Maui had a feeling that today was going to be a good day.
He and Tamatoa had finally arrived at their destination: a sprawling island with rolling hills and gentle peaks carpeted in lush green, fringed with a rugged, craggy coastline. After the many days at sea, it was a welcoming sight.
Together they hauled their canoe across the coarse black sand of a narrow beach—carefully avoiding the jagged rocks that dotted the treacherous shore. Coconut palms marched down from the low hills almost all the way down to the water, sprouting out of the dark soil in a dense thicket. It was to one of these that Maui tethered the canoe, securing it against the gusty winds that howled across the beach.
Upon checking the knots, Maui looked up to find Tamatoa. It wasn't hard, the crab was bigger than any crustacean really ought to be. He had come out of his last molt glossy and richly colored and just a shade taller than Maui himself. He had long ago outgrown his cute adolescence and matured into a lean, wiry adulthood—at least, Maui assumed it was an adulthood. Surely the already oversized crab wasn't going to get any bigger than this.
With his unnatural size, Tamatoa was impressively powerful, too. Even though the crab lacked the immense strength of a demigod, Maui couldn't deny that he'd grown into a speed and agility to equal his own. Maui wasn't complaining, though. Together they made a formidable team and were nearly unstoppable.
With his task of helping drag the boat from the water completed, Tamatoa had already wandered off and was just a short distance down the beach, reaching down to pluck something off the grainy sand. Maui barely got a glimpse of the adorable little sea turtle hatchling before wincing at the inevitable crunch as the crab popped it in his mouth.
"Gross, Tamatoa," he chided, making a face. "Don't you know that's bad luck?"
The crab turned back to look at him, a wry, sanguine smile on his face. "Only for the turtle."
Maui rolled his eyes, but laughed. It wasn't as if he—Maui, demigod of the wind and sea—was susceptible to bad luck anyway. No, the world was his oyster and not even his best friend's questionable choices in snacks would change that.
"C'mon, let's head inland," Maui said, gaze sweeping over the verdant hills beyond the shore. "And get started finding this thing. You sure it was this island?"
Tamatoa flicked an antenna, rejoining Maui and abandoning the rest of the turtle hatchlings that scampered around his legs in panic. "Of course," he answered, matter-of-factly. "The Huli stone is supposed to be hidden behind the tallest waterfall on the island, somewhere north of here."
No matter the treasure, the crab always seemed to know all the pertinent information. Maui wondered sometimes where he even picked up these stories and how he remembered them all in such exacting detail.
He was still rambling on about it, too. "—and the source of its power to revert things to their true shape is generally unknown, but some speculated that—"
Maui cut him off, waving a hand dismissively. "As long as it can change that mortal back, that's all that matters."
Tamatoa cut his eyes sharply at Maui. "And then I get to keep it," the crab insisted, taking yet another opportunity to remind Maui that he wanted this treasure for himself.
Maui frowned just a bit. "It would really be better to give it to the mortals—"
"Just because some dumb human got himself cursed into a boat rat doesn't mean we should just give it away!" Tamatoa interrupted with a huff.
"Okay, okay," Maui sighed, but conceded. This one wasn't worth arguing over. Besides, they might need it again to help another human later, so perhaps it was better to hang onto it rather than leave it in a village where it might be lost over the years. "You keep it. After we help that mortal."
A pleased grin spread across the crab's face. "Deal." Then his eyestalks swiveled eagerly towards the trees. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he went on, now far more brightly. "Let's go get it!"
Tamatoa's enthusiasm was contagious and Maui couldn't help but smile. He snatched his hook off the deck of the canoe and pointed it towards the hills, gesturing with his other hand to Tamatoa. "Lead the way."
The forest was pleasant and airy, alive with the sounds of birdsong and the aroma of rich, loamy earth. Tamatoa walked ahead along a well worn trail, antennae casually sweeping out before him and passively taking in the scents and sounds of it all as they crossed the island. Maui trailed just behind him, laughing at a joke they had just shared.
A flick of his antennae and Tamatoa drew up short, going still and silent in the middle of the path. Maui, barely paying attention, ran straight into him.
"Oof! What'd you stop for?"
Tamatoa swiveled his eyes to scan all around him, searching the shadows for the source of the unusual smell his antennae had picked up. "Something's coming," he hissed back to his friend.
Maui hefted his hook, going on alert.
There was a rustle in the foliage ahead, an unseen twig snapping to punctuate it. The scent was stronger now—something mammalian and human-like, but also bestial and—
Tamatoa's antennae stiffened and he brought his claws up ever so slightly, flexing them slowly open.
The foliage parted ahead of them an a figure stepped onto the path. It was a man, swarthy, tall, and muscular with flashing dark eyes. His chest was bare, but a pigskin cape was thrown over his shoulder at a rakish angle. He looked for all the world like a human, but his scent said otherwise.
He took one look at Tamatoa and his eyes went wide. "A monster!? Here!?"
The sharp, pungent scent of fear drifted off the man. Yet despite his obvious trepidation, the stranger shifted to a fighting stance. He carried no weapon, instead curling his hands into fists with the practiced ease of a seasoned warrior.
A low growl built in Tamatoa's throat and he fixed the stranger with a piercing glare. Unarmed or not, Tamatoa knew a threat when he saw one. And this man—a man who was not really a human—was definitely a threat.
Then Maui was butting in, sliding around him to intervene before a fight could break out. "Heeey," he interjected in a smooth drawl. Lifting a hand to his chest in a highly theatrical gesture, Maui introduced himself. "Maui, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men. You might have heard of me." He flashed a confident grin at the stranger.
Some of the tension lifted and Tamatoa rolled his eyes. He didn't lower his claws, though. "He's not human," he told Maui bluntly and with utter certainty, keeping a careful eye on the stranger. "He's a demigod." And in Tamatoa's experience, strange demigods never meant anything good.
Maui glanced back at him, arching a brow, but he didn't question it. He had long ago learned to trust Tamatoa's instincts on these matters. Instead he nodded, then gave the stranger an expectant look.
The stranger blinked in surprise, then slowly straightened from his aggressive crouch. His gaze lingered warily on Tamatoa for an excessively long moment. Finally he seemed to relax and acknowledged Maui. "A kupua, actually," he replied, affecting an easy tone. "Kamapua'a, at your service."
The reply was cordial enough, but Tamatoa could practically smell the insincerity in it. He narrowed his eyes.
Maui tossed a knowing smirk back over his shoulder. "And this," he told Kamapua'a with a sweeping gesture, "is my friend, Tamatoa."
Tamatoa said nothing and gave the stranger a flat, unwelcoming look.
Kamapua'a's brow knitted skeptically. "A demigod and a monster? Friends?"
Tamatoa clicked his claws lightly in irritation. If he had a fish for every time he'd heard this particular question, he'd never go hungry.
Maui waved a hand dismissively, clearly over it as well. "Yeah, crazy right?" he said with a roll of his eyes. "Look, we're in a bit of a hurry, so…" He left the phrase dangling—a not-so-subtle hint to the stranger to get lost.
Kamapua'a either wasn't smart enough to pick up on the implication or was blatantly ignoring it—both were equally as likely as far as Tamatoa was concerned. Rather than take the hint, the kupua gave them an oily smile. "And where are you off too in such a hurry? Hope you're not here to court the lovely Pele, because I'm afraid that position has already been filled."
Maui looked as if he was trying to hold back a laugh. Unsuccessfully, as it turned out. Unable to keep it in check, the demigod burst into gales of laughter. "Tūtū Pele? The volcano goddess? Court her?" He shook his head, attempting to get his snickering under control. "No way, I value my life."
Kamapua'a did not look amused.
Maui went on, though, blithely unconcerned about the kupua's darkening countenance. "Better than you have tried and been turned down, you know. Some of them even survived to tell the tale. She's a fickle goddess," he said, stifling another laugh. "Besides, we're just here for the Huli stone and—"
Tamatoa's antennae jerked up sharply. As he watched, the kupua's expression turned calculating. Thinking fast, Tamatoa cut in before Maui could give away any more important information—using the only method he could think of on such short notice. "Nah, I don't think any goddess would come within a day's sail of some thing that stank like that," he said, tossing the jeer out as a hasty distraction and spearing its target with a sly smirk.
The insult hit its mark, wiping the shrewd look from the kupua's face and replacing it with one of outrage, boiling up from below the surface. The message had been received loud and clear: Tamatoa knew what lurked under that thin facade of human skin.
When the fuming kupua was finally able to string a few words together, he spat them at Tamatoa with a growling vehemence. "You filthy, bottom-feeding son of a—"
Kamapua'a broke off, fists clenched and body taut, as if he was seriously considering some ill-conceived run at them. Claws already up, Tamatoa snapped them in warning, the sudden, sharp clack sending birds scattering from nearby trees. Without hesitation, Maui was at his side, hook in hand.
Kamapua'a's resolve seemed to waver at the sight of their unified front. The heady tang of fear was in the air again and Tamatoa drank it in, flashing a toothy grin. "Run along now, little pua'a. Go try your luck with a goddess." It was mockery, pure and simple, and Tamatoa was unrepentant.
"Yeah, hope that doesn't blow up in your face," Maui quipped, then burst into laughter at his own bad joke. "Get it? She's a volcano goddess—"
Ugh. Maui's jokes were the worst.
Nevertheless, Tamatoa snickered at the terrible joke-not because it was funny, but instead to make sure that Kamapua'a knew that he was the joke. There was no mirth in his eyes as they stayed fixed upon the kupua.
In the face of mockery and threats, Kamapua'a backed down. With a grunting snort, he attempted to downplay the whole thing. "What do you know?" he sneered. "Pele will know worth when she sees it."
With that Kamapua'a turned on his heel, flicking his cape over his shoulder in an obviously choreographed manner, and stalked off into the woods again.
Tamatoa and Maui's laughter followed him in retreat.
It had been remarkably easy to retrieve the Huli stone. Ridiculously easy, really. It had been unguarded—no monsters, no warriors, no booby traps, no fatal riddles—just a pristine, beautiful waterfall in the cleft of a lush, green valley. It had taken so little time and effort that the two of them had been able to laze the afternoon away, splashing in the cool, clear water that pooled at the waterfall's base and relaxing on the warm, grassy flats that surrounded it. As the day rolled on, they passed the time laughing and joking, sharing the fish that Tamatoa had caught and the coconuts that Maui had shaken down from a tree.
The shadows grew long as time went by, though, and the pleasant afternoon couldn't last forever.
Soon enough they started back, leaving the idyllic valley behind. Tamatoa admired the Huli stone as they walked. The stone was actually a piece of obsidian, rounded into a shape not unlike an 'Iwa bird's egg and worn smooth by the eons. Its surface was scratched and dull, but when Tamatoa held it up into the sunshine, light streamed through it and seemed to ignite it from the inside with warm, glowing rays. He smiled; it may not be terribly shiny but it was still quite lovely. He kept it guardedly close, held delicately but firmly in his pincer. Yes, it would make a nice addition to his collection. He cast a sidelong glance at Maui, remembering their deal. Well, after they'd fixed that dumb cursed human from the last village, anyway.
They were crossing the twisted tongues of an old lava flow, its cracked, brittle surface crumbling under the points of Tamatoa's legs, when raised voices drifted from a stand of trees up ahead.
One of them Tamatoa recognized instantly—the arrogant swine they had encountered earlier that morning on the trail. His eyes narrowed in dislike. The other was a woman's voice, speaking with a bold, clear tone that was fierce enough to curb any sensible being from arguing with her.
Clearly, the kupua they had encountered earlier was no sensible being. As they approached, Tamatoa spotted the two figures. Kamapua'a was standing at the edge of the trees, feet rooted firmly to the soft soil. The woman stood past him, a tall figure with eyes that burned with all the fires of the inner earth. She was cloaked in a fine black mantle, over which long ropy tendrils of dark hair cascaded down like the very lava flow she stood upon.
There was little doubt who this was: Pele, the fiery volcano goddess. Tamatoa had never met her for himself, but Maui had told him plenty about her. Maui had known the goddess since well before bringing him out of Lalotai all those centuries ago and had long warned of her hot temper and mercurial nature. Well, Tamatoa hadn't had any reason to tangle with her and would certainly prefer to keep it that way.
Kamapua'a, it seemed, was foolish enough to disregard such things. He was alternating between trying to ply the goddess with sweet, honeyed words and then flinging boorish epithets at her when she rejected his advances again and again. The goddess was obviously unimpressed by him, but even at a distance Tamatoa could see her patience was wearing thin. Even if her eyes, glowing an ever-brighter shade of red, didn't give it away, the rising scent of sulphur on the wind was a sure indicator that the volcano goddess' own temper was about to erupt.
"We should get out of here before he really ticks her off," came a hushed whisper from beside him.
Tamatoa glanced sidelong at Maui. Leaving before the fireworks started was, of course, the reasonable thing to do. Then again…
His eyes returned to the kupua who had called him a bottom-feeder. Kamapua'a was handsome by human standards, for whatever that was worth. However, everything from the haughty way he carried himself to the artfully arranged way his pigskin cape fell from his shoulder bespoke a strong element of vanity. Vanity was a familiar enough feeling; Tamatoa had no trouble recognizing it. Of course, Tamatoa's own vanity was perfectly justified-there was no denying that he was amazing. This kupua's pride, however, was as thin a veneer as the human skin he inhabited.
He idly turned the Huli stone over in his pincer, thoughtful as he considered all this. He looked down at the little piece of smooth obsidian. Then a wicked smile crept onto his face.
Maui must have caught his expression, because there was an urgent whisper from his friend. "Tamatoa, no."
Tamatoa merely threw a wide grin back to him, narrowed eyes gleaming with mischief. Dismissing Maui's whispered objections with a flick of his antennae, he stalked quietly towards the trees.
The kupua and the goddess were too deeply embroiled in their little chat to notice as he slid silently to the treeline. He was close now, just out of sight but near enough to hear all the dirty details.
"—told you to leave. Do not test me!"
"Playing hard to get, hmm? Women really do want to be chased, don't they?"
The goddess' eyes glowed with growing fury. "You conceited—"
Tamatoa lifted up the Huli stone, holding it vaguely in the direction of Kamapua'a. He had no idea how this thing was supposed to work, but now was as good a test run as any. Better to test it out on this jerk, rather than some ridiculous cursed human that Maui actually cared about. Hopefully the stone didn't require actual contact with the—
A ray of slanting sunlight hit the stone, lighting it from within once more. This time, however, the dull light flared bright within it, blazing a brilliant orange. A disconcerting tingle ran through Tamatoa's claw all the way to the tips of his antennae. He shuddered, trying to shake the feeling off, but nevertheless didn't take his eyes away from Kamapua'a.
The kupua was in the middle of some smarmy comment when he suddenly stopped, stumbling over his words and breaking his suave act. "What the—?" he blurted, confusion writ across his face as he lost control of his form.
Dark bristles were sprouting all over his previously smooth hide, appearing in scattered, mangy tufts that gradually grew more expansive as Tamatoa watched in smug satisfaction.
"No, wait—" the shapeshifter said frantically, cool facade shattering as he fought against the stone's power. There was no stopping it, however, and his face began to contort and elongate, nose widening into a flat snout. Whatever else he was going to say was cut off, replaced by an undignified, animalistic squeal.
Barely a moment later, the chiseled human male was gone and in his place stood an enormous, grunting, snuffling hog. There it was, the kupua's true shape—the beast hiding in the shape of a man. Tamatoa smiled wide.
The goddess watched it all, her face impassive. When the transformation was complete, a long, silent moment hung heavy in the air. Then she began to laugh. And laugh and laugh. When she managed to get her laughter under control, she looked down imperiously upon the squealing creature. "You believe yourself worthy of my attentions?" she said, derision practically dripping from each word. "Look at you. You're nothing but a pig, rooting in the muck!" She laughed again and it was a harsh sound, not unlike rocks clinking together.
Withering under her scorn, the swine turned tail and fled. As Kamapua'a turned, however, he caught sight of Tamatoa in the trees. A flash of recognition, followed by pure hate, lit the creature's piggish eyes. Then he was gone, vanishing into the trees and disappearing from sight.
Pele hadn't bothered to watch Kamapua'a go and had already vanished, a whiff of sulphur in the air the only indication she was ever there at all.
Tamatoa sauntered back to Maui, a wide grin plastered all across his face. He held up his little treasure, its inner light slowly fading. "The Huli stone works," he pronounced, offhand and cheekily glib.
Maui stared at him for a moment, as if at a loss for words. Then he cracked a smile and began to chuckle. Tamatoa joined him and, together, the two of them laughed all the way back to the canoe.
Soon enough the boat was prepped and ready to sail, the Huli stone safely tucked away below decks with the rest of Tamatoa's stash.
They shoved off the beach under the purple twilight skies, with Maui aboard at the rudder and Tamatoa pushing the boat off the sand until it glided into the deeper water. As he scrambled back onto the deck, Maui grinned at him. "Well, that was easy," he quipped.
Tamatoa laughed and shook the seawater off his legs. "And here you said eating that turtle was bad luck!"
Then the sails caught the wind and carried them forward, leaving the island far behind.
Maui lounged in the shade of the palms, just on the edge of the beach, enjoying a welcome break from all the day's efforts. He had finally finished loading his canoe—the canoe Moana had gifted to him when she departed to voyage with her people—just as the sun reached its zenith. He'd somehow managed to stuff it full of enough fruit and dried meat to last for ages. Weighed down, it was riding a little low in the water, but it was worth it to not rely solely on Lalotai's questionable cuisine for the next several months.
Of course, he would forfeit a fair amount of those supplies anyway. Tamatoa had made requests, after all. Even as ridiculously tiny as they were to him now, the pull of nostalgia was irresistible and the giant crab had insisted that Maui bring him coconuts. He'd also developed a fondness for sides of smoked pork, something which he had never tasted before. Maui hadn't brought fire to the world until after he and Tamatoa had stopped traveling together and there was, of course, no fire in Lalotai either. Thus, smoked meats were a new and novel treat that Maui was happy to share with his friend.
With the supplies stowed and ready to go, he was just a short nap away from sunset and his departure for the Impossible Cliff. He smiled drowsily to himself, already looking forward to the coming months. Since mending their friendship on their grueling adventure through the shadowy realm beneath Lalotai, Maui had been alternating his time between the surface and the Realm of Monsters. Strangely, his time in Lalotai was easier and more comfortable than that on the surface. The world had changed quite a bit in the thousand years he was out of commission and Maui had to admit that he felt a bit out of place. The mortals had gotten by without him for all that time and now it was almost as if they didn't need him. Humans had grown quite self-reliant and there were fewer calls for his aid these days. Surely it would all sort out soon enough, though. He merely needed some time to adjust and find his footing again.
Maui brushed those thoughts aside as nothing worth worrying about right now. Besides, tonight he would be on his way. Tamatoa had promised to take him to see the upside-down whirlpools this time too, which should prove interesting. And after six months topside, Maui was eager to see his friend again.
Rest first, however. Comfortable in the pleasant afternoon, he closed his eyes against the warm sunshine and slowly drifted off to sleep.
Unseen by the demigod as he snoozed, a pair of sharp, flinty eyes stared out from the undergrowth beyond the beach. Simmering anger resided in them, burning fiercely from the shadows.
They watched and waited.