sinking|namor

|02- An Old Friend|

ONE YEAR LATER, THE RIVER BORDER, WAKANDA
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Kalpana winced, silently stretching out her leg muscles as she vigilantly eyed the Queen and Shuri through the blades of tan grass. She knew it was supposed to be a private ritual for them, but the bonfire was in a small riverside clearing- her and Namor's clearing. Plus, if they needed help, she would be there.

And, she was sure that if she somehow aided them, they would ignore the fact that she'd been skulking behind a baobab tree. Suddenly, the disconcerting roars of the grazing elephants hauled Kalpana from her more complex cognitive state. The majestic gray creatures scrambled from the water, stampeding around her and into the grass, disfiguring the smooth dust path.

And then she heard him. She knew his deep voice with his heavy accent and his sultry persuasion. His words rang in her ears and ran circles around them, coming from no particular point, but aimed specifically at the trio. They chilled her to her core and knocked her head.

"Sit down. Sit down, and we will talk. You too my flower."

Kalpana felt compelled to obey for some reason, and she slid silently into the seat next to Shuri. The girl whirled around, blatant incertitude on her face, shifting when she noticed Kalpana. 

"What are you doing here," she whispered, furious.

"Making sure that when stuff like this," she waved her hands maniacally," You don't get hurt."
 

Shuri opened her mouth to speak, but splashing from the river silenced her. This time it was not the elephants, but him again, emerging adamant and slow, as though he already knew he would get what he wanted.

Water trickled off him, making thin streams in the crevices between his abs. He was gorgeous with his wet hair, and he'd donned the same green and gold, almost mesoamerican apparel, as he had worn before. It was like reliving your most confusing, beautiful, exhilarating memory.

And it scared her.

"Stop! Who are you? How did you get in here?" Queen Ramonda demanded in a resolute voice.

She gripped a Dora Milaje spear in her hands, brutally ready, stabbing it in his direction. Shuri had grabbed an elegant staff near her ceremony garbs and wielded it beautifully. While Kalpana did not want to fight him, she had to keep up appearances and slipped her dagger from her thigh holster.

Namor ignored her, his eyes grazing darkly over Kalpana before he began speaking in awe.

"This place is amazing! The air is pristine, and the water," he motioned towards the current, a maniac glitter in his eyes. "My mother told me stories about a place like this, a protected place with people that never have to leave. Who don't have to change who they are. What reason do you have to reveal your secret to the world," he questioned. 

It was a question that was always permeably approached. The Queen answered it with the safest, most coherent answer and never spoke about the fights, rituals, and complications to any outsiders. And never of the power-inducing heart-shaped herb or Shuri's complex vibranium lab.

"I am not a woman who likes to repeat herself. Who are you?" she spoke the last part slowly, punctuating each syllable by stabbing the spear at him.

Namor just scoffed at the tarnished weapon she brandished and turned to Shuri and Kalpana.

"I have many names. My people call me Ku'uk'ulkan. But my enemies call me Namor," he breathed, water glistening on his face as he licked his chapped lips.

"The US military discovered vibranium in the land of my kingdom. I prevented them from extracting it," he explained, watching as the woman before him took in his words.

"But we need Wakanda's help to prevent this from happening again. They are using a machine designed by an American scientist."

He spoke calmly, and although he was making a request, his words had no desperate urgency. He talked as though he had more resources than them. As though he didn't need their help. It seemed like he was only offering a way for them to gain an alliance. It was bone-chilling and unnatural.

"Vibranium only exists here," Ramonda said authoritatively.

Namor snickered and gestured toward his shimmery green covering and gold-plated jewelry with a self-absorbed smirk.

"Mother, he's covered in it," Shuri gushed, both excited at discovery and apprehensive.

Kalpana smiled as she eyed his crystalline green earrings, the beams of light casting dappled colors dancing across the ground as they soared through his turquoise prism jewelry. He traced three fingers over his necklace, fingering the white and blue beads.

"Your son exposed the power of vibranium to the world, and because of it, other nations are searching the planet for it. His choice has compromised us. I think Wakanda to find the scientist and bring them to me," he sneered in his deep voice.

Licking his lips, he continued, directing his words at Queen Ramonda.

"It is only fair that Wakanda helps to solve our dilemma," he finished, glaring darkly.

Queen Ramonda huffed, twirling the spear through her hands before jabbing it at him. She stood up straight and yelled in his face.

"You do not sneak into my country and tell me what is fair!"

"I have more soldiers than this land has blades of grass, and they have incomparable strength!" he roared, anger tainting his tone.

"I would hate to come back under different circumstances," he spoke calmly, having reigned in his emotions, but a fire still lurked in his caramel eyes.

He knelt, placing a giant shell onto the beach. He had held it in his palm the entire time, waving it around vividly. It seemed heavy and a bit like porcelain, but it was beautiful, like a marble or an American lollipop.

"When you have to scientist, blow into this, place it in the ocean, I'll be there shortly afterward," he said, although he pronounced afterward like 'after wars.'

He twirled around, sprinting off to the river, before tossing his head back.

"And for your own sake, don't mention anything about me to anyone outside of Wakanda."

And with that, he leaped into the waves, diving off.

Kalpana turned around reluctantly, glancing up only once. But something caught her eye. Something hulking and yellow in the corner. It was a machine.

"How did he do that?" Shuri shrieked.

Kalpana just shook her head.