The young village girl, Connie, was happily humming her favorite song to herself; a song her mother all ways sang to her, "My Own Home," as she walked over to the nearby stream with a sturdy, clay jug in her arms. Connie is a young village girl with dark skin and waist-length black puffy hair; she also has a prominent nose with thick eyebrows. She wore a purple dress made of cotton with native designs sewn on, which was held together by a crimson sash; she also had a cute, garnet bindi on the center of her forehead.
Her mother is a woman of medicine, and her father is a brave hunter; Connie usually does whatever her parents instructed her to do, like fetch some fresh water from the steam; but she is secretly taught fencing and has been known as one of the best duelist ever seen by her teachers. While she'd instead be doing that right now; she knew the fresh water needed to be gathered for the crops, medicine, and drinking.
Though, she shouldn't complain too much; at least she has company in the form of the village mongoose that's sleeping on the back of her neck, whom she calls Padparadscha, due to her peach-colored fur. No one knows where Padparadscha came from; she just showed up in the village one day and acted all cheerful and kind to everyone, no one minds her staying, plus she's some friendly company to have around, even if she doesn't talk. Connie continued to hum her song as she reached the stream; kneeling near it and filling the jug up with as much water as it could carry.
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
Connie quickly shot up onto her feet as soon as she heard what sounded like laughter. The girl thought it was Onion, the villages very own prankster/anarchist just messing with her; but Padparadscha was letting out her screech-like bark, something mongooses do when actual danger is near.
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
"Who's there?" The village-girl asked; remaining still. She was trying to act intimidating by standing her ground but was terrified of whatever was stalking her.
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
Five canine-shaped animals with ruby-colored fur slowly emerged from the bushes in front of her; eyeing the girl's every move and licking their chops. Connie knew that these were hyenas, but these were different; hyenas make a habit to stay away from people, yet these hyenas looked at her with hunger in their eyes. Connie and Padparadscha remained still as they searched for every possible route of escape; Connie almost thought of jumping in the stream, but she didn't know where in the jungle it would take her.
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
Giving in to her fear, Connie made a break for the jungle; running as fast as she could while Padparadscha held onto the girl's hair for dear life as they were both pursued by the hyenas.
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
"HELP!" Steven's head popped up as he heard a scream echo through the jungle.
"What's up?" Amethyst asked her cousin.
"I think someone's in trouble. And it's close by." Steven said as he hopped to his feet. "I'll be back, soon!" The young wolf sprinted towards the nearest tree; climbing up its trunk all the way to the nearest high branch he could find.
Once on the branch, he developed a running start; leaping off the edge and clutching the nearest vine, using his weight to swing forward. He grabbed the next vine and swung; while Amethyst followed him from behind on foot. "Wait for me!"
"Somebody, help!" Connie screamed as she continued sprinting; focusing on everything that was in front of her and tuning out the laughing barks that followed. She leaped over large bushes, made her way past dangling vines and ducked low hanging and broken branches. However, this didn't stop the hyenas' pursuit of her. She's nearly tripped several times as she kept on running without taking a single moment to think about where she was going. The young girl lost her footing and fell face first onto the ground.
[Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!] [Hehehe!]
One of the larger hyenas, most likely the leader, caught up with the girl and was slowly approaching her with a malicious grin on its hound-like face. Connie backed up and felt her hand bump into something, a long stick from the feel of it. The beast leaped at the girl, but Connie instinctively grabbed the long piece of wood and swung it across the animal's face; disorienting and making it whimper in pain. Connie took this time to hop to her feet and put distance between the animal. She eventually came across a small gorge; under the influence of adrenaline, she thought that she could make it.
Connie ran and ran as fast as she could, and thought she was close enough to jump. However, she didn't build up enough speed nor used enough strength; as she began to feel the sensation of falling. She closed her eyes to await her inevitable end, but found that her body was still "falling." Connie opened her eyes and discovered she was soaring off the ground; she gasped and screamed in surprise for a moment and looked up to see a boy around her age carrying her in one arm as he swung from the vines using the other. The young village girl looks behind her and sees the hyenas have given up their chase; turning around and leaving.
Connie looked down and gasped, as she saw the ground pass by her like she was sprinting; but... not sprinting at the same time. She felt her body bounced as her mysterious savior, or kidnapper swung from the next vine. As they continued swinging from vine to vine; Connie saw the tops of the trees in a completely different way, saw monkeys hanging from the branches, and birds feeding their chicks in nests. Birds and monkeys were a common sight in the jungle, but she'd never seen them the way she is now; she doubts that anyone has seen them like this.
"Woah!" Connie gasped again as she felt an abrupt stop. She looked around and realized that she was sitting on a branch; one that was way off the ground. The girl let out a yip and gulped as she scooted herself all the way to the trunk of the tree.
"You. Safe?" Connie turned her head to the boy who appeared in front of her; seemingly out of nowhere.
The boy had shoulder hair that was messy and curly, going down to his shoulders. His skin was lighter than usual when compared to the people from her village; he must be a foreigner. An old-looking loincloth was the only piece of clothing he had on; the rest of his large, slightly toned body was left exposed. He had vines wrapped around his upper-half; using them to hold… a sword? And a shield? Strange.
"You. Safe?" The boy said again in his broken language; pointing at the girl. "You. Safe?"
"Yes…" Connie nervously said. "I'm safe."
"Good. Good." The boy replied.
[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]
Connie and the mysterious boy turn to the sound; where she sees a purple wolf barking at them from the ground.
"Amethyst." The boy said to the wolf.
[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]
"Me. Good." The boy replied to the animal. "She. Safe. Hyena. Group. Attacking."
[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]
"Me. Sorry. You. Worry." The boy said again; sounding like he was apologizing. Connie groaned to herself with worry; for all she knows, she's stuck in a tree with a crazy, feral boy that talks to wolves.
"Look, I know you didn't want her to get hurt!" Amethyst loudly began. "But what are you planning to do now? You dragged her deeper into the jungle."
"She was scared and in danger; I couldn't sit by and do nothing!" Steven protested.
"Thank you… for saving us." An innocent sounding voice said as Steven turned to the girl; he then sees a mongoose scurry out of her hair and rush over to the boy.
"Oh, hello," Steven said. "I didn't notice that you were with her."
"I was hiding… so…" The mongoose admitted. "I'm Padparadscha."
"Pad… pa… rad… scha?" Steven said, making sure he was pronouncing the name right.
"Yes." The mongoose said. "But most of the man-villagers call me Paddy."
"Man-villagers?" Steven questioned.
"Oh, I live in the man-village with Connie and her family." Padparadscha innocently explained as he looked back at her man-villager companion. "They're nice."
[Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!]
"She. Connie?" The boy questioned the mongoose; pointing at Connie.
[Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!]
'So, he doesn't just speak a broken language, but also speaks wolf, and mongoose.' Connie thought to herself as she looked at the strange conversation happening right in front of her. 'Who is this boy?'
"Um, excuse me…" Connie began, catching the boy's attention. "Who… are you?"
"Me. Steven." The boy introduced himself; tapping his chest. "You. Connie." Steven further said, pointing at the girl.
"How do you know my name?" Connie nervously asked.
"Padparadscha. Tell. Steven." Steven began. "Padparadscha. Tell. Steven. You. Connie."
"You… understand her?" Connie asked with intrigue; crawling closer to the wild boy.
"Me. Understand. All. Animals." Steven said. "Me. Understand. Wolf. Me. Understand. Mongoose. Me. Understand. Man-villager."
"Man-villager?" Connie asked.
"You. Connie. Man-villager." Steven said.
"Oh, you mean someone from my village. Correct?" Connie asked again.
"Yes. You. Connie. Man-villager." Steven said.
"And what villager are you from?" Connie asked. "You had to have come from somewhere."
"Me. No. Man-village." Steven said. "Me. Pack. Home. Wolfpack. Home."
[Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!] [Arf!]
Connie looked down to see the wolf, whom Steven earlier referred to as Amethyst, barking at the tree. "Are you telling me you live with wolves?"
"Me. Man-villager. No. Me. Wolf. Steven. Wolf."
"This… is fascinating. A boy raised by wolves." Connie said; about to say something else but stopped as a thought popped into her head. "Wait, if wolves raised you. Then where did you learn to swing like a gorilla?"
"Topaz. And. Topaz." Steven said. "Topaz. And. Topaz. Gorillas. Topaz. And. Topaz. Train. Steven. Train. Swing."
This doesn't sound like wolves raise him; it's like the entire jungle raised this boy. "This is just amazing." Connie honestly said. "But… if it's not any trouble. Can you take Padparadscha and me back to the man-village, please? My family is probably worried about us. And it's getting late…"
[Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!] [Sqreech!]
"Not. Now." Steven said to the girl. "Jungle. Night. Dangerous. Journey. Man-village. Dangerous. Now."
Connie has heard stories about how dangerous the jungle is at night; Steven probably knows that better than anyone. And she didn't consider how exhausted he must be from carrying her and her plus one. She might be better off waiting until morning. "Then where am I going to stay?"
"You can stay with me and the pack," Steven told Connie. "I'm sure Pink will let you."
"I'm sorry, did I just hear that right?" Amethyst shouted from the ground. "You want to take her to the Heera Pack? Aunt Yellow won't be happy about that."
"I know, but where else am I going take her?" Steven asked his cousin.
"Well from where I'm sitting, that tree looks comfy!" Amethyst replied.
"We're not leaving her in the tree!" Steven stated.
"Steven, this is a terrible idea!" Amethyst said.
"I know, but I'm not going to let her freeze up here!" Steven said.
"Uh, fine!" Amethyst replied. "But I'm not getting in trouble over this, okay!"
"I'll take full responsibility for her!" Steven said.
Steven turned back to Connie. "Me. Know. Place. You. Stay."
"You know somewhere we can stay for the night?" Connie asked the boy for some clarification.
"Steven. Home." Steven said. "You. Come. Steven. Home."
"To your home, with the wolves?" Connie asked again. "Well, I guess it would be better than out here."
Without saying anything else, Steven slung Connie over his shoulder and allowed Padparadscha to climb up his arm to his neck; before he climbed down from the tree to join Amethyst. Whatever happens next, Connie will have one heck of a tale to tell when she returns home.
