Soft and nearly silent breathing could be heard inside of the cave, soft and gentle waves constantly wetting lightly tanned legs and the deep blue fabric wrapped around their legs. An urgent whisper echoed through the cave causing the person to groan. The whisper became insistent, the urgency causing the person to sit up and look out onto the waters. Light and crystal clear blue waters glittered in the sunlight, a beautiful blue sky, nothing looked out of place.

Then they noticed a boat.

A flimsy boat headed for the open waters.

The person stood up and dived into the deep waters not far from where they were resting, smooth legs almost immediately changed into scales and a single tail, red hair pushed back as worried deep blue eyes focused on the fight between tides and boat.

Moana was on that boat, and she'd be damned if she allowed that girl to die.

The boat finally tipped over and was mostly destroyed by waves.

Mele raced and made it to the destroyed boat. She began searching as she noticed Moana was nowhere immediately in sight. Mele began to panic, her chest tightening and her hands shaking, the urge to find and help Moana almost crippling her. Black hair was spotted as frantic arms tried to push her up from the coral reef, Moana was stuck. Mele sped over and grabbed Moana quickly, noticing how almost no bubbles were left to leave Moana's lips, grabbed her cheeks and removed the water from her lungs, exchanging it for air and softly breathing oxygen into the girl's lungs. Moana stared in utter shock, her body only going through the movements of breathing in borrowed air. Mele looked down and found the young girl's foot stuck amongst the coral, and with a quick look around, spotted a rock resting innocently on the reef's floor. Mele grabbed it and began cracking the coral wrapped around Moana's foot with dull thuds barely being heard through the water and over the swirling tides.

Finally it broke and Mele grabbed Moana around her waist and rushed to the surface, the girl trembling in her arms as she began to swim her back to the beach. Moana was still coughing up water, trying to clear her lungs the best she could, and as Mele shifted her tail back into legs, Moana had began to crawl up the beach.

"Whatever just happened..." Mele gasped and looked up, her waist length hair swinging over her head to splat against her back in the hurried movement, and Moana stood up quickly in pure nervousness.

"Blame it on the pig." The village crazy lady, Moana's grandmother, stood there smirking as the small pig took off with a terrified squeal upon seeing the paddle once more. Mele bowed politely and with a smile as she recognized her old friend.

"It's a pleasure to see you again Tala." Mele greeted. Tala smiled and bowed her head in a return greeting before focusing her eyes back upon Moana. Mele quietly moved away to allow them privacy, the painful clenching in her chest subsiding upon recognizing Moana as being safe and relatively unharmed. A quiet groan left her throat however, upon realizing that that will not be the last time she may have to rescue her.

"Why'd you choose me to go with her? The legends don't say that there would be more than two people, her and Maui, traveling to give back Te Fiti's heart. I'm going to be useless in this journey!" Mele ranted quietly to the ocean. The ocean gather slightly and the way it wasn't moving made it feel like she was angry with her daughter for saying such a thing. Mele sighed tiredly.

"Don't mother, don't. I'm so tired of seeing everything die, so tired of not being able to do anything. I just want to help, but I don't believe I can here." A small wave washed over Mele's head, drenching her already wet body once more. A growl left her chest as she glared at the stubborn wave.

"Fine, I'll go. But don't blame me if I can't do anything then." Mele turned and stomped away, her destination back to the cave she was previously occupying.

LINE BREAK

Hours passed as the night quickly fell over the island. Mele watched from a cliff overhanging the ocean, watched as Moana and her father fought, watched as they ran to the largest hut in the village. Mele sighed deeply, almost feeling her soul become heavier. She climbed down the mountain quickly, a sense of urgency filling her as she rushed down and to the cave where she knew the villagers of old had stored the boats. The ones that were strong enough to sail the ocean. She made it in time to meet up with Moana, both of them looking at each other before nodding and moving towards the boat with the heart's design on it. Moana and Mele pushed the boat into the water, jumping onto the boat, and sailed through the waterfall which soaked the deck and the girls.

Their boat continued to softly sail away from the island, a large hut could be seen from the distance, lights flickering with the wind as both Mele and Moana gazed back at the shore. A gust of air pushed out the lights, making the trees sway, tears began to trail down the young human girls cheeks, until both her and Mele's eyes widened in shock and surprise as a glowing, bright blue stingray appeared in the water, gliding and swimming behind them leading them to beyond the reef. Determined, Moana steered the boat towards the rolling waves, going over once with no difficulty, twice with a bit of a jump, And a third time as the boat soared through the air before landing. Mele was clutching at the mast, her blue eyes wide with surprise and delight.

"Towards Maui?" Moana questioned. Mele clenched her fist after letting go of the mast, anger filling her body quickly before taking a breath to calm down and turned to Moana with a soft smile.

"Yes, we'll find Maui underneath the fishhook in the sky." Mele explained while confirming Moana's question. Mona nodded and tied her hair up before focusing on sailing, Mele sat down and decided to keep herself quiet, knowing not much could be said without possibly saying more than she wanted.

After all, it was Maui they were looking for.

Why'd she agree to go on this journey…