*Chapter 2: New Man-Cub*

Grey and Evak left the cave as soon as the morning sun arrived in the sky. Evak made sure he got everything he needed. He left his shirt behind, but still got his shorts and boots on. The jungle is so hot. He doesn't know how Rayna handled it for years. He could learn something from her when he sees her in person. Evak is nervous but excited about this journey.

"It's too bad you don't have those who could look after you at your home. Were you just alone all this time?" Grey asked.

"Pretty much. I do anything to survive in the city. I steal food and make a run for it. Until Samesh came along. I made a mistake trying to rob him." Evak explained. "So, that was when the visions of Rayna come in. She's my only hope."

"Well, you are welcome to live in that man village and someone will look after you. And you can visit the jungle anytime." Grey said with a smile.

"That'd be great." Evak responded. They walked through the grassland to see the water buffalos grazing. Evak groaned and held his head. Grey turned to him with concern. "This place..." Evak spoke. He started to see the vision of Rayna running away from Shere Khan in the grassland. Evak opened his eyes. "The tiger ambushed Rayna, the squrriel, and the panther here. What was his name again?"

"That was Shere Khan." Grey replied. "He's been wanting to kill Rayna for seasons. He hates man so much. He killed my father to get Rayna to come back to our part of the jungle."

"I'm sorry about your dad." Evak said with a frown as they walk pass the buffalos. "Shere Khan thinks he owns this jungle, huh?"

"You could say that. But he is no ruler when he breaks some laws of the jungle. We are not allowed to kill humans or feast on them."

"What if they try to kill you? What then?"

"We fight back. There are poacher traps around the jungle, but we always had help. Evie was once trapped in the poacher trap and Elias and Rayna got her out." Grey explained.

"Evie?"

"The red-tailed boa. If you bump into her, she will give hugs. Good ones though." Grey chuckled.

XX

After traveling for a while, they rest by the river. Grey is drinking cold water while Evak is swimming in the river, floating on his back. Evak looked up at the blue sky to see tree branches and some birds flying by. Grey watched him with a content smile. His right ear twitched when he heard a noise. He turned to see a crocodile slowly approaching Evak.

"Evak, look out!" Grey shouted. Evak shot his head up and turned to see the open-mouthed crocodile right behind him. Evak reacted quickly by kicking it in the snout. The crocodile growled and shook his head. Grey growled at him. "Mugger! He's just a man-cub! Leave him be!" He said.

"He is lunch, wolf! A meal is a meal." Mugger spoke with a sneer in his eyes. Evak made it to shore and look back at the angry crocodile.

"We are only passing through. Find a meal that is not human. That is the jungle law!" Grey says as he moved in front of Evak.

"I don't see a reason for yer to care so much about humans! Just because that Rayna was part of your pack, doesn't mean she will always be the same human you once knew. They turn on you."

"Go!" Grey barked. Mugger scoffed and swam off. He moved his tail to splash Grey and Evak. Grey shook the water off his fur. "Better watch your back around certain parts of the jungle. There are those who find humans a good meal. Rayna had many close calls before." He said.

"Was Mugger as bad as Shere Khan?" Evak wondered.

"Threatening, but he's no better than that tiger. Mugger is one tough croc. Be careful around him. He doesn't hold back when he fights. Let's continue on. The village is still miles away." Grey said. They started to walk across the log. Evak grips on the bag. That was a close one. He could've gotten eaten by Mugger. Grey and Evak made it across the river and hear voices above the trees.

"Hey, isn't that Grey Brother?"

"And who is the man-cub? Is he new?"

"Hey, Grey! We missed you, man! Who's your new friend?"

"Is he part of the pack too?" Grey sighed in annoyance as he continued walking. Evak looked up at the monkeys swinging around the trees.

"Who are they?" Evak asked.

"Don't ask." Grey replied in a low voice. But one monkey jumped down.

"We are the Bandar-Log, man-cub! We serve King Louie! Say, do you wanna meet him?" He asked. But Grey growled at the monkey, making him scurry up to the tree. "Whoa! Easy there, wolf! We are not trouble!"

"Don't bother us, you crazy monkeys. We are on our way to the man village." Grey told the monkeys. "Evak, stay by me at all times. These monkeys are full of trouble."

"What's wrong with trouble?" Another monkey spoke. Grey and Evak ignored them and hurried through the jungle.

Bagheera jumped from branch to branch on his own. He is above the river as sounds of the jungle is heard around him. But a blue bird started to chirp in the sky. Bagheera is confused but listened to the words. The bird is telling the jungle about a man-cub with a wolf. Bagheera thought he must've misheard it but there is no mistaking it. A man-cub is in the jungle with a wolf. But what wolf?

"Excuse me? Did you say a man-cub is in the jungle? And what wolf are you referring to?" Bagheera asked the blue bird.

"From Akela's pack. I don't know which one it is, but he was from the pack." The bird replied. Now Bagheera must find out. The bird told the panther where the man-cub and the wolf are last located. Bagheera thanked him and took off to find the two. First Rayna, now a man-cub is here.

"What else could be new in this jungle?" Bagheera asked himself. "One human raised in the jungle is enough." As he scurried through the trees, Kaa watches him from one of the trees. He smirked to himself after he hears the news.

"Mmm. A man-cub in the jungle other than Rayna? How wonderful! He will make a deliciousssss meal." He hissed. He slithered up to the treetops to find the whereabouts of Evak.

"Are we almost there?" Evak asked, getting tired of walking. He fell back to rest on the jungle floor. "Getting hungry too." Grey turned back to him.

"We're nearly there. C'mon, Evak." Grey told him. Evak sighed and got back on his feet. He followed the wolf to the path, and they are on the side of the cliff to see the view of the village. Evak stares at the view in awe. "There it is. Right down there." Grey said.

"Still a bit far." Evak said.

"Well...maybe someone will meet us halfway." Grey said with a smile. He climbed on the boulder and let out a howl.

XX

Rayna is helping Sari with some laundry outside the hut. But they can hear a howl coming from the jungle. Rayna stopped what she was doing and listened carefully. The villagers are looking around in confusion as they hear a wolf howl. Muhammad walked over to Rayna with his walking stick, looking out at the distance of the jungle.

"One of your wolves?" He asked. Rayna recognized the howl. It was Grey's. He's calling for her. It could be urgent. Rayna hurried off to her hut to change into her jungle attire she had kept. She got her spear out and put on her brown shoes. It's been so long since she last worn this attire, but she keeps it in case she wants to visit the jungle. Now after months of not visiting, she must see what Grey wanted. Did something happen? Rayna ran out of her hut, ignoring Elias's questions of where she was going.
Rayna stood outside the gates of the village, hearing more of the howls of Grey. She took a deep breath and ran towards the jungle at the end of the bridge.

She reached up to where she was following the sounds of her wolf brother. She looked around for him until she spotted Narvi resting by the boulder where Grey stood. The wolf smiled at Rayna.

"What took you so long, sis?" He asked.

"Grey...who's this?" Rayna asked.

"Uh, hi there." Evak spoke. "Are you...Rayna?"

"Yes." The former jungle girl replied.

"Rayna, this man-cub is in need of assistance. He will tell you everything you need to know. He has a gift." Grey told Rayna. The young woman raised her brow.

"Gift...?"

"Can you please take me to the village? I'm tired and hungry." Evak asked. Rayna is silent for a moment, but will take the boy in. Grey asked her to return to him and wanted to chat with her. Rayna thought about what Elias said of visiting the jungle to see her family and friends. Since Grey is here, this is a good time to catch up. Rayna wondered how the pack is doing.

"Wait here, Grey. I'll be back soon." Rayna said, taking Evak with her.

"Sure thing." Grey replied. He watched the two leave to get back down to where the village is.

XX

Evak is feasting on the meat that Elias is giving him. The boy was never this hungry before. Elias and Rayna gave him plenty of food since he's been walking through the jungle with Grey for hours. Rayna is curious about the boy. She was thinking of what Grey told her. He has a gift.

"So, you have no family to look after you from where you come from?" Elias asked. Evak swallowed the meat and shook his head.

"No. I'm...on my own."

"Hmm. Well, you can stay with us as long as you want. We can help you." Elias told him with a smile. "Hope you don't mind the baby." Evak turned to see Narvi crawling around the floor with a stuffed bear. He smiled a bit. "That's our son, Narvi."

"Nice name." Evak said.

"I'm going back to Grey. He wants to talk to me about something." Rayna said. "Evak, we'll talk later." He walked out of the hut. Evak couldn't believe he just met the legendary jungle woman. She may have changed, but she is still the same.

Grey and Rayna sat next to each other at the edge of the cliff to see the view of the village and the river. Grey is happy to see his adopted sister again after so long. He told her that he has a family of his own and Rayna is an aunt to his cubs now. Rayna is happy for her brother that things go well. Grey frowned when he had to tell her about Akela.

"Everyone else missed you, Rayna. Mother, our brothers, Akela... Rayna, you need to see Akela soon." Grey said. Rayna turned to him.

"Is something wrong?"

"He's not doing well. He's getting old. He isn't as fast as he used to be and missed his hunt." Grey told her. "Someone in the pack must have a new leader."

"Grey, I can't be the leader-"

"We're not asking you. It could be either Aztec, or anyone. Akela will decide who will be the new leader. I'm only telling you this because you mean so much to us. To Akela. It would be great if you come back and see him one last time." Grey said. Rayna felt like she wanted to cry. She didn't think Akela would be this old already. He could die any day. "If you can, bring Evak with you. He would love to see our pack. And he wanted to know more about you too." Grey said.

"What gift does he have, Grey?" Rayna asked.

"He has visions. Like Shivani." Grey replied. Rayna's eyes widened.

"...How is that possible?"

"Ask him. He will tell you. There is more he could tell you. He's in trouble. And this jungle could be in trouble as well. If you care about us, you will help. Would you?" Grey asked.

"What kind of trouble?" Rayna asked.

"As I said, Evak will tell you. I'm just delivering him to you. Look, I have to return to my family and might visit Akela tomorrow night. He doesn't have much time, Rayna. Please see him." Grey turned away to leave. Rayna didn't say a word. Her head is spinning. Everything is happening all at once. How could she handle this? She thought she finished saving the jungle. Evak has the answers she needs.

"I was expecting someone else." A voice spoke. Rayna turned to see Bagheera. "It's been a long time, girl-cub." The panther smiled at her. Rayna smiled back at him and gave him a hug.

"Bagheera." Rayna spoke. "I've missed you."

"It's good to see you, Rayna." Bagheera wrapped his arm around Rayna's back. "Were you going to visit?" He noticed her jungle attire. Rayna pulled away from him. "And I've been hearing that there was a man-cub with a wolf and noticed it was Grey. Is the man-cub with you?" Bagheera asked.

"He's at the village right now. I'm going to talk to him. He's a special one. He has vision powers. How could that be?" Rayna replied.

"I beg your pardon? Did you say the boy has vision powers? Like Shivani?" Bagheera asked.

"I'm shocked as you are. I'm sorry I'm cutting this meeting short, but I have to go. And...if you can, I need to know about Akela. I need to know how much time he has left. I...I'm going to visit him and the pack." Rayna said.

"I may not be certain, but I'm afraid he wasn't too good. He could barely walk." Bagheera said with a frown. "You must see him tomorrow." Rayna made a firm look and nodded. It's settled. She will return to the jungle to see her pack. But she must speak with Evak first.