Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Moana. All belong to Disney and the story's creators. I only own Lahela. I hope you enjoy the story. Reviews are greatly appreciated. And thank you to those who have reviewed already!

- ShadowMoon2430

Chapter 2

It was several years before the next time came however. Lahela continued to keep her distance from the chief-in-training even when the girl went out of her way in trying to find her. She had no intention of getting to know the human. When it was finally time, she would test Moana. She learned what she thought she needed to know about the girl, but she as not interested in knowing her on a personal level, which is exactly what Moana wanted from Lahela.

She would always remember the second time she had let Moana find her.

The girl didn't seem like she could stay away.

Moana was already growing up to become a young lady, though she still had some years to go. More responsibilities did not keep her from wandering. Yet again, Lahela spotted her coming towards the temple even with barely a path to follow.

The goddess shook her head before walking. She supposed she could spend a brief moment with Moana again, preferably as she got her to turn around.

"Moana, you seem to wander a lot."

The unexpected voice caused the girl to jump as she stalled her steps before spotting the crimson haired figure stepping out from the trees.

"I was right! You are around here still." She paused as she looked at the goddess. "I mentioned a lady named Lahela to my grandmother before. She said you were the goddess of storms, is that true?" she questioned with wide eyes.

"Do you believe it to be true?" Lahela questioned in reply.

Moana nodded without a second thought. "I don't know, why would you be here if you were a goddess?"

Lahela smirked as she leaned against a tree. "Perhaps your grandmother is crazy then. You have a valid point."

"No!" Moana said as she shook her head with determination in her eyes. "You have to be her. Gramma Tala wouldn't say that otherwise! And you did the thing with the lightning before. It has to be true!" She paused to catch her breath as she looked up at the goddess.

A look of realization crossed her eyes then as she stepped even closer to her, looking ready to latch onto Lahela in excitement. "But if you control the weather then you can help the island when we need it! I bet there's so much you can do. Oh! You could make it rain!"

"I'm not here to play," Lahela quipped.

"Okay," she replied with a nod of acceptance before plopping herself onto the ground where she was. "Can you tell me how you ended up here? What about why Gramma said you don't answer prayers anymore? I bet you have some amazing stories. I wanna hear them all."

Lahela shook her head. "Maybe someday." Yet again, she left the girl wondering as she took off as Moana stared at her retreating form.

Lahela continued waiting and watching from a distance much to Moana's disappointment. Time let's everyone move on though and her focus eventually shifted away from the goddess. Her parents had more important things for her to work on.

During Moana's training, troubles started appearing and Lahela knew exactly what it meant.

"I understand now. It was never something on this island that would push Moana." Lahera voiced her thoughts to the ocean as she walked along the shore. "You're wrong if you think she can face this though. Maui will not help even if she can find him. There is a reason why this darkness is still spreading."

The ocean waves picked up as they crashed against Lahela's legs in response.

"You know as well as I do what she would need to face. A human cannot get past Te Kā," she snapped. "She would need to find Maui and get him to help fix this. I doubt even he could. This is just the next island to fall. If she doesn't die here, she will die out there instead."

Lahela looked out as she felt the water pull away from her feet before a larger wave pushed her inland, soaking the bottom of her blue skirt. Glancing over, she realized it was towards the village, towards Moana.

She looked back with narrowed eyes. "I am not helping. That is not my role. People do not pray to me for assistance, they pray for mercy. The story says that a human and Maui are the ones to do this, not me." Having had enough, Lahela snapped her fingers, letting her lightning take her away from the shore.

Once she was away from the ocean, she took the time to think. It's why Lahela found herself pacing the grounds of the temple. The ocean could pick whoever it wanted to be the chosen one, but it certainly couldn't pick her to help. It was not her problem. Let the islands die. Easy enough. She was a goddess, she didn't need the islands to live on. She could figure out something else.

Could she really let the world go like that though? She had never been particularly fond of humans, but they weren't the worst things out there.

"I can't believe I let the ocean get to me."

Lahela huffed as she dropped down onto the lowest platform. "This has been going on long enough though. It does need to end… If Moana can prove herself, I'll help."

She looked up to the sky as she watched the first stars start to appear as the world darkened. It wasn't clear when Moana would decide to set off on this journey. Lahela was fairly certain Moana didn't even know she was chosen yet. She would just have to keep a closer eye on her until then and be ready.

The tension in the village was clear. Things had taken a hard turn and Lahela had been watching it collapse in slow motion. It seemed Moana was ready to sail the ocean despite her family rejecting the idea.

Lahela sat in the sand, eyes trailed on the ocean, sitting in silence. It was that image that greeted Moana when she made her way from the village path to the ocean shore.

"And she appears again," Moana said quietly as she walked over to the goddess. "I've never seen you this close to the village before."

"I prefer to remain unseen, but important things are happening." Lahela turned her head as she studied Moana. "You have noticed what has been happening to the island."

Moana nodded as she sat beside the other woman. "You mean with the fish leaving and the fruit dying. You know what is going on then. Please, tell me. Help my people."

Lahela let out a weak laugh at her words. "It's not that simple, Moana. You need to help your people, but I may just help you. When you have more answers and you're ready, come find me at the old temple." She stood up then, brushing the sand off her blue skirt as best she could.

"Wait!" Moana exclaimed as she pushed herself up quickly as well. "What do you mean? How am I supposed to find out answers if you never tell me anything?"

As if thinking, the redhead paused and tilted her head. "If only you knew someone that had many stories to tell." She gave a brief wave then as she turned and walked down the beach. "Good luck, Moana."

Everything seemed quieter than usual. The night has always been somewhat on the quiet side, but that night seemed almost eerie. Perhaps it was just her imagination, but the life on the island had to have noticed what was happening as well. Things would soon get worse and everything would have to adapt. It wasn't just the humans that would be at a loss for food. This darkness that was eating away at the island was taking the life by breaking apart the entire system there. She had watched the begging of it before, but she would never stick around to watch the end. Lahela didn't dwell on those thoughts for long. Sooner than she had expected, the sound of running caught her attention as she saw Moana quickly making her way through the trees.

"Lahela! You said you would help. Please, help me now!" The panic was clear on her face and in her voice as it wavered.

Lahela walked up to her and placed her hands on her shoulders. "Calm down. I may be able to help but you need to talk to me first."

"My gramma, she told me. My ancestors, Maui, the heart of Te Fiti, all of it. But now…" her voice caught as tears collected in her eyes. "Help me find Maui and restore the heart of Te Fiti. Then I can save my people!"

She could see the resolve in Moana's eyes as she listened to her words. It was unclear if she would be able to handle this, but nothing would get done staying there. "Alright, Moana. I'll help though you will have to prove that you can handle this journey. It's not going to be easy."

"I can do this, I have to."

With a nod of acceptance, Lahela made way with their plan. "I know where your ancestors' boats are. I will meet you there. Go to the village and get what is needed."

The fires lighting up the cave flickered over the boats that lined the edge of the water. Lahela stood with her feet in the water as she watched the waterfall cascade down. She expected Moana to get back any minute now. Something was finally going to happen, she just hoped the results would be promising.

Moana soon came through the tunnel into the opening. The second they looked at each other, they knew what they were doing. No need for words. Moana held the heart of Te Fiti in her hand as she looked at the sails they were in front of. It was clear that one was meant for the trip as the sails were marked the same as the heart. Together they quickly pushed it into the water before jumping on. And just like that, they both found themselves through the waterfall, soaking wet but ready for what was to come next.

They just needed to get past the reef. One building in the distance stood with light as they looked back towards the village before they saw it go out. The look on Moana's face was all she Lahela needed to see in order to understand that was where her grandmother had been. Lahela could feel the change. Then, as if their guiding light, a manta ray swam forward from the island and lead the way out of the reef. A final farewell for Moana that the goddess watched in silence. Even she knew when a moment was worth leaving be.

I hope you enjoyed reading! We're finally off! I changed my original plan of how I'd get Lahela and Moana off the island together since my memory of that part of the movie is a bit of a jumbled mess. But I'm super excited to work on the next chapter. I expect fun times ahead. Let me know what you think with a review! Feedback is appreciated!