I do NOT own any of the Disney characters. I only own the OC's.
The Jungle Book 3: Shere Khan Returns
Suddenly, Shatari's pupils became round again as she began to turn back to normal. Her urge to mate was replaced by a sharp pain in her head as she closed her eyes and groaned. A moment or two passed before her eyes shot wide open and she looked around at her surroundings. She instantly blushed and looked down at her paws in embarrassment. Everyone became confused, except for Shere Khan, who was trying his best to keep his excitement and relief contained. He wore a huge smile on his face as he nudged Shatari in reassurance. She looked up at him with a sorrowful expression. Shere Khan's joyful expression became one of concern as he stared into her eyes, trying to figure out why she was so disappointed. Shatari stood up and whispered in his ear, "I don't want to talk about this."
Albin watched in curiosity as the two tigers conversed among one another.
"But…." Shere Khan began.
"But what," Shatari asked, her voice filled with concern. "Is there something wrong? Did I hurt anyone?"
"No, no, no. It's just that….well….you seem so upset. Why? I just don't understand. I would've expected you to be relieved that you're back to normal."
"It's complicated. Like I said before, I don't want to talk about this."
Shatari walked towards the cage door and sat there, looking Albin in the eye as if saying, "Open the door for me please." Albin took notice of this and walked over to the door and opened it for her. She slowly walked out and took off to the tiger enclosure. Shere Khan watched her every move, looking for a hint of relief, but all he saw was a depressed young tigress filled with disappointment and possibly anger towards herself. He stole a glance at Albin before he bounded off after Shatari, not bothering to look behind at the crowd of circus folk trying to catch up with him. He spotted Shatari near the door of the tiger enclosure and ran up to her. He stepped in front of her and blocked her path. She looked at him questionably and slightly annoyed.
"What," Shatari asked a bit too sternly for Shere Khan, but he dismissed the subject.
"You refuse to speak to me or give me answers on your behavior."
"I told you I don't want to talk about this!"
"Well you are going to talk about this if you like it or not!"
"Or what," Shatari asked with a bit of a smirk.
Shere Khan never wanted to do this to her, but he had no other choice. How else would he get her to break? Shere Khan glared at her and unsheathed his claws. Shatari's eyes widened to the size of softballs as he placed his claw under her throat and scratched her, much like he'd do in intimidating Kaa. Shatari was caught off guard by his actions. Two things were going through her mind. One, what kind of tiger had claws six inches long? Two, how could he do this to her? One moment he's kind and loving with her, the next he's threatening her with his abnormally sized claws. Shere Khan smirked as he observed Shatari. He had to admit, she was so adorable and cute when she was scared like this. He tried his best to keep his smirk from turning into an amused smile as he spoke up.
"How about we step into the enclosure and have a little chat about this, shall we?" Shatari gave no reply but nodded her head frantically, careful not to touch the point of his claws. Shere Khan slowly moved his claw away from her chin and walked over to the door. He unlocked it using the key he stole from Albin's pocket then trotted over to Shatari's side and butted her shoulder. She stammered a bit from Shere Khan's hard push and tried to walk evenly, but it seemed that fear made her every step shaky and uneven. Shere Khan noticed and let her lean on him. Shatari blushed slightly and continued forward into the enclosure. As soon as they took their first step in, however, the twins ran up to Shere Khan.
"Hi Baby," Mohana greeted seductively.
Mohini also greeted him seductively. "Hi Honey."
Before Shere Khan could react in any way, Shatari bared her teeth and snarled like a creature with rabies. Shere Khan and the twins looked at her in shock. Why was Shatari acting like this? Mohana then merely rolled her eyes and looked over at Shere Khan.
"So, I have a nice, cozy area that's private and undisturbed. How about we take a little stroll over there and," Mohana broadened her chest a bit and touched Shere Khan's nose with her own, "have some fun together." Shere Khan's eyes widened and his mouth dropped to the floor. He sensed she was not in heat, for she was not of age, and that she wasn't interested in the traditional mating ritual. She wanted something more, something that would give her the utmost pleasure and satisfaction. Shere Khan's open jaw let Mohana's tongue gain access to his mouth. Shere Khan gasped in surprise as Mohana continued to kiss him. Shatari couldn't take it any longer. Her instincts took over as she unsheathed her claws and pounced.
…...
Kaa slithered along the trees looking for his next meal. As he crept silently through the foliage, he thought up a menu for his lunch. Birds? Na, those wouldn't satisfy his hunger, and neither would any small rodents. What about a deer? Yes! A deer would be a deliccciousss treat for Kaa! And then a great idea came to mind: he could start off with a rodent appetizer, and then move along to the main course, a tasty deer. He spotted a small mouse burrow and slithered towards it. He stayed very still as he waited for his unsuspecting meal to walk out of the burrow's entrance. When he saw the mouse walk out of its home, he prepared his hypnotizing powers, but when he heard rustling in the bushed nearby, he quickly crept back up to the trees to see what it was. By the sound of it, it sounded like a medium to large sized animal. "Perfect," thought Kaa. "A niccce, big, tasssty meal for me." As he waited silently in the trees, he saw Mowgli, Ranjan, and Shanti emerge for the bushes. He listened carefully to their conversation.
"He's got to be here somewhere," said Mowgli. "He couldn't have just disappeared."
"We've got to keep looking," Shanti said. "He might be at the ancient ruins. Come on!"
"Mowgli and I already checked at the ancient ruins for Baloo," Ranjan whined.
"Ahh! Sssso the man-cubsss have losssst their dear friend Baloo. How unfortunate. But, with no one around to sssstop me, thessse three deliccciousss man-cubsss shall become my appetizing lunch," Kaa thought to himself. He slithered down the tree in front of Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan. "Hello there man-cubsss," said Kaa as he activated his hypnotizing, colorful spirals. "Are you in need of sssome assssissstance?" The unsuspecting children weren't prepared for Kaa's hypnotic stare as their eyes began to mimic the soothing rings of color. "Are you hungry for a little ssssnack? I'm craving one….or sssshould I ssssay three?" Kaa chuckled at his joke as he gestured his tail for the man-cubs to follow him to a preferred spot. The area he chose was a large rock with the perfect elevation. The children stood there as they continued to stare into his hypnotic eyes. Kaa smiled and opened his mouth the widest possible and prepared to swallow the poor man-cubs whole, but something stopped him in his tracks and filled him with fear. Kaa nervously turned around as he listened to the roars her heard quite some distance away. At first he believed it was Shere Khan, and as he listened more closely and intently, he noticed it wasn't the roar of the menacing jungle cat, but the roar of an unknown tigress. He became a bit more relieved that it wasn't Shere Khan, so he turned around to face his meal as he prepared to swallow them once more. Again, he heard a roar and recognized it as Shere Khan's. A quiver went down his spine as he gulped in fear. His instinct told him to slither away and hide, but his curiosity got the best of him as he immediately released the man-cubs of their hypnotism and went off toward the source of the roars. When Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan returned to their normal state of mind, they were able to see Kaa quickly slithering away.
"Yeah, that's right! Just keep running," shouted Ranjan with a fling of his fists.
"Wait, why would Kaa give up such an easy meal? And look, no one was around to stop him," said Mowgli with a confused expression.
"Hmm….and why was Kaa taking off so quickly," asked Shanti.
"Let's follow him and find out," exclaimed Ranjan.
"Alright let's go, but be very quiet," said Mowgli.
…
The roars became louder and louder as he continued forward. He could hear the roars of three different tigresses as well as Shere Khan's. When he finally reached the source of the roars, he was surprised at the site before him. A circus stood right before his eyes. It was a large tent with bright, eye-catching colors and a sign that read "Jumbo Circus, The Pride of India." He listened as the sound of man's own voice filled the air. He assumed that the men were trying to control the mighty tigers, but weren't having much luck, especially with Shere Khan. Who could possibly control Shere Khan? Just as Kaa turned around, he saw the man-cubs hiding in the trees nearby. At this one moment, eating the defenseless man-cubs wasn't on his mind right now. Surprisingly, he was thinking about asking them for assistance. Kaa cleared his throat as he raised his body to meet the man-cubs at eye-level. They slightly staggered back, but otherwise stood still.
"Hello, man-cubssss," Kaa greeted kindly. "I'm ssso ssssorry for trying to devour you three earlier. I asssk for your forgivenessss and for your assssisstanccce." Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan looked at him in confusion as they exchanged glances among one another. Was this a trick or was he being honest? Mowgli was the first to speak up.
"How do we know this isn't some trick?" He crossed his arms over his chest as he waited for Kaa's answer.
"Have you not noticcced that I haven't even ssstarted my hypnotic powersss? Trusssst me man-cub, you and your friendssss would've already been in my sssstomach by now." He chuckled as Mowgli rolled his eyes.
"Fine. What do you want us to do?"
"Well, if you were here long enough, you ssshould've heard the roarsss of three unknown tigresssessss."
"And," said Shanti with a hand gesture that told him to continue.
"And, I want you all to sssneak in there of find ssssome type of opening where you can sssee what'sss going on. What do you think?" Kaa smiled innocently as the three kids took some time to think about. Finally, Mowgli sighed and gave in. He slid down the tree and started off towards the circus. Shanti and Ranjan followed after him as they walked a bit faster to catch up with Mowgli. It was quite easy and simple to sneak in, since all the men and security guards were trying to get the tigers under control. The man-cubs followed the sound of the roars and the men's shouting until they reached the tiger enclosure. There was a small window where you can look inside, perfect for "assignment" Kaa ever so nicely asked them to do. As they peeked inside, the saw Shere Khan and three other tigresses fighting fiercely with each other. The saw men with chains and tranquilizers trying their best to settle them down, but they were failing miserably at their attempts. The tigers were able to dodge the tranquilizer darts, and the chains they merely shook off of themselves. Shere Khan even managed to bust one of the chains with relative ease. As the kids looked more closely at the scene, they saw that Shere Khan had a large cut running down from his shoulder to his paw. They saw that one of them men had a knife in his pocket, so they assumed that, in an effort to stop the brutal fighting, cut Shere Khan and left him with a bloody scar. Mowgli noticed that the man with a knife had a bloody scar of his own, a claw mark going across his side. Shanti and Ranjan also noticed the man's painful wound. The man, whose name was Jack, met Shere Khan's dangerous claws when he decided to cut the fearsome tiger. The tigers continued to battle it out until Shere Khan pounced on Mohana, bit down on her shoulder, and slashed her across her back. She roared out in pain and agony as Shere Khan refused to let go. The men tried to pry him off of her, but their efforts were in vain. Albin stepped back and pulled out his tranquilizer gun. As soon as Shere Khan saw it, he let go of Mohana and bounded off deeper into the enclosure. Shatari followed him, ignoring Mohana's cries of pain. Albin ordered the group of men to get medical supplies and a vet to manage Mohana's wounds. Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan ran off when they saw the men walking towards the door. When they were outside, they saw Kaa in the tree waiting for them to return. They walked up to him and told him about the gruesome fight. Kaa went deep into thought about the information given. Why had the tigers started fighting in the first place? He didn't know anything about cat behavior, so he decided to pay Bagheera a visit to see if he had any ideas on the attack.
…...
Bagheera rubbed his eyes as he looked down at the odd group. He didn't believe the sight before him. On the ground were Kaa, Mowgli, Shanti, and Ranjan. They said they were there to ask him an important question. Bagheera didn't mind at first, but when they told him what the topic was about, he felt a bit confused. Why would they want to know information on cat behavior? He jumped down from his spot in the tree on sat on the jungle floor.
"What exactly do you want to know on cat behavior," Bagheera asked.
"Well," Mowgli began, "Kaa heard the roars of an unknown tigress and also the roar of Shere Khan." Bagheera's fur rose as Shere Khan's name ringed in his ear. "When Shanti, Ranjan, and I went to see what was going on, we saw that there were three tigresses in total. All of them, including Shere Khan, were battling it out in the most gruesome cat fight I've ever seen. Shere Khan, as well as a human, was wounded pretty bad. Shere Khan has a large cut starting at his shoulder and going down to his paw. The man was clawed at his side by Shere Khan. That man was also responsible for Shere Khan's cut. We couldn't figure out why the fight happened in the first place." Mowgli was expecting Bagheera to have a serious expression, but instead he looked quite amused. "Bagheera?"
Bagheera chuckled a bit and then spoke. "It seems that the three tigers were battling it out to be the rightful partner of Shere Khan. Fighting broke out over jealousy. I'm not too sure on why Shere Khan started fighting along with them, but I'm guessing it was because he was defending one of the tigresses that he was fondest of." Everyone's mouths touched the ground as they stared at Bagheera in disbelief.
"You mean all three tigresses wanted to be his…his…," Mowgli couldn't get the words out.
"His mate? Yes," Bagheera replied. "And it seems that these three tigresses are young. This is probably their first mating season, so they will do anything and everything for the chance to court a male and experience what mating is like. Of course, older and more mature females will usually keep a male from mating with them, since the intercourse is quite painful." Mowgli and Ranjan started gagging in disgust as Shanti gave Bagheera a look that said "A little too much information." Kaa's eyes were popping out of his head as he remained motionless, not even blinking. Bagheera walked up to Kaa and waved a paw in front of his face; Kaa was unfazed. Bagheera poked Kaa, but he still didn't even flinch. Bagheera sighed and looked at the three man-cubs. "Do you think you can lead me to the location of the fight?"
"Sure, we can lead you to the circus," said Ranjan. Bagheera's mouth dropped open. He stammered a bit as he replied.
"He….he….he's at a….cir….circus?"
"Yup!"
Bagheera looked worried. From what he had heard from circus escapees, the circus owners and other humans there were very abusive. He recalled seeing whip marks on the hides of some animals that had once lived in the heartless circus environment. Shanti noticed Bagheera's worrisome expression.
"What's the matter Bagheera," Shanti asked with concern. Bagheera looked at her then spoke.
"I've met a few animals that used to live in the circus. They'd been seriously abused by the people who worked there. Whip marks remained on their hide permanently, a reminder of the merciless and brutal life they once lived. They told me how one slip up could lead to a vicious beating. The humans would force them to do tricks and jump through hoops, and when they'd refuse…..well, you should know the rest." Shanti, Mowgli, and Ranjan listened to Bagheera intently. Mowgli went deep into thought about what Bagheera was saying. Despite his and Shere Khan's past with each other, Mowgli felt sorry for the mighty tiger. He didn't know why Shere Khan had come to hate humans with such a passion, but he did know that if the circus Shere Khan remained at was abusive like Bagheera described, he would come to hate humans even more. As he thought about this, he came up with a plan to bail Shere Khan out of there.
"Mowgli," Shanti said. "Are….are….you alright?"
Mowgli turned his head to face Shanti. He grinned and said in a sort of whisper, "I've got an idea!"
Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait. School is driving me nuts! I wanted to update during Christmas break, but I had to do extra school work. Hope you liked this chapter! Please review and suggestions are welcome. :)