Chapter Text
The wind was in your hair and the salt water sprayed on your face, and you had never been happier. The ocean was with you today and your village's small fleet of ships was moving forward apace. It wouldn't be long before you would hit new land, you could just feel it. Feel it in your bones.
You'd been sailing for a couple of weeks now and still no luck had come. Being the chief wayfinder in the village meant that you had a a big responsibility on your shoulders. You couldn't afford to let your people down when they were counting on you to find them a home.
Looking across the waves you didn't see anything on the vast, glittering ocean. Not at first.
Perhaps things might have changed if you hadn't have seen the hawk.
Out of the corner of your eye it became apparent to you that your fleet had a travelling companion. A vast hawk was flying overhead. It was clearly quite bold as it had no qualms flying near people - indeed it seemed to be dropping closer every second, until it was almost level with your boat. You spent a moment watching it, mesmerised. And for a tiny moment you could have sworn that it looked at you right in the eye.
You heard your name called and turned to see your brother Aleki standing behind you, a huge grin plastered on his face. A quick check back revealed the hawk had gone. You felt a little disappointed for some reason.
"If you keep staring off like that you're going to fall into the water!" he laughed. You rolled your eyes and splashed him.
"Let me be. Have I ever gotten us lost before?" you asked. Being both the chief's younger sister and the wayfinder you had a lot to live up to, and it was nice to disappear into your own thoughts every now and then. You knew your brother meant no harm when he teased you, though, but you were aware how long this journey was taking. You loved him dearly but he could be so irritating sometimes. But then again, that was all brothers, you supposed.
"Don't push yourself, kid," he said to you, his voice calmer. It was hard to hide how you were feeling from him. But you smiled at his reassurance.
"I've got to. I want everyone to be safe."
And then, as if the gods themselves had heard you;
"Land! Land!" the excited chorus began to break out across the boats, carrying over the waves. You shot your brother a winning look and he poked his tongue out at you as you got to your feet.
"Stay on course, I'll bring us in!" you announced, grabbing the boat's sheet and moving your sail into the wind. A feeling of confidence crept over you and you found yourself smiling again, knowing you were the one who would finally bring your people to a new island where they could thrive. It felt good, being able to do that for your village.
You landed first, rising up gently onto the sand, before hopping off onto the soft land and guiding in all the other ships, embracing your friends and the other villagers in celebration for your safety.
"Alright, time for celebration later!" your brother announced, clapping his hands together. "For now we need shelter and food! Come on people, you know the drill!"
It was true, they did. Whilst you had the knack for getting your people to land the islands you came to were mostly small and you never stayed there for more than a couple of years. Every time you set sail you hoped that this time you would pick the place where your village could finally put down its roots properly. A place where you could finally call home. Maybe be able to marry and start your own family with the promise of stability.
You sighed and watched the boats being pulled in to shore to be safe if the tide rose. Well, food you could do. There were certainly coconut trees around here, but if you were lucky maybe there would be something a bit more fancy for the first day of disembarking. You wandered off, knowing you'd be fine on your own, and also craving a bit of time by yourself after so long at sea surrounded by people.
The undergrowth was thick and it could have tripped you as you went through it, but your feet were light and nimble as you stepped over twisted roots. You kept your eyes both trained on the branches of the trees and down in the shrubs for fruits. So far nothing edible you had to conclude, furrowing your brow. You paused and tried to listen out for water running, hoping maybe some fish might be around in some small estuary here. You stalked forward so gently you didn't even notice that your foot got tangled in a vine, and it sent you toppling straight over.
You expected to land on soft, wet dirt. Instead you landed on what could only be described as a slab of muscle. Two incredibly large hands held your arms in support and you heard a deep, rumbling laugh above you.
"Whoa, okay. Slow down there," said the stranger, helping you upright. A mix of embarrassment and foot cramp meant that you didn't have time to wonder about where the man came from as you were certain he hadn't been there a second ago. You pulled yourself out of his grasp and straightened up.
This man was... big. He was built like a barge, but every curve of him was clearly solid muscle, and he didn't have a problem showing that off. His skin was covered in tattoos, intricate and beautiful, and when you looked at his face - a little goofy, a little cocky, but gorgeous - your heart skipped a beat.
"I..." you weren't quite sure how to continue for a second, but quickly regained yourself.
"I'm sorry."
"Hey, no sweat. I get this reaction a lot. You know, open-mouthed awe. People falling over at the sight of me. It's cool. Drink it in."
He threw out his arms, flicking his hair as he went. You stared at him and knew you weren't hiding the look of utter confusion on your face. You had no idea who he was talking about. Nor did you have any idea as to why he was carrying a fishhook that was bigger than you were. You wondered if you had landed on the wrong island.
"Um, yes. I mean I'm sorry that I didn't know there were people here."
The man considered this before giving a laugh so booming you were worried he had burst your eardrums.
"HA! 'People'. You crack me up. It's okay, you can drop the act. I'm just like any other guy. Well, except for the whole demigod thing. Ya know, got that going for me."
"Wait, what?" you said. No matter how attractive this man was you weren't going to let him spout nonsense at you. "Demigod? What are you talking about?"
It was his turn to look confused. Affronted, even. One eyebrow shot up.
"Uh, okay. It's Maui? You know? Look at the tattoos here, lady. Not giving anything away?"
He gestured to one large pectoral. A tiny ink version of himself stood, smiling vastly - until all of a sudden it gave you a wink. You screeched and leapt backwards, your heel catching on a root once again. And, once again, a hand wrapped around your wrist tight and pulled you back up to your feet.
"And I just saved you."
"Okay, stopping me from falling over isn't saving me. Though..." you looked to the tattoo once again, who was standing heroically, his hair waving. He waved at you. "...though the tattoo is certainly strange."
"Uh, okay, don't offend him," said the man - Maui? - as the tattoo crossed its arms. "And I didn't mean the vine. I meant the fact that you had clearly been sailing for days and you were nowhere near land, and so I pulled up this island for you and led you to it."
"Pulled up... what are you...?"
"Don't worry, alpha wayfinder, it's our little secret," he said, tapping the side of his nose and winking. A hot flush rushed over you and you wished it was just from frustration.
"Okay, claiming to be a some sort of magic man is one thing, but insulting me to my face about my ability to keep my people safe?! I've had enough of this. Keep away from my village, and keep away from me." You turned on your heel - not tripping this time - and began to walk off.
That laugh again. "Alright, if you can stay away from me. And if you're looking for food there's banana trees about fifty feet east. You're welcome."
You turned around to fire back something, but he was... gone. You looked around but there was no sign of him anywhere. That was surely impossible, for a man that large to disappear so quickly? It wasn't as if the foliage was dense after all. You watched as a wandering lizard made its way up a tree and considered everything for a moment. If you were going to entertain the idea that this guy was even vaguely who he said he was, then maybe it was worth having a search. What did you have to lose?
So you looked to the sky and listened to the wind and found the east and you walked the fifty feet into a thicket of lush trees and, sure enough, towering above you were several huge ripe clusters of bananas.
"Hm," you muttered to yourself, tying your hair up into a bun and getting ready to scale the tree. Maybe he hadn't given you a bum deal here, but you still hoped you wouldn't have to encounter him again.
The gods had different plans.