CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE: LE-KORONAN PARTY

Kopaka nodded his head slowly, "Might as well. Seeing as Firespitter took all the time to write a letter and bug Lewa into bringing it to me. Besides, perhaps I was a bit harsh on him."

He looked sideways at Gali, "I had meant to hit his head, where it was softer."

Lewa fell to the ground laughing, prompting Kopaka to turn and watch him roll on the slippery floor of the ice cavern. By the time he had composed himself, Lewa was breathless from laughter.

"Kopaka, you're welcome to jest-sing at the party," he wheezed, laughing slightly. Gali suppressed a giggle at the thought of Kopaka dancing a jig and singing in Le-Koro. As far as Kopaka went, it just wasn't done.

"I don't dance," he said, and Gali nodded her head. That was predictable…

"I know, Toa-brother, I was jesting."

Kopaka shook his head, "When is this party?"

"Tonight," he chirped, and Kopaka made an odd sound in his throat, "Well, so much for time to prepare…" he grumbled, stomping into a corner and sitting in it like a scolded child. Gali dimly heard him say something to the effect of "I hate parties".

She nodded at Lewa and then the door, but Lewa had one last thing. "I also brought you this, seeing as it's so cold in here."

Kopaka prayed it wasn't a lava rat or some other heat-producing critter, but it was only a well-aged bottle of Ta-Koronan Ale. He sighed inwardly, just what he needed to steel his nerves before something as ridiculous as a Le-Koronan Party.

He remained in the cave until nightfall, and then used his Kakama to make his way to Le-Koro. Some thoughtful Matoran had lit a path using LightStones that led to the base of a tree. A Matoran Kopaka recognized as Kongu lowered an elevator for him, and he made his way into the brightly-lit treetops of Le-Koro.

The first thing to happen as the elevator ground to a stop was sensory overload. Lights everywhere, Matoran playing music… he tried to ignore the fact that Tahu looked completely ridiculous as he was dancing out of sync with the music.

He went to a typical Kopaka Perch; namely a corner, and leaned there. One of his unspoken rules was not to get too involved in a gathering as large as this. Certainly not as involved at Tahu… who was swinging a Matoran around as though he was a dance partner.

Kopaka gave a slight jump when Pohatu shoved a plate of what looked like cookies under his nose. He sighed when he realized he wasn't being attacked and accepted one, hoping he wouldn't be noticed.

"Kopaka, I'm glad to see you came. We were wondering if you'd changed your mind," sang Gali as she walked over to him, "How are you?"

Kopaka shrugged and bit into his cookie. Blech… who the hell made these? He ate the rest of the cookie out of politeness, but declined when Pohatu came around a second time. Kongu, who was perched on his shoulder, looked at him oddly. It looked like he was debating whether or not just to ram one down the cold Toa's throat.

"Look, its sunshine," yelled Tahu, indicating Kopaka with his index finger. Kopaka wanted nothing more than to walk up on stage and hammer Tahu into the flooring, but managed to keep his urges under control. It helped to have an ice-flask with some Ta-Koronan ale handy for all occasions.

"What's the matter, cheerful?" the red Toa continued, "Forget your other face?"

A few Le-Koronan snickered, and Kopaka was seriously beginning to consider homicide as an alternative to staying at this party. His thoughts of mutilating Tahu stopped when Gali laid a slender hand on his arm. "He's just a little wired right now, Kopaka," she explained, "When he sobers up, we'll talk to him."

Kopaka nodded, leaning further into the leafy corner he was standing in. The music changed from a frantic Le-Koronan jig into something more subtle. Gali listened for a moment, and then turned to Kopaka.

"Care to dance?"