Thanks for the feedback! :3 Hehe... I am so excited to continue this fic.
Chapter 3
Maui was devastated. He would not allow Moana's body defiled by Whiro's evil tongue! She deserved more than that.
The demigod took the Wayfinder's body to the Ocean and asked Tangaroa to take care of her body while he was gone. The Ocean swallowed Moana, lying her where she could rest safely and, in the form of a hawk, Maui flew across the ocean to meet Pele on the Kilauea volcano, her home.
When Maui arrived, he asked the fire goddess to allow Moana to be laid to rest once and for all. Just a small flame would be enough to save Moana's body from Whiro. He swore that he would never ask for her fire again if she granted his wish.
But Pele refused.
A mighty battle ensued between the demigod and the goddess. The ground shook as they fought. Maui put all the power he had into his mighty hook and swung with all of his might. He dealt Pele terrible blows and…
. . .
*click*
Tutu's bedroom door opened and the old woman poked her head out to glare at Maui.
"Well… I wouldn't say 'terrible'. More like formidable. The demigod had absolutely no chance of winning against the fire goddess on her home island," Tutu stated stubbornly.
"Ch-yeah," Maui scoffed. "Because fire would totally win against wind and water which Maui happens to be the demigod of."
"Well Pele did beat Maui," Tutu said, lifting her head defiantly.
"No… NO, she most certainly did not," Maui argued.
"Yes! Pele won easily and brought Maui to his knees," Tutu exclaimed with determination.
"Sooooo… Did Moana get eaten or not?" Lani interrupted them, bringing both adults out of their argument.
Maui and Tutu looked at the children momentarily and then glared at each other.
Before Maui could speak, Tutu quickly stated, "Maui was beaten by Pele during the fight." The old lady then reached up and covered Maui's mouth with her hand before he could deny anything. "Pele, being the gracious goddess she was, refused to lend him any fire but allowed him to leave so long as he accepted his defeat." Maui pulled Tutu's wrinkled hand off of his face and huffed with annoyance evident on his face.
"But that means…" Lani began but Maui laid his large hand on the small child's shoulder and gave him a sad smile before continuing on with the story.
"Maui left the volcano and swam to the next door island of that was also named Maui. There, he began to think up a plan to save Moana. There had to be another way to keep her out of the hands of Whiro. Maybe even another way to convince Pele to take her curse off of Moana's body!" Maui explained, his eyebrows furrowed.
"But as the demigod stood on the sands of the beach, the Ocean laid the chieftess's body before him. Maui's time had run out. Moana's skin had already begun to turn black and disappear before his very eyes," Maui explained with a deep sadness washing over his features. All of the children shuffled nervously as they waited for him to continue.
"There was only one way to save her at that point," Maui said quietly, looking at the children solemnly. "Maui prayed to all the gods from the Sky Father to Rongo. He pled with them to take her or to somehow save her from the mouth of Whiro. But none of them answered. Not one answered Maui's prayer."
Everyone in the room was silent. Even Lani didn't know what to say.
"As Moana began to disappear, Maui buried her under a Kukui tree on a hill that overlooked the ocean. Some claim they have seen a giant hawk pass over the island to check the grave in case her body somehow reappears. The rest believe that he comes to pay his respects to his... friend," Maui said with a distant look in his eyes. Tutu turned away and sat back down in her chair.
"That's it?" Lani muttered, his words laced with disappointment and his eyes lowered to his feet. "Pele really didn't lend Maui fire? That's… so cruel,"
Tutu stiffened at Lani's words.
"It is true that she made things hard for Moana, but only to teach the other gods not to grow attached to humans. When immortal beings tamper with the lives of mortals, bad things happen, Lani," Tutu explained with a knowing smile.
"But bad things only happened because she wanted it," Lani stated angrily. Tutu gave a sigh and put a hand out to comfort the boy.
"There, there, Lani. You'll understand when you grow older. Pele did what she did because…" the elderly woman began.
"Because she was jealous! Moana never did anything to Pele but she cursed Moana anyhow. Why did Moana have to die just because Te Fiti and the others wanted to bless her? I hate this story!" Lani yelled with tears running down his face. Before Tutu could react, Lani got up from his spot on the floor and ran out of the front of the hut. All of the other children watched him leave and soon followed him out the door sadly.
Tutu was at a loss for words as she watched the children quietly file out of her hut. She was stunned at their reactions and the hurtful words that Lani had said about Pele. Then her eyes closed momentarily as anger began to pour through her veins.
"This is your fault, Maui," Tutu growled as she curled her hands into fists. Getting up from her chair, the old lady's wrinkles began to disappear and her thin white hair became dark brown with perfect curls. In a matter of seconds, a beautiful coconut skinned woman stood behind Maui. He refused to turn around and look at her.
"Is it?" Maui said calmly. The beautiful young woman snarled angrily and air began to grow hot. "Everything I said was true. But the story doesn't end there. You know it, Pele."
"What are you trying to insinuate, Maui? That you are going beat me for what I did all of those years ago? Or that you will make me ask for your forgiveness. Te Fiti and Tangaroa both despise me but that is my place in this world! That is how it has always been! I will not apologize for my nature!" Pele stated as waves of furious heat rolled off of her.
"The stars have changed," Maui said simply, ignoring her irrelevant outburst. Pele's anger faltered and her proud demeanor became uncertain. Maui turned to around and searched her eyes.
"What do you mean?" Pele asked, quickly replacing her expression of shock with indifference.
"There is a new constellation in the sky," Maui answered.
"And it's hers."
