After letting Moana rest a bit more and getting some food in her, she was ready to explore the island. Maui, knowing how she was, wasn't going to stop her, so he offered to stay on shore and watch the canoe for the time being.
"If you insist!"
At first, Keoni wanted to also stay on shore, but Moana took his hand, insisting he tag along. And honestly, he couldn't say no. It was a small island anyway, they wouldn't be gone very long. So, he agreed.
She led the two of them into the largest cave entrance that stood out, holding a newly lit torch in front of them, casting a warm glow on the monochromatic volcanic rock. The cave itself was pretty sizable, enough for a small group of people to sit inside comfortably, and one side of the cave walls had large holes bored in, allowing a view of the sea from inside.
As Keoni looked around, Moana was focused on the wall behind him. Hearing her make a sound of curiosity, he diverted his attention to where her gaze focused.
With the fire casting its glow, Keoni was able to see various carvings on the wall. He could make out the different figures of people and some animals, like fish and sharks. He reached his hand up to a figure he saw that held one tiny figure in its arm. People certainly lived here a long, long time ago. And the carvings were the only evidence left behind.
"You consider yourself the curious type?" Came Moana's voice. He shrugged.
"Uh, not really. Not if I don't have to be." She glanced at him in mild surprise but mostly curiosity.
"How come?" Another shrug.
"I mean, as a kid, my mom was very protective of my sister and me after my dad died. We never strayed far from her. And then, when I was alone on my island, I was terrified of what I would find in the jungle. If I got hurt and couldn't find my way back to the village… there wouldn't have been anyone to help me. So, if I remained uncurious and never strayed beyond the village, I would stay alive."
That… made a lot of sense, actually. And Moana didn't blame him.
"Well, you're off the island now. Think you might be open to letting yourself wonder?" He glanced at her, and their eyes met briefly. He couldn't help but crack a small smile.
"Maybe, if I've got the right person to lead me."
There was a slightly awkward pause as they absorbed each other's words. Just as Moana opened her mouth to say something, a strange noise echoed deep within the cave, and an overpowering scent of sea air, seaweed, and some other strange smell wafted down.
"What in the world was that?" Keoni questioned.
"I have no idea. The island should be uninhabited." She remarked, then faced him, "wanna go check it out?" She began walking ahead, and he just remained close behind. As they walked, the carvings kept going further and further. At the same time, the strong smell got even stronger, and then there was the smell of dead fish.
The pair began coughing as soon as the pungent smell reached their noses. Keoni, however,
not as much. Even though he was used to the strong smell of fish guts, it didn't mean he still didn't react to it.
They finally reached where the smell was the strongest, and with their noses covered, they realized that there was an open-air underwater cave right beneath the island. It did seem that the cave they walked through was one of two entrances. The other looked to be underwater, though it was difficult to see.
The cave lake in the center was a glimmering, brilliant blue, the refractions of the water lighting up the cave ceiling. And upon craning their necks up, they saw glow worms on the ceiling as well, pockets of them nestled between the numerous stalactites. Stalagmites also filled the surrounding cave ground, other unknown critters and bugs skittering about. Almost every audible movement echoed and reverberated around them. The whole cave practically glowed blue. It was one of the most incredible things Keoni had ever seen.
That being said, they could not see nor identify what creature had made the unusual sound that drew them here.
"Maybe it was just the sound of the water entering the cave?" Keoni suggested, but Moana shook her head.
"No, this sounded different. It sounded animal-like…" Keoni didn't really think so, but then again, what did he know? He had left his island for the first time in almost three years, he barely knew anything beyond the shores.
The cave fell quiet suddenly, and it seemed like even the water stopped lapping. It was eerie, and Moana was now on high alert.
Her instincts told her to look into the water, which remained a brilliant blue but had become more opaque suddenly.
Then, she saw a pair of eyes watching her through the surface. Startled, she stumbled backward, holding her torch forward. To the pair's horror, a massive reptilian-like figure rose its head, snarling at them.
Keoni couldn't quite comprehend what he was looking at. It had the head of some kind of reptile but lacked the scales. Its skin was smooth, much like a whale or a dolphin, and resembled the size of one. Its large yellow eyes glared at them, and its narrow snout opened and began snarling, revealing its massive teeth.
"WHAT THE-" Keoni exclaimed, pulling Moana back.
"What in the name of Te Fiti is that thing!?" Moana frantically shook her head.
"I have no idea! We gotta go!" After her experience in Lalotai and then her sightings of all sorts of creatures at sea, this one was unlike anything she'd seen before.
The skin of the creature was smooth, lacking scales, but it was covered in various lumps and bumps, giving it the appearance of some kind of disease. The creature pulled itself from the water and began chasing the pair on two strong legs, and its back pair looked like those of a seal.
Despite its size, it was fast. It managed to block off their escape, forcing them to run to the other side of the cave.
The creature slithered back into the water in an attempt to catch them. Moana caught sight of a massive stalactite that she could reach if she jumped. Thinking quickly, she gave herself a running start and jumped to the stalactite, hanging on tightly.
"HEY!" Keoni shouted, "what about me?!" She frantically gestured for him to jump as well.
Gods, he didn't want to do this.
With the creature in the water, he could make a run for it to the other side of the cave and get Maui, or he could help Moana. He wanted to do both, but how?
"There's gotta be a better way!" The creature lurked in the water below Moana, waiting for its chance to strike. Then, the club hanging on his hip became heavy; he glanced at it, and then at the creature, and then at Moana.
Meanwhile, Moana was trying to figure out what the hell was taking Keoni so long. She couldn't really beat the creature back with any rocks, it was frankly a miracle she was able to cling to the stalactite for so long. Suddenly, a pointy object whizzed past her face, and then she heard the haunting animalistic shriek of the creature, and blood pooled into the blue water below her.
"MOANA! GO!" Keoni shouted. She nodded and made the jump to the other side, slipping on the side a bit but managing to catch herself.
Keoni had thrown his club at the creature's head, just barely missing its eye. But now he pissed it off, and it was coming straight for him.
"KEONI! GET OUT OF THE WAY!" The creature lunged for him, but Keoni dove out of the way just in time, slipping on the water and blood on the rocky ground. The creature had managed to dislodge his club and was teetering on the water's edge. Impulsively, he dove forward to grab his club, refusing to leave without it.
It was his best weapon, the first club he'd successfully made on his own, and gods damn it, he would not let anything take it from him, not even this hellish creature.
Seeing that Keoni was right next to the water, the creature took the opportunity, lunging forward, sending Keoni right in and coming after him. Moana tried to throw rocks at it but to no avail.
Keoni struggled to get out of the creature's path, but it was strong and it was stubborn. It pushed him against the wall of the natural pool, pinning him with its snout. It pushed against his chest, and he also tried to push back against it, mostly in vain. Running out of air, Keoni saw his club was within reach. Fumbling for it, he grabbed it and began hitting the creature, ensuring the shark teeth caused injury.
Shrieking in pain, the creature violently squirmed around. Keoni tried one more hit, but the creature aggressively rammed into his left shoulder, and he felt the most painful shock of his life course through his body.
He then smelled blood fill the water, but it wasn't coming from the creature…
Straining his neck, Keoni realized that it was his blood coming from his back. He tried moving his left arm, but it was limp. He couldn't even tell if Moana could see him. Kicking his legs, he began swimming up, grabbing his club with his foot.
He made one last attempt to keep the creature away from him, but all of a sudden, a huge hand grabbed him and yanked him out of the water.
Coughing and hacking his lungs out, Keoni nearly collapsed on the ground; Moana caught him before he faceplanted and hurt himself further. He was so dizzy, and his ears felt clogged. He blinked, trying to focus his vision, and he could hear Moana trying to say something, but her voice sounded distant and was soon overpowered by a sudden, shrill ringing.
He then noticed Maui's hulking figure but struggled to keep awake.
"Keoni!" Moana tried, but she realized he could barely hear her.
"Kid, we gotta go! He's really injured!" Maui exclaimed. Frantically, Maui picked up Keoni and carried him out of the cave as fast as he could, with Moana right behind him. They stopped and caught their breath as soon as they reached the canoe.
"Maui! What was that… thing?" Moana demanded.
"Taniwha! They're ancient creatures. They're usually not that aggressive, though. And this one did a number on Keoni here." Maui had set Keoni down on the canoe so that sand didn't get into his open wound. Moana clamored onto the deck to take a look at him.
She sat him up on her lap, his right shoulder facing down to prevent further injury on the left shoulder. She was quite horrified at the extent of his injury.
The back of his shoulder was shredded open, with one main wound in the middle. It stretched nearly the whole length of his shoulder blade, and when she carefully touched it, she definitely felt broken bone underneath. And by the looks of it, his shoulder was also dislocated from the force of the Taniwha slamming into him.
She knew that the open wound had to be treated first.
With Maui holding him down, knowing he'd stir, Moana did her best to sew up the biggest gash on his shoulder. When he moved, Maui gave him a piece of cloth to bite on and scream into. They didn't have anything to relieve the pain, so Keoni was going to have to suffer through this.
"I'm so sorry, Keoni… this is all my fault…"