A Gentle Touch [UNDER REVISION]

A Village In The Balance

It was unlike Caesar to ever get angry, let alone lose control of it. If he ever fought, it was to protect his position in the troop, or to protect the troop itself. In all his years, Caesar could only recall three times when he's ever lost his temper and the experience has never been pleasant. It was like a festering fire burning in his heart - painful and unreachable, and uncontrollable as a result. It creates an itch to his canines that craved to be settled by a bite, whether it be a bite of something or someone. The first time when Caesar had lost control of this fury was when he saw his grandfather being threatened by their neighbor. He was willing to do anything to protect him, and he did - in a moment of impulse, he bit and ripped the man's finger from his hand. The second time was when the humans had brought a gun with them when he clearly told them not to. Because of their betrayal, he nearly lost his youngest son. The scare was enough for him to feel the same rage inside him build. That time, though, he didn't attack. He had managed to feign a calm. It was very close, however. Come to think of it, every time he's felt such an anger was when someone he cared about was being threatened.

The third time was fairly recent, and unlike other times, the person he wanted to protect did get hurt: Haley. The fury that bubbled in him was stronger than any before, and although he was telling himself he hated it, he was telling himself at the same time that he wanted to rip Koba's throat out. It had been Koba, his brother, who had hurt Haley and who had, consequently, forced Caesar to send his oldest friend back to the human village against her will. And even then, only with the slightest chance that she'd get better treatment. Coincidentally, none of the other council members seemed to react much differently. Immediately after hearing the news, almost everyone was sent searching for Koba. Whether it was to return the favor or bring him to Caesar, Caesar had the sinking feeling that it was the first. As furious as Caesar was, he couldn't help but remember, 'Ape not kill ape.'

But then, when Koba skulked back into the village like nothing had happened, Caesar felt his resolve waver and could definitely understand the drive behind Rocket's search. The balding ape considered Haley as family and he didn't care to hide it by how he visibly craved to kill Koba.

With a searing glower, Caesar watched Koba collapse to his knees in front of him, his head low. But soon enough, the mannerism that Koba carried himself with stole Caesar's attention and forced his glare to fade. Something about the exchange was slowly replacing his anger with dread. But Caesar didn't say anything - he was waiting for Koba to have the first word, so he could hear and judge what the bonobo deemed appropriate for the situation. And there was also a part of him that still wanted to believe that Koba regretted what he had done, that it had been an accident, even if he did run. Clearly, Rocket and Luca weren't too happy about this: Caesar could see both of them practically vibrating with all the strength they were using not to pummeling Koba right then and there. They were furious, yes, but they valued Caesar's decisions above even their own. Caesar always treasured their loyalty. But something was still amiss.

"Accident," Koba finally grunted, still not raising his head, "Did not mean to hurt mate." A long silence followed - Caesar couldn't seem to bring himself to say anything. Then, Koba shifted and revealed his hand with something in its palm. It looked like a crimson worm - like to colorful hairy ones that Will used to show him - but he knew that wouldn't be the case. The king was hesitant, his lips thinning with a soft grunt, but eventually, he had to reach out and take what was offered to him. He wanted to take a closer look and make sure what it was, but as soon as his face came a hand's distance from the bloody blonde hair, he regretted it. "Went to see her." Koba said, but Caesar wasn't listening. Frozen, he stared at the familiar hair in his palm in a mixture of disgust and horror. Finally, confused, the other council members came up behind Caesar, and their reactions weren't much different. Maurice flinched under the feeling of his giant heart being physically torn - was such a thing even possible? If he wasn't distracted, he would have worried that it was permanent. Rocket immediately stumbled back, his legs not as trustworthy as they seemed to have fooled him into being, but luckily, Ash was close and quickly caught him, also frantically signing to ask his father what was going on. Luca, however...