It wasn't until after Kerchak had accepted Tarzan as his son did he really start to see some of the challenges Tarzan faced on the daily in the family, challenges that were not necessarily physical. While he knew Tarzan had always been slower and weaker than his peers, he had always assumed that that was where the majority of his differences were, besides being hairless of course. Tarzan had picked up on speaking gorilla with relative ease, and he picked up on the language of other animals fairly quickly as well.
Yet it was still communication that Tarzan struggled with.
How? Body language.
A lot of gorilla communication was through body language, which included posture, facial expressions, and even chest beating, which the latter was more often done either with the silverback or among the children when they were playing. Every little action had the potential to be scrutinized and misinterpreted by another family member, and poor Tarzan seemed to be a bit clumsy in that department.
Perhaps it was never a problem before when the family seemed to isolate Tarzan and Kala before Kerchak fully accepted Tarzan. There was little interaction between Tarzan and the other family members save for Terk and occasionally Flynt and Mungo. But since Kerchak took Tarzan under his wing and returned to sharing a nest with Kala, the family followed his lead, and more of the ape children played with Tarzan, and even a few of the blackbacks that played with the children allowed Tarzan in on some of their games. But in doing so, Tarzan was exposed more to the family hierarchy and to gorilla body language, something he had not had a lot of prior experience through save for Kala.
It kept Kerchak on edge when he observed Tarzan playing among the family, especially when he noticed the missed cues from his peers that then led to annoyance, and then, to violence. Kerchak and Kala did their best to remind Tarzan of appropriate behavior around the other gorillas, especially his elders, but the child often got so caught up in his games that he would forget to be watching for certain body language, and then he found himself in trouble.
Like today.
The seven-year-old had been playing with a group of apes his age in a game of wrestle tag, where they would chase each other and wrestle whoever they managed to tag for a few minutes before the new tagger had to chase down the next victim. The game had been going well, and Kerchak was checking in on other family members when he heard angry screaming coming from the children, and he snapped his head in the direction it was coming from.
Flynt was lunging for Tarzan aggressively, while Tarzan submissively backed away. Terk was trying to place herself in between Tarzan and Flynt while Mungo gave his own angry grunts in support of whatever had angered Flynt. A few other children circled the group, egging on the activity.
Kerchak emitted several deep grunts as he walked over to the group, ending the dispute.
"To your own nests," Kerchak demanded. "I believe it is time for a nap."
The children grumbled but obediently left for their own nests. Tarzan slinked his way over to Kerchak with a pout.
"I don't even get what I did wrong," Tarzan said as he followed Kerchak to their own nests. "We were having fun and then suddenly, Flynt was angry at me."
"Too much eye contact," Kala answered as she waited for them at the nest where she was already lying down with a napping year-old Kaphi on her chest. "I could see what you kids were doing from here, and you kept meeting Flynt's eyes directly instead of side staring. We've talked about that."
"I don't even realize I'm doing it," Tarzan complained as he collapsed in the nest. "Why does it matter anyway. I don't mean anything by it."
"It's asking for a challenge," Kerchak said. "It feels threatening to be stared at directly."
"But if I look down all the time, then I'm being too passive," Tarzan said, quoting what Kerchak had told him yesterday. "Then everyone thinks I don't actually want to play when I do."
"It'll take some time to learn," Kerchak said. "You missed out on much of that interaction in the first few years of your life, which admittedly was my fault. You're going to have a lot of trial and error before you get it right."
"It's not fair," Tarzan said. "I just want to be like everyone else and I can't even play right."
Kerchak sighed softly.
"Rest, Tarzan. I'm sure after a nap, everyone will be in a forgiving mood. Then you can apologize to Flynt and try again."
"Okay," Tarzan agreed. He snuggled up next to his mother and closed his eyes.
Kerchak returned to checking on the family, making sure everyone was accounted for and resting in their nests before he made a boundary check. With no predators or other silverbacks in sight, Kerchak returned to his shared nest and decided a nap was in order, and he settled in next to his son, who subconsciously rolled closer to him, burrowing into his father's side. Kerchak couldn't help but smile at him. Hopefully a nap was all everyone needed, and once Tarzan apologized, the children would go back to playing.
He should have remembered to remind Tarzan what an apology entailed.
Kerchak happened to glance over in time to see Flynt's father Firdous yawning at Tarzan, a subtle warning that Tarzan should tread carefully with his next moves. Flynt sat next to his father with a glare at Tarzan. Kerchak sighed before walking over to the trio.
"Do we have a problem, Firdous?" Kerchak asked as he neared the blackback.
"I would say so," Firdous said. "Your son clearly has no interest in actually apologizing for his behavior."
"But I said I was sorry," Tarzan said, pushing up on his knuckles a bit as he leaned toward Kerchak.
"You didn't say it standing like that, I hope," Kerchak said with a shake of his head.
Tarzan lowered himself a bit, holding a submissive posture.
"Apologize to Flynt," Kerchak said. "And don't forget to smile."
Tarzan huffed but seemed to realize what he had forgotten to do when he had first apologized. However, being made to do it again put him in a foul mood, and he lifted his lips in a way that gave him a minimal smile, almost like baring his teeth.
"I'm sorry I –"
"Not like that!" Kerchak scolded, roughly nudging Tarzan in the side, nearly knocking him over. "Again. With an appropriate smile."
Tarzan corrected his footing and returned to his submissive pose, giving his father an indignant look before he sighed and side eyed Flynt once more. He relaxed his lips and pulled them outward into a submissive smile, making sure to show only teeth and not his gums.
"I'm sorry I kept making eye contact with you during our game," Tarzan said. "I wasn't trying to make a threat or challenge you in any way. I just wanted to play it right and I was having fun."
"Apology accepted," Flynt said easily, happy with the appropriate display. Honestly, the gorillas were happier to put things in the past and move on from any drama, as long as proper protocol was followed to allow for it.
Firdous nodded his head in acceptance as well, then walked off in search of a snack, leaving Flynt and Tarzan to work things out from there. Kerchak did the same, stepping away now that things were under control. It would take time, but one day, reading body language and displaying it would become second nature to Tarzan. Kerchak would make sure of it.
Of course, it was proving difficult teaching Tarzan every little thing that seemed like a natural, obvious conclusion in Kerchak's mind. When Tarzan was chased away from a group of nests by one of the females, Kerchak had told him not to sit near certain groups in the family as he was not a part of their social dynamic. It was fine if he was playing with other children, but not fine if he was just aimlessly wandering.
And when another elder female attempted to tell Tarzan to stay away from a certain tree, Tarzan had argued with her as his favorite fruit resided at the very top. Kerchak bit back an annoyed groan as he walked over to his son and the older female, Lina.
"What is the problem?" he asked, looking between Lina and Tarzan.
"I was just informing the youngling that this tree should not be climbed," Lina explained in a croaky voice as she pointed at the tree in question. "It is looking quite compromised."
"It looks fine, Dad," Tarzan argued. "She can't even see it that well."
"Tarzan," Kerchak scolded. "Respect your elders. Lina has far more experience than you do with knowing which trees are safe and which are not, and she holds a very respectable status among the family."
"But Dad," Tarzan complained.
Kerchak sniffed the tree, looking up at the fruit above. There certainly wasn't that many fruit at the top like this tree type would normally produce, and there was something funny about the bark. Kerchak pushed a hand into the tree, and he was able to break a large chunk of bark off, sending several beetles crawling up the tree. Several more beetles burrowed themselves deeper into the tree, eating away at the wood.
"Seems pretty compromised to me," Kerchak said, sending his son a glare.
"Oh," Tarzan said, blushing slightly as he lowered himself submissively.
"Pesky little bugs, I tell you," Lina said, shaking her head.
"Apologize to Lina," Kerchak told his son.
"Sorry," Tarzan said in an annoyed voice, though he did remember his smile.
Kerchak's glare deepened while Lina seemed entirely oblivious to Tarzan's tone.
"Oh, no harm done, dearie," Lina said. "I simply didn't want you to get hurt climbing up that sickly twig."
"Go to our nest," Kerchak told Tarzan firmly, pushing up on his knuckles. "Now."
Tarzan huffed and walked away, slowly moving between nests toward their own vacant one. Kerchak gave Lina one last apology before he followed his son. Kala was sitting in a group of other mother apes, sharing a playdate with their year-old babies. Kaphi seemed to be enjoying herself as she tried new expressions at the other babies sitting next to her. At least he wouldn't have to worry about Kaphi struggling with communication. Kerchak often felt for his son when he had days where he could not translate the other gorillas. It must be frustrating not immediately picking up on the social cues around him, and it was only expected that Tarzan lost his temper with the other gorillas. That did not mean he would allow his son to be disrespectful to anyone, however.
Tarzan was lying on his stomach in the thick piles of leaves that made their nest, and he didn't bother moving or looking up as Kerchak approached.
"I can't get anything right," Tarzan complained. "I bet everyone hates me."
"Nobody hates you," Kerchak said as he stepped into the nest and sat down, giving his son an amused look. "For the most part, everyone understands that you are a child and that you are still learning. Miscommunications happen now and then, even for the adults."
"But I'm always messing it up."
"You've had one bad day. Tomorrow will be a new day and I'm sure you'll pick up on cues much quicker. It just takes time."
"Not for you. Not for Mom. Not for Kaphi. Not for Flynt or Terk, or Mungo, or—"
"Alright, I get your point," Kerchak said with a roll of his eyes. "Everyone is different, Tarzan. And you know that you are very different from your adopted family. But you've always met all of your milestones we would expect on any of the children. Just at a slower pace. Communication will be no different."
"I hate being different," Tarzan said. "I wish I really was a gorilla and nothing else."
"Well, I'm afraid I can't fix that," Kerchak said. He scooped his son up and set him in his lap, holding him close. "Know that I wouldn't have you any other way, Tarzan. I love you just as you are."
Tarzan smiled and nuzzled his father.
"You'll figure this out. You are very smart, and you catch on quickly. And I will help you until you no longer need it. I promise you that."
"Thanks, Dad. I love you, too."
Father and son spent the rest of the afternoon playing together in their own nest, with Kerchak putting emphasis on some of his own social cues to help Tarzan recognize what some may be when he was playing with his own friends.