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Chapter Text

When the flue first broke out, Z wasn't really worried. While everyone else was losing their shit and trying to shut themselves off from the world, she was using the panic to her advantage. She knew nobody in her home would really care if she disappeared (selfishness seemed to be a running theme within her clan), so she packed up everything she cared about and left. Z planned on going to her grandmas house and staying there, but she had to make a pit stop first.

The Walmart parking lot was absolute chaos, and she knew it probably wasn't much better on the inside. People where running out the doors with armfuls of stuff, some rolling around or tackling other for what they had. Z slipped into the store through the buggy dock and ran for the craft section.

Z wasn't worried about food. Between her grandma's garden, chickens, and the years worth of pickled and preserved goods, they would be set for a long time.

When she got to the craft isle, just as she had suspected, it had barely been touched. She had the insight to bring an extra bag and quickly stuffed it with as much as she could. When her bags where full she filled her pockets and used her hoodie a makeshift pouch, grabbing as much as she could carry before slipping back out.

It was nearly dark by the time Z made her way up her grandma's long driveway, dropping her bags on the porch and knocking on the door.

Abigail Young had been expecting her youngest grandchild for awhile now, and welcomed her inside with a warm hug and an offering of dinner. Z grabbed her things and gladly followed the older woman to the kitchen, knowing it would be rude to refuse her food.

While her plate was being fixed, Z dumped what she has taken from the store onto the kitchen table and organized it into groups by their craft.

"I think I got everything you asked." She said as she sat down, immediately digging into the delicious meal that was set before her. "There's more in my other backpack too."

"You did good, dear." Abigail praised, looking over the spread on the table. "We should have everything else we need here."

Z continued to eat as her grandma put the supplies away, coming back with a book and setting it before her.

Poisonous plants in the wild.

"We're going to start off easy, but just know it's not going to stay that way for long."

Z had expected this, knowing what she was in for when she came to the older women's home. Even she could see that dark times were about to fall on humanity, and if she was to survive she would have to learn.

She finished her plate and washed it in the sink, putting it away and grabbing the book. Making herself comfortable on the couch, the news playing softly on the tv and her grandma knitting in her chair, she started reading the first chapter.

Chapter Text

Tired.

Z was so, very tired.

Tired of walking. Tired of being hungry. Tired of being alive.

When she was younger, she could honestly say that she prayed for the apocalypse to happen. She hated her life so much that a world in ruins seemed so much better than what she had been settled with.

Well now that it had happened, she wished she could go back in time and tell her younger self how stupid she was. She grew up knowing how to fight(being the youngest of five horrible brothers), but other than that she had no real way of taking care of herself. Lucky for her, her grandmother was completely prepared for the impending apocalypse and ready to spread her wisdom to her favorite grandchild.

Not to say it was easy, she was only a child when the virus broke out and marshal law was declared, but her grandmother assured her she would be fine as long as she agreed to listen and do as she said.

Z always listened to her grandma, and it was what had kept her alive all these years.

Even after she died.

The flue got her six years after everything started, and even when her body started to shut down, she reassured Z that everything would be ok, and that she would survive if she continued to follow her plans.

And so she did.

After her grandma passed , Z packed up everything she needed and began her journey. For the last 6 months she had been making her way on foot to the state of California, hoping to start a new life somewhere in the redwoods. While walking was slow and she had thought so many times about hot-wiring a car, keeping a low profile and staying away from other humans was her top priority.

While the trip had mostly just been her foraging for food and sleeping in abandoned houses at night, Z had been in a few incidents. Most had happened while she was making her way through Texas (anyone who knows Texans could probably tell you why), and after that she did her best to travel close to the roads but out of sight.

When she finally, after months of walking and contemplating her own existence, made it to California she nearly cried. Z still had a ways to go before she made it to the redwoods, but to her it felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders and soon she would finally be able to settle down.

As she traveled further into the Golden state, every town she went through seemed to be abandoned. Z hadn't seen a single person since she crossed the border, they where either deep in hiding or had all just died off. Not that she really minded, it only made things easier for her.

After a few days of traveling she started collecting things she might need when she stopped for good. Mostly small things, though she did find a few overgrown gardens that offered a wonderful selection of easily grown vegetables that she could bring with her. Her grandmother had taught her everything she about gardening and keeping plants(which had been a lot), and Z was excited to see how well her wisdom had stuck.

Z had seen pictures of the redwoods when she was younger, but nothing could actually prepare her for their massive size when she actually reached them. She stood at the edge of the forest, just basking in the fact the she had finally made it, for a good ten minutes before she ventured inside.

The first thing on the agenda was to find a good place to build a shelter. Most people immediately tried to find food and water, and that was a rookie mistake. The human body could go days without water, and even longer without food, but if you had no shelter when the sun went down, you where pretty much fucked.

Z had a small tent in her bag to use until she could find a good spot, though she usually tried to refrain from using it. She moved quickly through the large trees, taking in all the nature and beauty as she went. Later into her training her grandma would send her out into the woods around her house. Z would spend days out there by herself, working on her hunting skills or build different types of forts out of sticks.

Though the redwoods where much different than the forest in Louisiana, the further she traveled in the more...at peace Z felt.

All of her worries seemed to just melt away as she came up on a cluster of trees. The largest three where set in a sort of triangle formation around a flat high-rise of land, the rest scattered a few feet apart from each other.

It was perfect.

Z pulled off her backpack and slid down to sit on a large root, letting out a long sigh. She reached into the inside of her coat and pulled out a folded up piece of paper, unfolding it carefully.

Zander.

If your reading this, it means you've finally made it to your destination. Hopefully you didn't get into too much trouble on the way, though knowing how other people are you've probably had at least a little confrontation.

Z chuckled. 'Good call, grandma.' She thought as she continued reading.

I have compete faith in you dear and know you'll be able to handle yourself. I know your still young, but you've grown so much since this all started and I'm sad I won't be able to see you become a woman with my own eyes. This is the last time I'll get to speak with you, so I have some advice to give.

Keep an open mind. In this new world nothing is impossible for you or anyone else, and if you want something you have to take it. Even if it doesn't seem like the right option.  You are strong and you always have been, even if you don't always think so.

I'm so proud of you, my love, and I always will be.

Love Grandma.

Z sniffed and wiped her eyes, smiling up at the sky.

"Love you to, Grandma."

Chapter Text

The hunting was good that day.

The apes had managed to surround and corner a large herd of deer, taking down more than half. They would eat well for a good while, and this pleased the sapiens as they started to haul off their catch.

Rocket, who had split off from the group to chase a rather large buck, was moving silently through the trees. He watched as the deer stumbled down hill, having already been injured on one of its legs. It finally collapsed at the base of a tree, calling out in pain. Rocket jumped down, readying his spear to go in for the kill. He raised his long arm, aiming for the heart.

The deer, who had been struggling to get away, suddenly froze. Rocket could see the fear in its eyes, but he noticed it was no long derived from him. It was staring at something behind him. His fur bristled as he quickly turned around, spear up and ready for an attack.

There was nothing there.

His eyes narrowed, scanning around.

Before he could move it jumped out at him, a large cougar looking for its next meal. Rocket ducked down, barley missing the cats claws as it soared over his head and hit the the tree. The deer had finally moved, though that just meant the other predator's attention was now focused completely on him. 

Rocket hissed and bared his teeth, trying to intimidate the large cat. It didn't seem to work as the cougar swiped at him with a large paw, catching his spear with its claws and tossing it to the side. Now weaponless, the ape was starting to panic. He stood on up strait and called out loudly, hoping the others wear close enough to hear.

The cat was getting ready to pounce again, getting low to the ground and snarling. Rocket growled right back, readying himself for a fight. The cat jumped, its claws extending and ready to rip into him.

Before that could happen the cougar hit the ground in front of him, an arrow sticking out of the side of its head. Rocket was stunned, and turned slowly to see where the arrow had come form.

Standing to the side was a human, looking just as surprised as he felt.

Rocket could hear the other apes moving through the trees in the distance and watched as the human took a few steps back, looking like she was about to run. She didn't though, she just set down her weapon and stepped away from it, watching as the apes surrounded them.

'At least this one is smart.' Rocket thought as Ceasar jumped down and landed beside him, eyeing the human.

"Are you alright, Rocket?" The ape king signed to him. He nodded slowly, watching as the other's circled around the girl, keeping their spears at the ready.

"She...shaved me." He signed to his leader, not really sure how to go about the situation.

Ceasar hummed and moved forward, Rocket close behind. The others parted to make way, some keeping their weapons up. The human was looking around nervously as they approached.

As they got closer Rocket noticed how young the girl looked. She was small, with sunken cheeks and tired looking eyes. The ape guessed she couldn't be much older then his own child.

Ceasar stepped in front of the human, looking down at her before speaking.

"Why...are you...here?"

As the season started to change, hunting was becoming harder for Z. She normally stayed close to her little camp, hunting for rabbits and squirrels in the surrounding area, or fishing in the river, but as it was becoming colder it was getting harder to find food.

Z decided to travel farther than she normally did in the hopes of finding something. While deer were plentiful in the redwoods, she didn't have the strength to drag one back to her camp, and even if she did, she doubted she could eat the whole thing before the meat started to rot.

Using a compass to keep track of her direction so she didn't get lost, she headed out for the day. Z walked for about thirty minutes before she finally came across a fat squirrel sitting on a fallen tree. She silently loaded an arrow into her crossbow and took aim, shooting the animal right through the head.

Z let a small smile grace her face as she pulled out the arrow and put her dinner into her rucksack. She decided to try her luck and continued on, hoping to get enough meat to maybe make a stew to last for the next few days.

She managed to get another squirrel and a rabbit before she decided she had enough. She was about to head back when she heard something large move close by. She loaded another arrow before moving quietly towards where the sound was coming from, peaking around a large tree to see an ape cornering a deer.

Z had encountered apes in the forest before, though she had always managed to stay hidden. Before the virus struck she had seen something about the incident on the Golden Gate Bridge on tv, and knew they probably wouldn't be happy to find a human creeping around the forest.

She was about to turn around and leave the ape to his business when a cougar suddenly jumped out through the bushes. Z watched as the large cat swiped at the sapient, growling as he readied his spear.

While Z knew she should probably just leave, she was curious to how this would play out. She knew the apes were strong and figured it would be able to take down the cat easy.

She was wrong.

Z had always prided herself on keeping a level head and thinking things through. But sometimes, in certain situations, her body acted on its own accord.

Which was why, when the ape's spear had been thrown to the side and the cougar had pounced, Z quickly moved from behind the tree and took her shot, the arrow going through the cat's head before she could even proses what she had done.

The two of them just stood there, looking surprised and staring at each other before she heard movement in the trees. She guessed the other apes were coming to check out the commotion, and she quickly set her crossbow against the tree and stepped away from it, watching as she was surrounded by apes.

In the few times she had seen them, it was only a few or a small group. Now they were many, and Z would honestly admit that she was both in awe and slightly intimidated. Some of the apes around her now had looks of anger on their faces, others had curiosity. They had spears aimed in her direction, and while she couldn't see behind her she knew they were there to.

A large ape, seemingly bigger than the rest, jumped down beside the one she had saved. Z could tell simply by the way he carried himself and the energy he gave off that he was the leader. She watched as he looked her, then communicated with the other ape through what she guessed was sign language.

The leader looked between the two again before moving in Z's direction. She had the sudden urge to move backwards, but figured the apes behind her wouldn't allow it. She was surprised to see that this ape walked on two legs, and as he came closer Z resized how big they really where.

She had only seen other apes once before and she was much younger then. It had been at the zoo and from what she could remember of that awful experience, the sapiens had not been this large.

He stood in front of her, and they stared at each other for a moment (though she had to look up slightly). He seemed to be looking for something, fear, or whether or not she was a threat.

Z couldn't say that what she felt in this situation was fear. Caution maybe, but she didn't think anyone would harm her here unless it was warranted.

She cocked her head to the side and the leader huffed, taking a breath.

"Why...are you...here?"

Z's eyes widened in shock. While she could tell these apes were smarter than normal, she didn't know they could speak. Or that it was possible for them to even do so. But they did, or he did, and it seemed that they were all expecting and answer.

"I uh...I live here..." She trailed off, not really sure what else to say.

Some of the apes started hooting loudly, but the leader lifted his hand and everything fell silent.

"How...long?"

"Uh..." Z racked her brain, trying to calculate how long she had been in the forest.

"A few months...I think?" She answered, scratching at her neck.

The leader made a grumbling sound, then looked back to the ape she had saved. While he looked away she looked around her. Some seemed to have calmed down, while others still held their up their defense. Z wondered how this was going to end. Would they let her go in her way, or would they make her leave the redwoods.

She was rooting for the first option.

“How...many...are here?”

Z blinked and turned back to look at the leader, hoping she didn’t seem rude.

“It’s just me.” She told him, looking at his strange eyes. A deep green and gold combination that Z had never seen within anther human, holding an intelligence far greater than she would ever understand.

She watched as the apes signed back and forth, what was being said completely long on her. While her grandmother had taught her a lot of things, sign language had not been one of them and now she wished it had been.

The conversation had continued on for a little while before they turned back to her. Z had begun rocking back and forth on her feet at that point, waiting to be addressed again. The leader’s eyes narrowed at her before he spoke.

“You...may go...”

Z nodded, taking a step back and turning around. She cautiously grabbed her crossbow and hooked it onto her bag, not wanting to seem threatening in any way. The apes who had been behind her parted to let her through, giving her curious or questioning looks. Z just walked in the direction she came from.

She didn’t dare look back.

Chapter Text

Z sat high up in one of the three trees she had made her home, straddling a thick branch while she placed the finishing touches on the roof.

Not long after she had found her spot within the redwoods, she had decided it would be safer for her to sleep high up. And so began the long process of building herself a treehouse. Without certain tools it was hard, but Z was determined to make it work with what she had.

Finally, after nearly four months, she had herself a decent sized home that spanned the three large trees in the middle of her camp. And just in time too, because the cold weather was approaching fast.

While Z believed she was prepared for the winter months, this was her first time alone, and she would admit that she was slightly nervous about...everything. She had been storing food for a while now, pickling vegetables from her little garden and trying her best to learn how to dry out meat so it would last longer.

She shook her head and moved to climb down from her perch, doing her best to clear her mind of all negative thoughts. As Z moved down the latter her brain shifted to her encounter about a month ago.

With the apes.

After she walked away from the hunting group she immediately went back to her camp. She spent a good thirty minutes just sitting there, waiting for them to come after her. When nothing happened she eventually went about skinning her catch and making herself dinner. After the sun set Z laid in her bed for a while, just listening to the sounds of the forest.

The next day she was up at daylight, moving about her camp, her bare feet crunching leaves as she checked the snare straps around the perimeter. They came up empty, like they have been for the last few weeks. She was gathering wood, organizing it into a pile when she heard a loud whinnie from a horse.

It turned out to be the apes, the leader and the one she had saved(who she learned was named Rocket), as well as a few others, all on horses. Z thought they were intimidating the day before, but even in a small group they still managed to be scary.

As it turned out, the apes were there to make a deal with her. Ceasar, as she learned was the leader's name, wanted to be sure that she truly wasn't a threat. Z wasn't really offended and let the apes go through her camp as they wished, letting them know that the only weapons she had was her crossbow, an ax, and a few knives.

Z sat on a log by her little fire pit and watched as they explored around her camp. One of the apes climbed up onto the not yet completed treehouse, checking everything out. Ceasar asked about it and she explained her reasoning.

"I'm small," Z told them. "It's safer for me to sleep up there than down on the ground."

They seemed to find this humerus, and she could understand why. She was small, even for a 16 year old and it had a lot to do with malnutrition even before the outbreak. She was pretty sure that if Ceasar stood right in front of her, the top of her head would only reach his chest. 

They agreed that Z would be safe within the redwoods as long as she didn't threaten the lives of the apes, and in turn the apes would leave her alone. To her this seemed completely fair and she was happy that she wouldn't have to worry about there being conflict between the two species.

So far nothing had really happened between the two. Z had come across them while hunting a few times, but they either exchanged looks before going about their business or ignored her completely. She didn't really mind of course, as long as they were on good terms.

Today though, Z was excited. She went about gathering the things she would need for hunting, adding a few extras to her bag before setting out.

The day before, while trying a new rout in search food, she came across something quite wonderful. Now if there was anything that could be said about Zander, it was that she had a major sweet tooth. As a young child she would horde what little candy she could get her hands on. To her it was a rare treat, and even now it was hard to come by. She enjoyed natural sweets just as much, but growing fruit was difficult.

Which was why she became so excited when she came across the beehive. She was walking, somewhere close to the river, when she heard the faint buzzing. It took her a moment to find it, but eventually she could see the hole high up in a tree, bees flying in and out.

Z had to sit there for a moment, waiting for one of them to become curious. Eventually a fat, black and yellow striped honeybee came buzzing up to her, wondering what kind of flower she was. It made her smile, and she decided she would come back the next day.

Now, after a few hours of hunting, she stared up the trunk of the tree and thought about different ways to get up to the hive. Z eventually decide the easiest way up was going to be to climb the tree right beside the hive, which had branches lower to the ground.

She set down her crossbow and any other extra weight before making her way up the trunk of the tree slowly. Z had to use two knives to peg her way up until she could reach a branch and climb the rest of the way. She realized she was extremely high up when she got to where she needed to be. If she fell from up there, she was definitely going to die.

Z took a deep breath and focused on her goal, checking her footing before climbing to the next tree over. She straddled the thick branch right under the hive and slowly slid forward, reaching into her bag with one hand and grabbing a glass jar. When she got close enough she placed the jar between her thighs and unscrewed the lid, placing it in her pocket so she didn't drop it.

Then she took a deep, calming breath while pulling up her sleeve, and slowly reached into the hive. Z could feel the bees crawling on her hand as she grabbed onto the sticky, textured siding and bit off a descent chunk and pulled her hand out slowly, trying to keep her breathing normal while she placed the honeycomb into the jar. She was doing her best to keep the bees from seeing her as a threat, not wanting to be stung by any of them. She reached in one more time to grab enough to fill the jar, then licked her fingers clean of the sweet honey before closing the container tightly.

Z blew the few remaining bees off of her with soft puffs of air, then placed the jar back into her bag,moving back slowly the way she came. She finally slid down the trunk of the tree and landed on the forest floor, nearly falling on her ass. Z let out a small laugh as she rited herself, letting her body sag agains the tree trunk to take a little break after all that. She was catching her breath, letting her eyes scan the surroundings slowly. She looked ahead, her dark eyes catching blue. Z felt her body tense as the ape froze.

The creatures stared at each other, and it took her a moment to notice that there where two of them. They looked at her, then looked at each other, moving their hands. Once again Z wished she knew sign language, and made a mental note to look for a book on it or something the next time she made the trip to an abandoned town.

The apes moved closer while Z stayed exactly were she was, curious to what was about to happen. One of them stoped a few yards away while the other kept getting closer, sitting in front of her with only a few feet in between them. She cocked her head to the side curiously, slowly lifting her hand and waving.

"Hello..." she said softly, not really sure what to do. The ape in front of her hooted and waved back. He was large like the others she had seen, but air around him was different,  some how not as serious. She guessed he was younger, and had to admit he had a rather sweet face. Z noticed the other one had a less than pleased look on his face, leaning on his spear and staring the other two down. He was such a contrast to the one in front of her, both in attitude and in looks. His face and eyes where lighter, and she thought about the others she had met. None had such eyes, the only one coming close being Ceasar and his where a dark, brooding green, not the light pools of blue that where currently burning holes through her.

Z brought her focus back to the ape in front of her and smiled, tilting her head as he brought up his hands and tried to communicate, but she shook her head.

"I don't understand sign yet." She said, shrugging her shoulders and sighing. She was excited that it seemed he wanted to be friendly, but the language barrier was an obvious block she was going to have to overcome. The ape stoped and looked back at his companion for a moment before turning and scooting closer to her by just a bit, and Z felt herself press back against the tree slightly.

"A-ash..." come hoarsely from the ape's lips, sounding as though he didn't use his voice often. She guessed not many of them did.

Z realized he was given her his name and she smiled, telling him her's in return. The ape hooted, then his eyes shifted to the jar she had all but forgotten about. She held the golden liquid out to the saipan without a second thought.

"You want some? It's honey..." she trailed off, the two just starting at each other for a second before he slowly reached out and took the jar from her hands, scooting closer so they were less than an arms length apart. Nothing movement out of the colder of her eye she saw the other one was moving closer, coming up behind Ash as he opened the jar. The blue eyed one hooted, poking his friend in the shoulder with a look of what Z could only describe as concern on his face. The one seated in front of her seemed to wave him off like he didn't care as he set the lid down on a root beside them, focused only on the treat he held.

She couldn't help the giggle that came out at the sight of the two and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand, the bright eyed one glaring at her. Ash was ignoring the both of them as he pulled a chunk of comb out, quickly putting it in his mouth before it dripped to the forest floor. He grunted in delight and offered the jar to his companion, who scrunched his nose and signed something with his hand. Ash rolled his eyes and grabbed the lid, holding them both out to her.

It was obvious to Z that the two where probably friends. She smiled as she took the jar, grabbing her own piece and eating it before screwing the top back on the jar. The apes seemed to be having a conversation, though she couldn't understand she was content to sit and look back and forth between the two. Ash still seemed lighthearted, like he was poking fun at his friend, while the other just seemed annoyed.

Z put the jar of honey in her bag and grabbed her catches from earlier, tying the string of squirrels and rabbits to her belt. She looked up to see both of them now looking at her.

"What?" She said. "The sun is gonna go down soon, I gotta get home."

They both seemed to look surprised, signing back and forth for a second before Ash turned to her.

"Can..w-we...walk...you ...t-there?"

Chapter Text

To say that Blue Eyes was annoyed could be considered an understatement. Ash was ahead of him, walking beside the human as they made their way to her camp. 

It had been a while since the hunting party had come across her in the forest, and while the colony had finally calmed down with the presence of a human living in the same place as them, he could still vividly remember the uproar it caused when they came riding in, screaming and signing about what had happened. 

A human in the redwoods was unheard of, especially to be living there and they hadn't noticed. The colony was not happy. Only his father and Rocket seemed to not be freaking out, and Blue Eyes found out it was because the human had apparently saved Rockets life.

The young prince and his friend had somehow been aloud to sit in on the meeting, both their parents too occupied with the situation at hand to really notice or care. The adults all went back and forth for a while, Koba staying firm with his opinion that they should throw her out of the forest. 

"All humans are dangerous!" 

The older sapien had been had been acting a certain way since they had come back from the hunt. Sure, Blue Eyes had heard his honorary uncle talk about humans before, everyone knew he held a strong distaste for them. But he'd never seen him this angry before. 

"It is only a child!" 

Rockets statement had caused the room to still, His mother, Tinker and Morice looking at each other in surprise. Humans coming through the forest hadn't been a problem for years, and now a young one was running around trying to care for itself. 

The argument went on for a while longer before Ceaser finally put his foot down. They would go tomorrow to make sure the human was truly alone and wasn't a danger, then he would decide if she could stay or not. 

He and many others honestly didn't expect his father to let the human stay, but sure enough when his father rode in on his horse he let everyone know that the human was no threat and would be aloud to continue living her life as long as she stayed a non threat. Koba and a few others had something to say but were quickly shut down. The king said if anything happens he'll handle it. 

After a while the apes calmed down, going on about their lives. Sometimes the hunting party would see the human while they were out, talking about her around the campfire like she was some mythical creature. 

As Blue Eyes trailed behind the two, he couldn't understand why everyone was so worked up over something so...small. 

Even he was surprised when she managed to get herself up the tree, not understanding how she had the strength to pull herself up without any lower tree branches to grab. His uncle tried to convince him that humans where dangerous, and while he could agree most definitely in numbers they where, this small human out here by herself was no treat to him.

Ash was walking on his legs, trying his best to communicate with the human as they walked along. Blue Eyes just shook his head. The human didn't know sign language, and the only ape who could really talk well was his father. But she was determined, and he watched the two laugh as the human tired to figure out what he was telling her. 

They eventually made it to her camp, and it was then that he understood what his father meant when he called the human a strange child. 

From what his uncle had told him humans couldn't survive very well off the land like they could. They relied to much on their technology and that's why they where dying out. Blue Eyes wondered how much his uncle really knew about humans. 

Her shelter was built around three threes, much like their own, but smaller and designed differently. There where lines hanging up, some with clothes and some with animal pelts. There was a fire pit dug around the center of the camp with with a large metal pot hanging over it, logs set around for a place to sit. 

Blue Eyes was kinda impressed, though he'd never admit it. Apes had built what they had together, everyone working to build their community. But this human had done everything on her own, as far as they knew their was nobody but her. Blue Eyes didn't know if he could ever live like that, or how anyone could.

The human set her stuff down by the fire and took a seat on one of the logs, pulling out her catch and setting it to the side. 

"So what's your name?" 

The larger ape was caught off guard by her voice, his eyes coming up to see she was looking at him. He huffed as Ash laughed, pulling his spear closer to himself. He wasn't sure if he wanted her to know his name, he already had a feeling they where going to catch an earful when they got back if anyone found out they had an interaction with the human.

Before he could give it more thought Ash rolled his eyes and pointed at him, using his voice once more.

"He...B-blue Eye." Ash pointed to the sky, which was slowly fading from blue to orange, then to his own eyes. She nodded, smiling then looking back up to him. 

"Blue Eyes..," she said in a thoughtful tone. "It suits you."

Said ape had a strange feeling in his gut, having never heard his name said aloud with such clarity, it made him feel odd. 

It was only a few moments later when she looked back up to the sky. 

"It'll be getting dark soon, you guys should probably be getting home." She said as she took a knife out of her bag and began to skin one of the rabbits set at her side. 

Ash said goodbye, or the closest thing he could say to it while Blue Eyes stood to the side and watched. The human smiled softly at his friend and it made him wonder, how long had she been by herself. 

As Ash walked next to him he looked back one more time to find her watching them. She raised her hand with that smile on her face and waved at him. Blue Eyes didn't know why he raised his hand and waved back, but he caught her smile growing when he did. As they walked away he had that weird feeling in his stomach again. 

Blue Eyes shook his head.

What a weird day.  

. . .

The water was cold. 

Z had her pants rolled up to her knees, her boots and socks set neatly on the bank of the river along with her bag. The sun was actually shining today, the forest still wet from the last few days of rain. Z didn't really have a goal with what she was doing, just feeling the water flow against her ankles and the sun against her bare shoulders.

Dark eyes scanned the shallow water, looking for anything and everything. Z already had her pockets stuffed with pretty rocks, worn pieces of colored glass and the rare crystal. She'd already had to tighten her belt to keep her pants from falling with the extra weight. The sun was high in the sky, and she figured it was about noon. 

Telling time without the use of a clock was difficult for the teenager. She could estimate all she wanted but knew she was always off. Time had pretty much become just morning, afternoon and dark, with the exception of rain. She could never tell what time it was when it was raining. Something about the sound of it through the forest, the smell it pulled up from the ground. It made Z want to sleep, to curl up in her corner of the treehouse and watch it fall from the entrance. 

The girl hummed, her eyes catching a shade of light pink. She reached down into the water and plucked the rock out of the mud, swishing it around a bit to get it clean. It had obviously been there a while, being completely smooth and almost flat. It would be a nice skipping rock, she thought. She admired the rose colored tint of it for a moment longer before slipping it into her pocket with the rest. 

Z had gone right back to looking when the loud snap of a tree branch pulled her focus into the forest. She couldn't see anything, but took notice that the birds had gone quite, which was never a good thing. She slowly made her way back to her bag, listening closely for anything else moving around. She pulled herself up onto the bank and to her knees, taking the trinkets out of her pocket and putting them in her bag. 

She was almost done when something heavy landed right behind her, causing Z to jump and slip back into the river, landing on her ass. 

She opened her eyes to see an ape standing over her, blue eyes staring her down with an odd satisfied look on his face. Another dropped down from the tree beside him, huffing in what she could only assume was a laugh. 

It was Ash and Blue Eyes.

Z felt a sudden rush of anger, her cheeks going red.

He did that on purpose! 

Before she realized what she was doing her hand slipped into the mud below her, grabbing a handful and slinging it right at the lager one. Z had to give herself some credit, she managed to get him right in the face. 

Everything went silent for a few seconds before Ash and Z both let out a laugh, though the human felt her stomach clench when Blue Eyes lip started to curl up and she could see his sharp k9s. 

"Hey! Hey! You can't get mad, your the one who made me fall in the water!" She said quickly as she started moving backwards, her pants only soaking more. She honestly thought Blue Eyes was going to jump at her before Ash grabbed his shoulder, signing something to him with an amused look on his face. The larger one seemed to grumble, his displeasure obvious on his face as he moved a little further down the river, leaning down to clean the mud from his face. 

When she looked back Ash was offering her a hand. Z hesitated for only a moment before she slipped her much smaller hand into his and let him pull her out of the water, which she couldn't help but notice how it took barley any effort for him to do so. It made Z wonder how strong they really where.

She smiled at Ash and thanked him, taking his chuff and head nod as an your welcome. She really needed to find a book on sign soon. 

It had been almost a week since her first encounter with these two and she honestly hadn't been expecting to see them again. She expected the apes to want to stay as far away from her as possible on the main principle that she was a human. To Z it seemed like these two had gone looking for her this time. 

She wasn't sure if that was good a thing or not.

Z unrolled her her pants from her knees, letting the now wet fabric fall over her bare feet as she walked around the bank. Blue Eyes was still further down the river, his face now clean though he seemed to be looking further out into the water. She turned back to Ash, leaning down to grab her bag and pull it over her should. 

"What..y-you...doing?" She jumped slightly, his voice catching her off guard. 

It had been so long since she had heard anyone speak other than herself. It was odd, in any other situation if she heard a voice she would hide, or try to get as far away as possible. Talking meant other humans, and for her that meant danger. 

Now she didn't want to run. This was only her second interaction with these two, or just Ash if she was being honest, the other seemed to want to keep his distance, but she desperately wished she knew sign so they could communicate better. 

Z opened the side pocket of her bag and pulled out a handful of the things she had found, presenting them to the ape. 

"I like to find these pretty rocks and stuff in the water, I've been using them to create a pathway around my camp." 

Ash hooted as she spread the rocks around her hand so he could see them clearly, his interest seeming to catch on a triangular red shard. 

"That's a piece of sea glass, their some of my favorite to find." She smiled at him as she explained how they were created, pulling more colorful pieces from her bag to show him. 

Both of them were so preoccupied with the glass that neither of them noticed the young prince sneaking closer. 

Blue Eyes for the life of him could not understand his best friends new obsession with the human. Ever since they had found her that day not long ago climbing to get to the bee hive, Ash could hardly go a day without saying something about her when it was just the two of them. The two had decided on the way back from her camp that evening that if nobody asked about what they did that day, they weren't gonna say anything. 

Luckily for them nobody batted an eye when the two young apes strolled in a little later than usual, and with a quick glance to each other they didn't say anything.

Now as he watched his friend and the human interact he just couldn't understand his friends fascination with the other creature. Sure, neither of them had ever seen a human, but they had heard lots of stories about them. The majority coming from Koba, which were less than pleasant, but a few others had shared their few good experience with humanity before their downfall. Overall in Blue Eyes mind she was just a lone human trying to keep herself alive. 

"So what bring you two out here," the girl suddenly questioned, bringing Blue out of his thoughts. 

"I doubt it was just me." She said, smiling at Ash with a playful grin. The darker ape smiled back and gestured to his spear, holding it out for her. 

The young prince wanted to bark at his friend, his grip on his own spear tightening as he watched. She reached out slowly, her small fingers wrapping around the wood almost cautiously. When Ash let go completely her grip faltered, her other hand coming up quickly to grab it before she dropped it. 

"Jesus!" She said with a huff, now weighing the wooden spear in her hands. " I didn't expect it to be this heavy." 

Ash made an amused sound at that, Blue finally moving to stand on the other side so she was between them. 

"So what do you do with it?" 

Ash proceeded to show her how they caught fish. Z stood in the water by the two apes, watching and waiting as they caught serval by spearing them when they got too close. Ash tired to let her get one, but she couldn't throw it right with the weight of it, it was just too heavy for her. She just ended up splashing Blue in the face. Once they had a nice bundle of fish they finally climbed out of the water, Z and Blue still dripping from a little splash fight they ended up in. 

Z sat down next her bag, feeling better than she had in a long time. She couldn't remember the last time she had did anything fun, she spent most of her time just surviving, and even before the world went to shit she was trying to live without getting physically or mentally tortured by her brothers. 

"Thank you." She suddenly said out loud, looking up at Ash from her spot on the ground.

He looked confused, looking at Blue Eyes before looking back at her. His hands started to move but she could see him catch himself, obviously thinking on what to do.

"...W-why.." he finally got, and she couldn't help the smile on her face as she watched them both, shrugging her shoulders. 

"For letting me fish wish you guys," she explained, suddenly feeling kinda embarrassed.

"It's been a long time since I got to do something that just felt fun, you know?" She looked down, her hands fidgeting with he bottom of her pants. 

"I spend most of my time just making sure I can live, it was really nice hanging out with you two." She finally smiled back up at them, her eyes suddenly shifting to Blue. 

"Despite the fact that someone likes to scare people half to death." Z said pointedly, sticking her tongue out at him when they both laughed. 

When the three of them finally gathered their stuff and began the journey back, the apes didn't ask if they could walk her back to her camp, they all seemed to just walk in that direction. 

Z felt a sense of happiness she hadn't felt in a long time, or honestly she wasn't sure if she had ever felt like this. Maybe she could have friends in this new world after all.

Chapter Text

Rain fell softly against the leaves of the redwoods, Z staring out the entrance of her tree house, watching as she laid in her bed. It had been raining for days, very intensity at first but it was slowly dying down. Normally the human would find something to keep herself occupied inside. Some of her clothes could definitely use mending, or there where plenty of spots in her home that could use some work.

The young human sighed, her eyes shutting slowly as she pulled her blanket over her shoulders. Truth be told she was bored, it had been over a week since she saw Ash and Blue Eyes with the rain. After the incident at the river they seemed to find her every day and bring her along for whatever they were doing that day. The three went hunting several times, showing the boys how her cross bow worked and how she was able to hunt small game with it. Ash had shown interest in the peice of weaponry, but when she went to hand it to him Blue Eyes basically screeched at her. She ignored him for the rest of the day after that.

Communication between the three was still difficult. Ash had taught her a few signs but for the majority they just went back and forth until she figured it out or Ash could speak it. Blue still hadn't said a word to her, though she wasn't sure if he couldn't or he just didn't want to try.

Despite the fact that Blue still seemed distant she still missed them. The two apes had brought a sence of fun and lightheartedness to her life that she hadn't felt in years and as pathetic as she knew it was she craved their companionship. As much has she hated it humans were socal creatures and she was becoming attached.

Z groaned and slowly pulled herself off her little make shift bed, knowing nothing would get done if she continued to lay around. She had been making plans to head to the nearest town to see if she could find anything that could be of use to her, winter creeping closer every day. The human was doing her best to prepare with the methods her grandmother had taught her, insulating the tree house and preserving food. Though there was only so much she could with what she had and what the forest provided, as it was becoming less and less every day with the cold slowly coming.

Z grabbed her map from her backpack, going over the route again. By her estaminet it would take a little more than half a day to get there, giving her hours to look for stuff before it became dark. She would find shelter for the night and make her journey back the next morning. She packed her backpack with the essentials, trying her best to keep it light and leave room for stuff she might find.

As the light faded through the forest, the rain finally stopped, the light patter of the left over drops falling into her roof slowly pulling her into sleep.

. . .

The next morning the sun rose bright over the trees, cutting through the cold chill the rain had brought over the week. Z had already been an hour into her trip when she finally felt the warmth seep into her hoodie. She made it to the small town sometime after midday, stopping to take a break and eat a snack of dried meat as she looked over the town from the edge of the tree line.

Nature had defiantly taken over, plants and trees covering the buildings and abandoned cars that were scattered about. She has seen many towns like this on her trip to the redwoods, many places where the earth was slowly trying to cover the mark humans had left.

Z cautiously approached the town, her knife drawn as she crept around the buildings, making sure they were empty. It looked to her like nothing had been touched in years, a thick layer of dust covering everything when she looked through the windows. Small animals scattered as she made her way through to the main street, a fat squirrel watching her from a drooping power line.

Z couldn't help but admit to herself that there was something very satisfying about the ruins left behind. Even before the flue broke out she had always been drawn to abandon buildings and structures, having to sneak into a few to get away from her parents or brothers on to many occasions. Now as she snuck around to the pharmacy she was glad her reason for breaking into them now was different.

The building had long been pilfered for supplies but Z managed to find a few things she could definitely use and quickly stuffed them into her bag. The human spent hours looking through the buildings, finding much more than she thought she would, including several books on ALS which she had spent a good amount of time looking through the small library for.

Eventually the sun started to go down and Z made her way into the garage of what once would have been a very nice little cottage style house, the vines and overgrown garden making it look better in her opinion, like something out of a fairytale.

She crawled under the partly open garage door and checked for animals before setting herself up a place to sleep. She was lucky enough to find a fold out cot, giving it a nice dusting before rolling out her sleeping pad onto it and taking out her solar powered light.

As the human settled herself she started going through and organizing her finds, doing her best to make everything fit into her bag and still have room for more. Once she finishes that she let her eyes wonder around the garage, seeing what she could make out in the small amount of light she had.

She almost looked over it at first, being covered in several miscellaneous items, but finally her curiosity got the better of her and she got up, slowly moving the stuff around until she finally uncovered her prize.

To anyone who didn't know what it was would probably look over it, but with her southern upbringing and grandad's love for antiques she knew exactly what she was looking at as her excitement grew.

It was a small cast iron wood burning stove.

Z's mind was racing with the possibilities as she looked to see if she could find the pipes to fit it, seriously considering finding some way to drag it back to the tree house with her. It definitely wasn't carryable for long distances as she felt winded just moving it to the center of the room, but she knew it could be detrimental to her survival when the cold came.

It wasn't very big with only one spot that would be considered a burner, but it was slightly bigger than a toaster oven and she knew if she could set it up right it would keep her tree house warm until spring. She managed to find the pipes, setting everything together before deciding she would figure out how to get it home in the morning.

The girl finally settled in the cot feeling good about the things she had found, knowing they were going to help her through. She wondered what the boys would think of her new stuff, laughing to herself at the thought of showing them the little stove and her knew books.

. . .

Z slowly started to regret her decision to bring the stove about halfway through her journey home.

She had been lucky enough to find a garden wagon around the side of the house, two of the wheels being flat but she also found a bike pump. The wheels where large with thick treads perfect for the mud, the sides made of thick metal that could be unlatched to make unloading easier. After making sure the wagon would make it she went about putting the stove onto it, which was an entire feat in itself. After much cursing and the throwing of a few things she finally had everything loaded and ready to go. For a while she just pulled it along, switching to her left arm when her right got tired. She eventually just hooked the handle to the bottom of her backpack and pushed forward, having to pull her hoodie off as she slowly started sweating.

The sun was just starting to dip behind the trees by the time she got close to her camp, spotting the trail she had slowly been making over the months. By the time the tree house has come into view Z had stoped, noticing that something wasn't right.

Her clothes lined had been pulled down, the fire pit had been disturbed, her cooking pot knocked over, and she noticed several things on the ground that were supposed to be in the tree house.

Z quickly dropped her stuff, grabbing her crossbow and an arrow as she snuck closer, keeping herself as quiet as possible. She thought the cost was clear until something else got tossed out of the entrance of her home and she suddenly shouted.

"HEY!"

Everything seemed to go silent for a second before two very familiar faced appeared in her doorway. It was Ash and Blue Eyes.

Before she could even say anything about what they were doing Ash let out a loud hoot and jumped straight down from the treehouse, rolling his landing before running strait at her. The human barely had enough time to drop her bow before she was engulfed by thick fur and muscle, almost losing her footing as it felt like her ribs where being crushed.

He was hugging her, she suddenly realized, and couldn't help but let out a strained laugh.

"Ash," she managed to wheeze out as his grip seemed to tighten before he finally released her, letting her catch her breath. Blue Eyes was making his way to them, and it was then that she noticed the concerned look on both of their faces.

"What in the hell is going on?" She asked as she reached down for her bow, watching as the two looked at each other, then back to her.

"You...gone?" Ash managed to get out. He had a look on his face, Z didn't quite know what it was but it made her heart hurt.

"I went looking for supplies yesterday morning." She explained as she went to grab her bag, "It takes a while to get out of the forest, I didn't want to travel at night."

After grabbing her bag she went for the wagon, the two following her to check it out. Blue stayed a small distance out of caution, but Ash immediately started touching the stove and other items she had gotten. She explained what it was as Ash helped to pull it to the tree house, trying her best to explain what it was for.

"So does one of you want to explain to me why you trashed my camp?" She asked as they came into the clearing.

The two apes looked at each other with what she could only guess was confusion before looking back at her.

"We... did not... do this." Ash said.

"You didn't..." both boys shook their heads and suddenly Z felt a chill go down her spine.

"Then who did?"

. . .

The sun was slowly fading by the time the human and her ape friends finally departed.

Friends.

Z hadn't really had friends before. Sure she had a couple of pals back in grade school, but they mostly just sat together because they didn't know who else to talk too. It never really went beyond school hours. Now she felt as though she was making a real connection with someone.

Definitely Ash more than Blue Eyes, but she was working on it.

The two had helped clean up her camp, tying her clothes lines back up and picking up the stuff that had been thrown out of the tree house. Ash had apologized for making the mess worse, he explained best he could that they had come by the day before but couldn't find her, and when they came by today everything was a mess and they had thought something was wrong. Blue had huffed at this, signing something that made Ash roll his eyes.

"He... worry.. too." He had told her playfully and the whole interaction just made Z feel warm inside.

That night she sat in her bed, studying the books on sign by her lamp. She was thankful her grandmother had encouraged her to learn everything she could at a young age, her mind absorbing and remembering information pretty well. Her hands moved along as she practiced well into the night, eventually nodding off with the book in her lap.

Chapter Text

When the cold came it was unforgiving, first with the rain that felt like being bitten by ice, then everything starting to frost over. Being raised in the south Z was used to very mild winters, but with the drastic loss of the majority of the human population the earths climate was now changing and thus the forest was freezing.

The human was thankful she had dragged the cast iron stove back to her camp, the boys helping her install it with her instructions. It almost caused a fight between her and Blue Eyes because in her opinion he was just being stubborn and didn't want to listen. After about an hour of trying different things and Z almost wacking Blue with a branch the three finally got the stove into the tree house. 

Now she sat close to the stove, bundled in blankets and the warmest set of clothes she had. There was a small pan of meat cooking with a few veggies she had managed to preserve. Hunting was becoming more difficult with the weather change, even with help from the boys they were bringing in less and less. She figured soon she would have to cut back to one meal a day as her dried meat stores where running low. 

Z pulled the pan off the burner and made herself a bowl, getting comfortable in her bed with her sign language book while she ate. She had already gone through the kids book and was advancing quite well(At least that's what Ash told her). She could now have a halfway decent conversation with the two, though Blue Eyes still tried to ignore her most of the time unless it was to correct her. 

Ash on the other hand had become one of the closest friends Z had ever had. After the last time she had left for supplies he had made her promise to tell them the next time so they knew she hadn't just disappeared. It touched her heart that he worried about her so much, even her own family besides her grandparents never seemed to care at that level. 

Z didn't want to go out in the cold today but she needed too, her water stores almost empty. Once her meal was finishing she cleaned her bowl and put it away, setting about getting ready. Pulling her cargo pants and long sleeve shirt on over her thermal set, doubling up her socks before putting on her boots and thick winter jacket. She grabbed her bag and water jug before heading out. 

The sun was actually out , though it didn't do much to cut through the chill. Z made her treck to the river as she normally did, keeping as quiet as she could incase she came across some small game. It wasn't too long of a walk, around 30 minutes each way. The human was almost there when suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up, a pin-prick like feeling coming over her and bringing her body to an abrupt hault. She turned quickly and scanned the surrounding area, her eyes straining but finding nothing. 

With her heart beating just a little faster she slowly turned and continued on her way, though the feeling didn't stop. 

It wasn't the first time Z has gotten weird feelings while walking around the woods alone. Every time it happened she was reminded of her grandfather's stories of all the weird stuff that happened when he was a ranger for the national forest service. People went missing all the time under weird circumstances, at one point her grandmother had scolded the man for telling the young girl such things before bed. It had given her a fear of large wooded areas for a while before her grandmother convinced her she was perfectly safe as long as she was respectful of her area. Z never questioned her grandmother, even as her training started, but that feeling that she was never truly alone in the forest never went away. 

Slowly the river came into view and Z breathed a sigh of relief, the walk having felt much longer than normal. She was almost to the edge of the trees, the sound of the river flowing through her ears when she suddenly stopped again. 

The birds had gone quiet. 

Z felt her whole body be overcome with that buzzing feeling, and before she knew what she was doing she was had dropped the water jug and took off running, her heart racing. The human could here the branches snapping as something gave chase behind her, Z doing her best to stay upright and not trip as she ran through the treeline, the adrenaline pumping her legs as fast as they could go. 

She wasn't sure how long she had been running when she had to come to a sliding hault to keep from slipping off into the river, her nails digging into the trunk of a tree as she pulled herself back up. It was quiet now, other than the rushing water and her heavy breathing, she couldn't here anything out of the ordinary. Taking a deep breath she stood up fully, deciding she would make her way back from the river bank and go from there. 

She had taken a single step before she was pulled off of her feet and practically thrown anto her back, the wind knocked out of her as she was pinned to the ground by something heavy. She was about to scream until she opened her eyes and it caught in her throat. 

Crystalline blue met hazel and suddenly Z's fear was washed away and replaced with anger at the ape practically smirking down at her. His amusement only seemed to grow as her face twisted to show her emotions. With what strength she had left she rolled herself, pulling him underneath her. 

"What in the hell was that for!!" She practically yelled at him as she stood up, brushing off the dirt and leaves from her clothes. 

Blue Eyes finally pulled himself up, his laughter finally dying down as she stared at him with narrowed eyes. 

"Should have seen your face," the ape signed as he regained his composure. 

"So scared."  

Z rolled her eyes, resisting to urge to push him as she crossed her arms. 

"Shut up!" She practically growled at him, moving to walk away.

"You'd be running too if you felt like you were being hunted." 

He only seemed to follow her as she walked, keeping pace beside her while walking on his two legs. She swears he only does it because it makes him taller than her. Her statement brings a smirk to his face, and he stopped for a second to sign.

"Who said I wasn't hunting you." 

When the statement registered in her brain she stopped too, heat flushing through her body and making her coat suddenly feel to warm. She guessed it showed on her face because he just gave her a look and kept walking, leaving her there to gawk at him before she finally snapped out of it and caught up to him. 

.   .   .

She hadn't expected the ape to follow her back to the river, but by the time they had made it back to her dropped water jug he was scooping it up himself and heading for the bank. She wanted to tell him it wasn't necessary, but part of her was still mad at him for chasing her, so she let him fill up the jug so she didn't have to stick her hand in the cold water. 

Z thanked him as he handed it back to her, putting it into her bag so it wouldn't be such a strain to carry back. She figured that would be the end of their interaction but he continued on beside her as she started her walk back. 

After a good minute of walking in silence she finally asked him where Ash was. Turns out he was sick and his mother wouldn't let him come out, which Z couldn't help but giggle at. 

The thought of these large apes being told what to do by their mom tickled her greatly. 

The longer she spent with them she realized how similar they really were. They had families, a sense of community, they even pulled pranks. Though to her what Blue eyes did wasn't funny, it seemed to have him rolling in laughter. 

As the two made it closer to her camp, she used the opportunity to ask him a question that had been on her mind for a while. 

"How come you and Ash are the only two who actually interact with me?" She had been wondering for a while why the others kept their distance but these two seemed to seek her out. 

Z was honestly expecting him to brush her off but she noticed a hesitant look on his face. It seemed like a moment before his hands started moving.

"We are not..." He stopped for a moment. 

"We are not supposed to see you..." 

Z stared at him for a moment while her brain worked through the sign, she didn't understand his words at first, her brain racking to figure it out before it finally hit her. 

The two weren't supposed to be talking to her. They were told to stay away and still spent months coming to see her. 

She stared at the ape in disbelief, trying to figure out why in the hell they would be hanging out with her when they were told not too.  

"So neither of you are supposed to be talking to me?" She questioned as they came through the entrance of her camp, staring up at him with a look of disbelief. He nodded his head and for a moment she couldn't form words correctly. A part of her was afraid of what would happen if they got caught. She didn't want to have to leave the forest, she liked it here and enjoyed the boys company. On the other hand she didn't want them to get in trouble just for their curiosity.

"Why!?" She finally managed to spit out after a moment, feeling the urge to grab him by the shoulders and shake him. 

"Why would you two go out of your way to befriend me when your not even supposed to be talking to me!?" 

Z felt like she was yelling at that point, the way Blue had flinched let her know she was getting louder, but with all the thoughts racing through her head it was hard not too.

Blue put his hand up before she could say anything else, motioning to the tree house and signing "inside." She huffed but did what he said, letting him bring her bag up while she lit the stove up to get some heat circulating. She noticed he pulled out her water jug, putting it in its place before putting her bag where it goes. It made her smile, knowing he paid enough attention to know where to put her stuff. 

Z decide to make some tea while they settled down, grabbing her little beat up kettle and a jar of herbs she kept above the stove. She grabbed two of her pillows and set them in front of the stove so they could talk, motioning Blue to come and sit. After getting them both a cup she placed herself beside the ape and told him to spill.

Blue Eyes smelled his cup before taking a small sip, making a face that Z couldn't help but snicker at. Like most things she made him try is was strange, not really bad, but strange tasting. After that he tried to explain everything to her. How the apes had freaked out when they found her, many wanting her exiled from the forest. The fact that she was a young female completely alone was the only thing that saved her. Caesar had told them to leave her be and everything would be fine. 

From what she understood it wasn't that bad, until he told her what Koba had told them. 

He explained how his uncle had took them to the side and told them humans where dangerous and cruel, never to be trusted. 

Z had made a face at that. 

"Well he's not completely wrong." She told him after a moment of quiet, setting her cup down on the floor. Blue looked confused, signing "what do you mean?"

The girl thought for moment, not wanting to give him the wrong idea, but also not wanting to lie to him. 

"Well, humans are technically dangerous, especially in numbers. Some humans are good, but without a society set in place, too many are willing to do horrible things just to survive." 

The ape noticed how she looked when she spoke, eyes seeming distant. He had the urge to ask about it, but decided not too in the end. 

"Koba told us human hold a grudge against apes for what happened to them."  

Now Z could understand where this was coming from.

"That's kinda true, it's more about the fact that humans don't understand what actually happened, not to mention some humans will blame anything but themselves when it comes to responsibility." 

Blue hummed, taking in the information she had given. 

"It sounds like you don't like humans very much either." He signed, watching as she shrugged her shoulders. 

"When you've been hurt so much, it's kinda hard to not feel some sort of resentment." 

Z knew he wouldn't completely understand her statement, having only told the boys so little about her life before. She wanted to tell them, or tell just tell him honestly, but she also didn't want him thinking any worse of her kind than he already did. 

The two sat and talked for a while longer, Blue finally talking off as the sun started to go down. Z watches from her doorway as he made his way through the trees, slowly disappearing from her sight until the only thing she could see was the setting sun between the branches. She stayed that way for a while, just watching and thinking.

Chapter Text

As winter pushed on through the forest, Z did her best to make it to spring. Food was getting harder to come by and her stores were becoming dangerously low. It had gotten to the point where she was pretty sure Ash and Blue Eyes were sneaking her food. She would find dried meat and fruits in certain places in her home after they would visit. Not that she minded too much, it really was helpful. 

Though what Blue Eyes had told her still weighed on her mind. She couldn't imagine Ceaser would be too happy to find out two of his young subjects were running around with a human most days, especially when everyone had been told to avoid said human. She had thought on more than one occasion of telling them not to come back, if only for them not to get in trouble. Z couldn't do it though. As much as even she hated to admit it humans were not meant to be alone, and now that she finally had some sort of companion ship she didn't want to give it up. 

Other humans frightened her too much, were too unpredictable for her to feel safe around them. The apes didn't make her feel like that, at least her two boys didn't. 

She smiled at them as they stood on the bank of the river, trying to spear fish through a hole in the ice they had created. They weren't having much luck, only having caught four fish between them. The three had been out for a few hours at that point, the young apes having given Z a very rude awakening in her opinion.

Blue had taken a feather and thought it would be funny to wake the human up by tickling her nose. What the two weren't expecting was for her to freak out until she realized who it was. There was a knife involved. The three agreed not to talk about it anymore. 

Z sat back on a rock while the boys fished, glancing at the book she had brought every once in a while to keep herself busy. Normally she'd have plenty to do, but with her wood pile stocked for the week and water reserve full the only thing she needed to worry about was food. As much as she loved that the boys cared and where helping, she didn't want to rely on them to heavily, especially if they ever got caught. 

She was brought out of her thoughts by something hitting her in the arm. She looked up to see Ash motioning for her to come closer. She closed her book and slid off the rock, setting her book down on her bag and joining the two by the bank. Ash held his spear out to her. 

"Want to try?"  He signed. 

They had been trying to teach her how to use their spears, though with the size difference and the weight of them she hadn't shown much improvement. 

"I think I'll leave the fishing to the two of you." She told him, thanking him for the offer. 

"Besides," she said as she moved to watch Blue try and once again fail to spear a fish as it swam by.  

"I don't think anyone is having much luck today." 

Blue turned to give her the stink eye before pulling his spear back up, using his hand to fling the icy river water in her direction. Z quickly dodged it, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. He huffed while her and Ash laughed, turning to try once again. 

In his frustration, weather it was her or the fish she wasn't sure, he seemed to throw it with much more force, causing it to land further out into the water than he could reach. 

"Oh shit." Z mumbled as Blue smacked the ice with his fist as his frustration turned to anger. Ash moved behind them and the three peered into the murky water, Z barely being able to make out the end of the spear with how deep it had been thrown.  

"Your dad is going to be angry." Ash signed at Blue Eyes. Z could tell by the look on his face that Ash probably wasn't exaggerating. 

"There's gotta be a way to get it out." She said, racking her brain for some kind of solution. Z understood better than anyone what it was like to be in trouble for something you couldn't really help, and the thought of Blue getting in trouble over something as simple as a lost spear made her stomach clench in the worst way.  

They stood around for a few more minutes trying to come up with something before Z finally sighed, unzipping her jacket. 

"I've got an idea," she stated, pulling off her jacket and setting it on the rock, rolling up her sleeve. 

"But it's gonna suck." 

Z had Ash break the ice hole open more with his spear, stretching it over the stuck peice. She was lucky enough that the ice was thick that week, at least a couple inches to hold her and the boys up for what she was about to do. 

Ash stood behind Blue and held his arm, while Blue stood behind Z to hold her arm and lower her into the water. Both of them seem to balk at her idea, but with no other options they could think of they eventually relented. Z pushed up the sleeve of her thermal shirt as far up to her shoulder as she could, the cold air hitting her bare skin and making her shiver. 

The boys got into position, Z on her knees at the edge of the ice while Blue held on tightly to her wrist. The human slowly dipped her fingers into the river, gasping loudly at the biting cold of the rushing water. 

"Not...good idea" she suddenly heard Blue husk behind her. She turned her head to see both of them staring at her with apprehensive looks. It almost made her crumble and pull away, but then she remembered Blue's face when Ash mentioned his dad. 

"Do you want the spear back or not?" She snapped, staring directly into the larger apes blue eyes. It seemed like an eternity the two just staring each other down before he finally relented with a nod of his head.

Slowly, the two lowered her into the water. Z gaped as her arm was submerged deeper, feeling like her skin was being poked with hundreds of icy needled. Her fingers brushed over the top of the spear handle just as the water reached her rolled up sleeve. Blue pulled her back a bit when he saw the water seeping into her sleeve.

"I've almost got it, you just gotta lower me a little more."  

The boys made noise of protests, but quickly went back to formation as Z started lowering herself down again. Despite the cold the situation almost had her sweating, the motion of the river causing the spear handle to bob slightly. 

Shoulder deep, her ear almost touching the water when she finally managed to grab it. 

"PULL!" she shouted, startling the boys and causing them to pull back with all their might.

Before Z could register what was happening she was out of the water and sliding across the ice, coming to a stop around the middle of the river. The spear came right along with her, skidding to a stop about a foot away. The boys froze in their spots, having not meant to use that much force. The two were about to run and check on her when she slowly stood up, grabbing the sear. 

"WE DID IT!" She suddenly screamed, holding the spear above her head like a trophy. 

The tension broke, both boys smiling and giving rejoicefull hoots. Despite the stinging in her shoulder from Blues pull and being wet up to her shirt collar, Z couldn't help but laugh, her own smile almost hurting her cheeks. 

The three celebrated their victory for a moment, the sun basking them in its rays for the first time in days. Z went to take a step, a resounding crack echoing out around them. Everyone seemed to freeze in place, a sickening chill shot up her spine as she slowly looked down.  

The ice was breaking. 

Her head snapped up and she immediately booked it. She had only gotten two steps in before she felt herself being submerged, managing to gasp a breath before she was dragged away by the rushing water. She could now feel those icy needled on her entire body, doing everything in her power not to scream and lose her air.  She opened her eyes and tried to get sence of her body as she was pulled down the river. The sun was shining through the ice as she tried to break through, her fist hitting as hard as they could. Her lungs were burning already and her body hurt. 

Suddenly Z  could see a large dark spot in ice and she moved for it with everything she had, praying it was her way out. Before she could move away she slammed into the large rock and everything went black.

Chapter Text

There was a ringing in Blue's ears as he stared at the spot where she had disappeared. The human was there one second and gone the next, the only indication she had been there at all was his spear and the cracked ice she had fallen into.

Before he could even think of what to do Ash had taken off down the river, Blue finally coming back to reality and chasing close behind him. The two bounded through the trees as fast as they could, the impending feeling of dread washing over Blue the further down they went.

Finally they made it to the point where the river widened and the ice was well broken up, Ash quickly claiming a tree where the branches grew over the water. The young ape felt as though his heart was gonna drop into his stomach as he scanned the rapids thoroughly, looking for any sign of the human.

Ash screeched, jumping from one branch to another that was further out over the water. Blue suddenly saw it, a dark blob pushing through the ice. The smaller ape hung from the branch and reached out, snatching up the soaked mass and pulling himself back up the tree.

Blue seemed to hold his breath as Ash came down, laying the human at their feet. Neither of them had ever been in any kind of situation like this and they had no idea what to do.

Her hair was tangled and matted to her face, blood slowly oozing from her temple. Her normally fair skin was going from red to a slight blue color.

"She's not breathing." Ash signed, his face full of anguish.

Blue shook his head in disbelief. This was all his fault. If he'd just left the spear it wouldn't have happened. She was so determined to help him, and now she was hurt.

Before he could stop himself Blue slammed his fist down into the humans chest, causing her to convulse and spit up water. Ash quickly turned her head to the side, moving her hair as she continued to throw up.

"We have to bring her to the colony." Ash stated, trying his best to soothe the smaller creature as she hacked up the contents of the her stomach.

Blue hesitated, but only for a second before he nodded.

"I'll take her," he signed, his demeanor growing serious as he looked Ash in the eyes.

"You go ahead and tell my father, we get help faster that way."

Ash gave a curt nod and took off, climbing the nearest tree and disappearing into the branches. Blue carefully scooped the smaller creature into his arms, freezing when she gave a weak grown in protest before her head luled against his shoulder and she was out again.

Blue did his best to keep from moving her too much as he made his way through the forest at a quick pace. Her breathing was shollow and wheezy, the ape shielding her from the harsh cold with his body as well as he could.

Blue Eyes knew there was no turning back after this. The colony would be angry when they found out the two where hanging out with a human, but a very large part of him didn't care. He didn't care how angry they would be at him, as long as they were willing to help her.

He couldn't exactly remember when he started considering Z his friend, when he actually started to care about her. At first Ash and him were just curious, the gossip around the colony about the young human being pretty hot for the first few weeks. Then the two happened upon her one day, watching with amazement as she managed to scale a tree just to get some honey.

After he got to know her he realized she was nothing like the humans he had been told about. She wasn't dangerous or unpredictable. She definitely wasn't selfish, Z would offer them the last of her food when they came back from hunting, which was why he and Ash had started "forgetting" some of their catches when they parted ways.

He didn't think it would really affect him if she was gone until the day they came into her camp being ransacked with her not there. He felt several emotions he had never experienced before that day, his mind racing with all the things that could have happened to her until she had walked into the camp. He had been relieved that she wasn't hurt then, but now as he looked down at her, he only blamed himself.

The young prince moved as quickly as he could through the forest, his breath ragged as he tried to focus on getting home and not the fact that the humans breathing was starting to sound worse. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he could here the faint sound of thundering hoofs getting closer. His father was the first he saw aopn his horse, Rocket with his mate Tinker right behind him.

Blue called out to them, his father's horse sliding to a stop a few feet away. Tinker didn't wait for her mates steed to stop before she had jumped down and rushed to him, her healer instincts kicking in at the sight of the injured human in her nephews arms.

"We need to get her to the colony, NOW!" She signed quickly, motioning for Rocket. The older ape carefully took the human from Blue's arms and quickly mounted his horse, his mate right behind him. He have a curt nod to Ceaser before urging his horse back the way they had came.

Blue Eyes turned to his father to explain, but was met with an outstretched hand. Relief flooded his system as he jumped behind him and they took off.

The young sapien was grateful, his mind running faster than the horse they were on. He knew his father was going to demand answers, but right now all he could think of was the way she looked when Ash pulled her out of the river, the moment she fell in playing back in his mind over and over.

The two raced through the entrance of the colony, Blue jumping off mid stop and heading straight for the healers hut. Ash was already standing at the entrance, trying to peek through the doorway as the prince approached. His best friend turned feeling his presence, the look on his face not giving him anything hopeful.

"They kicked me out," The smaller ape signed. "My mother said something about having to remove all her clothes."

Blue Eyes bristled in frustration, resisting the urge to rush in anyway and see her, despite knowing Tinker would and could physically remove him herself.

The pair stood there, not sure what to do when Blue suddenly felt a very familiar presence behind him. It was his father.

"Come," He signed. "Both of you."

The two exchanged glances before reluctantly following the king, knowing this conversation was happening sooner or later.

As he turned, he caught sight of Koba. The bonono did not look happy, and he had assume he found out they brought the girl to the colony. The ape King knew out of anyone he'd have the most problem with it, given his history, but the fact that the human was both young, and had saved the life of one of the highest standing members of his circle, they couldn't just throw her out of the forest.

Ceaser shook his head at the older ape, signing that they would discuss it later. Koba just stalked off looking very aggravated, causing the ape King to sigh. He would deal with him later, but for now he needed to find Blue Eyes.

The sound of the forest is what finally brought Zander back to the world. Muffled birds chirping and movement pulled her back into conch. Her eyes wouldn't open at first, the heaviness of her body seemed odd to her. A part of her brain was telling her to go back to sleep, but something else further back was screaming at her to get up. She laid there for a moment just listening, almost going back to sleep, before something finally clicked into place. Why could she hear so much movement?

She wasn't in her treehouse.

Her body bolted upward before her eyes could open, pain suddenly flowing through her. She tried to scream but it stopped in her throat, coming out as a ragged cough instead, finally forcing her eyes open as her body went back down. Everything was blurry at first, the logs making up the ceiling slowly becoming more visible as she blinked, her head throbbing and her throat burning. She laid there confused, trying to rack her brain on how and why she was there. Z wasn't close enough to any humans for her to be found, and the longer she stared upward she realized a human building, even made from the land wouldn't look like this. She realized she must be in the ape village, but that left her with more questions than answers.

As her mind spiraled she didn't notice the ape entering from another room, slowly approaching as they noticed the human was awake. She caught the movement out of the corner of her eye, her head snapping in that direction before before her body recoiled against the pain.

Zander wanted to cry, feeling the heat creeping into her body and her eyes burning as she held it back. She couldn't move, couldn't speak, and couldn't remember why she was where she was in the first place, and all of those things had her feeling helpless for the first time in a long time.

Tinker had noticed the movement coming from the room they had placed the human in, relieved she might had finally been awake. The healing ape moved cautiously, taking note of the girls wince of pain as she tried to turn and look. Tinker grabbed a gourd of water and moved closer, gently hooting to catch the humans attention. When their eyes met the ape immediately noticed the look on her face, like that of a lost, scared child.

It hurts Tinker's heart, thinking of her own Ash, out there alone in the world. As far as she knew human children stayed with their parents until adulthood, and this one was far from that. She marveled at how she had managed to survive by herself for this long, but at what cost. What was the point of living if you had no family to live for?

Tinker cooed gently to the human as she wet a cloth, moving slowly to rub along the top of her clammy skin. Zander whimpered and flinched at first, before she realized the ape was probably just trying to help. They wore a beaded mask, but had very kind eyes. They reminded her of her grandmother.

Zander went to try and speak again as the ape moved to clean her neck, but all that came out was a ragged cough as her face twisted with pain. The ape made a concerned sound, staring down at her for a moment before moving away. Z found herself panicked for just a moment, wanting to tell them to come back, not to leave her, but the ape was back in a moment, pouring some of the water from the gourd into a shallow wooden bowl.

The ape set down the gourd and gently reached behind her head, lifting it slowly so she could drink. Zander drank as much as her body would allow her, the water soothing her aching throat and turning stomach. She gasped as the ape pulled away, catching her breath. She still couldn't speak properly, her hands slowly moving up to rub her face as she calmed down. Then it hit her.

Her hands.

She couldn't talk, but hopefully she could still communicate.

Zander tuned her face to the ape again, meeting their eyes. She kept her hands by her chin and slowly moved them.

"What happen?"

The ape blinked, staring at her in surprise. Their own hands moved, faultering for a moment, like they didn't know what to sign. Before anything could be said a loud thump could be heard behind the both of them, the ape turning to see the commotion. Zander couldn't move herself that far to look, but it only took a second before she found out what it was.

Ash was in her face before she could register what was going on, pressing himself into her neck like she was going to disappear. She grunted in surprise as his weight pressed against her side, her hand moving to the side of his head to catch his attention. His dark eyes caught her own, relief flooding both of their expressions as he saw she was truly conscious, and she finally understood she was in safe place. Zander pulled her hand away, signing to ask what in the hell was going on.

Ash gave her a puzzled look, "You don't remember?"

Zander took a moment to think, trying to remember anything before she had woken up, but it was all blank. She shook her head, her stomach turning uncomfortably again. Ash looked to the other ape, Z turning her head as well as she could, her mind racing.

"She hit the rocks very hard," the masked one signed, "it probably affected her memory."

Zander blinked, trying to figure out what they meant. Her mind was running a mile a minute, her head starting to throb as she racked over everything she could possibly remember.

That morning they had woken her up, convinced her into going to the river with them.

The river.

The spear.

Her heart was pounding against her chest as everything seemed to come rushing back. She tried to speak again but all that came out was an embarrassing squeak, and suddenly her face was hot again and tears where actually rolling down her cheeks.

Ash pulled back in alarm, having never seen the human cry before. Before he could do anything his mother moved, wrapping her arms around his friend and cradling against her chest, letting out soothing hoots. He stared at Tinker in astonishment, amazed at how she knew exactly what to do.

Tinker sparred her son a glance, using one hand to tell him the girl would be okay and to tell Ceaser she was awake. He hesitated, not wanting to leave his friend in such a state, but eventually did as his mother said, slowly trecking out the door and into the colony.

Zander couldn't remember the last time she cried like this, trying her best to stop it, but the floodgates where open and several years of tension and sadness where now spilling out. The ape continued to hold her as she sobbed, cradling her like she was a small child and the human was grateful, having not felt the genuine care of an adult since her grandmother had passed. And sure, she had shed a few tears then, but then she wiped her eyes and continued on, putting her gran in the ground in the backyard where she had wanted, then starting her journey to come to the forest. Everything between then and now had just been pure survival.

They stayed like that for a while, Tinker gently soothing the human as she gradually calmed down, her sobbing turning into quiet hiccups. As her mind finally slowed Zander felt embarrassed, she had a breakdown in the arms of a total stranger.

She pulled herself away slightly, wiping her eyes as she sniffed.

"I'm sorry." She signed, avoiding their eyes. The ape just smiled, lifting her chin with a finger so they could see each other.

"Don't be."