CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: CARVING LESSONS

Whatever question Kopaka had been expecting, it wasn't that. He paused for a moment, collecting the thoughts she had scattered, and looked at the shapeless piece of ice in his hands.

"To be honest, I have no idea," he returned, flatly, "I sometimes just carve."

Gali seated herself next to him on the unfinished ice-boat, "Will you teach me?"

Kopaka thought for a moment, "If you have a hammer and chisel. I have my spear-swords but…" an idea seemed to seize him, "…wait…" He detached the spear and handed half to her, along with a rock about the size of his fist.

"First, you find a piece of ice the size of what you want to carve," he explained, "And then you begin working on it. Don't expect to get it right the first time, though…" he trailed off, looking at the misshapen piece of ice in his hands, "…I think I was on try four-twenty-two before I got anything remotely identifiable."

Gali laughed, picking up a piece of ice around a foot in length. She picked up Kopaka's spear, marveling at how light it was, and began to carve.

"First, you want to work the edges into the general shape. Do you have any idea what you wanted to carve, Gali?"

Gali thought for a moment, and then settled on something simple. "The Mata-Nui representation stone… that should be easy enough."

"You mean that potato with a face?" asked Kopaka, trying to remember what it looked like. Gali snorted with suppressed laughter, "Yes, Kopaka."

They worked in silence for a while longer, and then Kopaka stood up, "Finished."

She looked up from her carving to find a sculpture of her Kaukau in Kopaka's hands. It was flawless, perfectly proportioned and without a scratch or bump in sight. It could probably have fooled most mask-makers.

"That… that's incredible," she gasped, looking for a reaction in Kopaka's visible eye. A tidbit of red seeped into his cheeks, and he quickly turned away. "Keep it, then."

She looked from the mask to Kopaka, and then back to the mask. "Are you sure? You… put in a lot of effort, didn't you?"

Kopaka shrugged, forming a block of ice in his palm as he did so, "I can always make another."

"By the way, Kopaka…" she hesitated, "Lewa and I were talking, and he said you liked Ta-Koronan Ale. Is that true?"

Kopaka exhaled before answering, "Yes."

Gali was confused, "But you're a Ko-Koronan, aren't you? How can you stand-"

"I drink it in moderation, and only to help me wake up or to kill pain."

He neglected to mention he had drained half a bottle waiting for her to wake up, deciding it was better to omit that fact.

Gali held up her now-finished Mata-Nui stone, "How's it look? And don't spare the criticism if I deserve it."

Kopaka squinted at the figurine intently before answering, "Looks more like Makuta to me."

Gali playfully slapped him on the arm before getting back to work smoothing out the edges, "Honestly…" he heard her grumble "…first it's a potato, and now it's Makuta… what next?"

There was a knock on the door, and both Kopaka and Gali looked up toward the entrance.

"Brother?" asked the normally chipper voice of Lewa, "Can I quick-speak with you? Please?"

Kopaka waved his hand, and a wave of energy parted a section of the cave. Lewa strode in, rubbing his arms for warmth as his body adjusted, "Brr…" he said, looking around, "White-brother, I have an invitation to hand-give you."

Kopaka took the sheaf of parchment from his friend's hand and rolled it out on the unfinished ice-boat. He weighed it down with a few ice shards and began to read.

"Kopaka," he read, "It's me, Tahu. I hope this letter reaches you, and considering I left that air-brain Lewa in charge, it's probably a miracle you're reading this right now."

At this, Lewa let out a cry of outrage, spitting Le-Koronan profanities at a nonexistent Tahu.

"But I digress. I wish to bury the hatchet, so to speak. I have spoken with Turaga Matau, and he has agreed to hold a celebration of sorts, to which you are invited. Attending this celebration will hopefully end the feud between us."

Gali looked up at the sky and gave a silent prayer to the Great Spirit. It was probably Vakama's doing, along with a few good whacks with his staff; that brought the fiery Toa around.

"Additionally, you've got some good muscles. My back still hurts from the blow you gave me. Sincerely… Tahu…"

Kopaka shook his head, "A Le-Koronan Party? Who comes up with this?"

"So, are you going?" asked Gali, walking up beside him.