Chapter 4

" Mr. Baloo, what are we doing all the way out here?" Gray questioned as he plopped down in tiredness along with the rest of the wolf cubs. Baloo took them away from their normal sheltered jungle home for the day and out to the uncommon open plains area of India. Antelopes galloped gracefully as if unaffected by the heat, while a herd of buffalo lazily chewed their cud in the shade, alongside the odd camel here and there. But still, the hot sun began to beat down harder even more so than any other day in the dry season. The bear stopped, noting the tired cubs, scooped them onto his back and carried on in a heavy shuffle on all four.

" Come on now Gray, didn't you forget that you need to appreciate your big home? Besides, we're gonna meet up with your brother Mowgli at the southern waterhole."

" If that's the case, you're late then, Papa Bear!" Baloo turned his head to see that Mowgli was diving into the pool of water.

" Alright, kids, time to just, cool it in my backyard."

That the wolf cubs didn't disagree with. Within no time, the cubs were soaking wet and fully relaxed in the hot sun. Baloo cannonballs into the water hole, soaking Mowgli and prompting him to get into a splash off with him.

" You give up yet, Baloo?" Mowgli called out as he gave out rapid fire.

" Alright, alright, I give, I give!" Baloo exclaimed as he pulled himself out and rubbing himself dry on a large gray boulder, or at least what he thought was one. It wasn't, as it got up to reveal the form of a bull rhino. His back hind was plated in thick bumpy skin, his eyes constantly squinting to compensate for the bad eyesight and yet had a dull stump for where his horn tip should be.

" Eh, who messin' around my behind?!"

The bear got off and tries to explain himself " Oh a, sorry bout that, pal."

" Eh, wait a minute." The rhino gave a few quick sniffs, chuffing loudly "Whatcha doing at my waterhole?"

Baloo gulped loudly, sensing the situation was heading south. "Hehe oh, this your waterhole? Well, hey there, now don't let me stop you from getting a cool drink." Baloo jestered, offering a pawful of water in the rhino's face. If that didn't help, the fact that the scent of mud was overwhelming for the rhino, pushing him over the edge with an angry snort.

" Ok ah, than I guess I'll just a.. GET GOING! LITTLE BRITCHES, YOU'RE IN CHARGE NOW!" Baloo hastily ran off back into the jungle with an angry rhino hot on his heels.

Bagheera was taking a content cat nap in an ancient winding tree when he felt an uneasy force scaling up the tree, tipping it over as it came further up.

" Oh, please don't be Baloo, please don't be Baloo." The panther whispered to himself in a silent prayer.

" Baggy, Baggy buddy ya gotta help me!"

" Oh, Baloo, what is it now?!" the panther asked in a cranky tone as he stretched himself out. That question was answered with a massive thud from the tree's base. Bagheera clung desperately to the branch, his hind legs kicking desperately and looked down to see a perturbed rhino grinding the tree with whatever he had left of a horn.

" For the sake of this jungle, what does he want?!"

" Dat dirt bag up there with ya!"

" Oh come on, can't a bear get any bare necessities anymore by the waterside?"

The rhino looked up, cocking his head into a puzzled state. " Bear?"

Both Bagheera and Baloo gave each other a look and cautiously made their way down the tree.

" Yeah, bear." Baloo causal explained " Urusa- ah, ah, ok I don't know the full Latin thing but I'm a bear through a through. One who doesn't want any trouble."

The rhino came up close and gave a massive sniff, exhaling a massive breath tinted with vegetation and made the realization. " Oh, man, my bad furball. Thought you were a hunter I ran into a while ago. Can't remember the guys looks, but he must've had a bear coat on him."

" A hunter? How'd you escape?" the panther pondered. Rhinos were not usually fortunate enough to escape a hunter's grasp like other animals. Tusks and horns were prized trophies, though why eludes even Bagheera.

" Eh, don't matter, you get out, ya get out. But that punk did get some of what he wanted." the rhino gestured to his stump of a horn.

It was at that moment that a pile of mud flung across the face of the rhino, coming from a now arriving Mowgli and wolf cubs.

" Hey, leave Baloo alone, you big bully!"

" Woah little britches, woah. He's cool, Mowg, so hold your horses."

The rhino trotted and looked down at the lean man cub " So, you dat kid that's turn this whole jungle inside out? I can see why. Ya got guts kid, I like that. Names Rocky, consider me your new neighbor here in the jungle."

Rocky then felt a slight tugging at his tail, and as he turned, he saw little Gray dangling on the few strands of hair on there.

" Mr. Rocky, can we still use your watering hole? It's really hot."

Despite the physically hard demeanor, even rhinos have a soft spot for cubs. " Doh, what the heck? Might as well use it as much as ya want, scamp. Come on! On the way, I'll tell ya some tricks so you don't peeve off any other big fellas in the jungle." the rhino scoffed as he led the way back to the plains. " You coming or what, furball?"

Baloo looked at Bagheera with a look of confusion at the whole thing. One minute, he was running for his life from an angry rhino, the next he got a new set of hands for the cubs from the exact same one. " Uh, Baggy? What ah- what just happened?"

The panther just shook his head with a hint of humor. " I believe you now found yourself a new teaching aid."

Author's Note: Rocky the Rhino was a deleted character from the original Disney Jungle Book film, so I figured I might as well bring him into the story. Actually, I'm planning on expanding on the variety of animals that'll be in Mowgli's jungle, as India is one of the most biodiversity places in the world. This was meant to be a more comedic chapter, as the last two were a little heavy. Let me know what new animals you'd want to see in the jungle, and til next time, peace out!