Hey guys! So I know I said I'm on hiatus, but I saw Moana and it was BEAUTIFUL, one of the few good things about 2016 (the other was Fantastic Beasts), so I had to write this.
When I started this, there were 7 fics for Moana. Now there are 42. Oops.
If you find any mistakes, please let me know! This includes any mistakes I made regarding the culture, or anything you think is offensive.
Happy New Year, and may 2017 be better to us all than 2016 was.
Disclaimer : Moana doesn't belong to me
Ever since Chief Moana of Motunui, Healer of Te Fiti, the Ocean's Chosen, started the tradition of voyaging again, a spirit has protected her people.
Te Fiti takes whichever form is necessary, being the creator of all beings. When Moana's third grandchild fell off her father's canoe, a shark pushed her back on board. When the children of her children's children's children faced attack by ferocious pirates, help came in the form of an elephant which crushed the enemy's boats as soon as they came ashore. And, hundreds of years later, when Moana's descendants, afloat on open sea, began to despair that they would never find another island, a hawk soared from the direction where they would soon settle and dropped a branch to them.
They have a guardian spirit who will not let harm come to them.
It was never a part of the legends, but Chief Moana was always strange.
She tries, when she comes back, having restored Te Fiti's heart, to tell her parents about her adventure, about the demigod Maui and his bravery, but although they are too full of joy at her return to disagree with anything she says, they clearly don't believe her.
After the feast, with the sounds of laughter and merriment still keeping the hut aglow, Moana makes her way to the beach, dips her toes in the ocean, and stares out at the stars. She can see the constellation of Maui's hook and wonders where he is.
She turns back to return to the festivities, but pauses, then whips her head back around to the sea.
Nothing. She heads back to the hut.
She doesn't see the hawk silently gliding away, satisfied that she got home safely.
They are voyagers again, sailing across open seas, and it is wonderful. She is so glad and grateful that her people have understood the call of the sea, but heart clenches silently. They have said nothing, but skepticism is clear in her parents eyes, and they are yet to tell the children stories of Maui's bravery and selflessness.
She pushes her sadness away. Maui is a demigod, and she is the chief's daughter. Soon, she will be the one telling the stories. No harm if he has to wait a while before he is a hero again, right?
The salty spray on her lips and the breeze in her hair lift her spirits, and she continues to direct the fleet with a lighter soul.
A familiar hawk flies past, and her heart sinks. Then, Maui winks at her and grins before soaring higher.
That happiness she feels in that moment stays with her for many months.
Moana has never quite fitted in. She had hoped that, with everyone else sailing, she'd be able to get closer to her peers.
It is not to be.
Moana has friends, and she does like them, but she can't confide in them, not like Maka Koa does with Aikane, or like Kei and Kalea do. She does have Ali'ikai - they've always been closer than the others, and she believes her about Maui - but there are some things she just can't tell her.
She is going to be Chief. She can't go crying about how worried and scared she is, or how she still sometimes wakes up from nightmares where Te Ka swallows her whole, where Maui is killed by Tamatoa, where her parents and island are engulfed in darkness.
By her parents' reckoning, she was on her quest for almost the entire season. It's not wonder that she doesn't fit back in like she never left.
But sometimes, the things she missed smack her in the face.
Like now.
"What are you going to name him?"
"Name who?"
"Moana!" giggles Aikane "Your little brother, of course!"
Moana feels like the floor has been pulled from under her. She's been back for a season now. Surely she would have noticed…?
Aikane notices her shock and pulls back.
"Li-little brother o-or sister I mean. Whichever. I didn't mean to make assumpt-"
Moana grabs her hands and holds her still.
"Aikane. What are you talking about?"
Aikane stares at her for a long time. Suddenly, realization dawns.
"Oh… Moana… You're going to be a big sister."
There is only silence.
"You weren't here when your mother made the announcement. You should go talk to her!"
The whole way back to the hut, Moana's mind is racing with the possibilities. Her mother is pregnant? She's going to have a younger sibling?
Maybe this is a blessing from the gods. Maybe this is how she'll find a confidante, a friend. They'll never be as close as Kei and Kalea are, but still…
Sina is resting inside when Moana bursts in, chest heaving, hair tangled.
"Is it true?"
"Is what true, dear?", asks Sina confusedly.
"You're - I'm going to be - We're having -" Moana gives up and points at her stomach.
Oh.
"Moana, you already know thi-" Oh.
Sina's heart breaks as her daughter sinks to the floor. She pulls Moana close and hugs her tightly.
"Darling, you know it's not your fault."
"I've just missed so much!"
Moana's voice cracks.
Sina spends the night assuring her that everything will be okay.
Everything is not okay.
It has been a difficult month. Sina, almost ready to give birth, had fallen ill unexpectedly. The baby's health was in doubt.
Moana knew that these things happened. She was almost eighteen - she knew that people died, that babies died, that her little brother could be one of those babies.
But that didn't prepare her for the horrific moment when her little brother, still covered in blood, breathes his last breath, only moments after his first. They grieve as a family, but after a few hours she sees that her parents need some space to mourn. Alone.
She ushers the healers and midwives out and closes the door gently behind her.
She needs the ocean.
She needs her best friend.
Sobbing in the sand, the waves trying to comfort her, she knows she is being selfish. The people need a chief, and her father is in no shape to lead them. But all she can do is cry, and cry, and cry, as the waves continue to break on the shore and the breeze caresses the leaves.
It has been a long week, and grief is tiring. Moana almost doesn't feel the strong arms carrying her and laying her gently at the far side of the island, where the fishermen will not see her when they go to sea in the morning.
Moana wakes up covered in sand, wishing she had been strong enough to apologize to him, to ask for his forgiveness earlier.
One month after her brother dies, Moana has had enough.
First, she tries asking the ocean. All she gets is a half hearted, non committal shrug. The ocean is just as disappointed in her as she is in herself, and is not going to make this any easier. She contemplates setting to sea again, to find him (again), but he could be anywhere in the world.
At the very least, she is going to make him loved by the people.
First, she tells her parents. She gives them all the details - His initial reluctance to help her, their run in with Kakamora, the trip to Lalotai, how he sacrificed his hook to save her.
Her parents pale at how close they had come to losing their first child, but Maui is just a legend. And they tell her so.
She tells the children the story, with little puppets and funny noises. She tells her peers, her elders. They may not believe her, but it makes for a good tale, and she weaves the mats alone, at first, and then not so alone as her agemates join in a show of solidarity.
"You know, if you could just make him show up here, everyone would believe you." says Kei.
Murmurs of agreement arise.
Sunset, and she's back at the beach, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"MAUI! PLEASE, I NEED TO TALK TO YOU!"
Birds scatter from the trees, and a small movement at the corner of her eye catches her attention.
A little baby turtle is cowering in the shade of a large plant. Her hollering hasn't scared away the birds hoping to prey on its soft flesh.
Moana shoos the birds away and holds a leaf over its path to the water. The turtle crawls, slowly, towards freedom. With a little help from her feet, it isn't bothered by birds at all.
"There you go, little guy," she coos softly, and the ocean reaches up and puts a flower behind her ear. Then, it waves (hehe) at her and forms a curved shape.
"The fishhook? You mean Maui?"
A nod. It jabs its pseudopod at the beach below.
"He- he's here?"
A nod. She turns around.
The beach is silent. Of course it is.
With a sigh, she sits in the sand and draws abstract shapes with her fingers.
"Maui, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let it go on so long without correcting them... without telling them the truth."
She bends her head, unconsciously drawing a little fishhook in the sand and humming a familiar tune.
What can I say except you're welcome? hm hm hmm hm hmmm hm hmm….
A tear traces its way down her cheek, and then another. Soon, she buries her head in her knees and weeps noisily, shoulders heaving.
A glow lights up the beach, and a cool hand caresses her hair.
"Oh, Moana," says Grandma Tala's spirit, "This isn't your fault."
"It is! If I had told them earlier - convinced them - or maybe if I had -"
"Hush, Moana. This is as much his fault as it is yours." She tenderly cups Moana's cheek.
"I know you've been busy, with the voyaging, and with…the baby. But he could have popped up at any time too. What is stopping him from talking to his best friend, hmm?"
Moana can't stop crying, even as she rubs the tears away. She's never cried so much before, and she doesn't want to appear weak. She can't afford to, not now.
Grandma Tala smiles, almost sadly.
"It's not shameful to grieve for your brother, Moana. And regarding that Maui… Do you really think he doesn't want to talk to you?"
A nod.
"Well, what does the voice inside you think, hmm?" chuckles Grandma.
And then she is gone.
Moana sits there for a while longer, then gets to her knees.
"Maui, if you can hear me … You are my best friend, and I am so sorry. I should have tried harder, I should have convinced them that you are a hero, but it would really help if you showed up? I know you must be off exploring, but you're always welcome to talk to me , even if it's - " a minute hesitation "- even decades from now."
In a softer voice, she adds, "I miss you. It's been too long."
Then, she makes her way back to the village. Her people need her. Her parents need her.
A flash of a white hook is quickly concealed on the beach, and all is quiet.
The next morning, Moana is up and working. There is to be a meeting of Chiefs, and she will, as she had two years ago, try to convince them to take to the seas, while her parents negotiate trades.
The last meeting of Chiefs had been just weeks after she had returned, and she had told them about the restoration of Te Fiti's heart, and about their voyager ancestry. Some had been happy, some hadn't. Most tribes already journeyed within a certain radius for the meeting and to fish, so there wasn't too much strain on their relationships with other tribes, but this meeting might change that.
This meeting, Moana is going to tell them all the truth about Maui. She will spread the tales of his heroism to the other tribes - she will spread it to the whole world.
It's the least she can do.
Her focus is shaken, however, when her mother pulls her aside just before the meeting. In a low voice, Sina speaks of alliances, and marrying ages, and heirs, and things Moana should start thinking about soon. Shaken, she almost forgets to tell her father of her plans.
Chief Lotai is infuriated. Partway through the meeting, Chief Tui's daughter spoke to him in hushed whispers, which soon were raised to an almost audible level. They appeared to have been arguing, with furrowed eyebrows and angry gestures, but Moana must have struck a bargain, because they had shaken hands. The girl had walked out with trembling shoulders and her head held high, and Tui had rescinded all his previous offers of trade.
With a sigh, Chief Tui says, " We are not unwilling to trade, it is just that we have a few… conditions."
He sighs again, heavily. "You must, on the honour of your people, agree to include a new tale amongst the Old Stories."
At this, the girl steps in and begins to spin a fantastical tale, about, of all people, the demigod Maui, and how he restored the heart of Te Fiti and saved their islands. Lotai can see a few of the other Chiefs nodding uncertainly. They are inclined to believe this child's words, but he is not.
Chief Nani interrupts her tale.
"This is quite a story, and I might even feel it is believable… but Maui has been gone for a thousand years. Why should we spread lies to our children?"
Moana stands taller.
"Because - Because I met Maui. I helped him restore Te Fiti's heart! I was witness to his redemption, to the forgiveness granted to him by Te Fiti herself!"
Nani shakes her head sadly and says what all of them are thinking.
"If that is so, you will have to prove it."
After dark, Lotai approaches Chief Nani. They have traded in the past, and he does respect her, even if he disagrees with how she was so easily swayed into taking to the sea again.
"Chief Lotai."
"Chief Nani."
They stand on the edge of the beach, still surrounded by shrubbery.
"Chief Tui still refuses to trade. What will you do?"
Nani smiles. "I will try to convince him that our produce is vital to the health of his people, but I doubt it'll work. It appears he has struck a deal with his daughter."
"So? Even if the lives of his people are at stake, this deal is more important to him?!"
"You underestimate a parent's love, Chief Lotai. Do not forget, they have only recently lost a child to death. He doesn't want to lose another to distrust."
So saying, she makes her way back to her lodgings, leaving Lotai to his devices.
Muttering to himself, Lotai paces on the beach.
Their main export is the koka plant. While it is usually used to treat mild pain, it can also be used to cure a certain kind of paralysis. All Lotai has to do is create a desperate need for the koka. And since Tui has painkillers of his own…
Now, who to paralyze and how?
The how is fairly simple, mumbles Lotai. A poison dart, like the Kakamora use. Even if they do find it, they can't connect it to him. And there are many plants that can cure paralysis. After they all fail, I'll simply mention this secret use of the koka to one of the healers, and we're back in business.
"But what I need is for Tui to be indebted to me. This one time isn't enough."
You underestimate a parent's love, Chief Lotai
"Moana!" breathes Lotai, and his eyes light up as he rushes to prepare.
He doesn't notice a crab scuttling back into the forest and being replaced by a dark figure. He doesn't know that the owner of the gleaming weapon concealed in the forest knows of his plans.
He doesn't know what is coming.
Who is coming.
Maui does his best to avoid her.
He really, really does.
At first, a few of Lotai's people keep sneaking into her hut at night, and he is always there, plucking them away from the doorway and throwing them deep into the forests. Then, they move to trying to poison her food, but he manages, through luck and sheer will, to always redirect that food into the dirt.
Now, with only a day left to broker any agreements, Maui knows that Lotai is desperate. He's taken to tailing Moana by becoming a tiny insect and perching either on Hei-Hei or on Pua, her pig.
But he hasn't been expecting such a direct approach.
It happens very quickly.
The chiefs are exiting the main hut, and making their ways to lunch. Moana is trying to argue with her father, who simply brushes her off - he's done what she asked, and she had better hold up her end of the bargain. Moana skips forward and spins to try to speak to all the chiefs at once.
As she speaks, a small man creeps forward, and the sun is glinting off of the poison-coated knife he holds.
There's no time to think, no time to decide which animal would be best suited for it. An insect jumps off Hei-Hei's feathers and transforms into a man. Maui pulls Moana out of the way roughly, and the would-be assassin falls on his face.
There is confusion. Pandemonium. Tui runs to his daughter, while Nani ties the man up behind him.
"Moana! "
"Wha-? Dad, I'm fine," says Moana, hugging her father. Then, she beams a delighted smile at the demigod who saved her.
"Everyone, may I present Maui, shapeshifter, Demigod of the Wind and Sea," a smirk, " and the Hero of All."
Ignoring the rest of the gaping mortals, Maui frowns at Tui.
"That guy," he says, " is trying to paralyze Moana so that you have to use his plants to save her. And then you'll have to trade with him."
As Lotai babbles his denial, Maui continues, "What exactly did you do to his trade agreements?"
Anything that puts Moana in unnecessary danger isn't a good thing in his books.
Tui shoots Moana a look.
" It was her idea to refuse trade unless they agree to spread stories of Ma…" he trails off, understanding dawning as Moana facepalms. "- Unless they agreed to spread stories of your heroic acts."
Oh Moana.
The day passes in a blur - a trial for Lotai, a feast for Maui, and all of Moana's stories are retold with much vigour. It is only after the festivities, when everyone is packing up, that Moana asks him to come to the beach with her.
On the beach, surrounded by salt water and darkness, they hug.
It is a tight, warm hug. It is a hug that says I missed you. It is a hug that says I am so sorry.
It is a hug that says You are my best friend, and I never want to leave your side.
That had been the first attempt on Moana's life, but it wouldn't be the last.
Moana is a brilliant chief, and Maui worries for her safety. Most of the time, she already has an eye on whatever plot he intercepts, but there are exceptions.
Exceptions that have given her, for example, a large scar, stretching across her neck.
She covers it with her grandmother's necklace.
The tattoo-scoreboard that mini-Maui keeps is now also managed by mini-Moana, who adds points for Maui's side. She doesn't get to add too many points, but it doesn't seem to bother her too much.
The road to rebuilding their friendship is long, but they get there. Every month, Moana and Maui go on a little adventure around the cliffs. Moana spins tales of his greatness, and Maui is there for her.
He cries at her wedding, but misses the birth of her first child.
He helps her grieve for her parents and find peace with their deaths, but he is getting more popular, and demigods aren't meant to settle, aren't meant to form such deep bonds with mortals. He is about half a year too late in learning of her husband's death. Maui had liked him. He was a near-perfect match for Moana, and too young to die as he did, with only two children not even ten years old.
But maybe that particular absence was for the better. People in certain areas question their closeness, and already there are rumours that Moana's children are also children of a demigod. Maui blushes furiously at them, and Moana just cannot stop laughing.
There are many good times, but Maui knows it cannot last. She is a mortal, after all. Even if she lives a hundred years, he will outlive her.
And Maui knows their friendship is fading when he comes back after six months in Lalotai to find that it was actually six yearsin Lalotai, and she calls him one of her best friends.
He used to be the only one.
He loves Moana's children, but they don't know who he truly is. At first they are too young, and then he doesn't want them to treat him differently. They grow up with an Uncle Maui who shares a first name with the demigod their mother saved the world with.
Her first child is a daughter, and Maui is not sad to have missed the birth, because the second one is messy and she is in so much pain, screaming, but then a disgustingly slimy but still adorable baby is pushed into her arms.
"I get to name this one," she had told her husband, months earlier, " Because you named Kai."
And she had lovingly looked down at her son and named him, and Maui had had to leave the hut because he didn't want to cry.
Confronted by everything he has ever wanted - fame, respect, and love, so much love, with people (with his best friend) literally naming children after him - Maui does cry.
Moana's husband doesn't know about his third child because he had died, but Maui had supported her as much as he could. Her second son is sickly and pale.
In between, Maui leaves for two months. When he returns, the lines on her face are harder and her youngest son is dead.
For the last ten years of her life, Moana and Maui know the end is coming, and Maui never leaves the island without her. They still go on trips, but those are fewer and shorter as the days pass. She still sings, and tells stories, until suddenly she doesn't, and is stuck in bed.
That doesn't stop her from complaining.
"It isn't fair! I'm not even fifty, and I'm too sick to move? Ugh! I wanted to be the crazy old woman of the village, like Grandma Tala was."
For her forty-sixth birthday, Moana asks him to take her out on the ocean.
The ocean pops up, in the little round wave they are both used to, and gently caresses her face and hair.
She smiles, and gives Maui a hug.
Then Moana collapses in his embrace. She is dead before he lays her on the floor of the boat.
She never even gets to see her grandchildren.
Her children grieve, but they don't blame him. The ocean grieves, but tells him that it isn't his fault. Mini - Moana comforts him and tells him that it isn't his fault.
It doesn't make a difference, because Maui isn't seen after her funeral.
For almost five thousand years, Moana's descendants have a spirit guardian. Most suspect Te Fiti, who must owe Chief Moana a debt for restoring her heart.
No one considers that it might have been the brave demigod the Chief had traveled with.
Demigods aren't supposed to have attachments to mortals. It does bad things to them, because they do have the same emotional range as a human.
And Maui never really learned to move on.