The morning breeze seemed cold, but maybe that was just Tamatoa's imagination. Moana was the first to stir, unsurprisingly, and was not expecting to see the crustacean still awake.

"Have you been up all night…?" She asked sleepily, rubbing her eyes.

"Mm-hm." He answered idly. He seemed focused on watching their surroundings, but he cast her a quick side glance regardless. "You two had better not make a habit out of sleeping on me."

"Hey, you started it." Moana replied with a playful smirk, getting a quick eye-roll out of the crab before she continued. "But back to the point. I'm pretty sure monsters need sleep, too." Geez, she was starting to sound like a mom.

"You worry waaay too much, babe." Tamatoa commented, eyes on her again.

Seeing through him with ease, Moana was quick to reply. "Says the one who stayed up all night on the lookout for monsters." She then raised an eyebrow. "You're worried about what that bird said, aren't you?"

He said nothing in response, which was honestly just as telling an answer as if he had actually spoke.

Frowning slightly, Moana kept talking. "Look, even if she was telling the truth…? Whatever they have coming at us, we'll need to be ready. And in good condition. Which means well-rested." She gave him another small smirk at that last part.

Tamatoa didn't look amused at first, but then glanced at the sleeping demigod with a sly grin and replied, "Well, at least one of us is all set in the 'well-rested' department." Shaking his head, he snickered at the man teasingly, knowing he wasn't conscious to hear it, "Honestly, Maui, whatever happened to all that 'wayfinders never sleep' talk?"

"Ha, I know right?" Moana chuckled, deciding to accept the subtle subject change. They both knew Maui was an excellent wayfinder, but he did seem to enjoy sleeping in when he got the chance. At least it gave the pair a way to lighten the mood a bit.

The following days seemed peaceful enough; no signs of any monsters on the surface again, at least. Whether or not that was good or bad was still up in the air. On one hand, they could conclude that Nafiira's threats were indeed a bluff, but on the other, it could be possible that they were waiting and planning for an opportune time to strike. Monsters weren't particularly meticulous by nature, especially when it came to working together, which is what Nafiira seemed to suggest they were doing… Monsters in Lalotai only formed temporary truces if all parties involved had something big to gain from it, after all, but… something seemed off about this. Though that didn't stop the trio from letting themselves relax. To an extent, anyways...

"Aaand done!" Moana proclaimed. She had just removed the last splint from Tamatoa's limbs; with the ocean's help, of course. "That bird might have slowed the process, but you're finally well enough to walk without these! Don't go thinking of this as a pass to strut around carelessly, though! You still have a little more healing to do!" She added with a wink.

"Heh, I'll keep that in mind, babe. Thanks." Tamatoa replied. For some reason, he didn't feel as happy as he thought he would be about how much better he was getting. It bothered him that he couldn't figure out why.

... Could it be because it might mean his time here would have to come to an end...?

A hawk flew to the shore moments later, shapeshifting to his regular form as he landed. "Hey, Moana? Your people are starting to miss you, you know. You should probably send them another letter so they can hear from you."

Slapping her forehead, she responded, "Oh geez, you're probably right… I'll go to the village and write something up!" With that, she was off.

Maui and Tamatoa shared small talk in her absence, Maui describing Moana's family to him in more detail; he'd only ever heard about them just a little bit from Moana and Maui's Heart of Te Fiti story, after all, so a little more description was always welcome. They fell quiet for a while when they ran out of things to discuss.

Tamatoa frowned slightly, a strange thought crossing his mind. "… Hey Maui, do you think…" He began, but trailed off, not sure if he would like how the demigod would respond to his question.

"Yeah?" Maui said, raising an eyebrow curiously.

Oh, well. Too late now. "… Do you think I should go back to Lalotai after all this?" The crab finished.

Maui blinked, full attention on the crustacean now. "What do you mean? That's your choice to make."

"Is it?" Tamatoa queried, turning an eye towards the demigod. "At the end of the day, I'm still a monster. I belong in Lalotai, don't I?" Oops. That wasn't worded as carefully as it should've been, considering their history.

Maui frowned, not sure if the crab was trying to take a stab at him by bringing up past arguments or not. He assumed not, but… "Well, not… not necessarily." The shapeshifter answered. "I mean, you're not hurting anyone up here."

… True.

But…

Lalotai's where he's supposed to be, isn't it…?

… But there's nothing left for him down there. His reputation is ruined, as is his lair… If he was being honest with himself, he had more to live for up here than he did down there…

"… Well, you think on it, crab cake." Maui said with a casual grin after the decapod's sudden silence. "I'm sure we'll get the specifics figured out later."

… Maui was probably right. It's not an overly pressing issue right now.

He'd have to think about it more. Consider his… options.