The two stayed silent for a long time after that. There was much to be said and neither Toa nor matoran seemed to be able to find the words for it. The sun had fully risen over the Norin mountain range, illuminating its icy peaks in a brilliant white glow. At the very top you could just make out the Ice Spire Ko-Koro had constructed in homage to their old way of life, a beautiful and massive monument that could be seen for miles around. Thinking about that made Takanuva think about his brothers and sisters on the mainland. He missed them more than words could say. The little things were what he seemed to miss the most. His one on one conversations with Gali and Nokama, watching Lewa playfully tease Onua - those two were so cute together, he even missed the training sessions and morning jogs Jaller would drag him along to. To sum it up, he missed his friends.
"For what it's worth" Solek started, "I think you are doing a good job". His voice was soft and sympathetic to the Toa's plight. Takanuva turned, it had been a long while since he had received any sort of kind word. He welled up a little bit and hugged his small gold and white friend. "Thank you" he muttered softly, before letting him go.
Solek sported a slight flush on his cheeks, "No problem Toa Takanuva" he said in a very proper manner, which made Takanuva roll his eyes. "Taka" Takanuva reminded him "It's Taka amongst friends remember". "Right, sorry..." Solek apologized. "So, what are you going to do now"? he inquired.
Takanuva shook his head, he knew he had to be at this meeting, he just really didn't want to be there. It involved Kirop, Tanma, and himself prepping for an even bigger meeting that was being held at the Great Hall near the New Coliseum. A meeting to discuss the next steps in building both a new Metru nui and Agori Capital on Spherus Magna. A meeting that would involve all of his old brothers and sister, the Toa Nuva. He grimaced at the thought.
"Come on" he finally said "lets start heading back up".
...
Av-koro was coming along nicely, rounded huts made out of dried thick papery bark were smattered across the landscape of rolling hills. Around the base of the huts, vines were encouraged to grow as in the dim light they produced a soft fluorescence that showed and illuminated the base of the building. This helped the night-blind matoran to find their way in the dark if need be. The berries that sprouted from the vines are what gave them their rich color in the evenings. In the wild they were used to attract bird and other rahi to eat their edible fruit, but here they were used to identify and illuminate huts.
Takanuva stood at one such hut, a large and impressive structure with a primitive pergola made from the same light vines. He and Solek had parted ways when they had entered the village and now it was time for him to face the music so to speak. Using both hands he gently patted both sides of his face for the dule purporse of waking himself up from an early morning and psycing himself up for what he was about to endure.
'All right' he thought, 'lets do this'. He entered the hut.