Akili Is one of fhe major supporting protagonists of Grimm Fairy Tales' adaptation of The Jungle Book.
Biography[]
The Jungle Book[]
When Akili was just a baby, she, along with three other human children, was abducted by pirates, presumably to sell them to human trafficking. The ship carrying the children crashes onto Kipling Isle, halting the battle occuring between the animals that live there. Believed to be harbringers of peace, the children are adopted by one tribe. Akili is turned away from the Payari (elephant tribe), as they believe her to be too small. Subsequently, Akili is adopted by the Tavi (small mammal tribe).
Years later, Akili and the other children have grown up, and Akili has become the hero of Tavi, and attained a sidekick: Tobaqui, the jackal. She makes her first appearance as an adult when Mowglii and Bomani (the boy adopted by the Shere (Tiger Tribe))and Baloo are almost devoured by Kaa, the python. Working together, Akili, along with the rest of the Tavi tribe, work together to best the snake and free his victims. Akili later watches the battle between Mowglii and Shere Khan. After the tiger is defeated and Bagheera, the panther, prevents another tiger from killing Mowglii, Akili and the rest of her tribe return to their part of the jungle.
Last of the Species[]
In the second arc of the series, Akili makes her first appearance when the elephant prince, Hathi, is stuck in a mud pit. Despite Tobaqui's protests, given the pompous nature of the Payari, she rescues him and returns him to his tribe. However, as Tobaqui predicted, Rahda (the leader of the Payari), is far from grateful, due to his disdain for Akili. Later, when the Payari and the Shere are fighting, Akili saves Mowglii from being killed amidst the chaos. However, the battle ends up causing Tobaqui and Mowglii to fall over a cliff and end up in the caves underneath Kipling Isle.
Akili spends the evening searching for the two, and is joined by Bagheera, Baloo the bear, Won Tolla (a wolf), and Hathi. They run into dangers along the way, including Sag, the hyena, and his tribe of scavengers feasting on the casualties of the Shere and Payari. Akili and her companions fight the scavengers and are nearly killed, when Sag diverts his attention to an elephant that is barely alive.
Much later, Akili reunites with Tobaqui, after he, Mowglii, and Shere Khan, who was initially thought to be dead, emerge from the caves. Reunited with her sidekick, Akili returns to her tribe.
Fall of the Wild[]
Akili makes her most prominent role in the third and final arc of the series. She first appears when Mowglii seeks her out, in an attempt to unite the tribes. However, before Akili can accept Mowglii's proposition, she is kidnapped by Dewan (the human adopted by the Bandar (Primate tribe)) on Bandar Louis' orders. Akili is then taken to Bandar Log, where Louis, who was entranced by Akili's beauty, attempts to coerce Akili to become his queen. She refuses, but, her refusal falls upon deaf ears, as the monkey king ties her wrist to his. Before the ceremony is completed, howeber, it's interrupted by a gemsbok stampede, triggered by Bagheera and Tobaqui, on Mowglii's orders, as part of her plan to rescue Akili. It is further disrupted by the arrival of Kaa, who attempts to devour both Louis and Akili, but, the two are saved when Dewan kills Kaa by disemboweling him.
Akili once agaim refuses to be Louis' queen, and cuts her binds, dethroning him as leader of the now united Bandar-Tavi tribe. When Mowglii is kidnapped by pirates, Akili sends Tobaqui with Shere Khan and Dewan to aid Bomani in rescuing Mowglii, while she and Bagheera stay behind and end the fight between the Shere and the Payari. When Mowglii, Khan, Tobaqui, and Dewan return to the island (and after Bomani is killed by the pirates), Akili joins in the battle against the pirates. After the pirates are defeated, Akili then returns with her tribe to their part of the jungle.