Chapter 25 Epilogue

Bagheera

He watched them play from his place on his tree branch, toppling over their mother, playing with Chara, and pestering the other animals nearby. Kalith, their firstborn son, was watching a bee buzz its way in the flowers. Patient and clever…..Bagheera truly could not deny this son of his. His lean, muscular build and sincere eyes were that of him and his great-grandfather before him, thus his name. The one pestering his little sister was Seth; strong and rambunctious, even before he could open his eyes. He was to be named after his grandfather, but Dihrem had requested they name him after Salena's grandfather instead….and the name fit. The strong little cub was being disciplined by Salena now, for running all over the place.

All but hurt by his mother's reaction, Seth scampered over to pester his little sister…..their beautiful, happy little Lydia. With her small build, wide shining blue eyes, and spunky spring in each step, she was the cub version of Salena. She was charming everyone with small giggles at Louie's funny faces when Seth ambled over and began swatting at her from a crouched position. With an annoyed look, she pushed him over like it was nothing and sprinted for her mother as everyone laughed. Bagheera sensed he was needed by the look on Salena's face as she held Seth back from his younger sister, who had climbed on her mother's back and was glaring down at her brother. Just in the time it took him to climb from the tree, Seth had given up and approached little Mayra, who was resting against one of her mother's forelegs. Mayra managed to keep up most of the time, but she was their frail one. Kindness always showed in those bright yellow eyes and the way in which she carried her tiny body with grace. They kept a watch on her, but she was strong enough for now. She cried when Seth snuck up to her and pulled at her ear with his teeth. Kalith instantly ran over and stood over his younger sister protectively.

Salena pushed Seth from his sobbing little sister. "Seth!" She held her youngest daughter's face in both her paws and tried to soothe her in a calm voice. "Mayra….It's okay, baby." When Mayra stopped crying, Salena set her beside Kalith and Lydia, who were starting to doze off. Seth looked somewhat guilty for a moment, and was caught by his father before he could run off. "Ooohhh, Seth! That does it!"

He took his young son away from the crowd and had to give him a few blows. Little Seth didn't like anyone to see him cry, but this time he curled up into a little ball and sniffled. Bagheera nuzzled the top of his son's head. "Oh, Seth. I'm sorry, but you have to learn to behave. Now let's go take a nap." He picked up his son by the scruff of his neck and lay him amongst his brothers and sisters, who were nestled against Salena. He kissed his wife's cheek and lay down next to her to listen to the story Shere Ki was telling about their trek here. With young cubs who loved to explore, getting places was always a hassle.

Shere Ki was starting to giggle at the memory. "…Chara, she….fell through some leaves into a small hole without Shere Khan and I noticing. The next thing we knew she was gone and…the only thing we could hear was her voice. We had no idea where it was coming from. All we could hear was 'Mama….Daddy…..'. We finally found her at the bottom of the hole she had fallen through."

Salena smiled knowingly. "So how did she get out?"

"She was able to understand how to jump high enough to latch onto Shere Khan's paw so he could pull her up. Then guess who else fell?"

Shere Khan, who had been sitting ideally by with a grin, starting pawing at his mate's muzzle so she wouldn't finish. Shere Ki pushed it away with a giggle. "Who knew your little 'shortcut' had holes everywhere?"

At this point, lovely little Chara had returned from playing chase with one of Raksha's puppies and was sitting by , patiently listening to the story. She was usually quiet, but quickly learning how to understand and say certain words in a sentence, which charmed almost everyone. Now, she looked up at her mother in recognition of a word, her little face glowed with curiosity when she spoke. "Hole?"

Salena smiled at the little tiger cub. "Yeah."

Chara gave them a mischievous grin. "Daddy fell."

When Salena and Bagheera burst into laughter, Shere Khan turned his attention from Shere Ki to tickle his daughter. Shere Ki looked down at her giggling daughter with pride as she finished her story for Bagheera and Salena. "That's right. When Shere Khan started walking away, the earth around the hole gave way and he fell too!"

Salena turned to the great tiger when she could speak. "So will you be taking the shortcut home, Shere Khan?"

Chara's ears perked again at a word she recognized. "Shortcut." After offering her say in which way she preferred to return home, she walked over to her mother and nestled in the crook of her foreleg for a nap.

Bagheera rested a paw on Salena's back and watched his little cubs sleep….each with their own unique personalities and physique…..each apart of him and his beloved mate. It hadn't been long since their birth, and every time he looked at them, he was reminded of his admiration for Salena. Their birth had been very difficult for her; in fact, she was very sick the whole time she was carrying. If it hadn't been for Maya, Shere Ki, and Yamini, he would never have known what to do. He spent the majority of the time with her, in an inward panic at how frail she had become. Salena remained positive, however, even she was confined to cave rest. Dhara often stayed with her when no one else could, and kept her company; the two grew close as friends….one of the reasons Dhara had remained in this part even after the panther family departed.

Just days before their cubs were due, the Red Dogs sent a message threatening to invade their part of the jungle because they thought their territory had been trespassed by a herd of rhinos. Bagheera was frantic; he didn't want to leave Salena…but hundreds might die if they came to the jungle. With help from Dihrem and Shere Khan, they managed to arrange a meeting with the leader of the dholes to try to make amends peacefully. Shortly after he had set out with Dihrem and Shere Khan for the meeting, two strange vultures landed on the top of Salena and Bagheera's cave for a conversation. They had overheard the dholes planning to ambush the main leaders of the jungle at the meeting to be rid of them; when this was accomplished, the dholes could hunt far around the perimeter of their territory for a long time before anyone would hold them off. Succeed or not, the vultures would have a meal of leftover jungle cats, or many bodies of dholes.

Salena heard everything, and never thought twice about dashing from her cave when they were gone. She ran the entire way he and the others had traveled to catch them in time. She collapsed at their feet just within two miles of their meeting place; Bagheera was horrified when he caught sight of her swollen paws, now almost twice the size of his. Salena managed to pant out the truth amongst the scolds from everyone. She had their attention halfway through; when she finished, they were all furious with the dholes.

Just then, Baloo burst through the bushes; he had overheard the vultures talking as he napped underneath a tree near their cave, and was coming to rescue his friends as well. That had proven everything. When Dihrem declared that they should return home, Salena fell unconscious when she tried to stand. They were all horrified when she began to cry out in pain. Baloo carried her all the way back home; at least a dozen animals offered their homes along the way, but Salena refused each one…..she wanted to be home…..right then. Shere Khan and Dihrem spotted the vultures along the way, and sent a message to the Red Dogs saying that the meeting was cancelled, and if they set paw out of their territory, herds of animals would be after them within the day.

Baloo shot inside the cave with Salena when they finally reached their home; after some brief explanations from Bagheera and Baloo, Maya immediately shooed them out, ordering them to run for Shere Ki, Dhara, and Yamini. Bagheera watched as every one of them jumped back with a gasp when they caught sight of the scene in the cave. Every one practically leapt inside to help as best as they could. They shooed him out, saying it was best if he waited outside. Bagheera couldn't help but think they would never understand what a torture that was…..to have to listen to the agonized cries and not be able to do a thing about it. He must have paced for hours; no amount of 'it will be alright soon's, or 'SIT DOWN's from the others calmed him. He froze every time someone bolted from the cave to retrieve water or herbs, only to shake his head and resume pacing when they offered no updates. Everyone else grew worried when night gave way to dawn, and when dawn turned into afternoon…..and the cries became fainter.

At last, just when Bagheera was beginning to think all was lost, an exhausted Maya appeared to tell him to come and see his cubs. Bagheera made his way through all those gathered around to find Salena resting with four nursing cubs. Astonishment washed over him as he made his way to her; she opened her eyes when he kissed her cheek and smiled up at him. "Bagheera," she had said in her gentle voice. "Come and meet you cubs."

He had crouched beside his brave wife and rested a paw on her back, as he was doing now, and felt joy wash over him as he took in the sight of their cubs. Everyone had met the long awaited cubs that night; Bagheera couldn't remember much…..the main one he remembered was when Dihrem had seen his grandchildren for the first time. He was ecstatic, of course; when Salena joked that he now had four other grandchildren to discipline, he had raised his head to her with a smile. "No," he had replied. "You and Bagheera get four children to discipline. But Maya and I…." He raised his eyebrow mischievously and began looking from cub to cub, as if trying to figure out who to spoil first. "I get five new grandchildren to spoil."

At the look on their faces, Shere Ki spoke up while nursing a starving Chara. "It's true. He had her for five minutes the other day and she came back rotten."

Salena and Bagheera nuzzled one another then; even while she slept, he watched over his little cubs, vowing to always protect them….no matter what it might cost. Dihrem, Maya, and Alpa had been able to stay just long enough to meet the children when they opened their eyes. They returned to their home at the far side of the jungle, just in time for Dihrem to resume his normal duties, on a joyful note. When the children were older, he and Salena would take the journey to let them see their aunt and grandparents. Dhara had decided that she finally found where she belonged, and decided to remain with them in their part of the jungle; Salena's family traveled back with the family of one of Yamini's children, who were heading back that way. Baloo must have decided Dhara was 'alright', because they were together the majority of the time from what Bagheera could see. Mowgli, Shanti, Ranjan, and a fast growing Alpana still visited with them regularly outside the Man Village. Bagheera could swear the man cub was taller every time he saw him.

Salena must have seen he was reminiscing again, and licked his cheek affectionately with a smile. "So what are you thinking about?"

Bagheera smiled back at her with a sweet grin. "How much I love you."

Salena smiled his favorite smile and touched her nose to his with shining eyes. Just then, a loud, booming voice called out to them from the river. "Hey! Who started this party without me?!"

Almost everyone sat up at once; Bagheera turned his head with a smile. Baloo! He and Dhara hadn't been seen in quite a while….everyone had started worrying about them. But then again….Baloo hardly ever missed a gathering. All the cubs woke up as Baloo floated to where they were and dragged himself from the river. Salena and Shere Ki sighed, knowing they would never get the little ones back to sleep. Salena looked around, then smiled at Baloo. "I thought you two fell off the earth! Where is Dhara?"

As if in answer, Dhara came floating down the river just behind Baloo. The great bear turned and took something from her. As Dhara pulled herself from the water, Baloo swung a baby cub around to the ground and smiled the shocked expressions. "Everyone! Meet BJ!"

Shere Khan didn't believe it. "What?"

Baloo spoke as if it was no surprise. "Baloo Junior!"

Shere Ki looked to a stunned Salena. "No way."

Baloo gave her a knowing smile. "That's what I said."

Bagheera was sure his jaw was hanging open as he stepped forward and examined the baby bear cub. When the cub saw him approaching, he grabbed his toes and rolled back on his bottom to smile up at him. He really was a 'BJ'…..he was the exact replica of Baloo, with the exception of his newly opened eyes, which were the bright gold of Dhara's. His little chubby cheeks turned up in bashfulness as everyone began to "aw" at him. Dhara giggled at his bashful look and picked him up. "What are you blushing at?" She asked the question as she ran a paw over the little tuft of wild fur of his head. The chubby cub just buried his face in her shoulder and spotted Chara and Lydia, who were peering at him curiously from behind Shere Ki.

Louie swung down from the tree to get a better look, then laughed in his crazy way. He and Baloo had been close when they were cubs. "Ha…ha….ha…..looky here! Bet that one was a surprise!"

Baloo just turned to the ape with a cool, calm look. "Don't you say a word."

Bagheera raised an eyebrow at his best friend. Though he thought Baloo would never reach the point where he was ready for this kind of responsibility, much less to settle down, it was here. Bagheera spoke carefully. "Well, this should be quite the adventure for you."

Baloo took little BJ in his arms and strutted over to Chara to tickle her under the chin; Seth somehow leapt onto his shoulder managed to hold on despite his young age. Baloo's eyes swirled in the way they always did when he felt a rhythm coming on; sure enough, his voice was all relaxed when he spoke. "It ain't bad. All I have to say is….." Bagheera rolled his eyes when he clapped his paws together.

"Look for the….

Bare necessities,

The simple bare necessities.

Forget about your worry and your strife….."

All the cubs began running after Baloo then. Shere Khan tried to catch Chara, but she had already dashed out of his reach. Shere Ki and Salena just smiled at one another knowingly. Bagheera just stayed where he was and watched. What would it hurt for Baloo to teach them a few life lessons? And they were having such a good time as he sung to them.

"I mean the…..

Bare necessities.

That's why a bear can rest at ease,

With just the bare necessities of life!"

Bagheera and Salena exchanged smiles as they watched the cubs playing together near Baloo. Bare necessities…..always a lesson in their travels….and the first lesson their children would learn. Shere Ki and Shere Khan had realized the same thing and shared a kiss. Bagheera rested his cheek against the top of her head when Salena laid her head on his shoulder. They didn't know how it would end, but one thing they did know is that, after all their travels, they were on another journey deeper into the jungle.

THE END

….Oh, my goodness! I can't believe we are finally done guys! I am so happy I could cry right now. Well, this was my very first story that I ever wrote and completed besides small pieces, and I had the most wonderful time whenever I got to work on putting this story together. I have been working on it since March, so it has been in progress for about 5 months. As of right now the story has 2,966 views, 114 supportive reviews, 5 favorites, and a follow!

I would like to take the time to acknowledge Disney and Rudyard Kipling for my inspiration; the original characters and some story elements were originated from them. I have always loved The Jungle Book, so I decided to write a story I thought of about it, and it was a success! I am proud of the way it turned out. I would love to thank you guys for reading, following in any way, and reviewing. It is because of you sharing your kind thoughts that I was able to finish the story.

I would love to hear more from you if you get the time, even if it is long after this story is completed. Like who is you favorite character, what is your favorite scene in the story, what you liked, what you were curious about….ect. I look forward to reading your opinions!

I've been considering doing a small sequel with the characters and their cubs, but I have yet to decide….I could really use opinions on that as well. But I will most likely do another side story in the near future. In the meantime, I have started another story and will be working on that next. If you like Treasure Planet, I hope you will check out my new story. It's called The Mission and it's turning out pretty well so far. I would love to hear about that as well if you like the read.

Anyway, that's all I've got for now. Again, I really hope you enjoyed this journey into the jungle and that it is something you will remember. Feel free to check back for more stories. Thank you so much! Until next time!

-Angelwriter84…..