From Simian Eyes *Being edited*

The Liberated

A quiet life. That is what most think of when they think of a retirement.

But that is impossible when living in a rowdy group of chimpanzees. But Keena liked it that way. There was always something to do, someone to be with and something to look forward to. A whole new world that she had never known. It was beautiful. Her life had suddenly become beautiful.

It was a quiet summer afternoon –about two years after Keena first ventured out- and Keena and four others were busy in a grooming session. She was grooming Rita, who seemed to be enjoying her pampering. She suddenly felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and she turned to see Mitch grooming her back. She huffed and continued to groom the female. Suddenly, she heard a loud shriek meaning Patch had been annoyed by a member and was now in a display. He flew into her vision, his fur puffed making him look twice as big.

Keena deserted Rita and ran over to the rampaging male before stretching out her hand. He strutted over and put her digits in his mouth. He bit them softly before turning to the other low ranking chimps wanting his acceptance.

Despite Patch's acceptance, the dominant female Keena had left was not pleased. Keena turned to see Rita charging at her. Keena screamed and ran from her, just feeling the female grab and rip out a handful of hair on her back. She tried to scramble up a trunk but was dragged down by Freckles, who seemed to side with Rita. The aggressor pounded Keena, which made her scream.

Suddenly, Patch thundered into view and he gave Rita and Freckles a crack on their heads with his open palm.

The two females squealed and retreated. Keena huffed through her nose and received a brief hug from Patch before he went off on his duties.

May suddenly ran up and hugged Keena, which she was only happy to return. The youngster started knocking Keena on the head with her knuckles, her mouth wide open in a play-face, squeaking with excitement. Keena squawked and stood up on her hind-legs to playfully push the small chimp over. Little May squealed and ran away, with Keena in hot pursuit. She tackled the small chimp and started rolling in the grass with her. They tumbled down a slope. May squealed with joy and Keena could not help but smile at the little creature. She had grown to love her like a little sister.

As the play-fight ended, Keena began to groom the youngster's arm. May took Keena's other hand and began using her lips to groom the hair on the back of it. Keena suddenly felt a pair of hands behind her as Patch began grooming the back of her neck. Then Freckles joined in, grooming Patch. Then Harambee joined in. So did Coco. Even crusty old Amos allowed his solitary nature to relax as he eagerly ran over like a two year old and began grooming Jacob. Soon twelve of the chimps were involved in a huge grooming session. It felt good to feel so many pairs of hands pampering her and cleaning her coat, Keena had been groomed by one or two individuals before but never this much. Two thirds of the group (including Patch and Coco) were grooming her intensely, picking out her ears and her toes and everything in-between. The only one not to get involved was Cleopatra. She sat further away, being nervously groomed by Ling-Mai.

It made her feel completely at peace. She hadn't felt this way for as long as she could remember. These individuals understood her more than any human ever had, it was wonderful. She closed her eyes as her family groomed her, it was so soothing and comforting. She knew that she belonged here. She could feel it. And nothing would ever convince her otherwise.

As time went on, the bonds between her and the other members of the community grew. She became firm friends with the lower ranking members, with Ling-Mai and Molly as her best female companions. She was still very close to Patch as the pair would sit next to each other in the trees either eating the surrounding leaves or grooming each other. Life was bliss. But the only member of the group (besides Cleopatra) who didn't appear to appreciate Keena being there was Arvo. The male would watch her when she was with Patch. And he would try to bite or attack her when she ventured off alone. But Keena wasn't stupid, she knew that if she stayed around Patch, Ash or any of the other dominant males, Arvo wouldn't touch her. The young male seemed more fixed on Patch rather than Keena though. Arvo was definitely coming into his own. He was much larger than he had been a few years ago. He was a large muscular thing and could look very intimidating when he wanted to.