Following their conversation, the pair decided getting some actual sleep would help them both. With the assurance that Ocean wouldn't lead them off course, Moana laid out a mat on the deck and brought a blanket out for both of them to share.
Keoni remained upright for the sake of his shoulder, and Moana lay down next to him, facing east where the sun would rise.
Though getting comfortable proved to be a bit of a challenge at first, they eventually drifted off to sleep, soothed by the gentle rocking of the waves and the sound of the occasional breeze against the mast. Their rest went by fast, but both woke rejuvenated.
Moana found herself resting on Keoni's lap when she opened her eyes, her head nestled comfortably on his thighs. He was already awake when she woke up, and he had a small smile on his face. She felt her cheeks warm as she hurriedly sat up.
"H-how long was I laying there?" He half-shrugged.
"Dunno, I realized there was some weight on me, and when I woke up, there you were. I did have to shift you 'cause your elbow was digging into my hip," Moana blushed even more, "You have sharp elbows." He added with a laugh. Still bashful, Moana couldn't help but laugh at the tease as well.
"Well, at least you're not aggressive when trying to move me." She remarked, which received an amused, yet perplexed raised brow from him, "When I was voyaging with my family and Maui would come around once in a while, Maui would sometimes scare me awake, or shove me." Another laugh from Keoni.
"Sounds like he's just being your brother,"
"What?"
"That's what siblings do, they annoy each other. Whether it's finding the most irritating way to wake them up or play some dumb prank. And to me, Maui seems like your older brother." Huh, she never thought of it like that, but now that he'd mentioned it, his observation did hold truth to it.
Over the past two years, when he'd come around, Maui always kept Moana on her toes, keeping her grounded when she would get uppity about her chieftain duties. He made her laugh, he teased her, but never out of malice. She could turn to the demi-god about various problems that she didn't wish to discuss with her father, and Maui was always there to listen and give advice when he saw fit.
And of course, Pania, her beloved cousin, was like a sister. So, in a way, Moana had two surrogate siblings of her own. The thought brought a smile to her face.
"Well, you'll be seeing a lot more of Maui when we get to Motunui."
"I'm sure of it."
The two chatted for a bit more about other topics, but then Moana decided she'd waited long enough, and interrupted the current topic, saying it was time for Keoni to learn how to wayfind. Sure, she'd already taught him about the parts and functions of the canoe, but now it was time for the real nitty gritty. He was initially caught off guard by the change of topic, but he relented and agreed to let her teach him.
She began with the basics, discussing the cardinal directions. This was demonstrated by using visuals to show him how she charted the sky. The four directions were Akua, the north, Hema, the south, Hikina, the east, and Komohana, the west.
"For beginners, it's always the easiest to start with where the sun rises and sets. You know the sun rises in the east and sets in the west," Keoni nodded.
For the next few days, she went over navigation with the sky. First, she covered the stars, how their location within the compass guided navigation, then the sun and the moon, mainly determining the direction of where they rose and set, adding an extra layer of understanding of how open-sea navigation worked.
Moana then had him practice charting the relative position of specific stars and which direction relative to the north, south, east, or west. He picked up on the sun and moon pretty quickly, though struggled with star charting. He expressed his frustration, but Moana assured him that she didn't expect him to know everything at once. Learning this kind of stuff took time. She reminded him that the only reason why she learned everything she knew so quickly was because of her time crunch to save Te Fiti.
She moved on to star measurement, using fingers to measure the position of specific stars or constellations.
"Here, hold your hand up like this," she said, adjusting his hand accordingly, "your index should point to this star here." She came to his side, quite close in fact, and raised her hand to demonstrate what his hand should do. After a quick glance, he mirrored her position.
"There ya go!" Moana praised, and then she quizzed him on its approximate direction, to which he answered correctly.
"So, what was Maui like teaching you how to wayfind?" Keoni asked one cloudy evening, making navigation a challenge for him, so Moana took over.
"Snarky, he made it difficult at first. He didn't think I was worthy of it,"
"Really?"
"Fresh off an island cut off from the rest of the world, I didn't exactly know how to work a canoe," she reminded, which he didn't have a rebuttal for.
"I do remember this one night I was trying to measure the stars with my hand, and I wasn't doing it correctly, and he said, and I quote, "You're measuring the stars, not giving the sky a high five," Moana said, unable to stop her laugh even as she finished her sentence. Keoni couldn't help but chuckle as well.
"He certainly has a way with words, doesn't he?" She turned to face him over her shoulder.
"In his own weird way, yes he does."
"And uh, what… what do your parents think of him? Do they like him? I mean, if he's around enough, I imagine they consider him like part of your family, right?" Moana paused, thinking about the interactions she'd seen of Maui with her family.
Initially, her father was hesitant to get to know Maui, concealing some level of resentment towards the Demi-god that the retired chief could only partially rationalize. In Tui's mind, the timing of the Darkness consuming Motunui and his mother's death struck Tui a little too deep into his heart. Sure, he and his mother had their disagreements, mainly about Moana's childhood, but Tui always loved his mother. And her passing when the Darkness invoked its wrath changed Tui's perspective on things.
When Moana had returned to Motunui with a beautiful flower-adorned canoe, and the Demi-god Maui in tow, Tui did not know what to think. Yes, he was eternally grateful that his daughter returned home safely and that their village was safe and healthy. But he also remembered his mother's stories about how the Demi-god had caused the blight in the first place.
Tui's stubbornness led to the conclusion that Maui had indirectly killed his mother. It took many overnight discussions for Tui to be able to let go and accept that Maui had redeemed himself and proved trustworthy.
And then there was Sina. Usually, Sina tended to go along with what Tui had to say or do. But in Maui's case, she saw both Tui and Moana's perspectives. Especially when Moana sat everyone down to hear Maui's story and how he became a Demi-god.
That dinner had been… interesting for everyone there. Realizing that everything Maui had done was simply because he wanted to be wanted and loved struck a chord in Sina's heart as a mother herself. Maui said he did not want pity, as he stated he learned he didn't need to prove his worth to anyone, especially not because of the gods. Yet Sina internally retained her genuine sympathy for him but never verbalized it.
Over time, especially on their voyages, whenever Maui stopped by on the voyaging canoes, Maui and Tui became friendlier with each other, both showing each other the respect deserved. Tui kept Maui humble, reminding Maui of his own humanity. And Sina was moral support, exchanging friendly conversations about all sorts of things.
The relationship between Maui and her parents had gotten off to a bit of a rough start, but eventually, they warmed up to each other, accepting the presence they all shared within Moana's life.
"It took time, but they accepted one another. Maui especially appreciates my parents."
Moana loved talking about her family, and Keoni picked up on that as she gushed about them, the way her face lit up brought a smile to his face as well. He adored the way her cheeks glowed, and how her nose scrunched when she smiled.
She was so damn cute.