Aue Aue

Chapter II

The sunlight danced off the edge of an oncoming wave, momentarily blinding Inas with its dazzling gleam. She cursed and dove for the rope to secure the sail as they crested the wave.

Manu, her husband and the Chief of their tribe, caught her eye and she nodded to let him know she had it taken care of. He grinned back at her, his face lighting up like a child the first time they saw land.

She smiled and shook her head at him as he turned to stand on the bow. She wrapped the rope around one hand, gripping the it tight with the other and bracing herself against the movement of the ship and the strong wind as it attempted to fling her overboard.

Ahead of her she could see Manu standing with his arms spread wide and his head thrown back as he embraced the wind. The sun gleamed off his golden skin and cast him in a halo of light. Inas could almost imagine the wings painted on his back snapping open and whisking him away.

Watching him standing there Inas was struck by just how ethereal he looked, a handsome god guiding his people home through turbulent waters.

Then they crashed down on the other side of the wave and she could hear the man's delighted laugh as he was buffeted by the cold spray of the ocean.

The spell was broken and her husband and the father of her four children was mortal once more. The waters leveled out and he returned to her side to help her tie down the sail.

This wasn't the first time she was struck with such flights of fancy in regards to Manu. He had always had a bit of a wild glint in his eye and she had known there would always be a part of him just out of her reach.

"You look like a drowned rat." She observed, reaching forwards to brush a limp red feather from out of his face.

He smiled down at his soaked clothes ruefully, "So I do." He agreed as he pulled the headdress off his bald head and set it on the cabin to dry.

A tiny body topped with fluffy black hair poked out from under the small shelter before two tiny forms launched themselves at the chief.

Inas smiled fondly as he caught them easily, one under each strong arm, and spun them around before dropping them, giggling, onto the floor. "I see you little demons are up." He teased. The little girl, Kohia, flopped on her back her long black hair giving her a nice cushion against the hard wood as stared up at her father with a wide smile.

Her little brother, though, clung to his leg like a limpet and whimpered up at him, "Hungry!" He complained, his wide eyes tearing up as he tugged on the bottom of Manu's skirt.

Inas chuckled, reaching down and scooping her little boy into her arms and attacking his bare little tummy with an loud wet raspberry. Ulani shrieked with laughter, squirming and squealing as he tried to get away.

While she had the youngest distracted Kohia was tracing patterns in the clouds with her fingers before hesitating and tilting her head in confusion, "Daddy? What is that?"

Inus stopped teasing Ulani to follow her daughter's little pointed finger into the sky behind her husband's head. Manu, also tracking their daughter's extended finger, arched a brow in surprise, "A seabird, my little flower." He answered still staring into the sky.

"Land!" someone cried out a moment later from further back. One of the men crouched down by the edge of the boat had also caught sight of the fowl, it would appear.

Inas wasn't convinced. Something didn't feel right about that bird. She allowed Ulani to squirm his way back to his feet and toddle off to find someone else to fill his empty belly (most likely one of his brothers).

Inas crossed to stand next to her husband, eyes focused on the creature winging lazy circles in the sky above them. "Manu," She said lowly, concern leaking into her voice. "That is not an ordinary bird."

Manu glanced at her briefly before returning his attention to the sky, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the glare of the sun.

"Look at how big it is!" she hissed, her eyes moving to their little girl, who was still staring up at the sky with open curiosity.

As the creature dipped lower Manu slowly moved towards the boards hiding their weapons, and Inas quickly snapped up her daughter, tucking her into the shelter and hopefully out of danger.

Amosa, her middle son, rounded the other side of the cabin holding little Ulani close to his chest as he kept one eye on the fiend getting steadily closer.

Inas slipped the little boy free of his sibling's arms, allowing Amosa to go help his father and older brother with the weapons.

"Stay here." She instructed the children, who were soon joined by two more little girls, the young daughter's of the other families sharing their barge.

She took a moment to pull a long bone knife out of the stash before joining the rest of the adults waiting for the attack.

Her timing was impeccable. She had just moved to stand next to her eldest son, who's long black hair waved gently in the breeze caused by flapping wings, when the massive hawk dove for their boat.

Men shouted, brandishing their weapons and readying for a fight. There was a whirlwind of feathers, then the monster was gone and a man stood on the bow of their boat with a smug grin on his face and a hook of carved bone braced over one broad shoulder.

A long moment of shocked silence followed as the voyagers processed this unexpected turn of events.

Inas glanced over at her husband, standing slightly in front of everyone else in a clear show of authority. He stood proud and strong, even without his headdress on.

She was so focused on his striking figure standing against danger that she almost missed his expression. Taking a closer look she was surprised, then amused, to see the star-struck look on his face as he drank in the sight of the stranger and whispered the name on all their minds. "Maui."

So, now you've met the main characters, I hope at least Manu was recognizable since I based him off of someone actually in the movie.

Please feel free to review, I love hearing your theories.