From Simian Eyes *Being edited*

The Wanderer

This was nothing like Keena had ever experienced before. And she didn't know what to think.

She could now go wherever she wanted, she didn't have to perform for or obey any humans. She could sleep where ever she wanted and do whatever she wanted.

But she couldn't focus on those positives. There were too many negatives. As always.

The area of the Green Swamp –she had heard her captures call it that when they took her here- was vast and wide. The high trees coated her in shade in the understorey. It was a hot area, even at night. It was actually quite comfortable. But she still struggled with her newfound "freedom" and there were still too many things that made her life difficult.

The only food she could see were some kind of fruit at the top of the tall and smooth-trunked trees. She sat in front of them and stared up hungrily. She wanted them. Badly. But how was she supposed to get them? She looked around, noticing a long stick lying close by. She grabbed it and –standing on a log- tried to whack the fruit from the tree. Hitting the tree made a loud clunking sound with every strike. But she could barely reach it. It was too high up. Keena was still thin from the lack of food from before but it seemed that it had become worse since she was here. Besides the fruit, there was only leaves. But they couldn't be eaten. Well, the deer could. She had seen wild boar in the area as well as the deer (she recognised the species from the circus). The size of the white-tails scared Keena, especially the bucks with their large and pointed antlers and the fierce boars would chase her with their tusks. One had managed to get her in the thigh, causing a lesion. It hurt for days and eventually got infected, causing a grotesque and agonising injury. But it didn't matter... it wasn't like she wasn't used to pain anyway...

The other animals who resided in the swamp did not appear to appreciate Keena being there. If she got any fruit that had fallen off of a tree, a boar would charge at her, forcing her to drop them by which they would grab and eat as if mocking her. If she tried to drink from one of the waterholes, a large and terrifying reptile would leap out, snapping its jaws and lunging at her. There were many of them and they'd all have the same intention to bite her. Paranoia took over Keena as she actively avoided waterholes, despite her aggravating thirst.

It was almost as if every other living being in the Green Swamp didn't want her there. Even the leaves. Keena once noticed how the leaves appeared to be hissing at her, making her jump quite violently. It scared her so much that she would actively avoid large amounts of dead leaves. Which meant that she could hardly get access to any trees or water. It wasn't until she moved the leaves that she finally found out what it was. A long and scaly reptile with no limbs glaring at her with two beady eyes and rattling tail. Keena let out a frightened cry and backed away. The creature hissed, enraged that it was almost stood on and lunged at her, just missing her hand. Keena shrieked and took off.

Having been ousted from the waterholes and the fruit trees, Keena couldn't even bring herself to try again. She would spend the day wandering the Swamp aimlessly, trying to find a way out. But it was far too vast for her to succeed. Everything looked the same. The wide and open space was intimidating. How was she supposed to know where she was or what lay on the other side of those hills and trees? They looked so large and eerie. What was over there? She really didn't know.

But it was the night where Keena was really effected by the new and frightening life she now led. It would be pitch-black and eerily silent. Any small noise frightened her terribly. The only light she could see was the moon, coating the swamp in a silver glow and reflecting on the waterholes. It looked nice but it still made her wary and frightened. She would hear snakes and other large animals moving around, scaring her further. She would curl up against a tree, trying to cover herself in order to hide. She'd hug herself and would barely move, terrified that something, anything would come and attack or kill her. She could hear and smell them. She could see cougars walking around, some would turn in her direction, their eyes gleaming. Keena would hold her breath and stay as still as she possibly could. Even when they left, she would still be too paranoid to move. Or sleep. During this time, she could only wallow in her depression. She hated this. Despite having no humans around to torment her, this was more than she had ever known. What was she supposed to do?