Morning came early in Turaga Matau's house, regardless of whether or not Jaller and Takua had wanted it to. Spending half the night throwing pillows at each other didn't exactly help that either, but – as things often went in Le-Koro – they weren't about to let logic win over the chance to join Matau in asking Hlahlu for coffee when she started cooking breakfast. None of them got any, but in consolation she made sure the family pet stayed occupied elsewhere while food was had. As they ate and chatted, Jaller couldn't help but smile. It was, in his mind, a perfect example of a happy, more or less normal family. He also couldn't deny the small pangs of envy that were prodding at his mind, reminding him of just how not-normal his family was. Sure, he had his uncle and Takua, and it was sometimes kind of like this, but it was never actually the same feeling. It made him wonder what it would have been like if his parents were still there with him. Would they be proud of him? Would they be concerned by his occupation? Would he even have wanted to be a guard if they had been around to offer their guidance?
"Jaller? You okay?"
The Ta-Matoran blinked and snapped to attention, realizing that everyone was staring at him. "Huh?"
Hlahlu was the one to speak up first. "You've been staring at your toast like it's trying to tell you something."
"Oh… um…" He laughed faintly and shook his head. "I'm fine. Just distracted."
"I'll say." Matau remarked, an eyebrow raised. "Takua nearly tookstole your bacon."
"Wait what?!" Jaller turned his gaze on his friend immediately, brows furrowing in mild annoyance. "Not cool!"
The blond blinked as he found himself under fire and offered a sheepish laugh in reply. "Well you were busy listening for toast stories and your bacon was getting cold! Nothing is as terrible as cold bacon!"
Jaller just stared at him a few seconds longer before, in a bout of almost childish defiance, picking up a piece of the prized food item and stuffing it in his mouth with a loud and finalizing 'hmph!'.
Matau burst out laughing, grinning like an idiot while his wife and children began to giggle. Hlahlu offered context. "Matau did that exact same thing yesterday morning. Though he did it because of a muffin."
"An evergood fruitysweet muffin!" Matau corrected brightly. "And Kelvar was trying to be a sweet-thief!"
The boy in question giggled even more wildly. "I learned it from you Daddy!"
Jaller finished his bacon before laughing. "That doesn't surprise me."
The rest of breakfast time passed in a similar vein, Matau proving himself to be a comedian regardless of whether or not he intended to be. The light-hearted ways of the turaga and the means his family used in reaction were vastly uplifting for both Jaller and Takua, and while they made sure their things were in order it almost felt like life was back to normal.
"You know what, Takua?" Jaller mused as he fussed with the straps on his backpack. "I'm kinda glad you roped me into this adventure."
The Chronicler blinked at him in surprise. "You are?" He asked. "I thought you were bothered about not being at your job."
"I am, a little." He confessed with an absent shrug. "But at the same time I'm kind of excited. We're going on an adventure that could change everything. Of all the people on Mata Nui who could be doing this crazy thing, it's us. You and me against the world."
"Yeah, I guess so." Takua gave a nervous laugh, an uneasy gleam flooding his eyes. Was this the right time to have that talk? "Look, I-"
The Chronicler was interrupted by the sound of the front door bursting open, Lewa's voice loud and clear through the whole house. "Ta-Koro was attacked!"
Jaller's face went white as he and Takua scrambled out of the guest room to try and get the details. "What do you mean?!" Jaller asked in alarmed horror. "Is everyone okay?!"
The Toa of Air nodded, leaning against the doorframe and looking as though he had just flown halfway across the island. "Everyone is, for the most part, okayfine. But…" He shook his head, his expression incredibly sad. "The village was destroyed."
The news hit Jaller like a punch to the gut, unable to remain focused on Lewa as he sank into a sitting position on the floor. He barely even heard the ensuing conversation as Matau joined them, hardly registered what was going on as someone lifted him to his feet and guided him to a chair. Ta-Koro was gone? The village he grew up in, the place he had said he would protect with his life, had been destroyed? Why?
"I-I should have been there…"
Someone came back into visual focus now, Lewa placing his hands on the boy's shoulders as he stared into Jaller's eyes. Sadness and grief were all that could be seen. "No, little Firespitter." He said softly. "There was nothing that could be done. Not even TahuBrother and GaliSister could stop it. What matters most is that everyone Is okaysafe and that you and Takua still have the shinecrown. The turaga all thinkfigure that is what the rahkshi were lookseeking."
"Rahkshi?" Takua asked in confusion. "What's a rahkshi?"
It was Jaller who answered the question. "Servants of the Makuta, and very powerful ones at that." He sighed and shook his head. "Dad told me about them years ago. They're… they're supposed to be really scary to deal with." He focused on Lewa again. "But why would such foul things want the Avohkii? Or whatever my uncle called it?"
"I thought that was the easyspot in the problem." Matau remarked with a frown. "If they can snatchsteal that kanohi, the Seventh ToaHero can't be wayfound." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair as his wings ruffled slightly. "Darkluck thoughts to wonder."
"What if they come here?" Takua asked worriedly. "What if they followed us?"
"If they did, they are everslow." Lewa said as he grimaced. "Turaga Onewa said he never saw them escapeleave Ta-Koro, not even when it sank."
"Maybe we got lucky and they went down with the village." Jaller mumbled, still reeling from the fact his home was gone. "One can always hope." He shook his head. "Either way, we need to keep moving. If we stay mobile we should be harder for anyone or anything to track down, and we'll have better odds of finding this Toa, whoever they are." He huffed bitterly. "They better be worth the effort and damage."
Matau frowned again as he regarded the young Ta-Matoran before him. "Like father, like son." He mused grimly. "Such darkbitter thoughts won't do you any good, Firespitter; carry that darkness and it won't end well. What happened to Ta-Koro is evertragic, but nobody was badhurt. That is the most important part." He thought a bit in silence before continuing. "You and Takua should go to Ko-Koro; Turaga Nuju may have some evergood advice on where to take that kanohi."
Takua - likely in an attempt to lighten the mood - offered a small and cheeky grin. "Wow, must be pretty serious if YOU are sending us up there."
The turaga gave him an amused look. "I have to bother him somehow, may as well make him speakdeal with you."
Takua blinked several times at that. Lewa chocked on a laugh. It wasn't until the turaga started to grin that the Chronicler figured out what had been implied, and once he did he grinned right back. Even Jaller mustered a small chuckle of his own as he commented. "I guess we should get going then; if we have a duty to harass Nuju, who are we to say no?" He got out of the armchair and smiled a little. "I'll go get my bag."
However, when he got back to the bedroom he was soon distracted by something else. An envelope flecked with soot and addressed to him was resting on his backpack, looking as though it had been there the whole time, even though Jaller knew he'd never seen it before. For several seconds he simply stared at it in confusion; how did it get there? Where did it come from? Why did the writing style seem so familiar? Had he seen it somewhere before? Grimacing in bewilderment, he picked the envelope up and turned it over, considering the black wax seal that held it shut. Very faintly imprinted in its surface was the symbol of the Three Virtues, and as he ran his finger over the subtle ridges a sudden memory came to mind. A memory from before the visorak crisis, where he had been sitting on his father's knee and watching while Mihkoro finished and sealed a letter with red wax, an impression of the Three Virtues left on its surface.
"Jaller? You coming or not? Lewa's borrowing a gukko to take us up the mountain!"
"Oh, uh, yeah! One sec!" The young guard bit his lip as he looked the envelope over again. This couldn't really be from his dad; Mihkoro was long dead. Deciding he'd read it later, Jaller tucked the envelope in his bag beside the Avohkii and headed back to the others, slinging the pack over his shoulders as he went. "Sorry about that, spaced out for a moment. Ready to go?"
Takua grinned and nodded. "You bet! Come on; Lewa's probably already got a bird for us!"
"What about Pewku?" Jaller asked, raising an eyebrow as he headed toward the door. "Does she know you're running off without her?"
"Yep!" Takua piped happily. "She came up to say good morning while you were getting your bag. My guess is that she'll probably try to meet us there; she scurried off shortly after I told her."
Jaller cracked a wry smile. "Sometimes I wonder if she's smarter than you are."
Takua laughed. "Probably is; you've seen me in action. I've yet to see her do anything on that level of crazy."
Saying farewell to Matau and his family was, while generally short, a rather heartfelt moment, only made more so when Hlahlu showed up with some dried mekiki fruit and jerky for the pair to bring along as snacks. "You two stay safe, alright?" She insisted as the boys added the food satchels to their packs. "And stay warm!" This final remark was further encouraged by the fact she handed each of them a gukko-down jacket, knitted caps and pairs of gloves tucked into the pockets. "I don't want to hear back from anyone saying you two got sick up there!"
Takua grinned all the more and nodded, putting his cap on right away. "We'll be good, trueheart promise! … As good as we can be anyway."
"Good!" Hlahlu answered, smiling and seeming appeased by the Chronicler's assurances. "Off you go now; you have a big journey ahead of you and the longer we stay here being sappy, the more likely it is that Matau will cry."
"Hey what?!"
Jaller laughed as he hugged the little woman. "Guess we should get going then. Thanks again, for everything."
Hlahlu smiled and hugged him back. "Any time. Off you go now; make a tale worthy of telling!" And as the pair set off to meet Lewa at the aviary, they would have been able to distinctly hear Matau let out a squawk of indignance.
"I am not sappy! I just have gritdust in my eye!"
