The next chapter is posted! Enjoy :)
Galen and Noelle walked around the large village.
A lot of people were out and about doing their own thing. While it was a lively place Galen noticed that Noelle seemed rather quiet as she looked around.
It was almost like she seemed out of place.
"You alright? You seem maybe a little uncomfortable. I noticed you were like this last night while we sat at the table with Fangor, his wife and their friends." Galen said.
Her gaze went to him as he walked beside her.
"Oh, it's just, I sometimes tend to feel awkward when around a lot of people. Especially, ones I don't know. Probably why I was never into huge parties with a lot of people. I just kind of feel out of place and sometimes have a hard time striking up conversations with others." She admitted.
He tilted his head a little, and smirked.
"Until you have some alcohol in you and then you can be rather social." Galen teased.
Noelle just cringes, "That's never a good way to become more social. Especially, when you get a bad case of word vomit and can't stop yourself because your brain seems to take a vacation when there's too much alcohol involved."
"But still, no less entertaining." He joked.
She snorted, "Yeah, for you maybe. Not for me."
"Oh, please. If it were the other way around and I was the one who became inebriated last night, you would be saying the same thing right about now." Galen pointed out.
A small smile appeared on her face.
"Perhaps. But then some would agree a drunk ape most likely is more hilarious than a drunk human." Noelle says, with a wide smirk.
"Says you. There were plenty of times I had to stop myself from laughing at you last night." Galen told her.
Noelle rolls her eyes.
"I doubt I was the only drunk one at the festival last night. Can only imagine how many apes and humans woke up with hangovers this morning. Thankfully, I never get hangovers. Least of all from wine. If anything, last night was the best night's sleep I've had in a while." She admitted.
The chimp just grins at her.
"Well, yes. You were sleeping on top of me after all." He teased.
"Shut up." She grumbled.
Her reply just made him chuckle.
"What? Nothing to be ashamed of. I tend to have that effect on females. Apparently both ape and human females." Galen says, with a smirk.
"Yeah, ok, Cassanova. If you say so." She retorts.
"I do. But I must ask. What's a Cassanova?" He inquires.
Noelle started to chuckle at his ignorant question.
"Basically, someone who believes he or she can get with anyone or have anyone they want. Though in truth, I'm not sure I'd fully believe that with you." She replied.
Galen arches an eye ridge.
"Oh, and why is that?" He asks.
She smirks, "I think they'd be too busy running in the opposite direction from you rather than throw themselves at you."
"Hah! Very funny! But also, very untrue." He points out.
"Yeah? How many of them were old and overweight?" Noelle joked.
"If you must know, none. And I happen to be an expert on 'feminine' psychology." Galen stated.
"Who told you that? And did they at least have an I.Q. Level above that of a third grader?" She continued joking with him.
"Hmph, if I didn't know any better, I'd say someone is jealous." He teased.
"Yeah, jealous of how well you can expertly bullshit someone. Which is quite an art by the way. One can only dream to achieve that level of talent in that." Noelle teased.
Galen pretends to blow on his nails and rub them against his chest.
"Let's just say, I've had years to perfect it." He stated, acting like a pro.
Between the gesture and the way, he said it, like he was so proud and quite the pro, actually had Noelle laughing.
Not long after, Galen couldn't suppress his own laughter. Then the pair shared a small laugh together as they continued walking through town.
As they started passing a couple stands, Noelle saw something that caught her eye on one of the stands up ahead on the right.
She started approaching it. Galen went with her and followed her to wherever it was she was going. He then noticed she was heading to one stand with a middle-aged human woman sitting behind it.
As Noelle got closer and eyed the items on the table, she noticed they looked familiar.
Once she got there and started looking through the items, the woman behind the stand smiled.
"Hello, are you looking for any type of soap in particular? Maybe a certain scent?" She inquires.
Noelle was happy to hear that her suspicions were right and that the little rectangular blocks were in fact soap. Some were different colors and sizes. She also saw these bottles next to the rows of soap.
"Initially, no. But since you mentioned it, what scents do you have here available?" Noelle asked the woman.
"These light green ones here over to the left have a minty scent to them. The whitish ones next to it have a vanilla smell to them. Then there's this light purplish one that has lavender scent.
The yellowish one doesn't really have a scent. Just regular soap. Then we have these orange/yellow tinted ones that have honey in them to give it a very sweet smell. The dark beige one here has tea leaves grounded in for a light scent. Then these bottles here are oils for cleaning hair." She explained.
The woman pointed out a couple more rows of bars of soaps and said the light peach one had a rose and jasmine scent to it. While the bluish one had crush up juniper in it. The last ones were a dark purple that she said smelled of lilac.
Noelle thanked her and started looking through the soaps. Particularly the floral scented ones. Seeing as she always loved floral scents.
She wasn't crazy about the juniper one. But she liked the rose/jasmine one, the lavender one, and the lilac one. So, Noelle grabbed all three of those scents.
Then she eyed the bottled hair oils.
"May I take the caps off and see what they smell like?" Noelle asked, gesturing to the bottles.
The woman nodded, "Yes, of course. Those dark brown ones smell like lilac. I only mention this because I noticed you were taking one of the lilac bars of soap. If you like floral, this light brown one here smells like daisies, this green one here, smells like wildflowers."
In the end, Noelle went with two bottles. The lilac one and the wildflowers one.
Afterwards she turned to Galen, who was looking around.
"Aren't you going to grab some soap while we're here?" She asks him.
The chimp turned his attention back to her when he realized she was addressing him.
"Umm, I don't think I need any, thanks." He replied.
Noelle arched a brow, "Really? Could've fooled me. Because you're starting to stink again."
The woman behind the stand lightly coughed into her closed fist to cover a chuckle. She found it both surprising and funny that this young woman would address an ape like that with what could be an insult.
But the fact that he didn't get mad and reprimand her for it, and instead just rolled his eyes with a small grin, indicates possibly friendship, rather than that of a servant and master.
"Fine, I'll humor you. Just so I don't have to listen to you complain about my 'stench'." He retorted.
Galen looked through the selection. He picked up the mint one and gave it a small sniff. He rather liked that one so, he kept it. He went through a few others and settled on the one that had a tea leaves scent to it.
"You find the ones you want?" Noelle asked.
"Yes, these are good." He replied.
Noelle turned back to the woman behind the stand.
"Thank you. And thank you for telling us about the scents." She says.
"You're welcome. Enjoy. Personally, the lilac is my favorite one. You'll love it." The woman informed her.
"Thank you." Galen said.
"You're welcome, Sir. Have a good day." The woman said to both of them.
They nodded and told her the same. Before the left the stand.
"Happy now?" Galen questioned as he gestured to the bars of soap in his hand.
"Very much so. Thank you." She said sweetly in a joking manner.
"Right. You can complain about it all you want. But I say, when we go back to the room, you're the one who needs a bath." He told her.
"You could be right. But if anything, I'd take one to cool off. Seeing as it's rather hot out here." She replied.
"Well, if we happen to pass by another open barrel filled with water, feel free to stick your head in it." He joked.
"Careful, I just might." Noelle said.
"Then everyone just may look at you wondering what is wrong with you. And I'd just have to explain that you were merely just of the 'simple' minded folk." He teased.
In this time, being referred to as simple minded was just another term for retardation or other mental affects.
"Please, I have more brains in my left lobe than you do in your entire head." Noelle retorted.
"That's still up for debate." Galen said.
The pair bickered for a little longer until they heard someone call out to them from the left.
"Hey, you two, good morning." Came a familiar voice.
Galen and Noelle shifted their gaze to see Fangor walking over with his wife and three kids. The wife and the eldest child had woven baskets filled with food in them. Even Fangor carried a handheld basket with some goods in it.
"Hey guys, nice to see you again." Noelle said, with a smile.
"Doing some sightseeing?" Fangor asks.
"Yes, though we got a couple more items to add to our supplies for traveling." Galen replied.
"Yeah, we found this stand that has some very nice, scented soaps and hair oils. Got a few bars and a couple bottles." Noelle added.
"Oh, so you've met Lorna then. She's one of our neighbors. She makes most of those soaps and oils herself. They are quite popular here among the villagers." Delilah stated.
"I can see why. They do smell very lovely." Noelle told her.
"I like the lavender one best." The eldest child, Mara said.
While at the same time, their son Axton muttered something under his breath that sounded a lot like 'I hate baths'.
Noelle found both the different supplies amusing.
"And that's why you stinky, Axton." Came the tiny voice of their baby sister.
Noelle couldn't help but cover her mouth to stifle a chuckle at the latest response from one of the kids.
While Axton just gave his little sister the stink eye and Mara just laughed. Even Galen found the little ones' banter highly amusing. Made him briefly think about what he missed out on growing up, seeing as he's an only child.
"Hush now, you three. None of that." Delilah told them calmly.
"Looks like you all got a lot of food there." Noelle said, addressing the kids.
"It's for tonight. Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jasper, Aunt Marga, and the cousins are coming over for dinner tonight." Mara answered.
"Sounds like a lot of fun." Noelle replied.
"Yes, they will then be staying at the inn for the night. Because the villages they are traveling from are quite far. I suspect Namor is going to still have a full inn tonight, even after the festival." Fangor stated.
"Speaking of Namor, we didn't see him when we left. Instead, there was a younger chimp behind the desk." Galen says.
"That would be Percy, Namor's nephew. You see, the inn is actually Namor's second job." Fangor said.
"Really? What's his first job?" Noelle asked, curious.
"He is in fact the Prefect here. The inn was a family business that his father passed down to him. Then when he died, Namor took over full ownership of the inn and keeps it running. Percy tends to fill in when Namor is busy with being a Prefect." Fangor explained.
Galen and Noelle were quite surprised to hear this. The inn keeper was also the one who runs this entire large town. Must be a very busy ape, indeed.
"Wow, he must be an extremely busy guy then." Noelle says.
Fangor chuckles a little, "Yes, but he doesn't mind it in the least. He's always been very hardworking and always does his best to maintain a thriving, happy, and safe community here."
"Well, we may have only been here a short time, but even we can see, he's doing a phenomenal job. This place is very lively and friendly." Noelle replied.
"Would you like to accompany us on grabbing a few more things? I can show you some other places you most likely haven't seen yet." Delilah offered.
Noelle was about to say something, then her gaze shifted to Galen.
"It's fine." He told her.
"And while they do their shopping, I can show you the way to Mecca's horse farm. This way when you're ready, you can let him know and he can lend you a horse of your choosing. You may even meet some more of our friends on the way." Fangor informed Galen.
The younger chimp was silent for a moment, then nodded.
"Sounds great, thank you." Galen replied.
His gaze then shifted back to Noelle.
"What do you say? Meet back at the inn a little later?" He inquired.
"Yeah, sounds good. I'll see you then." Noelle told him.
They shared one last look before going separate ways.
Fangor started walking with Galen down one of the roads that broke off of the main road. While Noelle, Delilah, and the kids continued down the main road where most of the shops were.
The women and kids were only walking for a few minutes when the youngest spotted something off to the left that caught her attention. Then she went up to her mother, grabbed a fistful of her skirt and lightly tugged it to get her attention.
"Mommy, Nelith brought some of his new calves to the stand with him today along with their mother. Can we go see the new claves?" Cami asked excitedly.
The older kids turned their attention that way too and saw the two cute little calves. Nelith always did tell them that they were more than welcome to come see them once they were born.
"Can we go too, Mom?" Mara asked.
"Alright, just make sure the three of stay together. It's quite busy here today." Delilah told them.
"Ok, we will." Axton said.
"Mara, you want me to hold the basket for you while you go over?" Noelle offered.
Mara's face brightened a little.
"Thank you." She said, then handed Noelle the basket.
It was surprisingly pretty heavy and made her wonder how the young girl was able to carry it along with her.
"Thank you for that offer. They've been talking about seeing those calves since before they were born. Came to quite a surprise when Nelith's heifer had twins. Quite a rarity among cows." Delilah mentioned.
"Yeah, I kind of feel bad for the cow. Calves aren't exactly small babies and having to push out two, couldn't have been pleasant for her." Noelle replied.
"Most certainly. But Nelith is an excellent farmer who had been raising livestock since he was barely out of his teens. Not only that but he knows how to take very good care of both sick and pregnant animals and also knows how to deliver. He delivered those calves himself." Delilah stated.
"Definitely sounds like he's good at it." Noelle says.
"Yes. Anyways, would you like to accompany me to the clothing stand? I need to grab a couple of new outfits for Cami. I swear, they grow like weeds at this age, with how much we keep having to get her bigger clothes." Delilah told her.
Noelle chuckled a little, she knew the younger the kid, the quicker they grow out of things.
"Sure, no problem." She responded.
The two women walked ahead a few stands. On the way, Delilah started speaking again.
"So, Fangor actually informed me not long ago, that...you're in fact traveling together with that ape as friends rather than master and servant." Delilah inquired.
Noelle froze up a little when the woman revealed she knew the truth.
"Uhh, yes. I suppose that's...about right." She said, a little uncomfortable.
Delilah gave her a small reassuring smile.
"It's ok you know. I won't say anything. I'm the only one he told. But it kind of does explain some things a bit better." She says.
Noelle gave her a slightly confused look.
"Explains...what better?" Noelle questions.
The smile still has yet to leave Delilah's face.
"He seemed very concerned for you last night when you consumed a little too much wine. Then was quick to escort you back to your room at the inn, making sure you got there alright.
I also noticed the look you two shared with one another earlier, right before you parted ways. It was pretty clear, you two don't necessarily act like master and servant. But something more than that." Delilah pointed out.
"We're friends, who are only trying to look out for one another." Noelle told her.
"That's understandable. Especially, with that savage brute Urko after you two. I'll tell you, he's a real monster that one. He'd shoot a small child and not think twice about it." Delilah stated, with an edged tone.
It made Noelle curious and wonder if this woman maybe had the displeasure of encountering the brutish gorilla chief.
"I don't mean to pry, but it almost sounds like you...maybe met him before." Noelle said, hopefully not coming off as nosy or rude.
"Hmph, unfortunately. That savage shot my brother and killed him. He was only twelve years old." Delilah said, in a sad tone.
She remembers it like yesterday. Even though she was only ten at the time it occurred.
Her brother had just come walking out of the woods, he had just finished gathering some old, rotted logs for firewood. Not five minutes later, Urko came riding out with a couple of his guards.
He and the others surrounded her and her brother while on their horses, cutting them off from their home, several meters away.
Urko accused her brother of stealing a couple food pouches from his camp. The boy strongly denied it and made it clear he was just out collecting firewood and was nowhere near the camp.
Urko started yelling at him and accused him of lying. But her brave brother wouldn't stand down and kept telling the gorilla chief he wasn't. Then Urko demanded to know where the pouches were hidden.
Her brother again told him that he didn't steal the pouches nor hide them.
A small argument pursued after for the next couple minutes. When Urko finally lost it. He pulled out his pistol and shot her brother in the chest. He was dead before he hit the ground.
All of this happened right in front of Delilah.
Right after it happened, Urko shifted his beady gaze at her with a sneer, before riding off with his men, leaving the traumatized little girl behind.
Her parents quickly ran out after hearing the commotion. Her mother dropped to her knees crying hysterically over her brother. Her father barely able to hold back tears himself and cried the entire time he dug his son's grave and buried him under the large oak tree behind their home.
Ever since then, Delilah has never felt anything but disgust and hatred towards the savage gorilla chief.
By the end of the short story, Noelle had her hand over her mouth and her eyes were wide with shock and terror. She knew Urko can be quite the brute, but to murder an innocent child like that, it made him no better than any killer out there.
"I'm so sorry, Delilah. What he did was extremely cruel and unforgiveable." Noelle said, full of sincerity.
"Yes, though the real crime is letting him continue on to be chief of security. It's not right to have someone that cruel, savage, and evil have that much power and authority." Delilah says.
"I agree. He should be behind bars for what he did. In my..." Noelle quickly stopped herself.
She almost slipped and said in her time, someone like that would've been arrested, tried, and put away for a very long time if they done something like that. Especially, to a child.
"In your what? In your village?" Delilah inquires.
Noelle had to think quickly, so not to give herself away.
"Yes, in my village, I like to think something that horrible would be frowned upon. I don't believe the ape garrison in my home village could ever be that cruel." She said, though she hated having to lie to her.
Delilah was silent for a moment, before nodding.
They hadn't realized they stopped on their way to the clothing stand and started walking again. They got there within the next couple minutes. Delilah put her basket down and started rifling through some girls' clothes.
Noelle put down the basket she was holding and decided to help her.
"So, your name I heard is actually, Noelle, right?" Delilah inquired, as she went through a couple of girls' dresses.
"Yeah, it is. I'm very sorry for lying to all of you. But...its kind of was for our safety. Seeing as we are not familiar at all with this district and the settlements within it." Noelle admitted.
"It's alright. I understand completely and so does my husband. We know all about having to keep huge secrets to ensure our safety." Delilah replied.
Noelle was silent for a moment before speaking up.
"Is it because of your relationship with Fangor? Galen informed me not long ago that interspecies relationships were rather frowned upon here in this society. That if caught, it can be dangerous for you and your family." Noelle says.
Delilah gave a small nod.
"Yes, that is it. Though many here know about our relationship and family. And many don't mind it at all. This village is one of the very few that is accepting or tolerant of such relationships. So much so, that there are a few other families here like ours.
Namor is aware of them and us. He does his very best to keep us safe here. Especially, from outsiders that are not so openminded and could threaten to expose us.
This is why whenever any other ape garrison comes trudging through, Namor isn't always very helpful to them. If anything, he just dismisses them and sends them on their way." Delilah explained.
A small smile touches Noelle's face.
"It sounds like you're very lucky. You found a special place here within this town. One that can guarantee you a bright future for you and your family." Noelle said.
A smile appeared on Delilah's face.
"Yes, I do feel very lucky and blessed. Fangor is an amazing husband and father and I love him and our children very much. It's also funny how fast time seems to go. While it has been twelve years since we first met and then married, it still feels like it all just happened yesterday." Delilah says, the smile still present on her face.
"How did you two meet? If you don't mind me asking." Noelle asked.
"My father was selling farm equipment he could no longer use because he was getting too old to continue using it. Fangor came by and noticed it and informed my father he thinks the equipment would be a good addition to his farm.
I came out of the house to let father know that dinner was ready, and that is when we first met each other. At first, I don't think he thought too much of me. Other than another poor farmer's daughter.
But we kept bumping into each other in town. It started out with simple things, like asking how each other's day was going. Then from there, it went to small conversations.
Afterwards, we started to gradually spend time together when we were free and didn't have work to do on our family's farms. It went on like this for several months.
That friendship we had, eventually turned to love. And within a year, he asked me to marry him. Then eleven months later, our daughter Mara was born. A couple years after that our son Axton was born than another three years after that, Cami was born." Delilah explained.
Then the young woman shifted her gaze from the clothing in her hands to Noelle. She gave her a small smile.
"You know, how you and your friend Galen interact with each other, it is quite similar to how Fangor and I started out. All the way down to the way, he looks out for you and the brief, shared looks." Delilah informed her, still with a knowing smile on her face.
Noelle's eyes widened a little.
"Oh, no, really, we're just friends. And to be honest, we really didn't meet all that long ago." She said.
"Perhaps not, but that doesn't mean that time won't tell things differently. You may not see it yet, but I do. And I do believe he does care about you." Delilah stated.
She's been around long enough to know the subtle signs of a possible budding relationship, even if it is in the very early stages. They may be friends now, but in a few months, that all could change.
Noelle was starting to feel a little awkward and uncomfortable with this topic. It was certainly not something she would ever think will happen. To her, it was a ridiculous concept.
Plus, Galen and she had enough shit to deal with right now. They needed to find Alan and Pete.
On top of that, she was still having a hard time coming to terms with how and the hell she even got here to begin with. It literally feels like she was sucked into the fucking Twilight Zone.
Her rushing thoughts were interrupted when she felt someone's hand on hers.
Noelle looked down to see, Delilah had placed her hand on top of hers, and gave it a light squeeze for comfort.
"I'm sorry, Noelle. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. Especially, when you and Galen have enough to deal with as it is right now. Fangor also told me you were separated from some friends and that you are trying to reunite with them. All while trying to avoid Urko's detection. The last thing you probably need right now, is any other challenges on top of those." Delilah said, in an apologetic tone.
"It's ok. It's just...it really is a lot. There is already just so much going on right now. I guess, a small part of us is worried if we will be able to find our friends in what is known to be a very large district." Noelle admitted.
"I understand. But I don't think you should give up hope. I believe you'll find them again someday. You just got to keep searching." Delilah encouraged her.
Talking about it, made one thing come to mind that Noelle wanted to ask her.
"Hey Delilah, if by any chance our friends do manage to stumble upon Ansel, you think you can let them know we were here?" Noelle requests.
"Of course. What are their names?" Delilah asked.
"There is Alan, he is the older of the two. He has blonde hair, and bluish grey eyes. He wears a reddish-brown shirt with an open brown vest with grey pants. Then there is Pete. He is younger. He has dark brown hair, brown eyes, wearing a blue shirt with a beige open vest and brown pants.
You may know them when you see them, because odds are they may be asking around if anyone here has seen Galen and myself. Seeing as they are looking for us just as much as we are looking for them." Noelle added.
Delilah nodded, "I'll be sure to keep my eye out and tell my husband to do the same. We'll try to help out as much as we can on our end. Just be sure to tell us which direction you are headed when you leave here. That way we can give them the right direction to take."
"We will. And thank you very much." Noelle said.
The two women chatted a little longer. Until Delilah was satisfied with a couple dresses she found for her youngest daughter.
Afterwards, they went back to get the kids. From there, they were going to go home. Delilah would walk Noelle back to the inn first, so she doesn't get turned around or lost.
Within fifteen minutes of walking down a few winding dirt roads, they made it back to the inn. Noelle told Delilah and the kids goodbye.
She was a little surprised but chuckled a little when little Cami quickly came forward and wrapped her arms around the petite woman in a hug.
Noelle thought it adorable. The little girl was apparently very loveable.
Before leaving, Cami asked if Noelle would come by and see them again before she and Galen leaves. Noelle informed her that she would. Then they left to go home.
Noelle then went inside, as she walked through the small lobby, the young chimp known as Percy looked up from his paperwork and gave a polite nod to her.
"Good afternoon, Miss." He said politely.
"Good afternoon." She replied, as she walked by him and headed down the hall to her and Galen's shared rented room.
She opened the door and let herself in.
When she got in, she found herself bombarded with so many thoughts and unanswered questions. Mainly about some of the things Delilah said to her about her and Galen.
'It's ridiculous. He doesn't feel that way about me and I don't feel that way about him. Hell, I only met the guy not a few days ago.' She thought.
Yet, she couldn't deny he was very sweet, funny, and caring. He's also quite selfless and has put himself in danger numerous times just to save his friends. Including her.
And apart of her is wondering if she became a bit oxygen deprived in the brain as she came through that whirlpool. Because she can't figure out for the life of her on why she would be finding him rather cute.
'Uugghhhh! What the fucks wrong with me!? He's an ape! It's wrong to think of him as cute! Shit, in my time, they call it bestiality for Christ's sake!' Her mind screamed.
Noelle rubbed her temples with a very audible sigh.
Her eyes drifted around the room, her gaze landing on the bathroom door across from her. Perhaps, a bath would help ease her nerves and turbulent thoughts.
With that in mind, she made a b-line for the bathroom, taking her pack in with her.
Meanwhile, Galen was currently on his way back to the inn. Fangor only walked with him part of the way, then they branched off. Though before he did, Fangor just told Galen to keep going straight and right around the wide bend in the road, was the inn on the right-hand side.
Galen thanked the slightly older chimp before they parted ways.
Fangor wasn't lying when he said his friend Mecca whom he met last night had a lot of horses. He easily had enough to supply a small gorilla garrison if he wanted to, and this was not including the few foals he also had in his possession.
Mecca was there doing some work. But stopped his work when he saw Fangor and Galen walking over.
Fangor explained how Galen and Noelle or as he referred them as their alias Kaylan and Nica to his friend, that they were thinking about asking for a horse before leaving Ansel.
Mecca showed Galen some of the horses in his possession. He knew every single horse down to their quirks and personality. Which ones were rather easy to handle and which ones that tend to be a bit more stubborn and bullheaded.
There were easily a handful that he suggested Galen could pick from.
It was a pretty hard decision to make though. Since they all seemed like fine horses. Then Mecca made a suggestion and directed him to this beautiful, large, gray-dappled mare.
She was very sweet and easy to manage. She was also very strong and fast and had no issue carrying two people.
Mecca informed Galen that the mare's name was Lola, and she was three years old. He assured Galen that he'd be happy with her and would have no issues with her. She would be able to take them to any destination they needed to get to.
The conversation lasted several more minutes. In the end, Galen said he will think on it. But odds are they may go with the mare.
Galen gave her a few gentle pats on her long muzzle. In return she nuzzled her nose into the palm of his hand. Showing just how sweet she was.
Happy with his decision, he and Fangor thanked Mecca and left. Before they did though, Galen said, he will come by and inform Mecca of when they were leaving.
As they walked back part of the way, he and Fangor conversed about some other things. One of those topics were about him and Noelle.
Some of it involved questions like how long they really knew each other and how they met. Galen eventually explained how he and his friends rescued her from a gorilla camp not long ago.
Afterwards, some of the things Fangor stated sounded a little cryptic and baffling to the younger male chimp.
Like how they seemed to have become good friends rather quick and how they never seem to stray far from one another. Plus, like his wife, Fangor too noted the shared looks between the pair both last night and today.
If the older chimp didn't know any better, he'd say there could be something more there. Something in the works, developing between the two of them, that they were not currently aware of.
When Fangor said some of these things to him, it just confused Galen a little at first at what Fangor meant. Though eventually, he did put two and two together.
Galen became a little flustered at what he meant and strongly assured Fangor that he and Noelle were just friends.
But by the glint of amusement in the older chimp's eyes, it didn't seem like he believed Galen. Even if Galen believed he was being truthful when he stated they were just friends.
Once they parted, and Galen was on his own, his mind started to wander a little.
'I don't know where Fangor gets this idea that there is something between Noelle and me. When there clearly is not. Just because I happen to be traveling with a human and a female one at that, doesn't mean we are together like that.' He thought to himself.
Galen wandered in through the front door of the inn that led into the lobby.
He gave a brief nod to Percy at the front desk. The younger chimp nodded back, before he went back to writing something down.
Galen made his way down the hall and went into the room he shared with Noelle. It was quiet in there and by the looks of it, it seems like she still wasn't back yet from her outing with Delilah.
He headed for the bathroom, having to relieve himself.
What he didn't count on when he opened the bathroom door and stepped in, was a very wet and naked Noelle sitting in the large water basin, clearly taking a bath.
His eyes widened to the size of saucers and his mouth dropped open. While Noelle briefly looked like a deer caught in the headlights as she held the bar of soap in one hand.
"Galen what the hell!?" She screeched.
It didn't help when his eyes unintentionally went up and down her nude form through the clear water.
For the several seconds he did see her, he noted she was quite toned and tan. With a small waist and some perky breasts. The light pink nipples were pebbled right now due to the coolness of the water.
Next thing he knew, he couldn't see a thing.
He let out a yelp as she threw a towel at him, and it landed right on his head. Galen stumbled back out of the room and grabbed the towel, ripping it off of his head and face.
"Learn to fucking knock next time!" She yelled out at him.
"Sss...ssorry! I'm so sorry!" He blurted out.
Without looking, he quickly closed the door, to give her back her privacy. Though it was kind of too late. Seeing as he saw everything.
Then he quickly crossed the room and sat down on the bed, trying to gather his bearings. If anyone could see him right now, they would see that his face probably resembled a tomato.
It certainly was a first for him. Seeing as he never really saw a naked female before. Whether they be ape or human.
He only had one serious relationship and that was with Kira. Who was a surgeon in the medical center right outside of Central City. Last he saw her, was when they had to bring Alan in after he was severely wounded when one of the gorilla's shot him while they were trekking through the woods.
While they were together for quite some time before breaking it off, they never have gotten that far in their relationship. She informed him that she wanted to wait until marriage before they got to that step.
But they ended up going their separate ways instead.
He heard some movements behind the bathroom door. Then a couple minutes later, the door open and Noelle came out.
Even though she was now fully clothed, he couldn't get himself to look at her. For once, he was too embarrassed to do so. If he did look, he would see the glare she was currently tossing his way as she came over.
"Seriously, why didn't you just knock?" She snapped.
"I didn't know! I thought you were still out with Delilah and the kids! I had no idea you were here!" He said, trying to defend himself.
Eventually, her glare started to gradually dissipate. She lets out a sigh as she lightly pinches the bridge of her nose before setting her light gaze back at him.
That's when she noticed it. There was a very pink tinge to his cheeks.
Galen was surprised when he suddenly heard a chuckle leave her. That's when his gaze finally met hers. He saw she had an amused glint in her light blue eyes.
"So much for nothing embarrasses you. You seem pretty damn embarrassed to me right now." She teased.
He lightly rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright. You got me. That was one of the most embarrassing moments of my life. There, you happy now?" Galen retorted.
She crossed her arms, "Hardly, since you saw everything there was to see. Which I'm sure probably made you happy."
Noelle watched as his cheeks started to redden again.
"I...I really didn't see all that." He muttered while coughing into his fist.
"Yeah, just like I'm not really stuck on a world filled with walking, talking, apes. It's all some deranged dream I can't seem to awaken from." She sarcastically replied.
His embarrassment started to dissipate and a small grin started to appear on his face.
"Oh, and do you always dream about said walking, talking, apes walking in on you naked? Or was it just wishful thinking?" He asks, with a playful smirk.
Her eyes widened, and she quickly reached for one of the pillows and started to wail on him with it.
He yelped and started covering his head with his arms and hands.
"Aghh! I was kidding! Quit it!" He blurted out as she kept up her assault with the pillow.
"I will, when you stop being a little goddamn perv!" She said, between hits.
"I'm not! I swear I was only joking!" Galen continued.
Noelle gave him one last whack on the head with the pillow before tossing it aside.
"Do something like that again, and it won't be something soft like a pillow I'll use next time. You're going to get a thorough ass kicking instead." She promised.
"Ok, fair enough." He said.
Then he remembered he needed to use the bathroom. So, he got up and started to head for it again.
Galen then paused halfway and turned around to face her.
"By the way, nice tattoo you had there on your ribs right below your right breast." He said, with a mischievous glint in his eyes.
Her eyes widened again and her cheeks turned red.
'The lying little shit! He did see everything after all!' Her mind screamed.
"That's it! You're a dead ape walking!" She partially yelled and went for him.
His eyes widened, "Aghh!"
He quickly turned around and made a mad dash to the bathroom. Once there, he quickly shut the door, and held it closed.
Noelle stopped at the closed door and tried to push it open, but it wouldn't budge.
"Galen, get your furry ass out here now!" She said through the door.
"No thank you! I prefer to live!" He yelled back through the door.
Noelle lightly glared at the door. Though in truth she really wasn't all that pissed at him. She was just messing with him to pay him back for walking in on her and the jokes that came after.
"Fine, you can go ahead and stay in there. Meanwhile, I'll have this comfortable bed all to myself tonight." She said.
Then she walked back to the bed and plopped down onto it with her arms crossed behind her head and her ankles crossed over each other.
About a few minutes later, the door slowly opened, and she saw a fur covered head slowly and cautiously peek out.
Noelle thought it to be funny and started to laugh a little from her position on the bed. He arched an eye ridge and eventually came out. Then he crossed his arms and gave her a look.
"That was not the least bit funny. I think my life actually flashed before my eyes there for a moment." He stated.
"Yeah, but it was worth getting you back for you walking in on me, plus, the jokes that came right after." She teased.
He huffed, "Figures, you weren't really going to beat me to a bloody pulp or kill me. You just did that to scare me."
"Congratulations! You win a free ticket to spend the night sleeping in the tub, while I get this comfy bed all to myself." Noelle joked.
"Hah! I'm sorry to say, that is not going to happen. We're sharing that bed again whether you like it or not." Galen declared.
"Fine, only because I don't want to hear you cry all night from the bathroom and keep me up." She relented.
He smiled triumphantly, "Good, because that is exactly what I would've done and drove you crazy in the process until you gave in."
Noelle snorted, "I sadly have no doubts about that."
Funny, how it seems they never run out of things to joke or tease each other about. Nor do they seem to run out of things to talk about.
But then, it was welcoming. Because it temporarily took their minds off of the challenges that still lie ahead of them. In the end, they were both grateful for the distraction that they both provide one another.
Until Next Time ;)