Outcasts [COMPLETE]

New Faces

No matter how much older Zaria was to Mowgli, like him (or any animal for that matter) she didn't have the best concept of time. So even she wasn't sure how long they were locked up in that cage before waking one morning to find the door open. Mowgli glanced at Zaria, and when she crept out so did he, quickly grabbing her hand.

The first thing they both noticed was the slung up hide of what looked like a cow, Mowgli wanted to take a bite but waited for Zaria's permission. She stepped forward slowly, pulling her hand away from Mowgli's to dig them into the beast's side. Pulling as the man-cub clung to her side. It wasn't until after she handed him a piece when she noticed they were being observed.

A man, by the looks of him in his late twenties, sat off to the side with a pipe between his teeth, looking at them but mostly Zaria. She kept a hand on Mowgli as she continued looking at him. He stood, she stiffened, he carefully walked over, she noticed he was a head taller. There was a sincerity in his eyes that made her want to listen.

"You're beautiful."

Two simple words that made her stand up straighter in a weak attempt to look more human. She cocked her head slightly to one side, gazing at him and wondering if she considered him handsome or not. Mowgli shuffled closer to Zaria and the hunter noticed him.

"Let's get you both cleaned up."

~

Mowgli was to be washed and dressed by a young Indian woman, but without Zaria beside him, he kicked and screamed until she came back into the room. The woman decided to wash and dress Zaria first, then Mowgli, so he saw there was nothing to be afraid of. Even after they got dressed, as soon as he got used to shoes on his feet, he hopped back onto Zaria's back and she slipped her arms under his legs without objection.

"You know you can't cling to me forever." She said after a few minutes of them exploring. "You're the only one I feel safe with." "You're not a baby so stop acting like one." Pause. "If I stop acting like a baby, will you be my mother?" Zaria stopped, sighed, and pulled Mowgli off before facing him.

"Mowgli...you have a Mother, a wolf mother, and if you play your cards right a human one too. But I can't be your mother." "Why not?" "Because I'd be too afraid of hurting you." "You won't hurt me." She sighed before hanging her head, it was obvious she couldn't talk him out of this.

"Look, I'll let you hang on my back in the evenings and cling to me at night, but the rest of the day you have to do things by yourself okay?" He nodded hesitantly, she smiled before kissing his brow, surprising them both.

"Good, now go off and play, I'll catch up with you later." Mowgli smiled faintly before almost stumbling off, still not quite used to shoes. Zaria smiled before heading off in the opposite direction, she had a mission in mind.

~

"Ah, you've come back." The hunter said as he came out of his tent and saw her there. Zaria cocked her head at him again and he chuckled faintly.

"Yes, I can imagine your confusion; the only other human of your color standing before you but a different gender entirely." Zaria was silent. "Perhaps this will help." He went back inside his tent, Zaria crept forward then jumped back when he came back out holding a pearl necklace.

It had been a long time since Zaria last saw a necklace but somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered what to do. Carefully turning around, she pulled back her hair and allowed him to drape it around her neck, the faint clasp clicking beneath her ears. She turned back around to look at him and found his sincere blue eyes gazing into hers, his hand slowly coming up and brushing her hair away from her eyes. She took a cautious step closer, lowering her head and allowing his hands to cup both her cheeks.

Maybe she did find him attractive.

~

Evening fell after what would've been their third night since leaving their cage, like a newborn pup, Mowgli ran to Zaria as though his tail was on fire and leaped into her arms, burying his face in her neck as she stroked his hair and began making her way to the bed. After everyone went to sleep, he was still curled up beside her, one arm draped across her stomach.

"Will we still be in the village tomorrow?" Asked Mowgli as he did every night. "Yes." She replied. "And you promise to always be here for me?" "Always." Content, he closed his eyes and went to sleep. Zaria waited until he was deep in slumber before exiting the tent and finding the hunter, taking his hand without fear and leaning her head on his shoulder without a doubt in her mind.

All the while knowing another pair of icy eyes watched her from the foliage, wondering what to think about this sudden turn of events.