JCL-ch.2-BothersomeKitsune

2. Morning

The next morning, Bagheera awoke to find himself alone. He looked around; not finding a trace of the other cub anywhere. Outside, it was bright and sunny. The storm had passed and left its mess to have others clean up.  
The panther got up and stretched, his claws extending from their hiding place.  He looked around again, before running out of the cave. He let out a sigh as the sun warmed his black fur. Bagheera observed his surroundings and was marveled by the sheer beauty of it all.

No longer having to think of running and his head finally cleared for the first time in hours; Bagheera took in the beauty of the jungle. And indeed it was beautiful.
The trees were lush and green. Birds of all colors flew and sung their sweet songs. And fruit as far as the eye could see.
Speaking of food….

Bagheera’s stomach made itself known, rumbling so loud that it even scared him.

‘I guess I should find some food,’ He thought, placing a paw on his stomach.
Bagheera remembered his parents always telling, when he was hunting for food, to sample the air. The thought of his parents made him sad for a moment, but the need for food pushed the feeling aside for a later date. He sniffed the air, hoping to find a scent of a rabbit-or better yet a small deer. He continued to track, his eyes closed and his nose touching the ground.

He was so busy tracking, that he didn’t see the other animal walking in the same direction with something in its mouth. The other didn’t see him either, so of course, they crashed into each other.

Bagheera groaned, feeling the animal on top of him trying to get off him. He rubbed his head, wincing when he felt the small bump on his head. He looked to glare at the one who bumped into him, when he saw a stripped tail.
*********
Shere Khan roared, angry that someone dared to trip him. And now his kill was on the ground. That was just great! He brought it all the back for the panther for nothing. Oh, he was going to kill the creature that caused all this.
But a voice from below him stopped his murderous thoughts.

“You,”

‘That voice. It can’t be.’

He looked down and sure enough, there was the panther cub underneath him. Well, his butt was anyway. The panther’s tail brushed under his chin, making Shere Khan blush-though he didn’t know why. Getting off of the black jungle cat, Khan stared at the panther, thinking how nicely the sun made his fur shine. This made the young tiger completely confused.

Since when did he care about what others looked like?

Bagheera looked at the tiger, confused at the weird look he was getting. He blushed under his dark fur, glad that the other couldn’t see.

After a while, Shere Khan went over to the discarded carcass and picked it up.

“Here,” the cub threw the carcass at Bagheera’s feet. When he saw the panther’s confusion, he said. “I…I just thought you would be hungry, so I brought something for you. Eat up. After you finish, I have some…friends I want you to meet. They’ll help you find a home of your own.”

Bagheera ate as the tiger talked. When he heard the last sentence, he stopped eating.

“You don’t want me to live with you?” He asked a little hurt that the other didn’t want him to stay with him.

Did he do something wrong?

Shere Khan inwardly groaned. He could see that he hurt the panther’s feelings. He wasn’t so good with feelings and anything that had to do with emotions. He thought that having emotions were too petty. But the sight of seeing the smaller feline near tears shook him greatly. And it made him slightly sad, which had him shocked more than anything. He never cared about anyone’s feelings before and he didn’t know what this new thing was. All he knew was that he wanted to make the panther happy again.

“It’s not that,” he sighed. “It’s just that you’re new and I’m not use to sharing a cave with anyone. You’ll find a nice place, probably somewhere near mine.”
That made the panther perk up almost immediately and Shere Khan felt a little happier. That lump in his throat left and he watched as the panther went back to tearing into the carcass. He couldn’t help but be impressed as he watched the smaller feline tear into the carcass.

After a while, when the panther was done and licking himself clean, he coughed making the other feline look at him.

“My names Khan, by the way. Shere Khan.” He said looking away as a blush crept across his face.

Bagheera put his paw down, looking at the tiger. He blushed, feeling like a complete idiot. He never thought about asking for his name.

“…My names Bagheera,” he said in a timid voice, trying to hide his own heated cheeks.

‘Bagheera,’ Shere Khan said the name in his mind as the panther quickly went back to cleaning himself. ‘It suits him.’ He thought, letting the panther finish his bathing before they set off.

The entire walk was in silence. Neither party said a word, both lost in their own thoughts. Bagheera was too busy thinking about how beautiful this jungle was. He couldn’t believe he had never been here before. He use to live somewhere in the wastelands not too far from the jungle for his parents hunt. He always wanted to go inside the jungle, to see all the things his mother would tell him before going to bed.

He was sad for a moment, thinking back when his mother would tell him stories and how his father would be guarding the outside of the cave, making a snide comment here and there. The panther sighed mournfully, wishing his parents were still alive.

Shere Khan was thinking about how in the higher powers name that he gotten into this mess. Helping another creature- a jungle feline no doubt; finding a place in his jungle. It was bad enough he was doing something nice-a thing he hated most in the world next to fire. But here he was. Escorting the panther to the Lair to meet the losers that he called friends. They weren’t his friends exactly.
More like future lackeys that could serve him when he’s older and ruling the jungle properly. Maybe Bagheera could fit in there somewhere…

Suddenly, there was a loud scream and both felines jumped. Shere Khan looked up and saw a long thing body being thrown up into the air. He sighed, a frown on his lips.

“What was that?” Bagheera asked, looking at the spot where he saw the body.

“That was Kaa.” The tiger said, continuing to walk in the direction to the lair.

Bagheera thought that tiger would’ve ran over to see it that thing-Kaa was it?-was okay. But here the tiger was, just walking like nothing had happened. Bagheera ran in front of Shere Khan, stopping him in his tracks.

“Yes,” Shere Khan asked, looking at the panther with a ‘you better have a good explanation for stopping me’.

“Aren’t you worried about your friend?” He asked, frowning when the tiger snorted and went around the panther.

“Friend? Kaa isn’t my friend.”

“But you said-”

“What I said isn’t important. Now come on. Those idiots have got to be close by.”
Shere Khan walked off, not looking back to see if the panther would follow or not.
Bagheera frowned, but followed closely behind the tiger. How could he say that he wasn’t friends with -what’s his name-Kaa? He had just told him that he had friends he wanted Bagheera to meet, but then turned around and said that they weren’t his friends at all.

Another silent piercing scream and Bagheera jumped, knocking into Shere Khan and making them both fall. Bagheera groaned, blinking up to find that he was trapped between the ground and Shere Khan. He blushed, noticing his position. He shyly looked up to find the tigers face inches away.

He squeaked, ears flattening against his head and looked down. Shere Khan felt his face heat up and a strange sensation in his stomach erupted like he had a thousand butterflies trapped inside. He also felt an even weirder sensation by his lower stomach. This shocked him the most, because he had never felt that before; being so young.

Shere Khan looked down at the panther and thought how cute he looked trying to hide his blush. That made him frown shaking his head back and forth. Why was he thinking about the panther in that way? And their position wasn’t something that happened to him on a daily basis.

And then he heard that voice.

“Hey Khanny, what are ya doing? Did that cat take your brakefeast or something?”
The tiger growled, looking up to see a cub eating a mango; eating very noisy if he might add. The bluish-grey furred bear licked his orange stained lips and smiled at the two.

“Or was I interrupting something.”

“Shut up Baloo,” Shere Khan said, leaping off of the panther underneath him. He was blushing and trying hard not to let it show-though he had no idea why, “I have someone I want you to meet. Where are the other losers? I don’t want to introduce him twice.”

“Right here Khanny.” A voice above called out.

Bagheera looked up and saw a small red ape hanging on a vine. The red ape whooped, landing right next to bear-Baloo was it?

“So Lou-ser is here. Where’s Kaa?”

“I’m right behind you.”

Bagheera jumped when he felt a slimy body slither past his back paws. He looked down to see a snake slithering passed him. The snake stopped and turned to look at him as if sensing the panther’s eyes on him. He smiled up the panther, waving his tail as if it were a hand.

“Hello there, my name isssss Kaa.” The snake greeted.
Bagheera returned the smile and shook the offered…tail.

“It’s nice to meet you Kaa. My names Bagheera,” He said, letting go of Kaa’s tail.

“Bagheera? What a crazy name you got there. It’s nice to meet you Baghee.” Baloo hugged the panther’s shoulder.

“Baghee?” Bagheera repeated, a little unsure about his new nickname.

“This is so cool! We got a new cub in the group!”

Louie whooped in joy, landing on the ground to wrap his arms around Bagheera. The panther was a bit shook up by the ape’s sudden burst of affection, but returned the hug. Shere Khan growled. He didn’t know why, but he had a sudden burst of jealously, seeing the panther getting hugged by Lou-ser.

He mentally calmed himself down as the ape-finally-let go of Bagheera. He cough, making all the cubs zone their attention on him.

“So know that you are acquainted with eachother, maybe you can help him find somewhere to live. He’s new to the jungle-as you can plainly see- and needs a place to call home. I trust that even you three losers could do something this simple.”

Bagheera couldn’t believe how rude Shere Khan was being to the others. He almost thought that they wouldn’t help him, but was shocked that the bear replied.

“Sure, no problem Khanny. We’ll find Baghee a nice new home; maybe even nicer than his old one. How’s that sound to you, Baghees?” Baloo elbowed Bagheera, making the panther wince slightly.

“It’s Bagheera,” he muttered, rubbing the sore spot in his shoulder. “And I appreciate you help.”

“We’re friends now Baghees. We would ask you for the same thing, if the tables were turn.” The bear cub smiled and winked. “Besides, anyone who’s Strips main squeeze usually gets anything they want.”

Shere Khan roared in anger, a blush creeping up his face. He couldn’t believe how embarrassed he was getting from the bears taunting words. He knew Baloo was just teasing him, but still it was blow to his pride-not to mention his image.
He was supposed to be the future ruler of the jungle. Not the butt of some joke.

They should be cowering, not laughing at him.

Baloo chuckled, patting the tigers head-a very bold move. “Relax Strips, I was just joking. Come on Baghee. Let’s go find you a new home.”

Baloo started humming a tone, walking away with Louie and Kaa in tow. Shere Khan growled in his throat; Baloo always the jokester, along with Louie the Loser.

“I guess I’ll see you later, Shere Khan?” Bagheera asked, looking over to the tiger, who was glaring at the retreating bear.

Shere Khan looked over at the other feline, watching as the panther duck his head so he couldn’t meet his eyes; with his ears folded to the back of his head. He snorted, amused by Bagheera’s modesty.

“Maybe, maybe not. It depends. I’m usually prowling around; making sure no one enters my territory,” when he saw the flash of disappointment in those yellow eyes he said, “But I guess that I will be at the lair later on tonight. We can talk there.”

Bagheera smiled and Shere Khan felt butterflies flutter in his stomach-a feeling that was vastly becoming normal. He felt a blush creeping up his face and turned away so the panther couldn’t see it. Bagheera took that as the tiger’s way of showing his impatience and decided to catch up with the others.

“Okay then. I’ll see you tonight then. Good-bye Khan.”

“Yeah, see ya.” The tiger frowned as the panther turned away and left.

Why did the panther have to be so innocent? It was driving Shere Khan crazy and he didn’t know why! He let a snarl, the butterflies in his stomach fluttering around yet again. Maybe hunting would get his mind off of Bagheera.

Looking over to where the panther went one last time, Shere Khan walked the other way, going to hunt and making sure no unwelcomed jungle cats entered his jungle.