Taianui took a deep breath, relishing the fresh morning air. Maui had had them sail throughout the night, with Tangaroa begrudgingly helping to speed the boat along, and they had found an uninhabited island soon after daybreak. Taianui volunteered to search for food while Maui opted to stay at the canoe, repairing it and making sure the boat would be ready for a quick departure from Tuna's lair. Maui had asked Hina to help him, but she had refused and joined Taianui to help gather supplies.
Taianui smiled down at the woman beside him, who practically skipped during their trek to find food. He knew that Maui was trying to keep the two of them as separated as possible, but it seemed that the demi-god of mischief was out of tricks on how to control his elder sister.
She certainly was beautiful. Her dark hair seemed to glow as it caught the patches of sunlight filtering through the canopy and her long, flowing dress complimented her graceful curves perfectly. She was the prime example of feminine beauty, but surprisingly Taianui found himself admiring her fierce spirit even more. Her confidence and tenacity drew him to her like a moth to a flame, while the vulnerability hidden in her eyes brought out a fierce protectiveness in him. She was an enigma, and he wanted to learn more.
"How long has it been since you last traveled anywhere?" Taianui asked playfully as Hina became distracted by yet another butterfly, causing them to pause their walk.
"Oh, much too long!" Hina tried to catch the butterfly on her finger. "I forgot how beautiful it is down here. It's just not the same watching from above."
"I can imagine. So how long have you been away then?"
The butterfly flew into the trees and Hina sighed in disappointment, continuing their walk. Taianui made sure to keep a slow pace so that she could enjoy her freedom for as long as possible.
"Let's see," Hina bent to study a bright pink flower, "it was before Maui went off on his own, so at least 2000 years I'd say."
Taianui whistled, "Such a long time."
Hina shrugged, standing with the help of Taianui's outstretched hand. "It got lonely after a while, but it was fun watching Maui and his pranks. Did you know that he tricked our brothers into helping him pull up all those islands?"
"Really? But the stories all say that he did it all on his own." He moved a branch aside, allowing Hina to pass under his arm.
"No, with that one he had help." She smiled her thanks and Taianui dropped the branch.
"Ok, so what about the sun? Did he lasso it himself?"
"Ehhh, in a manner of speaking. He was helping me dry cloth, but I kept getting frustrated because there just wasn't enough daylight for me to finish. He told me his idea and I offered to let him use some of my hair." She brushed her hand across her braid, smiling shyly at him. "It was even longer back then."
Taianui chuckled, "So I take it you and Maui were close?"
He spotted a small grove of coconut trees and quickened his pace, turning to point them out to Hina when she looked at him questioningly. She shifted the basket in her arms and picked up her skirt to help her move quickly through the underbrush.
"Oh yes, out of all my brothers I think Maui and I were the most bonded. Being closest in age certainly helped, but for some reason I always felt that my other brothers never really accepted Maui as part of our family. I guess I was trying to make up for my bothers' lack of attention. He's adopted, you know, Maui that is. When I moved I think it broke his heart a little, so he decided to search out his human heritage."
"Ok I was wondering about that." Taianui looked up at the trees, chose one with the most coconuts and dropped his basket. "He told us he had human parents, but then he introduced you as his sister, and everything became confusing."
He placed his knife between his teeth and began to climb. Hina moved into position under the tree to wait. It was quiet for several moments Taianui concentrating on quickly climbing the tree. He knew that Maui was anxious to keep sailing and Taianui hoped that he could impress Hina with his skills. He gripped the tree with his feet and knees and took the knife out of his mouth to begin cutting through the first coconut stalk.
"But what I really don't get," he called out between strokes of the knife, "is why him and the eel are so against each other. I wanted to ask back at the canoe, but you seemed upset so I keep my mouth shut. Can you tell me, but if it's too personal just yell at me and I'll never ask again. Head's up." He smirked down at her and dropped the first fruit. He made sure she caught it before turning his attention to another coconut.
"No, I don't mind. It's just that-"Even at his height, Taianui could hear her sigh. "Everything that goes wrong in his life seems to come from helping people, you know? Tuna kept harassing me every time I went down to gather water, even spitting burning slime on me. I can still remember Maui's face, he was so livid."
Taianui called out to Hina and dropped another coconut into her basket. She continued staring at the bushes next to her, lost in thought.
"Then what happened," he asked gently.
Hina sighed again, setting the basket on the forest floor. "Well, I think the stories remember it very well. Maui confronted Tuna-roa, they fought, Maui trying to defend my honor, and Tuna ended up taking it too far and Maui had to fight for his life. We all thought Tuna had been killed. But it's going to be even worse this time; Grudges lasting this long are difficult to break."
Another coconut fell. Taianui hated seeing such a pensive look on her lovely face and decided he had enough serious discussion for one day.
"Alright then, enough of that depressing talk. I want to hear more about you." He began to saw through the stalks quickly.
"Me?" She looked up at him with a puzzled expression and flinched when another coconut landed in her basket. Taianui turned back to the tree with a grin.
"Yes, you. Like what's your favorite color."
WHACK
"Do you like sitting on the beach, or walking through the trees."
WHACK
"Rain or sunshine."
WHACK
The last coconut dropped. Taianui clenched the knife in his teeth and shimmied down the tree trunk, landing with ease in front of Hina. She rolled her eyes and he grinned. He took the knife from his mouth and bent to place it in the coconut basket.
"Cuddles or kisses?" He straightened, letting his gaze linger on her lips and felt a thrill of satisfaction when he saw her blush. He smiled and shrugged casually, picking up the full basket and balancing it on his shoulder.
"You know, things like that. I want to know everything about you."
Taianui waited until she picked up the empty basket before beginning their walk back to the beach. They walked in silence for several minutes, but Taianui soon wondered if he had said something to offend her.
"I've never had someone ask about me before." Hina paused by a noni* tree and started picking the milky white fruit.
"Really?" Taianui placed his basket on the ground and helped Hina fill her empty one with noni. "Didn't you have friends?"
"Um, no, not really. Well I did have a suitor once, if that counts."
Taianui's hands paused. "Oh?" He resumed grabbing the ripe fruit.
Hina gave him a sideways look. "It obviously didn't work between he and I, and I asked to move to the moon to get away from him. He eventually understood my decision and moved on."
"Ah huh."
Taianui's chest clenched, surprising him. He'd never felt jealous before, especially not over a woman he barely knew. But then again, he had never been this attracted to someone before either.
They fell into a companionable silence, listening to the birds singing in the trees and the breeze rushing past, carrying the scent of fresh scent of the ocean with it. Hina's hand brushed against his as they continued to harvest the noni tree.
I wonder if she'd like to visit Motunui with me.
The thought came to him suddenly, causing his heart to speed up as he realized just how much he wanted to continue spending time with Hina.
"So ahh, what are your plans after we get Moana safely home?" He cleared his throat nervously.
"What? Oh, well I hadn't really thought about it."
Both baskets now full, the pair headed back towards the beach. Taianui lifted the coconut basket onto his shoulder, palms becoming damp with nerves.
"I'm assuming Maui and Moana will want to finish their ceremony, so if you'd like," he shifted the basket to the other shoulder to prevent the coconuts from rolling off, "if you'd like, you could stay a while. You'd be more than welcome to stay with me. And my family."
Calling himself a fool, he glanced over to see if she had misinterpreted his stammering request. She stopped walking and gave him a small smile, moving closer to him.
"That sounds wonderful, thank you for the invitation."
Taianui smiled bending close, "You're wel-
"There you are! I've been calling for you two. I hope you found something with all the time you've been gone."
Maui stomped between the trees and Taianui straightened, willing himself not to look guilty.
"Of course, brother. We were just heading back to the canoe." Hina spoke rapidly and lifted her full basket. Taianui nodded in support.
"We found a grove of coconut trees and a noni bush, so we should have enough for a while, depending on how much Tangaroa eats, that is."
Maui stared at him, eyebrows furrowed. "Well, that's good. Take those back to the boat, I can help Hina from here."
Taianui bristled at the order. It wasn't as if they had been dawdling through the forest staring into each other's eyes the while time. They had worked quickly and effectively, they had just been enjoying themselves while they worked. He glanced at Hina and saw that she too looked insulted. Her eyes were trained on her brother, shooting sparks at the oblivious man.
"Yeah, sure." Taianui finally agreed, knowing that Hina no doubt had a few choice words to say about the situation. He gave Hina a parting smile and began to walk through the forest.
"Taianui."
He turned back and saw Hina smiling at him.
"Green, the beach, sunshine, and cuddles. But I do like the other option too." She added with a wink.
Taianui grinned, putting the information to memory.
"Good to know," he said with a wink of his own and headed back to the beach.
I feel like this chapter has a little more fluff? Hopefully? They're on a rescue mission after all, but I wanted some tender moments as well!
*FUN FACT: The noni tree is a medicinal plant native to the Polynesian islands and Hawaii. It produces a creamy white fruit and all parts of the plant were used in homesteading and for curing ailments. Research shows that the noni fruit and tree has 165 beneficial compounds and can be used as a pain reliever, to treat malaria, wounds and toothaches, is a brain and appetite stimulant, and can relieve ADD/ADHD, just to name a few :)