The last morning of their safari was as cold as the others. And for the first time that Peter had ever seen there in Wakanda, there were looming clouds on the horizon. Black clouds that definitely were going to darken the bright sun, eventually. Luckily coming from the west, so it didn't block the sunrise when they walked out of the central tent the next morning, shivering in spite of their sweatshirts and vests.
"Brrr…"
Peter couldn't agree more. He looked around, noticing that the village was active for the time of day. People were gathering up all items that were normally hanging on pegs, sticks, or lines. Leathers, cloths of all lengths and qualities.
"Are they clearing things out to avoid it getting rained on?" he asked Shuri, who had walked outside with him.
She nodded, watching as a couple of children went running by, squealing with happiness – although none of them saw anything that made him so happy.
"The monsoon is coming," she said, gesturing to the looming clouds. "All activities will be confined indoors during the heaviest of rains."
"How long does that last?" Ned asked, shivering, too.
"Depending on the area, the rains could last between two and three months."
"When will it start?" MJ asked. "Today?"
"Perhaps." Shuri smiled. "We will not be here, though."
Their sleds were already being loaded with their supplies and bags for the journey back to the palace. They were going to have breakfast, have a round of goodbyes to everyone – including an exchange of small gifts – and then would be heading out as early as possible since the trip was going to take most of the day.
"Is that why everyone looks so cheerful?" MJ asked. "The rain is coming?"
"Wakanda is lush," Shuri told them. "Because of the monsoons. Only a few areas, here, are dependent on the rain to regenerate, but the rain makes green even greener, and keeps us from having any concerns about drought. It can be inconvenient to have nonstop rain for a month at a time – or two – but it is worth it."
"So everyone will be stuck inside for the next couple of months?" Peter asked, looking around. The structures of the village weren't that big; way smaller than the apartment that he'd shared with May. He'd go stir crazy sitting inside for that long. "That doesn't sound fun."
"They aren't stuck inside," Shuri replied with a slight smirk. "They just will not want to spend much more time outside than is necessary to take care of their livestock and to visit each other. Each village has a large center tent that they will use for community gathering place." She gestured at the one they'd just walked out of. "Like this one."
"Cool." Ned wasn't too concerned; everyone wouldn't be looking so happy if they were dreading the monsoon. "Breakfast is ready."
"Let's eat."
OOOOOOOOO
"So do we all need to go?"
Stephen shook his head.
"It doesn't sound like it. Just the elders of each tribe."
"For an announcement…"
"That's what Tony said. I'm invited because they need a ride."
Wong snorted.
"Want me to take them?"
"You just want to know what the announcement is," Strange accused.
"Wakanda is beautiful," the other sorcerer said, pretending to be defensive. "And the monsoon is coming. It'd be interesting to see how the dynamics change when the rain falls for 3 months."
"You can come if you want," Strange told him. "But Natasha plans on going, so I'm going to go, regardless."
"What do you think the announcement is?" Wong asked. "You know T'Challa better than I do."
The sorcerer supreme shrugged.
"I'd hate to guess, but since I've been around the compound enough times to listen in on conversations between Peter and Shuri when they've been discussing the state of T'Challa's relationship with his paramour, I'm going to guess it has something to do with their relationship."
"Marriage?"
"That would certainly be something important enough to call in all the tribes, right?"
"Or it could be something else."
Both men nodded.
"True."
"Well, let me know."
OOOOOOOOOOOO
"These are so cool…"
Peter grinned and looked down at the wooden figuring he was holding. The one he had was an impressive representation of a zebra. Each of them had been presented with a small wooden piece. Carved by the best craftsman in the village and specifically for each of them in anticipation of their visit. Peter's was obvious. Everyone knew that he had a zebra he had tracked since it was a foal. Shuri's was a panther, crouched and ready to spring – although not black as Peter would have expected. MJ had been given a giraffe and Ned's was a lion.
"Yeah. It's pretty neat."
They were in the sleds, now, and were headed back toward the capital. The one they were in had the full forcefield activated. It cut down on the slipstream of their travel, and necessary since they were traveling far more quickly than they had when heading out on their safari. They weren't stopping to look at anything, after all, and the plan was to have them back at the palace by evening.
"I like them," MJ said, running her thumb along the neck of the giraffe, pleased at how smooth it was. "I might start collecting them."
"One for each trip to Wakanda?" Ned suggested.
"Maybe."
"That is an exceptional idea," Shuri agreed. "You will be here for the next tribal gathering," she added. "We will make sure there is another for you, then."
"And one for me," Peter said, liking the idea. "An animal for every visit?"
"You're here a lot," Ned pointed out. "You'll have enough to fill an ark in no time."
"Good thing you have a lot of shelves in your quarters," MJ said. "I have a lot in my room, too."
Azoru had been sitting, quietly, next to his cousins, who were in the same sled. Bartel had seated himself by MJ, initially, but Azoru had gestured for him to move one more down and had then gestured for Mavik to sit there, instead.
"Your parents are going to be at the palace, this evening?" he asked Peter.
"No," Peter said. "They'll probably get there sometime early evening, back home. So toward the middle of the night. Tony told me that T'Challa has his meeting scheduled for tomorrow morning, to give us a chance to get back, and for some of the tribal elders from the border tribe to get there."
"They are preparing for the monsoon," Bartell said. "They had to wait to make sure that everything was ready before they come."
"Are they coming on rhinos?" Ned asked.
Everyone smiled at the question.
"They have sleds like this one," Shuri assured them. "Because they are so integral in the defense of Wakanda, it is important that they have some of the fastest available, and – of course – the highest quality communications capabilities."
"In case something happens at the border."
"Exactly."
"Have you had a lot of things happen at the border?" Ned asked, curiously, knowing that since he was part of the Avenger tribe so it was safe to ask. "Like other countries trying to invade?"
"None in generations," Shuri said. "We prefer to remain isolated and will do anything needed to remain that way."
"How do you hide an entire country?" MJ asked. These were things that they hadn't thought about asking, really, but now that the topic had been breached, it was worth asking. "I mean, if someone was driving across the area, they'd notice if they ran into your shield."
"Because the shield is only up when there is a reason to have it," Shuri said. "We keep the illusion up, all the time, though, and no one is going to want to drive into a mountain, or off a cliff."
"And they have a great one of a semi active volcano that is constantly spewing just enough ash to make airlines avoid flying over low enough to have to worry about the ash and low key enough that it isn't interesting enough for anyone to come look at," Peter added.
He knew it all, of course.
"Have you flown over it?" MJ asked.
"No. But Natasha said they did when they came to get us after Tony and Pepper's honeymoon. It looks cloudy. All the way across the country."
"Very unwelcoming," Shuri agreed, smiling and looking smug.
Ned smirked.
"Suckers. I'd never fall for that."
"You threw up on an elevator," MJ reminded him. "If you were flying over Wakanda, you'd be barfing yourself inside out and wouldn't care what was below you…"
Peter snorted, and Ned rolled his eyes, good-naturedly.
"Whatever."
Peter leaned back in his seat and looked at his watch. It was still pretty early – and even earlier in New York – so while he was tempted to call Tony and Pepper, he kept his phone in his pocket and instead just enjoyed the last day of the safari and the company of his friends.
It'd be fun to see what was going on at the palace, but he was also looking forward to seeing Tony and Pepper.