A Sentinel is Born
By Roy's Lady

Letting Out the Jungle: Sentinel Style

Veil them, cover them, wall them `round…
Blossom and creeper and weed,
Let us forget the sight and the sound,
And the smell and the touch of the breed!
Fat black ash by the altar-stone: Here is the white-foot rain,
And the does bring forth in the fields unsown,
And none shall affright them again: And the blind walls crumble,
Unknown, o'erthrown, And none shall inhabit again!
Rudyard Kipling

"Are you sure this is going to work, Sandburg?"

"Do you trust me?"

"You know I do."

"Then it'll work; Jim, we have to know."

"Yeah, you're right, we do." He grumbled. "Okay, go ahead."

"Concentrate on my voice, here we go…"

The next time Jim became aware of himself, he wasn't called Jim anymore. His People called him Mowgli. Mowgli, the Frog…

Mowgli opened his eyes, squinting against the late afternoon sun. He had not rested well; there was a feeling of too much strangeness in this place.

"Up." He grunted. "Up and hunt, Gray Brother. It is time and past time we left the strangeness in this place. I cannot sleep. Thou?" He asked the big gray wolf.

"Nay, Little Brother. Nor do I think any more lingering in this place to be a good thing. Thou art not the only one who knows of this odd strangeness, Man-cub. Though thou art the Master of the Jungle, I think this is of Men. I scented white-folk in the Jungle this noon, as I told thee. What means this, Mowgli?"

"I know not, `’tis too strange! Would that Bagheera were here!"

"Aye, the Black One would, I think, make me feel better also!"

"Hiiiist, what is this?" Mowgli bit out as a naked white man emerged from the bush. This one was no soft English dandy…he was soft-footed and as dangerous as he was silent. He was also angry.

"Dost ye not know what ye are, boy?"

"I am a Man, now. Born of Woman to Man, though I was a wolf amongst wolves for many seasons, and they called me the Frog." Mowgli answered quietly. "Who art thou?"

"I am Samuel Larson, the Guardian Sentinel in this place. Thou wilt my apprentice be, O Mowgli, called the Frog!" The old man answered. "I spake not of who thou art, but what. Thou art also a Sentinel, yet ye are rogue, for all thy youth!" He paused. "In the villages, it is said that thou art as a wolf."

"Aye, for such wast my dam, she who gave me suck, Raksha, called the Demon, and dam to this one who is my milk brother." He answered quietly. "Her mate didst teach me my business in the Jungle, as did Baloo, the brown Bear, and Bagheera, the black panther, Hathi, the Silent One, and Kaa, the Python. Aye, Bagheera who paid the price of a bull's life so that I would be adopted by the old Pack, when I wast but a naked babe! Aye! I grew with the Pack, and I ran with the Pack and I hunted with them. Aye, Man, I am as a wolf. Of what concern is it of thine?"

The older man's eyes were huge in amazement. "And so, taught by beasts with even greater Senses, ye never understood!" He hissed. "Follow, boy!"

After the Man had left Gray Brother said finally, "What was that?"

"I know not, and I follow not. He is white, and the British are a strange folk. But too, I think him blood-kin. This is stranger by the moment."

"Didn't follow, did he Sam?"

"No, Teddy, he didn't."

A Song rose in the Jungle around them and Sam had to Listen to hear and understand the words:

Man Goes to Man

Man goes to Man! Cry the challenge through the Jungle
He that was our Brother goes away!
Hear, now, and judge, O ye peoples of the Jungle,
Who shall turn him, who shall stay?
Man goes to Man! He is weeping in the Jungle!
He that was our Brother sorrows sore,
Man goes to Man, (Oh, we loved him in the Jungle!)
To the Man-Trail where we may not follow more!


"The Beasts are giving him up! Listen to that Out Song!"


The Out-Song

Baloo
For the sake of him who showed,
One wise Frog the Jungle-Road,
Keep the Law the Man-pack make…
For thy blind old Baloo's sake!
Clean or tainted, hot or stale,
Hold it as it were the Trail,
Through the day and through the night,
Questing neither left nor right.
For the sake of him that loves
Thee beyond all else that moves,
When thy Pack wouldst make thee pain,
Say: "Tabaqui sings again."
When thy Pack wouldst work thee ill,
Say: "Shere Khan is yet to kill."
When thy knife is drawn to slay,
Keep the Law and go thy way.
(Root and honey, palm and spathe
Guard a cub from harm and scathe)
Wood and Water, Wind and Tree,
Jungle-Favour go with thee.
Bageera
In the cage my life began;
Well I know the worth of Man.
By the Broken Lock that Freed,
Man-cub, `ware the Man-cub's breed!
Scenting dew or starlight pale,
Choose no tangled tree-cat trail.
Pack or council, hunt or den,
Cry no truce with Jackal-Men.
Feed them silence when they say:
"Come with us an easy way."
Feed them silence when they seek,
Help of thine to hurt the weak.
Make no Bandar's boast of skill,
Hold thy peace above the kill.
Let no call, nor song, nor sign,
Turn thee from thy hunting-line.
(Morning mist or twilight clear,
Serve him Wardens of the Deer!)
Wood and Water, Wind and Tree,
Jungle-Favour go with thee!

Kaa
Anger is the egg of fear,
Only lidless eyes are clear.
Cobra-poison none may leech:
Even so with Cobra-speech.
Open talk will call to thee,
Strength, whose mate is Courtesy.
Send no lunge beyond thy length,
Lend no rotten bough thy strength.
Gauge thy gape with buck or goat,
Lest thine eye should choke thy throat.
After gorging, wouldst thou sleep?
Look thy den is hid and deep,
Lest a wrong by thee forgot,
Draw thy killer to the spot.
East and West and North and South,
Wash thy hide and close thy mouth.
(Pit and rift and blue pool-brim,
Middle Jungle follow him!)
Wood and Water, Wind and Tree,
Jungle-Favour go with thee!

The Wolves
On the Trail that thou must tread,
To the thresholds of our dread,
Where the Flower blossoms red:
Through the nights that thou must lie,
Prisoned from our Mother-sky,
Hearing us, thy loves go by:
In the dawns when thou shalt wake,
To the toil thou canst not break,
Heartsick for the Jungle's Sake:
Wood and Water, Wind and Tree,
Wisdom, Strength, and Courtesy,
Jungle-Favour go with thee!



A Sentinel is Born: Part 2

The older Sentinel's eyes had gone huge as he listened to several beasts give blessings to the encounter. He rejoined Mowgli saying, "So, they understand, Mowgli, called the Frog. Wast that not a blessing on me? Did thy teachers not saith that thou shouldst obey Man's Laws? Thou art a Sentinel by Blood, even as I am. Thou hast a duty, and a Guardianship that thou must shoulder. Ye wilt apprentice to me, boy! Ye even hast thy Guide, though a Human Soul in the body of a beast is not a thing that can go unchanged." He paused, then said, "The bla-ir-ai must be done, to give thy Guide his proper shape. He was destined to be a Man, therefore a Man Gray Brother must become."

A human soul in the body of a gray wolf…Sam thought, a true bla-ir bla, meaning Guide, ir meaning Spirit. The rite called bla-ir-ai would force the youngster back into his proper body: that of a man. But it would be painful, agonizing in fact, and he flinched at the thought of causing any Guide such suffering. What if it had been his Theodore? His gentle Teddy?

He knew it would be best if neither he nor his guide remained close by, for Mowgli was quite capable of sending the beasts of the Jungle to hunt them both down in vengeance. And he knew that couple of humans were no match for the bloodlust of every carnivore in the Jungle! Mowgli need stir neither hand nor foot. Apprentices were usually brought to Full Sentinel gradually, and in small ways the Protective Instincts were aroused, slowly over time. It was far safer that way. But it was not possible this time, not with this Pair, nor in the Jungle. Mowgli would go both Full Sentinel and Full Protector within moments:

He would be both wild with rage, and as helpless to stop it as a new fawn was weak. The Ritual Spell that would return Gray Brother to a human body took nearly an hour to recite, and the spell itself took about half that amount of time to complete: But changing bone, blood, muscle and even his physical brain that much…he would be in utter torment. Sam knew he'd dial down to deafness, so he wouldn't have to listen to the screams of the bla-ir as he was forcefully morphed.

"Teddy…do we have to?" He looked at his own sweet Guide, hoping the man knew of another way to do this that was less painful.

"You know we do, or rather, I do. If t'were the boy `in host', then it would be your job. Since it is his Guide, the duty is mine. I have already performed the rite, the transformation should begin soon. We need to get into the Town. Here we are vulnerable to the youngster's wrath, and he has more resources than you do. He's more than half-feral."

"Reared by beasts: Teddy, no Sentinel's Senses are a match for a wild beast's…so Mowgli thinks nothing of his. But think, my love! He has been using his from infancy! It has been developed consistently, the lad thinks nothing of it because he knows he is weak compared to his `friends'! He has looked upon yon Guide, at times, in jealousy, no doubt!"

Teddy breathed out a whistle. "A First Life, and a First Pairing of such strength! This will be a Pairing to last through the Ages! Surely no Sentinel will ever have so perfect a Guide! Life after Life will they find each other, bond, and Mate! The bla-ir will know, instinctively, how to help and Guide his Sentinel, and how to train him in those centuries when the knowledge is less formal , or lost! Dear gods, Sam!"

"Will the bla-ir remember when he was a wolf? Remember how sensitive his senses were when he ran on four feet?"

"Nay, only on an instinctive level will he understand, not unless Mowgli somehow remembers, and then says something to remind him. His Sentinel must remember first, only then will the Guide. And there will have to be desperate need for Mowgli to trespass on the memories of a past lifetime. But, if such need occurs, and if Mowgli remembers who he and how he was reared, and if he reminds his Guide, the Power of that pairing with increase ten-fold. Mowgli will blend with whatever incarnation is current, and they will become as one! Then would the modern self, have all of knowledge, and the judgement, and the sheer experience of the First Life. The same goes for his Guide! And the Guide, will then have the power, the ability to Morph from Man to Wolf and back any time he choses. WHAT Power will they have!" Mowgli knows what every sight and sound and scent means in the wilderness. He can comprehend things and do things that no man-trained man can do: Not even other Sentinels, lover."

He paused to let this shaft of information sink into Sam's mind. "In effect, the fact that he combines both his extraordinary First Life, with his Modern one, will make him the highest ranking Sentinel on the planet. His responsibility will not be with a particular area, or town…his duty will be to the Planet, as a whole. He will be Sentinel to Mother Earth herself! And such a fate as this Mowgli has had already makes me suspect that someday, many lifetimes from now, he will remember who he was. In that instant, another, lesser, normal Sentinel will enter and take responsibility for wherever his home ground was, and he will make the Wilderness his home, wherever in the world he may be. Therefore will his Guide's Power increase also, for the dangers of Zone will also increase.

They must be Mates before he accepts that responsibility, or they will not have the Full Bond, and Mowgli could be lost. He would retain his Senses, but not a human mind. Then would he truly be Wild." Teddy took a deep, steadying breath. "Even then, he could be retrieved, if his Guide could incite him to Mate with him, for being reared a wolf, such pairings are not unknown. He might accept it more easily than as man, or not. Mowgli would not have the trouble with the concept that human males usually do. In his heart, he is still a wolf, I think. Orgasm would bring him back...there is no denying one! And when he merges, one life to the other, when the Guide morphs for the first time, he will know these things, for She, the Earth will tell him. Imagine having the Earth Mother as the Guide's guide! Sam, they would share the same Spirit Guide!

Have you ever heard of so well matched a pair? And for now, at least…Mowgli's spirit guide is in Mortal Host! A solid black leopard, his name is Bagheera." The Guide finished as the first agonized canine howls became increasingly human screams.

The wolf writhed in his extremity as his body was forced out of it's shape of many rains, and into that of a Man. His howls and screams of anguish had Mowgli wild with rage and helplessness. There was nothing he could do. When it was over, he stared in wondering sorrow at the Man who stood before him: A deep and abiding love for this smaller, shorter Man bloomed in his soul.

Blair woke Jim, as he thrashed and cried out in horror, and found himself immediately snatched up into Ellison's strong arms, held tenderly, as his Sentinel's Sense searched the area. Blair didn't know yet what Jim had found out, but whatever it was, it had him in Full Protector Mode! He was also about halfway to a zone, Blair realized quickly, and faced him inside the circle of his arms, already talking him out of it.

Jim stared at him finally, and breathed, "Is it thee, then, Gray Brother, who wast milk brother, lair brother to me when all wast young?" He spoke in Mowgli's quiet tones, and Blair nearly blacked out from the force of his long buried memories.

"Aye, Mowgli! `’Tis I!" He said in wonder, and added, "But, I'm still me, too, Jim." He shivered.

"That's odd. So am I." Jim hugged Blair closer as old knowledge continued to unfold within his mind. "God, what did they do to you?" Jim's cry was an echo of his screams before, still bewildered and lost. Blair, however, did not share his confusion.

"Man, oh man that hurt!" He whispered. "Shit! No Jim! Listen to me! He grabbed Ellison's face in both hands and forced the other man to look at him. "Yes, it hurt. A lot! But, it was needed! It had to be done, Jim! The other Pairing had to! A animal, even a wolf, with a human soul? Cross-bodied? A Guide does whatever he or she must do to find, and bond with the Sentinel made just for them, Jim you know that. How else could I have reached you? But when the time came, it had to be reversed! Blame them not!"

Jim's eyes filled with tears, then, and he crushed Sandburg in his arms, sobbing for the suffering he had endured. Eventually, Blair soothed the distraught man into sleep. "God, I love you, Jim." He whispered to the sleeping Sentinel. "I'll always be Beta to your Alpha."

Here died the muse.