The Stars and The Sea

Chapter 6

It took a bit more convincing, but eventually, Moana and Maui could help Keoni and finally get off the island for the last time. Maui transformed into his hawk form and flew overhead, high into the clouds.

Keoni leaned against the mast, watching the hazy silhouette of his home slowly disappear over the horizon. He felt a heavy pain in his chest and a lump forming in his throat. Gods, it was finally hitting him. The heaviness in his chest brought him to the canoe deck, and a few tears escaped, rolling down his cheeks.

"Keoni?" Moana approached him from behind cautiously. She couldn't hear his sobs but knew what had come over him.

"Hey..." She softly assured, rubbing her hand on his back soothingly, "Hey... it's okay. Let it out..." He sniffed, rubbing his face, his cheeks a bit splotchy.

"Gods... I don't know what came over me."

"You don't have to explain, I get it. And it's okay, I know that was a huge change you made." She took his hands in hers, hoping to help calm him down. He turned his head back to where he'd seen his island, but its silhouette was gone, completely out of sight. His whole life was gone.

The home he was born in, where he grew up with his sister, made friends, and learned the ways of his people, was gone. The home he was left on the shore of, all alone, forced to survive on what the Darkness had not stolen from him.

Gone.

The pair stood in silence as the canoe gently rocked on the waves, Keoni processing everything at once, understandably overwhelmed, but he also felt a wave of acceptance wash over him. Like a weight was lifted off his shoulders, his mind became clearer. He swiveled his head, taking in the air and sea around him.

He couldn't quite explain it, but he recognized something. The direction they were headed.

"Home... was that way, right?" He suddenly inquired, pointing toward where they had come from. Moana nodded. "I... I just remembered... the direction my village was headed... uh, that way. I think." He then pointed somewhere due east.

"I remember we had left before dawn broke, and I remember the sun rising somewhere in that direction." Moana was pleasantly surprised, it was like he was a new person suddenly. She had no idea where it came from, but hey! It was a start!

"Well, I trust your memory and instinct. Let's head east and see where that takes us!"

With a direction in mind, they sailed for a couple of days, Moana keeping a close watch on the sky, seeing if the stars might give her a sign or if Fetia might personally reach out. But nothing changed. That said, Moana kept Keoni busy by having him help out on the deck or making sure knots were secure.

She hoped he would express curiosity about her navigation skills, but she didn't expect him to want to learn, not right now, anyway.

By the sunrise of the third day, Moana was starting to become exhausted. She'd barely slept and needed a break, but Maui was... elsewhere, as usual. And Keoni was, for the time being, not much use. She kept rubbing her eyes and splashing her face with cold water to stay awake, but she needed to sleep longer than at half-hour intervals.

Just as the sun rose past the top of her mast, a loud screech startled her, jolting her mind awake. Craning her neck, she saw Maui's hawk form silhouetted by the sun behind him.

Keoni, who had dozed off, was also startled awake and had grabbed his club but left it when he saw it was Maui coming to land.

"Tired, eh, Curly?" Maui commented once he landed on deck. Moana just rolled her eyes.

"What is it, Maui?"

"There's a small island up ahead, so you can rest and take a break."

"Please, lead the way."

Maui took the lead on the canoe and directed the little group to the island he'd seen earlier. He knew Moana was the best voyager their world had ever seen, but he also knew she needed rest. If she was going to fulfill Fetia's quest, she needed a clear mind. So he didn't mind helping her, even if she didn't ask him to.

They soon approached the small island with worn gray volcanic rock in the center, indicating it had once been an active volcano eons ago. Its walls were dotted with caves and boulders that met the extensive, shallow reef. It was covered with thick foliage and had a nice little beach, bearing a few palm and ti trees.

The beach was a little warm from the sun, now peeking through an overcast sky.

When the canoe hit the shore, Moana disembarked and lay down on the sand, facing the sky. Keoni looked at her, mildly confused.

"Uh, you okay?" He barely heard a muffled grunt of annoyance, so he let her be.

"Just leave her be. She's exhausted," Maui said, closing the sail.

"Shouldn't... she have help or something?"

"She'll teach you eventually," Maui replied, which wasn't the answer Keoni was anticipating.

"Whoa, what... me?" Keoni? Learning to sail? He was a fisherman; that's all he'd ever been good at.

"Uh, yeah? I can't be around all the time to let her take breaks. She's helping you out, maybe you should do the same. And like I said, she'll teach you eventually."

For a while, Maui and Keoni let Moana nap on the beach. The weather was calm, even if the sky was overcast, but that was fine. Keoni remained seated on the canoe, letting his feet skim the surface of the lapping water. A cool breeze rustled his hair, and his gaze fell back on Moana, who now appeared to be... asleep? He wasn't sure, but he didn't want to bother her.

Then he heard something strange coming from the water. It was gurgling? But not in the way he'd heard before. Suddenly, the water formed a swirl pattern, and it morphed into a featureless, sentient wave, stopping at eye level with him.

In utter shock, Keoni stared wide-eyed at the wave, who "stared" back. It appeared to "arch" what would be an eyebrow. It then, for some reason, lightly splashed him with water, and Keoni urgently pointed to Moana, hoping to keep the waters attention off of him.

What in the name of Te Fiti-?!

Moana stirred at the sound of moving water. Sitting up, a huge grin spread across her face, and she held her hand out for the wave.

"Ocean!" She enthusiastically greeted. Standing, she let the wave swirl around her, grabbing her hair and pulling it up, swirling it around in the water vortex. Then the wave pulled back, allowing her soaked hair to fall and smack her shoulders.

"Uh... Moana?" Keoni hesitantly asked, slowly approaching her side.

"It's okay! Come over here, meet Ocean!"

"The... Ocean, is alive...?" He questioned in disbelief. He watched the sentient wave carefully as Moana gently took his hand, bringing him to her side. She could see his apprehension, and she understood. But she didn't want him to be afraid. Even if Ocean was finicky with communication, she knew Ocean would never intentionally harm her.

"Ocean, meet Keoni. Keoni, this is Ocean." His hand still in hers, she gently brought his hand up to the head of the wave. Ocean plopped into his palm, swirling around, and suddenly, a small pink clam rose inside, landing on his hand. The pair watched in amazement as the Ocean opened the clam, revealing a brilliant pearl. Pulling up, leaving the shell and pearl behind, Ocean watched them.

The pearl was magnificent, it wasn't perfectly round, more of a lopsided oval, but it shimmered in hues of pink and blue.

"Ocean, this is beautiful!" Keoni admired the gift in his hand, still rather speechless.

"Thanks." He said with a tiny smile. In response, Ocean playfully splashed him with water, wetting his hair.

With one eye squinted as he wiped his face, Moana chuckled, thoroughly amused at the interaction.

"That's just how Ocean communicates. It means well."

"I'm sure."