Caged Bird [T'Challa]

Three

A groan escaped Hunter's lips as her back hit the mat on the floor for what felt like the hundredth time. She swore that she was probably black and blue by now. At least she always put up a good fight before she went down, so she wasn't just completely getting her butt handed to her.

She let out a soft huff and tapped the mat several times. "I surrender. There is no way I am beating you." She surrendered, looking up at the Dora Milaje warrior who had been sparring with her for the past three hours.

The woman held her hand out and helped the shapeshifter to her feet. Another groan left her lips as pain coursed through every nerve ending.

"I must admit, I have never seen outsider hold their own as well as you against my Dora Milaje." T'Challa finally spoke. He had been so quiet that Hunter had forgotten that he was there in the first place.

The blonde wheezed out a laugh as she forced her body to stand straight. "You and I have very different ideas of what is considered holding one's own against someone." She joked.

T'Challa shook his head, a smile still present on his lips. "Come. We will have my sister look you over." He walked over, pulling on of her arms over his shoulders holding it there as his other arm rested around her waist, pulling her weight to his body.

Their walk down to the lab was silent except for the occasional yelp that escaped the blonde when she shifted her body wrong. "I think I might have broken a rib." She muttered as her breathing seemed to come out labored.

The Wakandan king paused, looking down at her as worry passed through his eyes. His hand that rested on her waist lightly moved up and down it before he shifted to do the same to the other side. He watched her face, remembering where his hands were whenever she winced. "Two broken and several are either cracked or bruised. You told Ayo not to hold back, didn't you?"

She offered a sheepish smile at this. "It is only fair." She stated, heat rising to her cheeks when the king pulled her close once more. She would admit, he was handsome and very warm. His body heat was comforting.

The king seemed to snap out of his thoughts as he once again began to move them. As they walked down the spiralling ramp that led down into the lab, the duo could hear a female voice complaining in her native tongue.

"Commonly, talking to yourself is a sign of a mental disorder." Hunter joked when they spotted the princess of Wakanda running about her lab. This earned a soft chuckle from T'Challa.

Shuri stopped in her place at the sound of two people in her lab. She looked back at her brother and the ex-avenger. "What happened to you?" She questioned as she walked over to the other woman. Shuri pried the woman from her brother and shooed him away slightly before helping the blonde onto a bed.

The genius waved her hand over Hunter's bed and a hologram of her body was floating above her. "She was sparring with Ayo and told her not to hold back." T'Challa said before Hunter could even open her mouth.

Shuri barked a laugh at this. "You have to be the craziest white girl I have seen." She muttered as she began to tap on the hologram. "Two broken ribs, one cracked and one bruised." She finally diagnosed. She shook her head filled a needle with a dark blue liquid. "This will help speed up the healing process, but you're going to sleep for at least 24 hours once it kicks in. You'll at least be good as new when you wake." She disinfected the inner crease of Hunter's elbow before giving her the shot.

"How long does it take to kick in?" She asked, looking up at the scientist.

Shuri grinned at this. "Only about 30 seconds."

"Wait..." Before anything else could leave Hunter's mouth, she was pulled into darkness and her whole body went numb.

Shuri glanced over her brother and raised a brow. "So, you find her attractive?" His sister wiggled her eyebrows at him.

The king rolled his eyes before he walked over and carefully took the shapeshifter in his arms. "I'm going to put her to bed." With that, he walked off with his friend. Yes, he had begun to see this girl as a dear companion.

Instead of taking her to her room, he simply took her to his and carefully tucked her into the bed. Before he left the room, he made sure that she was comfortable and that a Dora Milaje was standing guard. He wanted her to be safe and free, but even here it was hard to give her the freedom that he believed that she deserved.

Anyone could be watching them and he wasn't going to risk her.