"This is... this is your home?" Blue Eyes had not anticipated the extent of her surprise. The brown eyes that met his were filled with emotions that he couldn't quite distinguish from her look alone but the ape recognized her absolute amazement. It took all of his will-power not to smile back at her and his light hues quickly darted away from her demanding gaze, staring forward instead. The new colony wasn't quite as advanced as their last home but Blue Eyes didn't discredit the human's amazement. His light eyes watched Ellie as she curiously took everything in, her pink lips parted and the corners curved into a smile. He allowed his own gaze to follow hers and he attempted to look at the colony as if it was his very first time gazing on these particular wonders. In four years, the apes had done a flawless job. Each ape family had a quiet, isolated hut among their peers with curtains made from animal skin and a small, quiet fire for light. Blue Eyes couldn't help but watch the human's reaction with a sense of curiosity, his large hands curling into fists as she attempted to move forward, desperate to see more of the colony.
"No. You stay here." His words took her by surprise but the human... Ellie... didn't protest. She nodded up at him as her wide eyes met his again and her smile returned. Truthfully, Blue Eyes wasn't sure whether it was her smile or her intense gaze made him more uncomfortable but he decided to avoid both. With a quick glance back at the human, he grunted. "You bring too much attention. I will get father... Ceasar. We will talk. You stay here."
Nerves seemed to tense his whole being and any attempt at acting natural appeared false and while none of the apes he passed seemed at all suspicious, Blue Eyes couldn't stop himself from turning around and occasionally shooting Ellie a reassuring look. He wasn't sure whether seeing her calmed her more or him but with every step he took away from the human, the ape grew concerned. When the shadow of her figure finally disappeared into the night, Blue Eyes had no choice but to speed up. He hadn't expected to feel a worry about leaving the human female alone but his stomach tensed with discomfort. Not being able to see her made him panic and fear of night-time predators dangers was constant on his mind. While Blue Eyes couldn't anticipate Caesar's reaction, he knew that if the response was negative then he would have to get the human back to her hiding place in the trees before the sun set completely for the night. His father's empathy towards the human race really was effecting him.
Dusk was in full effect by the time Blue Eyes reached his father and mother's isolated residence. The young ape inhaled deeply as he pulled back the curtain of their habitat and peered around the fabric carefully. "Father?" Blue Eyes called out quietly, a small smile finding his lips when he saw both of his parents playing with his little brother. Caesar's expression was full of joy and love and when he turned to greet his oldest son, that affection didn't go away and it made Blue Eyes feel terribly guilty about bringing possible distress into his parents' lives. "We talk alone?"
Caesar didn't need to be asked twice. With a kiss to Cornelia's lips and his toddler's head, the green-eyed ape rose to his impressive height and made his way to his son, his face filled with concern. 'Something wrong?' he signed, suspicious at his son's desperation to avoid his gaze.
Blue Eyes shook his head 'no.' Nothing was wrong, per say. Through sign language, he reassured his father there was nothing to worry about but once they were out of ear-shot, the younger ape sought Caesar's eyes with desperation. "Blue Eyes find... human," the young ape finally confessed, his gaze darting to where he left Ellie even though he could no longer see her. "She is alone. A hunter. She wants to speak to you... to Caesar."
A mixture of emotions wrinkles his father's proud face as Caesar shook his head, his green eyes shifting around to make sure that their conversation wasn't going to be overheard. "Human?" he repeated curiously as his son nodded in confirmation. "Dangerous?"
This time, Blue Eyes shook his head. While he didn't know the human female enough to realize her true intentions, her desperation seemed sincere. She didn't want to hurt the colony. "No. Human.. She... human is young. Scared. Says she is hunter. Wants to help colony. Wants to see you, father." Caesar replied with a stiff nod and reached out to put a large hand on his son's shoulder. Blue Eyes smiled briefly before nodding towards the woods, his own curiosity hungry to find out the current state of his human companion. "She is there. In the woods. I told her 'wait.'"
'Good. Human must wait,' Caesar replied in sign and Blue Eyes smiled. His father didn't need to say anything else as he began the short journey up towards the mountain view-point with Blue Eyes close behind. In contrast to his father, the younger ape wasn't quite as tall but he was already stood a good head taller than the human. Ellie was surprisingly small, even for a human female. It took Blue Eyes several seconds to locate her slender form once he returned to the forest with his father. He had to look away from his father's thoughtful gaze to breathe a sigh of relief into the night. He had worried that she might have left. Or worse. Blue Eyes knew that he shouldn't have been so concerned for human safety but finding Ellie's brown gaze watching him in the dark of night brought on an unimaginable relief. 'I told you Blue Eyes be back,' he signed, knowing very well that she wouldn't understand but she smiled at him regardless and her smile made him smirk back in return.
The exchange wasn't missed by his father. Concerned green eyes narrowed into tight slits as Caesar attempted to read his son's facial expression further but his young son made a point of avoiding his gaze directly. His surprising concern for the woman was unexpected and Caesar knew that Blue Eyes was still dealing with conflicted emotions regarding the human species after the war. Caesar knew that he should have looked upon this revelation with pride but a nagging kept revolving in his brain. Was Blue Eyes helping the girl because she was human and he felt genuine sympathy or was there more to it? The young ape was at that age where finding a decent mate had become top priority and the thought of his son having some sort of interest to the human made Caesar very nervous.
Thankfully, their eye-contact had been brief and the older ape nodded finally, his expression becoming especially stern as he looked into the human's eyes. "Why are you here, human?" he spoke slowly but omitted the kindness. Caesar could tell that his commanding tone made the young woman nervous but he kept his cool as he straightened his back even more, glad that he towered over the woman by at least two heads. "Where are others? Explain."
Caesar hadn't expected the young human to respond with so much enthusiasm but Ellie stood on her toes and offered him a friendly smile. "Your son, Blue Eyes, he helped me here," she began quietly and Caesar couldn't help but shoot his son a side-wards glance. He noticed that Blue Eyes was looking away. "There are no others. Not with me," a sigh left her lips and her brown eyes looked down at the ground, the sadness straining her face overshadowing her excitement. "My mother died four months ago. We didn't have anyone else with it. It was just her and me after the war." An understanding grunt left Caesar's lips and the ape furrowed his strong eyebrows together. Since the beginning of the colony, Caesar had never felt alone and he felt a sympathy towards the human. He nodded at her to continue as their eyes met and she did so without further encouragement.
"My mother saw you. Back at the human colony four years ago. She saw you and your companions on your horses and she... she knew that you had an incredible mind," the brunette spoke quickly and Caesar had to close his eyes to really understand every one of her words. It had been a long time since he'd spoken to a human. "She promised me that if we found you that maybe we could help with hunting or foraging in exchange for shelter. She said that... that you would understand." A silence came over the trio and Caesar could see his son watching him out of the corner of his eyes as he stared back at the human. He was not a human orphanage and a part of him felt irritated that rumors about his kindness were bringing humans onto his doorstep.
"You came to Caesar over humans?" His tone was calm but stern. Caesar couldn't help but think about how humans would have reacted to his son Blue Eyes if he'd been in an unknown place, searching for a friendly face. Would they have shunned him? Caesar knew that there was certainly a minority that would have been a threat to his children but he hoped that most would have shown him kindness and that was what he had to do now. This was someone's child, someone's daughter and she didn't have anyone else in the world. Specifically seeking out the ape colony after they'd been branded a moral danger by humans was a bold, brave move bur Caesar still couldn't guarantee that the rest of his species would take kindly to this new impostor. A sigh left his lips and the proud ape closed his eyes briefly as me massaged his aching temples in circular motion. "This is not safe place for human but woods are not safe either." Serious hazel eyes sought out the female's gaze in the dark night. "Tonight, you stay. Tomorrow, Caesar will speak with colony." A side-glance at his son's fallen expression confirmed what he'd already thought to himself and Caesar's gaze moved to study the human. He could tell that Ellie had been expecting a different answer but her lips still curved in appreciation.
"Thank you, Caesar. I couldn't ask for anything more." A polite smile remained on the female's lips as Caesar nodded and gave her a grunt of recognition. This particular human was not going to bring threat to the colony but the ape understood that his peers still linked humans to danger and mass despair. Humans had not been the only ones to feel a significant loss after the war and many apes throughout the colony had lost loved ones. Life without humans had been peaceful and even bringing in a young one like this was going to make the colony uncomfortable. It would take a lot of convincing.
"Blue Eyes take you to shelter. Tomorrow, we will take you in front of colony." The towering ape gave Ellie another firm nod of recognition before his attention turned back to Blue Eyes. The two apes began to sign quickly and only the son looked back at the female now. His expression was calm, even relieved, but there a hint of panic in those lively light hues. The younger ape approached Ellie again when his father went up ahead and nodded at the colony. Several of the fires had already been put out for the night so returning to the forest for Ellie's belongings was no longer a possibility.
With a firm grunt, Blue Eyes motioned for Ellie to catch up to him so the two could walk side-by-side into the colony. There were various guards positioned around the territory but Blue Eyes moved through the trees with expert ease, stopping briefly to allow his human companion to catch up. For once, the female seemed happy not to make conversation and the light hued ape could only hope that she wouldn't have a sudden change of heart. He knew that his father had the composure and respect to calm a potentially difficult situation but bringing a human to the attention of the colony in the middle of the night would not do Ellie any favors. His father wanted complete calm for when he introduced the young woman and that couldn't be achieved with the whole colony in a panic.
Ellie seemed to understand the potential dangers of bringing attention to herself well enough and it only took Blue Eyes a couple of turns back to notice that she stood extremely close. "This hut free," the stocky ape spoke quietly as the pair finally came to a row of empty shelters at the edge of the colony. Blue Eyes made sure to look around one last time to make sure that nobody from the night patrol was watching. Satisfied, the young ape pulled back the fabric and held it open for Ellie. The human smiled at him as she walked by, her brown eyes locking on his much lighter orbs for a little too long and Blue Eyes shifted his gaze to the full moon in awkward silence.
With a deep breath, Blue Eyes followed Ellie into the dark hut, suddenly feeling especially self-conscious with the absence of light. His father had warned him about the dangers of fire and the young ape was not going to go against Caesar's word just to diffuse his own discomfort but it was hard to ignore the tension that could have been cut through with a knife in this dark room. The curtains did an excellent job of blocking out the moonlight and Blue Eyes quickly realized that he couldn't see a single thing in the shelter but he could make out Ellie's sharp, nervous breaths as if they were his own. "You... you rest," the ape mumbled quietly, his strong arm raising to point at the simple bed made of wood and twigs in the corner. Bright blue eyes lowered to stare at an unimportant spot in the ground as Ellie shifted her weight from one foot to another, her lips parted and ready to speak but no words came out. Blue Eyes attempted to make out her form in the dark but it was impossible and he slowly took a step back, his hand searching for the fabric of the curtain once again. "In the morning, wait for me," the young ape finally whispered, his clear hues fixated on the female once again when he'd pulled back the curtain and allowed a little moonlight to sneak in.
Strange, conflicting emotions strained the young human's face and Ellie's hesitation only made Blue Eyes more uncomfortable. He had never been alone with a female in an intimate setting and while he was positive that the girl wanted him to stay and talk, he had to get away. She made him nervous but he wanted her here and he couldn't determine the exact reasons why. He was just happy to have seen her out of the dangers of the woods, even for a night. "You sleep now... Ellie. In the morning, Blue Eyes wake you."