Story Co-Authored by Omicron the IceQueen and Sinead Rivka
Love in the Light
Chapter Ten:
The River of Colors
A market that was underground, above ground, in the trees, on earth or an island on a water moon on another world was still a market. Hustling, and full of activity and even music, the Onu-Kora market had more than just earth Matoran, but there were flashes of red, brown, blue, once green and even a few white forms that stood out against the darker and taller Onu-Matoran. The market was bigger than a human one, as much because the Matoran liked the room as the village's guardians were wading through, Onua and Takanuva were talking (mostly Onua showing off the cavern supports).
River found herself staring at everything, taking in as much as she could while staying in the wake of the two Toa. She loved the way that she could feel Onua's voice, more so than hearing it. Catching up and looking up at the Toa, she studied his movements and his demeanor. It was such a calm contrast to Lewa, Tahu, and the Matoran.
He was as tall as Takanuva, broader in the shoulders and chest, so easily bigger than the other Toa thus far. He had a kind of growl to his voice, but it was like the earth itself was speaking. Emerald eyes of different shades glowed as bright as the light elemental's gaze, and there was an echo there from his smile as he explained something.
He was amazing. Not like Takanuva, but almost like him. There was a common thread between the Toa, something that unified them without having to be talked about.
"Meka!" A voice called before a hand grasped hers. Warm and a bit worn as well as purple in color, "There you are," Nuparu said, "Sorry we lost you." he said as Takua popped out from around behind the bigger Matoran.
River stared around her. "Yeah. It's always a good idea to desert the newbie." The sarcasm just about dripped off of her words.
"I'm not exactly the tallest," Takua said, humming and ducking his head, he had to climb up on his friend's shoulder to be able to spot the temporarily missing human.
"Well, we found you again." The Onu-Matoran inventor shrugged before tugging River and Takua both to the stalls, "Come on, I promised you Meka I'd get you something."
Smiling and walking beside the two Matoran, enjoying their innocent, sweet natures. "So... I've got a question."
Takua looked up from digging in a brown leather pouch he'd pulled from his subspace, "Yeah?"
"Why are the Koros so far apart from each other, if everyone's supposed to be in unison? Why is everyone split up?"
"We're not that far from each other," Nuparu said, still holding River's hand, determined not to lose her again. "And look around, there Po- Ta-, Ga- and even Ko-Matoran here. We don't always stay in our native Koro, look at Takua here!"
"No don't look at Takua!" The Chronicler said waving his arms, "Takua is buying something!"
River stared up at the ceiling, sitting with a book in her hands, and a spare pen and paper in her other hand, taking a break from translating the book in her hands into human script. It was one of the few things that she had broke down and bought- made Takua buy for her. It was interesting, reading the fictional stories that the Bionicle told.
Hearing footsteps, she turned and smiled, "Taka!"
"Hey little one," Takanuva flashed a smile even as he glanced around the Kini of earth; his coloration was of dark gold and copper now, "Looks like you misplaced your blue masked shadow." The grin widened a little more.
"Mm. Well, no matter what he looks like, he's never too far away." Winking, she looked out over the city again.
The Toa of light came over, standing beside River as he too looked out the 'window' like opening. After a few long minutes a soft, almost unheard keen came from Takanuva's chest, his eyes softening. This was, as River would find in their travels, one of the few times Takanuva would express the pain within, homesickness. "Have you seen the river of colors yet?" he asked tearing his eyes away from Koro and 'starry sky' as well as the six brighter 'stars' that where up in the sky above ground.
Reacting like a Matoran, she moved to clamber up his frame, resting her head beside his heartlight as she embraced his chest, one hand going up to touch his mask. "Not yet." Her voice was muffled against the living metal. "Are you all right, Taka?"
He sucked in his breath at the feeling of her so close to the live crystal, automatically wrapping his arms around the Matoran sized human and smiled down at her, "I'll take you then." Though he said neither yes or no, there was a feeling of sorts pressing into the back of River's mind that Takanuva intended to feel better by doing this.
Smiling against his chest, careful not to touch the crystal from past experience, River murmured, "Okay. But Takanuva..." Looking up at his face, her own face showing the seriousness of her words, she stated, "You know that you can trust me, right? You know that if you need to talk about anything, I'm here to listen."
Supporting her with one forearm, the Toa brushed the backs of his claws against the side of her face, "Of course I can, but I also don't want you to have the same nightmares I do." Takanuva lifting River up to tap his mask to her lightly before boosting her to his shoulder and started for one of the doorways.
Holding on, she murmured, "You've heard some of my nightmares, both things that I've lived through, and things that I've dreamed, reliving them." Shuddering, she whispered, "I'm pretty sure that I'll understand."
Takanuva looked at her from the corner of his eye, humming softy. "Maybe, maybe not. But I'm trying to free you of yours, not add to." He smiled.
Shrugging, she rubbed at his head lightly. "Well, it might help me take my mind off of my own problems, but if you don't want to talk, I'm not gonna press ya to." She looked up at the 'stars' again, seeing the six 'Toa Stars' above them. "I'd love to meet yourToa-sibs someday."
"Maybe someday," Takanuva grinned, and then added, "After its safe in my world."
"I understand," she replied, smiling and giving him a human kiss to his forehead. "So. Tell me about this river of colors."
"You saw those balls that are glowing blue, green and pink?" Takanuva asked, nodding in the way of a store house that Takua and Nuparu showed River earlier as they explained the village wide game that was like glow in the dark doge ball.
"Yes. It's part of a game that's played." She smiled, having seen a smaller game in action.
"The underground river of colors is where they harvest the substance that glows." Takanuva said, as much from his own memory as from what Toa Onua had said to him. He smiled, that lopsided thing that was almost a smirk, "Even without Toa Gali's great Kanohi, we can swim easily enough in the slow current."
"What's a slow current to you?" River asked, blinking and looking down at the Toa whom she had bonded with.
"Enough for Tahu to flounder around without moving while someone saves him." Takanuva was grinning again.
"You're kidding!" River laughed. "He can lavaboard better than anyone else, but the moment he touches water, he's helpless!"
"Pretty much," The light elemental laughed softly, "At least in my world." He turned down one of the opening of the massive underground cavern that hosed the earth village, though this passage was wide and smooth, carved with pictures and words, telling stories of the Matoran as well as Onua, and the new carvings of the earth Kora.
The tunnel opened into another caver, not nearly as big as the one with the Koro proper, but enough that many Matoran could come here, plus several of the Toa and all would be comfortable. The shape was almost like a distorted 'T' the middle was wide almost like a mini lake, with smaller tunnel like formation going to either side before vanishing as the water evidently seeped from and back into the ground.
There were no light stones here, for there was no need. The walls and even more so the water itself, on the bottom and sides of the half lake half stream like shape, was all glowing. Streaks of bright pink, blue and green wove in pointless patterns, illuminating the chamber and those Ga-Matoran who were spotting in the water. Splashing and teasing the few taller Onu-Matoran, the girls were partly trying to coax them in more than up to knees.
"This is the River of Colors." Takanuva grinned.
River stared around them in undisguised wonder. With a smile, she whispered, "It's gorgeous." But at the same time, she frowned and looked back at Takanuva. "Will that stuff hurt me if I get it on my skin?"
"The Kora seems to have no problem, and she looks human." Takanuva said with a bit of surprise, looking across the way at what at first looked like a petite young woman on the far, more rocky 'shore.'
The Kora was in her human disguise, probably five foot, Ga-Matoran height, and was dressed in what had been a cream colored leggings and sleeveless shirt, now tie-died with the glowing stuff. It also made her long black hair blue and green as she re-braided it.
"Oh." She stared at the 'human' on the far bank. "Which one is she?" That was certainly interesting. She hadn't thought that she would get to see the human disguises.
"That's Kora Kara," A closer Onu-Matoran said as Takanuva lifted and set down River on the soft, Matoran-made sand, "She's one of our guardians." He smiled in pride.
Riv steadied herself before taking her shoes off and sinking her toes into the warm sand with a look of delight upon her face. "I haven't met her yet. I've met Lee and Storm, though."
"Kara's more sensible, no offence to the lovely air Kora," The Matoran nodded wisely, only to yip as one of the girls got in the side of the head with a ball of water (looking like a clear water balloon), setting his mask ajar.
Takanuva laughed out right at both the Onu-Matoran mind set and the resulting mock screams as the male chased after the girl. "Some things never change."
Laughing at the spectacle, Riv looked up at her Toa companion. "So... I'm guessing that they're flirting with each other?"
"More or less." Takanuva grinned as he waded into the water, adding softly so River barely heard, "Macku and Hewkii are worse."
She blinked at the names, then chuckled and shook her head, taking off the layers of clothing to be standing in a basic bikini that had quickly taken the place of normal skivvies. Folding everything neatly and placing it somewhere that she hoped would be out of the way. River paused to unbraid her hair for the first dip, then walked into the water, sighing at the warmth and sinking down until only her eyes were above water.
A giggle from the other side of the chamber drifted over. The Kora motioned for River to come over as she moved down closer to the water, "Come over here?" She called over the half spazzing Matoran's water fight.
Takanuva sank underwater, making the water glow in a way that was fascinating to many as he did a quick inspection for any Rahi that, although couldn't harm Bionicle my take a nip at his friend's toes.
Swimming over to the Kora was no problem in the least. She had played in rivers faster than this as a child, then a teen, and this was much calmer than the river that ran behind her house on Earth. Ducking under the water and darting along, quick as an otter, River came up for air halfway across, dodging water-balls easily as she navigated her way around the Matoran. Surfacing by the Kora, she greeted her. "Hi."
"It's a bit safer over here," Kara smiled offering a hand to pull the girl up to join the Kora on her large rock. Up close one could see the Native American features, but there was a couple major differences that the Kora had to the real human. Where River's skin had a healthy pink-ish tinge, Kara's was distantly gray, and slightly harder. Her eyes though were like the Bionicle, green rings on a blue back drop and lighter blue center.
"From the cavorting locals?" River chuckled, watching the way that the Matoran played. "Is it always like this down here?"
"Not always, worse on a the rest days," Kara giggled, just like any young girl as she lightly kicked the water with her feet, "But with the Ga-Matoran it's always fun." she looked River up and down, still smiling but had a quiet-ness about her, yet a lingering hint in her eyes that gave away that look the Toa got with judging a possible threat. "It's been a long time since my sisters and I have seen a human, how are you holding up?"
"Fairly." River knew the look for what it was, and didn't try to hide anything from the Kora. "It's been an interesting trip, but Toa Takanuva has been helping me understand so much about your culture."
"It was easier for us Kora," Kara said, giving a sheepish look, "Though there were times that we've been baffled by both sides of the equation. And..." Her softly glowing gaze slid to where Takanuva was still under water, her voice taking on a slightly wondering tone, "The Toa of light...you are so lucky to have found him, even though he is not from our world, the Toa brother is goodto see."
Grinning, River replied, "Well, he found me. And nearly fell on me when we first met. But... even for a human... who never met anything of your kind before... he just has a way of bringing hope wherever he goes."
"Considering Toa in general are meant to protect," Kara started, "And the Toa of light is, or are, according to Turaga Whenua those who can challenge the Makuta on their own. And probably win." She looked back to River, smiling, "So I'm not too surprised you feel that way."
Smiling and watching the Toa, River sighed peacefully. "Mm." Looking up at the cavern that they were in, she whispered, "Everything on Mata Nui is so beautiful."
"Not all, but enough to make it worth fighting the Shadows." Kara hummed softly to herself, "Are you and the Toa brother staying for the Khi-ball game tomorrow?" She asked with bright joy in her eyes, tone and body, looking like she was younger than she really was. "It's village wide not like the little one earlier."
She paused and added, "You'll glow in the dark for almost an eight-day afterwards depending on how soaked you get."
"Sounds fun."