Sorry for the wait! But here's Chapter 13!
And it's a short this time I'm afraid.

:/

This chapter has only gone through a basic edit, so I do apologize for any spelling or grammar mistakes you may find!

Chapter Thirteen: Rerenga

This was it… she was on her own again—sailing across the sea to an unknown and there wasn't much that she could about it. She had to—THUNK! Her thoughts paused for a moment and tried to figure out where that noise came from?

She heard it again, this time from the hollowed storage down below. Worried, Hina slowly crawled over toward the hollowed compartment, when all of a sudden the compartment then burst open.

Makoa then jumped out and ran over to the side of the canoe, "I need to go go!" He shouted.

"Makoa?" She exclaimed, "Oh… no."

Her younger brother let out a sigh of relief as he finally answered nature's call.

"Makoa, what are you doing here?" Hinatea exclaimed.

Makoa turned around to face her as he feverishly explained, "There was this one girl who was trying to kiss me, I didn't want to get her germs, so I ran and I hid in here!"

"Mom and Dad are gonna freak out! Do you even realize that?" She asked and exclaimed at the same time.

Makoa gave her a dismissive wave of the hand and said, "Nah, they're not."

"You—erm!" Hinatea growled before she turned her back toward her brother for a moment. How was she going to keep her brother out of tro—an idea came to her mind, and with a smug grin, she finally turned around and face her favorite little brother once more.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Makoa sat there, tied up to the mast with another stowaway in their midst, Moa.

How did this bugged-eyed hen even get on this canoe anyway? More importantly, how did she manage to get on this canoe either way?

Hina stared at her younger brother as she dipped her hand in the ocean water, just as Hiapo had told her to do. She had to find that island—Whenua o Marama. Her eyes narrowed.

She had to save her village—she had to save her sisters. Their sisters. They were the reason why she was supposed to go through this alone—if only her oh so caring little brother hadn't just snuck on.

Now, she was stuck having to look after two idiots as well. Why did it have to be her?

'Being the eldest sucks sometimes.' She thought to herself as she pulled her hand out of the water. She didn't even know where the place was! Hinatea scowled to herself. How was she suppose to find this island when she didn't know where to look—

The canoe suddenly rocked from a sudden swell that nearly made the canoe turn over.

The sea remained still and silent for a few seconds until Hina's head burst out of the water after letting out one long exhale.

She looked up at the overturned canoe and saw her brother and Moa sitting on the bottom of the boat.

She let out a long sigh of frustration before her eyes darted toward the ocean before her.

"Uh… hey Ocean—you mind giving me a lift?" She asked politely.

CRASH! CRASH!

Hinatea turned and saw a large group of dark clouds rolling through.

"Save the hen!" Makoa shouted as he grabbed hold of Moa, and laid down on the bottom of the canoe, as the sea grew wild and unstable by the minute as the waves grew higher and higher, till a tidal wave appeared.

Hinatea climbed up the overturned canoe just seconds before the wave dragged them down and shouted, "Hang on!"

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hours later,

The canoe washed upon an unknown shore, and a few feet from the canoe laid an unconscious Hinatea, and beside her were her young brother's two legs sticking right-side up as his top half laid buried in the sand.

A few seconds later, Makoa started frantically kicking his feet as he tried to bury himself out, unaware that he was kicking the sand right at his sister's face. Hinatea groaned as her face scrunched up from the impact. She winced as she slowly slipped back to consciousness.

POP!

Her eyes slowly fluttered as a shadow of a woman cast over her, and with her blurry vision, she saw a woman with long dark curly hair, fashioned into a half-knot with a feather on the side. Hina could barely see her face of the type of clothes she wore—but it wasn't anything like she's ever seen.

Her vision remained blurred, but she saw the woman turn her head toward someone standing behind her. Next thing she knew, someone had lifted her up from the sand, followed by the sounds of her younger brother screaming at whoever was holding him down.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Soon, Hina felt herself being laid down on a sleeping mat, inside a strange home with walls closed off completely by wood. She could see the sun coming in through the opened rectangular entrance.

Then a shadow reflected on the ground as she saw a very familiar woman approaching the home. Hinatea quickly sat up in alarm

"Easy, easy," The Woman told her as she quickly walked over and finally sat down beside her. Hinatea. "You took quite a hit to your leg there."

Hinatea quickly turned to the large blanket covering her legs and immediately pulled the blanket off her legs and let out a loud cry once she saw the state her left leg was in. First, it was wrapped in what she presumed was u'a cloth—though the texture felt slightly rougher than tapa.

"You wanna know what happened, I presume?" The Woman asked as she raised an expectant eyebrow.

"That'd be nice, yeah?" Hinatea replied.

"You broke your leg." The Woman replied.

"Right… well, thanks for treating it—now if you can take me to my boat, that would be gre—"

"I don't think you understand sweetheart. You aren't going anywhere." The Woman added.

"I'm sorry who are you again?" Hinatea asked.

The Woman raised an eyebrow and said, "Well, I don't know who you think you are, but I'm the matriarch of the village you're sitting on." Hinatea opened her mouth again when The Woman cut her off, "My name's Hineteiwaiwa, wife to Tinirau and mother to Tūhuruhuru."

Hinatea immediately waved her hands forward in front of her, "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait, wait. You're his mother."

"In the flesh." Hineteiwaiwa replied before she added with a dimpled smile of her own, "Hinatea, daughter of Maui."

"How'd you—"

"The resemblance is a dead giveaway," Hineteiwaiwa replied.

Hinatea gave her a suspicious stare as she kept her guard up for a moment. Something didn't seem right, one, she looked far too young to be anyone's mother let alone grandmother. What was making her look so young?

"Where are we?" Hinatea asked.

"Motutapu," Hineteiwaiwa answered.

Hina couldn't believe it… she was on Pretty boy's island.

'What else could go wrong now?' She thought to herself.

"If you feel up to it, I could give you a tour of the island?" Hineteiwaiwa offered.

"Eh, why not?" Hinatea replied with a shrug.

IIIIIIIIIIII

With the help of a long staff, Hinatea walked beside Hineteiwaiwa as she gave a tour of her thriving village, and Hina took note of the houses there. All of them had closed off walls made from wood and the roofs were made from thatch, and she later learned that each house had its purpose.

She turned and heard the sounds of children nearby, and then turned to see several boys and girls playing with one another, using kites or wooden spinning tops. Then she heard the sound of her younger brother, Makoa swinging near the water, holding a long piece of rope with his right hand and tucking Moa beneath his left shoulder.

Hinatea paused for a moment as she looked up at the structure with genuine interest. A large wooden pole was perched on the mound, near the small river with several ropes bound together at the top.

"They don't have these in Motunui, do they?" Hineteiwaiwa asked.

"No…" Came Hina's annoyed reply. Was there anything that this island couldn't top?

IIIIIIIIIIII

Later that night,

Hineteiwaiwa finally led Hina and Makoa to her son's house, and entered first, leaving the two siblings and their special hen to be called in.

"This place is soooo cool," Makoa remarked as he kept a firm grip on Moa. Hinatea rolled her eyes in response before they finally called inside. With Makoa leading the way.

IIIIIIIIIIII

To her surprise Tūhuruhuru had the sitting arrangements match those back on Motunui, with him sitting at the top center and Apakura to his left, while his son Pretty Boy sat to his right.

Hinatea took a deep breath and slowly started to sit down, when out of nowhere Apakura then said in a motherly voice, "Please, stand if sitting is too difficult for you, Hina."

"I'm alright, thanks," Hinatea replied as she and her brother finally sat down.

Tūhuruhuru then turned to them both and said, "Welcome, our guests from Motunui, Hinatea and Makoa—"

PU–PUK–BUCAK!

"Ew! Moa!" Makoa exclaimed as Moa laid another egg on his arm, forcing him to drop her down on the ground.

Tūhuruhuru and Apakura turned to one another in perplexity, and an annoyed Hinatea then said, "Feel free to cook her."

IIIIIIIIIIII

A soft cool breeze blew in Motunui that night, stretching out from the beach to the residential fales in the village to the fale'mai before it stopped at a single fale, located in the middle of the village.

Nearly everyone gathered around the fale as they waited for news regarding their beloved fōfō after Hiapo obeyed his mother's wishes and brought her home.

And there everyone waited, some resting on their sleeping mats, and others stood holding torches.

Moana was one of those who held up a torch as slowly started to climb up the steps to Waiola and Hiapo's home—and stopped just at the entrance when she felt her father's hand against her wrist as he slowly pulled her back down.

This wasn't the time or place for her.

She back off and retreated to her father's side.

IIIIIIIIIIII

Aimata acted as the healer—mixing roots and medicinal leaves together into a paste while her younger sister Mele draped a cloth over their mother's sweaty forehead as she laid there, feverish, groaning and mumbling from delirium. Hiapo knelt down beside Mele and placed his hand on his sister's shoulder to give her support.

Waiola took a deep shaky breath and slowly opened her eyes, and gazed upon all of her children's worried faces. A small loving smile came to her lips as she asked the question, "Do you kids remember the story of Rona and the Moon?"Aimata and the rest of her siblings turned to one in confusion.

"Listen, this is part of our families' history." Their mother lectured.

"I'll tell it," Hiapo told her Aimata and the rest of their sisters turned to him for a moment, while their mother gave them a weak smile as she looked up at all them with pride beaming from her eyes as her son started the story, "Long ago on a big island…"

IIIIIIIIIIII

Hinatea found it hard to sleep in the guesthouse that night; she laid there on the sleeping mat prepared for her. She was lost in thought until the sounds of her younger brother's snoring interrupted her thoughts.

She rolled her eyes and sat up in her sleeping mat, she reached for her cane and pushed herself up, and slowly walked out of the guesthouse.

The sounds of the waves echoed through the moonlit night, the bright moonlit night. She looked and saw the giant full glowing moon in front of her. "Whoa…" She breathed before she looked down at the beach, where a certain someone caught her eye. A familiar curly haired woman stood by the shore with a torch raised high above her.

Curious, Hinatea walked forward to the beach and approached Hineteiwaiwa, when she suddenly stopped. Tūhuruhuru then came by with his own torch in hand.

Hinatea slowly hid behind a tree and slowly peaked her head out as she watched and waited to see what they were doing? Hineteiwaiwa suddenly walked over toward the water and stopped when she was waist deep. Hinatea leaned closer against the tree as she spied on them.

Tūhuruhuru suddenly turned to look behind him and raised his torch above his head. "Come out, whoever you are."

Hina sighed and shook her head, "So much for my stealth skills…" She muttered to herself before she finally made her way out.

Hineteiwaiwa plunged her torch in the sand and crossed her arms over her chest as Hina slowly came over.

"So you caught me," Hina stated.

"You're easy to catch," Hineteiewaiwa replied as she leaned slightly to one side while trying to maintain a confident pose. Hinatea stared at her in annoyance.

Hineteiwaiwa then asked, "So, why were you eavesdropping?" Hinatea opened her mouth to speak when Hineteiwaiwa cut her off once more, "I thought your mother would've taught you better. Or do you have too much of your father in there?"

Hinatea raised an eyebrow as she doubled back for a moment, "Um… I don't mean to be rude. But, what's your point?"

Hineteiwaiwa replied with a dimpled grin, "No point. I just wanted to see how you'd react?"

Tūhuruhuru turned and put his hand on his mother's shoulder, before he gave her the look, and then turned to Hinatea once more with an expectant look on his face.

She knew they both wanted, she let out a defeated groan, "Fine. I couldn't sleep. Okay. I just got a lot in my head right now…"

Hineteiwaiwa then stated, "And I have a hunch that Marama is involved."

Hinatea quickly turned to face Hineteiwaiwa with wide round eyes, "Wait. How do you know that name—"

Hineteiwaiwa told her as her expression and tone turned serious, "I've been here longer than you think. I know first hand that what's happening around the islands is connected to Marama. Trust me, this has been going since Tūhuruhuru—my son—was a young man."

Hinatea winced for a moment, forgetting their relationship for a moment, "No offence—but you look don't look old enough to be his mother."

Hineteiwaiwa then smiled, "I'd take that as a compliment, but trust me, I'm a lot older than you think. A lot older." She then turned to Tūhuruhuru and nodded to him, giving him permission to say what he wanted to say.

Tūhuruhuru then said, "The moon's crack has grown larger, and I fear it'll grow larger still, and soon the moon will crumble and Marama will be no more, and that will prove disastrous to us all."

Hineteiwaiwa then pulled something out of her hair and brought out her closed up hand toward Hina, "We found this in your canoe." She unfurled her fingers and revealed the white semi-transparent eye shaped stone. "Te Karu o Marama."

"The eye of Marama?" Hinatea spoke with an unsure tone in her voice.

"Yes, the eye. Which means singular, when it's supposed to be plural." Hineteiwaiwa stated.

Hinatea lifted her left hand up and said while chuckling in amusement, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, no. I had two—"

Tūhuruhuru stepped forward and informed her, "We only found one."

Hinatea paused for a moment in confusion… till the realization kicked in and her expression turned to fury as she marched forward as fast as she could toward the sea. Tūhuruhuru and his mother turned to one another in confusion as Hinatea began to yell at the sea, "OH, COME ON!"

The Ocean then appeared in a small swell and squirted her right on the head, leaving her face and hair completely drenched, and seething. Hinatea then lifted her cane with both hands and shouted as she prepared to whack the ocean itself.

Hineteiwaiwa drew back from skepticism while Tūhuruhuru stood there with a slightly curious look on his face as Hinatea continued with her tirade, "I asked you for help! You turn over my boat! Took the other stone! Leave me stranded on Pretty boy's stupid island! YOU'RE KOOKY-DOOKS THAT'S WHAT YOU ARE!" Hinatea shouted as she hurled her walking stick straight at the ocean.

Hineteiwaiwa stood there, shaking her head, as Hinatea let out a satisfied snort. While Tūhuruhuru narrowed his eyes as he approached her, just as she got ready to turn around––unaware that The Ocean had thrown her walking stick right back till she felt a very painful whack to the back of her head.

Hinatea slowly turned her head around with narrowed eyes and faced The Ocean as she had every intention to whirl around—when out of nowhere Tūhuruhuru grabbed her by the arm.

Hineteiwaiwa stood there, now with her hands on her hips, and a disapproving look on her face.

Tūhuruhuru finally released her arm, and Hina saw by the look on his face… she'd definitely crossed the line. Tūhuruhuru then told her, "I welcomed you and your young brother to my island—my home—out of respect for your mother and her achievements. But keep in mind, no matter her feats, no amount of respect I have for her will keep me from feeling insulted by your actions, so I'd watch my next words carefully. Do I make myself clear?"

Hinatea sighed and nodded. Hineteiwaiwa then walked over toward where Hina's walking stick and handed it to her. Hinatea took it and tucked the head of the stick under her arm.

"Now," Hineteiwaiwa started, "The stone. How, did you get it?"

"Well, my sister gave it to me," Hinatea replied.

"And how did she get it?" Hineteiwaiwa asked.

Hinatea shrugged her shoulders. Tūhuruhuru and his mother turned to one another with serious looks on their faces, before they turned their gazes to face Hinatea once more, and their expressions un-nerved her for a moment.

Hineteiwaiwa then told her, "I doubt she found it by accident."

"I agree," Tūhuruhuru added as he held his hand out for the stone. Hineteiwaiwa turned and gave it to her son. Tūhuruhuru then turned to Hinatea once more, "Marama wouldn't give his eyes to just anyone."

Hineteiwaiwa then said, "He must've sensed something special in you." She then paused for a moment in thought, and asked, "Do you have any powers?"

Hinatea gave her a flat stare as she simply raised an eyebrow when out of nowhere her left hand started twinkling, and Hineteiwaiwa's eyes immediately perked up as Hinatea's little-tattooed image climbed up over her host's shoulder—only to be slapped shut.

"Interesting…" Hineteiwaiwa breathed out in fascination as she approached the teenage girl and leaned forward with wide round eyes. Hina's tattoo slowly leaned back to herself some personal space from the woman's astonished stare. "She moves!" Hineteiwaiwa gasped with obvious ecstasy, she then turned her gaze up to Hinatea and said, "This is the start to your story."

List of Terminologies:

Rerenga: Maori for Journey
Te: A singular form of the word "The" in Maori.
Karu: Maori for Eye