Trees and Monkeys

Posted on Wed Jan 1st, 2014 @ 7:28am by Lieutenant JG Elizabeth Jackson

418 words; about a 2 minute read

Mission: Tabula Rasa
Location: Planetside

ON

Ever since she found her friend the monkey, Lizzy found herself spending more and more time in the forest. At first she gathered food for her new pet, then she started studying the planets herself. The trees were familiar but strange at the same time. There was a strange parasite in the trees that reminded her of a cross between Spanish moss and mistletoe. Whatever it was, the monkey stayed away from it. And so did Lizzy, except for taking a small sample and pressing it between two thin pieces of wood to preserve it. She wasn't sure why, but it seemed like something she should do.

Thanks to Kiki, the name she'd given to her little friend, she also found a number of edible fruits and nuts. Anything the monkey ate, she ate. And she kept the seeds for later. She hoped, once they settled in, to grow a small grove of trees to make it easier to harvest the food.

She also spent time studying Kiki, watching how she moved through the trees, how she ate, how she communicated. It was quite fascinating. Kiki often used a sharp stick or a rock to open the husks of coconuts or other hard-skinned or husked fruit. And her cries...they, too, held meaning. Slowly, Lizzie began to imitate a few of the more common calls. And to her delight, Kiki responded.

And then came the explosions at the compound. Lizzie was once again spending time in the woods with her friend, but when the chaos started, she crept back to the edge of the forest nad watched. There wasn't much she could do, as she had no weapons and no skill at fighting. She knew that as she'd tried to imitate some of the others by using a stick as a weapon. She wasn'ta very good at it. So, after a few hours of trying to teach herself how to swing a staff, she gave up and decided she was better suited to studying plants and trees. Especially the trees.

When the others gathered to evacuate the compound, Lizzie went back to Kiki. "Come on, girl. Time to leave. We need to stay with the others."

Kiki nodded and grabbed a banana and a cluster of figs. Then she jumped onto Lizzie's shoulder.

Lizzie grabbed her walking stick and the two made their way carefully and quietly through the trees and around the compound to join the refugees.

OFF

Lieutenant JG Elizabeth "Lizzie" Jackson
Botanist

Kiki
Monkey

 

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