Author's Note: I sat down this morning and wrote this entire chapter from Moana's point of view.
Then, an hour or so ago, I read it over, wasn't satisfied, and then rewrote the whole thing from Maui's point of view instead. I think I like this version better.
This does make the perspective switch between the two characters just a little asymmetrical, but I'll sort it out with Chapter Nine.
Fair warning: My computer died last night (her name was Gertrude II, and she will be sorely missed) and so I am currently writing on an ancient HP that I borrowed from a friend for the rest of the week. The keyboard is terrible and sticky, and typing is incredibly hard. Thank you in advance for your patience with any egregious typographical errors.
Chapter Eight
After a nice, long, invigorating swim for their lives, Maui and Moana wound up lying on their faces on the beach of the island where he'd been trapped for years before returning the Heart of Te Fiti. Maui found that he was surprisingly happy to see the place again. Any kind of dry land, he reasoned, was a sight for sore eyes after weeks of imprisonment under the sea, and besides, this time he had his fish hook, and Moana apparently had her canoe. He was free at last, endlessly relieved, and desperate to get all the water out of his clogged ears.
Moana, on the other hand, was frantic.
"Oh no," she was muttering to herself. "No, no, no! What have I done? No, forget about that; what am I going to do now? I...I gotta go."
Before Maui had a chance to react, Moana was already rapidly pushing her canoe back towards the edge of the beach.
"Moana," began Maui, "hey, take a deep breath. Why are you freaking out?"
"I have to get back to Motunui," gasped Moana. "I...I disobeyed a goddess, and not just any goddess, either; the goddess of the dead. You know, the one who has the power to give and take life at will? That all-powerful, immortal goddess? Yeah, she is NOT gonna be happy with me, and what's worse, what's worse is that I just had to go and announce the name of my island! I was all like "My name is Moana of Motunui," because ...I don't know, I guess I got nervous, maybe? Anyway, now she knows who my people are and where they live, and I have to get back to the island before she does, so that I can at least warn them!"
Leaping into her canoe, she dipped her paddle into the water, took a quick, desperate glance out over the sea, and then turned back to Maui, looking annoyed.
"Hey," she asked, "are you coming? Because I have to leave, now."
"Look, it's fine," insisted Maui. "Nothing bad's going to happen...you've got nothing to worry about, kinda."
Moana just stared at him for a moment, her mouth slightly open. "Nothing to worry about? Have you even been paying attention? I just-!"
"I'm serious." Shaking his head, Maui made his way down the beach and rested a hand on her canoe, keeping her on shore. "Hine-nui-te-po isn't going after you, or after anybody else on Motunui. She can't. Why do you think she bothers sending her Turehu out to do all her errands on shore? Because she can't do them herself, that's why. She can't leave Rarohenga, not anymore. She hasn't left the realm of the dead in over two thousand years, so there's nothing she can do to you as long as you keep out of her reach, okay? Calm down. You haven't put your people in any danger."
Moana frowned.
"But," she asked, "why can't Hine-nui-te-po leave Rarohenga? I thought you said-!"
"She can't leave," Maui explained, "because, back in the old days, when I first, uh, decided to stop seeing her, she got really, really angry. She made a solemn vow to the gods and to the sea that she'd never again set foot in the mortal world, probably because I broke her heart and she was looking for something self-destructive to do to get back at me, or something like that. I can't promise to understand what was going on in her head, but ever since then she hasn't been able to leave her kingdom, so it's fine."
He tried flashing her a smile, but it felt out of place, and Moana just shook her head.
"It...It's not fine at all," she mumbled, although she did drop the oar, letting it fall back into the boat with a clatter. "Maui, I...I was supposed to make this right. I was supposed to convince the sea to stop being so angry and to stop killing my people, but I didn't. Instead, I..."
She trailed off, biting her lip, and Maui felt a pang in his stomach as he watched the frustration and embarrassment on Moana's face.
"Instead," he said slowly, "you decided to save me."
Moana shook her head again.
"I didn't 'decide' to do anything," she whispered. "I had to."
"No," countered Maui, "you didn't. You could have just left me there."
"Oh, sure." Moana turned on him angrily. "Yeah, I guess I should have just left you to handle everything on your own. I bet you're going to tell me that you had the whole situation under control, right? Because I'll be honest with you, Maui, that's NOT what it looked like from where I was standing!"
Maui opened his mouth to respond, to say something flippant, to assure her that yes, in fact, everything had been fine and that he hadn't needed any help at all from some little mortal with a savior complex who hadn't made any effort to see or contact him in years.
When he tried, however, he found that he couldn't form the words. Moana looked angrily hurt, confused and miserable, and he'd never seen that look on her face before. He found himself struggling with the idea that he'd created this new Moana, this more mature, more dejected Moana.
He hated it when people looked at him that way, like he'd let them down, and Moana was probably the last person in the world who he'd have wanted to disappoint like that. It made the sick little knots in his stomach tighten even more. This wasn't the triumphant reunion he'd guiltily envisioned maybe a million times, even while he was assuring himself backwards and forwards that it wouldn't matter one way or another if he never saw this silly little mortal girl ever again.
He was supposed to be her hero.
They stood in silence for a moment, neither of them looking directly at the other one. Maui was aware that there were probably a few things he needed to say, but they all seemed stupid when he ran them through in his head.
"Uh...I like the new tattoos," he managed, shrugging helplessly. "Very nice."
Oh, that was just great, he thought sarcastically. Yeah, good one, Maui. Really suave.
"You like them? Oh, good," muttered Moana. "I was afraid you'd be angry. I mean, about your hook. I sort of...borrowed it."
"Angry? Nah," Maui assured her. "I mean, if anybody's got a right to borrow it, it's you, so...no harm done. It, uh, it looks good on you."
"Thanks." Moana sighed.
Again, they lapsed into silence.
After a few minutes, Maui muttered, "Listen, there's something I need to know. Why'd you come for me? You could have just left me in Rarohenga, and I mean it. It would have been much easier for you, that way."
Moana looked up at him in surprise.
"The whole thing would have blown over eventually," he went on. "With me out of the way, Hine-nui-te-po would've given up on being angry eventually, and everything would have gone back to normal. The sea would have quieted down. You could have lived in peace."
"She would have killed you," insisted Moana. "And then-!"
"-and then she'd have been miserable," interjected Maui, "but she'd have gotten over it. Out of sight, out of mind, right? The sea might even have turned against her, if she went that far, and that would solve all your problems. You didn't have to come for me to save your village, and I'm sure you know it. So...why'd you do it?"
He waited, trying not to hold his breath, while Moana pursed her lips and appeared to consider that.
Eventually, she met his eyes again.
"You would have come for me," she said simply. "You did before."
Maui's heart sank.
"Right," he said. "So...this was payback, then. You're returning a favor. I get it."
"What?" Moana shook her head hastily. "No, that's not what I-!"
"It's fine. Forget it." Maui's took a quick breath and tried to choke down the rising tide of totally ridiculous emotional garbage that was welling up from somewhere within, somewhere he hadn't been in touch with in a long time. "Listen, I appreciate what you did. I really do. You should be proud of yourself. This is the second time you've saved the life of a demigod. No, it might even be the third. We'll make a legend out of you yet, Chief Moana of Motunui."
He tried to smile again, but it still felt wrong, and Moana just looked even more troubled than she had before.
"M-Maui," she began hesitantly.
Maui swung himself into the canoe.
"Come on," he said, looking out to sea rather than at the expression on her face. "Let's get you home...to your people, where you belong."
Moana lingered on the beach for a moment, as though there was something she wanted to say. Eventually, however, she forced a half-smile and pushed the boat away from the shore, clambering into it at the last minute. Together, she and Maui watched the island getting farther and farther away as the wind caught the sails and the boat picked up speed.
"Okay," said Moana, sounding less than enthusiastic about it. "Thanks...I think."
"Yeah," agreed Maui, sighing to himself. "You're welcome."
Author's End Note: Plenty of angst in this one, just like I promised.
Don't be too angry at poor Maui and Moana. Relationships can be hard. We'll see a lot more of their interactions, of Hine-nui-te-po and possibly some other gods and goddesses in upcoming chapters, but I absolutely cannot work on this computer any longer. It's driving me crazy. I hope I'll see you all soon, when I find a new machine to work on. Thanks for reading!