Heart of Fire

Chapter 7

Makana continued to run until she was sure she had lost the crab. She slumped against a tree panting hard and clutching her side.

“Here shinny shiny.” She could hear Tamatoa calling in the distance.

“So how did it go?” Aoloa asked appearing out of nowhere.

“Gosh Aoloa don’t do that!” Makana jumped.

“That bad huh?” he asked moving to examine the wound on her side. “That is going to draw every predatory monster here. Wait here.”

He disappeared and returned a minute later with a strange looking purple flower.

“This is a Lapa’au. Crush this and cover the wound with the paste.” He instructed taking a second look at the wound. “This is the only one I could find it may not cover the entire wound.”

“It’s Ok I have a solution.” Makana said shifting into human form.

“Oh, I didn’t realize dragons could shape shift.” Aoloa commented tilting his head as she rubbed the paste in the wound. Makana was surprised to see the wound heal almost instantly.

“Wow!” she smiled.

“I know my plants.” Aoloa boosted.

“Now what?” Makana uttered aloud.

“Well if you insist on going back I suggest you wait a while.” Aoloa recommended.

“Probably a good idea.” She agreed hearing Tamatoa call again.

“In the meantime, would you mind helping an old man get a bite to eat?” he requested.

“Sure.” Makana agreed. After all, Aoloa had been nothing but helpful to her and it was the least she could do.

“All you have to do it climb up there and cut the stem of the plant.” Aoloa said looking up at the massive carnivorous plants on the cliff side. “The ones that are bulged out the most taste the best.”

“Easy enough.” Makana said as she began to climb.

“Oh, and watch out they try to retaliate when under attack.” He warned.

“Good to know.” Makana said as she reached the desired plant.

The stem was extremely think. She couldn’t even get her jaws around it as she started to chew through it. The plant began to swing back and forth trying to shake her off. Finally, the plant dropped to the ground. Aoloa jumped around as he began to celebrate.

“This will feed us for weeks.” He said as she glided down.

“Us?” Makana asked.

“Yes, this is after all a carnivorous plant. I believe you will find a meal inside the bulb.” He said as he began to eat.

Makana pulled the leaves back and sure enough there was a dead monster. She happily dug in.

Aoloa wasn’t the only monster Makana made friends with. It didn’t take long before all the monsters knew who she was and began asking for her help. They all agreed on two things. The first being that it was a bad idea to try and eat her, even in human form, and the second being that she was absolutely crazy for going up against Tamatoa again and again. Makana lost count of the number of times she tried to steal Maui’s hook and Tamatoa was becoming wise to her attempts as time went on. Weeks turned into months but all was not bad. She had begun to grow in size and strength and had learned which monsters were semi sentient and which to avoid. The other monsters were very accepting of her. She learned how to survive from them and it was nice to be a part of a social group again but nothing could have prepared her for what happened next.