Maui had a problem-a big problem-and he didn't quite know what to do about it.

Tamatoa had finally grown too large to sail. They had both known this day was coming for quite a while now, of course. Maui knew that the crab had been trying to put it off, but inevitably he hadn't been able to avoid moulting forever and had emerged too big to fit even on Maui's upgraded canoe.

True, there were larger boats out there that he might fit on. Those boats, however, could not be crewed by just the pair of them. They required more hands to properly man the rigging. Even if Maui had been able to find humans willing to crew such a ship, he knew it was not a viable solution in the long run. Even beyond finding a crew, there was little way to carry sufficient supplies to keep up with he crab's voracious appetite on a long journey either. Finding a temporary workaround would only be delaying the reality of the situation.

It was also exceedingly unlikely that he would have found any willing humans for the task of crewing a ship anyway. The mortals were terrified of Tamatoa, which was, to be fair, an understandable reaction. The crab was now more than twice Maui's height and immeasurably heavier-having filled out from his leaner post-adolescent years to a sturdy adult weight. He looked every inch the monster of Lalotai now, despite his tendency towards more human expressions and mannerisms picked up from centuries with Maui. In the dark, he was the stuff of glowing, psychedelic nightmares for any human who unwittingly stumbled across him.

Thankfully, such encounters were rare. True to his word, Tamatoa had not set foot near a village with Maui in many decades. Instead, the crab tended to find someplace sunny and warm to snooze while Maui was amongst the mortals. Nevertheless, Maui had been called upon more than once to calm down a panicking villager who had discovered a giant crab sleeping somewhere upon their island. Tamatoa had brushed off these encounters irritably, gracelessly, and with ill-humor, but fortunately without any undue trouble. Any mortals running across him tended to have the good sense to just flee in terror back to the village anyway, giving Maui the opportunity to smooth things over.

Maui was concerned, though, about what might transpire if any of the humans ever elected to attack the crab rather than flee. He wasn't worried about his friend, of course. After all, he'd seen Tamatoa effortlessly snap a palm tree truck cleanly in half with a claw before. The pair of them had fought innumerable creatures together over the years, too. The crab could easily make short work of anyone attacking him. He wouldn't hesitate to defend himself, either. No, it was the humans Maui was worried about. He didn't want them to get hurt or, worse, blame the demigod for it.

Maui hoped it wouldn't come to that. He didn't even want to consider what might happen if it did. Part of him thought it might be an inevitability, though. Tamatoa was far from the tiny, adorable crab he had been when Maui found him. The spunky feistiness that had been so hilariously cute in his younger years had matured into a fierce aggression, backed by the size and strength to make it a formidable threat and a willingness to eat basically anything he could fit into his mouth. Frankly, Tamatoa was dangerous.

This brought his thoughts back around to his current problem, however. He had to figure out what to do with Tamatoa now that he'd outgrown their boat at last. He couldn't stay here, though-that much was certain.

They had come to this island since it apparently had an ideal spot, safely hidden away, for the crab to molt. Maui wasn't sure exactly what all that entailed and had never asked, but just filed it under 'crab things' and added it to their routine as necessary-usually once every decade or so, though the frequency had dramatically slowed as Tamatoa grew older. There was a village on the other side of the island where Maui would stay and bask in the attentions of the mortals for the couple of months until his friend would reemerge. All in all, it was a system that had worked out well for centuries.

Until now, of course. This was a small island and it just wasn't capable of sustaining both a giant crab and a thriving human village. There simply weren't enough resources available to feed everyone. They had lingered here for several extra months now while Maui had procrastinated and already it was putting pressure on everyone involved. He had to do something soon or risk the ire of the villagers.

Maui sighed and his eyes sought out his old friend. Tamatoa was settled in the sun on the soft sand of the beach, well above the high water mark. He was carefully arranging some glittering little trinkets on his shell. It was another odd quirk the crab had adopted of late, though Maui was perplexed as to why. The crab had always been more than just a bit vain, but this was something else entirely.

He had asked about it once. Tamatoa had first testily responded with something rather cutting about Maui's own tattoos. Then when Maui pressed further, Tamatoa had snidely replied that it made him more than 'just a crab.'

Maui didn't ask again.

The truth was, Maui knew he only had two options for dealing with this now. He either had to find a permanent, private island home for Tamatoa or he would have to return him to Lalotai. Maui knew just how well the second option would go over with his friend, who had absolutely zero desire to return to his homeland and had made his thoughts abundantly clear on the matter when it was subtly suggested.

That left only one thing to do. Now he just had to do it. Maybe it was for the best, all things considered.

Reluctantly, Maui got to his feet. Nearby, Tamatoa looked up from admiring the sun's sparkle on the handful of items he'd applied to his shell. He gave the demigod a questioning look. Maui sighed again. "Look, I'm going to go figure this all out, okay? I'll be back in a few days."

Tamatoa gave him an unreadable look, but flicked his antennae briefly in acknowledgement. "Well, you know where I'll be." It wasn't as if he could go anywhere else.

The crab went back to fiddling with his shiny things.

Maui nodded, mostly to himself, and started off. He passed by their double-hulled canoe, abandoned uselessly on the beach, looking at it with a touch of regret. It would do them little good now. He opted instead for a swifter one-man canoe he had acquired from the villagers. It took little effort to prepare the smaller boat and he was underway in no time at all.

As he left the island behind, Maui glanced back at the beach. Tamatoa was standing now, watching the canoe glide away. He couldn't see the crab's face at this distance, but he suspected it wore the same expression his own did as he sailed off alone for the first time in centuries.

Tamatoa watched him go, antennae drooping limply forward until they trailed on the ground. There was nothing he could do. He'd put off molting, and thereby growing larger, for enough years until it was physically painful and absolutely unavoidable. Eventually all things must change, though, and now here they were.

It's was true that their friendship had grown strained since that long-ago argument over Haunui, the golden warclub. As tense as things had become between them, though, it was very nearly all Tamatoa had ever known. He wasn't ready for it to end. He didn't want to give up what he had. So he clung tenaciously to the threads that were left, even as could feel that things were coming apart.

Now he was stranded alone on this tiny seamount with it's pathetic human village. He didn't know what Maui had planned, but as far as Tamatoa was concerned, it had better not involve returning to Lalotai. The demigod had oh-so-casually dropped the suggestion into conversation at one point, thinking he was being subtle and clever, and Tamatoa had not been amused. He was no fool. He knew Maui would prefer to send him away so he could focus on his human pets and he had said as much. There was a great deal of yelling involved that evening, to say the least.

He felt a flare of anger just thinking about it. Besides all that, life in Lalotai was hard. He had not been back since Maui had brought him to the surface world ages ago, but he remembered that much. There was always a bigger monster waiting-an endless string of danger and fighting for basic survival and Tamatoa wanted no part of it. He'd made himself quite clear on the matter, he thought. He preferred his easy existence here in the surface world, where the food was better and was less likely to fight back.

The canoe slipped behind the horizon, disappearing from sight.

All the anger swiftly went out of him and Tamatoa sprawled miserably on the sand. He was going to miss sailing.

Maui was gone for seven days. Tamatoa had waited near their little beach for most of that time, although he may have snuck off on the fifth night to stealthily steal a few swine from behind the village on the sly. He was hungry and supplies were low, after all. He hadn't been spotted at the deed and Maui was nowhere around, so he was utterly unconcerned about it. He'd agreed to stay away from the villages while Maui was visiting them. Nothing had ever been said about raiding them while he was away. Besides, it was only a problem if he got caught.

On the seventh morning, Maui's borrowed canoe appeared on the horizon. Tamatoa's antennae perked when he caught sight of it and he rose from the sand, glad to see the demigod return despite himself. His excitement quickly turned to perplexed confusion, however, as the canoe angled away from their beach and skimmed around to the other side of the island.

Annoyance followed confusion and he watched the canoe vanish with narrowed eyes. Was he going straight to that human village? Why? He contemplated marching straight over to make his feelings known and demand an explanation, but resisted the urge. Instead, he settled heavily back on the sand with a huff.

Later that afternoon, something large drifted around the bend of the coastline towards their cove. Tamatoa blinked in confusion, then stood up and squinted to try and figure out what exactly he was looking at. As it came closer, he got a better look. It appeared to be a makeshift barge-assembled of several old canoes, stripped of masts and rigging and lashed together in a configuration not unlike the hodgepodge ships the Kakamora used. It wasn't simply drifting aimlessly, either. No, it was being tugged along by a large whale with familiar tattoo-like markings-Maui.

It was ridiculous. Tamatoa was halfway amused at the contrived convenience of it, but equally dismayed as he was certain that Maui expected him to board the thing and be hauled off like so much cargo to some other place away from the demigod's precious humans.

The demigod-turned-whale dragged the hideous thing as close to the beach as he could in that form, then flashed back to his human look to drag it the rest of the way. He looked immensely pleased with himself, too. Splashing out of the water, he gave Tamatoa a wide grin. "I've got it all figured out," he declared cheerfully, throwing out his arms as if he expected applause for his brilliance.

Tamatoa looked at the demigod, then looked at the barge, then back to Maui. "I am not getting on that thing," he said, deadpan.

Maui was undeterred. "Now, don't be like that. It's perfectly safe," he assured. "And besides, it's not that far a trip." As he spoke, the demigod was busily gathering the baskets of Tamatoa's stuff from their old canoe and stacking them on the barge.

He narrowed his eyes, suspicious. "Not that far to where?"

Catching the Tamatoa's meaning, Maui quickly moved to assuage his concerns. "Not Lalotai, I promise." He flashed him a boastful grin. "No, I pulled up your very own island!"

"You.. pulled up an island for me?" Tamatoa repeated back, somewhat dubious.

"Yep," Maui said enthusiastically, putting the last basket aboard and tying it down, "and you're gonna love it." He gestured to the barge entreatingly, "now, if you will just step aboard..."

Tamatoa contemplated arguing further, but there really was no point. He knew he couldn't stay here, so he didn't have much other choice. With a reluctant grumble, he did as he was asked. Gingerly, he stepped onto the rickety barge. It was poorly balanced and wobbly, but managed to hold his weight without sinking or coming apart as long as he kept his center of gravity low. So there was that.

Maui gave him a lopsided smile. "It'll be fine," he said. "You'll see."

Still absurdly cheerful, Maui waded back into the deeper water. With a flash of blue light, he was back in the shape of a whale and took up the ropes trailing from the barge and gave it a pull. The barge jerked roughly forward and Tamatoa dropped from his low crouch to instead lay flat on the tethered canoes for stability, while muttering unflattering things about the entire arrangement. Then the rotten barge was moving off the beach, drifting away from the island to places unknown.

Maui pulled the barge through the night. Tamatoa endeavored to at least try and enjoy the trip, as it was likely the last time he'd ever be on the sea. It was bittersweet, he supposed as he looked up at the millions of glittering stars overhead, burning bright on a moonless eve. The night sky always looked bigger and more brilliant from a boat at sea. He trailed his antennae in the water, watching ripples of glowing blue-green phytoplankton activate and swirl in their wake. Yes, he would miss this.

At dawn, an island appeared on the horizon. Their pace was far slower than a canoe under sail and it took the better part the morning to reach the island's shores. Maui, still transformed as a whale, moved in behind the barge as they neared the shore and pushed it into the shallows where it ground to a halt. It was a vast cove where they had landed, with a broad swath of soft white sand and a wide apron of shallow sea grass flats extending a long ways out into the clear water-well beyond the reach of the cove itself. No barrier reef protected it, but here on the leeward side of the island the sea was calm, with only small waves lapping gently against the shore.

Maui had already shifted back to his human skin and was unloading the baskets from the barge, cheerfully humming to himself.

Tamatoa, on the other hand, was less enthusiastic-apprehensive even-as he reluctantly clambered off the unsteady barge and waded through the shallows for the last bit of distance to the beach. Nevertheless, Maui's enthusiasm had always been a highly contagious disease and when the demigod beckoned him to come explore the new island, he couldn't refuse.

And so they wandered the island together. Beyond the beach, wide verdant fields lead to an open, breezy forest and rolling hills beyond-sloping upward to higher elevations in the distance. It was obviously quite an extensive island, as Maui was quick to point out.

They made paths through the widely spaced trees of the forest, which was abundantly overgrown with fruit trees-something Maui also made a point of mentioning.

Beyond the forest, in the hills, they found several large caverns. Nothing terribly special about them, really. They hid neither treasures nor lurking creatures. However, they were plenty large enough for a giant crab to shelter in; yet another thing highlighted by Maui-the-tour-guide.

They climbed up the steeper paths to the headland, a tall bluff overlooking the windward side of the island and offered a commanding view of the surrounding waters all around. Maui noted that there were several major currents running near the island, making it easy to visit by canoe. It would be easy to spot an inbound traveler approaching, too, he went on to say.

Looking back across the island from this, the highest point, they could see the cove where they had landed. Maui generously noted that the shallows by the cove went pretty far out and were teeming with fish.

Maui was obviously very proud of this island.

Maui was the worst used-canoe salesmen that there ever was.

Tamatoa gritted his teeth, but let the demigod go through his spiel uninterrupted. The sun was just setting when they finished their tour of this delightful little terrarium and returned to the cove.

Maui, his enthusiasm unabated, turned to Tamatoa with a blithe grin and threw his arms wide to encompass the whole island. "Well? Whatcha think? Pretty amazing, yeah?" The expectant look on the demigod's face made it clear he was awaiting praise and gratitude.

Tamatoa looked down at him blankly for a long moment, trying to keep his temper in check. Finally, he found some words that didn't begin with colorful curses and slurs against Maui's character, his ancestry, and his idiotic good cheer.

"Do you really expect me to stay here? In this little enclosure? Forever?" he asked slowly, a note of disbelief crawling into his voice.

Maui's proud expression began to dissolve.

Tamatoa went on, his anger starting to bloom despite attempting to keep ahold of it. "After literally centuries, you're just going to leave me here, forget all about me, and sail off to your humans?"

The demigod's expression darkened and he immediately went on the defensive. "I hauled this island up for you. So that you could have a safe place to stay. Because you don't want to go back to Lalotai."

Tamatoa narrowed his eyes, glaring down at Maui accusingly. "And you'd just rather dump me in Lalotai, wouldn't you? Back with all the other monsters. Not your problem anymore, huh?"

Maui returned his glare, but avoided the question. "This is the better option and you know it," he said instead. "Take what's been given to you."

He snapped a pincer sharply and took a half step towards Maui. "And what if I refuse?"

"You don't have any other options," Maui shot back and Tamatoa noticed his hand tightening around his fish hook. Would Maui really use that hook against him? Once, Tamatoa would have never considered it a possibility. Now he wasn't so sure.

They glared at each other in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Maui stood tense and stiff-backed, knuckles white. Tamatoa clicked his claws lightly, a movement restrained to just the barest tapping.

It wasn't worth it. He knew Maui was right-there really wasn't any other option. This floating zoo was at least better than being forced back to Lalotai, he figured.

Tamatoa backed down. He lowered his claws and took a step back, looking away. "Fine," he said heavily. "I'll stay here."

Maui relaxed, grip on his hook slackening. His expression softened, clearly picking up on Tamatoa's dejection. "Look," he said, more kindly, "I'll be back to visit all the time. It'll be fine. Everything will be fine."

Tamatoa wasn't sure who he was trying to reassure here.

Defeated and unhappy, he settled onto the sand with a sigh. Maui, actually looking a bit contrite, came to sit beside him. He set his hook down, but Tamatoa couldn't help but notice that he kept it within easy reach. Nevertheless, the demigod reached out to put a hand on Tamatoa's leg and let out a deep breath. "I'm sorry about all this," he said quietly.

Tamatoa blinked in shock, turning to look down at him. He'd never heard the demigod apologize for anything before-not ever. It took him a moment to figure out how to respond. Finally, he dipped an antenna in assent. "We knew this would happen eventually," he said, trying to play it off as if it were no big deal.

Maui nodded. "I'll try to think of something better," he said, "to make this just temporary."

Tamatoa said nothing, knowing that it didn't really make any difference. This was just the way things were.

The rest of the night passed in silence, neither sleeping. In the morning, Maui said his goodbyes and promised to return soon. There was no great drama to the farewell, all of the drama having been thoroughly shaken out already. Instead it was as casual as if he was just going for a walk and would be back in a few hours. When all was said and done, Maui shifted his form to that of a giant hawk and took to the skies.

Tamatoa had not intended to watch the hawk leave until he completely disappeared in the distance, but he did anyway.

Silence was left the wake of Maui's departure, descending on the lush, beautiful island with it's fruit-filled forests and sheltering caverns and shallows full of fish.

Tamatoa was alone.