Hey guys!
Sorry for the long wait, but I've been busy dealing with exams (thankfully there's only one more left)
Other than that, here's my birthday special gift to you all! :)

OOC warnings on!
Other than that please enjoy!
And please let know if you see any errors, missing words or misspellings of anything!

Chapter Nine: Wherereitanga (Part two)

Waiola and her daughters all waited with Tui on the shore as all of them stared on with bated breaths as Hiapo, Moana and Maui laid completely listless in the water. Tala stood at the back of the crowd, watching anxiously and patiently for her parents and Hiapo to wake up.

The next anyone of them remembered was waking up to the sounds of ocean waves, and the sensations of cold waves hitting their skins and clothes, followed by the sounds of their relieved loved ones and the rest of the villagers rushing over toward them.

Hiapo suddenly found himself hugged by his sobbing mother, five sisters, his youngest brother-in-law, and two nephews.

"Mommy! Daddy!" Tala shouted as she rushed to the water toward her parents. Tui quickly moved to one side. Maui and Moana to immediately got up and headed over to their little Tala who was now neck deep in seawater. The two parents pulled her up from the water at the same time and held her close. She lifted her head away from her mother's shoulder and the left side of her father's chest and asked, "Is Hina gonna wake up now too?"

Moana and Maui turned to one another for a moment, and once again they felt nothing but heartache. Moana put her hand on the back of their daughter's head and held her close. Maui turned to her and could see Moana was too choked up to answer. Their Hinatea was down there in Lalotai, they saw her, they heard her, they were so close to having her again, but then they remembered she now belonged in that world—suddenly, there came the low resonating sound of the conch shell horn emitting from Moana and Maui's home.

Everyone turned to look at the of the maota tofa and a few seconds later Sina came running toward the beach, completely flustered, pale and sweaty with disbelief as she turned to face them all. Sina and her daughter locked eyes.

Moana, Maui, Tui, Waiola, and Hiapo followed Sina into the maota tofa and saw an incredible sight. Hina's skin had color—her color was returning. Waiola immediately went over and knelt by the left side of the sleeping mat, Moana slowly strode over and sat down by the right side of the sleeping mat. Maui slowly put Tala down and carefully walked over and knelt behind Moana and put his hand on her shoulder as the two parents watched, anxiously for any hopeful sign to show them that their little girl actually was coming back.

Then Hina let out a hiccup and the room suddenly went still. Maui moved to kneel beside Moana and leaned closer. Then another hiccup left her lips and the two of them saw movement beneath her closed eyelids. A third hiccup escaped her lips and Hina's eyes slowly fluttered.

A few heart-stopping seconds later, eight-year-old Hina opened her eyes to the sight of her parents and Waiola looking down at her with shocked faces, while Hiapo and her grandparents stood in the background with the same awestruck look on their faces as a sense of euphoric surrealism filled them all.

A smile came to Hina's lips as gazed up at them with her half-opened eyes and said in a soft whisper, "Hi Mama." Moana gave her daughter a watery smile before she quickly pulled her into her arms and held her tight as Maui slowly put his arms around them both.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Months passed, and soon a new addition to Moana and Maui's family was born. Makoa, and with her new brother's birth came opportunity––to get away, particularly this afternoon, she wasn't going to be chief… right?

Hinatea peeked her head out from the side of her grandparents' fale and darted her head left and right, making sure that no was watching before she turned around and made a leap for the small patch of jungle on the side of her family's fenua. Then, out of nowhere Maui, with his hair pulled up into a topknot and a coconut fiber headband on his head, adorned with dyed red upright chicken feathers and ti leaves, scooped her up and slung her over his shoulder and started humming.

She let out a long sigh and then pouted, pressing her cheek against the palm of her hand as her father carried her, humming all the way to the maota tofa, where her tuiga waited to be put on her head.

IIIIIIIIIIII

With the tuiga now sitting on her head, Hinatea followed her parents down the steps from their fale and walked between them as they approached the fale fono. All she felt was dread––not intense dread in the foreboding sense, but a subtle one like the small retracting stretches of the ocean waves on the sand. She wasn't used to responsibility… at least when it was expected of her.

Most of all, she was still a little sour that her plans of escape were thwarted. She caught movement from the corner of her eye and turned her head slightly toward the beach. There was Hiapo sitting on a rock, watching her little sister Tala playing with the water and giggling whenever the ocean waves touched her toes.

Part of her wished that she could be over there, having fun instead of having to join in boring council meetings… that was until she spotted the waves rising in the distance.

Memories started flashing. Terrible memories… and that's her heart thumped in realization. The Ocean wasn't her friend. It never was… and it would never be.

A suddenly nudge from her parents' hands brought her back to where she was, and where she was meant to be. Hina quickly turned her head away from the beach kept going.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hina, now twelve looked up at the fale fono for a moment and then turned to glance at the beach once more. Sitting on the beach were her grandparents, watching her younger sister standing by the ocean holding their soon to be four-year-old brother's hand as he waddled and kicked the gentle tumbles of waves as it touched the sand.

Their grandfather stood up, but by the time Tui was ready to warn Makoa, Tala knelt down to his height and whispered something in his ear before she took his hand again and then started to dance the very same dance she'd seen their mother performed many times before. Sina got up and walked over toward her grandchildren and started to follow Tala's movements.

Once again, the humiliating feelings of fright started to fester in her heart and Hinatea turned away from the scene and caught sight of the mountains on her island. One was a sacred mountain and the other… was her mountain. Hinatea Waialiki, Daughter of The Great Demigod Maui and Chief Moana Waialiki.

A determined smile came to her lips.

Maui and Moana had arrived and turned to look down at their daughter only to find her gone. Moana and Maui, along with everyone present for the council quickly glanced around the fale fono, trying to figure out how'd she managed to escape?

Unable to come with an answer, Maui let out an annoyed growl as he stood there with a disgruntled look on his face while Moana shook her head and then reached up to pat his shoulder and nudged her head forward, signaling to him that they'll have to carry on the meeting without her.

Moana led the way, completely unaware that Maui was tiptoeing backwards, ignoring their odd stares and silently urging the council not to say anything, till she'd sat down on her designated spot and opened her eyes, expecting to see him in front of her, only to discover he'd gone.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hinatea tossed her tuiga off her head and ran as fast as she could toward her mountain. She rushed past several strolling villagers and made sure not to crash into anyone as she pushed herself through the end of the village toward the jungle.

IIIIIIIIIIII

After about fifteen minutes of nonstop jogging, she pushed aside two giant leaves and stood there, heaving heavily and sweaty as she gave herself time to catch her breath.

She gazed up at the moment and took a deep breath before she walked forward when a flash of blue light appeared behind her. She quickly turned around and saw her father standing behind her. Hina sheepishly sucked on her lips as she stood there, mentally preparing herself for a lecture when out of nowhere Maui lifted the small hand-sized nets he'd weaved. She noticed they were filled with medium sized stones and looked up at him in disbelief.

He walked over and tied the nets on each of her wrist and each of her ankles.

"C'mon, show me what you can do." He told her.

Hinatea had a proud smile on her face and made her way toward the mountain wall. She felt for the crack and hoisted herself up, under her father's proud gaze.

IIIIIIIIIIII

A grunt and another crack to climb, and a sixteen-year-old Hinatea pulled herself up against the second tallest peak on her island and finally reached the top. She stood up and turned around to look at the glistening sea and stared on at the sails of the fishing boats coming back to shore and thought the race tomorrow. The race she'd stupidly agreed to partake. It wasn't her fault though—it wasn't… if only that pigheaded jerk son of Matai Tūhuruhuru had goated her on.

Oh! how she'd loved to shove her fist on his perfect smug face.

But she couldn't—after all, they were still guests and Tūhuruhuru wasn't all that bad… and his wife Apakura was sweet. Hina let out a long exasperated sigh as she plopped herself down on the mountain's top ledge, her back pressed against the soft cool grass while her well-toned legs swung against the edge. The sun's ray shined against her tattoos, giving light to the shark teeth patterns that circled her wrists.

She then sat up and stared out into the horizon with a slight sense of dread whenever she looked out at the sea, watching the sparkling ocean and the sun's reflection in the water. It was white like the moon.

The Moon… Marama? A nagging feeling started to fester in the back of her mind—like an itch that she couldn't quite reach and she couldn't figure out why?

Whatever the reason was, it clearly wasn't important enough for her to remember… or care about either. If didn't involve her sailing practice it wasn't worth thinking about.

Was she scared of the water?

No. No way, no how. Hinatea Waialiki, daughter to Maui, Demigod of the wind and sea and Moana Waialiki, the first Chiefess of Motunui and restorer of Te Fiti's heart. She was no coward. She was smart enough to not make the same mistake twice.

"I thought you'd be here." An old man's voice said behind her. Hina quickly turned around to see her gray-haired grandfather standing there, tall and strong despite his age.

Hina let out a gasp before she greeted him, "Grampa? Hi! I… I was hoping to find you up here—"

Tui took slow dignified steps toward her and replied, "Are you prepared for tomorrow?" He asked, referring to the quadrennial Tuuga vaa. Hinatea paused for a moment and then turned from her grandfather to stare out into the ocean for a moment. Tui sensed his eldest granddaughter's hesitance and walked over closer to her as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "You'll do just fine."

Hina smiled, "Thanks, Grampa." But behind that smile was a hidden fear… a fear that she'd hope will never slip out, not because of what happened eight years ago––she had so gotten over that ––and she'd punched the next man who would dare tell her otherwise. Hinatea Waialiki was many things, but a coward wasn't one of them. It wasn't.

But then there was one more matter… her dad.

He'd never let her sail beyond the shore—not even when it was required of her. In fact, he'd always used his magical fishhook to change into her form and then take her place.

In fact, she hadn't told him about she agreed to partake in the canoe race.

How was he going to react to this now?

She turned to her grandfather and saw the proud smile on his face, but the knowing look in his eyes. It seemed that he'd heard her thoughts, because his next reply to her was, "I will deal with him."

"Thanks, Grampa," Hina replied before her dimpled smile widened before she took a step back while holding her right hand over her left arm.

"You're welcome, now would you be so kind to help an old man back down this peak?"

"Oh? Oh!" She let out a nervous laugh that was similar to her father's and gently slapped herself on the forehead and replied, "Sorry Grampa." before she walked over and quickly offered her grandfather her arm. Tui put his arm around hers and proceeded down to walk down the path from the top of the peak and back toward the village.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Later that morning,

All the younger children gathered at the fale tele and sat down. Nearly all but one of them was excited to hear this story. A now gray-haired Sina, sat down beside the children, with her legs properly folded beneath her so her youngest granddaughter at age two-in-a-half whose face was an exact image of Moana's as a young girl, could sit on her lap.

Sina turned to the storyteller, a young thirteen-year-old girl, dressed in a single puletasi that held together with a fastened collar around her neck, who's hairstyle resembled her own and whose face was said to resemble her long deceased mother-in-law's during her youth.

Tala, now, thirteen-years-old pulled up one of the siapo cloths and held out the one with the image of the ocean and presented it to the children before she started narrating the all too familiar tale, "In the beginning, there was only ocean. Until The Mother Island emerged! Te Fiti…" Most of the children's eyes went wide with anticipation, except for one eight-year-old boy, who was too busy cleaning his ear to even pay attention. Suddenly a piece of candlenut went flying his way and bonked him on the head.

"Hey!" He exclaimed while glaring at his older sister. Tala innocently continued, "…her heart held the greatest power ever known. It could create life itself." With that said, she held up the drawing of Te Fiti and presented it to the other children and listened to their Oooo's and Ahhhh's. "But in time, some began to seek Te Fiti's heart—they believed if they could possess it, the great power of creation would be theirs!"

Two large footsteps made its way up toward the fale, there stood Maui, leaning against one of the beams and watched his thirteen-year-old daughter telling the children part of his life story. Tala carried on, "And one day, the most daring of them all voyaged across the sea to take it."

Her young two-in-half-year-old sister let out a frightened gasp and drew back, pressing herself against their grandmother's middle.

"He was a warrior, a trickster!" Tala continued, "A shapeshifter who could change form with the power of his magical fishhook! And his name… was Maui. But, without her heart, Te Fiti crumbled and her anger awoke. She'd forgotten who was and became…" She paused to add suspense to her story and shouted, "Te Kā! A demon of earth and fire. Maui was struck from the sky and wasn't seen again and his magical fishhook and the heart of Te Fiti was lost for a thousand years." Tala then picked up a siapo with Te Ka's likeness drawn into the middle and another one with a picture of Tamatoa and held the two cloths in front of her face. "…where Te Kā and the demons of the deep hunted for the heart."

She slowly spread her hands away from each other, separating the two drawings away from one another, "They hid in a terrible darkness that continued to spread."

Maui turned and spotted Moana's tuiga from the corner of his eye as she was coming up.

"It chased away our fish and drained the life from island after island, and every one of us was about to be devoured by the bloodthirsty jaws of…" She lifted one of the siapo of Te Kā up high and brought it down with a single WHOOSH! As she said, "…INESCAPABLE DEATH!"

All the children looked up at her wide-eyed, and everyone—except her eight–year–old brother Makoa and her grandmother Sina reacted—with fear. In fact, most of the five-year-olds started to cry and one fainted.

Maui and Moana's youngest daughter, Melelani spotted her parents, jumped off her grandmother's lap and ran to them, screaming in pure horror. Moana quickly bent over and lifted her little girl into her arms, "Alright, Tala I think you've scared them enough." She looked down at the children, and focused particularly on the child that had fainted as he was getting up before she turned back to her second eldest and said, "Why don't you tell them another story?"

"Mom," Tala begin, "You know how important it is to pass down our stories to future generations… so, I can finish my story? Pleeeassse?"

She felt her consort pulling his arm away from her as he joined their thirteen-year-old daughter in her begging. "Yeah, Moana, pleeease?"

Moana raised a stoic eyebrow at the sight and shook her head before she told them both, her thirteen-year-old daughter especially, "Only if you promise to skip the scary moments."

Makoa then let out an annoyed groan and complained, "Awwwww Mom," while he threw his hands up in the air, "But those are the best parts!"

Tala then nodded her head in agreement and replied, "Okay Mom." Makoa quickly turned to her older sister with a grumpy frown on his face as Moana slowly put her youngest daughter down.

"Good," Their mother replied.

Makoa rolled his eyes and muttered, "Oh brother…" Before a pebble went flying from outside the fale tele and bonked him on the head. He cried out in pain and quickly looked around for the culprit.

A few seconds later, she turned to the sound of the now twenty-year-old Hiapo calling for her. Moana heard the urgency in his voice as he said, "Ikaika has something he needs to show you."

Moana nodded as Maui cast a worried glance their way, watching as she followed Hiapo out of the fale tele.

IIIIIIIIIIII

The sense of dread inside of grew from the pit of her stomach and traveled up to her heart as she walked over toward where Hiapo and his eldest brother-in-law stood.

Hiapo pulled out the staff they used to measure the height of the tide and pointed to the new mark he'd cut in the night before. The height of the tide had lessened by three feet since last night and at least nearly two hundred feet since eight years ago, and it didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon.

Moana turned to Ikaika and asked, "What about the fish?"

"Are you sure you want to see?" Ikaika asked cautiously.

"Show me." She replied firmly. Ikaika turned to his younger brother-in-law and nodded his head. He brought the basket forward. Moana quickly noticed the unbearable stench but held it in. Finally, he held the basket at an angle, and right there was the unmistakable sight of rotten fish.

"That's what we fished up this morning." Ikaika's and Hiapo's brother-in-law informed her. She looked forward the other fishermen as they came in and the horrible odor filled the air.

"What about the lagoon and the channels?" Moana asked.

"Same result," Ikaika told her with a dreary tone in his voice.

"The Windward side?" She asked. Their grave expressions said it all. But she still clung to one small strand of hope, "What about the freshwater fish?"

"They're still safe." Hiapo assured her before he added, "But… we may not have enough seafood for the festival tomorrow."

Moana nodded and thought for a moment, "And the harvest?"

Ikaika stepped forth and told her, "Whatever's happening doesn't seem to be affecting the crops or coconuts."

A small sense of relief overcame her and Moana finally told them, "We'll fish from the rivers till this issue—"

Suddenly Hiapo's and Ikaika's fourth brother-in-law blurted out, "Maybe we should send Maui off to…" But he faltered once he saw the disapproving look on Moana's, "Sorry Chief, I only mean—"

Moana's face softened slightly, "I know what you meant, but I'm not going to force him into doing anything he doesn't want to do—" She then let out a sudden sharp cry from the sudden sharp pain on her toe and an all too familiar iguana emitted a flash of blue and Maui appeared beside her.

He let out a laugh as he leaned against his fishhook and then winked at her and said, "Got ya!" A few seconds later their little Melelani's calls came echoing from the distance, another second passed before their little short curly haired girl was finally seen running to the beach. She screamed before she jumped and 'knocked' him down to the sand.

"Oh no!" Maui started as he started feigning his fright, "Motunui's finest seeker has captured me!"

"Tickles Monsters!" Melelani shouted as she raised her hands up and crawled all over him and rained her tiny tickling fingers against his skin. Fits of laughter erupted from her demigod father's lips as he cried, "She's killing me with her tickling terror!"

A few seconds later Melelani finally smelled the horrible air and sat upon her father's stomach and pinched her nose with her right hand and started fanning the air with left. She asked "Smelly?" still pinching her nostrils shut.

Maui stiffed the air and immediately his nose started wrinkling from the smell, "Ugh... where is that smell coming fro—"

"It's the fish, Maui," Moana informed him before she turned to Hiapo and motioned him to come over. The Demigod sat up and caught Melelani before she could fall in the sand and carried her in his right arm as he rose to his feet.

Hiapo showed him the rotten fish and Maui's confused expression darkened. Melelani immediately became concerned to see the strange look on her usually happy father's face. "Papa?"

Hearing the worried tone in his two-in-half-year-old daughter's voice, he quickly put her down and said, "Okay, time for you to go play with your friends—"

"Uhrm—" Melelani started.

Maui lifted a stern finger, "Ah! Ah! Ah! No arguing."

Melelani pouted and looked up at him with her cute little eyes. Her father pointed straight to the village and said to her sternly, "NOW."

She grunted, puffed out her cheeks, turned and stomped off toward the village.

Moana turned back to Hiapo and his two brother-in-laws and assured them, "I'll talk to the council about this. In the meantime, we'll gather the fish from the rivers." Hiapo and his two brother-in-laws immediately went over to the fishing spot.

"Hiapo," Moana called out after him, "Do you mind staying here and…" Maui slowly turned to face with a confused look on his face, seeing his expression left her speechless and after a few seconds Moana quickly put it all together.

Hina hadn't told him.

"Do you mind staying here and taking care of that issue I was telling you about yesterday."

He nodded slowly in understanding, "Right. Don't worry, I'll stay right here."

She nodded in gratitude, "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to see the kaimahi pāmu." Maui picked up his giant fishhook, turned and watched as she walked away from the shore and followed her.

IIIIIIIIIIII

"What's going on?" Maui asked as he walked beside her. Moana turned to her consort and took a deep breath.

Moana turned to him and answered, "The sea keeps moving further and further away from the shore, now the fish…" She took a deep breath and muttered to herself, "I need to fix this before—"

He cut her off and said "Wrong." He before turned her around and cupping her chin, added, "We gotta fix this." She looked up at him and saw the gentle smile on his lips and the determined fire in his eyes.

He was going fishing.

She opened her mouth to speak but he'd cut her off with, "You're welcome."

He lifted his fishhook high and with a loud cry, "CHEEEOOOO!" He changed into his favorite form, flapped his giant hawk wings, and flew away.

Moana lift her arm to shield her face from the small dust and twigs and looked up. He was gone.

She rolled her eyes, shrugged her hands and shoulders before she took a deep breath and carried on down toward the path toward the farming fields.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Unbeknownst to Hina and her grandfather, they were walking down the same path as her mother and within fifteen minutes the two spotted Moana in the distance, coming closer and closer toward them.

Hinatea had a nervous smile on her face and begin to whisper to her grandfather to take another path, but her mother had spotted them.

"Hi, Dad." Moana greeted him before the two exchanged a hongi and then she turned to her daughter and said to her pointedly, "Hello Hinatea."

Hinatea let go of her grandfather's arm and went over to give her mother hongi. Moana and Hina pulled away. Moana looked pointedly at her eldest daughter and said with one eyebrow raised, "I thought you were practicing for tomorrow?"

Hinatea then moved away and explained, "I was! I swear!" She paused for a moment as she started awkwardly rubbing her left arm with her right, "But I kinda got… called off doing other things…"

"Have you told your father yet?" Moana asked.

Caught redhanded Hina immediately backed away and turned and said, "Okay… I should really be—"

"Hina," Tui called out to her with a stern tone in his voice, stopping her in her tracks.

Hinatea took a deep breath and muttered, "Yes, Grampa." Before she reluctantly turned around and walked over toward them.

"Hinatea," Moana began, "You know how your father can—"

"I know!" Hina said raising her hands up defensively before she took a deep breath and lowered her hands, "I know, okay…" She paused and looked down on the ground before she said with a defeated tone in her voice, "But I had… other things in mind."

Moana's eyes immediately softened with understanding as she walked over toward her daughter and placed a motherly hand against her cheek, "Hina, you know you don't have to do this you don't want––"

Hinatea looked up at her mother and put her hand on top of her mother's and slowly pulled her mother's hand away from her cheek. She clasped her mother's hand with her hands and said, "Mom, I'm no quitter. I'm going for that race tomorrow and I will win. You can count your life on that."

Moana gave her daughter a proud smile as she put her left hand on top of her daughter's, patting it gently and replied, "Okay, well you better go then. Hiapo's waiting down at the beach."

Hina was immediately puzzled, "Wait? Hiapo? But I thought—"

Moana gazed at her daughter with apologetic eyes as she reluctantly explained, "I have other things that need my attention. Believe me Hina, I'd love nothing more than to teach you—"

Hina gently pulled her hands away from her mother's and held them up before she stated understandingly, "Hey, hey, I get it. I get it. You're the Chief and you have Chiefly stuff to do."

She gave her daughter a grateful smile and a gentle nudge as she said, "You'd better not Hiapo waiting."

Hina then turned around and made her way back toward the main part of the village. Suddenly her steps slowed and she turned around for a moment with a worried look on her face. "What about Dad?" She asked.

Tui opened his mouth, but Moana put her hand on his shoulder, gesturing him to leave it to her. Moana turned to her eldest daughter and said, "Don't worry, I'll handle him. Now, go on, I think you've kept Hiapo waiting long enough."

Hinatea smiled and ran to give her mother a big hug, "'Kay." She pulled away but held her mother's hands tightly in her own before she smiled and continued with, "Thanks, Mom." Before she let go, turned around, and ran back toward the village.

Moana watched her eldest daughter with a loving twinkle in her eyes till she disappeared down the small mound, then it was back to business. She turned around and offered her arm to her father, who immediately wrapped his arm around hers.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hiapo stood against his canoe, holding a long pointed stick as he started drawing patterns on the sand. His mind focused on the specific image of a ta moko of an eye. The image caught him in such entrancement, he started recalling memories—or a dream that had taken place eight years ago…

Lalotai, the realm of monsters. Rona, his ancestress, Hina's spirit and his father's spirit who'd explained everything to him… and finally, Marama himself.

"Wha'cha ya drawing there?"

Hiapo screamed and instinctively whirled around ready to strike, Hinatea lifted her left arm up in defensive and pulled the stick away using her right hand. Hiapo let out a long sigh of relief and told her, "Never do that again."

Hina stood with her hands on her hips and one eyebrow raised, "Okay, one, I wasn't the one daydreaming. Two…" She tossed the stick and Hiapo caught it with his right arm, now tattooed from the shoulder down with patterns spearheads to symbolize, ocean waves, kea and finally fish. Hinatea smiled, her eyes marvelling his tattoos before she continued, "…you should always be on your guard."

Hiapo ignored her comment and plunged the stick into the sand before he said, "Let's begin."

Hina rolled her eyes and shook her head at his all work and no play attitude before she walked over to his canoe and climbed on. Hiapo saw her response and reminded her, "Need I remind you that you don't that much time to practice."

She retorted, "Hey, at least I'm on the canoe now. So, are you going to get on or what?"

Hiapo slowly rolled his eyes before he grabbed the bottom of the back end of the canoe and lifted it up. "Hina, c'mon I can't do everything for you." She hesitated for a moment and then turned back to look at the horizon and felt her fear returning.

Hiapo could practically feel her anxiety and told her out of pure concern, "Hina, are you sure you want to do this? It's okay to be scared—"

That's when she snapped back to reality and rebutted defensively, "I am not scared! I'm not a coward. 'kay?" She sighed and got off the boat before she lifted the front end of the boat and lifted it up and helped him carry the boat out to sea.

Once they've made it toward the edge of the shore, the two put the boat down on the wet sand. Hiapo then began his prayer for Tangaroa's permission for them to practice at sea. Hina hesitated for a moment as her pride slowly started to creep inside her.

No. She told herself before taking a deep breath.

Swallowing her pride, she stood up and walked to stand beside Hiapo and prayed alongside him.

IIIIIIIIIIII

"I'm just glad Dad's not here to sabotage this," Hinatea muttered to herself, hiding her apprehension for the sea as she and Hiapo finally made past the shore.

Hiapo threw a small pebble at her, bonking her on the forehead and said, "Hey, if you have time to space out then you have time to study the sail. Now, come over here." Hinatea reluctantly turned and walked over toward him.

He looked up at her and asked, "Okay, now, do you know what a sheet is?"

Hinatea sucked in her lips before she gave him an awkward smile and shrug.

Figures. He thought as he stared at her with unamused eyes before he shook his head and motioned her to come over. He pointed toward the sheet, "Pull the sheet."

Hinatea walked over toward the back of the canoe and suddenly, that's when she noticed the horrible smell all around her. She dropped the rope and turned slowly turned around to see Hiapo standing up, his body language tense as he stared out into the horizon. Then she noticed something floating from the corner of her eye and turned her head toward it.

Fish.

Rotten dead fish was floating beside the boat. She slowly rose to her feet and turned her head back to Hiapo before she walked over to stand beside him. He had a despondent expression on his face as his gaze focused solely at the sight of his livelihood failing around him. Then she heard him whisper, "It's getting worst and worst."

Hinatea reached up and put a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I promise by the time my dad comes back this whole thing is gonna blow over like––whoa!" Hina cried out as the strong movements knocked her and Hiapo to the surface of the canoe. Hiapo quickly crawled toward the back where the sheet was located as the waves grew and smashed against the canoe. He quickly stood up and pulled on the rope as the waves quickly became erratic, and nearly threw him overboard. In an attempt to stay on the boat, Hiapo quickly grabbed on the mast with the rope to the sheet still clasped in his hand. He turned and called out to Hina through the soaring waves that seemed to continue trying to turn their boat. Hina stayed down. Her screams blocked by the sound of wild waves.

Hiapo and Hina looked up in horror as the large curved wall of water toward over the boat, ready to take them both down. Hina barely had time to scream before the water crashed down in the canoe. The canoe overturned and forced the two underwater.

The waves kept crashing in the water; Hina's heartbeats began to rush as her fear-driven adrenaline kicked in as she kept trying to swim up—completely unaware that her right foot was lodged between two corals. Hinatea gripped her right ankle and struggled to pull it out.

Meanwhile,

The waves swept Hiapo all the way back to shore, where he coughed most of the water out of his lungs as he dragged himself further away from the water.

Heaving, he turned and looked behind, as he stood on all fours. He was alone. Hiapo quickly rose to his feet and called out, "Hina?" His eyes quickly darted toward the horizon, searching for any sign of her. "Hina!" He shouted as he continued searching. Nothing. The heart-sinking realization flowed through his veins. "Oh no…" He gasped, "No, no, no." Hiapo immediately ran straight back into the water and dove in once the water level was high enough for him to swim through.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hiapo spotted Hinatea several feet in front of him and stroke his arms through the water faster. She was panicking and still trying to break herself free, Hiapo grabbed a piece of rock and swam in front of her and started breaking the two hard pieces of coral holding her down.

The two then burst out of the water just in time to be hit by an oncoming wave. Hiapo held onto Hinatea as the wave kept rolling them toward the shore.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Melelani wandered off, flowing the sparkling river's trail as she waddled further and further away from where her brother and his friends were playing, and instead was enchanted by the simmering water.

Giggling, she kept following the river toward the end and stopped for a moment at the strange sight. The fish laying on their side as they floated in the water.

"Fish?" Melelani called over as she carefully waddled over toward the edge of the water and reached out to grab it by its backfin. Her little fingers curled against its slightly transparent, smooth fin and pulled, pulled, and pulled till she got the fish out of the water and toward the bank.

She paused for a moment and stared at the still fish in front of her. Something about it didn't seem right, but she didn't know what? Curiousity got the best of her and she grabbed the fish by the back fins.

Maybe someone in the village would know?

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hina coughed as she and Hiapo dragged themselves out of the water and to a crowd of worried villagers who'd witnessed the whole event. A few of the men helped Hiapo up while the women, including her grandmother, gathered around Hinatea ready to help her up, but Hinatea felt humiliated about the whole thing and immediately stood up and ripped through the crowd as she made a mad dash to the right toward the beach's thick rainforest where she would be alone and save herself from embarrassment of having them see her tears.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hinatea sat alone for hours, on an angled palm tree branch with her knees up to her chest to hide her tearstained cheeks watching the sun move lower and lower in the sky.

The sound of footsteps echoed from behind her as her mother approached the branch and said while trying to sound optimistic, "Well, nobody can say you didn't try."

Hina let out a long sigh as she lowered her legs down and planted her feet on the sound and retorted while waving her arm in front of her in frustration, "Try? Failed's more like it—" She stood up in an angered frenzy and exclaimed, "—y'know why do you even bother trying when you're just gonna fail anyway—Mom, just admit it—I'm a joke who's too scared to—"

"Hina." Her mother cut off her before she patted the spot beside her, "C'mon, sit down." Hinatea then stopped and turned her back to her mother. Moana stared and said, "Now." She heard Hina's long defeated sigh before she turned around and sat back down. Moana turned to her daughter and saw looks of anger and shame on her daughter's face. Moana took a deep breath and said, "Hina, you're a lot of things, but a joke isn't one of—"

Hina cut her off and replied with an accusing tone in her voice, "You're only saying that 'cause you're my mom!"

Moana put her hand on her shoulder, "Because, I know how you think. You and your dad, and I want you to know you don't need to push yourself to prove your wor—"

Hinatea stood up and turned to her mother declaring, "Well easy for you to say! You saved the whole freaking world! Dad's a demigod! And what am I? Some ugly pig-faced chicken who can't gather enough courage to even sail across—" Hina bent forward, picked up a rock and hurled it toward the sea, "—this stupid ocean!" She picked up more rocks and continued hurling it at the ocean while the emotional wall she'd built up started crumbling down and she dropped all the remaining rocks in her arms and lifted her left hand over her face.

Moana got up and walked over to her eldest daughter and put her protective, motherly arms around her teenage daughter. Hinatea slowly turned around and hugged her mother back, "I'm sorry Mom," Hina said between sobs, "I couldn't do it."

"Hina," Moana began before she pulled her arms away from her daughter's shoulder and took her hands as she continued, "You can't rush courage."

Moana then reached up and tucked her daughter's hair behind her ear, "These things take time and patience to build up." She purposely paused to allow her words to sink in before she moved on to the next thing, "And, you're more beautiful than you think you are… and even braver than you know, and no matter what happens, no matter what choice you'll make. I'll always be proud of you."

Hinatea gave her mother a watery smile before she gave her another hug. Moana wrapped her arms around her daughter and held her tight.

List of terminologies:

Kaimahi pāmu: The Maori word for labourer, farmer or farm labour.
Tuuga vaa: Samoan for boat race.