Kora: Mata Nui
Chapter Eighteen:
Spirits That Wake
When Tala came back to her senses, she was aware first of a contradictory of elemental energy.
It was still the warm and tropical air of Ga-Wahi, but her frame itself was almost frozen. Starting from a patch on her stomach and spread out to let the raw Ko-energy seep in. Speeding up the recovery from the Kora's lack of a Kanohi mask.
Tala opened her eyes, not blue and tinted white, glowing with the bioluminescence, she looked up at the open chamber of the Kini Nui. A tilt of the head showed most of the gathering still here, though Tahu was carving up their roasted meal. Takua had firmly attached to the red Toa's shoulders where he had climbed up, waiting excitedly for his favorite cut. Tahu would give it to him, having a soft spot for his wandering charge, who always came home to Ta-Koro, and yes also happily rambled for hours at a time telling him of the Chronicler's adventures and the island news.
Lifted her head, the pale Kora looked at herself, hearing Telem and Storm start a slap fight over a plate of purple snow berries from Ko-Koro. Only to yelp as Macku swooped by and swiped the whole thing for Deni. Tala smiled, and then reached down to touch the larger hand spread over her lower torso, leaning back against Kopaka's thigh, with his hand over her, Tala was intently grateful for the now reassuring chill. She could more feel the vibration from Kopaka as he purred in his quiet way, the younger Kora closed her fingers into a loose fist to tap white knuckles against those of the Toa's.
Kopaka looked down, humming a questioning tone. Beside him, Onua leaned over to look at the Kora.
"She's waking up?" The earth giant asked, tapping a claw on their sister's semi-soft armor. Comparatively that is, the living protodurmus was as thick as a Matoran's.
"Yeah I…" Tala started, only to stop in surprise at the double garble from her middle, "I… I'm starving." She admitted in some embarrassment.
Kopaka chuckled softly, "Not unexpected. Deni woke back up not long ago,"
"And has been eating like a Toa," Onua put in, grinning. "Don't worry Ko-Gi, you can stuff your stomachs to your heartlight's content." He added, reaching out to pick up a platter of fruit and offered it. Kopaka took it and set it down by Tala as she sat up.
"Where's Pohatu and Lewa?" Tala asked after Kopaka rose and left to get some meat, the younger spirit edging back with the fruit until her back was against black armor.
Onua watched the Kora start eating like Tahu does after he hadn't eaten in 3 or 4 8-days, this was more than entertaining as was the thought of Kara doing the same later, "Lewa is with the Ga-Kora healers, and Pohatu ran some of that paralyzing venom to the Le-Koro healers as well." Pausing Onua touched the smaller Bionicle's side, adding, "How's your hide? Coming back to your real from in the middle of a Nuva fueled fire storm cannot have been good for an ice elemental."
Tala swallowed, only to roll her eyes at herself for taking another bite, then gave up and shrugged, "I feel much better brother." Tala said managing not to garble her words, "I'd imagine I'll feel even better in Ko-Wahi. My hide seems to be a little drier, not burnt."
"Well said Ko-Gi," Onua said softly, smiling as Tala blinked back up at him. He rumbled in amusement as Kopaka placed a wooden plate of roasted Corbrii meat and fish, instantly distracting the Kora.
"Now vat?" this time the words were garbled a bit, blue eyes looking up.
"Training starts for you and Deni." Kopaka said already plotting out hunts in Ko-Koro with search patterns, his optic shifting and focusing on the human disguised Kora one at a time. The Toa of Ice's great Nuva mask had a faint glow to it as he did so, "There might be a… timing factor to the Kora's changing." He paused and added, correcting himself, "Loosing that Kanohi that hides them."
"What do you see Kopaka?" Onua tilted his head, glancing at his Kora, watching her learning about net making from both a Ga- and a Le-Matoran.
Kopaka looked down at Tala from where he stood, then over to the nearest of the other Kora, nodding at Telem. "Before when Tala arrived, I could barely see the protodurmus enhanced supports, now in them I can see a more Matoran frame under the illusion."
"You can see through it?" Lee asked, pausing in passing, having been sent to fetch some snow berries for the Turaga Matau and Whenua.
Tala pointed up at the Toa, "Ko-Tu has an x-ray mask or…" She paused at the baffled look, and switched languages to a slightly older dialect of Matoran that the Toa Hanu used, and again to English to explain the Kanohi _, how it was used to see things that were hidden, like the Kora right now, but only when active.
Kopaka brought another plate of meat, again more fish than the red, before moving off with Onua at Vakama's beckoning. The meeting seemed to be over for now, with those going mostly quiet with food, or moving off and out of the chamber to eat on their own. Or in the case of one couple, Hewkii pulling a humming-blushing Macku off to giggles from some of the other Matoran. Telem grinned at seeing one of the stars of her new village home escaping before one of the Toa- or even Hafu, could start teasing him in Pohatu's place. She rose and migrated over to the cluster of Tala, Deni and Lee, perking up at seeing the former two far more alert and though maybe a few inches taller then that afternoon, they were still human and Matoran size.
"I think this may be one of the only times a human wants to double their size." She said in English, and finding it surprising how she had been this whole time speaking Matoran without having noticed the switch, and that it took a notable mental switch. However, Telem didn't want to disturb the Chronicler and Turaga Nuju's translator from their conversation not far away over their own meal.
Lee giggled, answering automatically in the same language with an accent as well. "If we were human, I think I've always ate twice as much as any boy or girl my size and age back on Earth."
"Tell me about it," Storm huffed as she flopped down with as much as a lack of grace as she could beside Tala, stealing a strip of Corbrii. "Earth did have some things I miss, like being able to get chocolate or coffee... or the fragging addictive TV shows…"
"That's weird." Deni spoke up after coming up for air as Kara came over as well. The Kora instinctively grouping together, perhaps on Toa instinct, or programing, and not noticing the flashes of approval from some of the Turaga.
"What?" the others looked at him.
"Now that I think about it," Deni explained, "Earth Magna? Onu Magna?"
Kara chuckled, "Yes, it does sound odd now." She moved closer to look at Tala's back, examining the ridges in the armor, as well as the armor itself, that matched more to a Toa's instead of a Matoran's. Just smaller. The white Kora even had those 'grips' the Nuva had built in for a Matoran to cling to, and thus freeing up hands and arms to defend.
"Terra?" Tala offered after a moment, swallowed before adding, "It means earth but as far as I know there's no Matoran word of the same name as 'terra'..." She paused, and turned to look over at the two nearest Matoran. "Matoro? What do you think of that for calling the human world?"
"Speak Matoran, not English," Storm said automatically.
"Its okay," The soft voice of Matoro said as he looked at the Kora group and then moved over with Takua, and he had no trouble with the alien words. They were easier than the full conversations Nuju mad him have in the language of the birds sometimes.
"He's a Language Master," Tala explained, grinning in the Bionicle way fully now. "Matoro has already picked up three of the human languages I know of."
"I'm not fluent in them, but I think I have a good grasp," The Ko-Matoran smiled back at Takua, "Seems our Chronicler has picked up one as well."
"I have learn to take advantage of my trips out, and meeting most of you Kora," The island's Chronicler beamed, deciding on being shameless as he joined in on this conversation in English as well to show he'd been paying attention. He had a bowl full of his favorite foods, and the best cut of meat to his starved seeming stomachs. Though maybe Takua was one of the best fed Matoran on Mata Nui, as a good story in trade for a meal was one of his best tactics, and a fair trade to most.
"Its amazing how fast Bionicle learn," Kara said, smiling as she offered her fish to Tala, preferring the Corbrii anyways.
"That and having a bunch language dialects in there already helps." Tala chuckled, tapping the side of her head with a claw tip. "But that's only part of the fun."
Matoro smiled, "It is fun learning more..." He nibbled on a sweet pie from Ga-Koro before looking up and switching back to Matoran-standard, "To belatedly answer your question Tala, I don't think there is a... 'terra' as far as I know. So using that for the human world seems exemptible." He gave a snort and pointed up, "Mata Nui, we live on a water moon called Aqua-Magna. If the humans like calling their magna a variation of 'earth' then who are we to stop them?"
"Don't think we could." Takua drawled with his mouth full, but showing the same skill Tala and not garbling his words.
"Nope," Telem agreed as she scratched at a spot on her arm. She paused mid-itch, a motion that was not lost on the Chronicler.
Takua may not always be the brightest Gako of the flock, but as anyone that truly knew the island's Story Keeper would tell you, he was not dumb. Nor as even Jaller would semi begrudgingly admit, did Takua miss a lot. In fact the once blue-masked tool maker had become the bane of the Turaga at times, as Takua had become so effective of a Chronicler that he always caught the snippet mentions of other islands they knew of. Forcing the elders to make extra sure it was clear before talking in conference.
He also was as good at annoying the Tao with this skill of noticing as much as it was a use to them.
...though Tahu and Kopaka preferred to keep any slips privet, despite it happening to best of beings they did have some of an image to keep up. Thus one of the reasons they tolerated their wayward charge clinging to shoulders and backs for rides or just spending a day with a Toa.
So Takua noticed when the Kora en mass had stilled, just unexpectedly stopping and focusing on something unseen. The Chronicler tilted his head, then looked in the direction the Kora were looking.
Tala shifted first, still with a mouth full the white elemental narrowed her eyes before rising. She glanced at Storm and Telem, meeting the Chronicler's gaze for a memory before she was up and moving. It was automatic and it seemed to Takua like they we're aware of what they were doing.
Tala glanced back over at Takua and Matoro, who had picked up on the subtle changes after the Chronicler did. One bright blue eye and one red, the Kora of ice smirked and winked the red one.
Then, Tala and Dani where gone, Matoran sized they may be, but they had the Toa agility and ability to not make that much sound. Telem and Storm next, with Kara and Lee fallowing.
Impulse flashed, and in a way that drove Takua's best friend Jaller crazy enough to hiccup fireballs at times, the Chronicler didn't think but ran after the Kora. Matoro reflexively fallowing as a part of the Chronicler's company and friend himself.
The whole exodus had taken less than a minute, and five minutes later after that one very confused pale Toa of ice was staring at the empty section where the Kora had been.