the poor adolescent, but he had boundaries and she seemed to have forgotten that.

'Broken, worn. Needs attention and to dry… should not touch,' explained Nova, clearly shaken. Her eyes were wide, glossy with fright from the mild shock Slate had expressed during the moment of brief physical contact. 'Take a different one.'

Slate understood this very well; besides, if he even tried to use it, it would have fallen apart further. Frustration filled his lungs and exited in a gust of hot air, clearly uncomfortable now. If he had have just pitched the thing in the lake or even left it, he could have destroyed the evidence. It had been stupid of him to bring it anywhere near home. The sound of Maurice approaching caused him to move from his stiff stance, returning to all fours and making for the piles where they had begun. Reaching into one of the stacks, he passively picked out a novel and peered at the cover. "This one ..works," he asserted quickly, not even taking the time to read the dull bronze writing. Tucking his arm inward, he made for the entrance, only for the wise Bornean to step in his path. Their eyes met for a moment- the chimp could feel Nova's sapphire eyes chewing into his back.

'Nova, why don't you go visit Tinker and see about Cornelius,' suggested the orang, a gurgle escaping his throat pouch as he signed gently to his human. Maurice's attention then fell, meeting Slate's deep tawny eyes. 'I'm going to help Slate with his book problem.' Without another thought it seemed, she obeyed and rose to her feet, padding away toward the entrance. Once her crown of milky blonde was gone, they were left in silence. Slate's lip curled slightly and Maurice's chin tilted downward, emerald eyes widening gently in order to examine him. It was clear that he was suspicious of something… but what of exactly, he was unsure.

'I've already chosen one,' objected the chimp, studying the larger simian as he knuckled and then brought his hind legs forward, slowly plodding around him. His long fingers began to pick up the sheets of paper and place them inside of the novel. "So I'll.. leave." Turning his body, he tilted in the colony overseer's whereabouts.

'So Poppy asked you to come up here,' quizzed Maurice. His massive head tilted in his direction from where he sat with the book in his hands. Just by how he moved, Slate could tell that he was beginning to become slightly rheumatic in the joints. 'Why not come up here herself?'

Slate wavered, weary once more. What was he supposed to say to that? "Yes… said needed book. For ..white-tails," he responded, then shifted his weight.

'With lots of words? For white-tails?' A smile laced the elder's thin lips. Maurice's head leaned gently. 'The book had your scent on it.' Slate shrugged and allowed his eyes to flicker to the novel in his hands. If he played it off right, he could keep Maurice from saying anything more on the topic. Maybe he could fool Pine, Poppy, Sage and Quill, but the clever orangutan's eyes weren't something you could pull the wool over so easily. Fortunately, with his slowing mind, maybe he could find a loophole. 'With how you're acting, makes me wonder…'

'White-tails need to learn,' Slate signed. "Pictures won't.. always help."

'Why not learn here?' Maurice gestured to the room around them, then allowed his attention to return to the chimp to his right. 'Won't the owner miss it?'

"Won't miss."

Maurice burbled, frowning. His usually soft eyes hardened a pinch. 'Counsel won't be happy that you left it for someone else to find. Could have lead enemies to ape home…'

"I have ..under control!" he clipped, his voice hoarse as it raised slightly. Slate's teeth flashed, obvious bothered by the old orang's concerns, as if he wouldn't do his job in protecting apes. He had too much pride. "Human alone, weak. Will not bother apes."

'Never said anything about humans,' Maurice signed abruptly, features thawing. His olive eyes twinkled with amusement now. If Slate could have paled, he would have. The classroom suddenly fell silent, the sound of rain splattering from the leaves being the only noise within the lull. The orangutan allowed the book to be placed upon the top of the mending stack. Maurice's head then turned once more. 'Child?' he inquired, now curious.

Debating on whether to shut himself up, he paused. 'Woman,' the dark grey chimp finally responded. 'Ape size, skinny.'

'Where, how far?' asked Maurice.

"Deep in forest. By… river," Slate chuffed, brow heavy and lip curled. "Alone, weak. If threat-" The ape brought his hand to his throat. 'Kill. Bring here, to ape home-' He paused and then gestured sharply with emphasis, eyes cold and wide. 'Skin. Hang.'

Maurice's eyes grew larger than Slate ever thought they could, as if he had seen a ghost. His head tilted slightly and he cast Maurice an icy stare. The chimp then removed himself from his haunches and used his free hand to knuckle away.

Slate ignored Maurice as he burbled after him, exiting out into the summer's thunder storm.

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay, just have been having a hard time sleeping lately and getting my brain working! Those reviews and favorites are helping me keep writing though, so thank you so so much! I'm super excited for you guys to see what I have in store! Keep up with those comments; I love to hear what you guys have to say.

This chapter was rather heated toward the end. Left this on a bit of a dark note, so now we're starting to question Slate. Who is he really? Is he our strong and noble colony member? Or is he someone much more malevolent?

Good luck reading pals, hope you enjoy~

(P.s. Although I prefer to leave it up to the reader to piece together what Krissa looks like, if you're curious, in my mind's eye her reference is Tashi Rodriguez.)