The feast to commemorate the success of the expedition for metal lasted three days and coincided with the initiation ceremony of Zaris and a few other young apes. Usually, Ashwin would have been astonished by such a waste of food and would have grumbled about the carefree attitude, but he mostly kept quiet. He could not freely discuss his findings on the upper floors of the nymph’s tower. After a thorough inspection and painful reflections, before leaving with the last portion of metal, Ashwin pulled the lever that he suspected would turn the “generator” off. Without power, the equipment in the facility went silent. He took the risk, but despite a positive result, he found himself looking around waiting for the nymphs to appear.

None had come for his life. All the way to the settlement, Ashwin barely slept. It just didn't make sense. Something of such great importance should not be abandoned, forgotten, and left without any means to guard or check for equipment malfunction. 'Was it in this state because there were many other "towers"? Or what if the nymphs couldn't spare anyone to watch over those facilities?' Ashwin wondered, rolling around without sleeping during the short camp rest. The latter wasn't a groundless speculation. After all, humanity was in a tough spot, draining most of its resources fighting the constant threat. Why should the situation of the nymph be any different?

Tired of all this thinking and constant expectation of vengeance from the Scaled Ones, Ashwin decided to distract himself by talking to Hegat. There was another matter that he was curious about but didn't have the opportunity to ask about before. The name that Iz uttered before he was put out of misery by Scarface.

He asked Hegat that question and soon regretted it.

"Vers is the nephew of the Main One," Hegat whispered, despite there being only two of them awake at the moment. He hesitated before continuing, "Before we were captured by humans, the leader's brother was the previous Main One. But he was killed in a challenge and his spouses and son were exiled. That's when the Choice was changed for the first time by the current Main One..."

One of the apes rolled over in its sleep, and Hegat stopped talking. But he had said enough to make Ashwin's mood even worse than before. 'Does it mean that's the reason Scarface is working so hard to strengthen his position? Well then, he shouldn't have killed his own brother in the first place.'

Watching the joyous apes, their leader's healing wound, and as Zaris endured the ants' bites, Ashwin felt more detached from this place and its creatures than ever before.

It was time to leave the apes and return to humans. Ashwin might not have had a detailed plan, but he was confident in his strength and ability to cross the grasslands and forests on his own. On the third day of the feast, when most of the troop was asleep, Ashwin finally got a chance to talk to Scarface alone. The leader of the apes was enjoying a peaceful drink. In a good mood, he patted the mat beside him, inviting the teenager to sit down.

"You did well bringing enough metal and keeping everyone safe."

Ashwin still found it hard to imagine, how the apes will adjust the metal without using any fire, but he kept these thoughts to himself.

"I'm going to leave the troop," said Ashwin straight away. He didn't see any need to sugarcoat his words. He hoped that if the Main One is going to be mad at him, at least he would keep it quiet in order not to wake everyone around. But his prediction turned out to be wrong.

"I see," uttered Scarface, "when?"

"As soon as possible," said Ashwin, feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the Main One's calm reaction. "At sunrise would be best."

"Then you better start packing and get some sleep," unperturbedly noticed Scarface.

Frowning and keeping his eyes on the ape, Ashwin rose up. He expected a long argument, or an emotional quarrel. Not this indifference. But it was a chance to finally escape from this place, and he couldn't afford to hesitate.

He started to walk towards his hut but then stopped and turned around. "It's so obvious that I can't believe I have to tell you this. You need to move your troop. Virat will not forgive your escape. He will come, and you know that?"

This was the leader's responsibility - to think about his subjects. And And watching how this basic rule was being abused made Ashwin indignant. Scarface looked at the human with the same calm attitude.

"You think it's so easy to leave your homeland? Then why do you crave to return to yours?"

He wanted to say that these two things are completely different. That his desire was far more noble and sublime than the territorial instinct of apes. But in the end all Ashwin could only say a single word, "Farewell."

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It didn't take much time to get prepared. Just a few years ago, he would imagine countless crates and bags, thinking about a journey of such length. But now, everything aside from the spear could fit in a single cloth bag. Ashwin still saved matches, as the matchbox had become a symbol of civilization for him. After the expedition to the nymph "tower", he also collected some metal parts, hoping they could be useful for his people in the future.

Despite the need for rest, he could not sleep that night. Countless thoughts, along with the excitement, kept him awake. When it became obvious that he wouldn't get a wink of sleep, Ashwin packed his things and quietly left the hut.

He tried to justify his way of leaving in his mind, but the reasons didn't sound solid, even for a teen. And yet, with each step that took him farther and farther from the troop's settlement, his mood lightened. The road back won't be easy or fast, but soon, after years of living as a savage, branded as "meat", he can finally return to humanity. For the first time in a long time, Ashwin began humming to himself, looking forward to every gift of civilization, and most of all, reuniting with people. As he reached the border, with apes' skulls on a stick, the night sky began to light up.

"Ash!"

A scream broke the peaceful silence of the early morning. Ashwin flinched. Suddenly, a feeling he hadn't thought could appear throbbed in his heart. He knew that voice and that particular way of calling his name too well. He knew who he would see the moment he turned around.

And he was right. 'That's why I left early. I didn't want to face that situation.'

"Are you really leaving?" Zaris stared at him. The ape's red eyes that Ashwin had come to hate after seeing them so many times over the last few years were looking at him with childlike naivety. The pleading tone, the look of lost and confused – all these things should have made it difficult for him to make the decision to leave.

But instead, Ashwin squeezed the spear tighter in his hand. The guilt mixed with annoyance. 'How can he ask me this? It's not like I was ever a true part of the troop or...'

"Yes," Ashwin spat out a curt answer, hoping that would be enough.

But it wasn't.

Zaris walked a bit closer, looking into human eyes. "Can't you stay?"

The questions the young ape asked sounded childish, making Ashwin frown. Zaris had passed through the ant's song and was now grown up. This manner of speaking was not becoming to him. Ashwin opened his mouth to say something, but stopped, a certain memory rising in his mind.

'Oh, I wasn't an adult either when I passed the ape's initiation.'

He looked at his "son", who was waiting for an answer, his eyes full of expectation.

"No, I can't," Ashwin put an end to this expectation. "It's not my place here. And I'm not your father, Zaris. You should go back."

To draw the final line, he turned away from Zaris. These attempts to stop him from leaving, when he finally got this chance to return to humans, made Ashwin irritated and resentful. And yet, he knew that Zaris hadn't done anything wrong. Right now, there was no other way to end this conversation, and looking at the young ape was simply too much.

The rustling sounds of footsteps moving through the grass grew further away from the teen. Ashwin stood for a moment, listening as his "son" ran back to the settlement. It was a good thing. And even better that Zaris hadn't followed him outside the apes' territory, where predators roamed.

Someone's footsteps sounded close to Ashwin. He grabbed the spear with both hands and turned around. He expected to see a wild animal or a high-ranking male, who had a grudge against "meat", but it was Ngu-gu.

Odd One stared at the weapon in Ashwin's hands. When the teen put down the spear, the ape said: "Go where sun rises. You will find endless lake. There are human's huts and small wall. I don't know much, was looking from far away. Maybe they can help."

'Humans and a wall? A settlement outside the wall - they must be outsiders.'

The thought of meeting such people was not encouraging, but it was at least a better option than simply heading to Vardana's part of the border.

"Alright. Take care, Ngu-gu."

The ape grinned and took the necklace with the animal's paw off his neck. He pushed it into the hands of the resisting human. Ashwin wanted to give it back, but the Odd One was already running back to the settlement. Looking at the strange gift, the teenager sighed and tied it to his belt. If the worst comes to the worst, maybe he can use it to start a campfire.