Things didn't go as well for Julie as she hoped. It turned out that she miscalculated/misjudged how far away the Teo Tribe's village was from the clearing they were in. She and Unaki jumped from tree to tree for what felt like several hours. It was already difficult to tell what time it was because of the thick foliage blocking the sun.
She stopped on one tree, getting down into a primal stance while Unaki struggled to reach the branch. The Paea girl gingerly balanced herself on the already-thick branch and walked up to Julie. "Do you know where you are?" she asked.
"Of course I do!" Julie replied excitedly. But although she tried to put on a brave face, she feared Unaki could see her nervousness a mile away.
"You do not know where we are," Unaki said, confirming Julie's fears. "And besides, I do not know who you are, and what you are doing on this island, palewoman."
"Well, I came here a year-and-a-half ago as part of what's known as a 'research expedition'," she said. "I'm from a land far away called California. I decided to live my life here because I fell in love with the jungle man Kaitan."
"You know Kaitan!?" Unaki said.
"He's my lover," she replied. "Do you trust me now?"
"A friend of Kaitan is a friend of the island," said Unaki. "I apologize for not trusting you."
"Well, I don't exactly blame you," said Julie. "So... um... how about you? What's your story?"
"I would rather be as far away from Oranta as possible," said Unaki. "She is... frightening."
"I don't blame you," said Julie. "Come on, let's see if we can find the village." She stood up, grabbed a vine and began to swing away.
Julie eventually knew where she was, as she could see the smoke rising from the tree line. It was only a matter of time until they reached the village of the Teo Tribe.
But things did not go as well as hoped. Out of the blue, a monkey jumped out of the foliage and swiped at Unaki. The Paea girl stumbled and almost collided with the tree.
"Unaki!" Julie shouted. A flash appeared and caught Unaki, and Julie sighed. "Thanks, honey!"
"You're welcome, Julie!" the brown-haired man, built like a gymnast and wearing nothing but a Tarzan loincloth replied. He gently set Unaki on the ground. The girl looked him over and blushed, making Julie shake her head. Kaitan, like Julie, was a paleman. However, he is the aforementioned Canadian (from Winnipeg, to be exact) who's become the local Tarzan clone. His brown eyes matched Julie's and just like her, was 23 years old. And thanks to his short brown hair, he looked kind of like Johnny Weismuller.
"Unaki, this is my mate Kaitan," said Julie. "Don't worry, you can trust him."
"So what's going on?" Kaitan asked whilst holding onto Unaki.
"She was being tortured by some bitch calling herself Oranta," said Julie. "We need to get to the Teo Tribe village. And we may have to warn them, too."
"You think they'll attack?" asked Kaitan.
"I have no doubt," said Julie.
"In that case, let's get moving," said Kaitan.
"Alright," said Julie. "Unaki, let's go!"
With Kaitan and Julie in the lead, the trio made their way towards the Teo Tribe's village. Now it was a lot easier, as Kaitan made it obvious he knew where he was going. It felt like several hours again—swinging, then taking time to rest in between—before Julie climbed up a tree to try and get some bearings. She smiled and sighed in relief when she saw some smoke rising from the canopy in the distance to the east. And it was the kind of smoke she'd recognize as coming from a bonfire, not a wildfire.
"Look! We're almost there!" Julie cried out.
"Thank the Spirits," Unaki sighed in relief as Julie climbed down.
"Come on, let's get moving!" Julie said.
They reached the safety of the Teo Tribe village and with plenty of time to spare. They landed in front of a fortified village in the clearing. Warriors patrolled the wall, made up of spiked trees to prevent intruders from climbing over. Of course, they haven't had any need for the walls in years, but it was good to be prepared. Especially with hungry predators out there.
Some of the warriors, wearing war paint and carrying spears, nodded at Kaitan and Julie, but seemed unfamiliar with Unaki. Even Unaki was nervous. Or perhaps it was her fear of other people that was the problem.
When they came in, many of the villagers stopped and looked at Kaitan and Julie. They knew who they were, so murmurings of their return began to spread. But Unaki, whom they'd never seen before, caused some confusion.
Naturally, Unaki was also nervous. But Julie wanted to make sure she was comfortable.
Many of the huts were made of grass, and there was one hut that was on a bit of a rise—the chief's hut. "They're Polynesian," Julie said to Unaki.
"Polynesian?" she asked.
"Yeah, Polynesian!" she said. She pointed at the tribe members' clothing and their appearance. "These outfits look Samoan and Hawaiian. And the grass huts are typical of Hawaiian tribal society. And these clubs look like they're from Fiji. They're like some hybrid Polynesian culture! Sorry, sorry, I was an anthro—oh, forget it, you wouldn't understand."
Kaitan watched while the girl fawned over the tribe. "Um, let's just go and meet the chief," he said, taking her by the elbow. "Unaki, we'll introduce you."
"Ok," said Julie. "Unaki, come on."
Julie had to take Unaki by the hand while Kaitan went ahead and asked for Chief Manti. Just minutes later, the Chief emerged from his hut and greeted Unaki. "Greetings, Unaki," he said, "I am Manti, Chief of the Teo Tribe. I understand you are in distress. Tell us, what is your need?" He wore the regalia of his tribe's royalty, which to our modern eyes, resembled the regalia of Hawaiian chiefs.
The man was middle-aged, having seen many summers leading his people. He wore a yellow and orange ʻahu ʻula—a cloak made of feathers—and was adorned with his mahiole, a helmet. He carried a staff with shark teeth roped around it and his build, while not massive, was muscular. And he carried himself in such a way that Unaki knew he was a chief, even if he did not wear his regalia.
"Sorry, chief, but it's an emergency," said Julie. "While I was out earlier, I found this girl. Her name is Unaki and she says she's a Paea tribe girl."
"The Paea are gone," said Manti.
"No wonder you didn't tell us anything about them," said Julie.
"And because you never asked," he replied. "The Paea were a cousin tribe of ours. We traded not just food, but the occasional members with them. That is why the designs on her clothing seem so familiar."
"I never thought of that," said Kaitan.
"Oh, well," said Manti. "Who was chasing you?"
"She said her name's Oranta," said Julie.
"Oranta!" Chief Manti groaned. "I have heard of her. She is a fiend."
"Friend of yours?" Julie asked.
"I said 'fiend', not friend," said Manti. "What can you tell us, Unaki?"
Unaki did not say anything. "She killed my tribe," she said. "That is all I can say."
"And we think she might attack," said Julie.
"What makes you say that?" asked Chief Manti.
"She tried to capture me, too," said Julie. "... Aaand, she didn't look happy when she was chasing us."
Manti had little reason to doubt Julie. He turned to Kaitan and nodded. "Get the warriors ready!" he said. "If I know my rumors, those monkeys can transform into savage beasts! WARRIORS! Prepare yourselves for battle!"
As Kaitan and Manti walked away, Julie laid a comforting hand on Unaki's shoulder. "Hey. It'll be okay," she said.
Unaki was not sure. But she had no reason not to trust Julie.
Under Manti's orders, the warriors prepared. Unaki walked around the village, seeing the preparation for battle.
They sharpened their spearheads and arrowheads. They donned ceremonial paint to channel the Spirits. She thought she'd never see this again in her life. But she looked around, hoping to find Julie. Her face, while trying to show calm, was still wracked with nervousness and fear. There was certainly tension in the air, but the warriors she saw were confident. But she needed to find Julie.
Julie was preparing in one of the huts. When Unaki found her, she'd removed her top, so her bare back was visible until she donned a new animal-skin top. She'd also just donned some warpaint and was getting ready. But Unaki was her main concern. "Unaki?" she called out. "What are you doing here?"
Unaki shrieked quietly and tried to leave. But Julie called out to her and the young Paea woman gingerly walked into Julie's hut. "Unaki, are you okay?" she asked. "Tell me, what's wrong?"
The Paea girl remained silent. Julie walked up the Unaki and placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. She gently sat her down and on the mat. Julie crossed her bare legs under her and gave Unaki a reassuring smile.
"I am nervous about Oranta," she said.
"You can tell me," said Julie. "You seem to know her better than anyone here. What has she done to you?"
"She hurts me," said Unaki. "Whenever I do not obey her orders, she will strike me. And sometimes she will stuff me with fruit or smear it all over me so the monkeys can bite me. I have had horrible night-visions of their attacks."
Julie groaned at Unaki's story. Not the story itself, but at the horrible things Oranta has done. How could someone be so sick? Well, she's heard of horrible people before, she shouldn't be surprised. "What did she want with you, anyway?"
"She was once the shaman of our tribe," she said. "She has considerable power. And one of her talents is to transform people or things into something else. She wants me to be her slave; like one of her monkey servants, but different. And there is one other thing about her."
Julie leaned closer, hoping to get Unaki to tell her. "She's what?" she asked softly.
Should she tell her? Should she reveal her ancestry? The trusting expression Julie sported was enough to tell her it was alright. "She is my sister-mother."
Julie groaned. "Your aunt!? Some aunt she is! To hell with that bitch! If you're tired of putting up with her crap, tell her to fuck off!"
"But I cannot!" Unaki replied. "She is all I have!"
"Actually, what the hell is her obsession with transformation? It sounds painful as all hell!"
"She is mad," said Unaki. "Several years ago, she took part in one of our rituals. She consumed Spirit Water, but it was tainted by a fungus. She changed completely, acting like a monkey and frightening everyone else. She began turning some of our warriors into her own personal monkey guards and they slaughtered everyone who could not fight."
"Holy shit," Julie breathed. She quickly looked up and saw Kaitan and Manti listening in. But she remade eye contact with Unaki in order to keep the girl talking.
"My brother-father and I were able to escape along with others," Unaki continued. There may have been less than 10 of us. We wanted to find the Teo, but we were being tracked by monkeys under her command. When we had let our guard down, her monkeys attacked and killed most of the people. I was able to escape.
"I learned how to survive in the jungle," she continued on again. "But I never wanted to see her again. Unfortunately, she caught me and brought me to the hand-made mountain where she tried to turn me into one of her monkeys. I managed to escape again. She did not always bother me, but I still feared her. That time you saved me was the fourth time I was captured.
"I'm so, so, sorry," Julie said, giving the girl a tight hug. "Don't worry, we'll keep you safe from her." She let her go and smiled again. "The tribe will take care of you. You'll be like family to them. And you know what family means? No one gets left behind. Just you wait, we're going to kick her monkey ass back to where she came from!"
"Julie, are you ready yet?" Kaitan asked. Unaki spun her head around in surprise, which Julie wasn't happy about.
"No," Julie replied. "Get out of here, she needs to be alone!"
"Oh, right! Sorry!" Kaitan said. Manti nodded his head and walked away.
"I suppose it's good they were listening," said Julie. "At least now they'll know why she's after you."
"Are you absolutely positive they will stop her?" Unaki asked.
"I wouldn't be saying it if I didn't believe it," said Julie.
Outside the village, a monkey climbed up into a tree and disappeared.