The following morning found her still awake in the bottom of her nest. She had dozed intermittently throughout the night, but was grateful when dawn came. The alpha was the first to descend. In short order the rest of the family followed. She was grateful for the routine of normality.
Though her anxiety level was still high, she was careful not to attract undue attention to herself as she descended with the rest of the clan. She worked her way to the periphery of the group and remained there, wary and watchful.
She watched the others closely, looking for any sign of unusual behavior. Nothing seemed to have changed. No one seemed to even notice her.
She watched the males especially closely, searching for any sign that would help her identify the one that had been ‘visited’ last night. Again, nothing unusual caught her attention.
The day went by uneventfully, as did many others to follow. Occasional scuffles broke out, always over the same things: food, status or sex. The alpha maintained his dominance. Challengers were met and defeated. Females were impregnated. Young ones were born. Most lived. A few didn’t. The family moved on, ever following the ripening food supply.
As the days passed, conflict continued growing within the young females mind. Somehow she knew that she should not mate with the alpha, that they were now, somehow, fundamentally different. Her instinct for preservation of the species struggled with her growing fear of contact with the alpha male.
But the ‘other’ male was here somewhere . . . the one who had been ‘visited.’ If she could only identify him. . . . The need grew, even as her inner conflict grew.
Daily she worked her way to the periphery, always down-wind so-as to lessen the chance of being confronted by the alpha. But she was, by nature, a social animal. She was becoming increasingly lonely. She longed for the reassurance she derived from physical contact with others of her own kind. This only added to her inner turmoil because, somehow she knew she was no longer one of them.
Then the day came when something unusual happened. Another mature male was challenging the alpha and the battle for dominance was in full swing. Everyone was watching excitedly (from a safe distance). Off to the side another scuffle caught her attention. One of the young males had pulled down a low-hanging branch and was swatting others in the head with it. That it happened once wasn’t particularly unusual. That he did it repeatedly caught her attention. She’d never seen such a display as this.
Was he the one?! She resolved at that moment to find out.
Over the next few days she watched the young male, always being careful to avoid being noticed. He always seemed to stay out of the center of the group. He stayed at the periphery and always remained alone.
Then one day she didn’t see him. Throughout the day she watched for him . . . but to no avail. It was commonplace for someone to be out of sight for a few minutes to relieve themselves. But no one ever stayed away long. The jungle was a dangerous place for a solitary individual.
That evening as the family was retiring into the trees, she saw him. He was climbing the adjacent tree, heading for his usual nesting place. He didn’t exhibit any unusual behavior. He just curled up in his bed and went to sleep.
The next morning she watched him, being ever more cautious that he didn’t notice her. As usual he had worked his way to the edge of the group. Casting casual glances this way and that, he worked his way into the tangled undergrowth. He turned to look back toward the group. She lowered her head and looked away, fearing she had been noticed. When she looked up a moment later, he was gone. Later that evening she saw him again, climbing up to his bed.
The next morning she watched again as the young male worked his way to the edge of the group. She had already positioned herself at the periphery on the opposite side of the group from the male, and had hidden herself as well as she could in a tangle of vines and large leaves. From her vantage point she felt confident he would not see her watching him.
He eased himself backward into the tangle. He looked around briefly and then ducked down behind the cover. As soon as he was gone, she worked her way further back into the cover. As quietly as she could, she worked her way around until she came to the place where he had disappeared. Crouching low and moving as quietly as she could, she moved out in the direction she thought he would have gone.
It was difficult following him. He had hidden his trail well. She dared not move too quickly, fearing he would see or hear her. She moved only a few feet at a time, stopping to listen for any signs of disturbance, then proceeding again cautiously.
After moving a short distance, she heard something up ahead. It sounded like a tree branch cracking. The jungle went quiet. Even the birds were silent. She froze in place, all her senses alert. She heard faint rustling, like something was moving through the underbrush. The rustling stopped and then she heard the cracking sound again.
When the rustling started again, she worked her way forward, using the noise as cover. Again the cracking sound, but this time it was much closer. A few yards ahead she saw movement through the underbrush. She inched forward as quietly as she could and came to the edge of a small clearing. There he was, shuffling semi-upright toward one side of the clearing. He was holding something in his hand as he walked. It looked like a stone.
He stopped and turned toward the other side of the clearing. Still holding the stone, he spread his feet wide apart, then leaned forward. It looked as if he was going to fall. But at the last moment he twisted his upper body sideways. Slamming his empty hand down in front of him; he brought the hand holding the stone back and then forcefully overhand and forward. He released the stone at the top of the arch.
She saw the stone fly across the clearing in a low arch. It hit a small tree trunk, making that cracking sound. The place where the stone had hit looked as though it had been hit several times. The bark was almost completely worn away.
Then on all fours the young male moved back across the clearing to retrieve the stone. He repeated this process many times, sometimes hitting the tree, sometimes missing completely. After a time his aim improved and he was able to hit the tree more consistently. Awestruck, she watched as the male repeated this most unusual behavior time and time again.
She knew without question that his encounter with the dark object so many nights before had changed him, just as it had changed her. But why was he engaged in such unusual behavior? Was this somehow related to that night?
Her thoughts went back to the day when she had first noticed him. She remembered how he had paused for only the briefest of moments after swatting his brother with that tree limb. Then he had repeated the action several more times.
Could this stone throwing be somehow related? Males were always displaying, trying to intimidate their peers or to win the attention of the females. Maybe this was just another form of display.
She stayed hidden there for quite some time watching him throw. Then abruptly, he stopped. One last time he went to pick up the stone. But instead of moving back to his throwing position, he turned and walked toward her. She froze in place as he came closer and closer, still carrying the stone.
Miraculously, he passed within only a few feet but didn’t notice her. He was heading back in the opposite direction, back toward where the family was.
Cautiously she worked her way out of her hiding place. When she thought he was far enough ahead that he wouldn’t notice, she began to follow him. Just before he arrived back at the family, she saw him stop and hide the stone under some leaves.