Who: Bast & T'Challa What: A trip to Egypt When: Pre-Thanksgiving in November Where: Egypt~ Warnings: PG 13? Status: Log | Complete
T’Challa smiled to himself as he looked over the dark gauntlets that covered his wrists, the Wakandan Vibranium coated in a special black paint so it matched his Black Panther suit. Of course, he wasn't going to wear the entire suit for what he had planned, just the gauntlets, though he had to admit to himself it felt odd having them on apart from the costume. They looked like some sort of futuristic fashion accessory combined with his plain clothes.
Bast was due any minute. He had proposed the crazy idea of trying to take a trip all the way to Egypt with the gauntlets. He’d programmed the target destination into his Wakandan bead bracelet which was synced with the gauntlets, so they wouldn’t end up in some random spot in the Atlantic ocean or the Sahara.
Even if they had ended up in some random spot (not in the Atlantic. Water was a no-go these days...except to admire from afar while sunbathing or showering), Bast probably wouldn’t have been too upset. Then again, she was capable of getting by without things unlike some people and she could always find something to eat if necessary. She was sure of it.
Today she’d gone with jeans and one of her lighter weight long-sleeved shirts in a teal color. She smiled at T’Challa. She had used the gauntlets before during the battle. It was fun, but it wasn’t the same as traveling through the Duat. Nothing would be, however.
“I feel like you should definitely wear these clothes again. They look nice.” The fact of the matter was that everything looked nice on him.
T'Challa should have known she'd sneak up on him, just like the Cat Goddess would be expected to. However for once, he kept his composure and didn't jump (though had she grabbed his ass from behind as she was apt to do he would have) but merely turned around and gave her a beaming smile. “Thank you, goddess.” He leaned down and gave her lips a quick kiss. “Are you sure you wish to wear jeans? It's not California weather over there.” He was wearing khaki colored linen pants and a loose fitting guayabera shirt that thanks to it's style was translucent enough to hint at his dark skin beneath.
She smirked once he turned around. He hadn’t jumped. It was something new, something different. She felt a little pleased that he handled himself so well. Perhap she’d just startled him so often he was getting better at not startling. Yes. She was clearly amazing. The world was welcome.
She returned the kiss, smiling some. “I’ll survive the weather. And I brought my outfit as a backup should I need it. Then I’ll just be able to wear anything I wish. Yay me.” But she was certainly somewhat distracted by him. Still, she shook herself out of it and smiled at him. “I’m perfectly prepared for anything that happens today. Are you ready?”
T'Challa grinned. “Ah the talents of a goddess.” He activated the gauntlets, then wrapped an arm around her waist. Dark eyes sparkling with excitement he looked down at her. “Absolutely. Egypt here we come in three, two, one…” He swiped a finger across the surface of the other gauntlet and in the blink of an eye and a burst of bright light they were gone. Just as instantaneous they reappeared, T'Challa's modern kitchen replaced with the open air desert and ancient ruins of Bubastis.
And one really startled camel and its owner.
Bast grinned widely at that. “I have many talents. You’re right.” She wrapped her arms around his neck, noting that they could be getting ready to kiss instead of travel, but she didn’t want to distract him and end up in the ocean. Plus, she was interested to see Egypt and the place where people used to worship her. She was sure that some still did if people lived close by.
Her eyes shut briefly as they disappeared and reappeared. Her gaze shifted to the camel and his owner. She offered a smile, wishing she could speak to camels just to reassure it that it was okay. Instead she turned to the rider and attempted languages until she found one she could apologize in. “At least I come fully equipped with the necessary languages. Let’s look around.”
Grabbing T’Challa’s hand, she pulled him along so they could get a better view of everything.
T'Challa was a man of several languages himself, thanks to the dreams and this life as well. But some of the dialects Bast spoke in eluded him and he made a mental note to ask her later to teach him. “You make it sound like you're a luxury car.” he chuckled, letting himself get dragged about by Bast. He looked around at the ruins with genuine curiosity. All about them stones were strewn about, as if a god had swept his or her hand across the temple and scattered its stones like toy blocks. In the vibrant hues of the setting sun, it was even more dramatic as the orange hue set the sand colored stones ablaze with color.
“It is said the temple in your honor was a wonder to behold,” he said as they picked their way around the stones. “According to Herodotus there were canals around it a hundred feet wide, with tall trees planted all around the temple, and a road four hundred feet wide leading from the entrance into the nearby market. Statues nine feet high were all around the temple, with your effigy inside it.”
“I’m practically a luxury car,” she said, grinning widely. “In that I have a great body and like to go fast.” Humility was lost on her. At least in this moment it was. Sometimes she had at least a little humility. But that was usually when she talked about her mistakes or the things that had gone wrong in the dreams. She just wasn’t thinking about those things at the moment. She was far more focused on how excited she was about being here.
As he talked about her temple, Bast smiled a little. It had been some time since she’d visited in her dreams, but then she’d been trapped in a battle with Apophis for so long, it was hard to visit. “It was beautiful,” she said after a moment. “I only wish I could see it again, but I suppose memories will have to suffice.”
“Amen to that,” T'Challa smirked at Bast's complete and unabashed lack of humility. She was a goddess, she was allowed. And like he could complain. She was an amazing lover and girlfriend.
He watched Bast’s face and smiled softly. Coming up behind her he wrapped his arms around her waist. “I am sorry you only have memories to go on. But I am glad you still have the place here in this world.” He did not even have that for himself. Here, Wakanda did not exist. It never had. There was something strangely painful about that. To have something so vital to his person, to his very identity in the dreams not even exist here, it made him feel like more of an exile than he already had felt in his youth when fleeing the Congo.
He sighed and watched the sunset. It was glorious. The growl of the camel could be heard as the local headed away with the last of the tourists far behind them. “How long do you wish to stay?”
It was oddly comfortable to be in the arms of someone else. It hadn’t seemed an unusual thing before the dreams started, but now? Now it was quite a sight more unusual than it had been before. Only she liked it here. It wasn’t that gods and goddesses were never intimate - they were - it was just that they were not so with mortals. At least not this way. Not to mention she’d been trapped fighting Apophis for a very long time. Still, she would happily stay here until she had a reason not to.
“There is something about having a memory of a place. Even this, just ruins as it is…” She paused. “At least I can remember it and visualize it.” She looked over at him quietly after a moment. “Just until the sun has set. Then we can go. Maybe find something to eat. But at least we can leave here.”
“I am happy for you,” he smiled, and kissed her lips. He nodded and then said, “We can find a restaurant once the sun sets. Though with so little light pollution perhaps we could linger a bit to watch the stars come out?” And he nuzzled her neck gently, the Panther King petitioning his patron goddess.
There was a hint of a smile as she felt T’Challa’s face nuzzled against her neck. She was easy enough to please and easier still to persuade. At least when it came to T’Challa. “All right. All right. We can linger a little while longer to watch the stars come out.” But she had plans for the time between sunset and the stars coming out and at least part of that plan involved groping his ass.