Julie and the Monkey Witch

Chapter 7

"I don't like it," Julie said as she glared at P'li sitting in the wooden cage Manti's warriors had placed him in.

"Until he talks, we don't have much of a choice," said Manti.

"Still don't like it," Julie replied. "He was too eager to give in, that's always a red flag."

"A what?"

"Sorry, California term," she said. "It's a bad sign."

"Ah," said Manti. "Unfortunately, this is all we could do."

"Ugh, I'd love to find out who's behind all this, but NOOOOOO!" Julie said. "Mr. Monkey-Monster had to go all Joe McCarthy/Salem Witch Trials on us!"

"Julie, do not understand your references," said Manti.

"Well, some people do," she pouted.

Manti rolled his eyes and walked away. Julie made an "I'm watching you" gesture to P'li, another gesture utterly unfamiliar to the Teo, before walking off.

She left the village for the shore. Like many Polynesian peoples, the Teo are fishermen, and their village is not too far from the coast. It's a bit of a walk, but not a tiring one, of course, as it should be noted that Julie and Kainak's treehouse is to the southeast, the Paea village to the southwest and the research camp to the west. Perhaps in the author's attempts to place it in the middle of brush, there was a mistake made about the location. In any case, the fastest route to the shore is due south.

There was a satellite village on the shore, where tribesmen worked on their boats. Like the Hawaiians and Maori, the Teo developed an outrigger canoe that not only helped them get to the island many generations ago, but they use for practical purposes like fishing and recreational purposes like many westerners would use an outrigger for.

There were also a few tribesmen surfing out in the ocean. Being a Polynesian culture, surfing was an essential part of their lives. Julie couldn't surf, of course. She tried that a couple times on a family trip to Los Angeles, but miserably failed each time and finally gave up on the third trip to LA. Julie didn't want to embarrass herself, although the dumb surf boys of SoCal probably didn't notice. Which is bad, considering she's from Santa Barbara.

But it was a relief to get out of the stifling heat, humidity, and thickness of the Pomaika'i rainforest to the openness of the beach, where the smell of saltwater refreshed her after taking in the stench of so many plants. The sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and endless blue skies, dotted with clouds—and a typhoon in the distance—was a much-needed sight for sore eyes and sound for also-sore ears. Yes, she loved the jungle, but she needed a break from it now and then.

And it looked like Kainak did, too.

He was out on the waves, surfing with some of the shore villagers. He was found as a teenager by some of these shore villagers, who took him to Manti. He helped the young Canadian recover. And recognizing that he was probably stranded, Kyle learned the ways and language of the Teo, before setting out into the jungle as many young Teo tribesman did.

It's through the digital watch and books that he kept, that he was able to retain a sense of who he was, but the transformation from Kyle, a kid from Winnipeg to Kainak, Tarzan's real-life successor, was complete. When he returned, that transformation was obvious. And while he was still an honorary Teo, the tribe knew that he'd become one with the jungle.

It sounded like the dumb summary of a Tarzan rip-off.

Kainak soon came back to the shore, his—oops, already had one gratuitous fanservice description, don't need another one. Long story short, Julie ogled her mate until he walked up to her and cleared his throat. "My eyes are up here," he said, trying to get her gaze away from his chest.