Nausicaa of the Spirits: Luckily I survived the A/N this time. I got to admit I loved hearing what your reaction was to that part in the story and how it was built up. I would have reacted the same way if I myself was the reader, so let's see if your prediction comes true or not.
Tamatoa's response to Nausicaa of the Spirits: Looks like I'll have to get my revenge on another person who has wronged Tamatoa! *glares angrily at the writer*
...Did... did he follow me into the comment section?!
Subuku no Jess: Thanks :) I love writing Tamatoa and Moana and its enjoyable when they react to things the way they would when they are in character (it helps with writing if you have a good grasp on a character's personalities). That story sounds pretty intense (though the idea of engraving tattoos onto bones would make an interesting character design). I had to make Tamatoa say that line and I guarantee that he WILL use his singing voice later on and its going to be good when it happens. And thank you for that last note :)
Tamatoa's response to Subuku no Jess: At least someone wants to hear me sing! :D And I promise to never let my fans down, unlike a certain someone! *glares at the writer with murderous intent*
O_0 ... moving on.
multyfangirl18: It was a book I found at Barnes and Noble in the mythology section titled 'Mermaids: The myths, legends, and lore' by Skye Alexander and I believe the myth was called Moana-Nui-Ka-Lehua. I am familiar with the original Little Mermaid and I'm taking some inspiration from that one too.
I'm sorry, I would be bummed too. I kind of like stories where the relationships can be open to interpretation or at least takes time (the pay off is really satisfying, especially if its an 'on the edge of your seat' thing). Something to keep in mind though was that in the movie Maui didn't recognize Moana as an adult (he thought she was way younger than her actual age at one point) which I'm going to reflect in this AU, but he also respected her and saw her as a friend by the end of the film after a certain amount of time and development. It's kind of the same with Zootopia where the relationship had to build up to trust and could be open to interpretation at the very end.
I personally would feel really awkward if I full on shipped them while Moana was still a teenager. If she was twenty or older like Elsa from Frozen or at least a little closer to Maui's physical age, then I am ok with it.
jhalpernkitcat: Yes he is! :D I swear I had a bit of an infatuation for him around the time the movie came out. I'm not exactly sure which female Disney villain is my favorite (Ursula and Yzma are enjoyable, but Lady Tremaine can rot somewhere for all I care).
Oh my God, I've seen both that film and the musical version, so I can see that comparison. If the circumstances were different, that giant singing crab would smack that person out of the cave and just continue on... wait a minute... he kind of did that, didn't he? *laughs*
I think your the first person to worry about Mini Maui, but we will see how things go. Remember that some tattoos were left behind, but were altered for Maui's mortal form. Yeah, that was awful and I had to make it worse by also turning it into something that can happen in real life (a bad tattoo removal job can lead to some bad scarring).
Tamatoa's response to jhalpernkitcat: NO ONE TELLS TAMATOA WHEN HE CAN OR CANNOT SING! NOBODY! ESPECIALLY NOT A DEMI-GOD! *Storms off in a huff*
Arxhaelogist: Moana is sixteen like the sources say, but I don't think she was recognized as an adult (I think I heard that girls come of age in that culture when they get tattoos on their legs, and Moana didn't have those from what I recalled). Hmm, stay tuned and see what I do with this AU. I like doing my own twist on AUs and adaptions but I don't always stay completely faithful to them so who knows what I'll do this time around.
Child of Music and Dreams: *Laughs* Well he is supposed to be the equivalent to Ursula in this story and I couldn't resist. At least I didn't let him sing the whole song, just *shifts eyes* oh good, he already left the comment section. Don't remind him about that again because there's no telling when he'll try to go after me again.
Question: does 'platonic' still count if one person finds the other only a little attractive for one second? Like if one were to find a friend attractive, would that break the 'friendship' thing? You are going to see how I struggled with that in this chapter as well as how I resolved it. I don't know for sure if Moana would have ever found Maui to be attractive or not, but Maui did see her as a kid in the film (until he saw her as a true friend and master wayfinder at the very end), which is why I'm trying to keep this a friendship thing instead of a romance thing.
Anyway, in order to try to make a certain part work, I had to look into eating traditions in the Polynesian culture and I used Samoan customs since Motonui is a fictional place in a real location. I tried looking into cooking Polynesian style as well but... yeah, I've already made it clear that I'm not an expert on that.
Chapter 4: To speak without a voice
"Pua slow down!" Moana yelled at her friend who was able to dart through the sand as if it were nothing to him. The pig ignored her and she followed him around the cliffside where she found Heihei pecking at the head of the unconscious man that he had discovered.
Startled by this discovery, Moana let out a gasp and clutched a hand over her mouth. No wonder Pua was freaking out earlier!
She cautiously approached the man and carefully examined him over; he didn't look like any of the men from her island, nor could she recall seeing anyone like him. His body was larger than the average sized man, but there was a powerful build about it and he had quite a bit of muscle on him. It would have impressed her, had she not been concerned with the rest of his condition.
His back bore patches of deep red marks or a series of pale scar tissue that reminded Moana of the time when she saw similar scarring from a man who had been burnt when trying to put out a cooking fire that went out of control. The pattern of the scarring was very strange as if it was done in specific spots, but the worst of them was the one between his shoulders, where it had both flared up and twisted to the point that it almost didn't look like human skin anymore.
"What on earth happened to you?" Moana couldn't help but ask as she knelt beside the man while trying to shoo Heihei away from his head. The steady rise and fall of his body indicated that he was alive, which relieved her somewhat before she could look at the rest of him. His dark hair was wild, curly, (a small part of her almost wanted to run her fingers through it to know what it felt like) and it was long enough to cover up that one damaged part of his back. He wore an unusual green lavalava with a pattern that resembled leaves (was it possible to have a dye that vibrant? She struggled to remember if this was possible) and he had some tattoos on his legs.
The man suddenly rolled up to one side without a word, which almost made Moana scream when she flinched away. She waited to see if he would wake up, but he didn't seem to be ready to do so after a few moments passed.
She was a little concerned as to who ended up on the shores of her island and she looked at Pua, who also seemed a little uneasy about it, while Heihei just went back to pecking at a few rocks and could care less. She got up and walked around the man before getting a good look at his other side.
Even the front side of him had patches of irritated looking skin or scars, including the right side of his chest, his stomach, his right arm, and only a little of the left arm. She couldn't help but shudder at the sight before her eyes drifted to his left side.
He had a tattoo that was spared by this strange pattern that went from the left side of his chest, his shoulder, and part of his upper left arm. Interestingly enough, she saw details that seemed to represent the waves of the ocean around a carefully detailed circle on his chest, while his shoulder bore an image that appeared to be more water around a face giving her a very exaggerated grin with a mirrored counterpart merged right above it. The rest of his tattoo bore traditional patterns including triangles, stripes, and a pattern with a shape that looked a little similar to a fish hook, but it was hard to tell.
Her gaze went up and briefly glanced over the strange necklace of teeth from different animals (and she tried to ignore the fact that the scarring ended near the base of his neck) before she saw his face.
He definitely had unique features because they could either be soft and friendly or hard and intimidating depending on his personality, yet there seemed to be a combination of both. His face also happened to be one of the parts of his body that had been spared by whatever had happened to him and a part of Moana admitted that while he wasn't traditionally handsome like her father or some of the other village men, she thought that his uniqueness made him a little attractive.
Now this was a thought that quickly made Moana feel a bit awkward, especially considering the situation at hand. She wasn't exactly looking for a significant other at the moment (how could she when she was so busy and wasn't in a rush like some of her friends? Plus this man almost looked to be around her father's age, if not younger, for crying out loud!), but it was nice to see a new face when she had to see the same ones almost every day of her life. Especially one as fascinating as this peculiar man.
"He must be a very powerful warrior or a fisherman." Moana pondered as she examined his build, which could not have been natural nor gained so easily. "What do you think Pua?" She asked as she glanced at the pig.
Pua's eyes looked as if they were about to pop out as he stared in confusion at the man. "Pua?" Moana asked the pig again. Was Pua terrified of this human?
Pua let out a squeal and began to send out more frantic ones to Moana, who was only confused by his behavior. "Uh, Pua?" She raised an eyebrow. What was Pua trying to tell her? The pig grunted in frustration before his eyes lit up and he quickly used one of his feet to make a symbol in the sand. It was upside down, but Moana could recognize it as a sort of fish hook.
"So you think he could be a fisherman?" Moana asked.
Pua just stared at Moana with a dumb-founded gaze before letting out a loud squeal of frustration. He turned to where Heihei was banging his head against the cliffside wall and joined him in the exact same motion a couple of times.
What the heck got into Pua like this? Before Moana could ask her pig for clarification and to stop hitting his head before he ended up like Heihei, there was an audible sound of movement in the sand. Moana turned around in time to see the man gingerly try to get up before collapsing and grabbing his stomach with one hand while clutching his back with the other, where his fingernails dug into the ruined flesh. All relaxation in his body was replaced with a tension that indicated that he was in pain or extreme discomfort.
"Uh," Moana slowly moved around the man to see him wincing and barring his clenched teeth which almost made him look less human and more animal. "H–hey?" She gulped as she worried about what would happen next. "Are you alright?"
The man finally opened his eyes to reveal their brown color. His face immediately relaxed as he blinked and stared at Moana in confusion before shifting his head to see where on earth he was.
"I found you here like this." Moana continued to explain. "You don't look like any of the villagers from this island. Did you lose your boat?" Actually was the boat from earlier his? It might have been. "I think I found your boat over there." She pointed to where she had come from.
The man just gave her a confused look before he struggled to get back up again. Against her better judgement, Moana reached over to grab his right arm, but upon touching a spot where the flesh was red, the man recoiled from her hand and clutched at that spot with another pained wince. He slowly looked down and opened his eyes before letting go to examine the exact place Moana had grabbed him.
Moana watched as the man stared at his arm and the damaged flesh upon it in disbelief. Horror slowly dawned upon him as he looked himself over and tried to touch one of the scars before quickly drawing his hand back with another wince.
Then he began to throw his arms out and let out what should have been a series of yelling (and probably cursing out, but it was too hard to tell because of how fast his mouth moved) but no sounds escaped his throat. It took a moment before the man realized this and stared in shock as he clutched his throat. Apparently not only did he just learn about his injuries, but he also just learned that he had lost his voice.
Whatever happened to him was very recent and Moana felt a strong sympathy for this man. She understood all too well what it was like to lose a part of you that was important for living, even if it was only for a brief time. Moana was forced to wait as the man took a moment to come to terms with whatever happened to him before he let out what should have been a dejected sigh and let his hands drop into his lap.
"Did you get in an accident?" Moana asked, causing the man to flinch and turn to her as if he just remembered that she was there. "You act as if you–" She didn't want to finish the sentence but pointed to her throat.
The man nodded after a moment and mouthed something.
Moana continued as she realized that she had to take on her duties as a future Chief for this man and aid him. "You're clearly in pain. Where does it hurt?"
He pointed to the spots with the scars and the patches of red skin, but his eyes hesitated on the tattoo on his upper body.
"I can take you to the village." Moana smiled kindly at him and offered a hand towards him. "We have an expert on medicine and healing salves who can help you."
The man continued to stare at the tattoo and examined it with a strange hopefulness in his eyes as he looked at the left side of his chest but then dropped his arm as if there was something about the markings that didn't satisfy him. He then glanced to the tattoos that were on his legs and possibly extended up his thighs which were under the lavalava.
"And then afterwards, we can see how else we can help you until–AIEEEEEE?!" Moana shrieked, covered her eyes, and turned away as fast as she could, but try as she might, the image of the man lifting the lavalava up to check on gods knew what was now branded into her mind.
"WHY?!" Moana cried as she wanted to join Heihei in pounding her head against the cliffside while the man dropped the cloth with a sigh of deep relief.
Whenever he made an entrance, someone was either happy, terrified, or maybe just mildly annoyed. In this case it was the one in the middle mixed with curiosity, but it mainly applied to the villagers who watched him as he walked through their home as best as he could with the help of the kid who had an arm around him as she tried to support him during the trek (oh, that and the pig from the shore seemed to be following him). He could hear everything hush down as he went further and further in and he could see a few looks of alarm in the eyes of the villagers.
He could have walked fine on his own, but he felt a little nauseous and breathing seemed to make his body hurt whenever his insides expanded against the injured parts. There were parts of Maui's body that still burned and itched and he hoped that this wasn't going to be like that during his temporary time as a mortal or Tamatoa would probably find himself missing another limb in the future.
Actually, this would be the kind of thing Tamatoa would have done and that made him scowl. Leaving behind scars in place of tattoos would be a good (not) way to add insult to Maui's situation to make things even more harder than they should have been. Something worse than tearing a limb off would have to do.
He looked down at the kid who was trying her hardest not to look at him and tried to lead him to the healer. When he realized why she acted the way she did in the first place, he wanted to laugh. She not only looked like a kid (how old was she? Twelve?) but her purity towards such issues was also confirmed. Maybe she had an admirer or two somewhere on the island, but she didn't seem to be the type who was ready to be dating anytime soon if she had to act so squeamish about certain things (or maybe she was not into dating, but oh well that was her choice). The memory of what he did in front of her was clearly still in her mind despite how hard she tried to stay nonchalant during the whole trek. He could see the discomfort in her eyes.
If Maui could joke about it, he could. Instead he just waited to see what would happen as the village went silent and some were already whispering to each other about him. Any of these mortals could be the one to help him with his current situation and give him a chance to hopefully get back at the giant treasure wearing pain in his–
"Moana?!"
He watched as a woman hurried towards them with a concerned look for both the girl and himself. "Who is this?!" She demanded.
"I found this man on the shore." Moana (so that was her name) told the woman, who almost looked completely identical to the girl. "He can't speak. I think he lost his voice during whatever happened to him but he needs treatment for his injuries."
"Immediately by the looks of it." The woman frowned as she looked him over before glancing to a few men who were brave enough to follow her. "Go on and take him." She commanded them. "I'll come by in a few moments time."
Maui felt the girl left go of him and he was surrendered to two of the men who took over for her. The contact of their arms against his upper back almost made him want to yell out for murder because that was the one spot that hurt the most.
"You're father isn't back yet, but I will let him know when I see him." The woman told Moana as the men lead Maui away. "In the meantime, you should let your grandmother know, in case she knows a way to help us out."
"I will." Moana nodded before racing away to another location while her mother went to rejoin the others.
"We will try to do what we can." The woman promised Maui as she walked beside one of the village men who was helping him. "I can also arrange things with my husband so that you may come to our home for awhile and we can see what can be done for you."
As two parties went off in different directions, Pua just stood right where he was and frowned.
How could this have happened?! His human companion finally reunited with the demi-god who saved her and not only did she not pick up his clue, but the man couldn't even speak! At this point he doubted she would pick up on his real identity when she went to her grandmother's and would see the tapa that showed his image.
Then again, was it Maui? Pua remembered how the man looked and though the face and build was the same, there was something off about his mana as if it had dulled down to the point that it was almost unrecognizable. Even the changes on his body made it hard to be completely sure that the two were the same. Tattoos were not so easily changed and yet the ones this man did have were not the same, nor were they alive like the ones Maui possessed. Even if Moana made a comparison between this man and the depiction of Maui, she would not be fully convinced that they were the same at this rate.
The only final way to be sure was to see if that man somehow recognized him. Pua just needed a moment with him when he had the chance.
One of the men who worked in the cooking fale nearby hummed in thought. "I suspect that we will need to prepare a meal for Chief Tui's family and that strange looking man." He guessed before he turned to his young apprentice. "We better start gathering what we need. Probably more, judging by the size of him." He chuckled.
"Are you sure?" The apprentice asked while not exactly appreciating the joke made at the newcomer's expense.
"I'm guessing fish and maybe some chickens for the main course." The man decided before chuckling "Oh, and that includes the one who keeps trying to eat the rocks."
"But isn't that the one Moana tries to protect?"
"If you catch him, then we need to put him out of his misery."
"I have heard word that a man found on the shore is to be joining us for dinner." Tui glanced at his mother and his daughter. "Or at least that is what your mother has said to me." It had been some time since he learned about this from his wife, and the villagers did confirm that a strange man had been brought into the village some time ago. It was only right at this moment that he could confirm it with the rest of his family.
"Well its not everyday you met a man who quickly becomes the talk of the village upon entering it." Tala laughed as she played with her granddaughter's hair before setting a crown of brightly colored flowers upon Moana's head. "Especially one who cannot speak for himself." She grinned at her handiwork. "And our lovely hero who discovered him is getting to be the talk of the village as well."
Moana glanced down at the fresh set of clothes she wore before she felt the suspicious stare of her father. "Moana found him?" he asked, but it was less out of surprise and more out of something else that indicated another lecture was about to happen soon.
"Technically Pua found him." Moana pointed out. "I only followed."
"And why were you near the shore?" Tui asked. "Were you not supposed to be helping your mother during that time?"
"I allowed her to go." Sina's voice cut in as they heard her and someone else enter the fale. "She looked like she needed to clear her head."
Moana didn't turn to look as her father approached his wife. "You looked as if you needed time away yourself." He gently touched her arms; Even now Sina still looked as if she could use some rest.
"I'm afraid your daughter's handiwork was not as good as mine was." Sina shrugged. "Like I said, she needed to clear her head." With a groan Moana turned her head to finally see that the man from before was standing a little ways away from her mother. The red marks against his skin had faded away and were slightly closer to his natural coloring. He had also been given a new lavalava that was a little closer in design to those that belonged to the village men, but he was missing the strange necklace which was safely in one of his hands. He also had an amused, devilish smirk at Sina's remark that annoyed the heck out of Moana.
Tui let go of his wife and turned to the man who quickly lost the smirk in place of a more neutral smile. "I hope you were treated well."
The man nodded in gratitude.
"I welcome you to the island of Motonui." Tui began. "I am Chief Tui and this is my family." He glanced back and gave his wife a loving smile. "You have already met my wife Sina. She informed me about–"
"If he is married or is seeing someone, I almost envy them." Tala whispered to Moana behind her hand with a teasing chuckle. Moana gapped at this and whatever implication there was behind those words. The idea of her grandmother fancying a younger man was enough to make her uncomfortable.
"My mother Tala," Tui's smile faltered a little when he sensed that his mother said something that he was sure he would not have liked to have heard. "She watches over the children and teaches them many things, including our myths and stories." He then gestured to Moana. "And then there is my successor, the future Chief of our people, and my only child, Moana." He smiled with pride, despite his annoyance at the fact that she disobeyed him again. "Of course you two have already met, or so I have heard."
The man who could not speak now had a very shocked look on his face as if he could not believe that the girl before him was the daughter of the Chief, let alone the next one in line. He seemed slightly impressed too, but Moana could not help but give him a smug smile in return, which made him drop the expression. Moana was not an expert at communicating without words, but there were some that she could exchange or read very well. It had been quite awhile since she had seen the kakamora but this man's face was so expressive that Moana was sure she would read exactly what he wanted to say within it. She was sure that it would help get a grasp on his personality, although she wasn't entirely sure that she liked it or not. So far he almost seemed like a grown man with the mind of a teenager.
"It will be some time before preparations are complete." Tui gestured to the woven mats that were on the floor. "In the meantime, I have some questions to ask. Just try to answer them as best as you can." He added.
Heihei once again pecked at some rocks before he found a hand grabbing him by the neck and he began to let out a series of protesting squawks.
"I am really sorry." The apprentice apologized as he tried to maintain his hold on the bird who tried to flap his wings and free himself. "Maybe the gods will make you into something that better suits your personality in the next life." He walked over to the man at the cooking fale who was already prepping some food.
"Go ahead and set him by the others." He told him.
The apprentice nodded and put Heihei in a specially designed basket so that he wouldn't get out. The rooster finally calmed down and observed his surroundings, which included a few chickens that were already plucked, wrapped up, and would soon be placed upon the fire.
Heihei blinked once at the sight.
Then he proceeded to peck at the bottom of the basket as if what he saw was not something to be concerned about.
"So are you from one of the nearby islands?"
Moana watched the interactions between her father and the strange man as she walked around to serve a particular drink to him before she could serve her family. All of them were seated upon the mats in the proper position, but their guest took up quite a bit of space next to her grandmother, who didn't seem to mind. The man shook his head at the question as he sat his necklace next to him before another question could be asked.
"Farther out?"
He hesitated and made a strange waving gesture with his hand before accepting the drink from Moana. He stared at it for a moment as if trying to figure out what it was before drinking it down with a brave face.
"There was a boat near where I found him." Moana did not want to admit this to her father but anything important had to help and she had to show that she could take responsibility. "Perhaps it was yours?" She asked as she served her grandmother.
The man looked puzzled at this question and shook his head no before taking another drink.
"You weren't caught in a fight or a storm, were you?" Sina asked. "Most of your injuries looked fairly recent. You were lucky that most of them have healed up so fast."
The man opened his mouth and said something before shaking his head, though he seemed annoyed by this and sent a strange, accusing look at one of the coconuts that was among the fruit laid out before them.
"There won't be much traveling out in the ocean anytime soon." Tala informed him after taking a sip of her drink. "We are trying to prepare for the arrival of a visiting Chief in three weeks time. You'll have to wait it out here if there was somewhere you needed to be."
The question made the man's eyes widen as if he remembered something and then was lost in thought for a moment.
"You could help us in the meantime." Tui suggested as Moana served him. "I know you didn't have anything to offer as part of the custom of having guests over for a meal, but I am letting it slide in this case. Any additional help around here is always welcomed."
"He's actually quite a looker despite the scarring and having no voice, isn't he?" a woman giggled to her friend as they walked by the cooking fale. "I wish I had been in young Moana's place."
"Yeah, I bet those muscles felt really good!" The other woman laughed back. "I wonder where you can get more of those kinds of men."
"It's time." The man carefully maneuvered the carefully wrapped up food over the fire.
"Alright." The apprentice picked up the carefully wrapped chicken and began to carefully set each one over the fire with his specially designed utensil. "Wait a minute." He hesitated. "We didn't even–" He turned to see that the basket was laying on its side and also empty. He turned around to see that Heihei had not only escaped but was walking across the fire as if it were regular earth terrain.
"You have got to be kidding me!" The apprentice used his utensil to pick Heihei up and tossed him away from the fire while his master watched on in amazement.
"Gods above, is Te Fiti planning on creating a master race of chickens?" He couldn't help but ask. "On second thought I'm afraid to know the answer to that question."
"This might sound odd," Moana began after setting back down. "But are you a warrior or some sort of fisherman? I mean I'm just taking a guess since you look like the type." She added quickly.
The man looked right at her with an incredibly dumbfounded look before his face scrunched up and he laughed. Or at least he would have if the sound came out, but apparently he found this question highly amusing. In between the laughs, he was clearly trying to say something but if she had paid closer attention she would have seen that he mouthed the words 'Kid, you have no idea how right you are!'
As Tala watched the man sitting right next to her in amusement, Tui patiently waited before he could have a chance to speak. "My daughter is expected to carry out most of my duties as part of her training and she has proven herself well in past endeavors. She is, however, very headstrong when it comes to certain cases."
"Dad?!" Moana was not happy to hear that he told this complete stranger that, nor did she like where this was going.
"You were expected to stay in the village." Tui reminded her. "You are not supposed to be on the shore without someone beside you."
"And what if the tide came up and he drowned?!" Moana demanded as she pointed a finger to the man who realized what kind of situation he was now trapped in.
"Uh, here." Sina nervously handed some bananas to him. "It still might be awhile." She apologized.
'Please get me out of here!' The uncomfortable expression on the man's face was all too clear to the observant eye, but not the next part he was thinking about. 'If I have to solve their family matter in order to-'
"I took immediate action!" Moana added as her voice raised in volume. "Isn't it important for a leader to immediately respond to a situation like that?! What if it was you or mom, or one of the children?!"
"You broke a rule and I have lost your trust, which is also important to consider as a leader to your people." Tui countered back. "You want to be honest and keep someone's trust by proving it."
"Get in there!" The apprentice finally slammed Heihei into a basket and set it on a plank of wood that was partly propped up by a medium sized rock underneath it. "That chicken is a curse!" He scowled as he went towards the knives and looked through them.
"Hey give it back!" A boy was trying to get a carving of a fish back from his brother who playfully kept it out of arms length. Slowly they got closer and closer to the cooking fale, the basket, and a couple of men who were trying to carry a rather large fish were getting closer towards them.
Now all the people seated besides Moana and Tui were uncomfortable with sitting through the argument and it could be shown on all their faces. Sina looked at her hands in her lap with a frown, Tala pretended to observe the roof over their heads with her hands on her knees, and the guest right next to her had an arm propped up on a knee and he rested his head in his hand as he looked off to the side and tried to think of happier times.
"If you want to earn my trust back, you have to dedicate yourself to overseeing preparations." Tui gave the ultimatum. "And trust is something that is not so easily gained back, Moana."
"All this because I happened to be in the right place at the right time!" Moana cried out and threw her hands out. "What is next?! Are you going to keep me in here all day for saving Heihei from becoming our next meal?! Are you going to have someone follow me around for so much as looking at the ocean?!"
Tui then gave Moana a sly smile. He turned to the man (who still did not give them this name) and said to him "You are already welcomed to our island and until you are given the chance you leave, you may help us however you wish. However, the easiest way to help me out is to watch over my daughter during specific points of the day and make sure that she doesn't go off to the shore on her own ever again. And her pig doesn't count as a companion." He added before a counter attack could be made.
Both Moana and the guest did not expect this and neither were happy about it as well as being equally swift in voicing their protests.
"WHAT?!" Moana gapped in shock as her eyes almost popped out like Pua's did not that long ago.
'WHAT?!' The man mouthed in equal shock as his eyebrows raised so high that they could have merged with his hair.
"Ok, finally." The apprentice pulled out the knife he was seeking. "This'll put the chicken out of his misery."
"GIVE IT BACK!" The younger body tackled his brother, who knocked into one of the men carrying the fish. He cried out and threw his hands up in the air, causing the other man to suddenly let go and the rather heavy and rather large fish flew up a few feet into the air before landing right on the plank of the wood.
The plank of wood twisted up and knocked the basket upward. The bird inside flew out when the lid came off and he shot through the sky and right towards Chief Tui's fale.
"You can't be serious! I don't want a man following me around everywhere I go for three weeks!" Moana yelled.
'I get she's your daughter and all, but seriously?! I need that time to other things besides babysitting and I'm not going to win over a mortal by watching a brat whose going to be ungrateful about it!' The man mouthed what he wanted to protest to the Chief at the exact same time, even if he couldn't actually say it.
"You gave me the idea so your punishment has been softened somewhat." Tui nonchalantly replied. "Besides, you of all the villagers know this island quite well so perhaps you can turn this into an opportunity to show him around."
Moana opened her mouth to say something but gave up and sat down while trying her hardest not to huff out. She stared down at her feet instead of looking at anyone in the eye, but she was unaware that the man she found was giving her a genuine look of concern, despite his own annoyances.
'Trust me princess, I'd rather face three monsters at once than have to deal with this.' The man mouthed in some sympathy to the kid, even if she wouldn't have seen it.
There was an awkward silence amongst the small group. No one dared to try to look each other in the eye and they all just wished that the food would come soon.
Without warning, there was a strange shattering sound and something fell right towards the floor, along with some pieces of the roof, and crashed right into it. Everyone flinched at this and looked to see that part of the roof broke open to allow a small bit of daylight into the fale, along with a ball of feathers that didn't seem to move.
There was a pause as all held their breath and tried to get a better glimpse of what the thing was.
Heihei popped right back up as if he hadn't gone soaring through part of the village and into the fale like a shooting star, but he still let out a terrified cry from the whole ordeal. He tried to run out of the fale, but he was still very disoriented and ran into one of the pillars of wood. With a cry he fell backwards but he was able to quickly flap his wings and stop himself before he landed on his back. This time he ran the other way and headed straight through the opening in the fale that wasn't covered up by a tapa, but judging by the 'thwack' sound and the proceeding squawk, he hit something again in the process. Eventually the sound of him scurrying away vanished and all that was left behind was his stunned audience.
As Moana and her family still tried to process what just happened, it was the guest who reacted first. He bursted out in what would have been a loud, yet glorious fit of laughter that could have shook the foundation and he arched his back as he let it all out before recoiling back and rapidly pounded his fist against his leg. Moana noticed this and she could not help but join in with a less extreme fit of laughter, even if she was still concerned for poor Heihei. Tala chuckled and Sina smiled in relief that something finally ended the awkwardness of the previous moment, but Tui could only stare at the small hole in his roof in dismay.
"I just had that fixed." He moaned.
The sun finally set and marked the passing of another day. The darkness of the coming night sky was beginning to swallow up the oranges and pinks that were left over from the sun and the sound of the waves could help guide someone to sleep if they slept close enough beside it.
It served as a reminder to Maui that he did not have as much time on his hands as he was used to. He tried to think of how long it took to get from Lalotai to Motonui and, if his calculations were correct, it could have been about three days. This was guaranteed if he did somehow get there by boat, though he wished he knew how exactly he went from losing consciousness in Lalotai to waking up on this island's shores with a girl right next to him.
Three weeks was about... twenty one days, right? So that meant he had eighteen days left, but now that this day passed, he had seventeen days left before he went back to being a demi-god. Three days wasted at sea and only one had been somewhat productive.
So far the only connections he made were with the Chief and his family, but that was still not a secure promise for anything. He already made himself well known in the village, but it wasn't entirely positive. Even the healer who treated him was taken aback by how much damage had been done to his body.
Speaking of which, the redness had finally vanished, but there was still some scars that replaced most of his tattoos and some of them still hurt a little whenever he touched them, including the one on his upper back.
Of course it had to be the one he hated that had to hurt the most, he reflected as he stared at his necklace in his hands. The necklace was another part of him that he would need to hide for a bit, just to be on the safe side. Maui was lucky no one recognized him yet, but he didn't want to tempt it. The fish hook would have been a give away, but that was missing and Maui had a bad feeling that Tamatoa was holding onto it in the event that he failed and would change back.
"May I have a word with you?" Maui turned to see Tui approach him. Normally he wouldn't feel intimidated by Chiefs, but he was kind of at his mercy now so he nodded for the man to continue on.
"I did not mean to sound so heartless earlier today." Tui apologized. "I am proud to know that my daughter took action and came to your aid. I do not know why you are here or where you came from, but so far her intentions were not misguided and you do not seem to wish any harm upon us."
"The truth of the matter is that I don't want her to be near the shore because I almost lost her to the sea when she was a child." Tui explained as his eyes flashed in pain at reliving those memories. "We couldn't find her for an entire day, we searched the island from top to bottom, and I was fearing that the sea had claimed her. Thankfully she finally came back unharmed, but I am afraid that it will happen again." He sighed. "I'm afraid the ocean and I have a terrible relationship with one another. I myself do not like to travel away from this island and put myself at the mercy of the ocean's grasp; I am content staying here with my people. My daughter, however, is drawn to the ocean and she would do anything to be near it ever since she could walk. I suppose that's what we got for naming her after it." He let out an embarrassed chuckle and Maui couldn't help but smile at this. "As you can tell, she is as stubborn as I can be in trying to go against my wishes."
"That is why I am asking you this favor to watch over her for the next three weeks." He turned back to Maui. "This event that is coming up is important and I also need her to learn her lesson at the same time. She still has much to learn before she can take my place, yet she is also my only child. And this also means that I need to be sure I can put my trust in you." He added as his eyes narrowed somewhat. "We live in a time of peace and I would rather keep it that way. I would not just be trusting my daughter's safety to you."
If only Tui knew that he managed to intimidate the greatest hero in all the southern seas. Maui was a little concerned, but he also managed to swallow his pride and nod with a grin.
"I mean it." Tui was able to sense the man's overconfidence. "I will let you stay here, but if you want to earn my trust then you cannot let her out of your sight, even when she is near the ocean. And whatever happens, if she gets in a boat and tries to escape, do not let her get away. Do you understand?"
Ok, ok, geez Your Majesty! Maui nodded as he was forced to think the thing he wanted to say.
Tui sighed in acceptance at the response. "You don't have to keep an eye out for her too much in the morning, but when she helps with the harvest, the weaving, or helps the children with their dancing, that's when you need to be alert." He warned and begin to walk off. "And if she tries to go into the forest, that's when you need to pay extra attention to her. She will try to trick you and get away if that happens."
Maui watched Tui leave before turning away to look at the sunset with a scoff– if only he knew who he was asking to babysit his daughter. Granted, it would help him get a good start in his own task and it was only a matter of which of the villagers would be the most likely one he could become friends with to the point that they'd want him around and saw him for who he was (though he was pretty sure Tamatoa's leftover 'gift' was going to turn some of them away).
He had a better chance of that with the Chief then with his daughter, no matter how much he sympathized with her. He knew that she needed to be able to have time to herself, yet the prideful side of him was confident that he could keep a close eye on her and the trickster side of him knew that he would have to be one step ahead of her the whole time. He had a good feeling that she could give him a few badly needed laughs.
Honestly, what could the little princess do that would be worse than make his currently reduced life harder than it already was?
And of course in a case of dramatic irony, neither of them realize who the other is which makes life harder for the both of them.
See? I try to keep things platonic and it makes sense when Maui sees Moana as a child, but when it would come to Moana's side of things... I don't know maybe some admiration would be more appropriate? Argh, this is tricky.
I think it took three days to get from Motonui to Lalotai, but I could be wrong. I had to recall how many times it was night time on that boat in order to be sure, but for the sake of things let's say that it was three days.
Sadly I could not make the 'le Poisson' scene as funny as the original one, but it still served it's purpose (Or in this case, it would be 'le Poulet' for those who know their french). I wanted Heihei to shoot out of something similar to a pot until I realized that may not have been historically or culturally accurate. I was even going to do a major fourth wall joke with him getting sent shooting into the sky, but I didn't because it wouldn't have worked for the story.
Despite how completely shattered it was originally, of course.
I need to slow down on this because I got a winter class this January that's not going to be fun and I need to develop my ideas for the next chapter before I can continue on (and I know the ones I want to work on will come a little later, so we must be patient). I'm also getting more obsessed with this fic than I should be, but I'm still aiming for the next chapter to come sometime this month.