Keena Part 11- The Beloved

Keena watch the community's activity from the window in the play room. The sky was cloudy and a sweet breeze was ruffling their fur. Patch had his fur puffed out and he was racing around, stamping to assert his dominance on the group. Many ran over in submission. The chimp scratched her arm and heaved a sigh. She did wish to follow them out but, oh, how big a space it was... No, she could not do it. Something would be bound to happen to her.

Keena had been living with the group for a year now and she had only ventured several feet out from the tunnel. Thankfully, no one was pushing her to go. Things had been calmer since she had been here and it was only now she thought about it... she was no longer being forced to do anything for man. But why?

Mitch, noticing her from outside, entered the playroom and began grooming Keena to comfort her. She allowed him; her rank was lower than his and she was going to enjoy it while she could. Her rank did not encourage her to go out any better. Patch -in his display- and dominant females looked intimidating.

Mitch eventually went back outside with the others. Fruit was being spread around and the chimpanzees were going insane as always for it. Even the promise of food could not entice the hungry Keena outside. Besides, she was getting food either way. As if on cue, the door to her bedroom slid open. The chimp shot in to be met by the man with the food.

"Right on time." He chuckled as he handed the chimp a juicy melon half. Keena stuffed in her mouth and chewed vigorously. Even though she knew she was being fed, she still figured it was going to be taken. And no way was she going to give him a chance to.

"Still not fancy going out?" The man chuckled as he sprayed the juice into her mouth "No rush. Just go when you are ready."

Keena finished her food and ventured back into the playroom. She clambered onto one of the high pillars. Gripping with her strong hands, she hung from a branch and spent a number of hours swinging. For the whole day, nobody came into the room.

Towards the end, Keena sat near the tunnel entrance, her knees to her chest. She wished they would come in from the outside.

Well... she could always go to them.

She cautiously exited the play room and gingerly landed on the grass. The sky was a sweet orange as the sun was beginning to settle and the air was cool. The group were minding their own business. Keena froze, Cleopatra was nowhere near her but she could not help but be intimidated. Patch was being groomed by a number of the lower ranking chimps but when he spotted Keena's face at the door way, he emitted loud hoots and made a hand gesture, wanting her to join him. She took one step forward. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the head keeper and several others at the corner of the area. They seemed to be talking quietly in hushed voices. Keena reached and gripped onto the fence for safety.

Suddenly, just as she went to step onto the grass an electrical vibe coursed through her body. Keena screamed in agony and raced back through the tunnel to the safety of the play room. She huddled herself into her corner, her head on her knees. What was that? Pain! Keena, without bringing her head up, scratched her arm. If going out meant she was going to be hurt, she was not going out again.

Possibly because he heard her scream, Patch charged into the playroom and threw himself around in a display. The chimpanzee stayed where she was but looked up to greet him. The huge male approached her; she turned and presented her rump to him in submission, she had learnt that behaviour from the other low ranking members. Patch was satisfied by her gesture and when she turned back around to face him, he wrapped his long arms around his old friend's frame in a hug. It was brief yet comforting. He understood her fears. She encouraged him to turn his back on her and she started to groom him. Patch seemed all too happy and stayed still as she groomed his back. There were old scabs on his back which were coming off so Keena picked at and removed them from his skin. Judging by his quiet grunting, she could tell he was content. The others in the group soon piled in through the tunnel and the quiet playroom suddenly became a noisy and lively place. But it was only calm after Cleo chased and beat up Keena. She hadn't given up on hammering her rank as Alpha-Female into her. But she would even beat Keena up for no reason that she could understand. But Keena was larger than Cleo so maybe she felt intimidated?

After dinner, Keena retreated to her corner with her straw and constructed a nest. She curled up and watched the others in the group do the same. She sighed and shut her eyes, despite being at the butt of the pecking order, it felt good to be accepted by this group. Rita and Coco were still wary of her but they did leave her alone. She opened her eyes and saw Freckles approach her with armfuls of straw, she stopped and looked at Keena. She knew why, she had previously snapped at the female as she wanted to be left alone. But Keena huffed and gestured letting the chimp know it was ok. Happy with her docility, Freckles settled her next to Keena and curled up to sleep. Things eventually started to quiet down and Keena huffed as she settled into her deep nest and quickly fell asleep. She could relax, knowing Patch was watching his family as they slept.

For a long time, life was very uneventful. Keena was bored staying inside of the playroom all of the time. But... She would look outside and be amazed but daunted at the vast space available to her. She had noticed several things about this area that she hadn't seen before. The trees were very tall with slim trunks and wide tops with huge intertwining branches with a blanket of leaves on the top. The grass looked paler than that back in Florida. The ground was heavy with bushes, logs and... odd looking mounds of earth. She had seen several of the chimpanzees crowding around these mounds, holding sticks, sticking them inside the holes of the mound before putting the sticks in their mouths. Keena tilted her head in puzzlement. What were they doing?

She could also see sillouete of others up in the trees. That only bumfuzzled her even more! How did they get up there? Did they climb? So many unanswered questions. She perched at the door, scratching her chin as she observed.

This was all very strange. She hadn't seen anything like this. She didn't know what to think about all of this. Their behaviour was thoroughly confusing.

Their thoughts of Keena's own behaviour seemed to reflect hers. Cleopatra especially. She would be thoroughly confused, and sometimes angry at Keena's habit of standing upright, rather than walking in a quadrupedal manner like the others. She would often shove or bite Keena. Most likely mistaking her upright stance as a threat to her dominance. It was through this abuse that Keena learned to remain on all fours for the majority of the time, in order to avoid conflict with the hostile female. Coco and Rita seemed to feel the same way but, unlike Cleopatra, they didn't feel the need to remind Keena as harshly. Usually it was just a shove or a slap from them when Cleo could put her through a whole beating, just to get the exact same point across. Keena eventually grew used to this behaviour but would still avoid Cleopatra at any given chance. The Alpha Female appeared to have the same opinion on Keena so their feelings were neutral.

Patch looked after her, though, just like all those years ago. He would often spend the morning gently trying to persuade her to come outside with the rest of the community. And when Keena refused to be swayed, he would go off towards the others in the enclosure. Keena would sit at the window, staring out at them. They seemed... Happy out there. And all of them would return to the room safely, without any injuries on them. So... Maybe it wasn't so bad. Keena was still intrigued as to what happened outside.

One day, it was very bright and hot outside and the chimps were eager to get out and forage for their breakfast. As they all tumbled out of the tunnel and into the outdoor enclosure, Keena tailed behind them all, still afraid. She stopped when she got to the mouth of the tunnel.

Keena squeaked and bared her teeth as she watched the world outside. She really wanted to go out with them, but the outside still looked so frightening. She keeps a tight hold of the side of the door, her knuckles beginning to ache from the grip she had. May ran up to Keena and wrapped her little arms around her, squeaking in an attempt to comfort her. Keena squeaks back and gently bit May on the shoulder. The young chimp grabbed her hand and tried to pull the older female outside. Keena cried and pulled her hand from her grip. May squealed and drummed her feet on the ground, impatient. She quickly became distracted by Molly wandering by and ran off to climb onto her back for a ride.

Keena let out a small cry and kept her red eyes fixed on what was going on outside. All the other chimps were out of sight but she could hear them all moving around and calling to each other out in the semi-wilderness. She wanted to join them so badly... But what if Cleopatra, Coco and Rita were all out there and didn't want her to be close to them, or any of the others?

Keena thought that she would never venture out into the enclosure... Until the humans intervened. One day, when Keena was summoned into one of the back rooms for her breakfast, the sliding door slammed behind her, taking her by complete surprise. Keena shrieked and banged the side of the wall in annoyance, demanding to know what was going on! Up until now the humans hadn't done anything to her, so why start now!?

Keena was enclosed in this space for at least an hour until the door finally opened again. Keena made a beeline through the tunnel and into the playroom and... Found it to be barren... And silent.

Hooting worryingly, Keena looked around the whole area, desperate to find someone. She would even be relieved if she saw Cleopatra! But suddenly, she could hear movement and grunts behind another door. Keena let out a sigh of relief. Good... She wasn't alone.

But then, Keena was distracted by a number of pant hoots coming from the outside enclosure. Keena poked her head out of the door and noticed the back of Patch, standing upright and calling into the enclosure. He seemed desperate for a response. So Keena let out a few squeaks of submitting and put her hand out. Patch spun around, initially puffed up, but relaxed upon seeing her. He strutted over and accepted her gesture. Looking around, Keena could see that he was the only one out there. No dominant females, thankfully this included Cleopatra, but nobody else.

Patch grunted softly and comfortingly, taking her by the hand. Keena looked into his eyes as he gently tried to lead her out of the playroom and into the open world. Keena whimpered and tried to resist, but it seemed that the huge male wasn't going to take "no" for an answer, he put a hand on her back in encouragement, and comfort that he wasn't going to leave her side. She thought deeply for several minutes... She wasn't sure about leaving the safe refuge of the playroom... But also knew that Patch wouldn't lead her into danger willingly. She loved him. And he loved her.

Keena inhaled heavily, braced herself and took several tender steps out of the tunnel, Patch held her the whole time. Her eyes darted worryingly and she whimpered fearfully. Patch hooted to her in reassurance and continued to lead her gently into the open world.

Keena looked up at the canopy of trees, coating the pair in a blotchy shadow, the sun's rays shining down on them. The air was hot and sweet with a soft breeze coating her fur and face. She inhaled softly, growing more and more aware of the fauna that also inhabited the land such as crickets, beetles, birds and the occasional butterfly. It was so peaceful and quiet, with just the gentle sounds of nature. Keena had never heard such beauty. The floor if the small gathering of trees was coated in a sweet mist, adding to the peace.

Suddenly, Keena felt Patch's grip loosen on her. Showing her teeth, she squeaked and looked around, where did he go!?  Suddenly, she felt a slap on the top if her head. Growling, Keena spun around, who did that!? She heard huffing above her as she looked upward to see... Patch hanging upside down by his feet on a thick branch. 

Keena backed away, gasping. How on earth did he do that!? The huge male laughed and slapped her again before disappearing into the canopy. Grumbling and massaging the spot where she was struck, Keena circled the tree just waiting for him to come down, she was planning to sneak up behind him and smack him back. He'll never know what hit him! But that didn't seem to work as she felt Patch's palm strike her on the back of the head and by the time she had turned around, he was far up the tree, hooting and shrieking with glee at his accomplishment. Keena grumbled, she'd show him! 

Noticing a lower branch, Keena grabbed it and -after a few bounces- hauled herself up, groaning heavily in effort. This was a lot more difficult than she had originally thought but she eventually managed. She shook her fur out and looked down. She was slightly alarmed, having never climbed before! But it wasn't impossible like she had thought. Just extremely hard! She noticed more branches and started hauling her frame up each of them, one by one.

Eventually she noticed a figure swinging around the tree. It was Patch, still doing victory laps and hadn't seemed to notice her just underneath him. She crouched low and waited... Staying as silent as she could. And just when he wheeled around the tree towards her and as he passed her, Keena roared and launched from the branch and onto his back.

Patch, getting the fright of his life, shrieked and tried to throw her off of him but Keena kept a firm hold of him, laughing at his reaction. The Alpha Male didn't appear to be angry though, she could hear him laughing too as he tried to get her off of him like a mad bronc. Their activity shook the tree violently, causing a storm of leaves underneath them as the rodeo rose further and further up the branches. Eventually, Keena jumped off of him. They both sat on a high branch, panting heavily for several minutes. In this time, Keena gazed at Patch. He turned to look at her and when he did, he smiled. He seemed to be at complete peace. The most peaceful she had ever seen from him. And why wouldn't he be? This place... It was nothing she had ever experienced before... After everything that had happened... It seemed to be coming together for the better.

Patch suddenly shattered the peace. He grabbed Keena by the hand and took her to another tree, catching her any time she was about to slip off of the branches. They were narrow and very, very rickety, making it hard to walk across. But she eventually managed. She was led to a tree where she noticed that there was a large hole in the side of the trunk.  She tilted her head, intrigued. This hole was surrounded by a mass of small winged insects. All buzzing angrily at the pair of intruders that had come into their midst. Many swarmed around her face, making Keena growl and flail at them. But... They didn't sting! As far as she knew, bees stung! 

Patch didn't seem interested in the bugs as he reached right into the hole and pulling out a huge chunk of a large yellow mass with syrup like liquid dripping from it. He clambered off to another branch. Keena looked towards the hole in the tree and decided to try for herself. Maybe it was food! She sat in front of the hole and, tensing herself, extended her arm right into it. The bees went mad, buzzing around her eyes and ears, driving her insane but she was determined to get the food within the trunk. Eventually she could feel something hard and sticky. She gripped onto it and wretched it out of the tree. As soon as she had it, she took off from the swarm, who were still enraged at her.

Panting, she found Patch in another tree and perched next to him. Now that they were safe from the bees, Keena could safely examine her prize. It was yellow and -looking closely- could see tiny hexagons within it. And in them was the sweet syrup like liquid. She saw Patch taking huge bites out of the whole thing and appeared to be loving it, judging by the extremely happy look on his face. Keena looked back to hers and took a tentative bite. Oh! The taste! The sweetest and most fabulous flavour that her taste buds had ever experienced! Keena immediately took another bite out of the honeycomb, a much larger one this time, savouring each one. It was gone within minutes and Keena spent the next few minutes licking any remains of honey from her hands or her fur. It was glorious! 

Once they were done, Patch grabbed Keena again and eagerly took her to ground level, with Keena following eagerly. What else did he have in mind for them? Her question was answered when the pair stopped at a huge mound of hard, compacted earth. Keena remembered seeing one from the playroom window and was very curious as to what it was. But as they approached it, the female stopped upon seeing the exterior of the mount caked in small, red and angry insects. The noises of rustling and clicks soon filled the air. Keena sat several meters away. Why has Patch brought them here? 

The huge male, ever confident, sauntered to the mound, with a long stick in his grip. Keena watched him with intense interest. He squatted next to the mound, poking the stick into one of the large holes on the surface of the huge structure. Many of the enraged little bugs ambushed the stick, biting it. Once there was a large number of them, Patch removed the stick and -alarming Keena- stripped the stick clean with his teeth, smacking his lips as he ate. Keena was terribly confused, but also quite eager to have a go, herself. She had never eaten something alive before, after all. Grabbing a stick of her own, she tentatively pushed it into the mass of insects. Like before they latched onto the stick, outraged at having their mound intruded. Taking the stick out, she could see that they were coated all over the twig. Shutting her eyes, Keena stripped the twig. Ah! Keena smacked her lips and shook her head as the livid bugs bit her lips and tongue as they were consumed. It was a rather prickly experience. But they didn't taste bad. So Keena found it to be worth the risk.

The pair spent just over a hour gorging themselves on the termites. Keena's technique was far from being as refined as Patch's and she would occasionally get her fingers bitten but the pain wasn't enough to stop Keena. She enjoyed them. But she imagined that she should make the most of it as if Cleopatra, Coco or Rita were around, she wouldn't get much of a chance, being the lowest ranking female while Patch on the other hand, being the highest ranking in the whole community, could have as much as he wanted. 

Once they were both full, Patch led Keena around the rest of the enclosure, showing her a large pond, a stretch of open land with long grass to run and roll around in, different kinds of trees with different kinds of fruit and everything else good and wonderful that this place had to offer. Nothing Keena had ever known was like this and, for the first time in her life, she never wanted to leave. 

As the day went on, more of the chimpanzees in the group were let out. But Patch and Keena stayed together. They would avoid the others, only wanting each other for company. They spent the entire day outside and together. Just like in Mexico but without all the torment and misery that prevented them from enjoying each other's company to the fullest. They played, chased each other, pulled tricks on one another and, at one point, just lying in the grass together, staring at the clouds as they passed idly  above. 

Abdul watched the chimps, from the safety of the other side of the fence, as they all made their way from the outside enclosure into their night house. Holding a clip board, and with another woman, they ticked them all as they passed them.

"...Ling Mai, Cleopatra and Arvo." The woman concluded as she checked her board, "is that- wait... Did you see Keena?" She asked.

"No, I was just about to ask!" Abdul turned and looked beyond the fence and into the trees. "Keena?" He called loudly. No response. "Keena!" He shouted, louder this time.

"Keena!" The woman called, "Come on, Keens!"

"Maybe she can't hear us. Keeeee-naaaaaa!" Abdul called much louder,as the woman joined in.

Oh, she could hear them. From the top of one of the tallest tree, lying on her back on a thick branch with her legs crossed over and one arm behind her head, staring upwards at the vivid orange African skies. The rays soaking comfortingly into her skin. A soft wind ruffling her fur as she let out a long sigh. She had never felt this way before. Anywhere.  It was such a sweet and comforting feeling of happiness that she never experienced. She hoped that she would stay here forever. She was tired of being moved from place to place. She wasn't under the command and tyranny of humans anymore. She could do what she wanted and when she felt like it. A feeling she wanted to keep and never let go of. This was paradise. Complete paradise.

"Keeeeee-naaaaa!!" Abdul's voice rang into her head. He had called her at least a dozen times, but, one thing she noticed, was that it never became angry or demanding. A comforting change. Keena yawned and lumbered from the tree before wandering leisurely towards his voice.

"Ah, there you are!" She heard him laugh as she passed him. Keena huffed and didn't pay attention to him. She had no interest in people anymore. They gave her food. That's all she really cared about now. They were terrible at anything else, in her mind. 

Her family. Now that's who she wanted to be with.