Chapter Eight
"Ouch! Heyyy! What's the big idea?" Maui yelled when he felt a harsh pinch on his chest.
Mini-Maui frowned, drew a tree, and pointed to it eagerly.
Maui ignored the tattoo's gestures and pushed through the underbrush. He needed to get out of this village and clear his head.
With a stubborn expression, Mini-Maui pinched the skin under Maui's arm.
Maui flinched and lifted his arm so he could glare at his tattoo.
This time, Mini-Maui drew a heart and motioned towards the sky. Maui looked up and frowned.
The Heart had been the only constellation in the sky that seemed to stay in the same place, but now it had tilted.
"The heart has always pointed towards Maui Island… But now it's pointing to this one." Maui muttered under his breath.
Mini-Maui nodded his head enthusiastically.
Before he really thought about it, Maui began running to the edge of the island. Once the village was out of sight, he took to the skies. In the form of a hawk, he flew at a breakneck pace, exerting all of his energy into his flight.
He needed to be sure.
By the time the demi-god could see the outline of the Maui Island, the sun had rested beneath the waves of the ocean. This made Maui frown with impatience. He would have to fly closer to get a better look at the forest. Though he didn't want to admit it to himself, a sense urgency had begun to form in the pit of his stomach.
After a few more stressful minutes, Maui could finally see the hill where Moana's tree grew. Everything looked normal enough from a distance. He chuckled to himself half-heartedly and confidently smirked.
"Maui, you loony. Everything is just how you left it. It's not like Moana's tree can just get up and walk away!" Maui chastised himself. He looked up at the sky and gave a sigh of relief. Why had he gotten so worked up anyway? Just because of some lady with a tattoo and the crazy movement of the constellations? "Maybe I have been tree-sitting for too long…" he thought as he made a quick pass over the forest.
Maui's heart dropped and only continued to sink lower as he flew close to the tops of the trees. There were no pink flowers to be seen anywhere. When he got closer to the hill, he began to grind his teeth and curse under his breath. The tombstone he had made for Moana was there, but her tree was gone.
"KAMAPUA'A!" Maui yelled as he landed on the hill where Moana's tree had been. In a flash, Maui held his fishhook in his hands and shook with rage as he searched for any signs of the pig god. He needed answers.
The pink petals were still scattered on the ground but Moana's tree was gone and Kamapua'a was nowhere to be found.
"Damn it," Maui growled. "I should never have trusted him." He walked over to the hand-carved tombstone and dusted it off.
*thump, thump, thump…*
Maui looked up as he heard the sound of muffled footsteps running through the trees behind him. He straightened up and searched the forest curiously.
Suddenly, a woman burst through the trees and stumbled clumsily as she all but flung herself into the clearing on the hill. She bent forward and leaned on a branch for a moment to calm her ragged breathing.
"Ha! I think... I beat him here," she heaved and looked up with a triumphant smile on her face. But her smile vanished and her face paled when she looked up.
Maui stood completely stunned as their gaze met. Even the ocean on the other side of the hill seemed to still itself.
*Fwip*
Maui looked down at his leg and saw a feathered dart sticking out of his skin. Suddenly his consciousness began to slip away and he looked up at the woman drowsily.
"You've… got to be… kidding me…" he fell onto his back and watched the stars dance naturally in the sky until a shadow leaning over him, blocking his view.
"Mo."
. . . . . . . .
Maui groaned and rubbed his aching head half-heartedly. After a moment, he stretched and opened his eyes when he accidentally touched something really wet.
He was lying on a dinky little raft in the middle of the ocean.
"WHAT?!"
. . . . . . . .
Five Years Later
The seagulls were everywhere, swarming the beach in masses. Some kid thought it would be fun to feed the 'pretty birds'. It didn't turn out fun her him but Maui wasn't complaining.
The demigod chuckled quietly as he watched the birds chase little boy up and down the beach, snapping at his ankles, and flying above his head hungrily. Finally, the boy gave up staying on the beach and ran towards the village.
"Leave him be!" a woman yelled, stepping in front of the boy protectively.
Maui's heart stopped. The woman shooed the birds away with the swing of her oar and smiled proudly when they finally retreated. For a moment, Maui almost thought she looked like Moana. He shook his head and watched as the woman took the boy back to the village.
For the past five years, Maui had been searching for Moana with no luck. He had asked the ocean to take him to her but he knew it wouldn't answer. It never really listened to him like it did her. Only one thing helped him look for her and that was the stars. They had finally stopped shifting and settled back into their normal spots in the sky the day Moana's tree disappeared. But the heart constellation had vanished from the sky so he didn't really have anything to go on except for guesswork and rumors.
"Woe! It's a parrot!" a high-pitched voice exclaimed excitedly. A pair of small hands grabbed onto Maui's tail feathers.
"Aaaaccckkk!" Maui flapped his wings and tried to get away but the small pair of hands only gripped his tail harder. A little girl no older than ten years old pulled Maui from his branch and lifted him in the air. Her hair was dark brown and her skin was tan just like all of the other islanders but her eyes were a beautiful bright green.
"So pretty!" the little girl laughed happily. Maui grunted as she pulled him into a tight hug. Without letting go, the girl made a mad dash for the village with Maui still clutched in her arms.
Maui grunted as the girl slammed him into the rather solid door of her hut. Apparently, mortals were getting better making doors…
"Mama! Look, I found the most beautiful bird today!" the little girl giggled when she finally opened the door of the hut. She quickly ran into the room, kicked off her shoes, and knelt next to her mother's bed. Maui tried to wiggle out of the little girl's grasp but she had a firm grip on his feathers.
"See, Mama?" she lifted him over the edge of the bed and smiled proudly.
Maui stopped struggling slightly.
The woman in the bed didn't answer. Instead, she stared at the ceiling blankly. Her hair was ratty and her skin looked pale and sickly.
The little girl's smile faltered a little.
"I knew you would like her. At least… I think it is a her-bird," the little girl said thoughtfully. "The feathers are way prettier than a boy-bird's." Maui stifled a groan and tried to free his wings again until the little girl stood up and started swinging him around in a fit of giggles.
"I'm going to keep you and name you… Nani!" the girl continued. "Come on, Nani! Let's find Mama some dinner!"
The little girl finally stopped spinning in circles and began running for the door of the hut.
*thud*
"Whoops! Sorry, Nani!" she laughed when her hands slipped and dropped Maui beak first onto the ground. He dizzily tried to escape, but the little girl scooped him up and stuffed him under her arm. "Don't worry, I won't ever let you go again!" she declared confidently.
