Project 43: Healing

Not Only That

"Old man!" Elias heard the familiar woman call out as she stepped out of the jet. The soldier felt a smile stretch across his face as he saw Shuri's wide smile.

For a moment Elias weighed the situation. He couldn't be sure that he was safe. Just because Shuri had helped him once, doesn't mean that she was going to help him again. He knew he didn't deserve it. 

"I'm barely ninety, Your Highness," Elias called, still not stepping onto the clearing. He wanted to see how Shuri would react. Would a platoon of soldiers appear from the treeline or would she turn around and shoot at him immediately? Much to his surprise, Shuri only laughed and turned to face the direction she thought he was standing in. She raised a confused eyebrow when she couldn't see Elias and continued to look around.

Three deep breaths.

Elias got up and stepped onto the clearing, very aware of the position of his pistol on his waistband. Shuri's face lit up and she began to walk toward the soldier.

"Why hide from me, Captain? Are you scared?" she playfully mocked Elias as the two came face to face again.

"Well if fighting skills run in your family, I should probably be even more cautious," Elias pointed out, still looking around as he walked. 

Shuri noticed the man's odd behavior and checked their surroundings with furrowed brows. It was only then that she remembered what the man in front of her had been through in the past weeks. She couldn't blame Elias for being cautious, she couldn't even imagine what she would be like if her friend betrayed her like that.

"Come on, Grandpa, let's get going," Shuri said, trying not to let her sadness show through. She didn't want Elias to think that she was pitying him, knowing that it wouldn't help the situation at all.

"I don't mean to offend you but your ship looks like a flying saucer," Elias said as Shuri started the engine. He heard the princess chuckle slightly as she lifted the jet off the ground.

"You might want to hold on," she said but didn't give Elias enough time to reach, before the ship shot through the sky, throwing Elias stumbling backward against the wall.

"Come on," he crumbled, slowly stabilizing himself again with a lot of help from the wall. He walked to the front of the plane which could not have looked attractive with the amount of twists and turns Shuri did, a hundred percent just to mess with Elias.

"Oh sorry, I thought you were sitting down," Shuri grinned as Elias finally managed to sit down next to her.

"Yeah of course you did Princess Leia," Elias bit back, only for the ship to quickly break, folding him in half before he was able to catch himself.

"Is it gonna be like this all the way?" Elias asked with a grin and a raised eyebrow to which Shuri just nodded.

Wakanda would never cease to amaze Elias. As the ship dove through the protective walls, he was completely taken aback by the beauty of the city in front of him. The buildings worked with the plants around them, not fighting against them, allowing humans and nature to coexist within one area. Elias admired the way everything seemed to be a mix of old and new, allowing development and tradition to mix and form something even more beautiful.

The city was full of life with people walking around and trains speeding past, seemingly floating in thin air. It was like the whole city was a moving, breathing, living being filled with history and hope for the future.

"It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Shuri said after watching Elias observe the view that opened before them.

"Yeah. I didn't really have a chance to take it in last time. You know, with the whole dying thing," Elias joked to which Shuri just scoffed and shook her head with a grin.