Most of these short stories will be involving characters belonging to myself and my good friend DragonClaw92, as well as events and inspiration from role plays, which is why they may not make a whole lot of sense to random readers. I wanted a place to keep these stories organized.

Short Story #4: Turaga Matau tends to a healing human who discovers she has a rare gift.

Disclaimer: Haley belongs to DragonClaw92.

Tiny Wings

Turaga Matau leaned idly against the outside structure of his home and took in the never-not-impressive view of the treetop village he had commanded for millennia. A sprawling network of tree-house-like huts connected by platforms, nettings and walkways high above the swamps at the base of the world's tallest and greenest trees. Sunlight glittered through the canopy of jungle foliage overhead. An easy-going breeze fluttered through, causing the little wind chime hung in the window of his home and made out of three hollowed branches, to create a soft melody. Matau smiled. Le-Koro was both peaceful and chaotic. Beautiful and … somewhat safe-ish. Safe enough for the Le-Matoran to grow and thrive and hold their own. And they had come a long way from being a district of chaos-loving, vehicle-dependent people to a tribe of hearty fighters, wind-flyers and survival experts.

But still lovers of chaos.

It sometimes dazed him, thinking back to his time as another airheaded Le-Matoran chasing after speed and adventure in a chaotic part of a city long forgotten … and now he was one of few who even remembered such times. Or the people who had been there.

The old Turaga was stirred from his thoughts at the sound of increased birdsong and the distant flap of wings. A few Matoran pointed and rushed along the wooden walkways. And somewhere behind him, hasty footsteps padded within his house as his latest guest rushed over to the window. He turned to her just as the Gukkos and their riders crashed through the brush somewhere out in the village, returning from their flight and the Matoran hollered a welcome.

Haley stared out of the window of his house with a delighted grin, her eyes fastened on the scene of the Gukkos landing and chirping. "Oh! They're beautiful!"

Turaga Matau lifted a brow and looked again. Okay, so maybe the birds were a little graceful if he thought about it. "Yes, and good for flight-riding, too. But don't speak-tell them they're good to look at. Last thing we need is a fleet of ego-puffed birds." Not as if they weren't already that, but still.

Matau raised a questionable mask ridge at the petite-sized human. "Weren't you sleep-resting just now, Haley-friend?"

While it did him good to see the human after so many years of waiting, the extended time in stasis had weakened her to the point of almost "starting over." Only yesterday had the woman begun to take wobbly steps and stand upright without help. Haley's face was noticeably a little pale, and she took deep breaths just from hurrying over.

She held onto the windowsill for support and bobbed her red ponytail. "Uh-huh! But I had to see what all the noise was about! I'm bored, Turaga Matau, sir. I can't help it!" She bit her lip before pouting and giving him a pleadingly cute look. "When do you think I'll be strong enough to explore some more?"

Matau twisted his lips and frowned at the floorboards of his front porch. The term "sir" was politeness, but it stabbed at him, reminding him that the stasis pod had taken more than the petite woman's strength, but her memories too. Her memories of who she really was and the amazing things she was capable of. Her memories of him. That and the fact that some areas of Le-Koro were only structured with netting and rope-woven bridges made his heartlight flash quicker at the thought of Haley wobbling her way to explore and find adventures and potentially fall off the edge.

He lifted his staff and used it to point faintly her way. "When you're strong enough to use your flight-wings."

The human glanced over her shoulder. Two pearly, feathered wings extended out of the human's shoulder blades, ruffling gently. Haley made a thoughtful hum even as she gripped the inner lining of the window and Matau noticed a slight tremor working its way in her limbs. A sorrowful frown twisted Haley's face. "I-I wish I could remember more …"

"Quick-stop. You are shaking again, young one. Give it time," the Turaga soothed, turning fully to face her through the open window. She was so short in height that she only overpowered him just slightly but even as he addressed her Haley was sliding down to her knees, opting to sit down as her body was still so low on energy. "You are getting strong-healthy every day, but it's still a matter of time. I may be the Turaga of Air and the village crazy-leader, but even I've thought-learned how important it is to rest-heal. You're not ready to leave the hut yet, young Haley-friend."

The young woman sighed in a defeated way, but her face told him she knew it too. She just wasn't strong enough no matter how excited she was.

"Turaga!" a Le-Matoran called.

Matau glanced away and nodded before turning back to Haley. He reached over and patted her knuckles as she continued to cling a little less strongly to his window. "Patience and happy-cheer, Haley. You'll soon get to see the sights of Le-Koro, true-heart promise."

He turned and made his way down the walkways to where one of the Gukko riders awaited him with a message to share.

"An urgent sealed letter-note for the Turaga!" the Gukko rider said with a grin and a flourish, saluting said note against his head.

Matau smirked and snatched the note from the Le-Matoran's salute, whacking the rider's shoulder armor before he let out a cackling laugh and hobbled away. "Many great-thanks." His amusement calmed as he opened the note and found Vakama's handwriting inside. It was exactly as he had thought: the other humans were awake. And, it sounded as though none of them retained their memories.

The Turaga's steps came to a halt and he frowned sadly, leaning on his staff. Haley had programmed the spheres for the humans herself. She did all she knew to make sure that they wouldn't lose their memories like the Matoran that had been relocated to the island. She had been so confident. Had they known about the memory wipe, would they have allowed their human comrades to enter stasis in the first place? Would their memories ever come back? What if she never remembered him as his once handsome-hero self and only knew him as a funny old Turaga?

He steeled himself and shook his head. "Ngh … too many dark-thoughts. I'm not supposed to be smart enough to do that much deep thinking." To which he snorted at himself and continued on his way. The Matoran close enough to notice him didn't bat an eye; they were used to the Turaga talking to himself.


Haley took a deep breath, enjoying the sweet, if humid air of the jungle world she had found herself in, exhaling slowly. She could feel her wings shiver, a tremor still left over in her body just from getting up and crossing the open-room-concept that was Turaga Matau's cozy tree-hut home. The woman shifted, turning her back on the wondrous outside world and crossed her legs, continuing to take slow and easy breaths. Yesterday she could only look over at the window from her bed and today she was able to take at least a few quick steps before fatigue and weakened muscles demanded she sit back down again. It was an improvement at least, but it did nothing to cure her restlessness. Who was she? Aside from her own name, she didn't know. Why was she here? She carefully stretched out one of her pinions, eyes widening at the sheer power of the feathered appendage. And how did she get those? Were people normally supposed to have wings? She wasn't like the beings who took care of her, but none of them had wings. They had found other ways to fly.

"Gotta work on remembering …"

Haley closed her eyes, willing something to come to mind, hoping for anything at all. A few seconds of deep-thinking passed and all she got was the sensation of tipping sideways. Squeaking, Haley opened her eyes as she landed, giggling softly at herself … only to quickly realize something had happened after all. The room was growing all around her, stretching up, up, up … and it wasn't stopping.

She let out a scream and pulled her knees in tight, her wings folding over herself at the instinct to hide from whatever was happening. Shaking, Haley waited a couple of moments before she dared take a peek at her surroundings again.

Yup. Everything was huge.

Ginormously huge.

Now her heart beat faster from adrenaline, not fatigue. Haley shivered. "H-Help …"

She heard footsteps outside, their pace calm but she could still feel the vibrations through the floorboards. It jolted the little human out of hiding. She ran, she flapped her wings, doing whatever she physically could to propel herself across the vast room. Haley dived under a stool by her bedside and collapsed, throwing her arms over her head just as the loud newcomer made their arrival. She shakily took a peek.

It was Turaga Matau.

How different he had sounded, being so incredibly HUGE now.

The mightily tall Turaga turned his head, glowing cherry-red eyes wide with confusion. "Eh? Haley-friend?"

She watched the Turaga turn around in a circle as he scanned the room, and soon it was confusion glowing in his eyes. He searched about, vainly poking aside clay pots and containers, at the curtains, the shelves, his sleeping hammock, his movements becoming rushed as the seconds ticked by without finding her. He finally stood still, distraught written all over his face. He leaned heavily against his staff and passed a shaking hand over his mask and whispered out one word.

"Hlahlu?"

The word made her blink. She thought he had said her name, but it sounded different. And the way he had said it. With meaning.

"Where did you go …?"

Slowly, Haley unfurled from her hidden ball beneath the stool and crawled until she poked into view. She bit back a yelp, the sound turning into a squeak. He was so huge! She could feel her arms beginning to shake again, though whether it was from fatigue or shock was anyone's guess now. "I-I'm here … I'm down here, Matau."

The emerald village leader turned his head and looked down, gaze immediately finding her. His brows shot up and he blinked. A small burst of laughter escaped him and he dropped his staff, bending down onto his knees. "Mata Nui, you had me worried-scared!"

The staff clattering to the floor made Haley squeak all the more, tensing at the sensation of still being very small while a very large Turaga leaned over and approached her on his hands and knees. He stopped and looked her over, gaze softening. "Oh, Haley-friend."

"I-I don't know what happened … b-but I'm scared." She sat back and sniffled before shakily reaching up. "M-Matau … ?"

Slowly, with all the care in the world, the Turaga scooped her into his hands and brought her to his heartlight, holding her close. Haley cried and he held her, crooning gently as she let her tears flow. At one point, she blithered out, "Wh-What's wrong with me?"

The Turaga made a soft noise of correction. "Not-nothing." He carefully ensured she was seated in one of his palms, his other hand fingering at the hem of his Turaga's robe. He gently brushed the material toward the miniature human's face to dry her tears. "You have the Pehkui."

The little human sniffled and wipe her eyes against the material before she looked up, wide-eyed with confusion. "Th-The what?"

"Pehkui. The Mask of Diminishment." His eyes crinkled as he smiled gently at her. "You've shrunk yourself, my young friend."

Haley gaped. "I-I can do that?"

"I think so. You are very tiny-small, you know."

Haley sat back against the Turaga's hand, holding onto one of his fingers with her hand as she processed the information. "Th-Then … if I did this to myself, I should be able to reverse it. Right?"

"Try to calm-relax, young one. You're relearning many things and you are still quite weak. It may take some time before you …" The Turaga trailed off as Haley shut her eyes. Seconds later, she felt the world slowly rock, then her hands were bracing against hardwood floors. Haley squinted one eye open and found herself staring face-to-face with an equally surprised looking Turaga.

The human gasped. "I did it, didn't I?"

Matau let out a chuckle and patted her shoulder. "Look-seems like you did. You're a quick-fast learner."


Quick-fast was the right way to describe it. Only an hour after Matau had found his human charge hiding under a stool and the size of a pencil, was Haley back to her tiny-small shape and taking an experimental flight – within the confines of his home, of course. She drifted over to his window and seemed to understand the warning hum he made; Matau never once took his eyes off the wobbly little flier.

Haley collapsed on her knees on his windowsill and beamed at him, panting "You DID say I had to be strong enough to use my wings!"

"D'ohh. I'm gonna eat-regret my words."

Matau shook his head and turned his attention to the pot of steaming tea he was making. Haley occupied herself with flitting from one part of his home to the next in between spurts of resting, chatting at him. She voiced her curious questions about the world she had awoken in, and wondering some more about her own powers. There wasn't an ounce of suspicion in her demeanor towards him, which he was both grateful for and worried about. He really needed to see how his Brothers and Sister viewed the memory problem, see how they thought best to proceed. Haley was such a precious, optimistic soul … he had already nearly lost her trust once. The last thing he wanted was to lose it again.

Haley perched on a shelf above his stove. She wobbled a little and giggled. "How come you knew what my power was?"

"I'm a very old-wise Turaga with lots of knowledge-secrets."

"Pehkui, Pehkui … I guess I must've known what that was before I … um, forgot everything." Haley stifled a yawn.

Matau snorted softly and pointed her way. "You've done enough wind-flying today, Haley-friend."

"I'm fine! And I'm not tired, I'm just too excited!" The tiny redhead flapped her wings and rose over his head … and nose dived with a squeak. Matau yelped, diving backwards to catch his falling charge. He landed on his back, cradling a tittering and breathless little human in his hands.

"Oops!" Haley grinned at him so brightly he thought his heart would melt. "Hey, you're pretty quick-fast, too!"

He couldn't be mad at that. She was using tree-speak and didn't even realize it.

Matau deposited the shrunken woman on top of his table where he had arranged a lovely platter of mekiki tarts for snack time and took a seat. "Maaaybe it's time for a rest-break from wind-flying, Haley-friend."

Haley stood and supported herself against a secondary mug of tea he'd arranged for whenever the human decided to return to normal size and enjoy the warm beverage. She caught her breath, eyes drifting past him … gazing at the window some more. "Turaga Matau, does this mean I can see some more of this world now?"

Matau put his mug down and lifted a brow. "Eh?"

"I'm using my wings now, after all. You said so!" Haley smiled hopefully. "I'm strong enough to use my wings. That was the deal."

The emerald Turaga regarded her thoughtfully, squinting. "Hmm." Saying nothing, he reached forward and gently poked the human, sending Haley falling backwards with a squeak, landing on a folded cloth napkin. He had barely touched her, and she couldn't even maintain her balance without having her muscles give way, especially after her excited flying. Matau quirked a knowing smirk. "Strong enough to use your flight-wings, but not your legs it look-seems."

Haley groaned and pulled herself into a sitting position before she reached over and picked off a piece of mekiki tart and shoved it in her mouth, blatantly giving Matau a long, defeated pout. That is, until she dissolved in a sigh, relishing the tasty treat. Matau smiled. For now, at least, he could distract the girl with food.

"After we're finished with our snacks, we're going for a walk."

The tiny human lifted her head and froze, her cheeks slightly full. "We?" she asked around her mouthful.

"That's what I spoke-said." Matau produced a sling with a small pouch and tied it around himself to demonstrate what he had in mind. "You'll be riding here," he said, poking his hand into the pouch resting near his chest. "No getting out and wind-flying, though. You'll stay snuggle-safe sitting down and be happy-cheerful about it, yes?"

"Mm!" Haley waved her arms excitedly before swallowing her food and clambering to her feet. "Yes, yes I will!" she promised, clasping her hands and outright beaming like the sun. "Thank you!"

Matau beamed right back. The scene outside his window indicated the sun would begin to set soon, creating a magical atmosphere that he was proud to enjoy and show off in his village. "You're very welcome, Haley-friend."