Disclaimer: I don't own Bionicle, but I do own Tahvi.
Hi, my name's Tahvi. I wasn't always as lucky as I am now, in this lush green place with crystal clear water, lots of space, fresh air, and so much to explore. To this day, I still have no idea how I got here, but I'm glad I did. This place and its people have become for me what every dog wants—home and a family. I remember everything as if it only happened yesterday, though, for a dog, that's probably not that very far from the truth.
Where I originally came from, the buildings reached up to the sky much like the trees here do, except, unlike the trees, the buildings were more imposing than anything. The air stank of car fumes that seemed to hang like a cloud over the city; how I managed to breathe in that, I'll never know. Clean water was just about as hard to come by as food, and every day was a constant struggle to survive, especially for a young puppy all on his own. One day, some humans came looking for us and were yelling and making a fuss; despite us trying not to make too much noise and Mother being careful, they must've somehow discovered where we were. Mother had told my brothers, sisters, and me that though some humans were friendly and wouldn't hurt us, she warned us that some humans, like these, were not at all like that. I panicked and got separated from my mother, brothers, and sisters. After making sure that the humans were gone, I called to her, but she didn't answer. I called again, I barked, I howled, I whimpered and in between I waited for anything—a sound, a scent, a sight—but still nothing, and that's when I realized I was alone. After getting as comfortable as I could, I laid down, tired, lonely, and hungry and ended up crying myself to sleep.
The next morning, when I woke up, at first I thought I was back in our den and got up to go join my siblings in our morning romp—only to find no one was outside. The events from the day before came back to me and, with a lonely sigh, I hung my head and felt my tail and folded ears droop. I had hoped that it was all a bad dream. My growling stomach reminded me that I hadn't eaten in a while, and, reluctantly, I left to see what I could find.
Two days had passed, and life wasn't getting much easier. So far, I had managed to find meager scraps of food in garbage, drink funny-tasting water from puddles in potholes, got chased away by five humans, nearly got run over about a dozen times, and managed to keep from becoming a meal myself for some bigger, older, and meaner dogs. On the bright side, some humans were so nice that they gave me some handouts. However, if they came near me, I ran. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm sure if they were willing to give me some food and spoke gently they must be the nice type of human my Mother told me about, but, after what happened with those other humans back at the lumber yard, I didn't want to take any chances at the time. As I hunkered down for the night, I remember knowing what was waiting for me the next day—another long day of just trying to scrape by.
Next day, the first thing I heard was birds chirping. When I opened my eyes, I was blinded for a second by the sun and had to close them for a bit. It was then I realized something odd—there were no cars roaring by or horns honking. Come to think of it, I never remembered the sun being that bright. When I re-opened my eyes, I saw a color I never saw much of—green. I then saw I was no longer lying in a dinged up cardboard box, but in a little burrow of some kind. Warily, I got to my feet and took a few steps outside and sniffed the air. To my utter amazement, there was not a trace of car fumes anywhere, as if they were never there to begin with. The freshness of the air felt so exhilarating, I acted on an urge to bound around and chase my tail in the small clearing. However, my stomach growled, telling me it was time to find some food. The only problem was this place was so new and strange to me, I didn't have a clue of where to begin; I didn't even want to go far away from my burrow. I gave a little yelp and jumped at the sound of twigs snapping nearby. At first, I thought something was coming, then realized the sound wasn't coming any closer. Curiosity getting the best of me, I went to investigate, but was careful to mark the surrounding plants and ferns with my teeth so I could find my way back to the burrow. When I finally found the source of the commotion, I couldn't believe my eyes.
It kind of looked like a huge dog, but the body shape was wrong and it was made entirely of metal. What kind of creature was this? Then, I noticed it was gorging itself on some berries in a bush. So, that's what made all of that noise. I figured whatever the dog-thing was eating must be edible and decided to try some myself. Although, as I approached the bush, it caught sight of me, growled, and waved its huge paw at me. Apparently, it had no intention of sharing its meal, so I had to wait until it was done. When it finally left, I moved in to sample a berry. As I ground it into swallowable pieces in my mouth I savored its deliciously sweet and juicy taste; this was way better than garbage. Also, it felt like I was getting totally re-energized. Though the huge mechanical dog didn't leave much, I managed to locate a few more berries he missed or couldn't reach with all of the branches. When I was done, it was one of the few times I actually had a full tummy, which always feels good. Then, I left to find some water. I could hear the sound of rushing water, so I guessed that meant there had to be a river around. I followed my ears to find out I was right and took a sip. The water tasted clean, something I rarely experienced, and it was so refreshing. Once I got back to my burrow, my full stomach started making me drowsy, so I decided to take a nap.
Later, I decided it was time for my night meal and I went to see if I could find any more of those berries. When I did, I ate my fill and snapped off a branch to bring back with me so I'd have something for the morning. However, just as I was about to make my way to my burrow, something swooped down and snatched the branch out of my mouth. My eyes followed the retreating form of a strange, chattering creature. It was small, not too much bigger than me, mechanical, and kind of looked like a human, but more animalistic. Without really thinking about it, I growled and gave chase; there were plenty more berries in the bush, so there was really no reason for this thing to just go and steal what I had already claimed. I barked at the human-creature as I ran after it, though it didn't seem to notice. Luckily, I gained my chance to get my berries back. The creature swung on a vine that made it come down close enough for me jump, so I did and snatched my berries back . . . to its surprise. Berries back in my mouth, I ran back for the burrow. I just returned when the human-creature landed behind me, chattering angrily. Thinking fast, I placed the berries in the hole before turning back at him and growling. The human-creature didn't seem to care and came closer—at least until I barked at him. My bark seemed to startle him and I growled some more; if this guy wanted my berries so bad, he was going to have to fight me for them, and I had sharp teeth. Then, just like that, he left and I didn't go into my burrow until I was sure he was gone. Whatever that thing was, I showed him a thing or two.
A week had passed, and I was starting to settle into not only a routine in my new home, but also life on my own. I still missed my family, but I forced myself to understand that, even if I hadn't come here, chances were I would never see my Mother, brothers, or sisters again. Still, I hoped whatever they were doing, wherever they were, they were doing alright and happy. I was starting to get tired of eating nothing but those berries, no matter how tasty they were, and decided I wanted some meat. There, on the edge of the path ahead, was what appeared to be bird. It too appeared mechanical, but I also noticed it had some feathers. If it has feathers, it must have some meat on it, right? To be honest, that was my first actual hunt, but I'd been practicing and I'd seen my Mother do it many times. And so, drawing on my memories of Mother hunting rats and birds, I stalked the bird until I was close enough to strike. Unfortunately, before I could, I accidentally stepped on a twig, making it snap, alerting the bird to my presence. I quickly leapt to try and get it as it flew away, but I missed. However, as if luck would have it, another bird that I didn't notice before launched into the air, but I was quicker and snapped my jaws around its neck. The bird struggled to get free as I pinned it underneath me and worked on increasing my hold on its throat. After what felt like forever, I noticed that my prey wasn't moving anymore; I couldn't even feel it trying to breathe. I let go and it dropped to the ground, dead; I had made my first kill. I proceeded to pickoff as much actual meat as I could. When I was finished, all that was left was the metal that comprised the rest of its body, and I went to the river to get a drink.
Toa Lewa soared in for a landing by a river. He stowed away his air katana, stretched out his arms, and sat next to a tree; it just felt so good to just sit back and relax after a long sparring session with his brother and sister Toa. He was about to close his eyes when he spotted something in the corner of them. On the other side of the river was a small brown Rahi with black on its eyes, ears, and mouth getting a drink. It reminded him of a young Kavinika, but there was something off about it. Crouching down at the shallower part of the river and extending his hand, he whistled to call it to him.
Hearing a whistle, I lifted my head to find a green strange-looking mechanical human as the source. I'll admit I was curious about what exactly he wanted, but my shyness won out and, after staring at him for a few moments, I ran back into the cover of the forest.
The next day, I decided to try my paw at fishing, so I made my way to the part of the river where I learned there were a lot of fish. That's where and when I had my accident. My back foot slipped off the edge and I fell in the water. I tried to get back to shore, but I wasn't a very strong swimmer and the current that was carrying me downstream wasn't helping either. Instinctively, I barked for help as I tried to keep my head above the water. Minutes passed and I was already beginning to tire. Just when I was about to give up, something grabbed me by the nape of my neck and pulled me out. Once I was set back down, I coughed a bit and shook myself dry. It was then I got a good look at my rescuer—the green mechanical human from the other day. When he reached down at me, I cowered away from his hand. Then, as if understanding I was nervous, he repositioned his hand so his palm was up. I looked at the hand, up at him, and back at his hand again before I decided to give it a sniff. Liking what I smelled, I licked it and, before I knew it, he was petting me.
"Nice-friendly little Rahi, aren't you?" said Lewa as he gently patted the puppy's head. The puppy itself started whimpering and licking his hand affectionately and its tail started wagging happily. "Well, little one, I've got to leave-go," said the Toa of Air as he gave the puppy one last scratch on the head. "See you around." Little did he know, however, the puppy had other ideas.
As he began to leave I realized that I liked this guy, and he seemed to like me. So, I trotted after him.
Hearing a bark behind him, Lewa looked over his shoulder. It was the little Rahi pup, looking up at him with its big brown eyes and its tail still wagging. The Air Toa went back to walking, and the puppy continued to follow. Lewa grinned as it caught up to him, "What, you want to go with me?" As if in response, the puppy started getting up on its hind legs as it attempted to place its front paws on Lewa's leg. Once the Toa of Air stopped, it placed its front paws against his legs and whimpered and barked imploringly at him. Against his better judgment, Lewa picked up the puppy, looked it in the eye, and said, "Turaga Matau's possibly-probably not going to like this."
I was experiencing it, seeing it, yet couldn't believe it. I was hundreds of feet in the air, flying, unable to decide whether to be ecstatic or terrified. This all happened after the mechanical man made a bag of some kind with big leaves, placed me in it, and took to the sky. Soon after, we came in for a landing in the trees, where I discovered that this guy lived in a settlement that was built in the treetops. As soon as he let me out of my transport, I peeked over the edge, only to feel a little dizzy from the height. Hearing another voice, I turned to find the man talking with a smaller and older looking one with a stick he used for walking.
"What, may I question-ask, is that, Toa Lewa?" Turaga Matau asked, curious.
"It track-followed me home," said Lewa, which was partially the truth. "Can I keep it?"
The Turaga of Le-Koro eyed the puppy skeptically, "I don't know, Lewa. We have no clue-idea of how wild it is."
"I don't believe-think it's a wild Rahi-beast, Turaga," said Lewa as he patted the puppy. "It appear-seems too tame to be so."
The puppy then approached the Turaga, sniffed him, and reached up on its hind legs to lick Matau's mask. The Turaga chuckled and scratched its head. "I guess-suppose, but you're going to be responsible for it, Toa Lewa."
Lewa bowed in agreement and reached down to pick up the pup—only to find it gone. "Hey, where'd he go?" Laughter nearby answered the Toa's question. It was Tamaru, kneeling, with the puppy licking his face.
Puppies can have a short attention span, which is why I went to check out a small green mechanical man that appeared around the corner. He was slightly smaller than the elder. At first, he didn't seem sure of what to make of me, like he'd never seen a dog before. Then, when I nuzzled and licked his hand, he relaxed and knelt down to get a better look at me. I wasn't sure what exactly this thing was, but I liked it.
That night, I joined my new master in his home. Tired as I was from my exciting day, I tried to join him in his bed. However, he wanted me at the foot of the bed instead. After a few more tries, I learned my first human word—no. When he said it in a gentle but firm tone, I realized that he didn't want me where I wanted to be, so I laid down at the foot of his bed. As I began to fall asleep, I remember feeling like I had never felt so lucky; I now had a home, a friend, and a new family.
A new dawn came to the village of Le-Koro. Toa Lewa slowly opened his eyes to let them get accustomed to the sunlight that streaked into his hut. When his vision cleared he discovered his new pet, which he could've sworn he left at the foot of his cot the night before, was on top of his chest. A moment later, it too opened its eyes and gave a little yawn. Lewa couldn't help but smile, "You're a determined-persistent little thing, aren't you?" The puppy hopped off to let him get up and gave a few quiet barks. "Hungry?" asked the Toa, and he placed some fruit in one small bowl and filled another with water. The puppy pawed the floor eagerly. 'Hope he enjoy-likes this,' Lewa thought to himself as placed the bowls down, he didn't really have a clue what his new pet ate. The puppy sniffed the food, and started eating heartily. When it was done, its lips were stained with fruit juice and it drank some water. The Toa of Air simply smiled.
As the morning continued, my master showed me around the place. Although, he soon learned it was a task easier said than done. Though I stayed near him for most of time, I still got distracted and wandered off every now and then. When we came near an area where the villagers kept some large birds, I went to say hello, only I ended up spooking the bird and a few others nearby, and some of them had riders. Thankfully, the handlers were able to get the birds calmed down before things got really out of control. When I was spotted to be culprit, I dropped my head and tail to say I was sorry; I didn't mean to cause any trouble, just make some new friends. One mechanical man who had a bluish-green mask smiled and patted my head. The tone he used when he spoke was gentle. Later, I caught sight of another villager carrying a large leaf. Once more, my playful side kicked in and I grabbed the leaf. Both villager and I were caught up in a game of tug-o-war.
"Let go you little scamp," said the Le-Matoran.
Seeing what was going on, Lewa carefully pried the puppy's mouth loose from the leaf. He firmly, but gently, held the puppy's mouth in his hand and said, "No." Believing that the puppy seemed to understand, he turned back to the villager, "Sorry about that."
"No hurt-harm done, Toa Lewa," the Matoran assured. "I believe-think he just wanted to play."
As the villager went on his way, Lewa looked down at his new pet. Before he could take the little thing anywhere, he was going to have to be trained . . . that was assuming the puppy could be trained.
That night, back in his hut, Lewa and the puppy were getting ready to call it good. This time, Lewa had a little blanket of leaves for his new pet to sleep on. Just as he took a seat on his cot, the Toa of Air realized something and patted the puppy's back. "You know, you're going to require-need a name." Hand to his chin, the Air Toa's mask became an expression of concentration. Then, it lit up with an idea, "How about Tahvi?" The puppy barked and placed its front paws against his leg. "Alright then, Tahvi it is," Lewa smiled as he patted the puppy on the head. With that resolved, and Lewa's plan to begin the puppy's training the next day, the two laid down to sleep.