"Will you please stop picking at that? Leave it alone, Maurice!" Karin demanded sometime later.
It had taken a little time, but with Mary's translations of Karin's advice and Sparrow's and some gorilla's help, they now had the orangutan's badly bruised ribs wrapped nice and tight with brilliantly improvised bandages. Only problem was that their patient did not care at all for being bound up in that manner.
"It is tight," Maurice complained.
"It's supposed to be snug, Maurice," Karin explained with exaggerated patience for the hundredth time. "It will speed your healing; will you trust me on this!"
"You know about ribs?" Maurice remarked, twisting and trying to get comfortable. "How?"
"Because I spent most of my childhood salving bruises, splinting sprains and binding up everyone's ribs, my older brother's, my Dads and his friends, and even my Mom's after her Saturday night trips to the bars," she told him. "Consider yourself lucky," she added. "If I had the tape with me from home, we'd also have to shave off much of those long lovely locks of yours."
"What?" Maurice yelped, then instantly wished he had not.
"Medical tape sticks badly enough in human hair," Karin explained. "Wanna make a 6-foot 6 grown man cry, wrap him up like you are now, then rip that off his chest and back. In your pelt, it would be a nightmare."
Maurice winced in sympathy.
"So, you've done this much to males in your family, have you?" the orangutan asked somewhat apprehensively as he made another grab for his bandage bindings that Karin quickly thwarted by firmly grasping both his hands in both of her own. He made as if to lift one foot, and she glared fiercely at him before placing one of her legs over his ankles.
"You could say that," Karin answered sweetly. "My brothers especially learned to be very nice to me on those occasions."
"I bet they did, indeed," the old orangutan grumbled.
"You will need to keep a firm hand on him" Sparrow had warned Karin through Mary's translations.
"And here I didn't believe Sparrow when she warned me what a horrible patient you could be, sometimes," Karin sighed. "Now I'm gonna have to apologize to her for that, thanks."
"Then again, maybe I should be flattered you're making all this fuss," Karin continued, her mouth twitching as she tried to suppress a grin.
Maurice stopped struggling against his bandages and just looked at her blankly.
"Well, never in my whole life have I had any guy go to all this trouble just to get me to hold his hands," she stated.
Maurice gaped at her for one moment, then he chuckled in spite of himself.
"You have found me out," he confessed.
"Oh, don't I wish," Karin sighed, and they both laughed.
Maurice was finally sleeping.
Karin sat beside him on the nest, her hand softly stroking his forehead before coming to rest lightly on the old orangutan's cheek. She considered grabbing a quick cat nap herself. But she knew if she did, she would have even more trouble sleeping that night. She never did sleep well in a strange place for the first few days, and this was one of the strangest places the woman had ever found herself in her whole life.
Karin yawned widely. Still in spite of her resolve, she did start to doze a bit. It was so quiet, this hut had obviously been specifically positioned to not be in the heart and bustle and noise of the main village, but still be easily accessible to the apes besides. Good quiet place for the sick or injured to rest, but not good for a physically and mentally exhausted human woman who was trying to keep herself awake.
Drawing her knees up, and wrapping one arm about them, Karin let her head fall forward till it lay on her arm, and she began to drift. But something brought her out of her light doze, a prickling feeling along her spine, some primitive instinct that still existed even in human beings that alerted you to watchful eyes and/or possible danger. Her head came up, she glanced aside, and gave a start of surprise. She was no longer alone with Maurice. Standing next to the bed was a badly scarred one-eyed ape and the way he was glaring at Karin's hand on Maurice's cheek gave her an immediate impression that he either wanted to rip it off or maybe bite it off, whichever got it away from an ape face the fastest.
Uh-oh, of all the times for Mary or anyone else not to be here, Karin thought. This ape did not look like he was much for small talk or polite introductions.
The woman resisted the urge of self-preservation by silently refusing to bow to this apes' unspoken wish that she goes away. She would not be driven away from Maurice by this apes' hate-filled stare. In fact, she held her position next to her orangutan friend stubbornly, though she forced her body to stay loose and relaxed, at least on the outside.
But then the ape shifted his weight in just the right way, the light falling just right across his mangled features, and Karin gasped, this time in pure recognition.
"You?" she whispered, peering intently at the one-eyed ape. "I … I know you, don't I?"
But even before she had begun to speak, the ape was turning away as if he had not heard her or simply did not care to hear her. He started stalking towards the door.
"Hey, wait," Karin called out in a stage whisper, trying not to awaken Maurice. "Wait, please? I want to talk with you?"
The ape only quickened his stride, and Karin did what she almost immediately recognized as one of the worst things she had ever done. Taking her hand away from Maurice's cheek, she slid out of the nest, and started after the scarred ape. She had only gone a few yards from the Healer's hut before the ape suddenly rounded on her, fixing his one good baleful eye on her, his teeth bared, almost openly snarling, but not quite.
OH damn, now you've done it! Karin told herself.
She did not fight self-preservation this time. Karin froze. And, the scarred ape also froze. She did not know how long they stood that way, but a soft urgent hoot from above made them both jumped. A thick curtain of long silky blond hair flew in front of Karin's face as a tiny figure dropped deftly from somewhere directly overhead to land squarely between herself and the one-eyed ape.
Looking up, she noticed for the first time that there weren't just well-worn paths on the ground, but there were timbers overhead for the ape's use.
Amazing! She marveled to herself.
"Papa?" Mary exclaimed to the one-eyed Ape. "What are you doing?"
Karin stood stock still as the little girl and the one-eyed ape exchanged a rapid flurry of signs before the older ape turned his back on them and knuckled away. She was relieved, but she also watched him go with a sad forlorn expression.
"Are you alright?" Mary asked, taking her hand and attempting to tug her back to the hut.
Badly shaken by the incident, but not wanting to frighten the child, Karin collected herself and nodded.
"Tell your Father, I'm sorry," she told Mary as they stepped back in to where Maurice rested.
"Why did you run after him like that?" Mary asked in hushed tones, sounding more curious then accusatory.
So, she saw that, too, Karin thought.
"I … I know that was a dumb thing to do," Karin admitted sheepishly. "But I swear I didn't mean any harm. I only wanted to thank him," she finished softly.
"Thank him?" Mary echoed disbelievingly. "Thank him for what?"
"For saving my life," she told the little girl, and smiled at the incredulous and astonished look on the child's face.
Karin could see that Mary was, just like any human child would be, absolutely brimming with questions. But the little ape girl and human woman both looked aside then at the still sleeping orangutan, and they fell silent for a while, not wanting to risk disturbing him. Gently pulling away from Mary, Karin quickly crossed to the healing nest, and eased herself to a sitting position back down next to Maurice. The old Orangutan stirred a little, and grumbled in his sleep, but he grew quieter as Karin touched his hand and murmured softly to him. Again, even in his sleep, Maurice clasped at her hand, and she sighed, giving in, not trying to resist his grip but entwining her fingers in his until he relaxed again.
Then, she saw Mary's eyes on them both. The child looked far more thoughtful then any child her age should look, like she knew things she absolutely should not know.
"Uncle Luca had to pry you two apart," Mary whispered. The child was grinning a little. "Did you know that?"
Karin blinked.
"No, I don't remember a thing," she told Mary truthfully. "But I'll take your word for it."
"Wasn't you, it was Uncle Maurice," Mary explained. "He really did not want to let you go." The child paused then went on. "Just like he is doing now."
Karin wondered if Mary were trying to work herself up in to asking something, and she had more than half an idea what that something might be, but what she did not know was what answer she might give to this bright, friendly and sweet natured child.
I don't even know what to tell myself, Karin admitted privately.
But if Mary had been trying to get up her nerve, she seemed to change her mind, or Karin had been wrong about her intent all along, much to Karin's great relief.
"I was coming to ask if you wanted to come and see Uncle Maurice's home, like he wanted me to show you, but looks like he's got other ideas," Mary murmured with a smile.
Karin warmly returned the girls smile.
"He'll be able to show it to me himself the way we're going here," she agreed.
Karin was torn. However. For the most part, she truly did not mind spending all her time sticking close to Maurice's side, if that was what he wanted. She did not mind it one bit. She was even willing to admit, to herself, that it was not only because she felt safest that way. But there was also a large part of her just dying to see the rest of the village, wanting desperately to see what the apes had created for themselves in the last few years since they gained their freedom.
And of course, she really did want to see Maurice's home, and felt so deeply touched that he had immediately asked Mary to take her there.
Carefully, Karin began easing her hand out of Maurice's grip. It was not a harsh grip by any means, she just did not want to wake him up. It took a while, but finally she had reclaimed her hand, and Maurice still slept peacefully so far.
"So, ready to give me the fifty-cent tour?" she asked the child brightly.
"… fifty cent tour?" Mary echoed blankly.
So, she doesn't know all English. Mind your language then, Karin told herself, giving the child a fond smile.
"To show me around a little bit," Karin explained.
"Oh!" Mary's face lit up, clearly ecstatic that she had learned a new human phrase.
Definitely watch your language, Karin told herself much more sternly as they started to leave the hut. This child is a sponge for language … like Lisa used to be. But she hesitated just outside the door.
"Um, maybe I shouldn't leave him alone," she said uncertainly. "He'll wonder where I am."
"That's okay," Mary reassured her.
The ape child made a soft hooting sound, and then there was an elderly gorilla female, seeming to Karin to appear out of nowhere. Had she been outside the hut all this time as a guard or an attendant of some sort.
Karin was a little proud of herself that she did not jump when the older ape appeared.
"Hi, Kira, will you please watch over Uncle Maurice while we are gone?" Mary asked the gorilla, signing as she spoke. Karin wondered if the child were doing that for her benefit or if this was how she always communicated, with both sign and speech simultaneously. Since it did not seem to strike the gorilla female as something odd, Karin concluded this was just Mary being Mary.
"Oh, Kira, this is Karin … They both start with K, right?" Mary asked excited.
Karin and the elderly gorilla nodded their heads in unison, and Mary beamed again.
As she made to pass them, Kira reached down and gently ruffled Mary's hair, earning a stern look from the child. The old gorilla woman shared a grin with Karin as she passed by.
"Don't let him get out of bed or undo his bandages," Mary and Karin both called softly as Kira disappeared inside the hut.
The gorilla gave a grunt that sounded suspiciously to Karin like a laugh.
"Can she handle him?" Karin fretted
"Kira, oh sure," Mary said casually, not concerned at all. "Old Kira can even handle my Papa and Uncle Luca, when she wants to. She and her twin sister Sonya are Luca's oldest aunts. Sonya's a little shyer. I'll try and introduce you to her later."
"Come on," Mary urged excitedly. "I'll take you to Uncle Maurice's home,"
Feeling a warm flood of affection for this strange little ape girl, Karin followed the child as she scampered quickly ahead. As they moved deeper in to the heart of the village, she became more and more aware of the deliberate stare of apes, and of some apes obviously stopping what they were doing to turn and watch her go by.
Is this how they felt being caged on display in our zoos? It really sucks! Karin wondered, careful not to get so bemused and distracted that she let Mary out of her sight.
Mary called and waved and smiled to some of the apes, and for the most part, the apes returned her friendly greeting, most of them but not all, Karin noticed.
And, then there were the children.
It started out with one, then there was two, then ten, then … What looked to Karin like hundreds, though she figured she was exaggerating the number, of little ape children were starting to tag along behind her and Mary. Little Chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans all clustered together in a large straggling group, gently jostling each other as if to get a better view of the strange creature that was now walking among them. Karin stopped to look back at them, and while many shied away immediately from her gentle bemused gaze, many more came eagerly forward, and clustered around her, staying just out of her reach, hooting and panting with curious excitement.
Mary came back and stood beside Karin, and the woman watched with gentle amusement as many of the little ones began to sign emphatically to the ape girl. The only signs Karin thought she understood was Maurice.
"This is Karin" Mary said out loud, speaking very slowly and clearly and signing just as carefully. "Karin," Mary repeated the word and the sign.
Immediately, the little group began to sign Karin over and over again, pointing excitedly to her each time.
"Hi kids," Karin said softly. "Nice to meet you all."
At the sound of her voice, the children gave a start, and grew very still, but this did not last long. One little chimpanzee girl signed something, and Mary shot the girl a stern look.
"Yes, she talks, Jewel," Mary said sternly.
This, coupled with many in the little group now glaring at her, caused the little chimp called Jewel to bow her head, thoroughly chastised. Karin felt sorry for her even though she had a good guess what the child had asked Mary. "It really talks?"
"Some people say I talk too much sometimes, Jewel," Karin deliberately but gently addressed the scolded little ape girl.
The girl seemed at first taken aback by Karin speaking directly to her. But then her head popped up and she grinned and signed something that again Karin only understood as something something Mary.
"So does Mary," her guide/chaperone reluctantly translated, looking a little sheepish.
Karin grinned at her, and her mood immediately improved.
"These are most of Uncle Maurice's students," Mary explained. "Well, we are all Maurice's students, even many of the grown-ups. He had to teach many of them sign, too."
Quite a task, teaching a whole colony, more or less, language, Karin thought, finding yet another reason to admire Maurice; she did not need more reasons, but they were nice to have, nevertheless. Only Maurice would have such patients.
After a while, once some of the new had worn off a bit, once they assured themselves that she was not 8 feet tall with three heads and glowing eyes; this was actually what one gorilla child insisted his Moher told him human beings were like, many of the children drifted off to other things, and she and Mary set off yet again to Maurice's home
"It's amazing," Karin murmured sometime later as she stood, turning in slow circles to take in Maurice's home. "Did he do all this himself?"
"Most of it, I think," Mary replied, barely taking notice of the surroundings. It was nothing new or remarkable to her.
Karin ran one hand lovingly over a large low set table almost in the exact center of the room. She wondered how Maurice had sanded it to make it so smooth. As she bent closer to examine it, she noticed that around its edges were carved names, many names.
"Mary … what's this?" she asked the little ape girl.
Mary came forward to se what she was pointing at. The little ape girl looked perplexed for a second, then she beamed, understanding flooding her face at last.
"It's all our names!" she exclaimed' "Look, see, here's mine … Mary of Koba. And there is Blue eyes— ""
Of Caesar and Cornelia," Karin said in unison with the child. "And Ash of Tinker and Rocket. Boys? "Friends of yours?"
"Blue Eyes is my brother," Mary announced proudly.
Karin smiled fondly. The child might not have been born of Cornelia, but she obviously considered the ape queen to be her Mother.
"And Ash?" Karin gently persisted.
"He is a good friend," the girl said.
Karin saw her muzzle turn a little pink, though.
"I never knew he'd carved all our names in his table," Mary marveled, smoothly changing the subject.
Karin let her, feeling that she did not know the child long enough to tease her much about boys.
"This ones' new. I don't know this one, though," Mary went on, still studying the vast list of carved names. "Lisa? Who is Lisa?"
The child frowned, trying to place the name.
Karin caught her breath, and swallowed hard, feeling tears stinging her eyes.
"You're sure there's no ape here by that name?" she finally managed to ask the child.
"Yes … What's wrong?" Mary asked.
Karin leaned heavily against the edge of the table. Mary retrieved several thick fur covered cushions and shoved them behind her, clearly afraid she might fall. Karin sank gratefully down on the cushions and ran one tired hand through her now well-groomed hair and over her eyes.
"You know who Lisa is?" Mary asked curiously, crouching down beside her and touching her hand.
Karin had to clear her throat a little before she could speak.
"Lisa is my daughter," Karin said quietly. "But she died long before I knew Maurice."
"Oh," Mary murmured sadly, and Karin could tell that stories about her daughter had also already begun to circulate.
Before the moment could get even more awkward for both Karin and Mary, a shadow fell across Maurice's door. Karin looked up and started to smile at the newcomer, another female chimp she thought, but something in Mary's stiffening posture and guarded look warned her to be careful here.
"OH, hello, Cedar," Mary said flatly, her signing seeming just as flat as her voice to Karin as she got to her feet. "this is Karin, and this is Cedar," the child added by way of introduction.
Karin also rose slowly to her feet, looking from Mary to the ape called Cedar, the only two things she was sure of was that she had not seen this ape in attendance to Cornelia, and that Mary quite obviously did not like her much. Still, she held out a hand in greeting to Cedar.
Cedar glanced dismissively at Karin and signed something rather tartly to the child, which caused Mary to frown deeply.
"We are here at Uncle Maurice's direct invitation, Cedar," Mary replied quietly. "Can you say the same thing?"
Karin stiffened as the adult female took one step closer to Mary. Cedar made a sign so obvious that even Karin could read its meaning. The older female ape was warning the child to stop speaking out loud, among other things. Mary, however, completely ignored her warnings, and Karin saw outrage at that flash very briefly behind the OTHER female's eyes. Carefully shifting her weight, Karin took a half step forward, ready to put herself between Mary and this disagreeable female ape if necessary. The female could be dismissive and/or disagreeable to Karin all she liked, and Karin would not mind one bit. But the woman would not just stand idly by and watch the older female ape browbeat any child, not for any reason.
"I am doing my duty given to me this morning by Uncle Caesar, Cedar," Mary explained, which at least partially explained some of Cedar's signs, but not all of them, Karin was certain of that. "If you need to speak with Uncle Maurice about something, he is at the Healer's huts with Aunt Kira."
Cedar's eyes flicked between Mary and Karin for a few seconds. Then, with a look to the child that could only be described as a mixture of scorn and complete condescension, in its purest form, Cedar reached down and gently cupped Mary's cheek and patted the ape girl's blonde head. The older ape hooted and signed something, but left, pant hooting with laughter, before Mary could make any response.
"What did she say?" Karin asked gently. As Mary was scowling and trying to smooth down the part of her hair Cedar had rumpled, Karin resisted the urge to either reach out and hug her or help her with her hair.
"Doesn't matter," Mary muttered, and Karin saw one tear in the corner of the child's eye. "Cedar's mean to a lot of people, not just me."
"There were plenty of mean girls, and even meaner grown up women, around when I was a little girl too, honey," Karin tried to comfort her.
Mary gave her a tired but brave smile, but Karin did not really feel her words had hit home.
I see, Karin thought grimly. Poor little thing! I should go back, let her go play with her friends, Karin decided. But what, if anything, should I say to Cornelia Caesar or even Maurice about this? Or, should I just skip them and tell her Papa?
She knew it was a bit spiteful, but Karin could not help enjoying the image of an enraged Koba rushing after a rapidly retreating Cedar. With an effort, Karin tamped down her temporary spite by firmly reminding herself that Mary's scarred and very angry Papa was not likely to believe anything any human told him, anyway. He could not even stand to stay around and here her say a simple thank you.
Karin would have loved to stay and look around more or just sit back and rest a bit in Maurice's home, but feeling very bad for her child guide, she turned towards the doorway, and mustered a smile.
"Why don't we go back now, honey," she told Mary. "Maurice might be awake by now, you know."
'Okay," Mary sighed, her mood obviously subdued now.
Silently cursing Cedar all the way there, Karin and Mary returned to the Healers hut where Maurice rested. Neither of them said a word the entire time.
A/N::!
A huge HI and thanks to all my lovely, wonderful and most important of all, patient readers! I hope an update so soon doesn't shock you all. It certainly did me, and I wrote it. LOL!
And many special thanks to those of you who either sent me reviews or PMs, etc. Keep 'em coming, folks! Any and all kinds of feedback are much appreciated.