CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: ENDLESS WAVES
Gali awoke the next morning to the sound of birds flying high above her. She almost forgot where she was, but the sight of Kopaka, not to mention the sea itself, brought everything crashing back to her.
"Good morning, Kopaka," she greeted, waving from her boat, "How are you?"
Kopaka looked over at her, his one eye trimmed by a slight reddish tinge. "Miserable – you?"
She shook her head, "You stayed up all night, didn't you?"
His visible eye told her he had, but he nodded anyway, "Someone had to keep guard."
She shushed him with a wave of her hand, "Why don't you sleep now? I'll keep the boats going?"
He shook his head, "You keep watch tonight, that'll help."
She agreed, taking up her paddle and sliding it into the water. "How much longer is it?"
Kopaka actually looked like he had brightened up at this question. "During the night, we were blown along faster than I could have hoped," he said, "We're actually only about a day away now."
Gali looked around, but all she could see was the ocean – stretching endlessly in all directions. "How can you tell?"
"I passed some familiar seaweed," he muttered, dryly. Gali laughed, "Seriously, how do you know?"
He tapped his false mask, "I still have my Kanohi Rau, you know." Gali surmised he had used his Mask of Translation to ask some sea-creature how far he was from Ara-Nui. She stretched and began to row.
"So you think it will really take us only another day?"
Kopaka dipped his frosty paddle into the water, pushing the boats further toward their goal, "If luck holds out… yes," he said, "…but never use me as a partner in Po-Koro Lotteries…"
She smiled, "Your luck can't be that bad… can it?"
Kopaka jammed his paddle into the water with unnecessary vigor. "I'm exiled from my homeland for an accident, get a leg broken and an arm mutilated by my brother, and then lose my mask… you say my luck isn't bad, sister?"
Gali shrugged, "Well when you put it like that…"
Kopaka suddenly squinted toward the west, "Gali… use your Akaku. Tell me if you see anything." She balanced precariously on the boat and looked out to the sea. "Nothing, Kopaka, were you hoping for land?"
"Try looking into the water, Gali." Gali gave a curse and seated herself again, paddling hard.
"Is it what I think it is?" he asked, dreading the answer.
"If you think it's a Deepcoiler, then yes."
Kopaka stood up, switching his fake mask for his Kaukau, and dove into the water. He swam around and grabbed the back of his boat, "Gali, do as I do."
She jumped in with him, gripping the bulrush boat with a white-knuckled grip. He switched to his Mask of Speed, motioning for her to do the same, "Now kick as if your life depended on it... it probably does."
Activating their masks, they kicked with all the force they could muster. The boats sped along as the arching back of the Deepcoiler began moving toward them. They easily outdistanced the behemoth, but kept going toward a tiny dark stain on the horizon.
"By nightfall, Gali, we'll be in the Great Bay of Ara-Nui."