Unexpected Arrival || The Jungle Book 2016

Ch. 4 | The Law of the Jungle

Please read the author's note at the end of the chapter. Thank you and enjoy!

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The next morning, the first thing Daiane did when she woke up, was go hunting.

She had been weak, and malnourished from being fed tiny pieces of meat, and no exercise. It was really affecting her body.

While she was on the prowl, she observed her surroundings. She noticed it wasn't that different from the rainforest, but there were small differences.

More light shined through the trees, and there were many more plants on the ground, than there would be in the rainforest.

Just as she was about to go look somewhere else, seeing as she wasn't having any luck, she spotted a small herd of bucks that had brown fur with white spots around their eyes, and mouths. They had long, twisted horns that stood proud upon their heads.

This must be a species native to this land, she thought to herself, not wanting to make the bucks away of the presence just yet.

She looked over the herd, looking for the easiest target.

Her eyes zeroed in on a medium size buck that was separated from the herd just enough for Daiane to have a chance at getting a meal.

Gotcha

She slowly made her way over the buck, preparing for her attack.

She crouched down, so low that her back was almost level with the ground. Her front paws were close to her face, and her back legs were just far enough back, so that Daiane would be able to sprint forward.

The unsuspecting buck continued to graze on the vegetation on the ground, without a care in the world. After a few moments, Daiane pounced. She had struck the buck, and it went down without a fight. The rest of the buck around them scattered, hoping that they weren't on the menu tonight.

When Daiane finally dug in, she was overjoyed. The taste of meat had never tasted better to her in that moment. After she was done, she traveled to a nearby river to quench her thirst.

Since she was no longer starving, Daiane thought it would be best to explore her new surroundings and get used to them. She started to look around and took mental notes of the similarities and differences between this place, and her home.

Or, her old home, because Daiane knew that there was no possible way for her to go home now. While she was in containment, the people talked about traveling across countries and over the ocean, and the fact that the man that had captured her had had a one-sided conversation with her.

"The cat is going to go across the Atlantic Ocean on a private plane that my clients have arranged. Got that?" Edu sternly asked.

"Got it," the men grumbled back. Edu rolled his eyes at their behavior and looked to the cage in the back of the room. The men started filing out and soon, Edu was the only one left in the room with the beast.

Walking over to her, he started talking, "You know, I kind of feel bad for you. You won't ever see the wretched place you called a home again, and instead will probably be abused by your new owners," he paused for a moment, "Well, I would if you weren't making me lots of money with your useless hide."

Daiane growled and bared her teeth threateningly.

"Now, now," Edu roughly spoke, "Don't go making trouble for me now. I would hate for the goods to get damaged before the delivery." Shaking his head, he turned to the door, leaving the frightened beast to ponder what his words meant.

Returning back to the present, Daiane spent the rest of the day exploring and getting used to the new surroundings. When nightfall came, she quickly found the tree she spent the last night sleeping in, because she still wasn't sure of what other dangerous predators there could be.

Drifting off to sleep, Daiane wondered how she was going to call this place that was so similar to her old one, but yet so different, her home.

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Daiane spent the next few weeks, learning her surroundings, and becoming in tune with the land. She was a quick learner and adapted to new situations quickly, so it was almost as if she were back in Costa Rica. Except for one thing; friends.

Now, Daiane didn't have many friends back in her homeland, because she was a predator and a lone hunter. The friends she did have however, she cared a lot for them, and she missed them.

She shook her head, shaking those thoughts out. No, Daiane. There's no point in missing them, because you're never going to see them again. This is my home now. She was interrupted when she heard voices.

"­­Now this is the law of the jungle—" from that one sentence, Daiane concluded that this was the equivalent to the rainforest code she had back in Costa Rica. She listened closely, curious to hear what their law was.

If she was going to be permanently living here from now on, might as well know the law as well.

"—as old and as true as the sky; And the Wolf that shall keep it shall prosper, but the Wolf that shall break it must die."

So, I was right that what I had seen earlier pretty much rules the jungle.

Daiane had never actually seen a wolf, but she had something similar to them back home. Only, they were a bit smaller, and didn't travel in such large groups.

"As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk the Law runneth forward and back—For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf, and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack."

After she waited a moment longer to see if there was any more, she quickly memorized it and moved on with her day. However, Daiane had had a sneaking feeling that something, or someone had been watching her for the past few days.

What she didn't know was that there were a pair of eyes that were watching her. A pair of alluring, emerald eyes to be exact.

They were watching her with curiosity, because never in all their years, had they seen a cat like Daiane before. She was spotted all over her body, but she had a similar build to theirs.

Those set of eyes belonged to the one and only, Bagheera.

Bagheera had been watching her for a couple of days, when he first noticed a strange scent that lingered around the area.

When he had first seen the strange cat, he was surprised. He had never seen something like this before, but what he concluded from watching her, was that she was an experienced predator and only killed for food.

She was smart, and as much as he wanted to deny it, she was beautiful; very beautiful. He also knew that she knew someone was watching her, because of how she was acting the past couple days. She was cautious and careful with everything she did.

Bagheera had not only been watching because he was curious, but also because he wanted to make sure this stranger was not a threat to him, the wolves, and especially Mowgli.

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So, I know what you're thinking. Didn't I already write this chapter? Well, yes, I did, but I didn't like it, so I rewrote the chapter. Let me know if you guys liked the old one, or the new one better. I'm happier with how the second version turned out. Sorry that they didn't meet yet, but I promise, it's coming soon!

There are going to be times when I skip a lot of time in the story to save a lot of boring details, but then there are also times when I'm going to pace it slower than usual.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed!

~datPotato