Te Awa o te Atua

The Storm

The first island we stopped at was the third we had seen. It was significantly bigger than the other two and had luscious green bush sprouting everywhere. Ngatoro-i-rangi commanded us to pause and ventured into the green with two of the strongest men. I waited impatiently, startling sea creatures as I swung my long tail through the water. Eventually, I got bored of staring at the island and swam towards the bottom of the sea. There were so many types of fish and other creatures I had never known even existed. Multiple times I snapped up a fish I knew was safe to eat and scared varieties of fish away. When I resurfaced, Ngatoro-i-rangi and his men were back and were ready to go. I swam up behind the vessel and pushed the waka away from the island.

Every time we would stop, I would swim gracefully through the water, my scales as blue as the glistening sea, but Ngatoro-i-rangi insisted that we weren't there yet. The tribe began to complain endlessly, whereas I began to convince myself that this land didn't exist, but I wasn't about to leave my only friend. The only good part was the weather, as it was always calm. We travelled for many days, and passed many islands, before the first storm hit.

It was the middle of the night and the people of Hawaiki were sleeping on a beach we had found. I was lying far away -- I would prefer not to associate with the tribe – yet my sensitive ears could still hear the loud snoring coming from the beach. I was about to drift into unconsciousness when a clap of thunder snapped my eyes open. Speeding towards the beach, I called out to my friend. As Ngatoro-i-rangi sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily, I turned to see forks of deadly lighting streak down into water, at least one kilometre away.

"Get to cover!" People were screaming in fear.

Panic broke out. Everyone was yelling and scrambling over each other to get under the trees, while Ngatoro-i-rangi was trying to calm everyone down. I pulled myself out of the water and shielded my friend from the rain.

The people of Hawaiki had almost never had storms. They lived in a tropical paradise their entire lives and, now, they were on an island no one knew about, on their way to find an island that may not even exist, caught in the worst weather they've ever seen. I glanced at Te Arawa, the waka. Hoping the waka wouldn't disappear overnight, I trotted over to the trees that were buckling under the weight of the rain. The dark sea was churning angrily while bellowing thunder made me jump. Lightning was charging the water with electricity, making it impossible for me to swim tonight. Unrecognisable objects were flying through the air. Suddenly a fork of lightning struck the island and set a tree alight with flames. Screams tore through the air. Humans were running towards the centre of the island.

"Run!" Ngatoro-i-rangi called to me. I moved with the humans just in time for lightning to strike the sand where I stood only seconds before. Looking up to the sky, I cursed Tawhirimatea, who was clearly trying to stop us from going any further.

"What about the waka?" I asked Ngatoro-i-rangi. "Shouldn't we bring it with us?"

I cast a worried glance back to the beach where Te Arawa was rocking in the waves. I turned to look at Ngatoro-i-rangi; He looked torn. There were two reasons I could think of to explain why he would feel like that. One: He felt guilty for bringing his people here and if we stayed back at the island, none of this would have happened. Two: He wanted to make sure his people got to safety but also knew Te Arawa was the key to finding his mythical island.

"I'll get the-" Ngatoro-i-rangi cut off mid-sentence as a blood-curdling scream tore through the island.

"Go find out what that was," I spun towards the beach. "I'll get the waka."

Worried for Hawaiki's people, I reached the sand only to see the waka being brutally attacked by waves of death. The only way I could possibly reach it was by jumping on slippery rocks covered in moss. Entering Tangaroa's domain was out of the question. Praying silently, I leaped onto the first cluster of rocks. My claws dug into the moss and scraped painfully along the rock as I jumped to the closest cluster to the waka. Te Arawa was just out of reach. I could hardly see, the heavy rain combined with the salty spray from the sea almost blinded me. Someone must've been on my side because a freak gust of wind sent Te Arawa spinning towards me. My outstretched talon connected with the weathered wood and I began the perilous journey back to the beach.

"Horomatangi!" The youngest of the men on the boat was running towards the water. "Ngatoro-i-rangi is injured!" I hissed at what he said and stomped up the beach to the young man. "C'mon!" The human turned and hastily led me to Ngatoro-i-rangi. Even with a waka slowing me down, we reached him in minutes.

"How..." I trailed off, nearly throwing up at the sight. Ngatoro-i-rangi's leg was a bloody mess, by the looks of it he would have a limp for the rest of his life.

"A tree crushed it," a man said matter-of-factly as children came running towards us with large, soaking leaves in their arms, to wrap up Ngatoro-i-rangi's leg. As they approached Ngatoro-i-rangi I hissed and lashed my tail. There was no way I was letting children treat his wound.

"Horomatangi," Ngatoro-i-rangi's voice held a warning. I ducked my head and sat down, facing away from the chief. As I waited impatiently, I heard hisses and gasps of pain. Rain pattered on the leaves above us; it sounded lighter than before. It seemed that now the storm had served its purpose, it was leaving to torment someone else. I glanced at Te Arawa, the waka I had saved from the sea, and regretted my choice. If I had stuck with Ngatoro-i-rangi, he would never have hurt his leg. I could've protected him. I blamed myself.