| Kaiwera
looked around. There was a figure standing near to him.
“Hello?” he called out.
The figure stirred. It was tall and dark.
“Who are you?” asked Kaiwera
The figure turned round, and it’s eyes shone a
dim white, hinted with red.
“Do I know you?” Kaiwera said.
Kaiwera realised there were other figures present.
They were watching him and the tall figure facing him.
“Can anybody hear me?” he asked, directing it
towards the other figures. Some of them were tall, others shorter.
All of them were indistinguishable.
The tall figure was getting closer. He could just
about make out the shape of the mask-
“Kaiwera. Kaiwera! KAIWERA!”
“Shnughtfurr! What? WHAT?! Moana?”
“Time to get up you lazy Husi, you slept enough
yesterday,” she said, packing a rucksack.
They were in Moana’s hut, Kaiwera sleeping on
the floor in a bed of raw flax. Moana had gotten up early, excited
by the thought of an adventure around the island. Nokama had told
her to pack things she needed the most… she’d seen what Kaiwera
had packed, so she had put the same sort of things into her dried
leaf rucksack. Some thin blankets, a hatchet, a sickle, a canteen,
some slim flippers, a heat stone, some dried sea food and seaweed,
the Sea Hooks of Ga-Koro and the Mata Nui equivalent of Kendal
Mintcake, of which Okoth had given her a small box of as a gift.
She was also wearing some leather armour.
“Kmon, we gotta go get my sword!”
“Did you say sword?”
“Yes. Okoths going to trade me one.”
“You. A sword?”
“Yes… what about it? I need one don’t I?”
“Well, yes, but surely you haven’t had any training
with a blade or-“
“I faired pretty well saving you from that Tarakava
didn’t I?”
“Point taken. Turn round I’m gonna get changed…”
Just as the early rays of the sun emerged over
the tranquil sea, Moana knocked noisily on Okoth’s door.
“Oi! Okoth! It’s us, the Chosen! You up yet?”
There were the sound of a bolt sliding back, and
then the door opened and Okoth’s weary face poked out.
“Well if I wasn’t there wouldn’t be much chance
of stayin’ asleep through your shoutin’ Miss Moana would there?
Half the village too at that… Come in, your off early I see…”
Kaiwera followed Moana into the shop, and was
once again standing in the highest concentration of foreign goods
on Mata Nui. His eyes crept to the sword wall again, with it’s
large brown sheet. He was hoping to have a look at the other swords,
but was disappointed to find Okoth had already taken one down
for Moana, and took it out from under the counter.
“Here you are Moana, I’ve chosen you one to the
same specs’ as Mr Ta-Koronan’s here.”
“Thank you Okoth, I’m sure you picked me the right
one.”
“Hey… there were only two-“ Moana began to unwrap
the cloth wrapt round her sword, “- swords that fitted what I
wanted. Then that must mean Moana has… has… silver…”
The silver sword with the blue sapphires fell
into Moana’s hands. Both her and Kaiwera gasped.
“B-b-but it’s
my sword…”
“No Kaiwera,
that is your sword.” Okoth pointed at the sheath on his
back.
“You chose that one, so now it is yours. You fought
with that one first, now you have a bond with it. Moana’s sword
is now hers. She didn’t pick it, but she paid for it exactly the
same way you did…”
“You gave up your Kaukau?”
“Yep. Didn’t need it anymore, Nokama says this
is my mask now,” she said, tapping her Great Kaukau.
“Well, ok. Best be off then, thanks Okoth, be
seeing you.”
“Bye Mr Kaiwera, be sure to see me in Po-Koro
market in about three days time, I’ll have some more booty for
your quest.”
“Er ok, how will I know where to look? I hear
the markets are huge.”
“You’ll find me alright, doncha worry.” She gave
Kaiwera a little wink then politely shoved them out the door and
went back to bed.
“Well, this is the first day of the rest of our
lives,” said Moana, taking a deep breath of the clean morning
air.
“I hate philosophy.”
“Men,” sighed Moana.
Rellka sat huddled in a blanket, sitting on his little stool.
There was a cold draft coming in though the open side of the hut,
blowing from Mount Ihu. Rellka was on cablecar duty, though he
didn’t see why, no one ever used it, they all thought it was still
broken. He shivered. Sitting up here on his own, he felt totally
alone… no-one checking to see if rabid Rahi had eaten him… A shadow
fell across one of the walls, blocking the light of the sunrise.
“H-hello?” Rellka said.
There was no answer, but now there were two shadows.
They were getting larger. Rellka edged forwards to see out of
the cablecar hut… and swung his head back in to avoid a slash
from a giant lime green claw.
“There it is Tetehi! GET IT!”
“AAAAAARG-!”
Kaiwera and Moana walked out of the burnt trees
of the Ta-Wahi forest, Moana trying to wipe the ash off her feet,
Kaiwera proudly bearing it like a medal. He puffed out his chest,
put his hands on his hips and said,
“Home at last!”
“You’ve only been away for a day you know.”
“Nether the less.”
A crash came from the distance. Moana and Kaiwera
both looked up.
“Hey, did you hear-“
“There it is Tetehi! GET IT!” something screamed.
“The Rama!” Kaiwera gasped.
“AAAAAARG-!”
“Hey! That sounded like Rellka! He must be on
cablecar duty, c’mon we gotta help him!” Kaiwera shouted, and
began to run along the side of Ta-Koro to the steps leading to
the cable car.
“Kaiwera! Wait up!” called Moana from down below.
Kaiwera skidded into the hut… and saw nothing.
He had a look around, no blood, no dropped weapons, nothing suspicious
at all. Moana ran in.
“Where is he?!” she asked.
“I… I don’t know. It sounded like he was screaming,
maybe we’re just hearing things, we both had a stressful day yesterday.”
“No… I don’t think so. Anyway, he isn’t here,
and no one else is on duty, should we warn someone?”
“We’d better tell Va- oh. I was gonna say we could
tell Vakama but what if we did just hear it? We’d look pretty
stupid.”
“Let’s just get to stupid Ko-Koro, perhaps he
went there.”
Kaiwera looked at Moana, she was becoming irritable
with the heat of the Mangai.
“OK,” he agreed.
They climbed into the cable car and Kaiwera flipped
the switch on the wall inside of the hut with his sword. There
was a clunk, some whirring noises, and then slowly, inch by inch
they began to climb the rope to Ko-Wahi. |
