CHAPTER 6 – Mates and Playmates
Attracted by the loud shrieks of horseplay, Goro turned from dining on juicy leaves to watch the little ones play. He had climbed down from his place atop the Grooming Rock to eat. His enormous body required constant feeding, and the plants with the circular leaves that grew in abundance beneath the rock were his favorite.
As they often did, the silverback’s eyes slid over to where Eeda sat fishing for termites with a handful of females. Goro as king had mated the most beautiful she-apes in the tribe and was father to many of the young that gamboled about in the high grasses. He undertook his duties as master of his mates, though some among them he favored and from them he would eventually name is own queens.
Females so honored carried the title for all their lives, and so the aging queens of Baho were still extant within the tribe: Oluza and Akaki, though they were almost past their mating time.
Goro had no interest in the dour Oluza the eldest, but had sired a young male Ulok and a female with the latter. Despite her age, Akaki still cut a fine figure among the other females and she was persuasive.
The blackbacks accepted Goro’s leadership and his rules of engagement under tribal law. The silverback had the right to any female in the tribe but rarely took the mates of others because that caused unnecessary tension—except when it came to his kingship. It was well known that challengers to Goro’s leadership often found their mates in his embrace.
Males were free to take mates that did not belong to Goro and would accept them. They could also leave with their females and start their own bands and be king if there was unoccupied territory available.
However, the tribe was important to all its members and most when given the chance would stay under Goro’s protection for a larger group was a safer place in the dangerous jungle.
Many males enjoyed this arrangement and would support Goro’s leadership if a potential challenger for the crown was not to their liking. These trusted lieutenants would also go with the king to protect the borders.
At other times these males would go singly or in groups to search for females from other tribes that they could steal as mates and return as victors. Goro would rarely challenge them for their new brides.
Goro had always thought Eeda a fine-looking creature that would make a good mother. It hadn’t surprised him that she’d adopted Gazda to replace the infant she’d lost. The fact that she’d done so well with what was obviously a sickly waif only encouraged his admiration of her.
It was good for the tribe to have females such as Eeda.
He had mated with her long ago as had other males, before any had wanted to lay claim to her. Those couplings had resulted in her first child’s birth, but he had died before any had recognized his father in him.
Since then, Eeda had been busy with the special requirements of raising an ape like Gazda, and so she had not offered Goro mating overtures or reciprocated any of his own.
That was no matter. There were several females that the king regularly mated with. He would give Eeda the time she needed.
Goro watched the ferns and bushes shaking at the edge of the forest, and saw her little foundling’s white flesh flash behind some leaves in the undergrowth. The silverback was pleased that Gazda had survived, and he was impressed by the youngster’s spirit, who was quick to play at hunting games, fast and strong when required; and he seemed intelligent.
Then the silverback’s attention was drawn to the simple, noisy shambling of Kagoon, and he sighed. If Gazda’s friend did not start learning faster, he might be a drain upon the tribe. The king could not resist a glance at Omag who had gone off by himself to sit with his arms wrapped around his mangy chest. He knew the crippled ape would think that, too. That Kagoon might be a luxury the group could not afford.
“But Kagoon will make an excellent blackback, so long as he does not have political ambitions,” Goro grunted quietly before thinking. Then again, the damage to his head might serve him well in both cases. The king smiled and panted mischievously at his own jest before rolling from elbow to elbow casting about the long grass for Baho. The old silverback would appreciate the joke.
Poomak screeched wildly as he bowled Gazda and his friends over. The four apes rolled in the underbrush before leaping up and grappling; the three males making joyful coughing sounds as little Ooso escaped the crush. Some distance from them, she stamped her feet and barked before darting into the thick brush that edged the clearing where their mothers fished for termites.
The little males panted happily as they quickly picked up sticks, and shook them in their fists, shrieking and hooting as they chased after Ooso.
“Great hunters,” Nuklo said, wincing as she licked angry termites off her stick.
“Little Ooso is the monkey today,” Eeda said, savoring a mouthful of insects before leaning over and grooming the thick fur on her friend’s back.
“Better than Kagoon,” Nuklo answered, moaning with pleasure as Eeda scraped dried skin from between her shoulders. “He’s not smart enough...”
“To be a monkey!” Eeda laughed, and the pair panted in good humor.
Meanwhile, the three young males had come to a halt just inside the thick brush. Gazda was crouched in the lead, holding a sharp stick in his hand. He looked to his friends and nodded quickly, before pointing to his left and right.
All of the apes in Goro’s tribe enjoyed eating monkey meat, and the hunt was an important part of their lives. Everyone of age could take part, but it was the blackback males who made
