Chapter Text
Namor had just turned a hundred when he met her. During one of the routine trips he made up to the surface every now and then to gather information, he was caught coming out of the water by a young woman who couldn't be more than in her ninetieth sun year. He didn't notice her until she spoke as she was hidden in the brush.
"Of all the legends I've heard, I don't remember one about men with wings on their ankles coming from the water," a soft voice spoke from behind him.
Instantly, Namor whirled around, dropping into a fighting stance. Behind him, she was stepping out from the bushes where she was hiding at first. She was pretty enough for a surface dweller with rich brown skin and sharp but delicate features. She was obviously a native to the land by her dress, clad in woven shorts and a top wrapped around her chest before tying in a thick knot in the back, three strings of colorful beads secured to her waist and her feet bare. Her hair was piled onto her head in an intricate braided style and she was carrying a basket at her hip with a bundle of netting resting inside. Seeing she was unarmed and seemingly not a threat, Namor relaxed minutely, straightening up but remaining on guard in case she turned out to be hostile.
"Who are you," He demanded.
The girl cocked her head to the side, confused.
"You do not speak the same as the others," she said softly.
Namor's eyes narrowed, unsure of what was being said. He recognized the language as one being native to this land mass but knew nothing of the language himself and from the look of her, she had no idea what he was saying either. They stood in a tense silence eyeing each other, Namor in suspicion and the girl in a mix of curiosity and wonder. Namor doesn't know how long they stood like that, staring at each other, but soon the sound of footsteps and a voice calling came closer.
Namor tensed, backing back toward the water as he used his superior hearing to listen to the approaching voice. It definitely was coming closer to their direction and by the way the girl was looking back toward the high grass and brush, she was who they were calling for. He backed deeper into the water as he watched her attention leave him.
"I am here sister," She called back into the grass.
Quickly turning on the spot, Namor dived back beneath the waves, hiding from further discovery. However, he remained close enough to see who it was the second person was. From the brush emerged another girl, this one older than the other by a few sun years. She looked much like the other girl in both ways of dress and looks, which signaled some familial relation, though the frown on her face did not match the amused look on the younger. The younger was gently laughing at her sister as she spoke to the other.
Namor watched them for a few moments more as the older began to seemingly scold the other which the younger ignored for the most part in favor of looking around the beach.
'Looking for me' he thought.
She looked mildly disappointed when she did not see him causing Namor to huff softly in confusion. Why would she be looking for him and Why would she be disappointed that he was gone? They hadn't even been able to understand each other to hold a proper conversation so there wasn't really anything to miss. Still, the girl moved to stare out on the open water with a saddened look on her face that made Namor's chest feel heavy for a moment. He shook it off and moved to head back to Talokan, as the older girl noticed her sister ignoring her and started shouting in annoyance.
As he swam out farther he managed to make out one last thing from the shore. A name.
"Shani!"
Present
Shuri felt her breath catch in the back of her throat when the man emerged from the water. However, it was not out of fear but confusion as a throbbing started up in the back of her head. It made her dizzy and a bit faint but it didn't stop her from surging to her feet like her mother and taking up one of the spears nearby.
"Who are you," Ramonda shouted fiercely.
"This place is amazing," the god man breathed turning to face the water.
The sound of his voice caused the building ache in her head to build steadily. The grip she had on the spear in her hand slackened as flashes of light passed in front of her vision while muffled words sounded in her ears. Furiously she blinked them back trying to focus on the moment at hand.
"My mother told stories about a place like this," he continued on, turning back around to face them," A protected land with people who never have to leave. That never have to change who they were."
The moment he turned around, Shuri got a good look at his face finally which caused her to freeze as a flash of recognition spread through her. It was quickly followed by the increasingly intensifying pain in her head that caused her to bite her lip hard in an effort to keep the whimper of pain in. More flashes of color passed in front of her eyes as the muffled voices gained clarity. Distantly she wondered where they were coming from as it was just the three of them in the clearing and right now it was only her mother speaking.
"Who. Are. You," her mother demanded next to her, unaware of her daughter's growing discomfort.
"I have many names," he said," My people call me K’uk’ulkan, but my enemies call me Namor."
Shuri couldn't hold back the cry of pain as what felt like a bolt of lightning shot down her spine forcing her to drop the spear and fall to her knees. Faintly she could hear her mother call for her worriedly but it was soon blocked out as the voices finally cut her hearing off from the rest and the flashes of color flooded her eyes.
She was still outside but this time it was midafternoon if the position of the sun was anything to go by. She was also still by the water if the gentle sounds of the tide lapping at the shore and sea-dwelling birds were correct as well. However, what drew most of her attention was the fact she was lying on her back on a blanket with a heavy but comforting weight lying on her chest. Looking down she felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she realized two important things.
One she was naked as the day she was born and two the weight was Namor (who was equally nude).
She had her hands buried in his dark curly hair, scratching lightly at his scalp which caused pleased hums to rumble through his chest. They were wrapped both in a pleasant silence and each other, feeding each other warmth despite being bare to the world. Namor was the first to break it.
"In Maravilla," he said softly, shifting to lift his head to look her in the eye though he did not move from his position on her chest,"I wanted to tell you something."
She hummed in return, never stopping her motions through his hair.
"Remember how I explained the two names I carried," he continued.
She nodded.
"I still think that shaman was wrong to brand you with such a name," she said huffily," but you'll remain inyoka yam to me"
Namor chuckled as a smile spread across his face. Shuri could feel her breath catch in her chest at the sight as it made the god-king look younger and brightened his eyes.
'A beautiful sight' she thought.
"Thank you, my love," he said" But I wanted to speak with you about my names because I have one more to tell you. This one is the most important to all of them."
That piqued Shuri's attention causing her to sit up which shifted Namor from her chest to her lap. It took a moment for them to settle with Shuri reaching for the large white cloak sitting in the sand not that far from them, which swamped her slender frame as Namor snaked an arm around her waist and settled on his back, head lying in her lap.
"Tell me then," she insisted, cupping his cheek.
" It's the one my mother gave me," he stated quietly," There's not many of my own people left that remember it and for the most part I want it to remain that way."
He reached his free hand up to cup her cheek as well, thumb rubbing at the skin.
"I want you to know it because you have my heart," he finished.
Shuri smiled softly, leaning down to place a chaste kiss on his lips.
" Tell me," she whispered pulling back slightly.
" Ch'ah Toh Almehen," he whispered back against her lips before pulling her back down into a kiss.
Shuri came back to her mother calling for her frantically and standing over her, spear pointed at Namor unflinchingly. Her breath came out in heavy pants as she stared at the ground, reeling from what she saw. How did she know that? As far as she knew this was the first time she had laid eyes on the man, so how did remember such an intimate moment with him? Her cheeks flushed, both with the embarrassment of the memory and a quickly rising fever.
She shook her head softly, trying to come back to reality. She waved her hand tiredly at her mother, letting her know she could hear her before looking up, directly into the startled eyes of Namor.
The moment their eyes locked felt like time froze for a moment. Despite the fuzziness still clinging to her brain, she could see the torrent of emotions flowing through his eyes. Shock, confusion, wonder, pain, longing and hope she picked out easily. A part of her knew that if anyone else were to look at him, they wouldn't see anything past a cool disinterest, but she better. Namor was always easy for her to read and what disturbed her was how she knew how. The longer she stared at him, the more her head swam and the feeling of vertigo overtook her. She groaned lowly as she blinked hard, trying to fight back the flashes that were returning.
Shuri panted lowly as she leaned shakily on her arms, tearing her eyes away from the man while swallowing back the bile that crept up her throat. Her head throbbed painfully as she looked back up at him.
"Ch'ah, "She breathed lowly, but loud enough for both her mother and him to hear her.
Everyone froze once the name left her mouth. On Namor's face you could see a dawning realization spread across it as his eyes grew glassy against his will.
"Shani," he forced out roughly.
.