Chapter 8
Life With Kids
By the time they arrived at the Tall Trees, the gang decided to get some lunch before they did anything. This meant that Takua would have to wait for them to finish, something he didn't feel very content about.
Chomper, being a Sharptooth, finished his lunch before anyone else. He decided to talk to Takua while he waited. "Hey, Takua," he said, but everywhere he looked he could not see Takua. "Takua? Where are you?"
"What is it, Chomper?" asked Littlefoot.
"Where's Takua? I don't see him anywhere."
"Takua? Where are you? Takua!"
"Are you calling me?" asked a familiar voice. Everyone turned to see Takua approaching them.
"Takua! Where have you been!?" asked Cera in an angry voice.
"I just decided to take a look around. After all, this is only my second day here in the Great Valley," said Takua.
"Next time, let us know when you go wandering off again," said Littlefoot. "You had me worried there for a minute."
"Sorry, guys. I just wanted to do something while I waited for you to finish. Are you done eating now?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"Alright, what do you want to do now?"
Chomper remembered that he had wanted to ask Takua something just a minute ago. "Hey, Takua, what's that thing you carry on your back?" he asked.
"My backpack?" asked Takua, taking off his backpack. "I've traveled to many places and I've occasionally collected a few things. I carry everything I have in this backpack."
"What kind of things?" asked Ducky.
"Here, I'll show you," said Takua, dumping the contents of his backpack onto the ground. The first item he picked up was a large, flat object. "This is my lavaboard. I use it to safely ride across lava."
"What's lava?" asked Cera.
"You know, the fiery stuff that flows from volcanic mountains."
"Oh, you mean flowing fire. You just call it something different," said Littlefoot.
"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Cera. "Are you saying that thing allows you to ride on that stuff without getting burned at all?"
"Yeah, but only Ta-Matoran like myself are capable of doing so," stated Takua.
Ducky picked up something that easily caught her eye. It was a crystal-like rock that gave off a glowing light. It was almost as big as she was, so she barely managed to pick it up. "Look! This rock is shining like the Bright Circle! It is, it is!" she exclaimed.
"That's a lightstone," said Takua, taking it from Ducky's small hands. "It's mined in Onu-Koro, where it's of great importance. That's because that village is underground, where it's always dark. Lightstones, like this one, are the only source of light they have there. I find this lightstone useful when traveling through dark places like tunnels."
As Takua put his lavaboard and lightstone back into his backpack, Petrie noticed a strange-looking stick-like object. "What that?" he asked, pointing at that object.
"That's a flute I got in Le-Koro. Many of the Matoran there play music with things like this. Here, I'll show you." Takua held the flute to his mouth and played a few random notes. The gang thought that such sounds were beautiful.
"That very good," commented Petrie. "Me want to hear more."
"Wait until you visit Le-Koro, tomorrow. You'll hear a lot more of it," said Takua as he put his flute back into his backpack.
Ruby picked up the last item that was on the ground. It was smooth, colored gray, and was just a little larger than the light-stone. "What is this?" she asked.
Takua took it from her and said, "That's a heatstone. Just as a lightstone gives off light, a heatstone gives off heat. It's stored inside this canister to prevent any of its heat from escaping." Takua took the lid off of the canister to partially reveal a stone the same size and shape of a lightstone. "It's a good idea to have one of these if you're in a very cold place." He put the lid back on the canister and put it back into his backpack. "Alright, now that we're done with that, I'd like to know what you guys do all day."
"We just play and have fun, just like any other kids," stated Littlefoot.
"Really? Well, whatever you're going to play, count me in, too."
"You want to play with us? But I thought all Matoran were grown-ups." Littlefoot had obviously remembered what the Turaga had said at the meeting about Matoran.
"Just because I'm not as young as you doesn't mean that I have to act that way. Besides, I actually want to be accepted into a group, for once."
"Fine, you can play with us," said Cera.
"So what shall we play if Takua is playing with us?" asked Ruby.
"How about something simple, like hide-and-seek," suggested Littlefoot.
After briefly describing the rules to Takua, the gang was ready to begin the game. Ruby was it, and she began counting.
Takua looked around for a good hiding spot. Cera claimed that she was the best at this game, so she was sure to find a very good hiding spot. Takua, however, had other ideas. If he couldn't find a hiding spot, he would just make one. He then noticed a large boulder with vegetation covering a good amount of it. This gave him an excellent idea. He broke a few large branches off of a nearby tree, sat on the ground with his back against the boulder, and placed the branches over him so that he couldn't be seen. This trick of camouflage work against countless Rahi before. If it worked this good, he might be here for quite a while.
After a few minutes, Ruby had found everyone except for Takua. Cera assumed that he had wandered off again, but the others didn't think so.
Littlefoot stood atop a large boulder to see if Takua was hiding anywhere nearby. As he turned around, he slipped and fell off the boulder. Before he hit the ground, however, he hit something very hard. He then landed on the ground with branches underneath him. That something turned out to be someone, who groaned in pain and said, "Ow, my head."
Littlefoot immediately recognized who that was. "Hey, I found Takua!" he exclaimed. He then noticed that Takua's mask didn't seem to be on his face quite right, so he asked, "Are you alright? Your mask looks crooked."
"I'm fine. This mask just doesn't quite fit me right," said Takua, readjusting his mask. "I don't know why it doesn't fit, but I've been wearing it for as long as I can remember. At least it's a mask that I can actually wear."
Everyone arrived in only a few seconds. Takua described his excellent hiding spot to them. Cera was jealous and claimed that she could make a better hiding spot. Takua accepted the challenge and played a few more rounds with the gang. No matter how much Cera tried, Takua seemed to always come up with a great way to hide. One time, he took off his mask and put it in a bush so that it was visible, while he hid behind a tree. It would have worked, if only his laughter at the others falling for this trick hadn't given him away.
Eventually, Cera gave up and wanted to do something else. At Takua's suggestion, the gang told him of other past adventures they had. They talked about their friend, Ali the Longneck, and how she helped them find the golden night flower. They also talked about the stone of cold fire and how Petrie's uncle, Pterano, got involved in a bad way. They even talked about what happened when the Great Valley felt real cold weather for the first time, the same kind always felt in Ko-Koro.
Sunset soon came, and parents began calling their children home. As the gang began to leave for their nests, Takua pondered on who he would spend the night with. Littlefoot looked back and noticed that Takua was just standing there. Feeling sorry for him, Littlefoot asked, "Do you want to sleep at my nest tonight?"
Takua accepted the offer and followed Littlefoot. They soon arrived at Littlefoot's nest. Takua explained to Littlefoot's grandparents that he would be spending the night here. As Littlefoot sat in his sleeping place, Takua took off his backpack and sat at the base of a nearby tree. Littlefoot looked at Takua and said, "Goodnight Takua."
"Goodnight Littlefoot." said Takua. He leaned his back against the tree and soon fell asleep. Tomorrow, he would take his new friends to see the six Matoran villages.
