Stone - Planet of the Apes

[moreredthanalive]

вүgσηε sιηs

[moreredthanalive]

strongasstone:

Stone and Winter both grunted, giving their agreement to Red’s words. None of the trio, it seemed, had any trust of humans, even a helpless child such as Nova.

The Colonel, courageous as he had been, was obviously never trustworthy. Although Red and Winter had reluctantly chosen to follow the human leader, Stone had never been the Colonel’s ape as he had seen from the beginning that the fanatical leader of the human warriors would have been unlikely to let any apes live after he had achieved what he wanted. Since the man had so eagerly sacrificed his own loyal troops, he would not have spared the donkeys, who meant even less to him. And there was no way Stone would have abandoned his beloved children, or their mothers. Especially Hannah, who was the favorite among Stone’s occasional female companions. He had known her even before Koba – she had been part of the same zoo chimpanzee troop Stone himself had come from, and even back in their captive days, Stone had occasionally mated with her whenever they could get away from the possessive gaze of the former zoo alpha, Max.

‘I never had any use for humans. We all save ourselves if she becomes dangerous. Hopefully Caesar will realize what a mistake he made, and if he does not, perhaps some ape will do away with her before she causes too much trouble,’ Stone signed carefully.

He stole a glance around him, making sure nobody outside the group of three was observing. The chimpanzee did not want to jeopardize his place back within the ape community, or that of his two gorilla friends, since they appeared to have established a friendship of sorts with him.

‘Yes, Caesar will not be around forever. Cornelius is his heir, but he is only a child. Another ape could rise up and take over before he grows. As Red say, Maurice too old and Rocket not very clever. Shabani, our new gorilla general, is very strong and well liked in the troop, but he is too young. There is Lake, and Etumbe, but some apes may not be willing to follow a queen without a king, although the bonobos definitely would, and besides, Lake is also too young and Etumbe is even older than Maurice…’

Stone became lost in thought for a moment before making his next signs.

‘Koba would have known what to do, yes.’

Red would not volunteer himself for such a task, but he found himself quietly hoping that Stone was right – that some sneaky ape could make the human girl disappear someday. If it did happen, the gorilla intended to keep himself away from it all. The last thing he needed was to give the others reason to suspect him. He was sure that many of them were aching for an excuse to accuse him of something terrible, in the hopes that he would be banished from the troop. He wouldn’t give them that excuse, if he could help it.

As Stone continued, he found himself pondering the very same thing. There was no obvious choice as a new alpha if Caesar passed away. Red was surprised that he hadn’t… The gorilla had seen for himself that Preacher had shot Caesar with an arrow. The fact that infection from the bolt within his body hadn’t taken his life attested to how strong their leader still was. Even so, it was clear by looking at him that he wasn’t necessarily in his prime anymore. If he was a gorilla, a younger silverback would have likely deposed him by now. But that wasn’t how things worked anymore.

‘Seemed like Spear was leading apes when humans found troop, with Caesar and the others not there. But Spear dead now.’

Red hoped that the statement wouldn’t reflect badly on himself. The soldiers, with the help of the donkeys, had tied several apes to die on the cliff to control the others. As their apparent leader, Spear had been one of them, and Red had seen for himself that he and the others had perished by the time Caesar found them.

The gorilla looked to Winter, briefly. Luca had been training the albino ape to take over the Guard one day. Had Winter not defected during the war, he would have probably been in the running to lead the apes themselves. Now, he existed on the outer edges of the troop. He had thrown his future away, more or less, and Red had had a hand in it…

Red was not immune to guilt, and his eyes fell to the ground as he scratched harshly at the top of his head.

'I think Stone would be better leader than any of them. Doesn’t seem like you will get the chance, though. None of us will now.’

[strongasstone]

By the looks on Red’s and Winter’s faces, they were in agreement with Stone about hoping that some other ape would deal with the human girl should trouble arise in the future. None of them, however, was going to jeopardize their position back in the troop and throw away the second chance that Caesar had offered them.

 And it did look like Caesar, with his resilience, determination, intelligence and courage, was going to be the ape tribe’s alpha for a long time yet. But would he live long enough to see Cornelius become old enough to succeed him? Or would some other ape challenge an ageing Caesar or a youthful Cornelius for that position…

 That ape did not even have to be a chimpanzee, either, Stone had realized as the group had discussed the possibility of other leaders. Nor did that ape even necessarily have to be an alpha male. The bonobos were matriarchal by nature, and all the apes had adapted to accept various parts of other species’ traditions into their collective lives, so perhaps apes who were not bonobos could learn to accept being ruled by a queen who was not merely such because she happened to be the king’s wife.

 Stone gave a nod of agreement at what Red had said about Spear.

 ‘Most senior Council member there when humans captured us was Etumbe, as Caesar had left and Maurice, Rocket and Luca went with him. So someone had to put themselves forward to protect her, since we needed her to keep morale strong. Spear was her kin, and one of our foremost warriors, so many thought it fitting that it should be him… he was brave enough to do so, and the humans seemed to assume that ape leaders were all male. He will always be remembered and admired for his courage.’

 Red and the other donkeys had never indicated that Etumbe was one of the leaders and had appeared to make sure that she was left alone. Stone felt a sense of gratitude that they had still been ape enough not to reveal all the secrets of the tribe to the Colonel.

 The next words Red signed caught the chimpanzee completely off guard, however. Stone, a leader? He had never thought of himself as a potential alpha, although he was flattered to think others believed him capable of the task.

 He glumly nodded at Red’s assertion that none of the trio would get a shot at leading roles now.

 ‘Must keep low profile if we wish to stay in colony, it seems…’

[moreredthanalive]

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[moreredthanalive]

strongasstone:

When Red mentioned the possibility of Nova having the virus, Stone found himself nodding in agreement again and saw that Winter was doing the same. Red’s opinions were making a lot of sense, and were echoing many of the misgivings Stone himself had had. Despite his gratitude towards Caesar, the chimpanzee did not think that Nova’s admission into the ape tribe was a very smart move on the part of the alpha.

‘Yes, she could have virus. Seen some of the humans who had it, and they could not speak either. But she does not seem to be stupid yet, and we do not know if she will become that way. Better to assume she could become dangerous unless it is obvious that she will not. It could be as you say, that she still identifies as human although she now lives with apes. She thinks of us as friends now, as her family, but will she always? We cannot know if she will. She was not a baby when we found her. She must remember her mother and father if the virus has not destroyed her mind…’

Stone frowned in the child’s direction before continuing to sign, keeping his hands close to his body as Red had earlier.

‘I agree with what you are saying, Red. Maybe war too much for Caesar and Maurice, and they sick in head now. Or perhaps Maurice too old to think right, and not the wise ape he used to be. So many ape children, some of them orangutans like him, were orphaned after fighting. He could have taken any of them as his own if he wanted one. Welcoming a human as one of our own makes no sense at all!’

He waited for a few moments, looking carefully around to make doubly sure that no other apes could see their conversation, and then signed again with a harsh exhalation through his nostrils.

‘I understand why Koba hated them so much.’

Stone was a very smart chimpanzee. He saw the situation for what it was, which could not be said for those in power. Red was grateful that Caesar had let him join the colony even after all that he had done, and he would follow Caesar for now because of that, but that did not mean that he agreed with all of the lead ape’s decisions. Red still thought Caesar was foolish in many ways, that Koba had been wiser in the face of threat. If Koba was still here, leading the apes, all of this could have been avoided. The apes would have won the war without being enslaved. Koba never would have let humans in the village to begin with, much less adopted a human child even while a war raged. He would have seen the inherent danger.

‘I will not trust her. If she turns on apes, I see it coming, save myself. I done with humans now.’

He was confident that his chimpanzee and gorilla friends – if he could yet call them that – would also be prepared should the girl become violent. There were many apes in the colony, but Red had seen first hand the damage a single human could do. Nova was a pathetic comparison to the Colonel, but the danger was still there.

Even if Red now knew that following the Colonel had been a mistake, he still could not help but admire the power the man had held. Red would be lying if he said he didn’t thirst to know how that felt, himself. But as long as Caesar and his closest were alive, he would never get the chance to know. This time, he wasn’t foolish enough to try to trick apes into following him. Red was accepting his place and being grateful that he had one at all.

'Maybe soon new ape will take over. Caesar not ape he used to be… Already left you twice without leader. Wonder who will be next leader…? Blue Eyes gone, Luca dead too, Maurice too old, Rocket not very smart…’

It seemed that all of the obvious choices were not suited to the job.

'Wish Koba was still here.’

[strongasstone]

Stone and Winter both grunted, giving their agreement to Red’s words. None of the trio, it seemed, had any trust of humans, even a helpless child such as Nova.

 The Colonel, courageous as he had been, was obviously never trustworthy. Although Red and Winter had reluctantly chosen to follow the human leader, Stone had never been the Colonel’s ape as he had seen from the beginning that the fanatical leader of the human warriors would have been unlikely to let any apes live after he had achieved what he wanted. Since the man had so eagerly sacrificed his own loyal troops, he would not have spared the donkeys, who meant even less to him. And there was no way Stone would have abandoned his beloved children, or their mothers. Especially Hannah, who was the favorite among Stone’s occasional female companions. He had known her even before Koba – she had been part of the same zoo chimpanzee troop Stone himself had come from, and even back in their captive days, Stone had occasionally mated with her whenever they could get away from the possessive gaze of the former zoo alpha, Max.

 ‘I never had any use for humans. We all save ourselves if she becomes dangerous. Hopefully Caesar will realize what a mistake he made, and if he does not, perhaps some ape will do away with her before she causes too much trouble,’ Stone signed carefully.

 He stole a glance around him, making sure nobody outside the group of three was observing. The chimpanzee did not want to jeopardize his place back within the ape community, or that of his two gorilla friends, since they appeared to have established a friendship of sorts with him.

 ‘Yes, Caesar will not be around forever. Cornelius is his heir, but he is only a child. Another ape could rise up and take over before he grows. As Red say, Maurice too old and Rocket not very clever. Shabani, our new gorilla general, is very strong and well liked in the troop, but he is too young. There is Lake, and Etumbe, but some apes may not be willing to follow a queen without a king, although the bonobos definitely would, and besides, Lake is also too young and Etumbe is even older than Maurice…’

 Stone became lost in thought for a moment before making his next signs.

 ‘Koba would have known what to do, yes.’

[moreredthanalive]

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[moreredthanalive]

strongasstone:

Stone tilted his head thoughtfully, carefully considering Red’s words.

‘Definitely more than a few. Mostly warrior males and those who lost loved ones in the war. Many of the females, though, seem to like this child, but most of them will love any little one, even one who is not their own.’

That was certainly true, judging from the fact that there had been no shortage of willing adoptive mothers for all the war orphans, some related to the children by blood and some not.

‘Those apes see her only as she is now. Small and vulnerable and in need of help and love. But she will not be young forever. One day she will be grown and stronger. Who knows – she could become as dangerous as the female warriors in the Colonel’s army.’

Stone noticed Winter nodding in agreement with these last words of his, and the chimpanzee grimaced at the thought of an adult Nova wielding a gun.

Red’s next signs made Stone pause. This was an interesting question indeed. Why had Caesar tolerated the presence of the human child, after losing his wife and first-born son to the murderous actions of humans?

Stone gave the matter some very careful thought before he began to sign again.

‘This is something I do not know. Perhaps he had compassion for her as she was a child alone. Or perhaps it has more to do with Maurice than Caesar. Maurice is our king’s oldest friend, and has always been considered the wisest of all apes. He has more influence over Caesar than any other ape, I believe. And he has never taken a mate or sired a child of his own… maybe this was a way for him to have a child, and Caesar allowed it because Maurice has been alone so long?’

It seemed an unusual answer to put forth to Red’s question, but as a devoted father himself, Stone could see this scenario as a possibility.

It seemed that they weren’t the only three who disliked the idea of a human girl being raised alongside apes. This was interesting… Red wondered how many of the Council shared these thoughts, but knew better than to speak out against Caesar. They were the only apes with any true power to their words, afterall… But Caesar silenced those who disagreed with him. Koba had been a shining example of that.

Red sent another glance in the direction of the girl, inhaling sharply through his nostrils. Something about the expression on her face didn’t sit well with him. He had seen this before, but where…?

The answer came to him when he realized that she was signing and not speaking.

‘She have the virus? Colonel say virus makes humans stupid. Maybe she too stupid to be dangerous.’

They could hope as much, but Red had seen the virus for himself. The Colonel had killed soldiers that showed signs of it. Even those men had kept a tight hold on their guns up until they were bound and executed. Whether they still knew how to use them, though… There had never been any chance to find out.

Stone’s words were considered carefully, regarding Maurice. The pieces of this puzzle were clicking together in Red’s mind. Maurice had taken a liking to the human boy who Caesar had welcomed into their village years ago, older than this girl, but still not an adult. It wasn’t a stretch to believe that the same had happened with this girl, however, given that she seemed to be an orphan, Maurice’s protective instincts must have kicked in. This still wasn’t right. She was a human, not an ape.

'Colonel say soldiers with children left him to hide, protect their children. Maybe she one of them. She will hear stories of war, maybe find out apes were against humans. Hope she doesn’t try to take revenge when she grows up…’

His brows furrowed again and he snorted, shaking his head in disgust again at the situation, before he signed again. This time, he kept his hands close to his body to make absolute sure that only Winter and Stone would be able to see them.

'First Caesar put apes in danger by letting humans in… now Maurice too. Maybe they both sick in head. Maybe Maurice too old to think right anymore. If he wanted child, he should have adopted ape child instead.’

[strongasstone]

When Red mentioned the possibility of Nova having the virus, Stone found himself nodding in agreement again and saw that Winter was doing the same. Red’s opinions were making a lot of sense, and were echoing many of the misgivings Stone himself had had. Despite his gratitude towards Caesar, the chimpanzee did not think that Nova’s admission into the ape tribe was a very smart move on the part of the alpha.

 ‘Yes, she could have virus. Seen some of the humans who had it, and they could not speak either. But she does not seem to be stupid yet, and we do not know if she will become that way. Better to assume she could become dangerous unless it is obvious that she will not. It could be as you say, that she still identifies as human although she now lives with apes. She thinks of us as friends now, as her family, but will she always? We cannot know if she will. She was not a baby when we found her. She must remember her mother and father if the virus has not destroyed her mind…’

 Stone frowned in the child’s direction before continuing to sign, keeping his hands close to his body as Red had earlier.

 ‘I agree with what you are saying, Red. Maybe war too much for Caesar and Maurice, and they sick in head now. Or perhaps Maurice too old to think right, and not the wise ape he used to be. So many ape children, some of them orangutans like him, were orphaned after fighting. He could have taken any of them as his own if he wanted one. Welcoming a human as one of our own makes no sense at all!’

 He waited for a few moments, looking carefully around to make doubly sure that no other apes could see their conversation, and then signed again with a harsh exhalation through his nostrils.

 ‘I understand why Koba hated them so much.’

[moreredthanalive]

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[moreredthanalive]

strongasstone:

Stone acknowledged Red’s nod with one of his own, then turned to Spark.

‘Your mother is bringing some more food and water. Go, eat and drink, I have had enough for now,’ the older chimpanzee signed, and Spark, with all a youngster’s healthy appetite, moved eagerly in Hannah’s direction.

Watching Spark go towards his mother, Stone could not help but let a proud smile form on his lips. Spark was growing into a strong and promising young ape. He felt a moment’s gratitude to Caesar for allowing him back into the troop. Now that Koba was gone, Stone’s children were everything to him. There was not only Spark to consider, but his other four offspring as well.

There was Breeze – Hannah was also her mother – Stone’s first-born daughter who was now an adult and mated to a male bonobo named Ezra, and who was expecting her own first white-tail soon. Stone’s other son, Cloud, was a teenager a little younger than Spark and had been born to another female chimpanzee named Sandy. The mother of Stone’s youngest children, twin daughters Glow and Golden who were still white-tails, was a female bonobo, Molly.

And then there was the matter of Hannah’s youngest child, little Dawn, who was not Stone’s offspring by blood but who he nevertheless felt protective of. Not only because of his abiding affection for her mother, but because of who her father had been.

Koba had loved Stone devotedly and passionately during their time together, but he had been curious about coupling with a female, and gentle, patient Hannah, with some encouragement from Stone, was willing to help him out. Dawn had been the result of that experiment.

However, it was imperative that some apes not guess who had sired the little hoot-yeep, Stone thought as he watched Spark go to meet up with his mother and sister.

Stone went and sat down beside Red. It felt strange to be approaching the gorilla in a setting of freedom like this, when Red had been one of the “donkeys” who had kept Stone and his fellow apes imprisoned at the Colonel’s orders. But Stone was willing to let the past, as far as apes were concerned, be the past. Red had probably not enjoyed oppressing other apes, despite what some claimed in their anger. And Red also had been Koba’s ape, one of his most loyal followers. As one who still loved Koba, Stone felt that there had to be a bond of some sort there… even if this bond was only forged from resentment against humanity.

Stone gave a grunted greeting to Red and Winter, and gestured very carefully.

‘I do not see why that child must live among the apes,’ he signed.

Red’s brows furrowed as his eyes followed Stone’s signs. It seemed as though he and Winter were not the only two who had doubts about Nova’s presence in the ape colony. The gorilla wondered how far this line of thinking went, how many apes would agree with them if they voiced their concerns.

Of course, they all knew better. Especially with the effects of the war and the loss of his family having left Caesar more ruthless than he had ever been.

Still…

‘How many apes feel this way?’

Despite his past, Red had no intentions to attempt to splinter another group. That plan had failed miserably the last time, even if Red and Grey’s intentions had been mostly good. All Red had wanted was to ensure the survival of their kind, but he had lost his head along the way. He knew that now, and wished that he had back then, too. But there was nothing he could do to change the past. He could only work towards having a better future, and not repeating his mistakes. The same things that Winter and Stone were doing. It was really no surprise that it was the two of them that had found their way to Red again…

'Before I left Caesar, he would not have let human live here. Wonder what changed?’

He hoped that Stone would have the answer. Out of the three of them, it was the chimpanzee who had remained loyal to Caesar throughout this war, after Koba’s death. He would have watched the transformation of the once pacifistic leader into the ape that had set off in hopes of mounting the Colonel’s head on a spear from start to finish. By the time Caesar had discovered his family, Winter was already gone, had already joined up with Red and set off for the human camp. If any of them had insight, it was Stone.

[strongasstone]

Stone tilted his head thoughtfully, carefully considering Red’s words.

 ‘Definitely more than a few. Mostly warrior males and those who lost loved ones in the war. Many of the females, though, seem to like this child, but most of them will love any little one, even one who is not their own.’

 That was certainly true, judging from the fact that there had been no shortage of willing adoptive mothers for all the war orphans, some related to the children by blood and some not.

 ‘Those apes see her only as she is now. Small and vulnerable and in need of help and love. But she will not be young forever. One day she will be grown and stronger. Who knows – she could become as dangerous as the female warriors in the Colonel’s army.’

 Stone noticed Winter nodding in agreement with these last words of his, and the chimpanzee grimaced at the thought of an adult Nova wielding a gun.

 Red’s next signs made Stone pause. This was an interesting question indeed. Why had Caesar tolerated the presence of the human child, after losing his wife and first-born son to the murderous actions of humans?

 Stone gave the matter some very careful thought before he began to sign again.

 ‘This is something I do not know. Perhaps he had compassion for her as she was a child alone. Or perhaps it has more to do with Maurice than Caesar. Maurice is our king’s oldest friend, and has always been considered the wisest of all apes. He has more influence over Caesar than any other ape, I believe. And he has never taken a mate or sired a child of his own… maybe this was a way for him to have a child, and Caesar allowed it because Maurice has been alone so long?’

 It seemed an unusual answer to put forth to Red’s question, but as a devoted father himself, Stone could see this scenario as a possibility.

[moreredthanalive]

вүgσηε sιηs

[moreredthanalive]

strongasstone:

When the human girl arrived at the building site to see what her foster-father, Maurice, was working on, Winter and Red were not the only apes who were perturbed by the sight of her.

A human living among the apes… that was something the veteran chimpanzee warrior, Stone, would never see as right. Maurice may have come to love the girl, but she belonged far, far away from the ape colony. She was a only a white-tail, so it was obvious why she had not been left back where she had been found – she would very likely have died without anyone to care for her. But surely there were other humans still in existence in the world – why could Caesar and his group not have found a human colony to leave her with?

Stone did not like to think badly of the king who had forgiven him and accepted him back into the troop (even though he was no longer a member of the Council) but he wondered if it was in fact still true that Caesar loved and trusted humans far too much. He had allowed one of his friends to adopt a human as a child… one of the hairless creatures who had ultimately been responsible for the dreadful war, and for the death of Stone’s beloved mate.

The war was never Koba’s fault, Stone thought, and his brow creased whilst his hands slowly formed tight fists. Humans came back and Koba’s rage stemmed from that. I will never allow any ape to blame you for the fighting, my love. You were hurting deep inside, and it was those hairless beasts who made your mind sick. It is because of them that you are gone from my arms. Not because of Caesar, not because of anything else…

“Father?”

A soft voice nearby brought Stone’s attention back to the present. The speaker was Spark, his adolescent son.

“Red and Winter look angry with the human,” the young ape said. Like many youngsters, he was keen to speak aloud rather than sign. Stone gave a gentle grunt and nodded.

‘I wondered about that why they look that way,’ Stone signed, falling into the old ways as a matter of habit. ‘I will go and see what is going on with them.’

With Spark following, Stone got up and moved to sit nearer to the two gorillas, calling a cordial greeting to them both.

Well, whether or not Caesar and Maurice were sick in the head due to the horrors of the war, Red for one had no intention to spend any more time in the presence of humans. With a grunt, he turned his back to the direction of Nova, heavy brows casting shadows over his eyes.

It was then that a chimpanzee call caught his attention, and he caught sight of Stone and a young ape whose face Red recognized, but he couldn’t place his name. At any rate, it was obvious that the adolescent was Stone’s child. The two bore an undeniable resemblance.

Interesting, he thought, that the others who followed Koba, but returned to Caesar, seek me out.

The gorilla gave a nod in Stone’s direction in response, though he wasn’t entirely certain what to expect from him. Red had fastened the shackles to Stone’s ankles himself, back at the Border camp. That alone, everything else ignored, should have been enough for the chimpanzee to resent him. Strangely enough, though, Stone’s body language did not seem hostile. Some apes, it seemed, were much better at putting the past behind them than others.

That thought in mind, Red beckoned Stone closer with a small flick of his wrist, still resting in his lap. He had grown accustomed to using subtle gestures to communicate with his fellow donkey apes. Many of the soldiers did not take kindly to their apes communicating verbally or in sign. They wanted them to act as the animals that they had once been…

Unless, of course, they were aiding them in battle. That became an entirely different story. Their apes were free to show their true intelligence only when it benefited the humans. The very memory of it brought a foul taste to Red’s mouth.

He may be held at arm’s length at best by most of the apes here, but at least he was free to be himself.

[strongasstone]

Stone acknowledged Red’s nod with one of his own, then turned to Spark.

‘Your mother is bringing some more food and water. Go, eat and drink, I have had enough for now,’ the older chimpanzee signed, and Spark, with all a youngster’s healthy appetite, moved eagerly in Hannah’s direction.

Watching Spark go towards his mother, Stone could not help but let a proud smile form on his lips. Spark was growing into a strong and promising young ape. He felt a moment’s gratitude to Caesar for allowing him back into the troop. Now that Koba was gone, Stone’s children were everything to him. There was not only Spark to consider, but his other four offspring as well.

There was Breeze – Hannah was also her mother – Stone’s first-born daughter who was now an adult and mated to a male bonobo named Ezra, and who was expecting her own first white-tail soon. Stone’s other son, Cloud, was a teenager a little younger than Spark and had been born to another female chimpanzee named Sandy. The mother of Stone’s youngest children, twin daughters Glow and Golden who were still white-tails, was a female bonobo, Molly.

And then there was the matter of Hannah’s youngest child, little Dawn, who was not Stone’s offspring by blood but who he nevertheless felt protective of. Not only because of his abiding affection for her mother, but because of who her father had been.

Koba had loved Stone devotedly and passionately during their time together, but he had been curious about coupling with a female, and gentle, patient Hannah, with some encouragement from Stone, was willing to help him out. Dawn had been the result of that experiment.

However, it was imperative that some apes not guess who had sired the little hoot-yeep, Stone thought as he watched Spark go to meet up with his mother and sister.

Stone went and sat down beside Red. It felt strange to be approaching the gorilla in a setting of freedom like this, when Red had been one of the “donkeys” who had kept Stone and his fellow apes imprisoned at the Colonel’s orders. But Stone was willing to let the past, as far as apes were concerned, be the past. Red had probably not enjoyed oppressing other apes, despite what some claimed in their anger. And Red also had been Koba’s ape, one of his most loyal followers. As one who still loved Koba, Stone felt that there had to be a bond of some sort there… even if this bond was only forged from resentment against humanity.

Stone gave a grunted greeting to Red and Winter, and gestured very carefully.

‘I do not see why that child must live among the apes,’ he signed.

[moreredthanalive]

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[moreredthanalive]

snowgorilla:

Winter slowly nodded, understanding Red’s shocked reaction completely. He had had similar thoughts upon hearing that the human child was going to live with the apes.

‘Yes, human child now stays here in colony, a little female,’ the white gorilla signed. ‘Maurice has her live with him, says she is his daughter now since she has no one else. She does not speak, only sign. Caesar seems to trust her, since she is only young… perhaps also because he might think females are less dangerous than males.’

This reason for trusting the human, however, did not sit well with Winter, as there had been women among the Colonel’s troops who had seemed every bit as menacing and lethal to apes as their male counterparts.

As Winter’s hands stopped moving for a moment, he saw the very girl he had been discussing with his friend walking towards the building site, a wide smile on her face as she caught sight of Maurice and opened her arms to the old orangutan. Winter noticed that he and Red were not the only apes who were regarding the child with barely hidden suspicion, although some of the females with young who had been bringing food and water to the workers warmly greeted the little newcomer, who responded to them and their babies with gentle smiles.

Winter turned his focus to Red again.

‘Some other apes here still do not want her around them, but they are too loyal to Caesar – and to Maurice – to say so.’

The albino gorilla was himself torn on the issue. The girl, Nova, seemed to be sweet and gentle enough, and Maurice obviously loved her dearly. But what would happen when she was no longer a child? She had not been a baby when she had been found, so already she may have been exposed to the way that other humans seemed to loathe and fear the apes.

He turned his attention back to Red, wanting to see what his friend thought of this strange – and potentially threatening – situation.

Apes were adopting humans as children now?! Just how much had changed in a mere two years?! Red shook his head again, flaring his nostrils with a sharp inhale. He supposed he was no better, having served humans for those couple of years… But at least he was under no illusions that they were not apes. Had the old orangutan finally begun to lose his mind to old age? Maurice had been so wise back when Red had been loyal to the ape colony… It was strange to think of him doing something to foolish and ill thought out.

Yet, here they were – with a human girl approaching them, as if on cue. Red narrowed his eyes, lowering his head a little to watch her from beneath his brows so that if she looked in his direction, he could easily avert his eyes without drawing suspicion. She certainly didn’t look intimidating; scrawny and dirty and small. But then, gorillas started out as small creatures also… That certainly changed as they grew. The same would be true for the little girl.

And, it seemed, Red was not the only one with doubts. His eyes flicked from ape to ape. It was easy to pick out those who did not necessarily approve of the decision to let a human stay with them.

‘Humans not ape children!’

He kept his signs close to his body, making it difficult for apes other than Winter to make out what he was saying. Red didn’t need to draw attention to himself, that was for sure.

'Caesar say apes should not be raised by humans like he was. So, why he let ape raise a human? Something not right here.’

The gorilla’s brows remained furrowed and his lower lip jut out pensively. Caesar had helped humans before, but he had never let them live with the apes permanently. He had been adamantly against it, openly so, stating himself that apes and humans belonged apart. If nothing else, Red’s time in the Colonel’s army had only reinforced that belief. Apes should be with apes, and humans should be with humans… or dead.

'You think war too much for them? Their heads get sick?’

The fact that Caesar had lead a crusade of revenge against the Colonel attested to just how much of his mind the war had changed, afterall…

[strongasstone]

When the human girl arrived at the building site to see what her foster-father, Maurice, was working on, Winter and Red were not the only apes who were perturbed by the sight of her.

 A human living among the apes… that was something the veteran chimpanzee warrior, Stone, would never see as right. Maurice may have come to love the girl, but she belonged far, far away from the ape colony. She was a only a white-tail, so it was obvious why she had not been left back where she had been found – she would very likely have died without anyone to care for her. But surely there were other humans still in existence in the world – why could Caesar and his group not have found a human colony to leave her with?

 Stone did not like to think badly of the king who had forgiven him and accepted him back into the troop (even though he was no longer a member of the Council) but he wondered if it was in fact still true that Caesar loved and trusted humans far too much. He had allowed one of his friends to adopt a human as a child… one of the hairless creatures who had ultimately been responsible for the dreadful war, and for the death of Stone’s beloved mate.

 The war was never Koba’s fault, Stone thought, and his brow creased whilst his hands slowly formed tight fists. Humans came back and Koba’s rage stemmed from that. I will never allow any ape to blame you for the fighting, my love. You were hurting deep inside, and it was those hairless beasts who made your mind sick. It is because of them that you are gone from my arms. Not because of Caesar, not because of anything else…

 “Father?”

 A soft voice nearby brought Stone’s attention back to the present. The speaker was Spark, his adolescent son.

 “Red and Winter look angry with the human,” the young ape said. Like many youngsters, he was keen to speak aloud rather than sign. Stone gave a gentle grunt and nodded.

 ‘I wondered about that why they look that way,’ Stone signed, falling into the old ways as a matter of habit. ‘I will go and see what is going on with them.’

 With Spark following, Stone got up and moved to sit nearer to the two gorillas, calling a cordial greeting to them both.