ratherpickflowersthanfights

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

αρεs σғ α ғεαтнεя

Feather had been left without the usual companionship of his friend, Seed. It was Seed to got the little bonobo to play with the other whitetails and come out of his anxious shell and Seed who took charge of many of their games. But Seed was sick! Sick, on a day like today! The sun was bright and made the ground dance with little bits of light where there were trees and warmed the surface of the rock which made part of the village. The canopy of leaves above glowed a brilliant green, and with the village coming to life for another day the little bonobo had been scooted along to play with the other youngsters by an understanding but hopeful Aspen. He didn’t want to play with them though; they made him feel strange and different and without Seed there he knew that they’d notice how quiet and different he was! So while he didn’t leave the watchful eyes of the mothers currently keeping track of the group of whitetails – whilst others took either a well deserved break or occupied themselves with work such as weaving or the drying of fruit and supplies for leaner times – Feather remained away from them, watching playful tumbling and yearning more than anything for Maurice to soon take his place in front of the stone, where he would teach them things and Feather didn’t have to feel apart because he could pay attention.

Maybe apes together strong, but Feather didn’t feel much part of that together…

{@young-fear-keela}

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

That last sign was unfamiliar to Jay, but he relaxed nevertheless. Whoever or whatever the chimpanzee was signing about taking them to, it was hardly like it would happen. Cozy was completely fine, and they had no reason to think that they'd ever see these two again. It was relief. Not much and certainly not as much as he would feel when these two apes finally left but that would give them opportunity to clean up and think about what they had to do next. For now he could breathe, particularly since Riley was no longer being tugged on or touched by an actual threat to their safety.

Feather was relieved when his friend found nothing. He had questions in his head now, ones he might ask Maurice, but more than that he didn't think that the humans were guilty of anything regarding Cozy. There was no blood, no sign of a struggle anywhere! Just strange human things and rot and plants growing in strange places. Even the humans looked ragged and as broken as the building.

'Yes. Let's go, Seed! Go see if Cozy is safe.'

Undoubtedly the chimpanzee would be. For all that he wasn't the toughest when it came to standing up for himself he was more than capable of taking care of himself. And he had trusted these humans. In that way his judgement had never been questionable before, he didn't just give his trust to anyone. He had reason to and these humans were different from the others that the apes spoke of anyways. They didn't seem cruel...

Reconcile

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Blood? Jay almost wanted to scoff but refrained, looking at Riley with a look that he hoped communicated that he wasn’t entirely pleased with the idea… but was waiting for an opinion. It wasn’t like he was going to be the rational one here. Even if rational certainly seemed like it would be not trusting a single thing that came out of the apes’ hands or mouths. Riley wasn’t running on adrenaline and tension and a desire to protect that had barely been kept in check for years now as it was.

Was it too much to ask that they be allowed to have a day, or even a few hours to establish themselves here before this… happened?

But here they weren’t in their element for all that Riley had been good at certain survival before and they’d both become far better in the years they’d been out here. Chimpanzees, bonobos, for them, this was home – perhaps not here, but the forests in general – and the humans would never be anything more than intruders hoping that they could make something for themselves. Now, that was, without their numbers and technology and certainty of mental superiority.

It was the only reason that he let the bonobo who had glanced at the chimpanzee with an expression of uncertainty obvious to anyone who looked approach. That, and the bonobo was far less intimidating or threatening. —

Feather crept forward because he knew there would be no arguing with Seed. Somehow he could lose berries all over the place but be as stubborn as a tree! Despite the taller one having been more threatening and tense, the bonobo approached him. Because he knew if Seed even though he was doing something…

The fur on his neck and shoulders was raised a bit as he finally got close to the taller human and looked him up and down. He was tall, and he had strange coloured hair with bits of grey from age. Humans and apes had that in common…

In fact, though very different, Feather was somewhat astounded and confused by the similarities as he moved around the human, inspecting for bits of red or rusty brown, as blood dried, but he found nothing except questions, even when he reached out to push the humans arm aside to look at underneath it. Orangutans and chimpanzees almost seemed as different as humans were from either! They had little hair, true, but some of the oldest chimpanzees and older bonobos were much the same.

'No blood Seed. Human not hurt Cozy.’

Reconcile

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

MAKE MY CHARACTER FEEL LOVED.

all of this ANGST lately – while nice – it’s getting a bit OLD. I want your character to try their best and make mine feel super loved. give them ALL you’ve got. make them blush like crazy and CRY because they’ve never heard such beautiful things before. do it. I dare you.

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Feather's eyes squeezed shut against the pain he was sure he would soon feel as teeth tore into his skin, but it never came. Instead, the rough yet full and resounding sound of an angered ape, and a high pitched yelp of canine fear that was silenced within the space of a breath.

A soft whimper left the young bonobo who hardly dared to crack his eyes open, on case he somehow found out that he had imagined what he had heard and he was now being made a meal of. And all because he was too stupid to stay in tbe village!

But even Feather couldn't hold off forever and his green eyes slowly opened a bit, then all at once.

Spear put square through the skull, the fox lay on the leaf litter, limbs still twitching slightly, faint sounds escaping a body that Feather assumed was dead but somehow still stirring. It was almost worse to see than the bared teeth and wild, unfeeling yellow eyes coming at him. There was blood, and it soured the little ape's mouth.

Feather's eyes traced up from the fox along the spear, finding eventually the owner of the weapon.

Normally Feather would have steered clear of the grizzled old bonobo. With his scars and demeanour, and the reputation that apes repeated with awe, Feather was intimidated at best and scared at worse. Koba was a hunter and a warrior and didn't have time for a whitetail like Feather, who was still out of reach of fishing, much less a more important job. He was still young enough that he could get away with eating as many berries as he picked, and the only structure to his day were lessons with Maurice. Too insignificant for Koba to bother with, which meant Koba was unapproachable.

But now, fear still thick in his throat and static in his head, Feather bounded forward to press himself against the leg of the ape who was comforting simply in that he was familiar and would know how to get home, as much as in having just saved Feather.

Clutching double handfuls of fur and still letting out pitiful, near newborn sounds of fear and uncertainty, Feather felt more like he'd done wrong than ever before.

Nobody's Hero

Feather wasn’t a troublemaker.

But he was curious.

So when his little limbs took him further from his mother than he intended, beyond the gates of the village in search of the elusive butterfly that only moments ago had captured his wide eyed attention, it wasn’t as if he had wanted to go this far. Nor did he mean to get distracted by the beautiful flowers that he gathered a handful of for Aspen, or the delightful little creek that he was sometimes allowed to splash about it if Aspen was feeling lenient.

He only noticed where his usually cautious self had gone when he glanced up to sign a question around his fragrant bouquet about the insects he had found, and realized he was alone.

Feather felt his heart speed all at once and he squeezed his precious cargo tight to his chest. Maybe if he thought? Aspen had taken him this far before! Further even! To the orchard!

She was always there however.

Feather let out a high pitched yeep, one that would normally have had Aspen there in seconds from wherever she had briefly gone out of sight, but there was no immediate comfort or being scooped up and held. No name being rasped at him. Nothing.

Panic ran through him quick and clean. If he just turned around and ran he would reach the village, right!?

Still holding his flowers all the while, the little bonobo found himself tumbling and scattering petals and bruised stems behind him, going heels overhead more than once in his rush. Where was the entrance to the village? Where was mother?

It was inevitable that Feather would find a tree in his rush; he was uncoordinated and hindered despite that. He squeaked when he collided and his lower lips jutted out in an expression of his upset, eyes becoming wet, tears building up and then spilling over.

Spilling over and blurring his vision so that he didn’t see the fox sneaking through the underbrush until it was almost on top of him, hungry and a threat to one as small and young as Feather, even if an older ape would have had no problem dealing with the small canine.

Feather felt sure the terrified sound that tore out of his throat would be his last.

:: @kobafightforape ::

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Nobody's Hero

Feather wasn’t a troublemaker.

But he was curious.

So when his little limbs took him further from his mother than he intended, beyond the gates of the village in search of the elusive butterfly that only moments ago had captured his wide eyed attention, it wasn’t as if he had wanted to go this far. Nor did he mean to get distracted by the beautiful flowers that he gathered a handful of for Aspen, or the delightful little creek that he was sometimes allowed to splash about it if Aspen was feeling lenient.

He only noticed where his usually cautious self had gone when he glanced up to sign a question around his fragrant bouquet about the insects he had found, and realized he was alone.

Feather felt his heart speed all at once and he squeezed his precious cargo tight to his chest. Maybe if he thought? Aspen had taken him this far before! Further even! To the orchard!

She was always there however.

Feather let out a high pitched yeep, one that would normally have had Aspen there in seconds from wherever she had briefly gone out of sight, but there was no immediate comfort or being scooped up and held. No name being rasped at him. Nothing.

Panic ran through him quick and clean. If he just turned around and ran he would reach the village, right!?

Still holding his flowers all the while, the little bonobo found himself tumbling and scattering petals and bruised stems behind him, going heels overhead more than once in his rush. Where was the entrance to the village? Where was mother?

It was inevitable that Feather would find a tree in his rush; he was uncoordinated and hindered despite that. He squeaked when he collided and his lower lips jutted out in an expression of his upset, eyes becoming wet, tears building up and then spilling over.

Spilling over and blurring his vision so that he didn’t see the fox sneaking through the underbrush until it was almost on top of him, hungry and a threat to one as small and young as Feather, even if an older ape would have had no problem dealing with the small canine.

Feather felt sure the terrified sound that tore out of his throat would be his last.

:: @kobafightforape ::

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Jay didn’t relax at all when Riley touched him. He couldn’t. He cared too much.

He did take in the chimpanzees signs however and he made himself unclench his hands, fingers feeling stiff and tight as he signed with almost jerky movements. He couldn’t help being on edge like this, here, not being trusted at all. It made him feel as if he hadn’t done enough.

'Can we do something to help you trust us?’

Sinxe apparently being left for dead didnt mean a damn thing, Cozy’s word didnt mean any more, and their words were less than dirt. It made him feel much the same as the city humans had… but he couldn’t express that. These apes wouldn’t know what he meant. Never would. They had family, a life. They didnt think in terms of what they had to lose.

'Seed is suspicious. Not trust even though Cozy did. Not even check if they're lying.'

That said, Feather didnt know what to do necessarily. He wanted to leave more than anything else. Leave and not think about this, just fish and pretend that everything was a normal. But Seed was confrontational and would never do that id he felt like this.

'Maybe Seed ate bad berries, that why he feel bad.'

Reconcile

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

The young bonobo pursed his lips for a moment. Being given the lead was unusual for him and he was playing every decision he made by ear, but he was still sure that if it was just him and the sister he hardly knew, he couls manage. And perhaps Koba would even be proud of him! It wasn't often that the grizzled bonobo paid him too much mind, and less often than Feather was bothered by it./p>

'Stay together, Keela. Apes Together Strong.'

Feather pointed importantly at the stone that Maurice had written that Law on for them once again only days ago, a gentle reminder of their way of life.

Then, gesturing for Keela to follow, the full blooded bonobo youngster bounded off in search of further humans and perhaps trouble.

Never Knew

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Jay’s fingers clenched the gun tightly and he shot Riley a look. His life had become one thing besides survival and that was Riley. Only now was he able to see the idea of something more than that and it was still a ways beyond his understanding right now. They could make aomething more for themselves here but only if they were both careful and safe and it was…. both of them. Which meant that Jay felt hard pressed to find a good reason to put his gun down, but then again if it came down to it if the chimp decided to attack would a gun do all that much good? They weren’t far from each other and the risk…

The man took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment as an acute throb began between his eyes.

When the gun shuttered across the floor, into the wall and out of everyone’s reach, Jay was as tense as could be, his jaw a clenched line and his normally ready to sign, nimble fingers squeezed nails to palm. Everything in him said that he wasn’t safe, couldn’t be but he had to think of it this way… if it came down to it, whatever the situation, it was still Jay between Riley and whatever was out there. Or in here…

Feather blew out a huff from between his lips even if he flinched when the gun hit the floor and then the wall. Trust Seed to make everything a production. The tall human looked more uncomfortable with this than any of them, less as if ready to attack than as if prepared for something to happen.

Feather was never a fighter.

The bonobo shouldered past his companion to stand in ghe space between them.

'How friends with Cozy?'

Reconcile

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Energy was boundless at times even in the most reserved of young apes and Feather found himself wholeheartedly enjoying doing nothing more than scrambling and dashing about. He had never seen a human himself but apes described them and he could imagine one clearly in his mind's eye as he crept forward over rocks and across the open expanses of ground towards his target that was suddenly as real as the beginning sounds of a waking village.

As Keela focused on another 'human', Feather bounded and launched himself upon a swaying piece of fern, letting loose a high pitched sound of victory that wasn't entirely in character for what most apes knew of him, but then again most apes saw him only when surrounded by a group of youngsters he didn't quite fit in with.

When Keela nearly bundled him over he couldn't even be upset as he normally would have and instead nodded excitedly.

'Found one, but others tricky. Hiding better, sneaky.'

Never Knew

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

A Thought: A small Feather being jealous of the attention that his father gives Blue Eyes but not able to articulate it, especially since he's pretty intimidated by and scared of his father.

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Once upon a time Jay might have flinched at the words and their obvious anger. But now Jay juat shifted in front of Riley, who couldn't even hear what was being said and could hardly read the lips of a chimp. Like a instinct he so badly wanted to crush his fingers twitched towards the gun tucked into his belt. But he instead raised his hands up and took a steadying breath.

These were the same two who had been with Cozy and even Jay knew that they weren't fully grown. Not that it meant they couldn't do as much damage if they decided that what they had done was threatening but it did make sense that they might be more brash if they were anything like a human adolescent. It gave an explanation at the very least. Of course as his eyes lingered he noticed how the one in front who had spoken was the only one truly ready to confront them. The other -- a bonobo, Jay rememered, as he studied the face and frame -- looked far more as if he was tense because he didn't want to move or be involved.

'Cozy leave. Stayed night but then went back home. Before you came.'

There he hesitated for a moment. It struck a nerve that the chimpanzee had looked so agitated at Jay's confusion and even now, he couldn't resist defending his partner.

'Riley, Grape,' Jay gestured behind him I'm case the ape hadn't absorbed either of the names that Jay and Cozy had used to refer to him the day before, 'Can't hear. Only sign. I can't speak. Only sign.' 

If the ape decided to make the judgement that they were collectively broken because of this or something similar, so be it. Surely at least there would be an ape in their settlement, village, who was deaf, or blind, or similar? '

Never hurt Cozy. Friend. More than humans were.' 

 It felt dishonest to paint their entire species as in the wrong but the kind people had always grown bitter or distant or died from the trials they'd had to face or so it seemed. Jay and Riley had been pushed to the edges and then…. dumped. Worthless. That was all they had been. Jay knew he could never communicate that to someone he hardly knew, particularly when they were already biased against him or so it seemed. How many times had Riley broken the rules about what he was supposed to do and snuck Jay in to see the communicative and already strangely intelligent chimp? He had been a friend and he was a better one now. 

Feather watched them carefully, his heart hammering almost out of his chest. The smaller human looked confused to a ridiculous extent, but as the taller one signed, he remembered how the tall human had signed whatever Cozy had said the day before to the smaller human. He also noticed how the larger human made certain to step in front of his companion, much in the same way as Seed had made sure to step in front of him. It seemed odd to the small ape, too, that if they had done anything to Cozy he wouldn’t have just shot them here and now with the gun that the bonobo could see. If those weapons were as powerful as the other apes said, the human wouldn’t have waited to draw it and use it.

Perhaps only to avoid the conflict, Feather moved down the last few steps and pushed Seed aside slightly with a shoulder, to move by him. Let Seed be upset, they were supposed to avoid conflict. It was one of the things that Caesar told them; if they caused anything with the humans, if more than these two truly remained, it would just spell an end to the peace that they knew.

Not to mention... if the humans had done anything to Cozy, why would they come back here, with fish caught in the way that the apes did it? It just didn’t make sense.

‘Put down gun. Then trust humans.’

It seemed a reasonable enough request to make; if the humans truly meant them no harm, putting their weapon out of reach wouldn’t make a difference.

Reconcile

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Feather was going to love it once they were done with this and he could go back to normal things, like fishing and gathering berries and fruits and being the odd one out rather than a sidekick to Seed’s stupid adventures. Nonetheless, in a far more subdued fashion, he followed his companion, listening to the steps creak even under his weight. He didn’t go right to the bottom which in all honesty only afforded him a better view of the chaos that they had left; there were marks on the floor that hadn’t been there before, and scraps of paper and the like, but then again them seeing the mess didn’t matter if Seed was acting like that!

Stupid Seed!

The bonobo reached forward to prod at his friend, despite the poofy fur, speaking before he even got a reaction.

“Hide mess... then be like this. Stupid.”

That was a statement that Feather, like it or not, was going to stand by.... much as he found himself standing by his chimpanzee friend, not nearly so puffed and not half as confident. He’d left his spear to go through the bags and now it was on the floor half across the room, making him nervous and uncomfortable, as unprotected. Though Seed was in front of him...

But Cozy had trusted these humans and much like he’d been thinking all morning, he still doubted that they had done anything to Cozy. Cozy trusted only with time and kindness. He wouldn’t trust anyone, human or ape, who had been cruel to him.

Their attempts at fishing the way Cozy had shown them were, admittedly, pathetic. But they had caught some dinner, and along with the berries that Cozy had gathered they’d survive and admittedly on better tasting fare than had been rationed out to them. Sometimes they hadn’t even gotten any at all... it was hard to imagine that there was more for them here, if they weren’t found out by the rest of the apes, than there was among their own kind. But hadn’t that always been the way? You found what you needed where you least excepted it?

At least there was a promise of a bedroom here, which Jay had already decided was his priority to get cleaned and fixed up... no matter how much it would take of him to figure it all out.

Spear of fish over his shoulder and feeling more relaxed than he should have, he almost missed that the door he had so carefully closed... was open. Without thought he reached out an arm to block Riley’s progress and gestured, knowing that he looked suspicious. He was suspicious... perhaps it was just Cozy, who had done it, going back for something forgotten but... no. That explanation didn’t feel right.

‘Who?’

Jay knew that neither of them could answer that question, but it still felt good to ask.

...

They couldn’t afford to not go in. All of their supplies was in there. Dammit.

‘Wait.’

Knowing Riley likely wouldn’t, Jay moved towards the door, keeping to the side of it before taking a deep breath. He had the gun but he didn’t want to pull it... steeling himself, he stepped into the doorway, eyes searching for the intruder.

Reconcile

The chimpanzee’s lower lip jutted out, stubborn and offended, and he shook his head. Seed prided himself on his bravery, his courage, but he was also impulsive and far less likely to approach a situation logically, as Feather did. Had he taken another moment to inspect the gun before jumping to conclusions, he might have noticed the dust. He seemed to realize this, too, though he was far too proud to admit it and instead rose his pelt and glowered at nothing in particular.

“Still… not… trust them.”

He huffed decidedly through his nose in Feather’s direction and tossed one of the bullets towards him.

‘If so smart, what is this?’

He half hoped his friend wouldn’t have an answer for him. If Seed was going to make mistakes, Feather should too. And he shouldn’t be smug about it when he did have an answer… Though, of course, Seed would have conducted himself in precisely the same way. He decided to ignore that fact.

Having not waited around for the bonobo’s answer - if Feather indeed had one, Seed didn’t want to know. He’d been humiliated enough - the young chimp’s ensuing investigation of the gun took him to one of the broken, cobwebbed windows, for better light. Now that he held it in his hands, felt its weight, his gut felt twisted. It was as though it were wrong of him to be touching it, it did not fit into his hands properly and it nearly sent a shiver down his spine to brush his fingers on the cold and dusty metal. He’d heard so much about the destructive powers of these weapons and yet, in his hands, it seemed harmless. Seed knew he could have worked out how to use it if he set his mind to do so, but he didn’t want to. He wanted little to do with that aspect of human nature. His round, ticking object would do just fine.

As he placed the gun inside of a random box, movement caught his eye from outside of the window and he turned to look, his eyes narrowing.

The two humans, they were there! And Cozy was most definitely not with them!

His grunting to Feather was half angry and half frantic, jutting a finger in harsh motions towards the window in question.

“Humans!”

In true Seed fashion, rather than attempt to slip away unseen or hide, the brash chimp all but charged down the staircase and stood, legs spread and shoulders wide with every strand of hair puffed to its fullest extent, to await their return. He rocked from side to side, the floor creaking beneath his weight as it shifted from foot to foot.

He wanted answers about his brother, and he was going to get them… Even if he had to beat it out of these shifty humans.

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Feather was more than content to keep looking over the figures even if they weren’t realistic; they seemed realistic even if they weren’t. The detail was nothing like what ape hands could accomplish and for a moment Feather had to wonder if the humans that Cozy had had them rescue would be able to make more of these. But he was yanked from his inspection of a smaller-than-the-others bird done in bright colours by a shriek and then his friend speaking.

It did put the bonobo’s fur on end, coat fluffing without thought as he retreated briefly from the human weapon. But then... the apes had always talked of humans holding the weapons and pointing. Maybe it wasn’t dangerous if they weren’t holding it?

The tall human with the strange coloured head fur had kept a grip on the one he’d had at all moments.

For once being the one to approach something, Feather crept forward on all fours and first nudged the gun with a cautious foot, then a finger, before grunting and looking at Seed.

“Covered in... dust, Seed. Not moved for... long time. Like dried fruit at... end of... winter.”

There was also the question of how the humans could have hidden in, when their bags were obviously too small for a weapon of this size. For someone who seemed to think the humans stupid, Seed certainly had a lot of belief that they could do things that absolutely made no sort of sense. That said, Feather pushed the end of the gun that would fire so that it pointed back towards a wall and, perhaps smugly, signed.

‘Not hurt Seed now.’

Reconcile

What Feather had found was infinitely more interesting than bits of cloth that immobilized parts of his body.

Seed immediately abandoned the box of clothing in favor of Feather’s discovery, his brows furrowing a tad, lips pursing ever so slightly. Small, hard animals…? He reached thick fingers into the box and gripped one of the small objects, examining it at a distance close enough that his nose was nearly touching it.

A chimpanzee. …With a tail.

Humans were stupid.

With a disapproving shake of his head, Seed tossed it over his shoulder with little care for how it bounced and rolled across the floor.

‘Humans not know what ape look like. Maybe their eyes not work.’

The other objects were more interesting, the ones that Seed couldn’t identify. Were these animals representations of real creatures, or were they make believe? Seed knew that one’s mental image of something they hadn’t seen wasn’t always accurate, perhaps that’s what these were?

'Never seen most of these in woods. Humans make things up?’

His image of a human, one he had formulated in his youth, had been very far from the truth. Real humans, he’d learned, were far less intimidating than he’d imagined. Thin and lanky, almost like a bonobo, but with the hairless, pale flesh of a very, very ill ape. He almost wondered if their elders had fabricated stories of their danger, because without a gun, what could a human possibly do to an ape?

'Wonder what these for?’

Without any function or moving parts, they were only so interesting. The more impulsive chimp didn’t have the same appreciation for craftmanship as Feather did. He left his bonobo friend to his find and moved onto other boxes. Unfortunately, many of them contained the same bits of cloth. Maybe humans weren’t as interesting as Seed had assumed. That was a disappointing thought, but one that also gave him a sense of pride, because apes were so much more intriguing! Superior, definitely. For sure.

In his moment of self appreciation, he hardly noticed what fell out of a box when he tipped it over. Something hard and in a large quantity knocked and rolled across the floor, and the young ape took a step back, hair bristling as he picked one up off of the floor. It was metal, he could identify that, and long, but what was it…? He looked back to the box, only to find himself looking down the barrel of an unmistakably object; a human gun.

He let out a shriek, nearly falling over himself to get out of its line of vision.

“Human… gun!”

Seed breathed the words, pointing a finger at it. It was far larger than the small one one of the humans had been holding before. They’d hidden their largest, most dangerous weapon here so the apes wouldn’t know! They were dangerous afterall, he’d been right!

His lips pulled back from his teeth, then, and he turned to Feather.

“They… trick us! Trick… Cozy!”

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Seed was dropping berries from his head basket all over the floor again.

Feather watched as his friend played with the human objects and attempted to put on a piece of human clothing, almost wishing he could be more annoyed. They weren’t supposed to be playing around; Seed wanted to see if there was anything that would lead them to Cozy, if the humans even had done anything to him.

Cozy was a grown chimp, so Feather doubted it but Seed wouldn’t be dissuaded.

So the bonobo hesitantly moved across the floor, feeling that there were weak spots and wondering if the humans would have even tried to come here in the first place. Despite the fact that he didn’t want to not know if the humans were coming he gave Seed a dirty look when he suggested that Feather do nothing more than look out and leave anything interesting to Seed. If Feather was going to be here anyways he might as well get an understanding of what a human home was actually like and the strange things that they had.

Dust tickled his nose and Feather was reminded of certain plants and how they produced so much yellow powder that his nose itched until he sneezed. He rubbed absently at his face as he prodded some of the same type of containers that Seed had already begun investigating. Some with writing proved to have sparkling and shiny spheres within that made a strange clinking sound when he tapped a rough nail against them. Another contained more of the human cloth items and then another a collection of colourful items – small objects that made him hoot for Seed’s attention as he removed one of them from the box, cradled in his hand.

‘Ape. Animals too.’

Not real ones, of course, and they were hard and didn’t move, but they were unmistakably small versions of apes and other animals, though some he had no name for. He didn’t think that it meant anything about what had happened to Cozy, but it intrigued him. Had the humans made these?

Reconcile

Seed huffed once, very defiantly.

‘Not leave yet! We look now.’

He waved a limp wristed hand as though dismissing Feather’s concerns and started climbing the stairs, sending a glance over his shoulder to his bonobo friend, putting entirely too much effort into placing objects in bags and bags on the floor. He was wasting time! They had to check more thoroughly before the humans came back, and who knew when that would be.

He was on the second floor by the time his more hesitant friend was on the staircase, the floor creaking beneath his weight as he crept around the darkened room, dust tickling his nose and forcing a sneeze from him; something which seemed to startle something else in the attic… Before he could realize what was going on, there was squeaking and flapping around his head and Seed couldn’t help a startled bark as he slapped at them, only then realizing that it was just a bunch of bats, retreating through an open window. Hmph… A mistake any ape could have made!

The young ape snorted in their direction and seemed to straighten his posture, almost strutting his way around the room, which was mostly empty. Just some molded structures that seemed to contain objects, like baskets, except less durable.

'Stupid humans, baskets much better than these.’

It all left him feeling very superior as he pushed one over, suspiciously eyeing the pile that tumbled out. Cloth, what was it called? Humans wore these on their bodies for some dumb reason that Seed had never bothered to attempt to understand. All he knew was that it looked ridiculous.

…But not too ridiculous for him to try, right?

Gingerly, he fingered at the pieces of fabric until he found a smaller piece, holding it between his index and middle fingers in front of his face. It was obvious that something was meant to go inside of it, but what? He’d seen something similar sticking out of the things humans wore on their feet… Maybe…?

The sock was tugged on his foot as much as he could manage, and he made a face. A very unimpressed face.

'Now not use foot! Humans stupid. This why they not around anymore. Make stupid decisions.’

He tore the offending piece of clothing from his foot and tossed it over his shoulder, shaking his head at the lack of intelligence that the humans possessed. If knowledge was power, how, exactly, were humans so dangerous? Right, it was their guns and their cages. Definitely not their brains. Seed nearly pitied them…

He threw a grunt over his shoulder at Feather and indicated the windows.

'Feather so afraid humans come back? Feather watch for humans. Seed keep looking.’

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Feather was content to follow Keela as she took the lead, his long, graceless limbs taking him over the rocks and moss that coated them until he was perched slightly below her, looking up expectantly. But he was once again faced with a question and a decision and he chuffed uncertainly. Seed never worried about such things; he just always claimed he had more.

Not knowing all that many numbers yet, Feather looked at his fingers before holding up a full, five fingered hand.

‘Five. Have to find all five.’

The best part of this game was that whenever it was that they got bored of it, they could just claim they had found the humans wherever they were which was usually how it ended after the exploring and poking about where they didn’t often belong was over with. He just hoped that she didn’t find all the humans. He might not be good at it, but he could be a warrior too! He didn’t know his father all that well but Feather knew that he was strong and brave and admired. He would be like that now!

He puffed out his chest for a moment and pointed in a direction selected at random.

‘There!’

And off he was, knuckling and pulling himself along, more energetic than he’d been only moments before. 

Never Knew

[ratherpickflowersthanfights]

Feather was taken aback and the stunned look on his face was something that an older ape might have laughed at had their seen it.

She wanted him to help pick a game?

Even when he did play with the others, it always ended up with him being a follower and just coming along for the ride. Sometimes it was as simple as splashing about in a post-rain puddle and other times imitations of hunting done on leaves that he was usually uncomfortable with. So to have a choice... still, he didn’t want to bore her. He liked plants but no one else did, it seemed. So what could they do?

Still, he had to do something.

Rocking on his feet, half crouched, the young bonobo plucked at his arm fur for a few moments and then hooted once for her attention.

‘Play warriors, find humans!’

It was a game that he’d been dragged into more than once, and one that he knew some of the older apes disapproved of but the running about and sneaking and tumbling that went with the ‘search’ for ‘humans’ within the village was honestly something he liked, even if he didn’t care about what they were pretending.

Never Knew

Keela chirped excitedly, pulling back her lips in a grin. Her hands raised. “Keela,” she threw to him.

“What game. Play game. Think of game,” she signed, tapping her chin lazily with two fingers and pursing her lips, as if thinking.

She pulled at the grass again before staring at the sky, looking around to see if anyone else was up. The young hybrid was skittish, or at least energetic. She had never really spent much time playing with an ape of her own age before. Her younger and older siblings either shooed her away or were in too much danger of being hurt. While she was friendly, she was a bit shy most of the time. She didn’t want to bother her elders with a silly game. But Feather was a golden opportunity.