*Rayna meets the Vultures and Rocky*
In another part of the jungle, the sky had turned into a dark gray. Thunder sounded in the distance in a wasteland. Nothing grew in these parts except for tall grass and barren trees. There were also many rocks and pools of swampy water. In the center of it all was a barren tree with four vultures perched on the top branch. Their names were Buzzie, Ziggy, Dizzy, and Flaps. As they were perched on the branch while cleaning their feathers or stood around looking bored, Buzzie yawned. He soon turned to Flaps and nudged him.
"Oi Flaps, what are we gonna do?"
"I don't know." Flaps answered with a shrug, facing Buzzie. "What'cha wanna do?"
"I've got it!" Ziggy spoke. "Let's flap over to the east side of the jungle. They've always got a bit of action, a bit of a swinging scene. All right?"
"Ah come off it, Ziggy." Buzzy replied. "Things are right and dead all over."
"Ah you mean you wish they were, eh Buzzy?" Ziggy responded. As he said this, the vultures laughed except for Dizzy.
"Very funny." He spoke. Soon, Buzzy turned his attention back to Flaps.
"Okay." He said. "So, what are we gonna do?"
"I don't know." Flaps replied. "What'cha wanna do?"
"Look Flaps." Buzzie said irritated. "First I say, 'What are we gonna do.' Then you say, 'I don't know, what'cha wanna do?' When I say, 'What are we gonna do' you say 'I don't know what'cha wanna do?' 'What are we gonna do,' 'What'cha wanna do?' Let's do something!"
"Okay." Flaps said in response. "What'cha wanna do?" Buzzie sighed.
"There you again mate, the same notes again."
"I got it!" Ziggy said. "This time I really got it."
"So, you got it?" Buzzie said to him, "So what are we gonna do?"
"Hold it lads." Dizzy said as he spotted something below them. "Look. Look what's coming our way." The vultures looked over what Dizzy is looking at and couldn't believe what they are seeing. A teenage girl wandering around the wasteland. She looked like she is around 16. Scars over her eye. She is no other than Rayna, the girl-cub raised by the wolves.
"Hey! What in the world is that?" Flaps asked.
"What a crazy looking bag of bones." Buzzie spoke. "No fur. No scales. Nothing."
"Wait! I know what that is, fellas!" Ziggy said with a smile. "Did you remember hearing the rumors about a girl-cub living with the wolves in the jungle seasons ago? This is her!"
"Blimey! You're kidding!" Buzzie replied in shock. "So, that's what a man's cub looked like!"
"And what is she doing all the way out here?" Flaps wondered. They noticed the girl is holding a dead rabbit in her hand by the ears. Seems like she just went hunting.
"Come on, lads! Let's have some fun with this little one!" Ziggy said, pushing his friends off the branch and they spread their wings to fly towards Rayna. The girl noticed them and gripped on her rabbit with a look.
"Hello!" The vultures greeted in the barbershop quartet tone. Rayna raised her eyebrow at them with caution. Flaps smiled and grabbed one of her legs.
"Blimey! She's got legs of a stork!" He said. Rayna pulled her leg away.
"Like a stork? She's got no feathers!" Buzzie laughed. The other vultures laughed along. Rayna is not amused.
"Laugh all you want. I'm no bird. Just a girl-cub raised by wolves." Rayna spoke. "Let me pass."
"Ah, don't be hostile, kid. We were only playing around. It's just we've never seen a man's cub around here. Hardly seen 'em." Buzzie replied.
"Well now you've seen one. Me. Now, I have places to be." Rayna said, walking pass the vultures with her meal.
"Why don't you stick around a bit? We'd like to get to know you, stork legs!" Flaps said. Rayna made a look of annoyance.
"You guys ain't worth my time." She told them.
"Well, we may not be worth it," Buzzie said to her in response. "But our buddy Rocky sure is, just be lucky he's not around these parts just yet."
"Rocky?" Rayna wondered as she turned to the vultures. "Who's Rocky?"
"Rocky's our close personal friend," Dizzy replied. "He's like a bodyguard almost."
"Bodyguard?" Rayna repeated. She doesn't know what creature Rocky would be, but he sounds dangerous.
"You'll know soon enough, girl-cub." Flaps said. He gestured the rock behind him and the vultures. "Just climb up that huge rock over there."
"And you'll see Rocky." Dizzy spoke.
"Go ahead." Flaps said. "Unless you're afraid."
"Who said I was afraid? Let me find this Rocky and show you who's afraid!" Rayna said with a look. Prepared to make these vultures eat their words, Rayna placed her rabbit down and climbed up the boulder. She made it to the top and look around the wasteland.
"Why don't you just say that you're not afraid of Rocky?" Ziggy yelled to her.
"I'm not afraid of Rocky!" Rayna told the vultures with a look.
"Say that again!" Buzzy called up to her. "And louder, so everyone can hear you."
"I said I'M NOT AFRAID OF ROCKY!" Rayna called down. As soon as she said this, the boulder she was standing on started to rumble and shake. Then it started to snort and bellow. Rayna let out a cry of alarm as she realized that she is sitting on the rhino. She soon figured out that this was Rocky. Rocky soon snorted and angrily. Rayna remained silent and still as the rhino spoke.
"Duh, eh, who said he ain't afraid of Rocky?"
"She did." Buzzie said to Rocky pointing at Rayna. However, Rocky didn't see where Buzzie pointed at and just looked around.
"I'LL CLOBBER HER!" Rocky shouted snorting. Rayna gulped and shivered as she held onto his back.
"Don't worry lass, he ain't got all his marbles." Buzzie assured Rayna.
"Marbles?" Rayna asked in confusion.
"I have too got all my marbles." Rocky said, "Just listen!" With that, he shook his head back and forth violently making a hollow rattling sound. Chuckling, Rocky responded. "Big ones ain't they?"
"What did I tell you?" Buzzie said to Rayna. The girl jumped off the rhino's back without any warning. Rocky caught a whiff of her scent and snorted.
"I smell a man's cub!" Rocky said as he sniffed and snorted the air then turning to Rayna. "Ah, there you are! You don't look so tough!" Rocky said with a smirk. Rocky soon drew a line in the sand and smiled mischievously at her.
"Oh stork legs! He's challenging you to a fight!" Ziggy said with excitement.
"You should do it!" Buzzie excitingly said.
"What?" Rayna cried out. "No way! I'm not here to challenge him!"
"Aw come on, step across...I dare you!" Rocky said. "You know you want to."
"I'm pretty sure I don't want to!" Rayna said, crossing her arms. Ziggy gave the vultures a wink and instantly push Rayna over the line plopping her on the ground. Rayna quickly got on her feet and soon saw Rocky angrily snorting and backing up while rearing his head and digging his feet in the dirt. As the girl saw Rocky starting to gear up for some action, the vultures soon got ready for the show they've been waiting for. Rocky soon charged after Rayna. The girl leaped out of the way to avoid the attack. Rocky tried to slow down, but he bashed into the vultures. Three of them made it out, but Flaps was not as lucky. Flaps soon got a poke in the butt from Rocky's long horn and was flung the opposite way, though he wasn't hurt.
"Watch it, lad!" Flaps yelled at the rhino.
"Sorry buddy! That girl-cub is fast!" Rocky said.
"Don't worry Rocky," Ziggy said. "There's going to be a round 2 to this fight!" Rayna heard this and made a look. This is crazy. Why do they want to do this?
"Round 2? Fine. I'm gonna win this one." Rayna said to herself as she got ready. She saw that the big rhino was picking up so much speed and angrily staring at her down. Rayna waited for the right moment until Rocky was close enough. And she rolled out of the way and...CRASH! Rocky soon slammed headfirst right into a rock wall and thudded loudly onto the ground. Rayna got up from the ground and see the dizzy rhino got up into a seating position. The tip of his horn looked bent. Before Rayna could comment on her victory, Rocky started to sob and cry.
"My horn! Oh, my horn! It's bent!" Rocky cried. "And my face hurts!" Rayna started to feel sorry for the poor rhino. She walked up to him.
"Are...you okay?" She asked.
"My face hurts and my horn is bent. You didn't have to hit me so hard."
"But I didn't hit you. I got out of the way so you wouldn't kill me." Rayna corrected him, placing her hands on her hips.
"Well, at least I still got my marbles." Rocky said, shaking his head. Rayna couldn't help but to laugh and patted the side of his face gently.
"You'll be alright." She told him. Rocky laughed along with her. The vultures couldn't believe this. Rayna won the challenge. She is very clever.
"Well I'll be." Flaps spoke. "The girl punched Rocky right off the scene!"
"We have a new champion, lads." Dizzy said. The vultures flew down where Rayna and Rocky are. The girl gave the vultures a glare.
"Haven't you all done enough?" She asked. "Thanks to you guys, his horn is bent. Now I'm responsible for it."
"That was really impressive, lass." Buzzie said.
"What?" Rayna asked. "You mean...?"
"Look, we never wanted to hurt ya. We just want some excitement around here that's all." Ziggy told her.
"Well, I could've gotten hurt, but didn't." Rayna said to the vultures. "That was way out of the line. Don't you know the jungle law? We be of one blood-"
"Yeah, we're aware." Flaps said, cutting her off. "But like Ziggy said, we don't mean any harm to you. It's just that nobody wants us around because...you know, we're the vultures. We do have feelings, you know?" Rayna stared at the vultures and Rocky. The vultures can be dangerous birds in the jungle, but these guys aren't so bad. Some predators can be friendly. Rayna can't be angry at them for putting her on the spot to challenge Rocky.
"I suppose I can forgive you for this." She said.
"What's your name, kid?" Buzzie asked. "I am Buzzie."
"Dizzy."
"Ziggy."
"Flaps."
"And Rocky. Hehe." The rhino giggled. Rayna smiled at the group.
"I'm Rayna."
And so, Rayna had become friends with the vultures and Rocky. Rayna told them that she went out on a hunt on her own and caught herself a rabbit and stray away from the jungle to explore the wasteland. Though she knew she must return to the wolves' hunting grounds before she gets into trouble with her father or Bagheera. Rayna grabbed the rabbit and ready to leave.
"We'd like to see you again, stork legs!" Ziggy called to her. Rayna shook her head at the nickname.
"Looking forward to it. It's been fun." Rayna said, waving goodbye to her new friends.
"You know, she ain't bad." Dizzy said as he watched her leave. "She brought excitement around here."
"My horn may be bent, but at least she is very nice and never tried to hurt me more." Rocky spoke.
"So, what are we gonna do?" Buzzie asked.
"I don't know- Oh, don't start that again!" Flaps replied with a look. The others began to laugh at the two.