Here is the original challenge from ScentedFlame: The OTHER Jungle Book Challenge

"In the 1800's, alien pods escaping from a dying world landed in the rainforest. Nacedo and Serena are left to raise Max, Isabel, and Tess in the forest. Michael's pod landed in the river, where he floated downstream and was by humans.

Years later, Max, Iz, and Tess go off to find their wayward brother, whom they can feel through a weird connection. They find themselves in the English colony where Michael was raised.

Michael thinks of himself as a freak. He doesn't know why he always had an urge to go off in the forest, and does his best to hide his powers. He has been raise like a son by Jeff Parker, a wealthy gold miner. Liz and Alex are Jeff's biological children. Maria was promised to Alex when they were only toddlers, but neither of them feel anything but friendship towards each other. They pretend to feel things for each other, fearing their fathers' reactions to their non-existant love. Even their siblings don't know of their true feelings, although Liz suspects.

Maria and Kyle Valenti are children of a British General. Kyle is Michael's best friend. Michael worships Maria from afar because he fears that letting his love be known will cause Kyle to reject him and Alex to hate him. He dreamwalks her regularly, which he has no control of. It makes him feel like he's invading her privacy, but is able to act out his feelings under Maria's advances in her sleep. Maria is in love with Michael. She thinks that he doesn't have any feelings for her, which is why she doesn't fight the charade with Alex, and welcomes the dreams.

The other three poddies must find Michael and try to intergrate into human society. Kyle, Maria, Alex, and Liz must all try to help them learn their culture as a favour to Michael. Must end with Michael and Maria together."

Michael Guerin put his feet on the dock and felt an instant release from the two months of tension the voyage had built up in his body, he’d been worried about Alex’s health and was relieved that they were finally home. Stretching his shoulders, he turned to see his brother making his way down the gangplank.

“Come on Alex, five more steps and it will all be over,” Michael felt a little guilty but couldn’t suppress a smile as he watched Alex moving gingerly toward him.

Alex didn’t do well on the high seas, his skin had maintained a green undertone throughout their journey. This was the second time Michael had been on a trans-Atlantic trek with his little brother, and he noted that Alex was no better a traveler at 22 than he had been at 19. During the last week Alex had begun to recover from the worst of the seasickness and Michael knew his brother would be back in good shape after a month or two at home.

“Michael, you know that I live for your amusement,” Alex’s voice dripped with sarcasm, “but do you think you could at least wipe the smirk off of your face long enough for us to get through the family greetings?”

Michael laughed and clapped Alex on the back, noticing that his brother’s formal coat didn’t fit as well as it had two months ago in London. Poor Alex must have lost at least twenty pounds, and in all honesty he hadn’t had any weight to spare to begin with. Well, at least his sense of humor hadn’t suffered.

They were just taking their first steps on the dock when Michael looked up suddenly. She was somewhere near them. He couldn’t make out any of the faces in the crowd, but there were definitely women – he could see brightly colored dresses. ‘And why shouldn’t she be here?’ he thought, ‘she is his fiancé after all. Be a man, don’t get caught up in this again.’ Her presence made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up. It had something to do with his strange powers, he knew. Normal men weren’t turned upside down at the nearness of a pretty woman. No, this sort of thing only happened to Michael Guerin ‘the freak’.

“Ah, I see all of the friends and neighbors have turned out as well,” Alex said under his breath as he waved to the crowd of about thirty people gathered at the end of the dock. “As soon as they see me they’ll start betting on how much longer the ‘Poor Parker Lad’ has to live. Wonderful.”

“Alex, don’t be dramatic. They haven’t seen you for three years, they don’t really know what you normally look like,” Michael snickered, thankful for a distraction. “More than likely the betting will be on how much longer it will take you to grow some facial hair.”

Narrowing his eyes, Alex tried his best to give Michael a warning look, but failed miserably making Michael laugh all the harder.

“Well, at least I haven’t become foppish. Really, dear brother, what is this hairstyle supposed to be? Hair everywhere, half curled, mostly mussed. Is it supposed to be rakish? Do the ladies all swoon? And these,” Alex flicked Michael’s cravat, “lacy things. It looks like you took the fabric I bought for Liz and had it made into suits for yourself. Honestly, Michael, one sister is enough.”

Michael growled as they neared the end of the dock and shot Alex a look that promised there would be retribution later. Alex grinned and wagged his eyebrows playfully, obviously enjoying the fact that his brother couldn’t respond in front of the waiting crowd.

Michael was just stepping into his father’s arms when he saw her, she stepped out from behind some crates stacked next to the warehouse at the end of the dock. Their eyes locked, and he couldn’t turn away from her. God, she was more beautiful than ever. She stood there - her green eyes bright, a smile on her perfect little bee stung lips – and she took his breath away. ‘Don’t look at her, Guerin, or she’ll see it in your eyes. Look away, dammit, look away before it’s too late!’

He forced himself to look at his father with a smile; he wasn’t going to let Maria Valenti distract him – not today.

***

“Boys!” Jeff Parker yelled throwing his arms around them, pulling them both into a bear hug.

“Father,” Alex said.

“My boy, it’s been too long,” Mr. Parker placed his hands on Alex’s shoulders inspecting him, “Three years, and look at you, head and shoulders taller than your own father! Still find the sea passage difficult I see, but you’ll mend. Here Liz, what do you think of your brother? A boy left us and a man returned.”

Alex watched as his father was pushed aside by a petite brunette, and had to fight back tears when his little sister threw herself into his arms.

“Oh, I missed you, Alex,” Liz said as she gripped him tightly, “Michael said you had changed, but I would never have guessed. You look so grown up!”

“So do you Liz,” he whispered, “I missed you so much.”

Liz smiled up at him, and he realized how much he had missed her. She was his best friend in the world. His father loved him but was always pushing him to be the man he thought his son should be. And his brother loved him, but was always too busy being protective and ‘in charge’ to know the real Alex. It was Liz, his wonderful sister, with whom he shared every secret and every dream – she was the only person in his life that didn’t have expectations of him, she just loved him, no questions asked.

“Alex,” his father said, “don’t you want to greet General Valenti?”

Alex turned and saw the three members of the Valenti family standing behind him. General Valenti was an intimidating bulldog of a man with a hard, no-nonsense air. His son, Kyle, was very like his father, but the flip-side of the coin; rather than being no-nonsense, Kyle’s air was absolutely devil-may-care. Maria, the General’s daughter, and apple of his eye was like an intelligent version of her brother, with the General’s blonde hair, and twinkling green eyes.

“It’s good to see you, General, I trust that you are well?”

“Quite well, thank you, Alexander. Glad to see you’ve had a safe journey home,” the General said politely.

“And, Miss Valenti,” Alex began trying to ignore the amused look Maria was giving him, “you are looking lovely as usual.”

“Thank you Mr. Parker, how kind,” Maria’s voice was saccharine, and Alex was glad her father hadn’t caught her false tone. He knew she hated these little politeness charades as much as he did. Bending over her hand to kiss it, he gave her a conspiratorial wink, and saw her bite back a giggle.

Alex noticed Michael and Kyle greeting each other in the corner of his eye, no doubt congratulating themselves on some new business deal or other. He knew that neither of their fathers were especially thrilled at the partnership the two had formed seven years before. General Valenti had intended for his son to join the military and follow in his footsteps, but Kyle had relished throwing his father’s wishes out the window when he and Michael had started their first sugar cane venture. It was obvious that their presence at the docks together was merely a coincidence, Kyle had left his father’s house at 17, and while the General had not disowned him, they rarely spoke – Maria was the only thing they had in common.

Jeff Parker raised his hands and caught the attention of the group of people gathered to greet his sons, “Won’t you all join us for a reception at the house? My children and I would love to have your company,” he said warmly before walking with Liz on his arm toward the Parker family carriage. Alex caught Michael’s eye and they couldn’t help smiling at each other, they knew their father hated entertaining.

***

Michael broke off his conversation with Kyle after his father’s announcement, “Listen, I’ll meet you at the plantation tomorrow. It’s been six months, I’d really like to spend some time with my family.”

“Whatever you say,” Kyle grinned, “all I needed to hear was that the ships were back from India to put a smile on my face. That clinches it, we’ll be the richest men in the West Indies within the year.”

Michael rolled his eyes and left his old friend to join his family in their carriage. At least some things never change. Most of the people on the island thought Kyle was a little witless, but he was actually an astute businessman. As much as Kyle thought he’d rebelled against his father, Michael knew better than anyone that Kyle had simply opted to become a soldier in a different field than the General.

He turned for one last look at the ship he’d recently vacated, it was one of his newest acquisitions for their shipping company, and he’d been pleased with it. He would have to remember to tell Kyle that they should order another from the shipbuilder who had made it. As his eyes swept from the ship back toward the street, he caught her staring at him. It took him off guard, but she casually looked away and he wondered if she’d really been looking at him at all. Had she felt something from him earlier? Did she suspect the effect that she had on him?

He whirled and headed for the carriage, hoping he hadn’t let her see the truth. As he was climbing in next to Alex he noticed someone else staring at him. There was a young man with dark hair and eyes standing across the street looking intently at him. Michael had the feeling that he should know the man, but couldn’t quite place his face. He met so many people in his travels he thought it was better to err on the side of caution in case the man was a business acquaintance, so he nodded at the man in a silent greeting. The man returned the greeting and continued to watch him as the carriage pulled away.

‘Strange, he seems so familiar,’ Michael thought, ‘I wonder why I can’t remember where I know him from.’

“Well it was certainly nice for so many people to come greet you boys,” Mr. Parker said.

Michael nodded in ascent, but scoffed inwardly. He knew that besides his father and sister the only person who had come to see him was Kyle. Sodinay society had no use for him. He was the adopted son of an important man, so he was tolerated. In the minds of these people he was just a foundling with no family and no name of his own. They had made it clear in his younger years that he would always be a second-class citizen because of his unknown parentage. If it weren’t for Kyle, Michael wouldn’t have had any friends at all when he was growing up. General Valenti had come up through the military ranks the hard way, and didn’t hold anyone’s background against them. Michael secretly wondered if even the good General wouldn’t regret his liberal actions if he knew the thoughts Michael harbored toward his beloved daughter.

That was why he loved the shipping business. He relished any reason to travel. In London he was the rough and exotic West Indian businessman with the air of a rogue, but with the polish of a fine education – he was too exciting for anyone to care about his parentage. In America…Boston and New York, his money made him powerful – most Americans preferred good bloodlines, but when enough money was involved such conventions were ignored. Things were very different on this tiny Island in the Caribbean Sea, no matter how great a man he was in the rest of the world, the minute Michael Guerin stepped foot on the shores of Sodinay he was nothing.

***

“I found him,” Max said quietly after the maid left the drawing room.

“Did you speak to him?” Tess asked.

“No, I just saw him from a distance. He just arrived today. I saw him hugging Jefferson Parker, the man with the gold mine in the island’s interior, he must be the adopted son. Nothing I heard gave any indication that he was a possibility, but it must be him. He noticed me and nodded at me – maybe he could tell.”

Max sat down next to his sister Isabel on the sofa, and took her hand in his own. He knew that deep down she was frightened of what this would mean. During their last three weeks of gathering information on every orphan in town it had seemed like their search was hopeless, and he knew his sister was more than a little relieved by that.

“We should approach him,” Tess said eagerly.

“Of course, Tess, we know that,” Isabel said with disgust.

“Alright,” Max said trying to keep the peace, “we’re all a little excited, let’s not argue. I’m going to speak to him as soon as I can, but I don’t want to rush it and frighten him.”

“I can’t imagine why anyone would be frightened of their destiny,” Tess replied to Max, but made it obvious the meaning of her words was intended for Isabel.

“I’m going out,” Isabel stood and headed for the hallway, giving Tess a withering look as she passed her.

“Is, it isn’t proper for you to go out unescorted. We have to keep up appearances, remember what Nacedo said,” Max hated it when Tess and Isabel fought, he was always caught in the middle.

“Well then, dear brother, please escort me,” Isabel called from the hallway as she opened the front door.

“Tess, don’t antagonize her, she’s allowed to feel scared about this,” Max said as he got up to follow his sister. “Please try to be more understanding with her.”

“Of course, Max,” Tess smiled sweetly and called after him, “Try to be back in time for dinner!”

***

Alex sighed and plopped down in a chair in the entryway as soon as the door closed after their last guest.

“Well, thank God that’s over,” he said, and his father laughed.

“I couldn’t agree more, son, I’m afraid most of the people of our acquaintance bore me to tears.”

“Too true,” Alex said, “I’d like to go see Mr. Trainor, and see if he has any new reading material. I’ve already ready everything I brought with me on the ship. Would you mind if I went out before the evening meal?”

“Not at all,” Jeff said as he turned down the hall toward his study, “you should see if Liz would like to go. She’s nearly as interested in the sciences as you are, you know. All I ever hear is some new method to improve crop yield, or the merits of vegetables in one’s diet.”

Alex smiled, he was proud of his sister and her mind, they shared a love of scientific research in nearly every area. “I’ll ask her to join me. Where did Michael disappear to? I haven’t seen him since we walked in the house.”

Jeff shook his head, “Your brother has never been one for social occasions.”

“Actually, Father, in London he is very much one for social occasions. He attends every ball and every party, receives dinner invitations every night. I know we’d heard that he was a bit of a playboy, but I really had no idea until I saw it for myself, he’s actually considered a ladies’ man. I was amazed, not to say that he isn’t the same person there that he is here, but he just doesn’t have the chip on his shoulder when he’s in public.”

“It’s hard to believe, Alex. I’ve heard that he is well regarded, but I just assumed it was only in matters of business. Life was always difficult for your brother, it’s good to hear that he has made a place for himself in that world. I suppose that would explain why he hasn’t been home for more than a month at a time since he and Kyle began their shipping ventures. It seems he’s found a life elsewhere,” Jeff said a little sadly. “I just hope it’s enough to make him happy,” he shook his head again and turned back down the hall toward his study.

“Is that true?”

Alex turned to see Liz come through the door of the parlor into the hallway.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“That’s amazing, my brother the ‘man-about-town’. I miss him so much when he’s away. I wish he could make a life for himself here,” she said wistfully, and then smiled at him, “At least you’re home to stay now.”

Alex cleared his throat, “Well, yes, I’m home to stay. Did I mention that I was also the toast of London society? Yes, I believe ‘dashing’ was the word most often used to describe me.”

Liz giggled and grabbed his hand pulling him out of the chair, “Come on, I do want to go to Mr. Trainor’s he was supposed to order a book for me on the migratory patterns of tropical birds.”

“My sister, the eavesdropping scientist,” Alex teased as he grabbed his hat and followed her out of the house.

***