Later on in the night, Mowgli was woken up by rustling in the bushes. He grabbed a sharp stick and lunged at the bush, pinning down the creature and raising the stick.
"Go ahead, mancub. Kill me. I'm sure Raksha would love that." Hatya said as Mowgli let her up. "What are you doing here?!"
"Frustrated, boy? Taking care of the monster too much for you?"
"She's not a monster. And you know it."
"They're all monsters. Shere Khan would have been no different."
"How could you say that?"
"Anyway. I've come to negotiate with you. And my deal is..."
"Why are you doing this?! You said you wanted to adopt her!" Mowgli said. "You always wanted your own cubs!"
"And I had them!" Hatya said. "You don't get it, do you?"
Mowgli shook his head. Hatya sighed and said "well, it all started many, many years ago, I was the happiest dhole in the jungle."
A mother dhole sat in a den nurturing and feeding her six cubs. She chuckled as she said "oh, you're all so beautiful."
"They were the most adorable pups you could find in the Seoni. They relied on me for everything, but that's why I loved them."
Once the cubs were strong enough, Hatya watched as they raced around the den, playing innocently.
"I always knew they'd grow to be the strongest of the pack. But then it all changed, because of you!"
"Me? What did I do?" Mowgli said.
Hatya sighed and said "you're so selfish, boy! You really think you were the only one that night you came to the jungle?
That night, Hatya watched as the man sat in the cave holding a stick of red flower. Suspicious, the mother pushed her cubs into her den, saying "stay here. You'll be safe."
The mother dhole watched as she saw the tiger walk into the cave. She heard the roaring, and the screams of the man as his life was ended. Suddenly, the tiger burst from the cave, his face burning with the Red Flower as he ran past the den and into the jungle.
A few embers fell from the tiger's face, landing on the small patch of dead grass next to the den.
"I watched it all, Mowgli. Shere Khan killed your father, but he forgot to put out the light."
Glad that any conflict had been avoided, the mother dhole watched where Shere Khan had gone and turned back to the man's cave to see the light from the remaining red flower. She noticed a small shadow next to the man's corpse.
Suddenly, another light caught her eye, this time being behind her... and coming from her own den. She turned to see a blaze over the top of her den. She ran inside, saying "pups! Come out, now!"
The pups followed her orders, running as fast as their small legs could carry them. Hatya looked up in the confusion to see the top of the flaming cave collapsing. She said "NO!" as the cave collapsed completely, blocking her from the outside.
"I was too late. They were trapped."
Once the flames had calmed down, Hatya ran to the den and tore it open with her claws and teeth. She searched the ruins for her cubs, but they were completely buried in the rocks. After a while of searching, she heard a noise, a faint whimpering, as she ran to see a small paw sticking out of the rock.
She pulled the cub from the wreckage, saying "oh, thank goodness." as she held him. The cub was weak, his fur cindered and ashed, his bones mostly crushed by rock. He turned to her with what little strength he had and whimpered slightly louder.
"It's going to be alright, dear." the mother lied. "You're going to be alright. Don't worry. Hold on. It's going to be okay. You'll grow up to be big and strong."
The cub smiled enthusiastically, before slowly lowering his head as his short life faded from him. Hatya wept uncontrollably as she nudged her cub's body. She walked from the destroyed den, seeing something step out of the man's cave.
"And then, I saw you. The one responsible for all my suffering!"
The small mancub stepped from the cave. Hatya growled as she unsheathed her claws and bared her teeth. Suddenly, she saw something else coming out of the bushes, as small green eyes became visible.
Hatya hid behind her den as the panther found the mancub, taking him onto his shoulders and carrying him away. "This isn't over, mancub!" Hatya said before running off into the night.
"So now you know the truth."
Mowgli sat silently. Hatya then said "anyway. Here is my choice for you. You and your friends can fight, in which case all of you will die, or you can give up, in which case only the cub will die. So, mancub. What is it going to be?"
Mowgli then stood up, and said "you won't have to worry. We're taking her to Water Mountain. She'll be safe from you there."
"Oh... of course... Water Mountain."
As Mowgli returned to the others, Hatya walked over to the two dholes she had taken with her. "So, where's the cub?" one of the dholes said.
"They've chosen to defend her. It seems they wish to do this the fun way."
"Do we attack now?"
"No. We'll need the whole pack to bring down the bear. Come, get everyone ready."
Back at the group, Mowgli sat down and watched the sun rise. Bagheera woke up and said "Mowgli. You're awake."
"Uh... yeah. We better get moving then."
"Indeed. Alright. Everyone up. You too, Bahan."
The cub yawned and tried to get up, before Baloo picked her up and let her ride on his back. "Where are we going to then?" he asked.
"We go to Water Mountain."
"Oh boy." Ikki said. "Well, better get moving. Got a long trip ahead."
"I agree. It'ssss bessst we leave now." a voice said, prompting the animals to step back in fright as Kaa slithered in. Mowgli said "it's okay. She's with us. We think so, anyway."
"Well, this is really stooping low." Baloo said as they all set off for Water Mountain.
Hatya and her troops returned to the pack, where the dholes rested. Suddenly, she heard one of the adolescent dholes saying "I can't wait to get my claws into that bear!"
The other said "this ought to heighten our chances in the food chain alright."
"Bears don't go down easy. Neither do leopard or man."
"Right. So, Hatya's doing all this... over a tiger cub? Why can't we just send it to Water Mountain?"
"What was that?!" Hatya asked as she walked over, grabbing the attention of the rest of the pack. "What's your name, soldier?"
"Uh... Gaddaar, Ma'am."
"So... are you speaking against me, Gaddaar?"
Gaddaar turned to her and said "well. I'm just saying... she's only a cub. Do we really have to take her life? Seems a bit extreme, is what I'm saying."
Hatya nodded, and said "seems reasonable." as she rested a comforting paw on the dhole's foot, before saying "you know, Gaddaar. You've convinced me of something just now."
"What's that?"
"That you're a cowardly, good-for-nothing insubordinate wretch!" Hatya growled before gripping the dhole's neck in her teeth and dragging him to a cliff edge. The rest of the pack stood back in fright as Hatya threw Gaddaar from the cliff, his life being ended by the loud crack! against the rocks.
"Now then." Hatya said as she turned back to the pack, Gaddaar's blood dripping from her jaws. "Would anyone else like to ignore my orders?! No? Then get back to work! Spread word to the wolves! That cub will not reach Water Mountain! Set up the ambush at Nadee Falls. They must pass there to reach the tiger settlement... and we'll be waiting for them."