Story Co-Authored by Omicron the IceQueen and Sinead Rivka, this chapter is done mostly by Omicron
Love in the Light
Chapter Twelve:
Sunrise
Takua smiled, alternating his gaze from the Toa ahead of him to the data pad in hand, but mostly he kept returning his gaze back to the sight of the inadvertent cuddling going on beside him. It was to the point that Takua pulled out the pad to do a sketch of not only the sleeping pair but of Takanuva as well.
But mostly that of River and Napura passed out sleeping on the other half of Pewku's wide-shelled back.
It wasn't the first time someone had fallen asleep on the transport Rahi, weather she was moving or not. Takua himself had used his many-legged mount as a bed several times and trusted the loyal creature. Pewku herself didn't mind the friends of her Matoran riding or resting on her shell, for it was a different kind of pride from being able to haul ore. To know they trusted her in return, it made the Rahi very happy.
Pewku could easily carry more than the three she currently carried, and was sturdy enough that she wasn't off balance with the living weights on her shell moved when awake. Even with Nuparu being bigger and heavier than both Takua and River. The Onu-Matoran inventor was sprawled on his front and laying at an angle, head propped up on one arm with the other flung out so his fingers were loosely closed over the edge of the Rahi's shell. That way if he fell than the inventor would be awaken, hopefully with enough time to catch himself. River was partly on her back partly rolled to her side between Napura and Takua, and was close enough to have been heat-leach off of the black male before they came back up to the warmer surface world.
One of the Matoran had secured a new cousin that was being used as a pillow for the woman. In the night sometime River had been moved from Takanuva's arms to one of Napura's two spare sleeping mats. Then near the dawning time on the surface of the island she had been woken to stagger to Takua's Rahi, where she and Napura both fell asleep on the trip.
The Onu-Matoran was snoring softly by the time the group was in the tunnels, only able to do so because of the trust the people on the island had for the Toa, even a new one. Takua kept awake of course to see if he could get any more information out of Takanuva, shamelessly taking full advantage of the semi-alone time. Once on the surface, Takua had fallen quiet in what would appear at a random time to anyone that didn't know him as he started writing all that he had found out about the Toa of Light and his companion on a data pad.
Takanuva despite his amusement was also relived at the new silence and took the time to start trying to bask in the growing light of the dawn.
As the land shifted from the two hour span of gray light to true colors and warmth, Takua put Pewku on the path to Po-Koro before sitting down to sketch and add more notes onto his pad. The Ta-Matoran's gaze kept drifting up to Takanuva for a reference as the Toa scanned around, alert for danger to his charges in that ingrained way that was with all Toa. It wasn't the shimmer of living light that kept Takua's attention, no it was the elemental's mask.
The Avohkii.
The Kanohi of light was real. If this visitor from another dimension had it, then there was a chance it was in his world too. The Story Keeper in Takua shivered with delight, the thrill of promised adventure but more with a hope that he might have a notable destiny than being the recorder of those from others. Takua had overheard a snippet of conversation between Takanuva and the Toa Nuva of fire and air. They had been speaking an older dialect that Toa seemed to use now and again when they didn't want upset or give false hope or just to have a privet conversation with each other and not leave the sight of Matoran.
But Takua had spent so long with the Toa as well as the Kora of his world (not to mention Matoro who was a language master) that he knew more dilates of Bionicle than the average Matoran.
Takua knew that the Avohkii was found by the Chronicler in Takanuva's world. That bit of inadvertent information had planted a seed in the Takua. Long after Takanuva and River left it would never die as a little disguised Av-Matoran discovered his own truth of identity, and later his destiny that would drag him all the way to the planet his home moon orbited.
Yet that was a different story to tell at another time.
For now the Story Keeper was just Takua, and grinning as he finished his notes. Ready to launch into another set of questions he was distracted by the silence brought on by the lack of his friend's snoring. Napura rolled and sat up, reflexively grabbing River as he did so. With plenty or rest the human was woken by the motion and awkwardly sat up with some help and a well timed, helpful tug on the arm from Takua.
"G'mornin'..." River muttered around a yawn, the back of one hand to her mouth as there was too many new little bugs on this island to risk an uncovered yawn.
"Highgood greetings Meka!" Takua chipped, grinning as he mimicked not only the Le-Koro speech pattern but the accent as well before hugging the human.
Napura rolled his multi colored eyes, "You're as bad as Tamaru and Kren."
"Who?" River asked after a laugh and return hug, personally thinking that that good morning wasn't bad at all. Even if getting a prompt hug first thing in the morning was new it was still a nice change from her formally 'normal' life. "Wait I know Kren, but who's the other?"
"Another Le-Matoran, he's a part of my company, like Napura." Takua started as he picked up River's bag that was resting on the Matoran's other side along with another pack to hand her. "Here."
"Thank you Takua." River said, gratefully digging into her back pack. She blinked in surprise as she found it fuller, with packets filled with dried jerky and some fruit, as well as another pouch filled with different plant matter that was crushed, mostly aromatic leaves...? Tea! Yet another that held the three types of bioluminescent moss in dried form, all it needed according to the symbols on the leather covering was water to soak in and then grow again.
"From my village," Napura said, "It's not a lot but Kora Kara thought that these things would help you in your travels with the Toa of light." He nodded to Takanuva who had stopped at the top of a dune. "You can get anything more that you need in Po-Koro."
"It's perfect, thank you Napura." The young woman sat up on her knees to lean over and kiss the side of the Onu-Matoran's Kanohi mask. When the taller male only blinked a few times in confusion at River's action, she remembered the difference in time to lean in a little more and rest her forehead against the Matoran's mask. River smiled as Napura instantly got it and hummed in that becoming adorable blush equivalent.
"You always get the attention." Takua said in a mock complaining way, pouting until he received a 'proper' Bionicle kiss as well. The Ta-Matoran grinned.
"You are," River paused to give the next word some more 'significance,' "A dork."
"A what?" Napura and Takua asked at the same time, as the human's translation stone wasn't able to come up with a comparable Bionicle terms so 'dork' came out in English.
"It means you're silly." River grinned, and looked up as the Onu-Matoran looped an arm around her shoulders and prodded his friend.
"Well we all know that, even if he's crosswired," Napura laughed softly at the protest he got from the smaller, blue Kanohi warring male, "We all love our Chronicler, and would have never known about some threats if it wasn't for Takua poking around every rock."
Takua took a pose, imitating Jaller back in Ta-Koro, "I am a professional snoop. Aaaand..." The Matoran trailed off motioning for the other two to remain quite as he nodded ahead of them, "This is one of the reasons why I love being the Story Keeper."
The sun finally emerged over the horizon, flooding the moon world and the island of Mata Nui with full light. The colors of the day world all but exploded into existence. It was in essence a beautiful sunrise over the semi-desert land around the group as well as the somewhat more distant rusty red and brown shades of Po-Wahi.
It was however, something else entirely that captured the attention of River and the two Matoran.
Takanuva had stopped so suddenly at the sunrise that Pewku might have ran into the backs of the Toa's legs. The Rahi mount scuttled back and away, backing up as the three tilted their heads back.
"What...?" River muttered, glancing at Takua as he placed a hand on River's arm.
The guardian held his arms up and out, the Toa's scythe loosely clasped in his left hand. Only trances of visible energy wisps were seen at first. It wasn't like the portal made by the Mask of Paths, very different in fact. Gold and silver, pale yellow to white wisps became larger like liquid crystal vanes in the air that bend and curled around Takanuva while the Toa tilted his head back and shifted to expose his heartlight to the sun.
Elemental energy pulsed around him and in turn the two Matoran and human. It was raw light energy at that, normally dispensed evenly but as the Toa condensed it, causing the light to fracture and send a scattering of glitters and stray rainbows around, he was also absorbing it into his body.
Takanuva was recharging, rocking up onto the front of his feet as he embraced the elemental energy. If he had been lighter like Gali or Lewa, even Tahu, the Toa might have lifted off the ground as they could be supported with the energy. But Takanuva just had just too much mass to do that.
A low humming came from Takanuva while he did more than just bask in his element. That humming increased for a few moments and then his voice rose up, strong and deep as he began to sing, lifting his arms up above his head. When he lowered them it was only to bend his elbows and holding his right hand palm flat while still grasping his now glittering scythe in the other.
There was another pulse of energy and all that was visible was pulled into the Toa as he thudded back down onto his heals. "Much better." Takanuva sighed with pleased smile, his song before dropping back into a hum.
"Toa have to recharge if they're away from their element for a while." Takua said grinning as he had suspected this might happen. The Story Keeper never got tired of the sight of any Toa or Kora interacting with their element like this. Takua hugged himself and then seemed to relax in the sunlight as well.
River stared at her... her Toa, then smiled and released the breath she had been holding in. She'd seen a partial recharge that first day that they had met, but this? This was power. The movement to her side caused her to look at Takua, and she hid a smile behind her hand. The Matoran really had no idea of his true heritage... but as she and he would find, Takua responded the way that all Av-Matoran did at sunrises.
Grinning, she launched herself up onto sun-warmed armor of the Toa's leg, scampering up a bit before she was pulled up the rest of the way by him. River moved to drape herself carefully over one golden shoulder. Pressing her forehead to Takanuva's cheekstrut, she murmured, "Well, good morning, Sunshine! We ready for today's grand adventure?"
Laughing, the Toa of Light threw his head back again and looked at the changing Wahi before them. "Absolutely! Onward!" And like the big lug that he was, he took off at a gallop, holding his human secure all the while. Pewku trilling as she scuttling into motion and picking up speed to try and keep up.
