Chapter 7

The late rays of the afternoon sun began to dip down into the horizon as Baloo began to rise from his nap. The bear stretched out his arms, cracking his neck in relief.

" Oh man, all ready evening? Well, better not miss my bed time." Baloo said, smacking his lips " But I'd better get you back home, Little Britches." Baloo had spent the whole day especially with Mowgli, a rarity considering how busy his teaching and Mowgli's work was going. Their time together had ended in a mango peeling and eating contest, resulting in them agreeing to sleep it off. But as Baloo looked around, he couldn't find the man cub. " Mowgli? Mowgli, where are ya?" Suddenly, a loud crack was heard underpaw from a massive snake skin. The bear got on all fours, sniffing out the signs of a quiet struggle were all round, making Baloo's heart jump into his throat. " I gotta get Bagheera."

Night had began to dawn as Kaa slithered out of his underground abode. The snake checked behind, making sure there was no knot in his tail and nobody near by to spy his hiding place. His stomach ached almost inaudibly, but was definitely felt by Kaa. It had been weeks since he had eaten, despite his last meal being a fat piglet.

" Oh, I do hope this hunt goes better."

" Not likely, buster!" a gruff voice called out as it grabbed Kaa by the back of the head, covering his eyes.

" Oh, who is it?" His eyes were finally freed to see a perturbed panther and a berated bear being his captors. " Oh, Bagheera, why would you ever come here? Don't you warm blood's know it's rude to interrupt a reptile's peace? "

" Probably because you took something of ours! What did you do to Mowgli?" Bagheera questioned harshly as he threw the snake skin to the jungle floor.

As the snake examined the skin more closely, he noticed something odd. None of his skins were that glossy or had the girth as the one presented to him, even after he ate a small buffalo. And yet, it was immediately identifiable to him.

" Oh, dear, oh no, no, no." The snake winced back. " She can't be here. Not her."

Both Baloo and Bagheera looked confused. " You mean this ain't yours?" the bear prodded.

" Of course not!"

" Then whose? You seem to know, and don't lie Kaa."

The snake sighed, looking down at the skin one more time. " I know the snake that took your man-cub. I've known her since I was just a hatchling. She's cold, manipulative, and very, oh so picky in what she eats. She expected a lot from me and my siblings. "

" You've got siblings?" Baloo stated in shock, scratching the back of his neck. Neither him nor any other animal in the jungle took Kaa to be the one with an extended family.

" Had, I had siblings. When we didn't meet to her standards set by her, she.. Well, let's say she got peckish."

Baloo shivered, clearly disturbed by that tid bit. Bagheera, too, though he didn't show it. " Why didn't you fight back? Use your hypnosis and beat her? How could you just let that happen?" Cannibalism was one of the biggest taboos of the jungle law, but to eat one's own offspring was so cruel that even Shere Khan would wince to the horror. To commit such an act called for the beasts immediate death as punishment.

" Ooh, you mammals, thinking things are black and white for us reptiles. I couldn't because she was the master of it. She taught me how to, though not nearly as much as she knew. Where I can make you sleep, a whole twisted world she can make you think up. After all, mother knows best."

Mowgli's eyes fluttered open, shaking his head free of the yellow spots in his vision. He tried to rise up, but couldn't due to his sore ribs, which felt as if they almost were broken. He looked around, realizing he was in an old extinct volcano tunnel. The faint smell of stagnant sulfur hung in the air, giving Mowgli more reason to get out quickly.

" Oh no, don't leave." A seductive voice called, echoing out through the walls. " Cubs like you shouldn't be alone at this hour." Mowgli knew he should leave, but it was as if the voice warmly tugged him back to bed.

" This is the hour for tales to be told. And your tale, oh if it isn't so rich."

Suddenly, bright sea green eyes appeared close to Mowgli's face. A slim, forked tounge flicked out, tickling the tip of his nose.

" Would you like to hear it?"

Mowgli could feel his own eyes turning that same color, limiting his vision to the eyes before him. His mind desperately tried to claw away, but fell into the trace, enticed with prospect the answer.

" Yeah."

Author's Note: If you couldn't figure it out, Kaa's mother is pretty much Scarlett Johansson's interpretation from the new 2016 remake, who also has the same name (well, with a "C" in this fic to distinguish the two). I thought it be fun to give her a little more, as she only had a little bit in the movie. Also, I apologize if I'm updating this and my Tarzan/Frozen crossover ( which you should totally read by the way. I mean, I'm not plugging myself, what you talking about lol?) sporadically. I'm being backlogged with testing right now, but I promise I'll update ASAP.