"Let's go!" Rob shouted as he leaped to another branch. His boyish figure flew through the air, twisting itself in just the right way to control his trajectory. Landing, his leap transformed instantly into a low Tarzan-like crouch. Without thought, Chad leaped over and landed in a similar crouching posture. Their new agility and surefootedness in the trees second nature, neither boy thought twice about the danger. Smiles crossed both boy's faces as they locked eyes and realized the feat, they'd just pulled off without even thinking. Chad chuckled a bit, in spite of his reservations. He looked down at his hands in wonder. Both were small, a boy's; dark, and rough with thick callouses. No doubt from countless similar feats in the past. "Wow." He said, " This body, its...amazing."
"I do miss my muscles. But I feel so in tune with the trees, with gravity as Ruut. " Rob replied, hand stroking through his long wavy hair. Distantly, he enjoyed the length. He'd never considered growing it out, but something about it felt great on his head. Though perhaps that was the jungle boy's thoughts seeping into his own. He wasn't sure.
"I know a path to the village through the trees." Rob said, " My brother showed it to me, its quicker than over land."
Chad couldn't help but wince at Rob's words, clearly the jungle boy influence was difficult to repress. "Your brother? "
"Yes....my brother" Rob replied "I-I don't know how I know, but I know I -er Ruut - has a brother. We fight a lot, but he's taught me countless lessons."
Chad noticed a distant stare overtaking Rob's eyes as he puzzled through his mixed memories.
Shaking his head, Rob turned to Chad, a grin punctuated with the occasional missing baby tooth, once more crossing his face.
"Ready to go?" He said. Immediately, the boy turned and leaped to a nearby vine, swinging it to a neighboring branch.
Chad, without thought, leaped from his crouch to the same vine, closely following his jungle boy companion. He trusted Ruut's brother and therefore trusted Ruut's instincts. Ruut's brother, already a man and captain of one of the hunting parties, knew his way through the trees. Hunters had to, lest the loose even a second hunting their game.
As if in tune with the steady beats of the jungle's sounds, the boys jumped from branch to branch. There was a certain music in their acrobatics, the steady thumping of the wood mixed with their breathing and the buzz of the jungle ambiance. It was almost hypnotic and as they jumped, both found it increasingly hard to keep their thoughts in order. The energy, the precision, the Fun! It was all so intoxicating. Chtok felt pride in how much he'd learned about the jungle, even if he knew he had many moons before he could match a man like Ruut's brother.
Soon the village was in view and what had been Chad following Ruut's lead quickly devolved into a race. Both boys scrambled through the treetops, their thin bodies flying through the air with ease, long hair and loin clothes flowing gracefully. High pitched laughs accompanied each leap. Branch to branch. Vine to vine. Each wordlessly committed to their race trying out do the other.
Chtok, however, had the edge. Landing in a crouched posture on a branch just outside the clearing where the village lay, he turned towards his friend and stuck out his tonge in jest. Out of breath, a flash of anger filled Ruut as he funneled all his energy into the last leap to the finish line. In his anger, however, the boy miscalculated.
His feet hit the branch slightly too far to the edge, and he stumbled. Ruut began to fall.