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Soul walked down the halls of the cave, eventually finding herself outside her father's office. Soul took a much needed breath before walking inside, seeing Namora, Attuma and K'uk'ulkan talking in hushed tones. Soul snapped her fingers and their heads turned into her direction. "Give us some privacy. Go." Soul ordered.

Attuma and Namora both walked out like requested and Soul glared at her father. "How dare you."

"What?"

Soul scoffed, "I said "how dare you". How dare you do that to me. I asked you, no I begged you not to kill her. I'm not stupid, I know Attuma told you everything." Soul walked over so she was a few feet away from him. Namor sighed, and shook his head, "You're acting as if I killed her. She's still alive." He shrugged.

"And you're damn lucky that she is alive! But you know who isn't alive father? The Queen! You took the life of someone's mother! You made that girl watch her mother die! How could you do that?" Soulina's voice cracked at that last sentence, tears threatened to spill but she kept them in. Namor diverted his eyes away from her, partially ashamed of his wrong doings.

"Answer me!" Soul screamed. Namor looked at his daughter, her watery eyes and pained face made it hard to look at. "I just did."

Soul shook her head, tired of his behavior. He would never do something like this is Monsella was still there. "I watched my mother be killed in front of me and you know this! How could you let someone else suffer the same fate I did?! No, no, my father wouldn't do that to someone. This-this version of you is a disgusting monster and I refuse to live in the same place as he does. I'm leaving." Soul licked her lips and turned to leave but his voice stopped her.

"And where will you go, Soulina? I'm all you have. That girl that you love so much! She doesn't love you, Soulina! You need to accept that. All these stupid fantasies you're having are never going to happen. Get over yourself, Lina." Soul couldn't even hold contact with him as she felt her heart basically get ripped in half in front of her. "You don't mean that," Soul mumbled in denial.

Namor nodded, "But I do, Soulina. You cannot fall in love with a surface woman, I forbid it."

Soul clenched her jaw, sick and tired of being told who she could and couldn't fall in love with. She was done with being told what to do. "No, no you can't forbid anything. I'm done with being told what to do. All my life I aimed to please you. I do everything I'm told. And I asked one thing from you, that you don't hurt her. And what did you do? You almost killed her and you did kill someone else."

"So I am done, listening to you. Mama, would encourage me to be happy and live my life how I want to. And I'm going to do exactly that. Even if it goes against you." Soul scoffed, looking at Namor who reached for her hand but she pulled it away.

"I hate you. And I'm never coming back here again, Namor." Soul licked the front of her teeth and shook her head before she made her way out.

She passed Attuma and Namora, not even given them her acknowledgement. She went to her room, grabbed all her important things and packed it up into a bag. Soul passed by her father's room, she had second thoughts, but she wasn't gonna keep letting him hold her back from the life she wanted to live.

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"Your mother protected me like I was one of her own. The least that I can do is try to return the favor." Riri said. Shuri leaned on one of the lab tables. Shuri stood up, "We need to find a way to weaken, Namor."

"Even weakened he's still gon' be a problem." Riri replied.

"The Black Panther has never failed to protect Wakanda." Shuri countered.

"I thought the Black Panther was gone."

"My brother is dead. But it doesn't mean the Black Panther is gone."

The elevator opened and Soulina stood there, they both turned to look at her. Shuri immediately went to grab a spear but Riri stopped her. "I'm not here to hurt anyone, I swear." Soul held up her hands in surrender, a sad look on her face.

"What do you want?" Shuri asked, harshly may I add. But who could blame her? Soulina's dad was the one to kill her mum.

"I just wanna help, and maybe a place to stay for the night." Soul said, putting her hands back down. "And I'm supposed to just trust you? Let you into my home? When your father killed my mum in front of me!" Shuri exclaimed, glaring at Soul.

Soul looked down guiltily and Riri sighed, feeling bad Soul was getting the blame for her father's actions. "Hey, maybe we should hear her out. She did save my life after all." Riri said.

"Look, I don't want to start anything. And I'm really sorry about your mom. But I'm not responsible for my father's actions. In fact, I wanna help you kill him." Soul said, shocking Riri but Shuri wasn't convinced.

"I'm supposed to just believe that you want to help us kill your father?" Shuri raised a brow.

Soul just shrugged, "He's lived long enough. It's time he pays for his wrongs."

Shuri glanced down in thought, it was risky to trust Soul, obviously. But when she looked at Riri she noticed the longing look she was giving Soulina. "Fine. But if you do anything, and I mean anything that goes against us, I will kill you." Shuri stated.

"Wouldn't dream of it, princesa." Soul walked over and Shuri squinted her eyes at the mermaid. "Come, I'll need your help." Shuri gestured her over as a life-size image of Namor came up on the screen.

"Why doesn't he look like them?" Riri asked.

"His physiology is completely different. None of them fly or have pointed ears like him." Shuri explained and Soul nodded in confirmation as she stood on the left of Riri with her arms crossed over her chest.

"The women that were guarding us, they had water over their mouths and on their necks. He didn't have that," Riri said, looking at Soul who took her eyes off of the image, having been creeped out by it.

"They're are several organisms that don't need gils to extract oxygen from the water so, it's like a uh jellyfish. It just absorbs the oxygen through, from his skin. It's a process called diffusion." Shuri mumbled in realization. "In that attack before he took out your plane, he jumped back into the water. What if that's what makes him strong?" Riri suggested.

Shuri and Riri turned to Soulina for confirmation as she was the one to know her father the best. Riri snapped her fingers and Soul looked up, snapping out of her daze. "Oh uh yeah, water makes him strong. He's breathing air and getting oxygen from the water on his skin." Soul confirmed. "It's how I breathe as well but I can without water for a long period of time because of my hair."

Riri smiled at Soul and turned back to Shuri, "If we can find a way to dry his ass out, he won't be as strong." Riri said, looking to Soul for confirmation and she nodded.

"Yo that's it. Griot, we need to convert the Royal Tylon fighter into a pure vaporization chamber." Shuri spoke.

"Is that even possible?" Riri asked.

"Yes. You're going to help us trap him. How old were you went you built your first machine?" Shuri asked.

"Three. My step dad was a car mechanic, he wanted to build airplanes. He gave me these tools and let me just work it out." Riri answered.

"So who taught you how to do all that you do?" Riri asked Shuri.

"My big brother."

After talking for a few more hours it was getting dark and Soul desperately needed water on her body. "We don't have a spare room ready at the moment but you can share with Riri if she's okay with it." Shuri said, sending a smirk to Riri who's eyes widened.

"There's a million rooms in that palace and you tellin' me there's not one ready?" Riri deadpanned at Shuri, knowing what she was doing. Shuri shrugged innocently, "Nope, not that I'm aware of. Go on, show the mermaid to your room." Shuri ushered. Soul stood there awkwardly as Riri and Shuri practically had a conversation with their eyes.

"Fine. Uhm follow me," Riri gestured to Soul. She smiled and gave a smile to Shuri who smiled back.

A while later they finally arrived at the room and Soul immediately walked towards the bathroom. Soul switched on the water in the shower and walked in, not bothering to close the door. She sighed in relief as the water gave her that much needed energy. Riri leaned against the doorframe, watching curiously as Soul threw her head back, smiling as the cold water ran down her face and body.

"Did you need some clothes..or??" Riri asked, wondering if Soulina's clothes were attached to her body magically. If they were then that would suck.

"Hm?" Soul opened the glass door, not hearing what Riri said. "Oh I asked if you needed some clothes. Or are those like attached to you?" Riri squinted her eyes, her sight more specifically on Soulina's top that she hadn't seen Soul without. "Oh no they come off." Soul smiled innocently. "Wanna see?"

"No!" Riri objected before Soul could even move. "No, uh no that's not necessary. You just, uh stay there and enjoy your shower, there's soap and everything. I'll be right back with those clothes." Riri rushed out, shutting the bathroom door and walking to the closet. Soul shrugged and the shorts and bra she wore disappeared like how her tail would.

"Why did I say no? Jesus what is wrong with me?? She practically just offered you to see her naked! Dammit Riri! Stop. She clearly doesn't know what she's sayin'. I mean come on she's probably as innocent as a Koala." Riri spoke to herself and she looked through the clothing options that would fit Soulina's body type. It was way more different than Riri's. Soul was more thicker than her, which she did love, but now ain't the time to think like that.

"Okay, let's get back on track. What would a mermaid wear? Oh who am I kiddin'? None of this shit besides a sweater would fit her. Aye but I ain't complainin' she got a nice ass." Riri mumbled quietly to herself, unknowingly was Soul standing a few feet behind her. Soul cleared her throat and Riri jumped and turned around with wide eyes.

Riri looked up, trying to look anywhere but Soulina's naked body. "Uhh you're naked. Why-why are you naked?" Riri stammered out.

"Because I'm already dried off." Soul explained, a small smile on her face. Riri cleared her throat, "Right. Uhhh, do you usually just walk around naked in front of strangers?"

"Not really, I usually wear a towel when I get out of the shower." Soul looked around in the closet as Riri tried looking anywhere else. "I don't think any of this will fit me," Soul mumbled, raising her brows at the sizes that clearly wouldn't fit her frame.

Then there was a knock on the door, luckily saving Riri from having to reply to Soulina's statement. "Stay in here. I'll be right back." Riri shut the closet doors and ran towards the bedroom door. Opening it, it revealed to be Shuri who stood beside a Dora that held two suitcases of clothing made for Soulina. "I figured Soulina wouldn't fit in any of yours, so I bought some clothing that would." Shuri explained.

"Oh you a lifesaver." Shuri smiled and glanced into the room, not noticing Soulina to be in sight anywhere. "Where is she exactly?" Shuri asked as Riri opened the door to let them inside. "Oh uh she's in the bathroom...takin' a bath." Riri said, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Oh, well, please inform her that I want to speak with her privately tomorrow morning. Have a good night. Please, don't make too much noise, or have too much fun. If you do, you are responsible for cleaning your own sheets." Shuri smirked teasingly at Riri who rolled her eyes but was blushing furiously anyways.

"Mhm, goodnight." Riri sighed, watching Shuri exit the room with the Dora. Riri opened the door to the closet, her eyes immediately finding Soulina's naked frame once more. "Who was it?" Soul asked, oblivious to Riri's stare on her body.

"Huh?" Riri blinked, breaking her stare. "Who was at the door?"

"Oh, yeah that was Shuri. She bought you some clothes that'll actually fit." Riri said, gesturing to the two suitcases set on the couch. Soul smiled and walked towards them, opening them up and Riri sat down on the edge of the bed. She pursed her lips, her eyes wondering down Soul's backside shamelessly.

Soul grabbed a white tank top and slipped it on, smiling as it fit her perfectly. She still disliked the clothing though as it felt just like the American clothing. She slipped on some briefs as she did not like the underwear fabric. And lastly she pulled on a pair of grey sweatpants. She still didn't like American clothing but she was putting up with it just for now.

"So uh imma jump in the shower. You can sleep wherever you feel comfortable and I'll be back." Riri said, collecting her stuff for her shower.

Soul nodded, watching as Riri entered the bathroom and Soul sat down on the bed criss cross. She sighed, pulling off her seashell necklace. "Miss you momma. Can you hear me? Are you awake?" Soul spoke quietly. She couldn't fight the smile that appeared when the seashell necklace began to glow, signaling that Monsella was listening.

"I overheard Riri talking to herself about me. She thinks I'm innocent, which is a little true but I know what I'm doing..most of the time anyway. I'm not even trying to do anything though, I'm just bein' myself. I don't know if she likes me for me though, probably just my body." Soul mumbled, a bit disappointingly. The seashell blinked a few times and Soul sighed, understanding the morse code.

"Stop putting yourself down, Soul."

"Sorry, habits." Soul set the seashell on the bed and leaned forward, her elbows holding her up by her legs. "Do you think I made the right decision leaving daddy? I know you seen the argument." Soul leaned her chin on her hand as she waited for a response.

"It doesn't matter what I think. You follow your heart baby. If your heart says to leave that environment than you follow your heart, and your gut. Now, I must go, it's getting late. Goodnight my sweet little seashell."

"Goodnight momma." Soul sighed and put the necklace back around her neck.

Soul hummed to herself, fiddling with her rings as she hummed a tune under her breath. Unlike the rest of the Talokanils and Sirens, Soul didn't have a siren song that could possess someone to do as they please. But she could make people fall in love with her. Like when she was making Shuri feel things for her with just her voice. Her looks were also a plus. She didn't need makeup to look beautiful, she just had natural beauty. It was something she definitely got from her mother. And luckily that because she absolutely hated makeup or anything on her face really.

Soul looked up hearing the click of the bathroom door as it opened. Riri walked out, let out a small startled breath when she noticed Soulina's eyes on her. "Oh you still up." Riri said. Soul frowned slightly, not sure if that was a bad thing or not. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did you want me to go to sleep?" Soul asked apologetically.

Riri shook her head quickly, "No, no you good. I was just gon' smoke and I'm not sure if you was comfortable with smokin'." Riri explained. Soul didn't hide her confusion, "What's smoking? Like lighting a fire?"

Riri gaped, but at this point nothing Soul said surprised her anymore. "Nah, I mean like I was gon' smoke some weed. Do you know what weed is?" Riri raised a brow and Soul shook her head. "Nope. But you can smoke or do what smoking is, I'm okay with it. I'm just gonna lay here until I fall asleep." Soul smiled and Riri chuckled at how innocent and cute she was.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Cause you look like a puppy right now." Riri chuckled and Soul raised her brows. "Is that good?"

Riri nodded, "Yeah, yes it's good. It means you're cute, like a puppy." Shs explained.

"So you think I'm cute?" Soul asked, getting a bit more cocky. "Aye don't be gettin' all cocky now." Riri laughed, shaking her head in amusement as she sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out her lighter.

"What's that?" Soul jumped slightly when the fire came from the lighter. Riri lit up the joint placed in between her lips and took a small hit. "A lighter," Riri mumbled. Soul watched curiously as smoke came out of Riri's mouth from the joint. "Did you want some?" Riri asked, noticing Soulina's eyes on it.

"I don't think that's a good idea. My father would kill me." Soul shook her head, practically forgetting that she wasn't on good terms with Namor anymore. "But he ain't here, and you grown enough to make your own decisions. C'mere." Riri gestured her Soul to come closer.

Soul looked down in thought, a little hesitant but it was true, she was old enough to think for herself. It was another reason she left. She wanted to make her own decisions, she wanted to make mistakes, and she wanted to be an adult. Soul crawled over and sat herself down next to Riri who smirked slightly.

"'Ight, so you inhale, hold it, then exhale." Riri explained, carefully passing the joint to Soul.

Soul did as told, immediately coughing and passing it back to Riri. "Don't worry you'll get used to it overtime and won't cough as much. That's if you keep smokin' of course." Riri shrugged. Soul nodded and Riri leaned over and placed it back in between Soulina's lips. "Breathe it in," she instructed, Soul's eyes completely gazed into hers.

"Good. Now hold it," Riri took it from Soulina's lips as she followed Riri's instructions. "Then let it go," Riri spoke softly. Neither of them could hide the sexual tension in the room as they looked at each other. Soul exhaled the smoke, this time not coughing like before.

Riri and Soul finished it off before crawling into the bed. Only Soulina laid on top of the comforter, wanting to be respectful as Riri had laid under it. "Are you sure you don't wanna come under the covers?" Riri asked, leaning up on her elbows.

Soul nodded, "Yeah. My momma always told me if someone let's you sleep in their bed then you never go under the covers because that can make them uncomfortable." Soul explained, a fond smile on her face as she spoke of her mother.

"What happened to your mom?" Riri asked. Soul hardly brought her up so that made Riri curious if she was in the picture or not. Soulina's eyes drifted off at the question and Riri immediately knew what the look meant. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry." She apologized.

Soul blinked the memory away and looked at Riri, "It's okay. I rather not talk about it if that's okay."

Riri nodded understandingly, "Of course, I understand. But please, get under the covers. I feel bad." Soul smiled slightly and let out a little chuckle. "Okay, fine." Soul stood up and slipped under the covers but as she did that Riri couldn't help but notice the tattoo on the back of Soul's shoulder. "What's the tatt mean?" Riri asked as it was a word in another language.

"It's my mother's name in ancient Aquan. It took me weeks of begging and guilt tripping for my dad to let me get it. It doesn't look as good because nobody exactly had tattoo experience. Namora had to steal tattoo supplies from the surface world just to do it. She even gave me another one but my father doesn't know about it." Soul ranted happily. Riri smiled, taking notice of how happy Soul was when she spoke of good moments from her life.

"What was her name?" Riri asked.

"Monsella." Soul smiled. Riri squinted her eyes, "Wow, I've never heard of a name like that but it sounds gorgeous. She sounds like a good person." Soul nodded, "She was."

Riri noticed Soulina's sad look and decided to change the subject. "Uh so you said you had another tattoo. Can you show me?" Riri asked.

Soul nodded excitedly and pulled the covers off of her. Soul got onto her knees and pulled down her briefs enough to reveal the tattoo on her hip bone. "It's a little starfish." Soul explained. Riri chuckled as she ran a her thumb over it. "It's cute. I like it." Riri mumbled.

Soul pulled her briefs back up and awkwardly sat down, face to face with Riri who was only inches away. "So uh-" Soul was cut off when Riri shushed her softly, "shh."

Riri leaned forward and pressed her lips against Soulina's soft ones. It took Soul a few seconds to understand what was happening before she kissed back. The kiss was short and sweet but it lingered on their soft lips once they pulled away. "Was that your first kiss?" Riri asked quietly.

Soul looked down shyly, "You could tell?" Soul didn't know why she was suddenly so nervous and jittery around Riri when she could be so bold and cocky around Shuri and her personality in general was very open and cocky but it was non existent as of now.

"A lil bit." Riri chuckled softly and used her finger to lift Soulina's chin. "Wanna try that again?" And this time before Riri could even get an answer, Soul already had her lips against the scientist's. Riri smiled into the kiss and cupped Soul's jaw gently as Soul deepened the kiss. It had way more passion than the first one. Both pulled away for air eventually but it didn't take long for them to kiss again.

Riri moved the kisses down Soul's jawline, slowly moving to straddle the mermaid's lap. Riri knew Soul was new at this so she took Soul's hands and moved them to her waist. Riri tugged on Soul's shirt, going go pull it up but Soul pulled away suddenly. Riri furrowed her brows in confusion and Soul looked down, "Uhh, I-I don't think I'm ready."

"Oh." Riri cleared her throat and climbed off of Soul's lap.

Soul ran a hand down her hair, "I'm sorry." She mumbled apologetically. Riri shook her head and took Soul's hands in her own. "Hey, it's okay. I can wait, as long as you need. We ain't gotta rush it. We got time." Riri comforted. Soul nodded and Riri smiled and pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Thanks." Soul spoke quietly under her breath.

Riri nodded and crawled back under the covers, Soul copying her movements. Riri scoot closer and laid her head on Soul's shoulder. "Night."

"Goodnight." Soul mumbled, closing her eyes.

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a.n: made my babies kiss bc why not tbh

shuri ships >>

soul learning new things is so adorable to me she's so cute and innocent

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