When Aihe and I were growing up, we shadowed Mom and Dad through the village as they taught us how to lead and unite our people. Although I was excited to be chief then, I felt the same pull to the sea mom had. And so I was taught early on to work a canoe and begin to navigate at sea, Mom being my teacher and heavily involved with each lesson.

It didn't take long for Aihe to develop a similar interest, but she was not as focused on wayfinding as I was. Among many things that differentiated me from my sister, my other interest in combat was one more thing that did.

Combat, surprisingly, was something Dad was rather skilled at. I recalled being shocked upon learning my dad knew how to fight. I asked him how since all I remembered being told for years as a child was that Dad was an incredible fisherman. He said that before he learned how to fish, in his old village, he was taught combat by an old master.

Lua.

I remember almost begging Dad to teach me; luckily, it didn't take much convincing. From my childhood up to my teen years, Dad would teach me everything he knew, from weapon use, to hand to hand, and even taught Aihe a few methods, though she was not as invested as I was. I now had three different skill sets under my belt.

Leadership, wayfinding, and now combat. And I had applied my knowledge to my survival instincts on New Berk and with Eyarr.

And now that I was back home, I hadn't had much use for my leadership skills or my combat training. And given that Eyarr had helped to extend my combat skills, it was something I wanted to show Dad. I was bummed that I didn't have the daggers that Eyarr gifted me, but something told me that it was better since they were so different than what Dad was used to fighting with.

I knew Dad was usually up early, just after dawn. I woke shortly after he did one morning, and understandably, he was a bit surprised to see me up as early as him.

"Feeling like an early bird, huh?" He commented. I shrugged.

"I felt like waking up early today." I paused momentarily, trying to figure out how to ask simply.

"Dad?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember… teaching me how to fight when I was a kid?" I slowly asked. I saw a smile tug at the corner of his mouth, the fine lines of age becoming more prominent.

"Of course I do. I remember how eager you were to learn. Why do you ask?"

"Well, uh… I used the skills you taught me when I was away, but I was also taught other ways to fight." I saw him raise an eyebrow, "I was thinking I could show you what I've learned. Just to remind you, I've still got my spunk." Dad chuckled.

"I never doubted that. Sounds like a plan." We got our weapons with that assurance, and Dad led me to a corner near the forest. In a large bare patch of ground, I could still see the ghosts of feet and handprints in the soil. I kneeled, grazing my fingertips through the dirt, feeling the spot where I spent a good portion of my childhood.

"Where did you want to start?" He asked, breaking me out of my daydream.

"Oh. Uh, hand me the club." I replied as I stood up. He handed me one of his clubs, and upon grabbing it, I spun and twirled it around in my hands, getting used to the weight of it. It was slightly larger than the one Dad gifted me years ago, but it still felt familiar.

Still holding it, I shifted my gaze to the woven basket of Dad's weapons, taking in each item. Then I spied one I hadn't seen before. It was a dagger, but black and very shiny, it couldn't be…

"Is that a fa'atosina dagger?" I exclaimed, putting down the club and picking up the dagger, feeling the weight of it. Dad just grinned.

"It is. Something new I made. You like it?" I nodded eagerly.

"I do! Fa'atosina is incredibly sharp, it makes for a good weapon. Reminds me of the daggers Eyarr gifted me." I answered nonchalantly. I felt my heart pound upon saying his name, and when I turned to face Dad, I could see a look on his face that I couldn't quite read.

"This young man impacted you, didn't he?" Dad commented, swinging his club around. I sighed in affirmation, swallowing hard.

"He has. He helped expand my combat knowledge. When… we started traveling together, he gifted me a set of daggers. They're made of a completely different material than we have here, they're incredibly strong and durable, and I wish I had them here to show you." I was surprised to see a smile on Dad's face as I rambled on.

"What?"

"Nothing, it just makes me happy to hear you talk about someone so fondly." I blushed a little bit as I reached back to tie my hair up in a ponytail, a hairstyle I rarely did. Usually, I put my hair in a braid, but today I felt like a ponytail would be a good style.

"Something tells me you'd like him, Dad. You and he share some similarities." Dad chuckled in astonishment.

"That right? Do indulge me." He got into a defensive stance, and I mirrored his pose with a smirk.

"Well, for starters, he was on his own for years, very self-sufficient! He taught himself many survival skills that kept us alive while we traveled. He even saved my life at one point!" I dodged a frontal attack, swerving around him and sending a punch toward his shoulder, which he dodged as well, though not as swiftly as I did.

"He saved your life? How?" He asked, putting his weapon down, now opting for hand-to-hand combat.

"Well, in the north, where he's from, it gets extremely cold. And instead of rain, they get snow, which is basically frozen rain. It gets everywhere, and water freezes. They call it winter there. We were supposed to travel south when winter hit us, and he taught me how to ice fish. But I fell through the ice at one point and almost drowned," I saw the look of horror cross his face upon mentioning this. I remembered being told about Dad almost drowning, not once, but twice. So him hearing I almost drowned scared the hell out of him, and I didn't blame him one bit.

"He saved me, Dad. He swam through freezing water to save me and kept me alive and warm." I caught myself before I gave into the soft emotions of that memory. Even though I caught myself, I still slacked a little too long, giving Dad the advantage. He swept his arm under my leg, knocking me off balance, and gently pinned me to the ground.

I groaned in defeat, letting my head fall onto the dirt. Dad chuckled.

"I may have gotten older, but I still got it." I rolled my eyes at his brag, letting him help me.

"Yeah, yeah."

"You've gotten better, though. Whatever he taught you, it's effective and stuck with you." I brushed the dirt off of me and gave Dad a smile.

"He's… incredible. He's taught me a lot, and I really wish you could meet him."

"If the gods allow it. Your mother told me some of the thoughts you've been struggling with and your fight with him." For a moment, I felt my heart sink. I wasn't ready to have this conversation with my father.

"Oh… uh, she did? … How much did she tell you?" He shrugged.

"Just how you've been feeling about it. She didn't tell me everything, but I get the gist of it." I chewed on my lip, unsure how to respond, knowing Dad knew. Though it was fair, he knew, he's my father. He deserved to know.

"Your mother also mentioned that he confessed his love for you." Now that caught me off guard.

"She did?" He placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Meli, it's okay. Whatever is going on between you two, you will overcome it. It'll take time, but I can promise, from experience, that you two will find a way to overcome it."

"Very inspiring."

"Laeli, I'm serious. Whoever he is, something tells me he's a good man, however complicated he might be. Trust your gut."

The conversation dissipated into another spar session, and there was no further mention of Eyarr. I was fine with that. Even though I didn't mind talking about him sometimes, I was getting a little tired of the advice and people asking about him. Not that I blamed people for asking since he was different from my people, at least visually. I sometimes wondered what it would be like if he were here on Motunui. He'd stand out like a sore thumb with his fair hair and skin. He was also very tall compared to everyone else, it would be quite something if he were here.

I also tried to return the new blade to Dad, but he told me to keep it.

"You deserve it. Something to hold onto for the future. You never know when you may need it."

Later on, through Mom and Aunt Huihana, I was rather surprised to learn that one of the shamans had been working on his practice in the realm of the gods. Growing up, I wasn't exposed to the practices of shamanism on Motunui.

We watched him forge a connection that sent ripples of energy through us. He said he could sense Eyarr's pantheon gods growing eager and anxious for my return. They were ready.

I was brought to the platform where I first told my people about my journey. And standing here now, I could feel different energy pulsate through the stone. I shivered at the feeling.

My family stood before me. Mom, dad, Aihe and her fiancée, gramma, my aunts and uncles. They all knew what was about to happen. And they wanted to send me their final well wishes.

Mom, Dad, and Aihe came up to me, one final moment as a family here on Motunui. It was hard to fight back the tears, I didn't want this to be a final goodbye, but given my circumstances, I knew it was.

As the shaman began to chant, summoning the energy from the gods, Mom brought me in for the tightest hug.

"Never forget how much we love you and that we want the best for you. You make yourself and that man happy, no matter what happens." Mom pulled the hibiscus from her hair, gently placing it behind my left ear. I watched her wild mild confusion.

"Wh-" Mom gently shushed me before giving me a wink. In our culture, a flower behind the right ear meant you were single and ready to court whoever wanted to court. A flower behind the left meant you were taken and with someone.

Considering that aspect, realizing what this meant for my family was a big deal. I was going back to him.

Moments after Mom placed the flower behind my ear, I heard the wind shrieking as it blew violently around. I heard the same explosion and saw the flash of light from those years ago.

"I'm coming," I whispered, mostly to myself. I briefly glanced back at my family, who waved goodbye to me as their figures faded into light.