Hey, ya'll! I was reading Jungle Book fanfics and I was shocked at the lack of Shere Kahn fics! He is one of my favorite villians! He's gentlemanly and intelligent; who wants a stupid villain? I plan on this being a relatively short fic, but it will be Shere Kahn centric.
While doing my research, I found out that 'Shere' means 'tiger' and 'Kahn' means 'King.' In turn, my OC is Shere, 'tiger', and 'Rani', 'Queen." I also found out that tigers do overlap territories on occasion, and that females and males do sometimes work together on hunts. Tigers are also the only known cats that enjoy water and voluntarily submerge themselves on many occasions. A main point that I learned was that tigers do, habitually, drag their prey and kills several hundred meters into sheltered areas before they eat. Several cases have been recorded of them also stashing kills in trees. All these facts will somehow come into play during this fic!
I will explain more about past events involving friendships with Bagheera and Baloo, and I also might post several one-shots about Shere Kahn and Shere Rani!
Enjoy!
Bagheera's ears shot forward as he heard the faint roars that filtered through the tall trees of the Jungle. The pain-filled yowls had disrupted Bagheera's afternoon nap and he quickly jumped from the shady tree he had been lounging on, shaking off the sleepy haze that had been brought on by the muggy jungle sun that was shining through the thick leaves of the trees. He focused on the small sounds, trying to recognize who and where they were coming from.
Faint snarls and growls could be heard, as well as yowls of pain. It was from a large creature, a predator. Bagheera listened with all his might, that he might hear the creature calling for help. The loudest roar yet came to his ears and he stiffened.
It was Shere Rani.
Bagheera had met Shere Rani when both were near cubs. They were quite similar in their calm, quiet, logical ways which was a surprise to the other Jungle creatures as well as he. Tigers were not known for their even tempers and logical responses, nor for their sporting ways and sense of honor. But Rani was unlike the self-proclaimed King of the Jungle. The panther and the tiger got along; they might have even been friends. Rani had made an agreement with the creatures of the Jungle. The tiger hunted Man's cattle, antelope, boars, and few others; she scavanged. In return, no one disturbed Rani's territory and the Jungle's animals were all allies.
No animals dismissed Rani's quiet power and danger, as it was known that any animal that entered the tiger's territory without invitation was quickly taken and… disposed of.
That said, all respected the tiger and in turn, Shere Rani respected them.
Bagheera concentrated on the snarls and decided that Rani was somewhere near the man village.
Only one thing could come of a tiger that had wandered to close to the man village: trouble.
He shot to his feet, and raced as fast as he could toward the village, bellowing as he saw a sleeping bear. "BALOO! Shere Rani is in danger!" The bear jolted awake as the black panther shot past him and stumbled to his large paws. Bagheera nimbly made his way through the thick green vegetation as Baloo bumbled his way around, swatting at trees and leaves, still half asleep with a banana peel stuck to his paw.
They had to reach Shere Rani first, before the King of the Jungle heard her snarls and cries.
Rani silently and stealthily crept through the thick jungle toward the man village, intent on her prey-a medium sized bull that had strayed from the herd. Slinking through the last of the trees, she stayed low to the ground and was completely intent on not warning the young child watching the small herd. This would be her first large kill in a while and though it would take a while to drag the carcass to her territory; she thought it would be worth it. She coiled her muscles and readied herself to spring, her striped flank tensing and rolling. The bull froze and it's head jerked around as it smelled the air. Baring her teeth and unsheathing her claws, she jumped and-
BANG!
-a huge pain shot through her left shoulder. Shere Rani landed heavily on her paws as she fell to the ground, unable to support herself. She roared loudly and noticed the Man she had overlooked. He had stood near the entrance to the village with a strange weapon that all creatures of the Jungle feared. Man's Gun. The man was making strange noises and more noises answered as more Man came out. Rani snarled and roared at Man, trying to back away into the jungle. One of the foolish creatures threw a rope at her. She batted it away with her large, heavy paw and roared even louder as another shot was fired, missing her flank by a few inches. The leaves next to her ruffled and she growled. Man was shouting and growing nearer to her and she swiped at the closest one, who jumped back at her loud snarls and yelps. She grew closer to the trees, but Man would not let her retreat. One of the strange creatures neared her from the left side and she glanced at him. A strange object was in his hand. It was pointed, much like the horns of an antelope. Rani growled and roared, trying to make herself heard over the shouts of Man and the noise of the Jungle.
Man jabbed the strange pointed weapon at her side and Rani hissed in pain and snapped at him with her jaws, catching Man's paw with her teeth. Shere Rani leapt forward slightly, trying to intimidate theses alien creatures. Creeping back into the darkness of the Jungle, Shere Rani limped as far from Man as she could, hoping they would not follow. She heard the bumbling creatures behind her as they hacked into the trees and she roared again, warning them off. Limping and panting, she slowly but determinedly made her way to a small stream several miles into the jungle and collapsed with a pained roar.
She stayed still, panting and trying to ignore the pain in her shoulder and flank. She edged forward, trying to take a drink of water. A deep chuckle emanated from behind her and she tried to roll over, forgetting her injuries in her surprise and landing on her injured side with a pained snarl.
"You look shocked to see me, but is it really a surprise?" Purred a deep voice coming from her right. Rani bristled and snarled at the tiger that was simply lounging beside a tree and gazing at her. Shere Kahn's tail twitched as his golden eyes gazed at her as she bared her teeth. His large, powerful frame was draped across the jungle floor and his striped tail waved lazily as he gazed at her. She supposed to any other tigress he would have been handsome, but not to her. "My dear, it looks as though you are in need of my assistance."
"I…did not…request your help. I can take care of myself." Rani's proud, cultured voice was thick and she lay on the ground near the stream, lapping water and still watching the King of the Jungle out of the corner of her eye.
"Young Rani, tigers are not meant to be striped orange, black, and red."
"Cross me…when I'm uninjured. I'll change that." Her labored breathing grew louder as she struggled to stand. Shere Kahn gracefully stood and stretched.
"Oh, I should hope you don't mean that. We are, after all, old friends. But you must tell me, has your previous agreement paid off? Where are your allies now? I am here and willing to help you…with anything and everything." He circled around her, his large paws padding softly and his tail brushing hers. "Come along, my territory, as I'm sure you know, is quite close."
Kahn firmly placed his head on her uninjured shoulder and pushed Shere Rani so that she staggered to the side, one step closer to his territory. Growling, she stood her ground as he shoved her again. She shook herself and butted the larger male tiger back; he didn't even flinch.
"Come now, I don't have time for this sort of nonsense. You will come with me." Shere Kahn's deep voice grew sterner and lower, suggesting that he was not finding the situation amusing. "My patience is wearing thin Rani, accept your place."
"I have told you many times. I do not require your care." Rani stubbornly sat down, snapping at Shere Kahn's long tail that had come to close to her nose. She turned her large head and ran her large pink tongue over the wound in her shoulder and she slightly winced in pain.
"I am no longer requesting, Rani." Shere Kahn growled and placed his unsheathed claws on top of her neck, digging them in slightly. "You will come with me willingly," he let out a sharp breath in her ear, "or I will be forced to drag you." His claws tightened into the fold of skin at the back of her neck, threatening to make good on his promise to drag her.
So let me know what you think and tell me if I should continue. Tell me if the characters are in character, how you like my OC, and any ideas you have for plausible encounters with Kahn! Future plans and suggestions for story are welcome as well!
Shout out to the author/ authoress Clipchip, because I read her/his stories and really liked them! They inspired me to write this! Read her stories, but caution! They are rated M!
Review!