There’s a plant he’s heard of that grows only beneath Apop’s watchful eye. There’s something about the soil there, that allows this particular type of hallucinogen to grow. It’s going to be a difficult trip and the Fixer is well aware. He shouldn’t be going by himself, but he does leave a note for Tobi, with his precise destination noted and instructions on what to do if harm should befall him. Thus, he packs his bag and grabs his walking stick and twists the compass so it will take him to Haulani.
Slow and steady, like a turtle, the Fixer finds a place to land and then heads out towards Apopo, a map in hand with what might be the most stable path marked. Humming to himself, the Fixer-turned-researcher keeps an eye on the lush foliage around him forthe marker for his next turn.
There is movement in the trees to the Fixer’s right. At first, it seems like a shadow, like the wind passing through the jungle and flickering through the foliage at the top to hide it away. Until it happens again and again, the creature in the jungle fascinated by the man that treks through the trees.
Eventually, it comes to a stop – peering from a high up branch, a monkey peering down at him with curious eyes and a hand that’s clutched around a flower of sorts that it had found and planned to bring back to its family… Only… The family was now gone, spread out through the jungle, leaving the poor creature behind.
And so it watches the Fixer, wondering if perhaps the man might bring it home.
Everyone needs a little adventure, occasional cripples included. Unfortunately for Falke, he doesn’t yet have a device that lets him use his cane and record at the same time, so there’s the occasional stop and start as he takes shorthand notes. It’s loud compared to Stormbreak, green, lush, reminding him more of the Celestine than anywhere he’s been before - read about, yes - but never seen with his own eyes. Is it chance that makes him look up? Or fate? Whatever it is, his warm brown eyes land upon a face looking back at him, causing him to break out in a delighted smile.
[say] “Well hello there,”[/say] the Fixer says, craning his neck to look at the branch above and ahead of him.[say] “What kind of monkey are you?”[/say]
The smile intrigues the monkey more, its head cocking to the side as it peers down at Falke. One hand wrapped around the stalk it stands upon, bright eyes peering down curiously at the man when he speaks. It isn’t sure what to respond with, whether it can, whether it truly understands what Falke is saying.
What it does know, is that Falke seems friendly enough. So the creature shuffles around a bit on the branch, moving to drop itself onto his shoulders, to poke at Falke’s cheeks and shoulder and hair in curiosity, its head tilting this way and that as it inspects him, making little chittering noises as it does.
After the weight of his pack, the monkey seems to barely be a burden, though the sensation of feet on his shoulders is a bit odd. [say] “Oh, okay, sure, come on down.”[/say] Falke can feel a big grin spreading despite himself, trying to turn his head and look up and back in order to see the friendly creature. It isn’t until there are tiny, deft little fingers picking through his hair that the Fixer gives up and just lets it do its monkey thing. If he recalls correctly from his reading (many years ago, it seems), it’s an expression of affection.
He also recalls that monkeys tend to move in family groups, which causes him to look back up at the dense, green canopy. No other little faces peer down at him, no chitterings reach his ears - nay, no howls or screeches of outrage at his presence. Nothing. Turning back to look at the monkey, he is all of a sudden a tad concerned.[say] “Hey… where’s your family, hmmm?”[/say] Falke would never dare insult it by asking if it's lost.
Don’t mind if it does.
The monkey drops down onto Falke’s shoulders, inspecting him, chittering and chattering pure gibberish as it’s small hands run along dark hair and cheeks and poking at an ear. But it withdraws, as Falke looks up to the trees, to find nothing there but what the monkey had left behind. Silence, trading it for something else.
As Falke looks back at the monkey, it peers down at him, the question met with silence at first, it’s hands folding together and wringing in its quiet thought. But then Falke would feel an almost magical sense of tapping, as the monkey begins to fit its way in, making Falke that family instead. All the Fixer would feel at first is a quiet cold pant of sadness, before the warmth and hope of something new.
Astor has used her regular companion pass to receive this companion for Falke!
Their eyes meet. Oh. Oh.
Utterly unexpected (how did he get so lucky as to ride on a cloud and find a companion within the same couple of weeks?), the invasion of other feelings into his mind is a surprise, but as he maintains the connection with the monkey, it all comes together. She (she? Yes, she) seems to physically brighten while he looks at her, the same feelings echoing in his head and bolstered by his own radical acceptance.
The Fixer has read about this, of course. But the reality is so much better than what anyone else can describe.
A crooked smile appears and he reaches out to encourage the monkey into his arms. It does, this time without hesitation and Falke exhales.[say] “So I guess it’s you and me now, huh?”[/say] She squeaks a quiet agreement and the feeling in his mind fades to contentment, and safety. He can hardly move forward with this task today, now can he? There’s a lot to learn, a name -[say] “What shall I call you - okay, ahhh, I’ll put some names out and you just… make a noise or something when you hear one you like.”[/say]
It takes seven or eight tries while he’s heading back to Haulani before the Fixer finally says[say] “Ophelia?”[/say] and she hoots her acceptance, reaching up to climb back to a perch on his shoulder, as if now that that’s settled, she’s officially part of the team.
[Fin]
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