Deeper Into the Jungle

by Angelwriter84

A new turn of events causes Baloo, Bagheera, and two newcomers to embark on a new journey to Mowgli's village. Meanwhile, Shere Khan battles with his past. Will these new journies piece things together somehow? And if it does, how will it affect their lives in the deep jungle? Only a new jounrey will tell! Non/slash and my very first story.

12. Chapter 13: Love Birds

….Hi everyone, here is Chapter 13. I was going to have a lot more in this chapter, but I thought I would split the next few events into another chapter to keep this chapter light and lively after all that's happened in the story. This is a big set up for the next few chapters and has some fun with the characters and a little romance. I hope you enjoy and have fun reading. The next chapter has a familiar guest and lots of buildup! Please feel free to review if you would like. I hope you enjoy!...

Chapter 13 Love Birds

Shere Khan and Shere Ki

For the next couple of days, Shere Khan did not wake up; the only time Shere Ki saw any reaction from him was his heavier breathing and opening his eyes whenever he would move around a bit. She tried to keep him as still as possible to prevent him from doing further damage to his wound. Baloo and Salena had improved…but still slept most of the time. She, Bagheera, and the man cubs were very restless. Too afraid to leave their injured friends, they kept watch over them in the barn; only getting out when they felt the need to return to the jungle for a walk or a hunt. Mowgli and the humans brought them food from the jungle most of the time, which made Shere Ki and Bagheera feel pathetic…but they wanted to be there in case Shere Khan woke up and reacted badly to his surroundings. Shere Ki stayed by his side most of the time, only Bagheera sat with him when she felt the need to leave the barn or when she wanted to sit with Salena while she was awake. She had lost count of the days, since everything seemed slow and timeless. Occasionally, the large man would leave the door (Shere Ki had learned the word from past conversations) and let light into the barn for them. On the bright side, everyone was rested after their long journey.

One day, Salena and Baloo were more alert and chattering cheerfully while everyone else joined the conversation in relief that their friends were healing. Shere Ki stayed by Shere Khan as she listened; pretty soon, the little panther and the bear had everyone laughing as they joked with one another. Shere Ki smiled when Bagheera interjected a comment to counteract Baloo's claim that jungle cats were too uptight, causing Salena to laugh and lay her head on his shoulder. She watched as Mowgli and Ranjan snuggled around Baloo, noticing that Shere Khan was moving around more than usual. Shanti came into the barn soon after, carrying the little man cub and setting her down in front of everyone.

Shere Ki smiled and greeted the little girl when she walked over to her, but stayed by Shere Khan in case he woke up. "Hello, little one!" She nuzzled the man cub before she walked off and did her best to run to Salena, who instantly pulled her into a hug with her good paw.

"Oh, what a surprise! She looks so much better!" Salena smiled an overjoyed smile. "Messua has done so well….have they named her yet?"

Ranjan interjected excitedly. "Yeah! We named our new sister Alpana!" Bagheera and Shere Ki smiled, already knowing the decision on her name from previous conversations.

Salena looked touched and surprised. "Alpa is my sister's name."

Ranjan smiled. "We know! Mommy and Daddy named her after your sister."

Salena looked down at the man cub with a confused expression. "But…how did you know my sister's name?"

When no one else answered, Bagheera did. "You were saying it in your sleep, and Shere Ki told everyone about her."

Salena made a touched sound similar to a sob as she let out a breath. "That was nice of them….I will tell her." Shere Ki looked at Bagheera, wondering how he really felt about Salena possibly returning to her home while wondering what she was going to do herself. Her heart throbbed when she thought about the possibility of not returning to her home. Just then, Shere Ki noticed Shere Khan move and draw in a heavy breath…often a sign that he was going to wake up.

Before she could say anything, the large man came in and said something to Mowgli, who soon came back in and asked everyone if they would like to help Baloo and Salena to go to the river. He looked at Shere Ki. "We know Shere Khan isn't able, but you can come too if you like. We thought everyone could use some air and he wanted to see how they are doing."

Shere Ki smiled at Mowgli. "I think that's a very good idea. I might go later with Shanti if she goes to get water…I think I had better stay with him. He looks like he's about to wake up."

Mowgli nodded, looking nervous as he walked over to Baloo, who was now able to stand on his own as long as he didn't strain his shoulder. Bagheera made Salena get on his back before she started hobbling, saying he would let her down at the river when she interjected. When they passed by, Salena gave Shere Ki a worried look. "Are you sure you will be okay?"

Shere Ki nodded, knowing what she had to do. "Yes, go ahead. You need to get out for a while."

Mowgli waved to Shere Ki as everyone left. "Be back soon."

While everyone was leaving Shere Khan opened his eyes, more alert than he had been the last time he had woken up. He twisted around and immediately looked in the direction of the noise with his paw stretched out in front of him, claws attempting to hold his balance to the ground. His face was a mixture of anger, suspicion, and confusion as he watched everyone leave and close the door. He immediately began looking about him, trying to draw his best conclusions about what the place was and how he had gotten there.

Shere Ki chose this moment to make herself known and spoke gently. "Hey."

Shere Khan smiled and tried to sit up when he caught sight of her, but winced at the pain in his side and examined it for the first time with a slightly panicked expression. Shere Ki went to him quickly and pushed on his shoulder to keep him laid down. "Don't try to move a lot; your wound still needs time to heal. You scared us all… How are you feeling?" She gently licked his face as she waited for his answer.

Shere Khan smiled and waited, enjoying the feel of her gently licking his face and not wanting to tell her how weak he felt. He chose instead to give one of his distinguished, sarcastic responses. "Delightful." As he thought, Shere Ki saw through this and gave a short laugh before brushing her cheek against his. "I'm just so happy to see you awake."

"And I'm happy so see you so affectionate." Shere Khan brushed his cheek against hers as he looked over her shoulder at the strange den they were in, hoping it wasn't where he thought it was. "Shere Ki….explain this to me." When she drew back from him, he folded one paw neatly over the other as he waited for her to give him more information. At the sound of his raspy voice, Shere Ki gave him water and a few pieces of meat that the humans had left, which he took eagerly. When he had finished, he repeated his previous action with a look of patience, meaning he was running out of it.

Shere Ki hesitated, suddenly feeling apprehensive. She had never had to break anything gently to Shere Khan before. The only thing that had come close was the news that they were expecting Navin, but even then she had not had to reason with him…she just had to watch as he went through a phase of shock before reacting in a joyful manner that had surprised her. This time, she was asking him to basically give up a long term goal of his. She started off in the best way she knew how, by being honest.

"We are in a human den built for tending to animals…a barn. In the Man Village."

Shere Khan growled. "And how, may I ask, did I get here?"

Shere Ki explained everything that had happened from the time he was shot to the present, then going all the way back to the beginning and the reasoning behind the journey when he inquired about the presence of the others. When she had told him everything as best as she could, she went back to how Mowgli had helped save his life. Though Shere Khan's face had held numerous expressions throughout her explanations, his face held the strongest expression of anger she had seen yet when she brought up his name.

When she observed this, she spoke quickly in the man cub's defense, knowing that if she didn't ask him now everything could end very badly. "Shere Khan, please….he saved your life. It's time to stop the chase while you have the chance. I think you owe him that much. The same for the humans of the village and the others….."

Shere Khan's expression had been blank up until then. He chose this moment to interrupt her as he shook his head in seeming disbelief. "I don't see how anything is owed at all."

Shere Ki stared at him. "I don't see it that way. They have done a lot for you…"

"They have also done a lot to me."

These words stung Shere Ki deeply; she realized that deep down, she still felt the same way, but just handled it differently and worked to get over her hurt. Shere Khan, on the other hand, seemed fine on the outside but was raw with pain on the inside. He handled things so differently…but she didn't know how to ease it for him. She stared into his eyes, fighting back tears. Shere Khan's expression softened as he reached out and lifted her chin; he touched his nose to hers as she gathered her thoughts, silently apologizing for his outburst. Shere Ki finally voiced her thoughts. "Me too…"

Shere Khan looked into her face with rare sincerity. "Shere Ki….I…"

Shere Ki interrupted, almost in an outburst, almost begging him. "Shere Khan, please…I know you've been hurt. And I'm right here. I'm here, love, and I'm listening. Please, talk to me." Her words were nearly whisper as she spoke through inevitable tears.

Shere Khan closed his eyes and touched his nose to hers, for once at a loss of words. He let her cry as he made his decision. When her cries had quieted, he began to tell her everything.

And so, the pair talked about everything that had been left unsaid and repeated all that had been said before. As they did, they had a new understanding of one another and themselves. They held each other for comfort and snapped at one another in anger, they laughed through the most unimportant memories and they cried about their deepest hurt. They shared with each other in a different light the deaths of their families, the memories with their friends, why they had separated, their resentments, their favorite memories, the man cubs, and finally loss of the son who had barely gotten a chance at life. The one thing they knew they could no longer deny was their love for one another….and what it would take to keep it together….mostly picking up the pieces. But they knew when they did, they would finally find peace…together.

When all was said, the tigers held onto one another as they stroked each other and looked into each other's eyes. Shere Ki chose to address the one matter that had not yet been fully addressed. "And….Mowgli? And the humans that have helped us? What will you do?"

At Shere Khan's look of disbelief, Shere Ki started to become impatient. This is the one thing he has to do to be free… "Shere Khan, they saved your life! We would never have been able to save you. And after all you have done to Mowgli, he still helped you. Don't you think it's enough…."

Shere Khan sighed and raised his head, telling her he wanted to be heard. She waited. "They killed our son, Shere Ki…."

The tigress felt exasperated. "Not all humans can be blamed for…."

"And you know that he humiliated me…?"

Shere Ki lowered her head, not wanting to end with an argument. "I know….but…."

Shere Khan tried to sit up, but let out a heavy breath and winced at the pain in his side. By the way he held his side and by the look in his eyes, she knew his strength would leave him again soon. He stood the pain and grabbed Shere Ki's forearm to keep her from fussing over his wound. Out of fear that he would harm her friends, she whispered once more that the man cubs were no different than their own son. Hearing this, Shere Khan tilted her chin once more to look into his eyes as he gave his answer with a hard look. "I have only this to offer…"

When he had stated his conditions, Shere Ki nodded in agreement of his terms, knowing that they were the best they could expect for now. When they knew that all was said and settled, they finally shared long lost kisses that filled their long empty hearts with love and joy once more. Shere Khan held her cheek in his paw as he lay back against the grass, fighting against the darkness threatening to close in around him.

Shere Ki saw this and bent to nuzzle him as she looked into his eyes. "Don't fight, Shere Khan. Rest with me." She lay down beside him and gave him a reassuring look.

Shere Khan continued to hold her face gently in his paw. "I…love you…Shere Ki…."

Shere Ki rubbed her cheek against his as she breathed a sob of joy and whispered her honest words. "I love you too, Shere Khan…" She kissed his cheek as he gave a weak smile and closed his eyes. "I love you, I love you, I love you….." Both tigers rested then, sleeping better than they had ever slept in a long time.

Salena

Salena lay close to the river, enjoying the warm feel of the sun as it shone through the trees and the wind as it blew gently around them. She smiled as she watched Bagheera splash Mowgli and Ranjan as they sat on a low hanging tree branch above to water. At first, Bagheera had started to sit beside her and watch a family of birds in a nest, but for some reason Mowgli had insisted that he wanted to try his hand at climbing trees again. When Bagheera had objected to the boy's insisting, Mowgli persuaded him to try teaching him again. Salena heard him mumbling something about the man cub never being interested in learning before as he stomped to the nearest tree with Mowgli. She, Shanti, and Baloo sat and watched the lesson in amusement as the lesson turned into Bagheera running out of patience and resorting to pushing Mowgli up by his behind as the man cub's legs flailed.

Bagheera's voice already sounded annoyed. "Use your feet…!" He also concentrated on keeping his tail from Ranjan, who was laughing and trying to catch it.

As Baloo and Shanti rolled with laughter, Salena spotted a knob in the tree near Mowgli's left foot and started to tell him about it. She quickly thought better of it as she remembered Mowgli's actions towards her. For some reason, he had barely spoken to her on his own at all. Whenever she would try to speak to him, he gave brief answers and went on his way, making her regret speaking to him to begin with. It didn't seem like he was this kind of person by nature… He even spoke with Shere Ki more easily than he did with her…she had tried to think back to see if she had done anything wrong, but could think of nothing. She knew that he might not take her suggestion if she yelled it out herself. Just then, Bagheera shrieked as Ranjan caught his tail and used it to climb onto his back and hold onto the skin.

Salena winced as Bagheera realized that they were too far up the tree to fall and used all his strength to try shoving Mowgli up the tree. Salena whispered her idea to Baloo for him to call to Mowgli, feeling nervous as Bagheera's muscles tensed.

"Use that knob in the tree by your foot, Little Britches!" Mowgli instantly heeded to the bear's thundering command and succeeded in nearly reaching the branch.

"Thanks, Papa Bear. I didn't know you climbed trees!" Salena had noticed how the boy seemed to marvel over everything the bear did.

Baloo decided to chance it and told the truth. "Hmmm…ummm! It was Salena's idea." She laughed at how he seemed to think climbing a tree was a disaster.

Mowgli expression hardened as he looked in their direction and succeeded in at least struggling to the branch and clinging to it as his legs flailed. "Well, I don't see why she didn't tell me herself." For the first time in a while, Salena could feel her temper rising as she struggled to keep herself from glaring at the boy. Bagheera looked suddenly more annoyed than ever and gave him a hurried shove that got him on the branch, allowing Bagheera to jump onto the branch and set Ranjan down. "Oh, man cub…." Salena smiled as the panther gently sat little Ranjan on the tree branch and glared at the cubs he had hoisted up the tree as they started to laugh. As he splashed them playfully, she couldn't help but think what a wonderful father he would be.

Now, as Bagheera lay in tree in a more serious conversation with Mowgli, Salena sighed and dipped her good paw into the water. She felt someone watching her and caught Baloo and Shanti smiling and staring at her. She looked into the river to see if something was on her face and turned back to look at them. "What?"

Baloo and Shanti snickered as Baloo lay down on his stomach and attempted a dreamy face, sighing girlishly as he did so. Salena stared at the great bear in disbelief. "Are you making fun of me?"

Shanti lay down in front of her and looked at her admiringly, though not as much in a teasing manner as Baloo. Salena waited; though she had spent so little time with her, their friendship had made her very fond of the girl. Shanti spoke with reason and simple curiosity. "So what do you like most about him?"

Salena was taken aback by the girl's question. "Who?" She asked the question innocently as she watched Bagheera.

Baloo interjected here. "Bagheera…the panther you've been starin' at for the last twenty minutes." When Salena gave him a swat on the shoulder, he stretched and stared at the sky lazily. "Ew…giiirrrlll talk…"

Salena pushed at the bear's face as she looked back at Shanti, who was waiting on an answer. She didn't know how to answer her, but knew that it was going to be good practice for the questions that Shere Ki was sure to ask. The two had a lot to talk about and would make sure that each one was making the best decision for themselves. She looked at Bagheera, not sure how to answer the question out loud. "I…I'm not sure…."

Shanti prompted her, clearly curious. "You seem to like riding on his back."

Baloo looked into her face with the attempted dreamy expression once more. "Loooove birds…."

Salena rolled her eyes, forgetting the sincere answer she was pondering for Shanti and making a sarcastic dreamy expression at Baloo as she spoke in a soft, teasing voice, shaking her head gently as she did so. "Yes, I like the feel of his muscles as he walks with me on his back…"

Baloo and Shanti snorted and howled with laughter as Bagheera, Mowgli, and Ranjan approached with amused expressions. "What's so funny?" Ranjan asked his question curiously as he sprawled out on the jungle floor.

Baloo rolled over, still half laughing. "Salena…" Before he could finish, Salena pushed against his face to keep him quiet as he laughed. The laughter ceased as they heard footsteps approaching; they turned to see Ranjan's father and Messua. The man knelt beside Salena and unwound the cloth from her bad paw. When he had undone it, Salena licked her paw delicately, disgusted at the fact that it had not been cleaned in the last couple of days.

When the man spoke to her, she put her paw gently on the ground and remained in her sitting position as she looked him intently in the eyes, indicating that she was listening. "Your paw should be healing by now. Do you want to try walking a few steps?"

Salena stood slowly, noticing that she could at least stand on the paw without much difficulty. She was still scared when she set her paw on the ground for the first step. Having her tiny paw set was the worst pain she had ever felt. The man gave her a last minute instruction that she intended to follow. "Not too much on it, now. Just want to see how you are doing."

Salena reluctantly took the first step; she noticed that the first step did not hurt at all, her paw only felt numb and stiff, causing her to limp badly. When she took the second step, however, a dull pain went through her forepaw; the next step brought a throbbing pain that caused her to stumble. She lay there for a moment before anyone moved to help her, feeling discouraged and embarrassed.

The man and Bagheera were the first to reach her. The panther gently helped her to sit up as the man patted her head. "It's alright, girl. We will wrap it again and see how it does again soon. You should be back in the jungle in no time." She gave him a smile and allowed him to wrap her paw as the others watched with concerned looks on their faces. When the man had unwrapped Baloo's quickly healing shoulder and nodded his head at the improvement, he went to rejoin Messua as they sat and played with Ranjan while watching the animals to see how much longer it would be before they could return to the jungle.

Baloo was the first to speak, sounding sympathetic as he watched her stare at her reflection in the water sadly. He touched her shoulder with his paw as he lay down on his belly in front of her. "Aw, Sally…are you ok?"

Salena felt so saddened that she ignored the nickname she wasn't fond of. "Yeah, Baloo."

At the sound of Mowgli calling for his Papa Bear, Salena smiled. "You had better go see what he wants." The bear smiled and walked over to where Mowgli's voice had come from with Shanti; when they were gone, she turned to see Bagheera's reflection appear, looking with concern at hers. She smiled as he lay across from her to speak comforting words.

"Your paw will heal in no time, Salena; we are sure of it. Within the next week, you should be able to at least walk on it. Then we will have you home in no time."

Salena stared at him, wondering how he felt about the thought of her returning home. Even though she missed her family badly, that wasn't really it….she had no idea how to talk to him about what was wrong. Her own heart throbbed at the thought of leaving him; she had no idea when, but she did know that she loved him. But does he? And what about my family? How could she ever choose, or know how Bagheera felt? She was brought out of her thoughts when she caught sight of his expression as he waited for her answer. Somewhere in Baloo and the man cubs' direction, there was a commotion followed by loud laughs.

Salena smiled shyly at Bagheera, trying to think of her reply. "I…just…" She was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings and looked up to see a kite as he cried and landed in front of her and Bagheera.

Bagheera immediately stood to greet the worn out bird. "Oh, Qadir…I hope your flight went well. What news have you?"

The bird looked her over as he caught his breath. "Are you the daughter of Dihrem and Maya?"

Salena looked at the kite, confused. "I…am…"

Bagheera answered her confused expression. "Salena, this is Qadir the Kite. He is the messenger I sent to your parents before we left."

The kite held a wing to his stomach. "It took a long time to find you, Bagheera…."

Salena sat bolt upright, letting out a sigh of relief and smiling eagerly as she spoke to the kite in a gentle, curious voice. "Do you have a message from my parents?"

The bird dipped his head in a nod as he spoke. "Your father is the speaker…memorable character." Salena smiled at the bird's apparent fondness of her father, as did Bagheera.

Salena eagerly urged the kite to continue. "That he is…please tell us!"

Having caught his breath, the bird stood upright. As he repeated the message, his voice remained the same…but his tone reflected that of her father's.

"Dear Bagheera, Salena, and Shere Ki (we are in the highest hopes she has made it to you by now);

My dear, sweet daughter…you have no idea how relieved we are to hear that you are safe as you can be now. Your mother and I are so very proud of you. We were afraid of the worst for a while. Alpa was ill, but hearing the message that you were safe made her feel much better. We also know that all of you may be faced with many more decisions throughout your journey. Choose wisely and stay strong, no matter how hard the choices may seem; we cannot wait until your safe return home….."

Salena smiled at her father's ever wise words, knowing the meaning behind each and every sentence. She now knew that her father had thought through all the possibilities of her journey by now, and that he had accepted all of them with the exception of the possibility that she could fail or die, which she didn't. He knows… She wondered how he felt about all of them, and if he knew his predictions had most likely followed through. One thing was sure; he wanted her home whether she chose to stay there her whole life or not. She still had time to make her decision. She smiled as the bird continued, filled with encouragement at her father's words.

"And Shere Ki, if you are with them, you will answer to us for not sending word. But even so, we are proud of you. You do have the strength and fearlessness of your dear father and mother. Be strong and choose wisely, our brave one. Maya and I have hearts filled with love for you both…remember I am still trusting you on this…."

Though Salena winced at the opening sentence for Shere Ki, she smiled and memorized the message so she could repeat it to her lifelong friend.

"Bagheera, thank you for sending word and for helping our dear daughters and our family. We will forever be indebted to you for your deeds. I can tell from your message that you have come such a long way. I hope that everyone is well and that the journey goes smoothly and gives all of you a safe return home. I know that we have given you a lot of decisions for you to make yourself, but we hope all is well and that you will come and meet our family. Please see to it, if you will, that our daughters come safely back to us.

With sincerity and good luck to all,

Dihrem, Maya, and Alpa."

Everyone immediately started to reply to the message excitedly; Salena hadn't noticed until now that Baloo and the man cubs had gathered around the kite as well.

"Oh, Daddy…we are safe! Shere Ki is with us…as are others. Everyone is here and safe! The little man cub now has her place in the Man Village! We have had some injuries, but are healing quickly…I will be home as soon as I can walk on my paw. I love all of you so much…" Salena heard herself speak amongst everyone else. She realized she would hate to be in the kite's place right now…

Baloo jumped in. "Oh, yeah!" He looked at Salena in a mocking, thoughtful way. "Lots of decisions…"

Bagheera's eyes were bright and excited as he started his response. "Oh thank you, Dihrem…everyone is safe now, and the task has been accomplished. You have my word that they will have a safe return…I'll escort them myself…"

Amongst all of this chaos, the man cubs were asking questions at the same time. The kite looked stressed. All the chattering was interrupted by the man's call. "Mowgli, tell everyone it is time for us to go back inside the village. It will be dark soon!"

Salena did her best to stand, thinking fast as she realized that jumbled mess was going to be sent to her father. She made a nervous laugh. "Qadir, we are about to have to leave…do you think you could organize all that into a message that father can make sense out of? Maybe organizing it by person and telling him we had to leave in a hurry?"

The kite smiled, seeming to hide an exasperated sigh. "I can, little panther. I will carry the message to your family as soon as I can fly…."

Salena smiled, knowing this was a tiring job for him. "Get all the rest you need. Thank you so much."

Bagheera came up beside her to send Qadir off with his final requests. "Oh thank you, Qadir…please take rest and be sure to let Dihrem know that everyone is safe for now when you organize the message. Your payment for this will be more than you've set. I will hunt as much for you as you need."

The kite held up a wing before preparing to fly. "No need. Dihrem has requested that I tell you he has paid everything in full."

Bagheera looked astonished; as the kite flew off, Bagheera wished him good luck. Salena smiled at his wide eyes. "He does that."

Bagheera watched the kite fly as he bent down to offer Salena his back. "An honorable panther, your father." Without thinking about it, Salena climbed onto his back and rested her cheek between his shoulders, feeling tired. She was snapped out her drowsiness by the sound of giggles from Baloo and Shanti.

Remembering her ridiculous comment to Baloo, Salena lost control of herself and burst into laughter, shaking violently and causing Bagheera to look over his shoulder in alarm. Baloo and Shanti laughed even harder when she laughed; Bagheera, Mowgli, and Ranjan looked around for the source of the laughter in obvious confusion. Bagheera was the first to voice his curiosity, "What is it?"

Salena spoke quickly before Baloo could. "Nothing! GoaheadBaloo'sjustbeing silly." Bagheera gave a stern, puzzled look before following the large man into the gates of the Man Village and towards the barn. He slowed and fell slightly behind the others as they drew closer to the barn; as Baloo and Shanti passed, they giggled under the breath…this caused Salena to let out a loud giggle as she struggled to stifle a laugh at their earlier joke. Bagheera must never know…

Bagheera stopped and looked over his shoulder at her with a serious look, meaning he wanted to talk with her. She held her breath as another laugh rose in her throat, feeling like an idiot. She cleared her throat and returned his gaze, waiting nervously for him to speak. Bagheera spoke in his soft voice, instantly charming Salena and earning a sweet smile from her. "Salena, I've spoken to Mowgli about his treatment of you. I'm sorry he has been this way… I don't know what's come over him…"

Salena gazed into Bagheera's eyes curiously. "Did he tell you what was wrong?"

Bagheera shook his head and took another step. "No, he didn't seem to know himself."

Salena felt her ears lay flat as her heart sank. She had hoped to know what caused his dislike for her, but she did not want to cause any agony between him and Bagheera. She looked into Bagheera's eyes with sincerity. "That's too bad…"

Bagheera, nodded and continued walking at the sound of the man's whistle. "I saw you seemed down at the river..." At Salena's hesitation, he looked her in the face. "What is the matter?"

Salena looked at the barn, noticing how close it was. "I…"

Bagheera glanced at the barn knowingly. "Would you…talk with me later?"

Salena smiled as they stepped through the door, touched that he cared about her but nervous about telling him what was really wrong. "Of course." She touched her nose to his as the man closed the door behind them. For a moment, they were in a world of their own; they finally looked around, embarrassed to find everyone in the barn staring at them. When she caught sight of Baloo and Shanti, she tumbled off Bagheera's back as she burst into a fit of laughter with them.

When she looked around she was dismayed to find Bagheera looking at them as if they had lost their sanity, Mowgli a bit sullen, Ranjan confused, and Shere Ki looking up in awareness as she rested both her front paws carefully on Shere Khan's still back. When everyone had quieted, Shere Ki seemed to notice Salena's alarm and covered for her in her usual calm voice. "You're all bananas."

The tigress' blunt tone caused everyone else to laugh at them and brought a smile of agreement to everyone else. Shere Ki didn't waste another minute, seeming restless. "Shanti, do you have to go get water? I would love to come with you if that's alright. I think he will sleep for a while."

"Yeah, I do…and since I've waited so late, having someone with me would be nice. Let me go ask if I can bring you out." Shanti walked quickly out of the barn.

Shere Ki turned to Salena, giving her an all too familiar look. "Do you want to go?" Salena recognized the tigress' "you are coming with me" tone and nodded, not even bothering to object. She was in great need of her friend's advice and was curious to know what Shere Ki herself had decided.

Mowgli approached Shere Ki and looked at her nervously. "So what'd he say?"

This caught Bagheera and Baloo's attention as well. Baloo sat up from his lazy lounge on a bed of hay. "Did Ol' Stripes wake up?"

Shere Ki nodded, still resting her front paws on the tiger's broad shoulder, and then answered Mowgli's question. "I've spoken to him, and he told me his terms. But he wants to tell you himself when he is able."

Mowgli looked suspicious, then spoke boldly. "I don't want to speak to him alone."

Shere Ki looked him in the eyes with her striking, honest stare and spoke softly. "You won't be."

Bagheera stepped forward, looking cautious. "Shere Ki, you said terms? And I will trust your word on this….are they fair?"

Shere Ki hesitated, giving Bagheera the same honest stare. "Yes, I think so…and the best I think we can hope for as of now. He will…most likely tell everyone as he tells Mowgli."

Bagheera nodded seriously. "It seems fair enough."

Mowgli seemed a bit more at ease. "Thanks, Shere Ki."

The tigress smiled at the boy and nodded her response. Salena smiled, but couldn't help feeling a bit jealous. At least she gets a "thank you". The little panther felt glad that Shere Ki had somehow gained his friendship, however. Otherwise, she and Shere Khan might not have been so lucky with the humans. Salena knew she had Mowgli to thank that they were all alive, and hoped to thank him on better terms.

Suddenly, Salena remembered her father's message and sat up from her laying position. "Shere Ki! We heard from Father! The messenger bird found us at last."

The tigress turned toward her with anticipation. "What did he say?"

Salena smiled teasingly. "Well, you've got them worried. The opener was that you are in trouble for not sending word." Shere Ki froze in realization; only her right ear twitched three times as remembrance crossed her face. She recovered after about a minute of trying to think of a good defense. "Oh…."

Salena giggled with everyone else at Shere Ki's reaction and hugged her friend, who gave up on trying to find a defense and chuckled a tinkling laugh as she hugged back. She then repeated her message word for word, watching as the tigress processed each word.

Shere Ki smiled in reassurance as her father's words ran through her mind. "Thank you, Salena."

Salena smiled warmly at her best friend as Shanti entered the barn with a huge container for water; Salena thought she remembered someone calling it a pot. "We can go now if you're ready, Shere Ki. They said it was okay."

Shere Ki started to walk in their direction, then glanced back at Shere Khan with a concerned expression. She looked to Baloo and Bagheera, speaking in a serious tone. "Can you both watch over him until we get back? I am pretty sure he will sleep, but….I can't be sure. He knows you are both here."

Bagheera returned her gaze, before tilting his head in a sincere manner. "Of course."

Shere Ki slipped under Salena as the little panther tried to stand, causing the two to giggle as the tigress popped up with Salena on her back. "Salena is coming with us."

Salena laughed at Shanti's excited tone as the girl walked out of the barn. "Alright! Girl time."

As Shere Ki passed Bagheera, Salena returned his smile sweetly and mouthed her question to him. "Talk later?" The handsome panther gave her one of the sweetest smiles she had ever seen, indicating that they could.

Baloo was quick to observe this exchange, and gave Bagheera a teasing look. "Love birds, huh?" By his look of expectation, Salena knew that he and Bagheera would most likely talk as well. She smiled at Bagheera's shy look of embarrassment. When Baloo shot her a quick look, she returned this with an alarmed look of desperation and mouthed a request to him. "Please don't say anything about earlier, Baloo. It will embarrass us." Thankfully, the bear got it and winked. She hoped that this wouldn't be like the last "secret"…. Oh, I would die!

Mowgli stopped in front of her and Shere Ki before they could leave the barn, smiling as he held the rope the man had attempted to use on Shere Ki before. "Hey, Shere Ki…you forgot this." He could barely hide his teasing smile as he waved it in front of the tigress. Shere Ki voiced her thoughts by cutting the loop in the rope with a claw as if she were slicing a leaf. She smacked a laughing Mowgli with a flick of her tail as she exited the barn. With that, the giggling trio set off for the river.