Eyes of Fire | Bucky Barnes

22

"I still don't quite understand what we are doing here." Bucky reminded, for probably the third time since they'd departed from her home, trailing behind her as they followed a gravel pathway out of the main city.

"Well, the festival usually includes different petting areas," She explained again, crossing a small hill and struggling to get her balance after dropping from it. Once she was sure she wouldn't fall over, Uxolo continued, "and it'd be rude of me to prepare you for everything but the wonderful animals."

It wasn't a lie, despite how weird it probably sounded. Bucky was in for a world of surprises, because Wakandan festivals were nothing like American festivals.

There'd be various games and booths; sports competitions, kind of like a mini Olympics for the athletes and fans. There would be dancing, 24/7, separated into the most rambunctious party activities for the younger individuals, and a smaller, more contained and formal party towards the end of the festival.

Lastly, the animals. Being that Wakanda had never been imperialized, colonized — or, in other words, stripped of their parts and goods before being left to suffer — all of the animals were purely African. They had all manners of lions, cheetahs, and hippos, obviously, but also domesticated rhinoceros', aardvarks, wildebeests, and forest elephants. The people had also been able to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with the entire animal kingdom, so the domesticated ones allowed themselves to receive all manners of human affection, while the others stayed to their own spaces.

Hence them being involved in the festival. There were petting areas (for the children and teens, primarily), riding lessons (for the people who could control the movement of the rhinos and elephants; those guys loved walking with their human friends) and some even participated in the parade.

She figured the pair of them would stick to the petting, for now, but she still wanted to introduce Bucky to the different types of animals there were.

"I'll let you choose; baby lions, or wildebeests?"

Bucky's smile quirked up and to the side, a bit, "Lions."

They arrived at the temporary location not too long after. Several handlers had brought plastic crates filled with baby aardvarks and wildebeests, separately of course, and set up wooden fences to hold in the baby rhinos and elephants. The adult animals, their parents, stayed in the nearby field but wandered around a bit, a little vacation from their needy babies.

Uxolo led him into the pasture for the baby lions and cheetahs; they sat along the edge of the fenced in area, waiting for them to release the animals.

Immediately, two cubs dashed towards her, hopping along and bumping into each other as they did. She reached out for them and gathered them in her lap, patting their heads and scratching behind their ears. They were much too young to pose any real threat to anyone, even with how happily they knawed away at her knuckles.

Soft laughter and gentle coos of delight filled the field, each grouping of people instantly throwing their attention at the closest animal that they could.

Everyone except for Bucky.

It took Uxolo a moment to realize that something was going on, her playful expression melting away into something filled with worry and concern. The soldier's face was a bit twisted, tense, as he gripped and ungripped both hands atop his thighs. He looked like he was in pain, hell, for all Uxolo knew he could have been.

Bucky just couldn't muster up the will to touch them. He wouldn't.

Uxolo scooted closer to him, a worried frown tugging at the corner of his lips. It was hard not to hide it with a smile as the cubs climbed their way over and under her limbs, eager for attention. Yet here Bucky was, red faced and tense, looking as if he was about to get up and leave.

"James, are you alright?"

God, he felt so pathetic.

"They... are really small." He squeezed out, voice lower than usual. "This is the first time I've— what if I hurt one of them..?"

"These guys are astonishingly strong, James," Uxolo said softly, reassuring. "They will grow up to be some of the largest animals in the country, the top of the food chain."

But it wasn't working. He still had that look in his eyes — sad, still, hardened, tense — brows furrowed with a shaky breath, and ramrod straight back.

"Hey..." She called; once she had his attention, she rose to her feet and reached a hand out. "Come on, maybe you will be more comfortable with the adult animals."

Uxolo led the way out of the pen, nodding at the worker who'd begun to approach them to make sure they were okay. Not too far across the pasture was one of the full grown rhinos, the ones the Wakandan army often trained and doted on, so she led him there.

Maybe as soldiers, Bucky would be able to bond with this animal on a different level.

"Cute, right?" She asked, reaching out to pat one of their backs. Buck still hesitated, a pained look crossing his features. "They're big, and sassy sometimes, but they need affection too!"

Bucky winced at the approach of the creature to his scarred hands.

The dark-eyed beast let out a soft trumpet in response, nosing its way under Bucky's flesh hand for any amount of pets and scritches that the man could give. After a few minutes of very, very gentle head pats and ear rubs, the rhino pushed even further forward, presenting its horn to Buck who froze up with his hand hovering in the air just shy of touching.

When he looked up, Uxolo was watching him with a warm smile and tender expression. Bucky smiled and let out a wet chuckle. "What- What do I do now?"

"You pet the horn." She piped up, her own rhino that had tried to climb into her lap, unaware of how big it was, trying its hardest to wrap its trumpet around her wiggling fingers.

"I pet the horn." Buck repeated quietly to himself, his hand slowly lowered down to graze over the smooth nail-like texture of the horn.