From Simian Eyes *Being edited*

The Stolen

Life was uneventful for the next few months. The majority of Nneka's time was spent on doting on her baby. Many of the adolescent females within the family were still deeply intrigued in her daughter and all of them wanted a chance to touch or hold her, meaning that Nneka was hardly ever alone. The infant herself was slowly began to gain independence. After almost six months riding on her mother's back or being carried, she had now began to venture away from her mother's grip, trying to crawl through the dense understorey. But she would only go as long as she could feel her mother's hands holding her up and if she were to fall or become afraid, it would only take a little whimper for Nneka to scoop her back into the safety of her arms. In that time, the forest was still as peaceful and sweet as the night she was born. With the ever doting Ikenna around, everyone was protected. Life was blissful.

Things were quiet through the community. Ikenna had gone away from the territory with some of his males on a patrol, leaving one of his Beta males in charge in his absence. A couple of the older youngsters were wrestling and their playful shrieking and laughing rose into the canopy. It was aggravating the older members who were trying to sleep in the warmth of the late afternoon day. But it wasn't just the youngsters who were disturbing them, leaves rained upon them as Nneka maneuvered her way through the tree above them. She was on the prowl for something other than leaves. The youngster was clinging onto Nneka's belly fur with her head buried into her chest. She had not found her head for heights yet, so it was better to simply not look down and bury her face into her mother, who perpetually kept a hold of her. The atmosphere was heavily misted from a previous rain storm and the leaves were still saturated. Nneka grunted as she clambered higher. The youngster whimpered worryingly but was quickly reassured by Nneka's gentle coos that she wasn't going to let her fall. She'd allow herself to fall from this height before her baby did. Nneka blinked as she noticed a bird's nest further up. With a bit of difficulty, she extended her long arm and picked through the nest, searching for eggs.

Nneka gingerly took her baby from her chest and placed her on a thick branch, the infant gripped onto the branch, squeaking and showing her few milk teeth in a fear grin, alarmed by the height. But Nneka was still within arm's reach. Nneka took the bird's nest and picked up one of the eggs and chomped onto the thin shell and swallowed the gold liquid. The young chimp tried to grab the egg off her but the mother kept it out her reach, she was not going to let anyone, even her own child to come between her and her food. The child shrieked in a tantrum and beat the tree branch with both fists. She wanted the egg. Why wasn't her mother letting her have it? Everyone else in the community had eggs, nuts and honey! Stuff she wanted! Finally after a while, the female gave up and handed the egg to her youngster. However, she figured that milk would be more appetising and abandoned her egg, allowing her Mother to have it back.

The child scanned her eyes across the forest. Bird sang in a symphony in the canopy and the sun setting sky was littered with flocks of eagles heading towards the sun. The chimps below were still silent apart from the quiet "hoos" from the members below. Her mother clambered back down the tree to the ground with the others.



Back on the ground, the youngster was sitting in front of her mother who was chomping on some leaves and enjoying a groom from a lower ranking male. The baby had seen some of the older members using rocks to crack open nuts. She was intrigued by this. One of the older members had managed to crack a nut open with a large stone before he tucked into his prize. The young chimp chattered with interest. She grabbed a little stone and tried to hammer a nut but it kept rolling away. She squealed in frustration and threw the stone, thankfully missing a nearby mother. The young male who had previously been grooming Nneka approached her and took the stone from where she had thrown it. He grunted and summoned the little one over to sit next to him. He pounded the nut with great force until it smashed open. The young chimp blinked her large eyes with amazement but her Mother was far from it as the other chimp decided since he opened it, he got it. She shrieked and chased the chimp around to get it back. The baby clinged onto her mother's belly as she got swung about with her mother's movements. It was only when the Beta male intervened that the mother gave up. She sat back down, shooting a glare at the older chimp. If Ikenna was around, he would have taken her side! She hoped he would return soon. He left in the early hours of the morning and it was now the afternoon.

The baby buried her face into her mother's warmth as she gently groomed her. Her eyes were so warm and loving. Her older sister, a seventeen year old shifted towards the mother and touched the baby's head. The mother allowed her and she lied on her back with her legs crossed, completely at ease. The chimp looked to her older sibling. She was heavily pregnant from the Beta male of the community and her swollen belly announced that she was days away from giving birth. She had been watching her mother with deep interest and was processing everything carefully. Watching the mother care for the young member had taught her a lot, she was ready for her own child.

The rest of the day drifted by peacefully with nothing more than the rustling leaves disturbing the silence. The mist continued to lie low on the ground, but nobody minded.
The sky turned a shade of orange above the cover of the trees as night creeped closer over the horizon. Everyone was in the trees, eating the leave. The youngster was busy suckling and listening to the soft grunts off the members communicating to one another. The forest was alive with the calling of wild birds and other species of primates outside the territory. Nneka had just finished constructing a large and comfortable nest for herself and had just settled down into it. She sighed as she watched the red and purple clouds drift through the golden sky above. The infant sighed contently and settled into her mother's fur to sleep, Nneka wrapping her arms around her for warmth.