Two times the rains passed since the man cub Mowgli joined the man village. Like he had done before with the wolf pack, the panther Bagheera often peeked through the bushes to keep tabs on how the growing boy was getting along. Sometimes at night near the glow of the red flower and right now through the branches of tall trees that bordered the buffalo fields near the man village. It wasn't really for himself, at least, not entirely. The panther had every confidence that Mowgli would grow into the good man he was destined to be. However, as the panther glided through the branches from his latest scope out back to the jungle, he came before the one he was doing this for. Bagheera stopped in above a sleeping bear, his shaggy arms covering his face from the swarming jungle flies.

" Baloo." Bagheera called down, seemingly to no effect. " BALOO!"

It was a second time that was effective, making Baloo jump up in fear. " Huh? What's up?"

The panther dropped down to the littered floor, shaking his head " 'What's up' is Mowgli, who you keep telling me to spy upon."

" Oh yeah, yeah! So come on, tell me, how's little britches?"

" Busy, very busy. He's tending to the men's herds right now along with some other man cubs."

The bear's face dropped down from enlightenment to stale sorrow, letting his big head drop low and kicking a small amount of dirt with his paws.

" Oh, come now, Baloo, you've got to realize this is what Mowgli needs. He needs to learn all he can about man's ways if he's to better himself. And besides, you know he still comes to visit."

" I know, Baggy, I know! It's just- I- I still miss him. He used to visit all the time, but now it's too far in between for me. And I know if he's happy, I should be too, but man alive is the beat not the same without him."

The panther, as much as he was annoyed by the bear's antics, still knew what he was going through. Baloo had become the opposite of Bagheera, and yet complimented the other as unlikely friends. The panther thought hard on how to cheer him up, searching for something. And suddenly, a genius thought came to his mind, one he was surprised he didn't think of earlier.

" Come along, Baloo. I think it's time you find out where it all started."

Baloo lumbered along sadly, not really knowing or even caring where they were going. He knew he might have sound a little petty before hand, but he couldn't help it. Mowgli was like his own cub, and he wanted to make sure he was safe and sound like any good figure. He felt even worse for Bagheera, who kept doing what Baloo couldn't. A sleek panther was much better at keeping an eye on someone unnoticed than an oaf of a bear. Suddenly, before Baloo knew it, he had walked in atop a high rock that surveyed most of the jungle. It was the late afternoon now, with the sun shining bright atop all the canopy and distant river. The smells of both jungle decay and new growth rushed upward, overloading Baloo's sensitive nose. Despite the incredible view, it still couldn't make the feeling of missing his little man cub go away.

" Look, Baggy, I appreciate the swell view, but I don't know. Still can't shaky the loneliness I guess."

But instead of hearing Bagheera's voice, Baloo's ears heard the words of a very different animal.

" That is a shame. I had hoped you could have been impressed you after all you've after all done for us."

He turned around to see that a whole pack of wolves was facing him, making him jump in shock and fear. Of all the predators in the jungle, the wolves were the most respected and most organized. They had gotten the reputation of being no nonsense creatures, which didn't gell well with a laid back bear like Baloo. Two of them, a male and a female, stepped forward to Baloo.

" I am Rama and this is my mate Raksha. We, as well as all the others of our pack, heard how you nearly sacrificed yourself to Shere Khan to protect our son."

" Your a- your son? S-sorry, but uh- I don't know any wolf cubs" Baloo responded with a shaky voice. Even a simple fellow like Baloo knew well not to mess with wolves.

" Oh, we know. We speak about our little frog, Mowgli."

Baloo looked up into a nearby tree to see Bagheera laying on a branch, his eyes beaming with humor at the sight of the previously terrified bear.

" Well ya sure know how to set up introductions, Bagheera." Baloo called out, pointing a disapproving arm up as he relieved himself.

" Haha, well they've wanted to meet you for a while now, and I thought now might be a good time to tell you."

" Tell me wha-"

Before he could even finished the sentence, a flood of wolf cubs bursted through the legs of the grown wolves and began to dog pile on Baloo, causing him to nearly go into a fit of laughter from all the ticklish nips, pawing and puppy breathe.

" The Council has reached a decision." The leader of the pack Akela said. "For your brave actions in defending our man cub Mowgli, you will be granted honorary membership as a guide for the pack. You shall be entrusted with the honor of helping to raise the cubs in the ways of the jungle. I have be told you have some.. interesting methods that can sway even the sternest of mind's perspective on jungle life." The wolf finished as he looked over to the panther.

" Well, what do you say, Baloo?" Bagheera asked.

Baloo knew that he could never really replace Mowgli in his life, but now he was given the same chance to be a friendly guide for the cubs of one of the most esteemed jungle creatures. He knew that this could give him a greater calling, a greater role for an unknown number of future jungle members. A smile slowly grown on his face as he looked over all the wolves and Bagheera.

" I say, class in session! Now listen up kids, all you gotta do in this jungle is.."

Author's Note

In the original Kipling book, Baloo was a teacher for all the wolf cubs on the Law of the Jungle instead of being the free loving Bare Necessities guy he is in the Disney version. I thought that this would be a good way for him to move on from Mowgli. Hopefully you guys like this first one, because the purpose of this series is to tell fun one shots that blend many different versions of the Jungle Book in this story. I've got a few ideas for future entries, but you guys are more than welcomed to leave suggestions. Who knows, I might write them. Later!