Chattering Monkeys

Mechanical Bunny · Site Admin Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 223

The radiance that danced on the clouds and on the treetops was like a golden bird suddenly spreading its wings. The trees for as far as the eye could see were so vibrant as to be overpowering. The whole world was now the sky filled with leaves. He blinked blearily into this beauty and watched the sun rise over the landscape and reach him perched in a makeshift bed in the canopy. It made him smile a bit from an old memory of when, as a small child, his father had told him that the sun created all life in a big wave of light much like this one. Old folktales from forgotten civilizations was all it was, but it was a fun idea to entertain anyway.

Jor eventually had to close his eyes from the bright sunlight, which made him sleepy. It was early yet; perhaps he could get away with sleeping some more. But there was much to do. To get to the farmlands he would have to continue walking through the forest. After seeing the beauty of nature here, however, he didn't feel like getting there anytime soon. He really only need provisions... It wasn't important to get there immediately.

With a contented sigh he laid back on the leaves and interwoven branches of the bed he made last night. Suddenly he awoke with a start, unsure of the fact that he had even been sleeping. And what had woken him? He heard rustling nearby that he couldn't place while in his dazed state. Something hit him in the knee hard, as if thrown, and he looked around wildly at the source of the hard nut-thrower. Another one hit him in the shoulder and he sat up, his unruly brown hair tumbling in front of his face.

His brown eyes gazed around intently for the source, but couldn't see anything close enough to hit him. It was a quiet morning with only birds and some animals around, nothing threatening. He wished he was wearing more than just shorts so that it wouldn't hit him as hard.

When another one whizzed by him he yelled, "Stop that!" He puffed himself up, and his bare, tan skin shone with tightened muscles from the hard work of gathering food, hunting, climbing, and running. Jor wasn't a big man, but he was big enough that no one messed with him. Whoever this was had some nerve!