The elephants were still where they'd last been seen – or very near, anywhere, since they weren't hard to find by the experienced guides. They were along the bank of the wide river and hard to miss, after all. The sleds stopped at a short distance. Far enough away to be out of the way but closer than any of them (except maybe Shuri) had ever been – even the one time that May and Ned's mom had taken the boys to the zoo when they'd been much younger.

"Wow…"

The driver – who was also the oldest of the guides and named Chai – nodded, pleased that there was already interest, and more than willing to share the knowledge he had about the animals they were going to be seeing. Even if he wasn't being paid very well to make sure the kids had a good time.

"These are females," he told them, coming up to sit on the side of the sled beside Peter. Ned had already pulled out his camera. "And their young," he added, pointing at the little ones who were varying sizes from some that weren't too much smaller than the adults to one little one that was fairly small. "The male bulls do not normally spend time with them, preferring to remain solitary or in bachelor herds."

"Aren't they worried about lions or something?" Ned asked, excited to get some up close pictures – especially of the littlest one, since he knew it was going to make all the girls that he sent it to say 'awww'. "That little guy probably tastes delicious for a big cat."

The guide shook his head.

"It would have to one who is very hungry to attempt to take on a full grown elephant," he pointed out, gesturing toward the closest female – a large one who was watching them, suspiciously, but clearly not too concerned about their presence. "The females are dangerous when protecting their own, and those tusks are powerful enough to knock over trees."

"A lion or leopard would have very little chance – even if there were several," added another guide, also sitting on the side of the sled. It was clear they weren't in any hurry to move on. It was a good indicator of the easygoing nature of their trip, and that was all to the good, really. "We will look for some bulls," he assured them. "To allow you to see just how much bigger they are than the females."

There were assorted murmurs of approval and several pictures taken by all four of the teens – as well as pictures taken of them with the magnificent animals in the background.

"Think Tony would flip his lid if we photoshop it and make him think we're in the middle of them?" Ned asked, grinning, as Chai resumed his place behind the wheel of the sled and started the engine, telling them that it was time to get going. There was still plenty of daylight, left, but they had a ways to go, still.

Peter smiled, but shook his head.

"I think it'd be a dumb idea," he told his friend. "Not today, anyway. Maybe we can play with some of them on the way home."

"Especially if you don't intend for him to go Ironman and fly out here and carry you home kicking and screaming," MJ added, smirking.

Shuri smiled, too, pleased at the bantering and the freedom she was enjoying to just hang out with her friends. Something that T'Challa allowed her when he could, but opportunities like this were very few and far between. Everyone slid into seats as they left the riverbank.

"With a superhero for a father one has to be a little more circumspect when rebelling," she told him, sagely.

"This coming from a girl whose brother is a king?" Ned asked, smirking. "Talk about irony."

The sled started moving with the other pulling in behind them, and Shuri's smile widened.

"Touche."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOO

They reached their destination three hours later, after a couple of stops to stretch their legs that just happened to coincide with opportunities to look at herds of grazers. Animals that were coming to the river to get their drink, and ones that didn't have any predators trailing behind them, just then – although the grazers were constantly vigilant. It was a good chance to take some pictures on the ground, now, and the people in the other sled watched for any predators while their charges got some good pictures of the scenery as well as gazelle and antelope, with the promise that there would be plenty more to see, later in the safari.

The campsite was close to the river but not right up to the bank. Close enough to be able to see the animals that used it for a water source, but far enough away that they didn't need to be concerned about crocodiles, or hippos, or the myriad of creatures that would wind up at the bank during the night as well as the day. This was a permanent camp for them, and their tents were already put up by the time they arrived.

Much like the campsite for the tribe gathering, there was a tent with a portable shower and fairly modern looking toilet, sink, and vanity (nothing like the magical one Stephen and Wong had made but pretty good for being in the middle of the wilderness of Africa, anyway) and a tent that would be used for food storage and cooking. The Wakandans had incredible tech, as well, and they were making good use of it with solar powered cooking stoves and chilling coolers that would keep their perishable supplies cold for far longer than they would last. The sleeping tents had been put up, as well, and the guides had one for themselves near the 'kitchen', while the guards had another near one side of the perimeter, near where the sleds were parked and the force shield was powered from.

Shuri and MJ were directed to a tent on one side of the clearing where the campfire would be, while Ned and Peter were shown theirs on the opposite side. Peter helped the girls carry their bags to their tent, while Ned carried his and Peter's, and told them he'd see them when they had a chance to get settled in. He knew MJ would want to call her parents to let them know they had arrived, and maybe show them around a little in some kind of video call if they had the time.

He would do the same with Tony and Pepper, after all.

When he walked into the tent he'd be sharing with Ned, he smiled to find his friend stretched out on the deep full sized air mattress that was closest to the tent flap, his clothes already strewn about the bed and his phone out.

"This is awesome, Peter," Ned told him.

"I know. Are you calling your mom?"

"Yeah. I promised I would when we got here."

Peter knew that.

"I'm going to make my bed," he told Ned, heading to the other air mattress. There were a couple of sleeping bags and a pillow on it, which was fine, but he wanted them to be unzipped like blankets instead of something he had to crawl into. "Then I'm going to check in with Tony and pepper. Then we'll go look around."

"Sweet."

OOOOOOOOOOO

"Well?"

T'Challa smirked.

"Well?"

Tony frowned, rolling his eyes because he knew his young friend was doing the well thing just to annoy him. He didn't mind, though.

"Keep it up and the Avengers are going to invade Wakanda and steal all of your zebras."

The young king snorted, his teeth flashing white when he smiled at the threat.

"The Dora Milage have checked in to advise that they have reached the permanent camp and are setting up tents. There have been no issues or concerns."

"That's a good start, then."

"Peter has not, yet, checked in with you or Pepper?"

Tony shook his head.

They had gone into the city for lunch, but since they had the day cleared and didn't really have anything pressing to do, both had returned to the compound. Which seemed quiet since Peter wasn't the only gone, just then. Pepper had kissed him and headed to their quarters, telling him that she was going to check on some notes for a meeting she had coming up that Monday and Tony had headed for the lounge. And had then decided to call T'Challa.

Not because he was checking up on Peter. Just to say hi. Because that was what friends did, after all.

"I don't really expect him to, to be honest. Not right away. He knows we can keep an eye on him through his watch, so we'll know if he ends up on this side of the planet or something, or if his heartbeat goes crazy because something bad is happening. Chances are we won't hear from him until bedtime."

"Working on the presumption that he will miss you most when he is not distracted by his friends and the majesty that is Wakanda?" Tchalla asked.

"Exactly."

Another smile – this one understanding.

"They will settle into the camp, this evening, and have dinner and get to know the surrounding area – which will be protected by one of the field shields. There will be a fire and the guides have many stories to tell that will keep them occupied, tonight. Tomorrow, after breakfast, they will go looking for whatever wildlife the guides have found closer at hand. It is very controlled, but designed to keep them from knowing it, if possible."

"Good. I'll tell Pepper." He shrugged. "You know, because she's worried."

"And you are not?"

"Of course I'm not."

T'Challa's expression plainly said he knew better, but he only smirked.

"I must go, Tony. Have a good night and give Pepper my love."

"Night, T'Challa." The call ended and Stark got to his feet, picking up Nutmeg who had been dozing on the back of the sofa, not interested in Tony's call, but close at hand in case anything needed to be stolen. "Come on, Flerkin kitty," he said, caressing the fuzzy head and smiling when Nutmeg opened his eyes long enough to make sure who was holding him and then went back to sleep. Or pretended to, anyway. "Let's go find Ironpig and see what kind of trouble we can get into."

Maybe he'd go see what Pepper was working on.