The White Wolf

XXIII

Three solid knocks against the thick wooden door. No answer. That was the third time Bucky had knocked on her door with no response. Was she ignoring him? Did she just want to be alone after the trial and everything that had happened? He sighed, shaking his head. No, that wasn't like her. She always opened her door to him, even when she was upset. "Ava?" He called, his palm pressed against the door. He closed his eyes, bringing his ear to the door to listen for movement inside. Nothing. A frown tugged at the corners of his mouth, his brows pulling together and causing a wrinkle to form between them.

"Pale Mother is not at home." 

Bucky turned, seeing one of the village boys that he and Ava often played with. He was covered in sweat and dirt from wrestling with his friends out in the sun. "She's supposed to be home by now. Where did she go?"

The boy shrugged, his dark skin glistening. "Pale Mother never came home after General Okoye took her away this morning."

"That doesn't make any sense." Bucky muttered to himself, looking down at the ground as he tried to imagine where she might have run off to. "All right." He said to the boy, looking up at him. "Thanks, kid." He gave a nod. The boy tilted his head at Bucky for another moment, studying him, before taking off into the tall grass.

Bucky's steel eyes followed him until he had disappeared from sight, a small sigh escaping his nose. Maybe she was at the pond. His finger tapped the side of his leg as he looked in the direction of the pond, his feet carrying him in that direction. His eyes narrowed as he approached, dirt sticking to his bare ankles as it kicked up with each of his steps. He made it all the way to the water's edge, and there was no sign of Ava. He turned his head, looking to the spiraling tree her father was buried under. No Ava. 

He couldn't put his finger on it. But there was a feeling. A feeling in the chilling breeze that swept through. A feeling in the frantic flock of birds that kicked up in the wind. A feeling deep inside of himself. Each of these things, Bucky embraced in silence. He inhaled the air, watched the birds with narrowed eyes, and frowned in thought. Something wasn't right. Years of training and practice turned Bucky into a professional on things like this. Danger situations, missing persons, and more. Skills he needed to assassinate people. 

Before he jumped to conclusions, he decided to call a few people. He tapped the kimoyo beads around his wrist, which Shuri had given him now that he was practically a civilian of Wakanda. A hologram of Shuri popped up as she answered the call, her brow raising. "You do know that just because I gave you those it doesn't mean you have to call me to just chat all the time, right?" She scoffed, hiding her smile. 

"It's not that." Bucky shook his head. "Have you seen Ava anywhere since the trial?"

"No. She's not at home?"

He shook his head again. "I can't find her anywhere. I checked the pond and the tree, too. She's missing."

Shuri rolled her eyes. "I'm sure she's not missing. She's probably just walking around the village. If you need to see her that badly, just track her kimoyo bead signal with yours."

"You can do that?" He asked, frowning as he wasn't all that surprised. This place had insane technology.

"You white men really are stupid, aren't you? First it was Ross and now it is you." She muttered, ending the call. 

Bucky frowned again, scoffing at her words as he tapped the beads, setting them to track the location of Ava's beads. A hologram map of the city opened up from the beads on his wrist, a light blinking on Ava's location. It was the path leading toward home from the city, but it wasn't moving. He frowned, turning off the beads and going in that direction.