Little Cub vs Black Panther

(Would have released this sooner if the MCU timeline didn't piss me off. Shuri was born in 1997 or 1998 but during Black Panther, which takes place in 2016, it says that she is 16 in the movie. She could only be 17 at the youngest if her birthday took place after July! Most likely 18 though.)

After confirming that J'Zaki was fine, M'Baku brought him to the throne room to meet with T'Challa and the others. He knew that he had to stop teasing the prince or deal with some consequences he did not feel like dealing with.

When M'Baku and J'Zaki entered the throne room, T'Challa was surprised to see the state that J'Zaki was in. He was wearing fur clothes like one of the Jabari but from what he could see, there were bruises all over J'Zaki's body.

"Why is my brother injured? Did you do that?!" the fury dripped off of each word

M'Baku sat on his throne while J'Zaki sat on a smaller throne next to him, looking like the Jabari chief's little sibling.

"Calm yourself, Panther. They should have told you that we were training. Were the training sessions you went through so gentle that you never left the room with anything more than a papercut?"

"Is what he's saying true?"

"Of course. I am not one to be bullied, Brother," J'Zaki defended himself

T'Challa chuckled.

"So you remember that I am your brother. Why did it not feel that way when you left without informing anyone?"

"My apologies. I knew that Father and Mother would not have let me leave."

Okoye stepped forward and slammed her spear on the wooden ground, which surprisingly did not crack under the weight of her blow.

"Your actions affect more than just yourself, prince. Former General Linoh was stripped of her rank and thrown into prison because of you."

J'Zaki looked down in shame. He knew that this would most likely happen. The woman was prideful and would not hide what she had done nor throw away her responsibility in the matter. That is what made her such an excellent general.

Even though he felt bad, he looked Okoye in her eyes and dismissed her words.

"Do not blame me, solely. Linoh offered me an opportunity and I took it. While I will not dismiss my role in the matter, you also should not dismiss her part in it either."

Okoye wasn't expecting to be rebuked in that way so there was little she could say. It was true that it had originally been Okoye's idea so they could not fault J'Zaki with forcing her to do it. She had done everything willingly.

"Baby brother. What are you expecting to learn up here?" T'Challa asked the question that had been bugging him.

"History. Not the tales of the victor but the tales of the loser."

*Cough cough* M'Baku cough to the side of J'Zaki.

"I mean of those that wisely chose to retreat to the mountain since they could not teach the ignorant who were unwilling to learn."

M'Baku nodded in agreement.

"Father and Mother have given you a year, Brother. Learn all you want. But when that time is up, you are to either come down the mountain yourself or be dragged down by be. Understood?"

"Of course, Big Brother."

And with that small exchange of words, T'Challa had finished his task. He and the Dora Milaje began their trek down the mountain to inform the king and queen of what they saw and the response that J'Zaki had given.

"Boy. Go back to the library. I have our shaman ready to teach you. He will also feed you your lunch and dinner."

J'Zaki nodded while walking through the caverns to return to the library. While most of the passages looked very similar, they had slight markings which helped guide him back. When he arrived in the library, J'Zaki saw the smallest adult Jabari he had seen since he arrived.

The man was skinnier than even the Wakandans down below. But even though he did not seem powerful like other members of the tribe, he was wearing furs that looked to be of the same quality as M'Baku.

When the older man turned to look at the J'Zaki, the latter could see all the wrinkles on his face. It seemed that the man was even older than J'Zaki had first thought, maybe even in his 60s or 70s.

"Child. Come over here," the man beckoned with one of his hands. He was pointing to a bowl that had some steaming mashed potatoes and a few other vegetables in it.

J'Zaki walked over to the table and sat down before offering a silent prayer to the 4 gods that were barely worshipped. After his prayer, he picked up the bowl and spoon before diving into the food.

The old man nodded with a smile.

"I'm glad to see that you enjoy it. You should get used to eating that as the Jabari are vegetarians. We don't have much room to grow livestock up here nor can we truly care for them for long if we did."

"Really? How are the Jabari people so large?" J'Zaki asked in between breaths before diving back into the bowl

"Trial and error. But imagine what our forces would be like if we had access to all the protein and other nutrients that the flat-landers have."

J'Zaki thought about it and realized that they would become even more fearsome. The giant M'Baku may have been even larger if he was born into one of the other clans.

Seeing that he understood, the old man nodded.

"Glad that you understand. While you eat, I shall begin explaining to you the way of the Jabari. You have much to learn if you wish to live among us for while."