huge—no better descriptor captured the enormity of bast's children, towering twice the size of their earthborn kin that roamed the dark continent. the ever-present shadow of the trees wove a natural barricade around these majestic beasts, as if mother nature harbored a mystery too sacred to unveil. the eerie silence, compounded by the low growls threading through the air, was the jungle's gospel
silent, but not unheard
boyhood rites had taught him to move unseen through the arboreal terrain, to read the unspoken language of the forest. there were grave nuances to navigating wild territory—one must first understand their own basest nature before encroaching into the unknown. young t'challa had undertaken that journey once, searching inward to attune himself to the land. now, he found himself doing so again, drawn by the quiet hum of the cosmos whispering of something disturbed.
the oppressive darkness stretched endlessly, thick as the forgotten depths of time itself, suffocating any sense of direction. for ordinary men, it would be disorientating—warping their circadian rhythms, severing their tether to the march of hours. yet, the great cat knew no living soul in the black maw of the forest suffered that disadvantage. not even the interloper who did not belong.
by all rights, the latticework of trees should have served as tombstones for the uninvited. spiked oak and strangler figs would weave a grave, their entangled vines and ferns swallowing what remained—if the great cats didn't take the lion's share first. but this was not a night for death. not with distant kin.
the interlude of curiosity was palpable. the mass circle of golden eyes watched with interest, luminous sentinels in the dark. the ancient instinct to stalk dedicated the hidden beasts to the hunt, their hunger for answers too tantamount to ignore.
and at last, the indiscernible day broke.
the first ripple in the hush came not from the trees, nor from the panthers. it was the sound of something far older, weighted with the eloquence of chief authority, a voice steeped in the cadence of kingship and the divine. a presence the black panther sensed he shared with the other before him.
❝ you've come a long way, and you are a far way from home, black panther. ❞
the words rolled deep, resonant in the lushness of wakandan speech. from the fevered darkness, the owner emerged—his presence unfolding like an eclipse pulling free from shadow. the whisper of advanced tech gave his existence away, shimmering for a breath before relinquishing its hold, uncloaking a man whose gaze burned gold, sharp as the predators at his back.
the king had found respectable purchase on the crown of trees, high above, yet closer to his hunt than their own lost shadow. but now, he leapt from the tall acacia, landing with quiet grace in the likeness of the waterfall of blue-black furred panthers that followed him down.
❝ you are lost, usisi. ❞ his voice held the pressure of knowing. ❝ had i allowed you to go any further, you would have wandered into hyena grounds. ❞
there was no doubt that she possessed the fortitude to handle unnecessary trouble, but the politics of the region were already precarious. he would not have them muddied further by conflict that could have been avoided.
the black panther studied his mirror intently—their posture, the way they carried themselves together after enduring treacherous travels through the belly of foreign land. there was something familiar in what he sensed, something that pulled at the edges of knowing.
he wasn't sure how to proceed with burden of what he was learning, other than to ask the question burning at the forefront of his mind.
❝ come with me, and i promise you—we will find answers together. but first... ungubani? ❞
@ignispanthr
