A/N: The cover of this story is a drawing by chistudios on tumblr. You should check out their blog, it's amazing!

Chapter Two

It is not long before Cornelius discovers the new species settling in the jungle. He warns us all to stay away, that we are forbidden from interacting with the settlers in any way. I know immediately that this task will be incredibly taxing. The humans have been on my mind the entire time, their strange ways of communicating and standing and travelling around. In the small inbetween times when I'm not sleeping, all I can think of is the humans. They're so curious and odd but fascinating at the same time. Especially the Peeta animal.

I've always been very inquisitive, especially where it involves things I don't know about. Kala found it hard to keep up with me as a child as I used to chase baby baboons and dissect insects to discover the inner workings of their systems. I wish I could find the Peeta creature and capture it, find out how it works. What's similar to me and what's not. I wonder if Kala would be mad if I managed to capture it and dissect it . . . Cornelius would go mad, I know that much.

I begrudgingly conclude that I should listen to Cornelius. He does know best, after all. These humans could be predators. Even though we have the advantage in strength and numbers, they could have weapons. Sharp rocks that could slice skin and kill us. I hate to submit and admit defeat but I know when to back down. I don't want to become any more of an outcast than I already am in our leader's eyes.

A few days later, I climb from tree to tree. The clan has settled again and I'm wandering on my own. I stay as close to the top of the trees as I can, so I can feel the heat from the sun on my skin. My hands are chafed, little scrapes scratched deep across my palms and knuckles. I love the feel of the bark against my hands, every wrinkle and groove feeling like it's shaped to the form of my fingers and feet. Kala didn't even have to teach me how to climb, it has always been second nature to me. It's like I'm built for it. No, not built.

I am made for climbing.

It's mid-afternoon when I take a break. I sit on a high branch, where I'm shrouded from the ground but still have full view of the sky. I stare at the gorgeous blue until my eyes sting, until I'm forced to close them in peaceful rest. If I could live my life without sleeping, I would do it, for the darkness behind my eyelids is not worth the replenishment. I want to be forever moving, I want to be forever swinging from tree to tree with Kala and the other apes. I don't want to ever stop, not for anything. Rest is an interference. I do not want it but I need it.

At some point, I must fall asleep, for next thing I know I am being startled awake. Whatever it is that has woken me is not a loud sound, for once I'm alert I have to strain to listen to what it was. A rustle. Directly below me. Kala? Surely the clan are not moving just yet. We don't move until nightfall. Letting my feet drop off the branch, I grab where my feet previously stood with my hands, swinging down onto the one below. I let go again and crouch on the branch right below me. I peer through the gaps in the leaves to find the source of the sound. Another rustle, a lot softer this time. There is still too much obscuring my view so I descend even lower, two or three levels until I can see down to the ground.

It's not Kala.

It's the Peeta creature.

The first I see is the golden, fair hair. The sunlight threads through the holes in the leaves and reflects off the yellow strands, setting the animal's head on fire. It sits at the bottom of my tree, holding that strange object it had carried the other day. It is making strange markings, the sort Gale used to make with the blood from the berries but much more careful and intricate. I press my fingers into the bark and crawl down the trunk, getting a better look of the markings it's producing.

The Peeta is marking out a perfect replication of a baboon. Amazing. I grab the nearest branch and wrap myself around it, watching to see what the creature does next. Its movements fascinate me. Smooth but controlled, the image it's creating the exact same to what an actual baboon would look like. The Peeta looks the same, dressed the same, with the same weird contraption on its nose.

A baby baboon appears, as if able to tell that someone is drawing one of its kind. The Peeta creature is clever, doesn't frighten the baboon and allows it to amble over and examine its work.

"What do you think?" asks the Peeta. The baboon snatches the picture and I wince, horrified by the idea of the markings being destroyed. The Peeta allows it to look at the markings for a moment, not at all worried about it getting ruined. The baby baboon is okay at the beginning but begins to become aggressive with the markings. The Peeta can see this and becomes worried, taking the markings back before it is ripped.

The baboon stares at him for a moment, then at the markings, and starts to ball like the baby it is.

Oh, no. No, no, no.

The Peeta must know what's happening. I wonder as he stands up if he has knowledge of the monkeys and their rituals. I.e. if a baby cries, the clan investigates. They'll be on the Peeta creature in seconds, it won't stand a chance against them all. There's no escape, they'll all attack it. For all they shall see is a creature who has upset their young, even though the young is the one at fault. Cornelius' warning comes into my mind but I can't stay up here and allow the baboons to kill an innocent animal. I could leave now, jump to the next tree and return back to Kala and the rest of the clan but what would that achieve? If I leave the Peeta creature as easy pickings, it's basically the same as allowing a baby gazelle to be pummeled by a lion. Okay, I know that's the rule of the jungle but I can't do it. Not when this animal is so new to me. I want to know more of the Peeta and his other clan members. I have to find out more. Besides, I have always been the lesser creature in the pack, if I capture this Peeta animal, I will be the dominant being, for the first time.

Maybe if I discover more, Cornelius will finally accept me.

I wrench a vine free from the tree trunk, crawling backwards on my haunches to pull it free from the very top. When I look out, I see the trees rustling with the approaching onslaught of baboons. Before the Peeta can escape, I jump from my branch and wind myself around the vine as I fall. As I rush towards the ground, I kick my feet backward so I swing last minute. I wrap my arms around the Peeta animal's middle as I swing, pulling it tight against me as we soar back up to the closest tree branch.

I don't acknowledge the creature or its shock as I drop it onto the branch. I launch back down to a lower branch and carefully watch the baboons as they collect their young and move on. I do not worry about my captive escaping as I made sure we reached a higher branch so it will not climb or escape without my noticing first. As the monkeys vanish I see the Peeta's markings on the ground, lying out in the open just waiting to be ruined.

Gripping the vine tight in my hands, I suck in a breath and jump again, free-falling back toward the ground. I reach out as I swoop across the grass and grab the markings, the vine snapping tight and swinging back in a clean arch back in the direction from which I jumped. I let go of the vine as I pass the branch where I left the Peeta and hurl myself at it. I hit the wood full force, the rough bark scraping my skin and opening fresh wounds. The sting is powerful but I have experienced worse. I grit my teeth and clamour onto the branch, sitting on my haunches in front of the creature I just saved.

I stare at it.

It stares at me.

I notice for the first time that its eyes are blue. Bright like the sky above our heads. Hair like the sun and eyes like sky, I have never seen anything like it. Only these eyes are wide, with an expression I have only seen in the eyes of startled deer. I have frightened the Peeta creature, most likely from my capturing it. Again, I hear Cornelius' warning but I still can't bring myself to heed it. Definitely not now when I'm so close to the species of human.

I thrust my arm out, the one holding the markings, allowing him to take them back. It does, carefully, as if I am easily startled. The thought alone is insulting but I do not dwell on it.

"Thank you," it says.

I don't know how to answer. I haven't spoken in years. I continue to stare at it. Up close, I can make out the smooth contours of its face. A sharply cut jawline, a straight nose that upturns a little at the bottom, plush lips and high cheekbones. I still do not know a gender but still hazard the guess that a Peeta in the human clan is a male.

"I'm Peeta," the creature says gently. The animal's voice is sweet as honey from the fullest of hives. "Do you have a name?"

I do have a name. I have never said it before except in my own head. I still don't speak. I cannot try to answer, not even hazard a try, because I must seem dominant. If I stammer or trip up, the Peeta will think it is better than me. This cannot happen if I am to earn Cornelius' trust. I continue to stare the creature down. If it recognizes my authority, it will eventually back down. I may have rescued it once but never again.

"Are you on another expedition?" the animal presses.

I do not answer.

I can see something going on behind the Peeta's blue eyes and it eventually says, "Thank you. For saving me. I wouldn't have made it a mile before those monkeys caught up with me."

Thanks. Such an odd thing to say to me. Can't it see that we are different? Why is it talking to me like I'm on an equal level to it? Equal . . . level. Does it believe that we're equals? What a strange thing to think. It's almost . . . welcome.

The Peeta narrows its blue eyes, a thoughtful expression on its features. "Do you . . . live here?" it asks me slowly. I don't know whether to share that information or not. Shouldn't it be clear since I'm just as much an animal to it as it is to me? Is it mocking me? My hesitance must be answer enough for it as it continues, "How long have you been here?"

I don't know. This much I can say honestly. I really don't know.

I crawl forward a little, curious to have a better look at the Peeta creature. My curiosity must silence all other questions it has brewing in its mind as it allows me to take everything in with my eyes without another word. I pick at the strange body covers, wondering why so much clothing is necessary in such warm climates. It's made from the strangest hides. It's incredibly soft and almost silky. Silkier than the webs of the spiders of the jungle. I realize, while I am doing this, that I should satisfy the pressing question regarding gender once and for all by finding out this animal's sex.

Except when my hands go for the top of the animal's leg covers to investigate further, the Peeta intervenes and grabs my wrists. I could easily yank my hands away but look at it with a frown instead. What's its problem? It's not like I wish to mate with it, I just want to figure out the gender. I've seen worse done during mating season with the clan.

"I don't think we know each other well enough for that just yet," the Peeta says. It smiles again and I am filled with warmth.

I cock my head in confusion. Know each other? What is it talking about? How am I to tell it that all I want to know is whether it's a female or a male? I can barely say my own name. I reach out and grab a handful of the fair hair. It's almost as soft as the body covers, if even more so. The Peeta yelps in surprise when I yank on it, trying to decipher the sex myself since it's not going to allow me to find out biologically what gender it is.

I wonder why the creature hasn't tried to fight back. I'm ready for it, my muscles tensed, prepared for a fight. I don't know this animal's skills but, despite its strong-looking arms and body, I figure I could take it. From what I can see, we would be equal opponents. However I am advanced in stealth and in climbing ability. I could easily win a battle with this new species.

"Is there any way you can communicate with me?" the Peeta asks me. I still have a handful of its hair, paused in my confusion over why it doesn't fight back. Why it doesn't retaliate, why it chooses to ask me questions instead of escaping with force like all other animals in the kingdom would, I don't know. Never in my life have I ever happened upon an animal that wouldn't fight back when faced with danger. "Do you know how to speak?"

The Peeta is annoying me. A part of me knows that it's because the question grates on me but I don't acknowledge this. I don't speak, I haven't done for years. I know that if I tried hard enough, a voice would come out in words that are somehow in my head from many a moon ago. What do I say to it, though? Do I tell it that whatever kindness it believes my saving it has come from is gone. It barely existed in the first place. This animal is nothing but my passage to acceptance.

My knuckles are turning white, I'm clutching the Peeta's hair so hard. The pain is evident on the animal's face but it doesn't tell me to let go. Maybe it can see it's in a dilemma, that it's in trouble. Maybe it can see that I am capable of snapping its neck like a twig. Whichever it is, it doesn't mention the agony I'm causing.

Something touches my arm and I realize with a jolt that it's the Peeta animal. I jerk my arm away and shove my elbow against its neck, forcing it against the tree trunk. My heart pounds in my chest, frantic from the panic of thinking it's under attack. Was that an attempt at attack? Has the animal finally figured out that I'm a threat to it? From the startled look in its eyes, it definitely knows.

"What do you want?" The Peeta asks. Its voice is still level and its calmness is kind of infuriating. Why isn't it afraid? Why isn't it fearing me?

I narrow my eyes angrily. I can feel something beating underneath my arm, the creature's blood. Every time it swallows, I feel it. Life is so fragile, made up of blood and bones and organs. I could end this pathetic creature's life in a second if it pushed me enough. I could do it. I will do it.

But I can't.

The blue eyes are watching me in a way I've never been watched before. The Peeta is startled but it is not afraid. It's almost like it's . . . observing me. But why? Everything this animal does confuses me. It's the opposite of every other animal I've interacted with. We don't watch unless hunting. We don't talk unless we are of the same clan or allying groups. My grip on the Peeta is loosening.

"Can you talk?" The Peeta repeats.

My arm drops to my side and hangs there loosely. The Peeta doesn't move, doesn't dare to startle me again. At least the animal is wise. I reach out and take the contraption from its nose. Is it a weapon of some sort? I examine the item and put them at the end of my own nose, tying to discover its purpose. The Peeta blinks and begins to squint at me. This doesn't make sense, all it does it blurr my vision. It is not a weapon, it is a burden.

"They're glasses," the Peeta says helpfully. It reaches towards me and I flinch, my eyes lighting up in fear. I grab its wrist and squeeze tight. The blue eyes study me some more. I hate how I have to stare back. At how hypnotizing the eyes are. "I won't hurt you, I promise." I don't trust it. It could be a ruse. I barely blink as I stare back at the Peeta. I want to communicate that I don't trust him. It's the only way I can tell it for the words won't find their way into my mouth.

The Peeta, however, is persistent.

"They help me see," he says. "I don't know if they'd do you any good." They aren't doing me any good. I take the 'glasses' off but don't give them back to him. Instead I release his wrist and point at him, trying to convey my question through the gesture. What are you? Please tell me, I want to know. Maybe if you understand, I won't hurt you as much.

The Peeta helplessly tries to get what I mean. It's frustrating being unable to communicate. I've never been so mute and I do not like it. "I don't understand," he tells me. I point at his leg covers, where he wouldn't let me go without 'knowing me better', which I still don't fully understand. He looks down at himself, expecting to see something, but when he doesn't, he looks back at me. "What is it you want?"

Oh for the love of apes. I lurch forward and grab a fistful of the creature's top cover, holding it place so it doesn't lash out or escape me. It makes a sound of surprise but I ignore it. I slam it against the tree and shove my hand down the front of the leg covers. I grope around until I find what I'm looking for.

Ah, male.

Definitely male.

I grip the proof maybe a little too hard, this proved by how the Peeta creature welds his eyes shut and bites down on his lip hard. Good. Maybe he'll understand that I don't mess around. When I rip my hand back out of the leg covers, I rip the fabric by accident. The Peeta's eyes are wide, the blue like large lagoons of pure water. He's breathing heavily, his face twisted a little. I don't understand his horror. This is the jungle, this is how things work. Where, exactly, does he come from?

My hand is still twisted in his top cover. We stare at each other. Grey on blue. I want to look away but I have to force myself to do so, instead staring at the place I ripped the bottom covers. There's a pang in my heart. I was foolish to be so forceful, now I have destroyed flawless hides. They could have been a useful resource.

"I really won't hurt you," says the Peeta.

I suddenly want to believe him. His markings still lie on the branch. I unclench my fingers and let go of him, picking the markings up and staring at them. The baboon is beautifully captured. I glance at the Peeta but quickly avert my gaze when I see that he is still watching me. How could an animal have such a strange ability?

I look at his hands. They created these markings. They are not fighting hands. They're peaceful hands.

I try to give him his markings of the baboon back. He shakes his head and smiles.

"You keep it," he tells me.

My heart speeds up. I find myself smiling. The Peeta creature's smile brightens and he risks leaning forward. I jump, nerves on fire, jumping to my feet on the branch in fear. He holds his hands up in surrender and I relax a little.

"I just want my glasses back," he says. The glasses, still in my spare hand, are all he wants. I look at them and back at him. He squints at me. Maybe he really does need them for his vision. Reluctantly, I hand them back. He puts them on and his face lights up in delight. "Much better." He shakily stands on the high branch, keeping his back against the trunk so I'm not threatened. He pushes the glasses up. "Do you have a name?" he asks.

As soon as the last word leaves his mouth, I hear Kala's call. I straighten up and stare into the distance. Oh no. I snatch the vine up and grab the Peeta around the waist before jumping off the branch again. He yells in alarm but thankfully doesn't scream. When we're as close to the ground as we're going to get, I let go of him. He doesn't hurt himself upon impact with the ground but does roll a few meters from the tree before stopping.

I feel his eyes on me as I jump from one vine to the next, leaving him alone. Safe to go back to the females of his clan.

That night there is not darkness in my dreams.

There is the animal known as the Peeta creature.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews, follows and faves! It's greatly appreciated!