Jungle Book: Chapter 4

By: jungleboy69

Chapter 4: Mowgli's Brothers

Mowgli raced through the jungle, until he reached a log covered in moss and flowers. Looking around to see no one was watching, he crawled through the log, feeling the wet muddy soil and the insects crawling around.

Once he emerged, he came to the edge of a huge cliff. From there, he could get a clear view of the jungle. He could see the vast plains of Lion's Land where Sinha the Lion ruled, the lost ruins of the Cold Lairs where the Bandar-Log dwelled and the long Wainganga river that glistened in the jungle.

He caught sight of the village where the strange creatures called 'Men' lived. The pack warned all young cubs to stay away from them, but Mowgli's insatiable curiosity often got the better of him. At times, he would often sneak into the village at night where he would watch them and their fascinating habit they had of wearing extra skins.

He 'borrowed' some to see how it felt but the turban was a complete mystery to him and the rest only seemed to had one good use; it scared Tabaqui the Hyena out of his wits. However, he also had a bit of a mistrust in Men ever since Bagheera showed him a box that was so cunningly hidden that he nearly walked into it. Bagheera told him that it was a man-made trap.

"Mowgli!" A gentle voice spoke up, followed by an excited one. "Mowgli!" The latter turned his head to see a young she-wolf with brownish grey fur approach him. "Leela!" Mowgli replied as the she-wolf smiled.

Leela was the granddaughter of Akela himself and one of Mowgli's closest friends. She was the most kind-hearted of her pack and she attracted many mates. "Good to see you again, Mowgli." She replied. "Mowgli!" The second voice called and a little scrawny wolf-cub with white fur bounded out from the bushes and tackled him.

Mowgli laughed and hugged him. "Bhoot, stop! You're tickling me!" Bhoot was Leela's little brother and another of Mowgli's friends. Unlike her, Bhoot was an albino. Being born with pure white fur was a rare occasion in the Jungle. For the Jungle-People, albinos had a mixed view. For some, it is a symbol of purity and wisdom. For others, it is a symbol of death since most albinos won't live long as it makes them more vulnerable.

In Bhoot's case, he was born a runt, weak and small even by wolf standards. As a result, he was often teased and bullied by the other wolves of the pack. Despite his sister's efforts to protect him, the bullying didn't stop.

"Welcome back!" Bhoot cheered, bouncing up and down. "Did you and Bagheera went hunting?!" "Did you catch something big!?" He added. "Something tasty! I wanna go hunting with you!"

"Alright, Bhoot, that's enough!" Leela laughed. "Mowgli needs rest." Mowgli laughed as he dusted himself. "Hey, Brother!" A third voice spoke and Grey Brother joined them. "How were your lessons?"

"Boring..." Mowgli replied, with a eye-roll as they made their way back. "Baloo says I have a lack of focus." "Well, what did he do?" Leela asked. "He put a scorpion on me..." Mowgli replied with a laugh.

"Guess it runs in the family." Leela giggled as they walked back. "Don't worry about it." Grey Brother added. "Baloo does that to all of us." The four laughed as Leela came up with an idea. "How about a race?" She challenged. "Let's see if you brothers have a lack of speed!"

The brothers grinned and Bhoot jumped up and down excitedly. "Ooh, a race~!" He squealed. "I wanna race!" The wolves bent low and their hind legs raised high. "Wait for my call..." Leela stated.

Mowgli dug his fingers into the dirt and his toes stretched out to raise himself. "GO!" Leela called out and the four of them raced off, howling with joy as they did.

(At Council Rock...)

"Did you see how fast I ran?!" Bhoot asked cheerfully as the four friends arrived at Council Rock, walking along the rocky paths. The male wolves were preparing to leave their caves to go on the evening hunt.

Mowgli noticed some of the younger wolves and a few of the older ones staring at him with disgust but he couldn't understand why. "Well...well...look what we have here...?" A condescending voice spoke up.

The friends turned to see a wolf with reddish-orange fur approach them. Mowgil and Grey Brother growled. "What do you want, Phaona?" The latter growled. Phaona was the best hunter of the Pack, a fit and strong young wolf and was admired by many members of the pack.

However, he was arrogant, prideful and cruel to some of the weaker members, especially Mowgli and Bhoot. Phaona snorted and turned to Leela, completely ignoring Grey Brother. "Leela, why would you hang out with the runts when you could hunt with the big leagues, like me?" He asked with a flashy smile.

"Sorry, I'm not interested." Leela replied calmly. "Oh, come on..." Phaona egged on. "Quit wasting your time with these losers." "I told you, I'm not interested." Leela repeated "You can hunt with your goonies but leave me out of it."

"So, you would rather hang out with runts like them?" Phaona scoffed. "Especially this freak." He gestured to Mowgli, making him tense up. "Don't call my brother a freak!" Grey Brother snapped. "Or what?" Phaona growled back. "You want to fight it out?"

"Leave my brother alone!" Mowgli snarled as he stepped in front of his brother. "Ooh, look at that!" Phaona taunted. "The man-cub's learnt to talk!" "At least he can run faster than the other runt!" One wolf added, gesturing to Bhoot who grew nervous.

"Yeah! Maybe he can race with his freak friend!" Another wolf scoffed as they began to surround Bhoot. "It's only natural they spend so much time together." Phaona snarled wickedly. "Freaks like them always stick together!"

"I'm not a freak!" Bhoot argued only for him to get knocked down by one wolf. "Says the scrawny little runt!" The wolf replied, knocking Bhoot down again. "The only thing you're good for is a chew-toy!" Phaona added, biting on Bhoot's little tail, making him howl in pain.

"Hey, back off!" Mowgli yelled as he, Grey Brother and Leela snapped and snarled, getting Phaona and his croonies to back off. "This ain't over, Man-Cub." Phaona snarled. "We'll see how long you can last in the Running."

As Phaona and his followers left, Leela licked Bhoot's wounds. "Are you alright?" She asked worriedly. "Yeah...I'm alright." Bhoot replied. "You shouldn't let them pick on you like that." Mowgli added, gently stroking Bhoot's head.

Bhoot smiled sadly at Mowgli. "It's fine..." He replied. "I'm used to it." Grey Brother smiled. "Come on, Bhoot." He spoke. "You and Leela better head back home." Bhoot grinned. "Sure, see you Mowgli!" He replied as he raced back to his home cave.

"Bhoot, don't run off like that!" Leela called off before turning to Mowgli and Grey Brother. "See you tomorrow, boys!" She replied. "See you, Leela." Mowgli added as Leela followed Bhoot.

Soon, Mowgli and Grey Brother arrived at their homecave. Raksha was licking Akru and Sura, Mowgli's two younger wolf brothers. "Mowgli, you're back!" Akru exclaimed as he and Sura immediately bounded to him and leapt at him, pinning him down and licking him all over his face.

"Akru...Sura...stop...!" Mowgli laughed. "You're... tickling me!" "We heard you and Bagheera took down a deer!" Sura pointed. "Can you take us next time?" "Yeah...we want to be great hunters like you!" Akru added.

Raksha chuckled. "Not tonight, cubs." She replied as she ushured them off Mowgli. "So, how was your lesson with Baloo, my little frog?" She asked the latter affectionately. "Good, mother." Mowgli replied with a smile.

Grey Brother chuckled. "He can nearly keep up with me now." He added. "Your father wasn't much of a runner." Raksha joked a bit. "It's true!" Vihaan spoke up as he emerged from the den. "I was the slowest in my group, didn't think I would pass the Running...I was sure I could fail"

The family laughed before Vihaan nuzzled his mate. "You're going to be late..." Raksha murmured lovingly. "Have a good hunt, Father." Grey Brother added. "Bring back something good!" Sura pointed out.

Vihaan chuckled. "Before you know it, you'll be coming along with me." He added. "All of you!" The last part, he gazed at Mowgli which made him proud to know he would join his father and brothers on the hunt.

After saying goodbye, Vihaan joined the other wolves with Akela at the lead. "Good hunting!" The Lone Wolf called. "Good hunting to us, all!" The other wolves chroused as they headed off. Mowgli watched them go. "Good hunting..." He whispered. He still held onto the hope that he would prove himself to the rest of the pack and be a great wolf like his father.

Little did he know that one day, his life and view would change everything he know.