#lol look at jabari pleading lol

[jrueships]

...another day.. another jabari yelling at alpey for a defensive play 😭

[devnicolee]

A New Way (One-Shot)

A/N: This is random. I jotted down the idea a while ago and never went back to it lol but inspiration struck while starting Chapter 8 and I knocked the whole thing out during some down time at work today. This is a few months prior to our couple finally being honest about their feelings. Enjoy!

Word Count: 3,701

"You asked to see me Lord M’Baku?" Zarah asked, entering the throne room behind Kide. She was puzzled at the scene before her, M’Baku, her brother and his guard dressed in their ceremonial war paint and battle clothes. Her eyes quickly glossed over the group of men as she tried to piece together what they were doing. "Is there a war I don’t know about?" She asked jokingly.

"Leave us," M’Baku demanded. All the men scattered quickly out of the space, giving the two a moment alone. She noted that her brother didn’t even acknowledge her as he exited, only increasing her confusion tenfold. Zarah’s face scrunched at the harshness in his tone. Whatever this was, it would not be good. 

"No war…. It is Challenge Day in the Golden City."

Zarah tilted her head, only partial understanding settling in her. She waited a moment to see if he would expand on why that mattered but she was only met with expectant eyes that told her she was missing the point.

"Yes, T’Challa will be named king," she responded slowly, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "Good for him I suppose. What about it? The Jabari haven’t participated in the coronation festivities… well ever." Zarah strolled around the throne room like she always did when they were there alone, looking out the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up its walls to look down at Jabariland. 

M’Baku tried to focus on the task at hand as he watched her, distracted (as he always was) by how carefree and powerful she looked as she sauntered through his throne room. Like she was born to be there, born to command this space as the queen he knew she was. She took her usual stance, leaning her shoulder onto the window and balancing there as she looked down at the village below and waited for him to respond. 

"Za… I am going to challenge him."

She tore her eyes window sharply, the color draining out of her face as she prayed to Hanuman that she heard him wrong. "M’Ba... M’Baku no. Wait. What?"

"I do not have a choice. They have left me no choice. He will run Wakanda into to the ground, like his father before him. They have a child, A CHILD, overseeing their vibranium technology for Hanuman's sake. My father may have been content to sit by idly while they make a mockery of everything we hold dear but I won't stand for it." She could tell from his cadence that he had been practicing that speech, likely all day. And she knew that it was mainly for her because most in Jabariland would consider this decision a blessing, not a curse.  

Zarah fell back off her shoulder so her whole back leaned against the window to stabilize herself, feeling her legs grow weak beneath her. "I understand all of that M'Baku. I do b-b-but... you have only been chief for a few years. Why give up this for a shot at being King of a country we actively choose not to be a part of? Help me understand how that serves the Jabari?" 

"We have watched without acting for too long. That boy does not deserve to be King." 

Zarah shook her head, she lied - she didn’t understand at all. His reasoning simply could not penetrate the bubble in her mind, the bubble filled with one glaring fact he seemed unwilling to address. "But Challenge Day," she took a deep breath to calm her rising anger and frustration. "Challenge Day… the outcome is yield or death, you understand that? You are willing to die to become King of Wakanda?"

"I am willing to die for what is right. This is right."

Her voice failed her for a moment as she took him his words, eyes widening in shock. "Y-you are willing to leave m- leave the Jabari without a chief?" The back of her hand instinctively wiped a stray tear. It was hitting her all at once, like a high-speed train. She could lose him today and there was no time to persuade him not to do this. Heartbreak wasn’t an accurate description of how she felt, it seemed too kind for the emotional agony she felt rushing through her. 

His heart sagged at her tears, wondering if this was a mistake. He had to tell her, had to see her before he made this choice. He owed one of his closest friends that much. But he worried that seeing her would make the choice that much harder and it did. For the first time since he made this decision, he felt a pinch of doubt stinging his resolve. He cupped her face in his hands. 

"Do you have that little faith in me little one? I will beat him and return King of Wakanda. But I can't hope to do this if you, of all people, don't believe I can win." 

Zarah shook her head angrily; mad at him, the world, Hanuman and whatever imbecile put this idea in his head. "You don't get to put that on me M'Baku," she hissed. "You want to make this choice, that is your birthright. I can't stop you. But you don't get to saddle me with guilt because I do not agree with you. You are my best friend but I won't support you risking your life for this. It is not worth it. There are other ways to affect the change you want in Wakanda without doing this. If you die, who takes the mantle of chief? M'Cebo? You really think he is fit to lead us? He will destroy this tribe. Or Davu? You are just giving him another excuse to saunter down these very mountains and turn us all into fanatics. T'Challa may not be his father... give him a chance, a chance to be better," she pleaded, grasping his bare shoulders. 

"He is no different than King T'Chaka Za... I give him a chance and condemn our people to more of the same. I am sorry."

Zarah nodded, covering her eyes with her hands before straightening herself up and wiping the tears that were forming. If this was his choice, nothing will change his mind. "It seems you have made your choice then. I believe you can beat him, I really do. But promise me... If he gives you the option to yield, please take it. Promise me you'll take it. The Jabari need you." 

One of his thumbs grazed her cheek as he stared down at her, eyes heavy. "Just the Jabari?" He asked pointedly. Zarah slid her hands down his chest and pushed away from him, breaking their contact. 

"The Jabari need you. Promise me, M'Baku," she demanded firmly. 

His eyes fell to the ground frustrated. He wasn't sure what he was hoping, that with the threat of death looming over them, she might offer a window of opportunity to allow him to confess his love for her. But no such luck. He pushed through the pain he felt and pulled himself to full height before walking toward the door. Staying and looking at her simply made it harder to leave. 

"I promise." The small declaration barely reached her ears as he swiftly marched out of the throne room. The large doors slammed shut, causing Zarah to flinch violently before she crumpled into a nearby seat, sobbing.

*****

"Try and calm down Zarah. Pacing about like a mad woman won’t make him come back any faster." 

"You're right, you're right," she said, lifting her hands in surrender as she sat on the edge of the bed. They sat quietly for two minutes before Zarah was back up wearing a hole into her parents' carpet. Adisa rolled her eyes, her friend was impossible. 

"He will come back Zarah. M'Baku is the best warrior we have. He will come back either way." 

Zarah looked at her friend, disbelief on her face. "He is the best warrior we have and the most prideful. Do you really believe he will yield to T'Challa? He doesn't respect him, he doesn't like him. Either he comes back as King or he do-"

"Don't think like that. You said he promised to yield if given the option?" Adisa tried to reason. 

Zarah scoffed loudly, "I don't know why I asked him to do that. I knew that promise was meaningless. He won't yield, it is not our way. It is not his way." 

"Are you afraid he will die or are you afraid he will die when you didn't get a chance to tell him you love him?" 

Zarah glared at her friend, anger slowly rising in her. "We are not having this conversation right now." She wished she had never confessed her love for M'Baku to Adisa. She felt like her friend was always throwing it back in her face, demanding she act on these feelings. She paid little attention to Zarah's reservations and fears. Adisa was the wild child of the two, rebellious and unapologetic, never caring if she failed. But she didn't understand that Zarah wasn't her.

"Maybe we should. That is the reason you made him promise and are so upset. He is doing what he feels is right as chief. This is his birthright. You weren't this scared when Davu challenged him. Why are you so afraid now? And do not lie to me and say it is because you are worried about the tribe."

Zarah hated that her friend was always right. She had no concerns when that fanatic challenged him, M'Baku crushed him and forced him to yield within minutes. She didn’t understand why now was different. Maybe she just loved him more. But regardless of reasoning, she couldn’t shake the fear and the regrets that were draining the life out of her as she sat waiting. 

"I just don't want to lose him Isa... I c-can't," she muttered sadly. 

"Why didn't you tell him? Tell him the truth. This wasn't about his duty as chief. Why didn't you ask him to stay for you?" 

"YOU KNOW WHY!" Zarah yelled at her, taking her anxieties and frustrations out on her friend. 

Adisa jumped up, matching Zarah’s intensity and anger. "No, actually Zarah I don't! I don't know why you deny yourself love and happiness at every turn? I don't know why you think so lowly of yourself. I don't know why you continue to stifle your hopes, dreams and ambitions because of others’ opinions of you. But I do know that a life like that will never fulfill you I do know that M'Baku makes you happy, helps you feel whole. I do know that he loves you. Why can't you just take that leap? You are afraid, I understand that, but the things in this life that are worth it make us afraid. The love of your life told you he might die today and you just let him go without telling him what he means to you? Explain that to me! Help me understand!"

"I am not like you Adisa! Strong, fearless. If by some miracle he returns to me, I won't lose him as a friend to test out your theory that he loves me. I am not the girl he falls in love with, I am not the girl who gets the chief." 

"But you could be. You could change the way you think about yourself, your actions and be that girl. You are denying yourself the opportunity to even try."  

She started to respond when a loud rasp against her door stopped her. She whipped it open to reveal her brother, who looked exhausted but otherwise unharmed. "Come with me." 

"Wait, where is he?" 

He grabbed her forearm and pulled her out of the house, "Just come, quickly." 

Zarah and Adisa quickly hopped into the carriage that took far too long to make it up the winding roads to the Lodge. Zarah tapped her knee furiously through the ride, impatiently looking out the carriage window for the Hanuman statues. Adisa squeezed her hand every once in a while to assure and comfort her but it did little. She wouldn’t be able to calm herself until she saw him, saw the life in his eyes. 

Surely N'Danna isn't taking me to see his dead body without warning. That would be just cruel, she told herself, trying to stomp out the anxiety in her mind. She didn't wait for the carriage to fully stop as she jumped out and partially ran to the Lodge. She started to head to the throne room when N'Danna stopped her. 

"First, breathe," he commanded. She did so, not realizing she was holding it in this whole time. She felt loose, less like she was on the verge of a heart attack. "He is in his quarters." 

"As?" she asked, knowing her brother would understand the question. Her brother's expression didn't change, his deep brown eyes gave nothing away as he stared at her. 

"You will see." 

She nodded before racing down the hall toward M'Baku's private quarters, not waiting to be announced or allowed in. Kide simply slid out of her way as she tore the door open. 

"Za!" M'Baku exclaimed as he shifted to sit up in bed. He looked exhausted, she noted the bruises and wounds littering his torso. She tried to ignore the desire that bubbled at the sight of him in nothing but his boxers. Somehow after a battle, he was even sexier to her. But now wasn’t the time for those thoughts. They didn’t say anything, she just stood there and watched the healer tending to his wounds, trying to think of something appropriate. 

"How is he?" Zarah asked timidly. It wasn't really her place but she didn't know what else to say. 

"He will live. Just needs some salve on these wounds and sometime in the hot springs for the soreness." 

"Thank you Healer Femi, Zarah can attend to my injuries for the rest of the evening. I will call should I need any additional assistance." 

He nodded and bowed before exiting, "My lady." Zarah offered him a small smile before the door closed behind him. 

"I am not a doctor you know? And who says I want to attend to your injuries? I am still mad at you." She asked, pacing below the foot of his bed. 

"You can't be that mad at me or you wouldn't have come," he offered. 

Zarah laughed, "N'Danna didn't give me many choices as he basically dragged me out of our parents' home my lord." She paused, "Or is it your grace? Am I in the presence of the new King of Wakanda?"

He shook his head. Zarah raised an eyebrow, "You don't seem all that disappointed by that fact?" 

He shrugged, the gesture clearly painful. "Ritual combat is ordained by the Gods. It was not Hanuman’s will for me to win so I didn’t win. There isn't much to it other than that. I said my piece, I was defeated." 

Zarah nodded, picking up the container of salve and walking over to his side. She grasped his chin gently and tilted his head to get a better look at the deep cut on his forehead. He watched her deliberate and gentle ministrations as she spread the healing cream on the cut and his bruises before covering some with bandages. 

"Are you disappointed?" He asked. 

Her hand stilled on the side of his face as she studied him for a moment. She could hear it beneath the deep timbre of his voice, a hint of uncertainty and fear. "No, I asked you to return, you returned. Our people need you M'Baku. That is all that matters to me. Your survival will never be a disappointment." 

She continued adding ointment and bandages to the wounds that needed it. He knew a healer could do a better job, and so did she, but he just wanted to be close to her. He enjoyed the intimacy even if it was fleeting. He couldn't have her always but he could share this quiet moment with her. She worked in silence with extreme concentration, offering small apologies to every wince that escaped his lips. He didn't accept them though, the comfort she brought outweighed his pain. She started to pack up her things and turn to leave when he grabbed her small wrist. 

"Stay."  

"M'Baku... that is not appropriate. You know what they’ll say... and your brother," she argued weakly. She had spent the night in M'Baku's room before and every time, her parents would somehow find out and give her a verbal lashing about appearances and tradition. They never bothered M'Baku, he was chief and could do as he liked. But her parents were right, their platonic relationship sometimes bled into inappropriate territory, ruining their hopes of marrying her off to his brother. 

"I don’t care about appropriate. Your chief is asking you to stay Zarah. Don’t deny me this. I don’t want to be alone tonight. Please." He tugged on her arm, pulling her closer to him. She knew what that admission took, the vulnerability needed to admit he needed her. She knew she couldn’t deny him now, not after that.

"Fine. Only for a bit." She walked around the bed and settled next to him, his arm lightly draped over her side as they laid. She promised herself that she would only stay as long as it took for his signature snores to kick in and then she would head home. But soon, the warmth of his body and the security of his arms lured her to sleep, fears of her parents forgotten. 

****

The next few days were a whirlwind. T’Challa was king, died at the hands of a long-lost American cousin and then alive again. She didn’t want to say she was shocked that M’Baku saved his life in the first place, M’Baku was far from a cruel person. But to deny the heart-shaped herb and help bring T’Challa back to life, most people in Wakanda would not have had that compassion for their "enemies." But it was as he said, "A life for a life." But now it seemed like M’Baku was ready to have T’Challa indebted to him. She listened to him outline the choices before them at an emergency council meeting, where he would decide whether the Jabari should involve themselves in a conflict that was not theirs.

"We should leave him be. You shouldn’t have saved him in the first place. The boy made his bed, he ought to lie in it," Elder Imani, Zarah’s mother, said angrily, spurred on by calls of agreement from the leaders of the fishermen faction.  

"I must agree. It is not our way to involve ourselves in the ways of the lowlanders. If he wants his crown back, he should take it on his own. " N’Danna said. He had no love for the Panthers or cared who sat on the throne. 

"Maybe it is time we concern ourselves with the ways of all Wakanda. T’Challa is right. If we let the usurper remain on the throne, the Jabari could be next in his reign of terror," Zarah argued back, shrinking slightly at the glares directed at her from her parents. 

"You lack honor and respect for tradition! Have you forgotten why we isolated ourselves in this mountains to begin with? The Panthers have no respect for our ways or our God!" Elder Asante called back. 

"Maybe because we have had no respect for theirs. Lord M’Baku says King T’Challa is willing to make the effort. Just because we have been this way in the past, doesn’t mean we have to remain this way." Adisa’s father interjected, winking at Zarah and giving her a nod of encouragement. She was grateful for voices like Adisa’s parents on the tribe’s council. They valued tradition while understanding that things could still change. 

"We are both Wakandans and Jabari. There is space for both, space to love and respect the traditions and history of both. Centuries of isolation don't have to continue simply because that is the way it has been. King T’Challa isn’t to blame for the actions of his ancestors nor are we beholden to the actions of ours. It is time we consider a new way, a new path forward," she stated passionately.

Zarah stared straight ahead at M’Baku, refusing to acknowledge both the affirming and critical side comments and noises that erupted after her comments. She knew she only had to convince one person. Her family was as traditional as Jabari could be and N’Danna was liberal in many things but believed firmly in their isolation. They would never agree to this. But she understood a fundamental principle as an engineer: just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved. They operated fine on their own but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be better. 

M’Baku only had eyes for her as he doled our orders. "Elder Amari and General N’Danna, round up as many soldiers as you can within the next 15 minutes and meet me in front of the Lodge."

Zarah’s father jumped up, his chair almost toppling over beside him. "My lord, I beg you to reconsider! We do this and we will be fighting their battles or them forever. We elders are here for a reason. Heed our council for once."

"I have made my decision and that decision is final. The Jabari will no longer watch from the shadows. We will affect the change we want to see at the table, with the rest of Wakanda. That will be our way moving forward. Thank you all for your time." 

The elders saluted him, half approaching him to affirm his choice while the other half, including Zarah’s parents, angrily stalked out. 

Zarah and M’Baku shared a brief but tight hug before he started to walk out, preparing for yet another battle. 

"Things are about to change around here. Are you ready for that?" She called after him. 

He barked out his boisterous laugh. "Change is a good thing Zarah. Are you ready?" he called back over his shoulder. 

She nodded to herself. Change is a good thing, she repeated internally. She walked out of the throne room with a renewed sense of excitement for the future. If the Jabari were about to take a leap after centuries of doing something a certain way, why couldn’t she?  

****

@destinio1 @muse-of-mbaku @great-neckpectations @missmohnique @jellybean531

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Late (21)

T’Challa Udaku X Reader

Chapter Warning: Angst, Fluff, supernatural/paranormal ideas, plot, MAJOR BP deviation

 Word Count: 4.3k

 Note: Okay so here we go. Sh*t is about to get interesting and trippy. Please roll with it. It is FICTION right. This was A LOT of fun to write and play with. Also image used as T’Challa’s panther is as close as I could find, so if text descriptions are different I am aware.

 As always, thank you ALL for reading! I appreciate each and every one of you and your comments, likes, questions/asks, words of encouragement and even criticism in disguise as kindness. LOL.

***Loosley edited/Proofread***

***Interactive Chapter (Slightly)***

 If you enjoyed this please LIKE, REBLOG drop a COMMENT! ❤️ ❤️ 

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Everything in your body felt alive. You could feel everything. You could feel your blood rushing through your veins. You could feel the sunlight shining on your skin, you could feel the air coursing through your lungs with every inhale, you could feel your heart beating, you could feel everything, you could even feel your hair growing from your hair follicles. Every nerve ending in your body felt as it was hooked up to the end of battery cables and sparking you to life. You’d never felt like this before.

 You felt the softness of the material against your skin. You could smell green grass, you could smell what the cooks were cooking, you could even hear the clatter of pots, pans, and conversations all around you. You could even hear all your neurons communicating with every synapses in your brain. You knew your eyes were closed, but you could see infinite stars, and it looked like an endless abyss. It was so peaceful you wanted to drift away, but you smelled him. Your senses came alive once your smelled T’Challa. It was only then you were able to climb out of your dormant state.

 You gasped for air as if you’d never taken it before and sprang up from the bed jarring your eyes wide open.

 “Y/N!” T’Challa loudly said springing to his feet from his seated position next to your bedside.

 Your eyes adjusted to the abundance of light in the room, but your vision was different. It was as if you were seeing everything in infrared night vision; you saw red-orange figures and blue-green figures where there were none. You slowly looked down to your outstretched legs. You saw your shade was different; it was black and purple, the purple looked like millions of electrical currents racing through you are breakneck speed. You lifted your arms to look at them, but it was the same as your legs. You sat there mesmerized looking over your limbs.

 When you lifted your hands into the air, the window caught your attention. You looked out the window, but it wasn’t like you were looking through a window it was as if you’d already stepped outside. You couldn’t understand it. You could see all the way to the Jabari mountains as if you were standing at Lord M’Baku’s gates.

 “Y/N,” T’Challa’s voice rang through your wide-eyed wonder. You spun your head around to look at him. His figure looked the same as yours, the same black and purple engulfed his figure. You saw him lurch back as if he’d been hit. You sat there staring over him, amazed. You could even see his beating heart, his beating purple heart. You reached out your hand to him and touched his solid form.

 “Y/N?” He questioned again. You couldn’t focus on his words because his heartbeat took over all the other sounds, then in an instant, you heard a battle cry. You flinched and swung your legs from over the bed and planted them firmly on the cold floor. Even the feel of your feet against the floor felt different. You could feel pure energy underneath your feet radiating off the floor. You stood up and stared at your feet and saw blue waves of heat rising from the floor. You took one step and then another before T’Challa stepped in front of you blocking your path to the door.

 “Wait, you should get back into bed. We’ll call the doctors and Zuri.”

 You didn’t feel like getting back into bed, you felt like walking, you felt like following all the sounds your heard and scents you smelled. You reached your hand out to give him a small shove to nonverbally iterate your want leave. T’Challa moved as if he had been forcibly pushed. You looked at your hands again and smiled slowly and rushed to the door. As you pushed through it into the hall of the palace’s medical wing, you looked all around you.

 Even the walls had the radiating blue heat waves. You touched the wall and felt the pure energy again. When your purple and black hue merged with the blue coming off the walls, the hue changed to an orange, pink sunset-like color that briefly mesmerized you. Your attention would have stayed there if you didn’t catch the scent of the flowers in the garden. You snapped your head around and took off down the hall in search of them.

 As you ran down the hall, it felt as if it took no effort at all, but you saw everything whiz by you. You looked down and saw your legs moving faster than they ever had before. You smiled widely feeling a childlike joy bubble within you. You looked ahead and willed yourself to go faster, and in a few moments you’d turned three corners and was now close to the Dora’s training room. As you passed the opened doors, your vision slowed down to register them sparring with Okoye leading the training. She turned her head to the door just in time to see a blurry figure speed by.

You smiled as you busted through the doors of the royal ballroom and ran out to the balcony. It was then you stopped and gripped the railings. Your chest heaved, and you softly panted. You took a deep inhale and took in the scent of the flowers within the garden. You smiled preparing to run down the stairs to explore but were stopped when you felt the hot, electric grasp of T’Challa. You felt his presence before you felt him touch you. You looked to him noticing the change in intensity of the colors swirling within him. You smiled.

 “Stop,” he pleaded.

 You looked to his hand and relished the way his hand felt on you. He felt like home, like a sunny day and a field filled with your favorite flowers. You looked back to his face, while he did not look normal you could still clearly make out his facial features. He was still the most beautiful man you’d ever met, but his beauty would not stop you. Not right now. You pulled your hand away and took off again down the steps into the garden. You heard a low, angry growl before T’Challa scent intensified. You ran through the rows and rows of flowers, brushing past each and every one faster than you ever had before. You could feel T’Challa hot on your tail, but it only excited you. You made it to the extravagant fountain at the edge of the garden and stared at the statue of the panther goddess Bast. You didn’t know what was happening, but you would bet your life your trip to the ancestral plane had something to do with this newfound energy, speed, and heightened senses.

 “You have to stop Y/N, you are not well,” T’Challa said from beside you.

 “I am quite well, I feel fine, as a matter of fact, I feel great,” you exclaimed as you dipped your hand into the water fountain. Even water felt different, you could feel it’s coolness better, but it actually felt wet, slippery but refreshing. You marveled again at this new connection. You could have stayed there for the rest of the day, but you heard the sound of an elephant in the distance and spun around to its direction. You stared out, and it was as if you’d pressed magnify in your brain. Your eyes adjusted and traveled the distance across the plains, and over the tundra to the outskirt forests. As if he could read your mind T’Challa stepped closer to you.

 “Y/N, he cautiously began. You looked to him and gave him a mischievous smile.

 “As your King, I say do not,” he warned. His tone was almost laughable. You snorted and took off again in the direction toward the forest.

“Y/N!” T’Challa rumbled before he chased after you.

The speed you ran in the palace was nothing compared to your speed now. Now it was like the fresh air, sunlight, and earth beneath your feet only fueled you to go faster. The energy underneath your feet in the palace was now intensified adding to your power pushing you farther. You looked next to you and saw T’Challa running in stride with you. You could see the worry in his eyes but a smile was tempting his lips. You wondered if he felt how you felt. Did he feel the thrill that you felt it? You wondered if this was this what he always felt?

 You focused in front of you and traveled through the distance of forest trying to locate the elephant. You felt like a predator. You heard T’Challa’s voice in your head.

 “Leave it be, resist the urge.”

 You snapped your head to look at him again looking completely shocked. You wondered how he did that, but then you heard him again

 “Center yourself.”

 You tried to understand how he was doing what he was doing, but you couldn’t figure it out. Again, you heard the sound of the elephant only this time it was much closer. You zeroed in on it and picked up your pace and your resolve. Before long you could see it merely two hundred yards before you. Before you could get close enough, T’Challa rammed into your side pushing you off course. You lost your tracking and tumbled to a stop in a thick patch of bushes. You panted registering what he’d done. Anger quickly surged through you. You looked to him standing just in front of you cautiously watching you.

“I said do not. Center yourself Y/N!” he shouted.

 The authority radiated off of him, making you feel a need to bow down to his will, a need to appease him. That same need to obey worked against your need to remain in control. Your body tried to rise to a standing position but every move you made you countered with one that worked against it. You pushed yourself off the ground onto your knees but sunk down as if to bow but as soon as you did that you screamed through the forest. The birds flew from the tops of trees, and other animals within the forest also erupted in roars, growls, and bellows. T’Challa’s stare intensified, but you fought against it with everything you had.  

 You slowly rose to your feet, and soon your head followed. You stared back at him with a defiant look. The strength it took to stand and resist his will was almost crippling. You knew you couldn’t manage it much longer. T’Challa took a step to you, but before he could reach you, you dashed into the forest more. Again, as you ran you heard a loud growl this one was different though, it was primal, and with it, you smelled the most potent scent. The smell was so strong it overpowered every other scent around you. The smell made you stop dead in your tracks and turn around.

 T’Challa slid back and crashed your back into a tree. He pressed his body to yours and stared in your eyes. The scent was overpowering; you sunk your nose to his neck and inhaled deeply. The scent was wrapped around him. As you smelled his skin, he did not release his grip on your wrists; instead, he squeezed that much tighter. The more you smelled him, the faster your heartbeat, the more your mouth watered and the more you felt the wetness between your thighs.

 T’Challa’s back went rigid as did every muscle in his body. You snaked your tongue out and licked the skin of his neck tasting him. Once he felt your tongue, he sucked in a painful breath before his moan echoed through the forest. You looked to his face, and the black and purple hue faded revealing his true face. His eyes were the familiar yellow color you’d seen before, and in an instant, his purple and black hue returned. He pressed himself more firmly against your body and growled again forcing an influx of wetness to emerge. You moaned and everything in you said to have him. As soon as you thought it T’Challa pulled away creating a vast space between your bodies. He straightened his back and looked back to you. Again, he spoke in your head.

 “Listen, center yourself. Only through this task will you be able to control this and return to your normal self.”

 “What if I do not want to return to my normal self?”

 The shock on his face was evident as it was on yours when you realized he’d heard you.

 “Am I doing that or are you in my head?”

 He clenched his jaw tightly.

 “Center yourself!”

 You closed your eyes and tried to listen to his words. You tried to remember who you were, remember your life before. You tried hard to focus on that, but it was difficult, every time you felt some sort of connection it faded.

 “Try to find one thing about who you were before, one thing and focus on that. Slow your breathing; slow your heart.”

 Again, you tried but no matter what you tried to focus on you couldn’t accomplish the task. You attempted to focus on your childhood, then your parents, your old boyfriends, your work, things that brought you joy, but nothing worked. After a few minutes, your frustrations took over making you antsy.

 “Focus.”

 You were quickly getting tired of his orders. You opened your eyes and ran off into the forest again. T’Challa stood there and looked up to the sky annoyance taking over.

You continued to run through the forest no destination in mind. The only plan was to go fast. You sped up even when the foliage became thicker and more dangerous. Still, you didn’t stop, you dodged hanging branches and jumped over high obstacles. You were amazed by how easy all of this was and how you still weren’t tired. You heard the rushing of water and turned toward it. Before you realized it, you came upon the end of the cliff. T’Challa quickly grabbed you and pushed you back into the tree stopping your actions.

You recognized the fierceness within him and stilled your movements.

 Your chest rose and fall at a quick pace drawing his attention to your breasts. You bite your bottom lip as the desire remerged. You moved your face close to his determined to capture his lips within yours, but before your lips met, he pulled back. He looked conflicted, but you could tell he wanted it. So, you tried, again and again, he pulled back evading you.

 “No.”

 You angled your head to the side confused by his hesitation, something in him was hesitating, something was stopping him. You wanted to know what it was, but your own internal conflicts wouldn’t let you remain still, your anger, frustration, anxiousness, and attention all swirled together making it next to impossible to focus on one thing. The only instinct in you was to get close to him, chase or run. It was that simple, so you followed one. You pushed off the tree and jumped off the cliff into the waterfall and the deep water beneath.

As you dropped into the cold water, you relished the feel of the water against your skin and realized you could swim just as fast as you could run. After what felt like forever you finally emerged from underneath the water to gulp in air. You laughed into the air looking up at the cliff nearly seventy feet in the air you’d just leaped off of without a thought. You turned to the shore and saw T’Challa standing there waiting, completely dry. He hadn’t jumped in after you; he must have gone around. He was fast. You swam to shore and walked out. T’Challa’s eyes roamed over your body clad in the near sheer white shin length nightgown you wore, and your body is where his eyes remained even when you stood before him. You recognized the look in his eyes from the one night you’d had in the gardens.

 “Had your fill?” he asked.

 “How can I? this is incredible,” you answered. He wryly nodded before he looked down.

 “Y/N, we have to get you back to the palace. You may feel fine now, but I assure you soon you will not. The doctors have to examine you,” T’Challa pleaded. You turned your back to him and looked out to the roaring waterfall. You took a deep breath and took in everything with all your senses.

 “I can hear everything. I can see everything; I can taste smells, how is this possible?” you asked. He remained silent, but you felt him come closer. Your body reached out to him, a deep yearning stirred within you, one that was a lot more intense than it ever was, one you couldn’t understand, one that comforted you but also made you uncomfortable. You sunk to your knees at the water’s edge and looked into the water and saw the reflection of the panther you’d seen in the ancestral plane. The colors in the coat of the panther were again rainbow colored, and your eyes were not your own; instead they were a violet color.

T’Challa slowly sank down beside you and looked into the water as well. You saw his reflection was a panther also, except his was a lot bigger than yours, and completely black except small purple specks, with his bright hypnotizing yellow eyes. Between the two of you were rainbow colored heat waves that looked to merge together. The sight was mesmerizing, and it was there the two of you stayed just staring at each other’s panther form, neither of your spoke, neither of you moved you just stared. Slowly your heart rate slowed, and you felt calmer, slowly the energy coursing through you subsided and was replaced by a heavy feeling mixed with exhaustion. As the sun was replaced with the moon, your consciousness was replaced with darkness.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-T’Challa-

 “Explain this!” T’Challa shouted confusion swirling within him.

 Zuri rubbed his chin in contemplation and paced the floor just outside the room you were in. After several minutes of silence, his impatient got the better of him.

 “Zuri!”

 “T’Challa we can hear you all the way into the next hall. Lower your voice,” Ramonda said as she and Shuri approached. He steepled his hands behind his back in an attempt to reign in his anxiousness.

 “What is going on? Why is Y/N here instead of the other room?” Shuri asked.

 T’Challa sighed and filled them in on everything that happened in the day. He didn’t leave anything out; he began when she awoke, he spoke of the color of her eyes, her altered scent, her speed. He spoke of her defiance and the fact that she was able to resist his alpha superiority. He watched their eyes widen in amazement and confusion. When he finished with seeing the reflection of a panther within her they all just gaped at him as if he’d gone crazy.

 Slowly their eyes returned to their normal sizes, and they fell to Zuri.

 “Zuri, how is this possible? What is this?” Ramonda asked.

 “We are in unchartered territory, Ramonda. Once we gave her the heart-shaped herb and placed her in the sacred red earth we went into a scope outside my expertise,” he informed.

 “So you don’t know.” T’Challa accused.

 “I didn’t say that my king. While I am not sure, I do have theories,” Zuri filled in.

 “Zuri I love you, but you are thinning my patience,” T’Challa warned, the yellow eyes of the panther shining through.

 “T’Challa, remember yourself,” Shuri reminded. He balled his fists and took a deep breath. Since his chase after Y/N, he felt less in control and more animal than man.

 “As I said Bast had to allow her into the ancestral plane, she did, and the earth accepted her. The ancestors approve, the earth released her, and it was possible because Bast blessed her. I believe Bast saw something in her and gave her the ultimate gift, the gift only meant for kings,” Zuri slowly explained.

 “But why?” Shuri asked.

 “Never question bast, we do not ask why the same happened to T’Challa; we just accept it. Within the temple, there are writings on something different, something that is called Soltihimi. I can get it and bring it for you T’Challa. You should read it.”

 T’Challa still didn’t have enough information.

 “She has all the instincts I have. She can speak in my thoughts, hear mine, run as fast as me, everything I am, she is,” T’Challa voiced with his back to them.

 “Is this temporary? Will it kill her?”

 “T’Challa if she were to die, she would have died already,” Zuri interjected.

“Brother look at this as the blessing it is. She was on death’s door, she is no more, and she shares something with you. You can use this as something to drive you apart or a tool to bring you closer, a tool to heal what was broken between you,” Shuri rationalized. Her words resonated, she was right. He’d been clueless as to how he would ever be able to make up for what he’d done, how he’d treated her, the pain he’d caused her. He was hopeless he would ever be able to. This may be the way, perhaps if he read the text Zuri spoke of it would shed light on what was happening and how to forge ahead.

 “You are wise Shuri when it is your time to rule Wakanda you will do father proud,” T’Challa said, Shuri smiled and bowed her head as thanks for the praise.

 “Zuri, I would like to read those texts please,” he said. Zuri nodded, saluted him and walked down the hall.

 “What are you going to do?” Ramonda asked.

 “Take my place at her side where it was always meant to be, I will not leave her,” T’Challa explained his voice filled with resolve. Ramonda smiled and nodded.

 When he walked back into the room, you remained still in the same spot he’d left you. He knew from experience; the first run sucked the energy from you, he’d been prepared for it, she was nowhere near prepared. She could be asleep for days. He remembered he was out cold for a full fifteen hours.

 Over the next few hours, T’Challa read the ancient texts Zuri sent over. It went into a theory of “The Spirit Warrior,” a true warrior that comes from the outside world that has no Wakandan blood or connections to the ancestors or Bast. The texts spoke of Wakandans being natural born warriors, it was engraved in our DNA, evolved from Bast herself and through not only the heart-shaped herb but also the vibranium within our land that merged with our genetics over centuries since the creation of Wakanda. All Wakandans had a connection to Bast. Most connections were merely emotional, not surpassing past what some would call a devoted connected similar to that of a pastor and their God.

 For those from the outside world, it was slightly different. There was no connection to Bast or the ancestors, hence no connection with the land, or the people. It said “The Spirit Warrior”, had never been seen before; there was never one found. The outside world lacked the vision, and the ability to be one with all, putting all above their own selfishness. As he read on, he learned of the attributes of “The Spirit Warrior”. Their spirit never faltered even in the face of extensive trials; it was never broken but remained strong.

This “Spirit Warrior” was chosen by Bast herself and served to be something of a symbol of unification, peace, love, and hope. Once chosen the honor was seen as a gift, an unreturnable gift. This “Spirit Warrior” would serve as the bridge between two worlds, two times. Their role would be instrumental in not only procuring Wakanda’s advancement but also rebuilding the world. T’Challa was astonished, wholly speechless and utterly confused by the implications the riddles within the text alluded to.

 He spent hour after hour going over page after page of ancient reporting, possible potentials, and everything in between. None of it made sense because it was all theoretical because it had never happened before.

 After twelve hours by Y/N’s side, as she slumbered, he came across something in the ninth book of the eleventh Zuri had sent over. It was something remarkable that spoke of something called “Soltihimi.”

 “Bast has decreed that the king, The Black Panther, will choose a heart’smate to endure life, challenges, and country with. This must be done through the Nabdaba ritual. This heart’smate union may not be broken once made and solidified.”

 T’Challa vaguely knew the intricacies of choosing and having a heart’smate. His father and mother had spoken of it as did Zuri in his years of preparing him for the mantel of the king. What he had never heard of was “Soltihimi.”

 “The Spirit Warrior is bestowed to only one, the king. Bast decrees that only once The Spirit Warrior has connected to the land will they be truly blessed to walk in their path. Only when The Spirit Warrior has passed all trials, will their destiny be revealed and rewarded. Once rewarded and elevated to their rightful place, for their rightful path is when Soltihimi is activated.”

 T’Challa looked from the book to your face deep in thought. He didn’t know how he’d never read this before. He didn’t know how he didn’t know this especially once he became the black panther. He’d gained the knowledge of all before him, but this was not part of the vast amount of information that was passed to him. He began to wonder if those before him didn’t know or was this kept from him specifically.

 He reached for your still hand, and as soon as he touched you, he saw the same rainbow-colored heat waves from before when he saw your reflections in the water. He stared at it amazed. He raised your hand to his lips and placed a gentle kiss across your fingers. He’d almost given up on ever being this close to you again, and now that he was, he was filled with gratitude.

 He vowed to never harm you in any way again with everything within him he meant it.

 “Bast be my witness!” he emphasized with a determined look on his face.

 To Be Continued….

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***Panther Illustrations DO NOT BELONG TO ME, images found on Pinterest. If you know the artist OR are the artist, let me know so credit can be given.