It was apparent that the invading males had not intended it as a threat, but his anxious response had been ingrained from life among the apes. Additionally, his own attempts at the erect position looked shaky and affected by comparison, and so he’d felt more comfortable crouching in their company.
Gazda was out of his depth around them—to have so many night apes communicating with him and among themselves. Their alien words fell upon his ears and caused his mind to whirl with troubling images even when he was not being addressed.
He had been excited, and pleased—so very pleased to be there among creatures like himself—but he could not deny the disorientation he felt to be in his favorite place in such unusual company; all while their words poked and pried at him, caused his guts to churn and thoughts to flail in a dizzying flood born of his dreams and nightmares.
In his dreams but not in life had Gazda seen the things the strangers’ words had conjured in his memory—things he did not recognize but that seemed so very familiar. Shapes they were—places and objects surrounded by sensations and emotions that he could not place but did feel deeply.
The talking had an effect similar to the way their music had played upon him, but amplified now and echoing within him, as if the notes had still been playing in the shadows of his mind.
And while their words bombarded him, he had felt Lilly’s presence near, her scent distracting and disturbing him the more. For another mate to be so close, and his first mate at that—a young female injured by his inexperience and excitement.
Gazda had been in Ginny’s company, too—the female he had taken as his second mate. Her essence infused the setting also, her scent arousing him, and encouraging him as he gauged the night ape males and their behavior—determining if they were threatening or friendly.
This storm of confusion and anxiety had undermined his ability to embrace his cousins fully. Face to face they clearly were of Fur-nose’s stock, beyond the apes of Gazda—and one of them the very incarnation of that mythic creature. He still thrilled at the memory of twice overcoming his fears to touch the “fur” for which the tree-nest builder had been named.
They were of Fur-nose’s group, so they must have been of Gazda’s tribe, too.
It had been overwhelming. He had never imagined the setting, and with two of the strange night apes now his mates. So, the King of the Apes had pushed down his anxiety and drawn upon his fighting spirit to maintain his dignity, even with the scent of Lilly near—silently calling to him between breaths.
She was asleep behind the tree-nest wall, though the rapid heartbeat he heard with his uncanny ears did cause him concern—though not for long, for he had been more pleased that she was alive.
Alive, and just there. How simple it would have been to mount the platform—and go to her—as the other night apes chattered.
Yet Ginny had been there at his side. Fresh was her pale skin, and sweet were the secrets of her flesh. He only knew the scent of her blood not the taste. His thoughts had traveled back to their time together, and soon, Gazda had begun to fear Lilly’s emergence from the tree-nest.
What would he have done if she came out? He remembered old Baho’s tales of having more than one mate, and how his queens Akaki and Oluza had become jealous and vengeful.
In fact, Baho claimed to have tired of mates as he grew older saying the she-apes worried his brain like the buzzing of honey bees—but without hope of any sweetness.
Adding to Gazda’s dismay was the constant attention of the night ape male with the face like Fur-nose. Vanray, as he called himself, had communicated with a staccato bark and flashing eyes that watched Gazda’s every move and expression.
Vanray of the furry nose had studied him from head to toe, and then beyond all outrage, had reached out to touch Gazda’s precious shining snake disk.
He had relented without violence for the older night ape was Ginny’s friend, and Vanray had approached with curiosity and without aggression or hostility.
Did not Gazda’s tribe of apes touch one another in grooming and share the things they found?
In that event, one ape knew another from birth so such intimacy was second nature; yet, Vanray had done this thing to a great hunter and killer upon first meeting, and so Gazda had been cautious in his response. It had been a very bold move that could only mean that this Vanray had strength and abilities like Gazda’s—older though he be. Could that mean he was Ginny and Lilly’s silverback and mate?
Such boldness could easily earn a crown.
And silver threads curled in the fur atop Vanray’s head.
As Gazda leapt back into action, jumping from the khaya to swing from bough to vine to branch, his mind struggled beneath this burden of new truths.
His life among the apes had not prepared him for these strange creatures with their busy minds and language, and active eyes and hands that expressed subtle emotions and meanings beyond his comprehension.
In coverings also did they seem his better, for each wore garments akin to what he’d found in Fur-nose’s lair, and much like the images in the skin-stones. To the touch, they’d been like softest fur, and as flexible as grass.
Gazda’s own crude garment was like something an ape could make, and practical or not, being in such company when clad in that attire had made him feel crude and rough. In fact, he’d almost retreated from the gathering to seek out one of his hidden hunting capes, and lather a fresh mud-skin over his naked flesh.
With care he could have made impressive marks and shapes in the mud covering to match the bones and skulls etched on the Bakwaniri bands that clasped his muscular limbs.
Only then could Gazda hope to
