A/N: I wanted to start off this chapter by saying this: I have been suffering from a stomach bug recently, and I have been feeling very drained and weak. I also have some brain fog as well now that it is thankfully going away, so it may take a bit for me to get back into the swing of things. However, I'm not going to let all of ya hanging and waiting for a new chapter. This chapter is going to be a new take on the Rudyard Kipling story of In the Rukh, and it will serve as one of two filler chapters as we head into the next arc. I initially planned on it being a long chapter, but it may end up being short due to me feeling drained and tired. I'll still do my best, I give each story and chapter I write my all for you guys :)- KaijuCrazy02
The war against the brutish Bhediya Khan and his powerful legions have finally came to an end.
The dholes have proclaimed victory when in reality they ultimately lost the war, Maximus and Neo returned home with what remained of the legions after the grueling battle that saw all of Mowgli's fighting force to put their death, and even a few of his closest allies.
As Mowgli returns to his home life in the Man-Village, he decides to prepare his younger brother, Ranjan, for a life in the jungle as he had dreamed of for years after Mowgli consistently told him of the many tales of the jungle.
However, a new threat is starting to loom over the jungle, one that had been flexing it's muscle for decades at this point, the mighty British Raj. Several chunks of the jungle are being stripped away so the royal military could plant their outposts to observe the land.
Private Gisborne has been temporarily removed from Toomai's Village after being one of the British troops stationed at it, now he is responsible for a whole section of forest, or what the native villagers call a rukh. Little does Gisborne know that he is about to come face to face with the legend of the jungle himself, Mowgli...
(Chapter 42: In the Rukh)
Sitting in a comfortable position on a fancy red cloth sofa was none other than Private Gisborne, smoking a pipe after a long day of work in the rukh as it's warden. So often did he ride on horseback through it, observing the lands as he had been instructed to by his superiors.
He was gifted a bungalow, which was a nice looking house compared to all of the smaller huts within the small village he was now stationed at. He formerly worked at the location of Toomai's Village with all the other cruel troops, but he wanted to have a home all to himself, Gisborne considered himself the smartest of them all, and he was certainly the most respectful of them all.
Even though Gisborne was a fairly pleasant man to the native villagers, a few of them still worked under him as servants. There was two grooms, a cook, a water carrier, and a sweeper. Abdul Gafur, was currently cooking him a nice meal in the kitchen of his bungalow.
"Long day!?" Gafur called out, Gisborne took in the amazing aroma of the meat cooking in the kitchen. The British troop didn't hear his heavy set butler calling out to him at first.
"Eh hem...long day!?" Gafur called out again, twice as loud, jolting Gisborne awake from his trance.
"Oh, yeah. The rains have made the ground all filthy. The humidity is dreadful..." The British troop said before taking another smoke from his pipe.
The dense forests and jungles were horrid when it would rain, the human skin would become sticky and hot with sweat due to the intense humidity of the locations. The natives and various animals of the jungle were used to it, however these British troops and other superiors weren't as they had their own ways of commanding the air back at their home in England or across the UK.
"Hah! Such is life here in India my friend!" Gafur chuckled as he turned over the meat on the pan in the kitchen, the steam that was coming off of the stove making some sweat bead up on his forehead.
"Yeah, it's sink or swim for us." Gisborne complained, suddenly a pounding came to his front door, and he went to answer it. The pounding sounded like it was desperate, as if someone was begging to come in, or someone was furious at him for some reason.
When Gisborne opened the door, it was revealed to be a messenger, a runner, he had brought news to the private that a guard was laying dead by the Kanye stream.
When he was asked about the appearance of the dead guard, the runner described that the side of his head had been completely crushed like an eggshell, with several puncture wounds being located on it as if powerful jaws had slain him.
"I will emerge at dawn to start a proper investigation." Gisborne would reply before sending the runner on his way, a tiger had been performing hit and run attacks on the village.
The next morning, at dawn, just as Gisborne had promised, left the bungalow on foot to the location of the fallen guard. Two to three men accompanied him as they stood over the corpse where a widow was crying hysterically, he must have been her husband.
"The Red One has come for us." One of the men spoke as he examined the paw tracks on the moist ground that was leading into the jungle, patches of blood filling up the marks to give them a distinct, dark red coloring as the blood mixed in with the watery soil.
"I didn't think it would target men, we must find it at once." Another troop growled hatefully, despising the big cat for it's crimes against humanity.
"It sleeps nearby on the rocks behind the sal trees." Said Gisborne under his breath.
"We shouldn't move, perhaps he is still within the village, hunting others down. Hell, he may have moved on to another hut." Another hunter grumbled, looking over his shoulder.
"Who is this?" One of the three hunters that joined Gisborne asked, all of them turned to face the person that the hunter in particular was talking about.
Emerging from the tall brush was a man, whose muscles were toned in appearance. His hair was long and wet as if he had just washed it off, and he had a small, well kept beard. He stood naked with the exception of his loincloth in which was crowned with the wreath of the blossoms of a white creeper, he also wore primitive looking shoes as if they had came straight out of the stone age. The man carried with him a prickly pear in one hand, and a spear in the other.
"I am Mowgli of the Seeonee Hills, I overheard you speaking of a tiger that is causing you trouble. I have knowledge in dealing with tigers that bring chaos to villages, may I be of some help?" The man asked, his eyes directing themselves up at a British flag, and then staring right at Gisborne.
Another one of these British people, Mowgli thought to himself, remembering what he had witnessed at Toomai's village months upon months ago. His grip tightened on the spear he held as he took a bite out of the prickly pear.
"Great to meet you, Mowgli. From what village do you come from? You seem to be less clothed than the villagers here..." Gisborne asked, Mowgli smirked at this question.
"I come from no village, all my life, I have wandered and lived in these jungles. I have slain things that have attempted to harm me, and have devoured game like the animals." Mowgli lied, not waning to reveal the whereabouts of his village.
"Very well then, you must be experienced with hunting. Perhaps you can help my men track this tiger down, and kill it?" Gisborne requested of Mowgli, the man nodded his head.
"The tiger has gone to drink, and sleeps just beyond that hill. Come with me, Englishman, and we shall strike it down together." Mowgli replied with a gentle smile as he pointed to the area that the tiger was last spotted.
All within the snap of a finger and within the blink of an eye, Mowgli darted away into the jungle, causing Gisborne and the three other men to give chase as quick as they could after him as he swung on vines, hopped over fallen logs, slid beneath leaning trees that were on the verge of falling, and bolted through the underbrush with the quickness of a cat!
The Englishmen struggled to catch up with him, by the time they finally got within a few feet of Mowgli, he would only get further away. It took a good few minutes, but eventually the agonizing jungle walkabout was over when they finally received the order to stop from Mowgli, who turned around with his hand outstretched.
As the five men peered over a rock near a tiny pool by the side of a rocky hill, they all noticed a large tigress resting in the shade underneath a tree. Her tongue lapping at the water, upon closer inspection, Mowgli realized that this tigress was none other than Sundar Ek, the same tigress who had helped him fight against the legions of Bhediya Khan over the course of the red dog war.
Why would she be attacking men without telling me? Mowgli thought to himself before noticing the four other men taking aim at the striped feline with their hunting rifles, Mowgli lowered Gisborne's.
"Don't." The man said to the forest ranger, Gisborne raised an eyebrow.
"Mowgli, that tiger has been causing the village issues by taking down other Englishmen." The private trooper said, his voice filled with confusion.
"Not tiger, tigress." Mowgli corrected as he patted Gisborne on the back before climbing over the rocks, heading down towards Sundar to have a small conversation with her.
"Mowgli, wait. You're going to get yourself killed..." A hunter tried to growl out to him, to no success.
"Mowgli, what brings you here?" Sundar asked as she noticed her good friend approaching her as he took a bite out of the prickly pear.
"I heard some commotion at the nearby village, come to find out, you've been responsible." Mowgli replied as he got into a kneeling position next to her, gently scratching the underside of her jaw, causing her eyes to shut as it caused her pleasure.
"I have been having some visions in my sleep, the British will start to threaten our home soon. Every animal seems worried, when I see a flag, I attack." Sundar responded, explaining her reasoning for attacking the village close by.
"This is not good hunting, Sundar. These British people are better than the ones we've encountered or those that I've heard of, leave these folks be, my friend." Mowgli said calmly.
"I cannot help myself, my friend. I know what I watch in my visions, and the things I see in my dreams. I've spoken to my father about the matter, and he tells me that he sees no future once the war begins." The tigress warned her former leader.
Mowgli sighed and looked down, Shere Khan had told him the same thing in his pseudo-sleep episode before the climactic battle against Bhediya and his legions in the last battle of the war.
"Your father told me the same thing, but he also told me that he couldn't see the end of the war. So if one does break out, have confidence that we can still wi-" Mowgli was cut off by Sundar.
"I'm trying to prevent a war from breaking out, the entire fighting force was destroyed when we fought against the dholes. It will take some time for it to rebuild itself to former glories." Sundar tried to argue, trying to justify her attacks on the village nearby.
"Relax, Sundar. I've seen what the British can do when I visited Toomai several moons ago, they treat even the men harshly. Or those that I have witnessed, if a war breaks out, it won't just be animals fighting humans, it will be the entire jungle. A unification never seen before between man and beast." Mowgli replied, rubbing the top of the feline's head gently.
Meanwhile, Gisborne and the three other men watched on in shock of what they were seeing. How was this man speaking to the tigress, and why wasn't she attacking him on sight...?
"Fine, I'll listen to you. You're the only man I've ever had the courage of getting close with." The tigress purred as she gently nudged her head into his with a sweet smile.
"Thanks. However I ask of you to give these people a chance at this village, I ask of you to stop attacking them. People can change, just like your father." Mowgli replied, Sundar's smile grew brighter as she then licked his face gently, causing Mowgli to chuckle.
"Thanks, Mowgli." Sundar said cheerfully before heading away from the area to calm Gisborne and the others down, Mowgli looked back up at the four men before returning to them.
Mowgli's charm to the tigress astonished Gisborne, and made him believe the man to be very reliable on the creatures of the jungle, and even the land itself. Over the next few weeks, the legend of the jungle proved himself to be a man of wonder as he done things that no other human could easily do.
One week, Mowgli drove a Nilgai bull with ease in front of Gisborne, who watched him with awestruck expressions. The next week, Mowgli brought a lost mare out from the jungle that was a couple miles away from Gisborne's neck of the woods, much to the surprise of Abdul Gafur, who began to fear Mowgli and accuse him of witchcraft, which became a conspiracy theory among the other inhabitants of the village, and the legend of Mowgli began to spread to the British now.
A man known as Muller would eventually arrive after hearing of the many tales of Mowgli that had been spread like wildfire throughout the villages and British outposts, and Gisborne along with Muller would find out that Mowgli was raised among the wolves after he revealed his markings that he received when he was a young child by the pups who playfully nibbled on his softer flesh several years ago.
Muller was the head of the Department of Wood and Forests of all India, so he was the top of the forest rangers and organizations. When he began to spread word of Mowgli, he became a legend like Bigfoot is in America, Mowgli became an anomaly.
After Mowgli proved Muller wrong about his suspicions, his name was quickly covered up by the British government, and close eye was kept on any developing stories on the legend of the jungle.
Mowgli was eventually offered a spot as a park ranger by Muller, that to which he accepted. The man would accept under one term, that he served under Gisborne, who he had become close friends with over the weeks and months that had gone by.
Several people didn't like Mowgli, they accused him of witchcraft for him to know so much about the animals, and how he communicated with them like he was talking to them as if they spoke human tongue. One of those people was Abdul, whose hatred of Mowgli got under Gisborne's skin...
One night, it would reach a boiling point.
Private Gisborne suddenly woke up to see Abdul Gafur standing at the foot of his bed, his teeth were gritted, and his hands were gripping the bed posts at the foot of the bed tightly. He cussed beneath his breath, and such is what woke the British troop and forest ranger awake!
"Up, get up-" He started, motioning for Gisborne to rise from the bed in a rapid motion with his arms, waving them up furiously.
"Wh-what?" Gisborne stuttered sluggishly after being awakened during the midnight hour, it was then that his hunting rifle was thrusted into his hands by the distraught butler.
"Kill me, that Mowgli hellspawn has taken my daughter into the woods. Who knows what he will do with her..." Abdul growled as he grabbed hold of Gisborne's wrist, and forcefully pulled him out of the bed.
"Hey, let go!" The forest ranger barked as he felt himself get tugged from his bed and onto the carpet floor with a thud.
Gisborne was not ready to be suddenly jolted awake, he was in his sleepwear, which consisted of a long silky coat and long pants, no socks.
He followed Abdul towards where he witnessed Mowgli take his daughter to, and they eventually encountered Mowgli after walking down a path. The path would end in a semicircular glade walled slightly by tall grass, and to the other side by trees. In the middle sat Mowgli, playing a fruit with Abdul's daughter sitting with him. She was around the age of ten. Mowgli was playing a flute, with young wolves dancing on their hind legs and howling rhythmically to the tune.
"See, look at his devils. He's lured my daughter to a death trap." Abdul growled, motioning for Gisborne to shoot at Mowgli.
After Mowgli completed his tune, the wolves dropped down and lay still, silently grumbling gently as they stared upon Abdul's daughter with curiosity.
"Behold, little one, there is no such thing to fear. Your father has filled your mind with things that aren't true about me and the jungle, I come to the village only to provide help. I was raised in the jungle from when I was very young up until I was your age, all of those years, raised by the animals that could take ones life. I became the leader of their pack, and now all animals of the jungle respect me as their leader when they need me the most. I can teach you how I learned to speak with the animals, and how to gain their trust and respect." Mowgli said softly.
"I would love to learn such things, my father isn't one for people like you. He doesn't like the new people." The young girl cooed as she nestled up next to Mowgli.
Abdul was about to charge Mowgli from afar, but when he attempted to, Gisborne held up his hand with a stern look crossing his face.
"Unless you want to get torn apart by those wolves you call 'demons' then I suggest that you stand down." The British troop warned.
Mowgli chuckled at the girl's desire to learn how to communicate with the animals, but something caused her to fall silent.
"The jungle also contains other beasts, vile beasts that want only to devour our goats, cattle, and other resources." The girl shuddered, Mowgli chuckled softly as he patted the girl on the top of her head.
"Relax, as I've previously stated, I hold the power over all the animals of the jungle. From these wolves that sit before us, to the bears, to the tigers, to the snakes. I have control over them all. You are safe, and your safety is confirmed when you learn the ways of the jungle. I will teach you the laws of the jungle." Mowgli reassured her, the young girl could only imagine how amazing it would be to have every single animal tamed!
"Please teach me your ways, I would be honored to walk safely in the jungle one day." The young girl pleaded, Abdul's eyes twitched and he let out a furious scream as he marched back to the bungalow, ranting and raving.
"I take my leave for now, little one. Meet me here after two nights worth of waiting, I shall begin your lessons." Mowgli said as he vanished into the jungle, the wolves following after him.
The young girl sat there bewildered, but awestruck at the stories that Mowgli had told her. Some of the stories she couldn't believe, but after Mowgli had the wolves dancing while he played a tune with his bamboo flute, she couldn't help but wonder if what he told her was the truth.
When Mowgli would return after every two nights would pass, the same situation would occur, Abdul getting comically angry at the situation while Gisborne had to hold him back as the young girl was taught everything Mowgli learned about the jungle.
When Muller returned, Mowgli was sworn in as a park ranger. His first human job outside of tending to his village! Through his work as a park ranger, he understood the softer side of the British Raj from Private Gisborne, and learned that not every one was a terrible person unlike what the animals believed due to their visions in their dreams.
The young girl was given a nickname by Mowgli, naming her Vashte, which meant 'brave' in the language of the animals. While he didn't know her real name, he thought that Vashte was a fitting name for an otherwise small child who was brave enough to want to head into the jungle alone, and it was something that Mowgli deeply respected.