Since a lot of people have been pressing me to update, I update on...
Saturday or Sunday every week. And I do live in America, so those days could vary depending on where you are in the world.
Also, I watched "Moana" again last night, so I am re-inspired! I'll probably update twice this weekend... :)
As Maui walked around the room, lighting strategically placed torches, Makani could see everything in the room better. What she saw made her heart ache, not only for her gramma, but for the lonely man Maui had become.
The room was a veritable shrine to Moana.
Tapestries hanging on the walls showed her sailing her boat, fighting monsters, and talking to people of various tribes. Pieces of paper holding sketches of Moana's frame fluttered as Maui passed them. Shells hung from the ceiling, the bright, colorful type Makani's gramma loved.
The centerpiece in the room was the best, however.
It was a statue.
The statue showed Moana, pointing into the horizon, a determined look on her face. She was leaning forward, her feet spread just as Makani had been taught to stand when she first sailed a boat with her father. Moana's free hand rested over her swollen stomach, obviously holding Konane inside.
Konane sucked in a breath and Makani reached behind her to grab his hand. She shot him a smile and turned back to the room, drinking it all in. Every drawing of Moana, every sketch and the statue itself, showed her gramma as a young woman, no older than twenty, maybe twenty five. Makani had seen paintings of her gramma at that age, but these pictures showed her in a different light. After all, her lover had created them.
Maui was staring at the floor, taking deep breaths. Makani could sense his pain. Without thinking twice, she walked across the room and rested a hand on his forearm, not quite tall enough to comfortably reach his shoulder.
Maui looked at her. His eyes shone with unshed tears. "You look like her, you know," he whispered. "Your hair and eyes are lighter but you look like Moana."
Makani smiled at him, leaning into him. "Thank you," she replied softly.
"Why have you come?" Maui asked.
Makani took a deep breath. "My gramma - Moana - is dying. She - she sent me here. She asked for you."
Maui's eyes widened and rose to stare at the statue. "Why?" he asked, and his broken voice hurt Makani like a punch in the gut.
"Isn't it obvious?" she asked. "She still loves you, Maui."
"No," Maui choked. Makani could almost sense the past decades flying across his mind's eye, all of the regret. "She doesn't."
"You're only telling yourself that. Why else would she send her granddaughter across a dangerous ocean when she's never set sail outside of her island's gulf before? Why else would her final wish on her deathbed be to see you once more and not, say, her children?" Makani removed her hand from Maui's forearm and stepped in front of him. "When I was a child, we were told the regular legends and fables, sure, but you were always there. I had to depend on my father to tell me the tale of the world's creation, to explain any sort of story that didn't involve you, because if a fable didn't involve you, my gramma wouldn't tell it."
Maui searched her face as if expecting her to break out laughing and exclaim at his gullibility. "Really?" he finally murmured.
"Yes. Why would I lie about these things?"
Maui suddenly snapped into action. He rushed around the room, extinguishing the torches. Makani returned to Konane's side.
"We have to move quickly," the demigod said purposefully, grabbing their hands and running back into the main room. He ripped up a loose floorboard and grabbed the massive fishhook it was hiding underneath. Makani gasped at the familiar, fabled object and Maui shot her a grin. He was positively glowing, obviously thrilled at the thought of seeing Moana again.
Maui thought for a long moment. "I'll transform into different animals and carry you to her," he finally decided. "That'll be the fastest way." He hurried outside. Makani and Konane were quick to follow.
"I can't believe this," Konane muttered as Maui raised his hook. Makani sucked in a breath as he leapt into the air, spinning in circles until she wasn't sure what exact second he had changed from the behemoth of the man he usually was to a huge bird.
"Get on!" bird-Maui ordered. Makani rushed to his side and gingerly climbed into the space between his wings. Konane sat behind her, gripping her tightly.
Maui took off into the air and Makani shrieked, bending forward and wrapping her arms around his neck to stay seated on his back. Konane's grip around her waist tightened and he leaned forward, nearly resting his head on her back.
Finally, Maui's flight steadied. He coasted through the air, beating his powerful wings. Makani brushed her hair out of her face and straightened up. Konane did the same.
She whooped into the wind, laughing in delight. She was riding on the back of a demigod, and she was returning to her gramma victorious.
The plan was going accordingly!