Emerging into the open, eyes the same hue as precious sapphires spotted her elder father posed in the most peculiar way. For a moment she paused, questioning his motives, but didn’t stay long enough to completely hear his reasoning. She had heard the sounds of a gun shot twice now, one shortly after the other, and she was going to confront the man behind it. He just couldn’t persist with the violence when the sound, foreign to the jungle, would scare away the very reason they were here. Jane was rather timid with her confrontation, her hands gripping onto her parasol and gaze avoiding contact with the man. She was headstrong and determined when wanting to get a point across, but the truth in the matter was that Clayton simply frightened her. He was a strong man, obviously, but not only that he held a gun. She hated the fact that they even had weapons at all, as she was a firm believer in leaving nature the way it was. In the midst of her argument, her father’s excitement interrupted. “Oh Jane, Jane! Do you realize what you’re standing in?” Vexation that furrowed in her brows disappeared in an instant, as the brunette twisted her figure to face her father, her gaze traveling down with the slimmer of fear that she might be standing in feces – but just as she figured otherwise, her father’s voice confirmed. “A gorilla’s nest!” Oh the excitement that coursed through her was nothing that she had felt before. However, the excitement came to a halt once Clayton spoke again. He fired that blasted thing above them, the sound piercing through her sensitive ears, causing her to hunch over while gloved hands pressed firmly to the side of her head, protecting what little sound she could still hear. Vexation returned to her fair visage, her eyes glaring towards the larger man’s direction. “Clayton, please, what if it’s a gorilla?”–“It’s no gorilla,” the male argued, causing her to be drawn back into her thoughts that poked at her only moments ago. Was it perhaps what she thought it to be? Cautioned curiosity as she rose from the jungle’s floor, pondering on her thoughts until something fell on her head, causing her to let out a gasp, her gaze immediately reverting back to the African canopy. It was still empty, from what she could make out, which allowed her to feel somewhat at ease. What fell on her head though? The sight of a bright orange toned fruit captured her gaze, along with a small monkey that was chasing after it. “Oh,” Relief. “Are you what all this fuss is about?” The tiny creature was so darling and innocent, munching away on it’s lunch, she couldn’t have thought to draw it any sooner.
He was the perfect model, even going as far as to crawl up her back to see what this strange being was doing. He apparently liked her work, a lot, because the next thing Jane knew was that her notebook had been stolen by a little monkey no less. It had barely been ten minutes and she has had the most eventful day of her life. There was really no other option but to chase after the thief in hopes to retrieve her precious work.
Ensnared by his own arrogance was the offspring belonging to the baboon family, his energy & manner undaunted under the threat of her chase as he scurried off deeper into the expanse of blooming emerald. He was almost hesitant to follow, unable to will away the dread that began to pool down his spine and drift into his rib-cage. There was a certain predictability found within this untamed kingdom, as unruly and cruel as it were. A land that gifted its subjects (the smart ones) with an awareness or perception for looming trouble. It was needed to stay alive, having used it in the past many a times in more than one scenario. Crocodiles, killer fish, a stray branch, a torn vine, the leopard he had just ended not but an hour ago--and so forth. An outcast he may be, but he was no fool. A babe all on his lonesome was hardly seen, not since the boldest of predators had decided upon moving deeper into the more lusher parts of this jade utopia.
Something was wrong.
He could feel it.
He was already zooming across the branches with ease, knuckles bred from hardest stone digging into the gnarled bark that served as proper steps into the higher tree-tops. Where he might feel obliged to aid her, he was in no hurry to reveal his presence or make a situation any worse than it already was. Yes, that prior dread had merely blossomed into a greater force, seeping into his bones and weighing upon the breath in his lungs. The ultimatum of adrenaline was upon him, muscles & nerves beginning to vibrate neath hardened skin as her voice began to drift into his ears, indistinguishable language playing havoc with a feral mind as he began his ascension up the last trunk. This was wrong--why had he taken to stopping here in such a stretched space and under the shadow of a tree--
"--...Oh."
A rather blank sentiment in regards to the array of concealed shapes within the veins of nature's tower behind the two below, the dame seemingly unaware as she continued to haggle with a selfish child. And all the while their reveal drew towards the climax, darkened fur and claws lengthier than his calf seen under barest sunlight. His eyes had been fixated upon this steadily increasing army, but the moment he heard the wails of their urchin was the moment they stepped out from the shadows. Eyes like the color of weak flames, canines now fully on display for the purpose of showcasing their power--their aggression. And their leader beheld the showmanship that proved his position, a red & carmine muzzle twitching before he and the rest of them snarled in terrifying unison.
