A Gentle Touch [UNDER REVISION]

Straw Meet Camel

Despite Haley's better judgment to forget it, she found herself mulling over Luca's words while she pyramided some kindle atop her blistering tinder. "Always looks scared and careful around Koba—" She could still feel the jab of his words where they had hit her core; she knew he was right. And so, like a dangerous mash of salt to a wound, Maurice's own warning leaked through her thoughts. Maybe the old orangutan was right, she thought sullenly as she bewilderedly placed another piece of wood to the growing campfire, maybe she has changed from how she used to be. Unfortunately, she knew the prying gorilla was right and she was, indeed, afraid of her own mate, but why that stopped her from standing up for herself, she didn't know. In fact, when she spoke out of place the hour before was when she felt more like herself than she ever did in the past two years. She used to be steadfast to her opinion and unbendable against her beliefs, not to mention faithful to something she knew was right and also true when she knew something was wrong. Even against her own father, she fought many times. She used to be—

Pausing in her thoughts and in her progress with the fire, she wondered long and hard about how exactly she used to be, only to chuckle faintly out loud and neatly put another piece of kindle in the perfect spot when she realized the answer: she used to be like Luca. What happened to that Haley, she mulled drearily, ignoring the fact that she could feel Tinker, Rocket's wife, giving her odd looks for her random changes in expressions. Funnily enough, Haley would've happily been embarrassed by those looks for a hundred years if it meant the new turn of events would not have happened.

The startled whinny of a horse immediately compelled Haley's head to whip up in alarm, thought the distraction only bought an opportunity for the flames to nip at her lingering hand and for her to gasp in alarm and suck on the stinging tip of her finger before she allowed herself to process the sight of Koba rushing towards her– she would have cowered back, given her previous line of thought, had it not been for the distress already riddling his face. "What's wrong?" She signed quickly, seeming too in shock to speak her words, and rose, the campfire forgotten almost immediately.

"Just came from city." He rushed with a few guff and breathy hoots, "Humans dangerous!"

Unlike the urgency the bonobo might've wanted, Haley grew stalk-still at his warning, her face falling into disbelief. Completely unaware of his own slip-up, Koba merely turned confused, though Blue Eyes came to both their aid seconds later. Leaning his half-made spear against the small cliff-side behind him, the young ape stood from his spot atop a dried branch on the ground and walked into the conversation, Koba's attention immediately shifting to him, "Where Caes—?"

"You said you were going hunting." Haley interrupted, her tone frighteningly calm and empty, and enough so to turn a few heads their way, despite how quiet the talk remained – though she had been shaken up from her nightmare at the time, she was certain she couldn't have heard him wrong that morning. Slowly, she could feel the importance for her fear of Koba dwindling – compared to the reality suddenly dawning on her, him hurting her was trivial. And when Koba's face slacked into a state of faint panic when he grew conscious of what she meant, she knew he thought the same.

"Please – don't ever lie to me again – promise me!"

After two years, Haley could still recall her condition without doubt of her memory'd accuracy – it was the one thing she asked of him when they agreed to go into their relation- their farce. Whatever they have, it struck Haley, was nothing close to a relationship. And this only became clearer when the panic in Koba's seeing eye vanished, disgust and appall taking its place when the bonobo grew aware of the stares around them and noticing the audacity Haley was showing with standing up against him in front of everyone. His look – it reminded Haley of someone...