Dozens of unanswered questions circulated through the young ape's mind but it was hard to focus on even one of them when he had a petite human skipping from tree-stump to tree-stump in front of him. Ellie's natural confidence with her woodland surroundings had taken Blue Eyes by enormous surprise. He had never seen a human even half as comfortable in what was naturally considered to be ape territory but his female companion jogged ahead as if it was second nature. He was certain that from a distance, someone could easily consider her lithe form to be some sort of minuscule, hairless ape but close-up, there was no mistaking that she was completely and absolutely human.
"Ellie, slow!" The frustrated ape barked quietly as the brunette jogged several feet ahead again, weaving down a path that he was not familiar with. Caesar had always taught Blue Eyes and the rest of the apes to tread unknown territory with extreme caution but it was obvious that humans had other ideas. Careless, quick and destructive, that was what Koba used to say. While Ellie was clearly taking great care not to disturb even a wildflower, Blue Eyes did not feel fully confident in this part of the woods and he needed her to understand that she had to stay close. Yes, she may have been good with her weapon and he was fully confident with his spear but what good was it against a brown bear? It would make the animal angrier, no doubt. "Use caution. Predator here. Not safe."
Blue Eyes wasn't quite sure what emotion he would see in Ellie's face when she turned around to face him after the scolding. Frustration, anger maybe. While she may have been a human and her body was naturally created against this particular environment, it was clear that living in the woodlands for over four years had given her expert skills. If he had scolded an ape in such a fashion, Blue Eyes was certain that a confrontation was to follow but the human turned around to meet his light gaze with flustered cheeks and an embarrassed smile. "I'm sorry," she said softly as he caught up, unsure of how to reply as her brown eyes stared up at his with a strange intensity. "I'm just used to moving fast everywhere I go." Blue Eyes listened carefully but he couldn't quite understand the young woman's explanation. Moving too fast was a disadvantage. It eliminated caution completely and made the chances of finding a suitable home impossible. Even having Ellie as a surprisingly pleasant example of the human species still didn't make the young ape understand their culture. Their explanations didn't make sense. For now though, Blue Eyes decided not to ask questions. Being alone in the woods was never safe and having a human companion, armed or not, wasn't going to improve a chances if a bear or a mountain lion came along to challenge him.
"Where you take me hum... Ellie," the sky-hued ape asked, stuttering out his words when he remembered the woman's displeasure at being called 'human.' Four years ago, he wouldn't have been so accommodating. 'Human' would have been one of the few nice things that he could have said to this stranger and it certainly would not have topped his list of preferred addresses. But times had changed. While humans as a society had not proved themselves to be respectable on a whole, Blue Eyes had started to understand that there was an exception to every rule. Koba had been the perfect example of that. Ape or not, he had been cruel. He didn't want a Utopian society for the apes. He just wanted destruction.
Just like Koba had been wicked, Blue Eyes was starting to think that Ellie wasn't power-hungry like her human predecessors. Blue Eyes was not naive. He was old enough now not to get tricked by confident speech or a demand for empathy but something about the human female still drew him closer. Maybe it was the enthusiasm in her eyes when they shared even the briefest of exchanges or maybe it was the way she grabbed his much larger forearm with what he could only describe as a human giggle and began to pull him towards an unknown destination. Blue Eyes wasn't sure what exactly made him follow the human but as her booted feet picked up into a light jog, he matched her step-by-step.
They hadn't been walking for very long before Ellie suddenly released him and turned her body to face him, her arms extended as if she was trying to show her companion something incredible. "Do you see?" she asked, a hint of mischief in her eyes as she twirled in a lazy circle.
Light hues finally darted away from the deep focus on the female and the young ape lifted his head to take in his surroundings, realizing for the first time that he hadn't paid attention to a single step they'd taken when Ellie's hand had been holding his arm. They were stood in a small but beautiful meadow. The blue sky above their heads wasn't distorted by trees or leaves and the ground around them was covered in delicate yellow flowers. This was not the kind of hunting ground that Blue Eyes was used to and for a moment, the youngster contemplated questioning Ellie about her choice of location but then he looked back to find her standing just inches away from him. He could almost feel her breath on his chest but when he tried to find her dark eyes with his own, Blue Eyes quickly realized that her focus was on something directly behind him.
"Stay still," she whispered so quietly that the ape didn't know just how he'd made out her words. A breath stuck in his throat. Blue Eyes was confused but he followed the human's directions, unsure of what to do with his heavy hands as he watched her delicate fingers reach up to press against his solid chest. She still didn't look at him and he wasn't sure whether to be frustrated or relieved. His heart was beating so fast. He couldn't understand how she couldn't feel it thumping rhythmically through his strong chest against her hand. "It's a deer."
Blue Eyes had never been so close to a human. He didn't know how they felt or how they touched. He never tried to imagine just how small the hands of human females were but now, he couldn't divert his intense eyes away from the little fingers that curved gently along the muscle of his chest. He hadn't even processed Ellie's words when she took a sudden and unexpected step away and just as quietly armed herself with the bow.
Everything was happening so fast.
The young ape had been lifting his own much larger hand to where Ellie's fingers had touched his skin when the arrow buzzed passed him and snapped him right back into a confusing reality.
His first reaction was anger.
Frustrated, Blue Eyes hissed at the human and took a few steps forward, baring his teeth at Ellie in an attempt to figure out an explanation. His heart was still beating rapidly but whether that was down to shock or the surprisingly warm touch of the girl, he couldn't tell. Seeing his anger had clearly taken the brunette by surprise and Ellie dropped her bow and arrows instantly, her small hands held out in front of her as she tried to offer an explanation. "Blue Eyes, I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" she said apologetically but there was still a hint of excitement in her tone. Her outstretched palms suddenly transformed and with her right hand, Ellie pointed behind him in the direction of where her arrow had flown. "It's a deer! It's just a deer!"
A deer. A deer!
Finally, Blue Eyes turned his attention to the direction where Ellie was pointing and finally everything seemed to make sense. Their proximity, her sudden weapon withdrawal... had she only come so close to him so they wouldn't spook the animal? "Hmmph." Suddenly irritated, Blue Eyes diverted his gaze from Ellie's excited form and took it upon himself to go and examine her catch. The buck in the meadows was impressively large and the human had shot him right through the neck, killing him instantly and preserving the meat. Blue Eyes should have been impressed. He WAS impressed but it was impossible for him to push away his conflicting emotions so he just slung the animal over his shoulder, not even bothering to take out the arrow. "We go now." This time, Blue Eyes didn't wait for an answer and didn't listen to see if he could hear Ellie's footsteps catching up to him. He was irritated but he couldn't understand the nature of his bad mood. Was he really angry at Ellie for not looking into his eyes when he had looked into hers? The reason seemed so petty and confusing.
"Blue Eyes, wait up!" An equally frustrated cry came from behind him and the ape froze in his place, grunting to himself but not making an effort to turn around. Maybe he had been too friendly with the human and crossing the boundaries into friendship was a dangerous decision. She caught up quickly but out of the corner of his eyes, he could see that her cheeks were pink and her chest moved harder as she regained her breath. Blue Eyes knew that if he were to meet her eyes now then he would certainly see confusion there but he avoided her gaze like the plague, shaking his head when Ellie insisted that they could hunt more and that this was the prime spot for deer. "Can we at least get my bags from the tree on the way back? I have my clothes in their, my blan-"
"No," His deep voice cut her off completely. Blue Eyes still refused to meet the human's bewildered gaze and wondered for a moment if she was going to engage him in some sort of argument. She didn't. She said nothing as they began to walk together side by side, the mood of the hunt completely altered by one extremely brief and emotionally-charged exchange between the unlikely pair.
Had it not been for the occasional sound of arrows flying through the air into rabbits and birds, the whole journey back to the colony would have been completely silent.
Ellie wanted to contribute as much as she possibly could so by the time they reached her small hut, the buck was joined by five rabbits and two impressive falcons. Had it been anyone else, Blue Eyes knew that he would have accepted the animals with gratitude but he simply huffed at Ellie, nodding towards her temporary residence in the hut. "Stay here. Blue Eyes get you for dinner."
She stayed. Blue Eyes knew that she'd stayed because even though a few of the apes that were more pro-human had called her name after seeing the impressive results of the hunt, her curtains had never even rippled.
"Human did well, Blue Eyes," his mother signed to him as they prepared dinner, the smell of roasted meat encouraging many of the apes to come out earlier than usual. Blue Eyes knew that his mother had picked up on the drop of his mood since the hunt but he there was certainly no way that he would even think of bringing up the compromising situation to his mother. It hadn't even BEEN compromising! At least not from Ellie's point of view but being so close to her left him both curios and frustrated. Had Ellie not felt the closeness that he had? Or did she feel it and it had meant nothing? It really should have meant nothing. But why was it impossible for him to stop thinking about it, then? Why could he remember the feel of her soft fingertips against his broad chest as if it happened just seconds ago?
"Human did okay," the young ape signed back as he shared the rabbit meat in equal amounts on large leaves. As well as the fresh meat, the diet of the apes consisted of many fresh fruits and vegetables and Blue Eyes piled berries and carrots onto Ellie's plate without thinking. It wasn't until he'd started preparing the meal that he realized that the human had gone over twenty-four hours without food and surprisingly not uttered a single complaint. Large barrels of fresh water could be found in every hut so he didn't worry about her thirst but guilt rushed through the young ape as he realized that he hadn't even bothered to offer Ellie a grape for breakfast.
"Hmph," he sighed heavily to himself but his mother had caught his disdain instantly. Her concerned brown eyes met her son's as he attempted to sign reassurance, insisting that he was alright but Cornelia shook her head and moved over, pressing her forehead against his.
"Son eat alone," the Queen of the Colony said in a quiet voice that was rarely heard in their community. "Take food to human. Eat alone tonight. This day, long. Blue Eyes stressed. Eat alone." Uncertainty flashed through the younger ape's face as he opened his mouth to argue but his mother calmly pressed her fingers to his lips. While his father had always been excellent at reading the emotions of all of the apes, his mother was exceptional. In his whole life, there had not been a single bad mood that Cornelia hadn't picked up on. Sometimes it was frustrating but today, Blue Eyes felt liberated and thanked his mother with a tender touch to the hand. As the next potential colony leader, he was expected to be by Caesar's side at every breakfast, lunch and dinner but today, Blue Eyes just couldn't handle the crowd. With another grateful nod towards his mother, the young ape took his meal in one and hand Ellie's in another and made his way down to her hut.
Unlike the majority of the apes, Ellie hadn't even bothered to light the small fire in her hut and the darkness instantly caused Blue Eyes great concern. Carefully he moved forward, pushing his head in the space between the curtain and the hut walls as his eyes adjusted to the night. "Ellie," he spoke softly, the earlier harshness completely gone from his tone. Koba had always told him that pity for humans was a mistake waiting to happen but guilt twisted at his stomach as he finally found her tired form, sitting up on the bed in the dark. She was obviously exhausted from lack of nutrition. "I have food."
It took only seconds for her to answer but those seconds seemed like a lifetime. Blue Eyes didn't ever realize that he'd been holding in a breath when she finally muttered a quiet, sleepy 'oh' and invited him inside. The light-eyed ape pulled back the curtain completely to bring in some moonlight before he accepted Ellie's invitation and walked in slowly to sit cross-legged on the floor beside her bed. He couldn't help but wonder just why this particular meeting mirrored the awkwardness of when they'd first laid eyes on one another. They weren't exactly strangers anymore.
"Your rabbit and deer," Blue Eyes stated uncomfortably as he held out the plate-like leaf, surprised to see Ellie's small smile in the moonlight. A heavy sigh left his lips when her fingers brushed his clumsily but this time, Blue Eyes noted that the dark-haired human looked away before he did. The contact had taken her by surprise. "Also berries. Carrots."
They ate in silence. Occasionally, Blue Eyes lifted his gaze to seek out Ellie's heart-shaped face in the moonlight but she had been looking back at him almost every time and it caused him to turn away quickly, embarrassed. The awkward hunting experience still played heavy on his mind and the sky-hued ape was desperate to apologize but before he'd even had to chance to open his mouth post-dinner, Ellie had slipped from her bed and sat down opposite him, mirroring his cross-legged position.
For a moment they simply sat in silence, watching each other in the blue moonlight but eventually Ellie broke peace with a smile and one of her laughs that Blue Eyes was starting to like very much, "Caesar said you would teach me how to sign." Now, Blue Eyes was smiling too, his head shaking slightly as he stared at nothing in particular on the wall. He wasn't all that sure what to say but Ellie didn't wait. Her small, hot hands reached out to grab one of his much larger ones and now, a breathless Blue Eyes had no choice but to look at her. "Teach me. Please."
This time there was no mistaking whether her eyes were watching him or not. Mahogany brown hues seemed to stare into his soul as he cautiously drew back his hands, letting his fingers form shapes that came naturally to everyone in the ape colony. "I," he spoke and signed, watching Ellie's fingers as she mirrored his movements perfectly. "Blue Eyes. You," he paused, relaxing slightly when Ellie messed up a relatively simple sign for 'blue.' They did it again. This time he nodded at her in approval. "You Ellie."
While he was certainly no teacher, the young ape had helped his little brother with sign language and had found the whole experience surprisingly easy and rewarding. While Ellie seemed to pick up on the signs easily too, the mood was very different. Blue Eyes inhaled sharply as he watched the human sign her introduction and he nodded, looking away in an attempt to hide his half smile. When he dared to look back, he found that even in the moonlight, he could see a red tint in Ellie's cheeks. He wasn't sure just what exactly that meant.
They signed for twenty, maybe thirty more minutes before Blue Eyes noticed that the fires around the colony had started to extinguish. He couldn't help but wonder if his parents were still waiting for him to hear all the details of his hunt with the human but he hoped that they would have been a sleep. Talking about her, about Ellie, was going to be strange. A sigh left his lips as he moved over to the fire-pit and started to work on the rocks and sticks without asking. It took a while but finally, a gentle flame illuminated the room and Blue Eyes couldn't help but wish that he'd had this light for their whole evening together. He could see Ellie a lot clearer like this and she didn't seem to be avoiding his gaze quite as much.
"Thank you," the dark-haired human said quietly as she rose to her feet in order to guide her companion out of the hut. "For the fire, and the food and... and everything." Every instinct in his body told Blue Eyes to wish her a brief farewell and disappear but he remained standing opposite her in the doorway of the hut, holding the two leaf plates as Ellie pulled back the curtain in order to look at him. They were close, but not as close as before. He couldn't feel her breath and he didn't think that she could hear her heartbeat. But they were still close enough where he could touch her with his forehead if he leaned over just a little...
But he didn't.
"Goodnight, Ellie." With one final look at her delicate face, Blue Eyes took off towards his own hut, his mind spinning with impossible scenarios that could possibly have happened if he'd stayed just a little longer.