The forest was calm with a heavy mist. Flocks of birds soared over the vast wilds, singing their symphony which rose towards a smiling sun which sat proudly on its throne in the sky. Down below the winding trails of tree roots, dips and rivers seemed silent and lifeless. A soft wind blew through the palms of the banana tree and howled across the distant mountains. The land was untouched and peaceful. Trees coated with leaves and vines rustled with the motions of the fauna of this land.
*
The community of chimpanzees was governed by the Alpha Male, Ikenna. A large and powerful animal with a two tone colour to his fur. Black from waist up and an ash grey from the waist down. He was also rather elderly with white hair growing on his chin as a beard and his eyebrows. Despite this, he was very highly respected by his community. He was highly looked upon by the three dominant females of the group. A very kind and fair leader, even to his low ranking members as he would prevent them from being overly bullied or picked on. He had led his troupe for more than two decades and was beloved by everyone within the community. He ran the group tightly but fairly and he was certainly not above engaging in a play session with some of his close allies, or even some of the youngsters. He was a doting uncle to many.
There were thirty nine members of this group. Many of them were adult but there were a few who were young and playful- the youngsters would possess a white tuft of hair on their rumps for their mothers to clearly see them. They ran around the trees, poking each other, throwing little stones and jumping out at one another. But under their mothers' eyes they were careful not to push each other too far, knowing that if they did, they'd be dragged away. Some were over forty years old and prefered their own company, or the company of one or two close friends as opposed to the adolescents who would walk around in their own little gangs, constantly looking to one-up one another.
Ikenna sat somewhere high, watching the youngsters play, the older members tended to their own business. Old friends groomed one another, two brothers bickered over a handful of fruit that had fallen out the tree. A mother held and fed her own child, keeping a close eye on the antics of the youngsters, slapping any away if she felt they were too close. Several were high in the tree-tops, feeding on the lush and vibrant leaves.
An adolescent female in heat wandered around the forest floor, blatantly ignoring an amorous young male following close behind her, admiring her from behind and trying to impress her by beating up an old, bare tree and even trampling one of his good friends in an attempt to show off his strength. She was... indifferent to these amature displays and simply continued on her way through the undergrowth while the deflated male received a violent tackle from the ex-friend he had just betrayed for the sake of an unimpressed passing fancy.
The pair tumbled into the undergrowth, fists flying and distinctly un-masculine screams disturbing the peace. A clutter of elderly members had to scatter in order to avoid being run over by the screaming ball of limbs and teeth. Ikenna, angered by the disturbance of peace, charged from his position at the top of the tree after the pair. And after a swift crack on the back of the head for both of them. And the two sheepish males sat next to one another, grumbling and avoiding eye contact before begrudgingly making up. And as quickly as that, everything was at peace once again.
Sitting back against the tree, Ikenna watched as everyone began to resume their own business. He thought to himself that he would need to keep a close watch on the pair of adolescent males. Their little squabble could have done a lot of damage and they were getting too rambunctious. Not to mention they were quickly becoming stronger. But his troubled thoughts were soon soothed as he heard the pant-hoot of one particular female. The dominant female had returned from her scavenging trip. Hooting back excitedly, Ikenna jumped to his feet and rushed to greet her.
This particular female, Nneka was a very strong favourite of Ikenna's and was the Alpha Female of the family. She, herself, was deeply respected by the community and even the most rambunctious member knew to watch their actions around her. She was the only one who could handle the hormonal and temperamental teenage males, who liked throwing their weight around more than they should. Many times, it would take nothing more than a swift glare to put them back in their place. Nneka had raised many children over here lifetime, some remained in the community while others ventured off to find their own families in this vast forest. Like Ikenna, she was fairly elderly but still able to keep up with the youngsters and keep them in line. But while Nneka was seen as a kind aunt or grandmother to many of the younger generation, she had a particular attachment to infants and it had been almost nine years since years since her previous baby. Her youngest child, a young and somewhat foolish male, loved nothing more than to show off in front of the older and more serious members of the group, trying to prove himself to be as powerful as his father but many of these attempts ended the same way; with him running back to his mother screaming and begging her to lick his wounds. While she still adored her son, he was getting older and needed to learn how to defend himself against the others. And he'd better mature quickly, as Nneka had other matters to think of and prepare for. She was heavily pregnant, and was due to give birth any day now.
Ikenna greeted her warmly, hugging her tightly. He had a deep love for Nneka as the pair had known each other ever since they met in their adolescent years when he first found her alone, starved and hurt after presumably being lost from her own community. They had a deep bond that had lasted since that day and the pair were hardly ever apart, except for whenever Nneka went off to do her own scavenging. Many of the others within the family did this too, but Ikenna always worried whenever she left. Anything could happen to her out there...
For the next few days, everything was peaceful apart from the occasional squabbles and bickering which always came with families. Ikenna led his troupe deep through the winding undergrowth of the jungle, ever searching for fresh fruit, leaves and nuts.
One day, the troupe were foraging on the forest floor, searching for any of the sour fruit that may have fallen from the many trees stretching above them. The trees were beginning to lose their fruit as the days swiftly grew colder with each passing night. Many of the females were cracking nuts using stones, much to the younger chimps' interest as they tried -and some failed- to mimic this behaviour. Ikenna was on his feet and upon a rock, over-looking his group as he munched on the fruit that he had been able to gather, and it was quite a sizable haul he had collected for himself. Being the biggest and most dominant does have its privileges, although it did not stop a couple of hopeful subordinates from hanging around him in the hope that he would drop something. Two of his trusted allies sit close by. One of them was a very frail and elderly figure. His fur was ashen gray with a snow white beard and wrinkled, bony hands. He sat close to the Ikenna and groomed him along the back of his neck as the dominant male tucked into his fruit. The old chimpanzee was almost sixty years old so his movements were slow and careful. But the alpha-male didn't mind this. Despite being the most dominant; Ikenna still had respect and love for his father.
However, despite his father's grooming, Ikenna couldn't relax. As he watched over the rest of his family, he was slightly alarmed that he could not see Nneka anywhere among the rest in the troupe. Pant-hooting for her, Ikenna stood up fully and looked around hoping she was just up or behind a tree. A few others also began pant-hooting, trying to tell her that Ikenna was looking for her. Squawking and waving one arm, Ikenna summoned four of his subordinate males to follow him into the undergrowth. He would not typically worry about Nneka being alone, she always went off alone. But because of her condition, Ikenna knew that she would be more vulnerable and he was aware of a neighbouring community who could easily try and steal her. And if the Alpha Male wanted her... Huffing gruffly, he turned his attention to the matter. With a growl, he ordered his band to move out on a search. He had a slight suspicion of where she could be, and he hoped he was right.
The pregnant female in question was sitting at a creek out of sight of the community, drinking the sweet, cold water, using a chewed up leaf as a sponge. She looks around constantly, her brown eyes never away from the surrounding area. She took in all the sounds and smells of her homeland, breathing in deeply as she looked around. The water gleamed in the blotchy sun and the ground was cast in shadow with only the streaks of sunlight let through. Looking up, she saw the birds fly through the leaves, rustling as they went. She let out a few hoots, calling for anybody who may be nearby to join her. Upon getting no response, she continued to drink the water. She was also aware of a beehive in a tree behind her. After having a drink, she decided she would grab a chunk of honey to take back home to share with the others.
But something soon caused a disturbance in the peace, sending birds to the air in a flurry, shaking the leaves violently above her. As Nneka looked up, she froze at the sight of an unfamiliar chimpanzee standing on the other side of the creek. He was a large creature, his muscles rippled under his fur and he sported hard eyes. His lip was ripped and a deep gash ran down the right side of his face. He looked dangerous. The female squeaked, showing her teeth in fear and backed away towards the safety of the troop. But the male didn't leave. He marched across the creek, flinching a little bit at the coldness in his hands. He growled and, much to Nneka's terror, started marching his way hardly towards her, a low rumble in his throat and his eyes directly poised into hers.
Nneka backed away from him, screaming as loud as she could muster. Where was Ikenna!? Where was anyone?! At this, the male let out a roar and brought up his hackles threateningly. He must have been exiled from his previous group and the scars on his face meant it could have been for power. Nneka screamed, desperate to run away, but she knew that if she turned around, he would surely attack her and she was in no condition to fight back! With a deafening yowl, she picked up a rock and hurled it at him but -despite it hitting him in the chest- it did not seem to deter the intruder, who continued to advance towards her, now standing upright, his fur puffed out and his mouth wide open with all dagger like canines poised and ready to strike. Nneka raised her head and let out the loudest scream she could possibly muster. She needed Ikenna! Where was he?! Crying and cowering against a tree, Nneka wrapped her arms around her swollen belly and shut her eyes, all she could hope is that the blow would be swift and quick...
But just as the male was ready to pounce, a stampede of feet stamps became audible to the pair. Within seconds, the young male screamed as the foliage exploded as the huge and roaring form of Ikenna charged through. The search party that Ikenna had gathered, drummed their hands and feet against the logs in support of their fearless leader. His screams of fury rose into the canopy accompanying the yowls of the terrified stranger as he was mauled. Nneka cried and ran into the open arms of one of the higher ranking males, who wrapped his thick arms around her protectively, shouting at Ikenna as he pounded the rogue's back with his fists, as the latter screamed for mercy. But Ikenna was not prepared to give any, not after invading his land and threatening one of his females! The sound of the fight had drawn the rest of Ikenna's troupe to the creek, who all watched and shouted at their leader in support.
Finally, after one final blow to his face, as well as his pride, the rogue turned his heels and fled back into the forest. Ikenna roared victoriously and charged through the undergrowth, slamming his feet on trees, creating a loud drumming noise. He charged at, shoved and slapped some of the subordinates, expressing his power and authority. The rest of the troupe ran to him, exposing their hands and rumps to him in hope of acceptance. Nneka came up to him, holding her hand out like the others. But Ikenna -rather than biting her hand softly- put his mouth over hers. A sign of complete and utter love and trust he felt for her. Nneka sighed in relief and contentment as Ikenna groomed her face gently, grunting to her affectionately as he did. When he found a cut on her foot, caused by her panic to run away from the rogue, he tended to it. It was not a major wound and apart from that, she was fine. Relieved, Ikenna kissed her once more before beginning to walk about to their trees, stopping every now and again to check that Nneka was following close.
Back at their feeding grounds, Nneka climbed up one of the trees to feast on the leaves. The sun was beginning to set, basking the forest in an orange glow. Sitting on a branch, the pregnant Nneka sighed and looked towards the sky, letting the sun's rays rest on her face. From this tree she could see the world expanded as far as the eye could see. The forest was endless with only the sky as the limit. She looked down as the rest of her family calmed down from the fight and slowly began to resume their business.
Nneka continued to watch the sky as twilight grew close and darkness started to close in on the land. But she was then distracted as she saw Ikenna settle next to her. He took her hand, seeing it was scratched and cut from her struggle to escape the rogue. He inspected and groomed it softly. Nneka shifted so she was closer to the large male, her head resting on his broad chest. Ikenna wrapped one arm around her and, with the other hand, stroked the top of her head. Nneka held him tightly, still shaken from what happened. If Ikenna hadn't come... As if he sensed her discomfort, Ikenna muttered in her ear, reassuring her that he was there and that she was safe. Nneka sighed as she closed her eyes, the warmth of Ikenna's arms lulling her into a sweet blissful state, like everything was right again.
Ikenna and Nneka sat and watched the sun set back into the darkness, still in each others' arms. It didn't matter what happened. They had one another. That's all that mattered.