Mystic Heart Odyssey

Part 5: The Cult of the Crimson Isles

Chapter 4

…

Yeah so this grew beyond the initial semi-short scene I intended it to be in case that wasn’t painfully obvious. xD

-Llox

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After Lykou and Kuna finished cleaning up at the falls, they slowly made their way back towards where they’d left the boat. Kuna was nervous about meeting the other raptuva, but Lykou was predictably excited. The konuul was also only wearing his old shorts, much to the sereva’s secret delight. When they got back to the beach, they saw Makani and Hokulani grabbing two more baskets of fish. There were two left in the boat, and Lykou hurried over to grab one of them. “Here, let me give you a hand!”

“Thanks, Lykou! It’s always a pain going back and forth so many times,” Makani said, then shot Hoku a look. “Especially when someone insists on landing at the further-away beach.”

“Hey, we had good reason you know,” Hoku retorted, then turned back to the boys. “Speaking of which though, I… think the tribe is as prepared as they’ll ever be.”

“Yeah, I told them about non-raptuvan strangers from far away visiting and a bunch of them thought I was just kidding around, but then Hoku vouched for me and at least a few of them got slightly less skeptical,” Makani said, then pouted slightly. “For some reason.”

Hoku snorted slightly and smirked. “Can’t imagine why. Totally not like you ever make up tall tales.”

“Hey! The basket-eating, fortune-telling ghost-crab is REAL darnit!”

“Suuuure,” Hoku said, rolling her eyes slightly. “Anyway, they’re still kind of skeptical, but it was hard to convince a few young ones from following us back, so just be prepared for at least a few excitable greetings. Luckily, dinner should keep them from going overboard.”

Lykou smirked. “Hey, not like we haven’t had experience being the center of attention.” He shot a quick sympatheitc glance at Kuna, then added, “Although I suppose I’m more okay with it than Ku is. Luckily, I enjoy telling stories.”

Kuna eyed the last basket, noting that everyone else’s hands were full. He wanted to help, but he wasn’t the best at carrying big loads. Let alone ones involving dead animals, even if they were just fish.

Hoku caught his gaze and chuckled. “Don’t worry about it, Kuna. Tell you what, just do me a favor and close the deck hatch so nothing can get at that last basket, and I’ll come grab it after dinner.”

The sereva walked over and did as she said, then shot her a sheepish look. “S-sorry, I’d carry it, but-”

“Hey, like I said, don’t worry about it! It’s not uncommon for us to get the last basket or two after dinner anyway. The soups should be just about ready by now anyway, so c’mon!”

Lykou smiled at the sereva. “You heard her, let’s go eat!”

Kuna smiled faintly and hurried after them. He still wished he could do more to help, but food sounded good, and he was curious about that seaweed soup they’d mentioned.

*****

When they got close to the village proper, there were already a few raptuva that’d hurried to meet them- mostly kids. They were fascinated by the odd-looking strangers and immediately began pelting them with questions. Unfortunately, since he wasn’t in the process of carrying anything, many of them were specifically directed at Kuna. Lykou intercepted, however. “Hey, tell you what, go make sure we’ve got a clear place to sit down and I’ll tell you guys all about our fun adventures around the world! The one that gets us the best spot can sit next to us when storytime starts after dinner.”

That immediately sent them running and squabbling over who’d get the offered honor. Hoku smirked. “Clever. You seem good with kids.”

Lykou snickered. “I’m sometimes told I have a ‘youthful soul’.”

“That’s just a fancy way of saying you’re an immature goofball yourself sometimes,” Kuna teased.

Lykou stuck his tongue out at the sereva.

“Mhmm, proving the point,” Kuna said, then giggled. “Not that I’d ever want that to change.”

Makani shot Hoku a look, and the latter just shook her head with an amused expression. It was clear the former wanted to say something, but she bit her tongue. Soon enough, the group started encountering other raptuva, who had previously been more skeptical, but were now staring at the sereva and konuul with varying shades of fascination and shock. Kuna shrank back from their stares a bit, but Lykou took the basket under one arm and used the other to pull him into a comforting side-embrace.

Soon they arrived at a particularly large hut- one of the few that had a proper door rather than some sort of curtain-like thing in its entrance. Hoku cleared her throat and the raputva that was standing guard next to it snapped out of staring at the newcomers, then smiled apologetically and opened the door for her, letting the group deposit the fish baskets inside.

“I’ll grab our empties after dinner,” she assured him on the way back out.

“S-sure. So, these are the guys you mentioned, huh? Damn, Hoku, never figured you of all people would bring someone like that here.”

“Me either, but hey, they seem pretty nice.”

No sooner had they arrived than a couple of the younger raptuva rushed over to begin dragging Kuna and Lykou by the hand over to the long, narrow fire set up along the beach, with various pots made of clay sitting on the coals in some areas, boiling and cooking various bubbling soups. A number of large skewers were set up as well, roasting a variety of fish and even the occasional land creature that somewhat resembled small boars. And scattered around, there were bowls of various kinds of fruit cut up into pieces. Lykou eyed the former while Kuna took note of the latter, both of them salivating as they quickly realized just how hungry they were.

The young raptuva began jerking them back and forth, bickering over who had the better spot for them. Lykou realized his mistake as he was aggressively tugged in different directions by each arm. Kuna preemptively protected himself from the same fate by wrapping his arms around himself.

“Hey, shoo! Give them space, they’ll decide the winner,” Makani said, pulling the kids away from Lykou, who shot her an appreciative grin in response.

“Heh, thanks. I was starting to feel like a wishbone.”

“Huh?” This time, Kuna joined the raptuva in looking confused.

“...nevermind.”

An older looking raptuva walked over, eyeing the boys with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. Hoku hurriedly came over by their side for introductions. “Chief Kawelo, this is Lykou and Kuna, the visitors we mentioned earlier,” she said with a nervous smile. “Boys, this is Chief Kawelo, our wise an-”

“You know better than to try and manipulate me with flowery titles, young lady,” the chief chided. “Really, I’d expect that from Makani, but not you.”

Hoku shrunk back with a sheepish expression. “S-sorry.”

He chuckled lightly, then turned back to the newcomers with a neutral expression, sizing them up carefully. “Lykou and Kuna, hmm? Welcome to our village. It has been a very, very long time since our people have seen someone from the outside world… and even then, those stories are so old that many doubt their truth.” He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and gave them a somewhat dubious look. “So pardon me if, even in my old age, I’m not sure how to take this sudden visitation. Especially given that you had no boat of your own to make it here.”

Kuna folded his ears down and shrank back a bit. “Uh...s-sorry, we can leave if y-”

“No. You will stay for dinner, at the least,” the chief declared, finally offering a faint smile. “I may be wary, but I will not dishonor my forebears’ traditions for the sake of young paranoia. As long as you give us no reason to question your motives, you will be given hospitality.”

“Thanks, we really appreciate it!” Lykou said with relief. “If there’s anything we can do to help out while we’re here, let us know. Hoku and Makani have been a delight and it’s an honor to meet the rest of your tribe.”

“Watch the flattery, young man. Like I told Hokulani here, I won’t let myself be so easily manipulated.”

“I wasn’t-”

“Now then, please, make yourself comfortable and help yourselves to some food. I look forward to learning more about you over a full stomach,” the chief said, turning to make his way over to a seat near the middle of the fire, where he was promptly handed a decent sized bowl full of one of the soups.

“Don’t mind him,” Hoku whispered to the boys, guiding them over to a spot near one end of the fire. “He’s got a really warm heart, but he’s carried the weight of the village’s well-being for decades, so he’s pretty protective.”

“Hey, that makes sense. It just shows he really cares about everyone. That’s exactly what you want in a chieftan,” Lykou said, taking a seat and gratefully accepting a bowl of soup that was almost immediately offered to him by one of the other raptuva nearby. “Thanks!”

Another individual offered Kuna a bowl of his own, but Hoku quickly intervened. “Just let him have some of the bare seaweed broth and some fruit. He, uh, apparently can’t eat certain things.”

Kuna flashed her an appreciative smile as she sat down next to him, on the other side from Lykou. “Thanks, heh…”

“No problem,” she said, taking the bowl he’d initially been offered for herself. “I have to admit it’s kind of fascinating meeting someone that doesn’t eat any kind of meat though. Is it a spiritual thing, or what?”

The sereva shook his head and thanked another raptuva as they handed him a bowl full of broth with a few green things floating in it. “N-no, uh… my people just don’t… uh, do that.”

“Well how do you know you won’t like it if you don’t try it?” Makani chimed in with an encouraging grin from a few spots down. “You never know, you might love it!”

Kuna shuddered. “I’m good, thanks…”

Lykou gently rubbed his back. “He was pretty disturbed by the idea of eating meat when he first met me, so believe me, the fact that he’s sitting here with us is a big deal as it is,” he pointed out.

The sereva shot him an uneasy, semi-forced grin, then quickly distracted himself by sipping some of the broth. “Mmm… hey, this is pretty good!”

“Hehe, told you it was,” Hoku said, then stuck her tongue out at Makani, who was making a face.

“I guess I just don’t get it,” Makani said. “Critters eat each other all the time, it’s just part of the natural way of the world.”

“Kani, quit making him uncomfortable,” Hoku chided, then turned back to Kuna with an apologetic look. “Sorry I brought it up.”

Kuna shrugged and just focused on his own bowl. “I-it’s fine, I should… probably get used to it if I’m going to be living with Lykou around a bunch of other preds,” he murmured softly. “Er, I mean- sorry, didn’t mean to, uh-”

Hoku chuckled and rubbed his shoulder lightly. “It’s fine, no offense taken.”

Kuna quickly took another big sip, then curiously tried a mouthful of the green stuff floating around in the broth. He chewed it up for a moment, before cringing and swallowing with significant reluctance. “Uhhh, okay, the broth is good, but umm-”

Everyone nearby snickered. “Yeah, the seaweed itself is kinda slimy. Even I’m not super wild about it, which is why it’s mostly just used for flavoring the soup and discarded afterwards,” Hoku said, then waved at one of the other raptuva. “Hey, can we get some fruit down here?”

A few moments later, a bowl full of various cut up fruit bits was passed down, which the sereva immediately tore into after thanking them. “Oh wow… this is really good,” he said between mouthfuls. He plucked up one piece and examined it. “What’s this called? And what’s it look like growing? I need to find some and learn to-” he started to say, then quickly shot a nervous look around the gathered villagers. “-err, I want to be able to harvest some myself while I’m here.”

“Oh! That’s the best fruit ever, pineapple!” Makani pointed out. “Good taste, man! Shame you don’t eat meat though, it goes great on-”

“He doesn’t need to know that, Kani,” Hoku pointed out with an eyeroll.

“Awe, he’s missing out though!”

“I think I’ll be fine,” Kuna said pointedly, then continued trying out the other fruits. There was quite a diverse selection, and while he definitely liked some more than the rest, he loved it all. “Damn, you’ve gotta try this stuff, Lykou.”

“Mm. Sure. As soon as I’m done with this soup,” the canid said, hungrily munching on a fish he’d plucked out of the bowl. He then froze and stared at the bowl with a wary expression that slowly grew nauseated. “Uhhh… I think a big weird bug ended up in here.”

Hoku leaned over to look, then snorted in amusement. “That’s just a shrimp, Lykou. It’s supposed to be there. Guess you’ve never had it?”

Lykou gave her a look. “...we don’t eat bugs where I come from.”

“It’s not really a-… well, I guess maybe in a way- look, it comes from the ocean, okay? Just try it. Trust me, they’re good.”

“Oh, oh, before you do, try adding some of Mata’s red paste to the soup and mixing it in! It goes really well with shrimp!”

Lykou looked at the thing in his bowl with trepidation, but ultimately accepted the offered small bowl full of red paste offered by another one of the raptuvan individuals who was suddenly sporting a big grin.

“Only use a little bit, friend. It’s hot stuff.”

The canid arched a brow and gave him a wary look, then hesitantly scooped a little off and mixed it into the soup, giving the broth a dark reddish tint. He glanced next to him, at the sereva that was watching him with a very amused, yet uncertain expression.

“...you know I’m never going to let you live down eating a water-bug.”

“Hey, it’d be rude to waste it, especially after, uh-”

“Mata.”

“Mata here offered me some of this special stuff to go with it.” The canid proceeded to pluck the shrimp out of the bowl and glance over at Kuna one more time before popping the thing into his mouth. Initially, he made a face, but after munching it a few times, his expression shifted a bit. “...okay that was weird but the meat did taste pretty good. Especially with that paste stuff.” He smiled at Mata. “Thanks for that. Got a nice zing to it, what do you make it from?”

“Secret recipe, man,” Mata said and winked at him, clapping him lightly on the back. He then turned to Kuna. “And hey, feel free to try it in your broth too, if you want. No meat involved, promise.”

The sereva eyed the small dish with a mixture of hesitance and curiosity. The latter eventually won out and he scooped some into the soup. Before anyone could warn him, he licked a bit off the tip of his finger experimentally. “Hey, that’s p… pretty… good s…. ah…. AHHH!” He suddenly began to panic and quickly started guzzling the soup, much to the snickering amusement of several others.

Lykou winced in sympathy. “Oof, Ku… not your brightest idea.”

“Youdon’tsay,” Kuna retorted, then panted and looked around frantically. He spotted Lykou’s waterskin hanging by its strap around the konuul’s neck, and quickly tugged it over before guzzling some water down, inadvertently tugging his friend in close in the process. Ordinarily, he’d blush at the closeness, but at the moment he was too distracted and flushed for entirely different reasons.

Lykou blushed a bit in his place and snickered a little. “You could’ve just asked, you know.”

Kuna finally pulled away after half draining the thing. “Well excuse me, that shit was trying to eat me back!”

That cracked everyone up. Even Hokulani struggled to stifle a giggling fit. “N… not used to spicy things, I take it?” she eventually asked.

The sereva pouted and blushed, avoiding meeting anyone’s gaze. “Not especially. I’m aware of it but haven’t touched anything that bit back ever since I accidentally hate a hotberry as a kid.”

“Hotberry huh? Not sure what that is, but I wouldn’t mind experimenting with it,” Mata commented with a grin. He then looked down at the dish of his special paste, scooped some up, slathered it on a roasted fish, and bit right into it with a satisfied look. He took a deep breath and sighed contently. “The burn means it’s good for you, you know. Tuimana’s blessing and all.”

“I’m not so sure about that, Mata,” Hoku said with a smirk. “But hey, whatever makes you happy.”

“Hey pass me some, I wanna sweat too!” Makani called out to them.

Mata chuckled and happily passed the dish down.

A little bit later, after everyone had filled up on dinner and Kuna’s mouth had recovered, the sun was mostly down below the horizon and everyone was relaxing around the dim glow of the line of coals stretched across the beach, with a few bits of wood still burning proper here and there. Soon, some hollowed out coconut shells started getting passed around, filled with some kind of beverage that had a certain familiar edge to it. Lykou took a big sip, then grinned at Kuna, nudging him playfully. “Hey, some of this should help you relax.”

Kuna rolled his eyes a bit. “I’ll pass. I’d rather not embarrass myself further by getting sloppy and goofy tonight.”

“Awwww, I wanna see thaaaaat!” Makani whined.

“Oh you have no idea. He gets so adorably silly,” Lykou said. “But hey, I’m not going to pressure him if he doesn’t want to.”

“Awww… well hey, you guys should tell everyone your story, then! Including the bits you didn’t finish telling me about on the boat!”

Kuna glanced up at Lykou, then rubbed his arm anxiously. “Uhh yeah, why don’t you take this,” he said, then stole a quick sip of the canid’s drink before whispering to him. “And probably gloss over the bits about my magic, remember?”

The konuul’s grin briefly faded and he nodded. “Right.” It then came back after he took a big sip of his own. “Right, story time! Again, hehe.”

“Oh, before you start though, that reminds me!” Makani said, getting up and rushing over behind the two boys. Suddenly, she startled Kuna by wrapping her arms around him and tugging him up into a big bear-hug, making him squeak and blush in the process. “Told you I owed you one!” she said with a smirk after releasing him.

“Uh, thanks, hehe…”

“What was that about?” one of the other raptuva asked curiously.

“Oh you would not believe what this poor guy had to overcome! His parents were killed by a DEMON right in front of him when he was a kid, and it bit him, too!” the excitable raptuva announced before anyone could stop her, causing a series of gasps and murmurs. The rest of the group shot the sereva mixed looks of shock and sympathy.

“You poor thing!”

“Imagine surviving something like that as a child! Truly he must be blessed by Tuimana, or at least someone like him.”

“A demon! I guess they must be a problem everywhere...”

“Thank goodness we have the Speaker and his people to protect us.”

“Yeah, and to make matters worse, his stupid tribe just up and ditched him later on!” Makani continued, crossing her arms with a stern expression, oblivious to how uncomfortable it was making Kuna, and even Lykou by proxy.

“Who would do such a thing?!”

“They must’ve been under demonic influence themselves!”

The crowd continued to mutter a bit until the chief stood up and silenced them. Hoku and Lykou gave him an appreciative look, and Makani shrunk back down to her spot with a sheepish expression. “Enough! In case it wasn’t obvious, the young man is very understandably upset by all this attention on such a sensitive subject.” He turned to Kuna with a sympathetic expression, nodding to him. “My apologies, Kuna. We’re an excitable bunch here, especially when it comes to the subject of demons. It seems they’re a pestilence everywhere. You are a brave soul for surviving such a harrowing threat.”

Kuna offered a weak, brief smile. “Th-thanks…”

“Now then, that’s enough said about that particular subject. I declare it taboo for the remainder of the evening while we’re all gathered here, understood?” he said, eyeing the rest of the tribe. “I said, UNDERSTOOD?” The crowd all murmured their agreement. “Good. Now, as for the rest of your story, feel free to continue, Lykou,” he said, sitting back down. “I admit you do have me quite curious as well.”

“Actually, if it’s alright, I think I’ll take this opportunity to go grab our last basket of fish,” Hoku announced standing up and brushing herself off. She gave Kuna and the chief each a meaningful look. “And I wouldn’t mind some company since the sun set. Mind coming with me, Kuna?”

The chief looked at her with a subtle smile and nod of approval.

Lykou grinned and nudged the sereva lightly. “Go on, take a breather.”

While Kuna was hesitant to leave his friend’s side, he was more then happy to take the opportunity to duck the crowd, and stood up after giving the canid a quick hug. “Th-that sounds good.”

As they walked off, Lykou launched into the story, though for once he decided to tell everyone a bit about Lakefire first, noting some notable similarities to their village despite the wildly different environment.

*****

Kuna rubbed his arm and sighed with relief as he and Hoku gradually made their way away from the village proper. “Thanks, Hoku.”

“No problem. Forgive Makani, she means well, she just…”

“Has a bit of a delay between her head and her mouth?” the sereva playfully suggested.

“To put it mildly,” she said, snickering a bit. “And that’s assuming the mouth even decides to involve the head at all.”

Kuna giggled a bit. He then looked out across the now-dark ocean lapping at the beach. “Wow. Sure looks different at night.”

“I know. Beautiful, isn’t it?”

The sereva arched a brow. “...kinda. I was gonna say scary, to be honest. But I guess kind of pretty, too. Especially the way the moon reflects off the waves.”

She smiled and glanced out at the water for a moment herself. “Honestly, the scariness is just part of what makes it beautiful. It’s so huge and deep, full of mystery, you know?”

Kuna eyed the water some more, then shivered. “Sure. Don’t mind me if I’d rather stay back here on land, though.”

The raptuva chuckled a bit. “Fair enough. I guess I’ve just always loved the sea.” She paused and seemed to be pondering something for a moment, biting her lip in hesitation.

“Uh. You alright?” Kuna eventually asked.

“...you said you’ve seen spirits before, right?”

“Mhmm. Plenty.”

“What are they like?”

“Depends. They tend to vary a lot, just like people and animals. Some talk, others don’t… or at least not the way we do. Galdra in general just kind of hang around and don’t bother anyone. Elnu just like mimicking birds for some reason. Rima just slither around and creep me out, but don’t talk… or at least the little ones don’t,” he said, then smirked and arched a brow in thought. “Not so sure about bigger, more powerful ones, since we only met one, and let’s just say he was… very unique for a spirit.”

“I… have no idea what any of those are,” Hoku said, staring at him in somewhat wide-eyed fascination.

“Hmm… guess we just have different names for them,” Kuna said with a shrug, then looked around a bit. “Or else you just have totally different kinds of spirits around here, I suppose.”

“Could be. Or they just got intimidated into staying out of sight,” the raptuva commented, with a hint of bitterness.

“What, by Tuimana?”

“Mhmm.”

“You’re really not that fond of him, are you?”

Hoku side-eyed the sereva thoughtfully for a moment, then shrugged. “I recognize his importance. But I don’t have to like him taking all the attention.”

“That’s fair. Still seems weird having one spirit hold so much more importance than any others. Especially to the point that it’s the only one anyone talks about.”

“Tell me about it.” They walked in silence for a moment, then she hesitantly spoke up again, “...I still pray to others though.”

“Hmm? You do?”

“Sure. I don’t know if they actually hear me, but I’m hoping it’ll remind them they aren’t forgotten and maybe they’ll show up again.”

“I don’t think asking them for favors is a good way to bring them back,” the sereva pointed out with a smirk.

“That’s not the only kind of praying there is, you know.”

“Oh?”

“I mean, most of the time I just tell them about my day and hope they hear me. Maybe thank them for certain things being so nice. Kind of like talking to a friend, really.” She sighed and shrugged. “I know, maybe it’s silly and none of them are really hearing me, but it’s nice to think they at least occasionally do.”

“...honestly, it doesn’t sound all that silly at all, now that you put it that way,” Kuna said, rubbing his neck thoughtfully. “Heck, if I’d been more familiar with the concept myself back in my, er… darker, lonelier days, I might have given it a try, too, and felt at least a tiny bit less lonely.” He smiled faintly. “Heh, especially since I actually saw them occasionally.”

Hoku smiled sidelong at him. “I envy you. Not about the, you know… darker bits, obviously, but seeing spirits regularly? That’s pretty special.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, so I’ve been hearing. I never thought much of it at the time, but I gather they’re less shy around me and my people in general, for whatever reason. So what spirits do you, uh, pray to if you don’t mind me asking? If you’re not familiar with the ones I mentioned, I’m curious to know what ones you are familiar with. Other than the big guy, obviously, heh.”

“Oh plenty. There’s the Vessana, the breeze spirits- they’re probably the reason you and Lykou aren’t totally miserable, I think.”

Kuna chuckled. “Okay, yeah, if you have spirits making these wonderful breezes, they officially have my immense thanks and appreciation. Maybe I’ll try praying to them myself tonight.”

Hoku giggled a little. “Yeah. Then you have the Durippani. They’re the ones that make fruit ripen and turn sweet.”

“Really? I thought fruit did that on their own.”

“I mean, maybe, but they make it happen faster I guess.”

“Well in that case, that’s another spirit to add to my favorites list.”

“Oh, and you know the stones you guys mentioned?”

“The uh… ‘Tears of Tuimana’? Yeah?”

Hoku rolled her eyes a bit and glanced around somewhat conspiratorially. “Frankly, they’ve been around forever, way before anyone suggested they had anything to do with Tuimana or this recent obsession with demons and shit. Some of the older stories call them Pelenock Teeth.”

“Pelenock?”

“Mhmm. Spirits of fire and stone that supposedly forged these islands before things started growing here, but chewing up a bunch of rocks into all the sand and soil you see everywhere. Nobody talks about them anymore, probably because the stories about them got re-attributed to Tuimana. Which I honestly find really annoying, because they sound like wild, interesting little guys. Always active, chewing up rocks to smooth out the land, and making bright sparks in the process. Then occasionally spitting out broken teeth when new ones start to grow in.”

“They certainly sound interesting. I bet Lykou would especially love that,” Kuna said with an amused expression. “Heck, if nothing else, it definitely sounds less pretentious than ‘weeping over wayward souls that my slavish followers couldn’t save’.”

Hoku laughed out loud for a moment. “THANK you!” She rubbed her eye as she caught her breath. “I like you, Kuna. You seem like a good guy.”

“Hey, likewise,” the sereva replied with a shy smile. “Er… minus the guy bit, but you know what I mean.”

The raptuva snickered. “Thanks.”

They walked in silence for a few minutes. Luckily, the moonlight gave them plenty of light to see where they were going along the beach. When they finally approached where they’d left the boat, she paused and stared out into the water again, crossing her arms thoughtfully. “You know… Tuimana isn’t even the only god out there.”

“Oh really?” Kuna asked in surprise. “...I’m still new to the idea of gods at all. I mean I know there are especially powerful spirits, but I always just figured they were just that- powerful. Not really in charge of any others.”

“Well, it’s not as… rigid and structured as all that, but some are so big and powerful that others can’t help but be affected by their presence.”

“...this more stuff from the old stories, I take it?”

“Mostly.” Slowly, Hoku started to grin as she stared out into the water. Eventually she glanced over at Kuna with a faint glint in her eye. “But I know of one directly.”

“...huh?” Kuna asked, more than a little skeptical.

“I may not have seen spirits as often as you, but that doesn’t mean I never have. When I was younger, I... met a god.”

“That’s... a pretty bold statement.” Kuna said with a mildly dubious smirk. “But you have my curiosity.”

“I was out swimming way later than I should, and a storm started coming in. Believe me, my parents were worried sick. And for good reason. Out of nowhere, the riptide caught me-”

“What’s a riptide?”

“Oh, uh… it’s when there’s this underwater current that can show up sometimes in certain areas, and it can catch you if you’re not careful. Its below the surface and it can grab you and drag you way out to sea before letting you go. Some say they’re the result of sea demons, or at least less pleasant sea spirits. Or residents of the Abyss. Either way, they’re scary as fuck even when you know about them.”

“Shit, as if I needed more reason to be scared of that mess,” Kuna said, staring out at the dark ocean with a terrified expression. “I hope I never have to go back out there again.”

“Luckily if you know about them and don’t panic, there’s a fair chance you’ll be alright. Just don’t fight it and wait until it lets you go, then swim diagonally back, not straight back. Might be tiring and aggravating, but you won’t drown if you keep a cool head. Remember that if one ever catches you.”

“I think I’ll just avoid even the possibility, thanks,” the sereva said with a shudder. “So one caught you as a kid?”

“Mhmm. And that was before I knew how to handle them, so I was scared shitless and ended up panicking. When I wore myself out fighting it, I got too tired to keep swimming and started dipping below the water. I honestly thought I was going to die.”

“Shit, Hoku… that must have been terrifying!”

“It was. But as I sank into the water a bit, I felt something else grab me. It was like I was caught in another rip tide, except it was swirling all around me. The next thing I knew, I was under the water, staring at this massive… thing. It was like an enormous, concentrated area of water swirling in a strange pattern, giving it kind of a defined, but hard to see shape, with two massive, glowing blue-green eyes. It lifted itself and me up out of the water and I felt this… this tingling sensation all around me, like something was flowing through me. Probably one of those… uh, energies, now that I think about it. And it vaguely felt like something was trying to talk to me… in a booming voice that I somehow couldn’t hear. It’s hard to explain… it was more like ideas I couldn’t understand were being blasted at me, without any actual sound, if that makes any sense. And the next thing I knew, I was waking up on the beach the next morning with my parents sobbing and cradling me, talking about how they thought I’d died but the sea brought me back.”

Kuna gawked at her. The whole story was incredible, but one particular thing stood out to him. “D… did you say giant… glowing eyes? In the water??”

“Er… yeah?” Hoku arched a brow, wondering why that, specifically, caught his attention- until she remembered the brief moment on the boat earlier in the day. “Oh. OH. Heh, I’m still pretty sure that was just a weird trick of the light, Kuna,” she said dismissively. But after a moment, her certainty faltered. “...maybe anyway. Damn, what if it wasn’t though? I pray to it often enough, but I never learned its actual name, so I figured it wouldn’t have any reason to linger around here, especially with another powerful spirit claiming domain over the islands….”

Kuna just stared out at the ocean thoughtfully. “So your old stories don’t mention anything like that?”

She thought for a minute. “I mean, there are some references to other powerful spirits that might be considered gods, but it’s hard to tell which one it might be. Whatever it was, I wasn’t exactly in the frame of mind to take in any clues about its nature, other than just being a huge, powerful water spirit. Which makes it awkward admittedly, but I always try to thank it now and then for saving me.”

Kuna’s eye twitched slightly. “...yeah. Still sounds kind of horrifying, though.”

“Well yeah. It’s a god. I think they’re all prone to being at least a bit scary just because of how big and powerful they are.”

“Fair point,” the sereva replied, scratching his head. “Now that you mention it, I do know of some spirits that’d probably be considered ‘gods’, though obviously that’s still a new term to me and nobody I know ever prayed to the things. That I know of, anyway. And Lykou mentioned a huge spirit his people believe in- or at least used to. At least, it sounded like it’d be on that level…”

“Sure, there’s probably a bunch out there, depending on just how big the world really is. Plenty of space for them to set up dominion over.”

“The idea still seems pretty strange to me. But I guess it does kind of make sense.”

Hoku sighed and walked over to the boat, fetching the last basket of fish. “Well, we better get this back to the village before someone thinks we forgot and went to bed early.”

“Yeah, fair point. Sorry for not really helping-”

“Hey, don’t sweat it! I just appreciated your company,” the raptuva said, smiling as they began heading back. “I’ve been enjoying the conversation.”

“Me too,” Kuna said, then looked up at the sky with a content expression. “You know, despite the warmth, it really is pretty here.”

“Well hey, it’s a lot cooler now that the sun’s down, at least.”

“Mmm, yeah, still a little on the warm side though.”

She eyed him for a moment. “I really have to wonder about that part of the world you and Lykou are from. Sounds like I might freeze there.”

Kuna chuckled. “Without any fur, yeah, I imagine you’d have a rough time. Even I do sometimes, since my fur never gets very thick. Unlike Lykou.”

“I guess konuul are just best suited to it, huh? Are they all as fluffy as him?”

“I assume so. He’s the only one I ever met up close, though. Other sereva don’t have as much issue either though, I’m just a freak.”

“Hey, what do you mean? That seems unnecessarily harsh on yourself.”

Kuna shrugged with a smirk. “Yeah, old habits I guess. But it’s kind of true. On top of all the other shit, I’ve always had… issues. Always weaker than everyone else, more sensitive to things like the cold, I was always sick as a kid, and… well, these never grew in right.” He gestured to the bumps on his head. “Most sereva get this things called antlers when they’re around ten, give or take a couple years.”

Hoku arched a brow and eyed them briefly. “What, they some kind of horns or something?”

“Kind of. They can be a bit more complicated looking than straight-forward horns though, at least when they’re fully developed. Kind of like tree branches, in a way, with little forks and such. But, well, you see where mine stopped.”

“Huh… weird.”

“Yep, like I said. I’m a freak.”

“No I mean the antler-things… that’s weird. Not to mention I imagine pretty awkward. They must get in the way or get stuck on things all the time.”

Kuna chuckled a bit. “Yeah, I guess. It used to bother me, but you’re not the first one to point out the drawbacks, so I’ve kind of made peace with that one, at least. I even decided against trying to use my magic to grow them.”

“Yeah, about that… what kind of magic is that green stuff anyway? Our stories talk about our ancestors using magic to sail the ocean in various ways, but never making things grow like that. Only ever seen anything like that from Kairangi, and like Kani said, it’s generally more involved for him.”

“Really? That’s weird,” Kuna said, scratching his head. “That’s life magic, and I was told it’s usually the first kind anyone learns, since for most people it’s the easiest to grasp.”

Hoku arched a brow, seemingly quite surprised. “Really? How so?”

“Life magic flows into and through every living thing, so it’s usually all over the place. Unlike other kinds which I guess may or may not be easily accessible, and even then most people wouldn’t be used to grasping things like fire or water energy, since even in places where there’s a lot of it, it doesn’t usually flow through you.”

Hoku’s gaze briefly flicked away as she processed something. “Uh-huh, s-sure. Makes sense, um. So… I know you said you’re aware of the other kinds of energy, but can’t manipulate them... can you sense them?”

“Sort of, sometimes. Very very faintly. And in a very ambiguous kind of way,” Kuna said, shrugging, then paused to look out at the water. “Like with all that water out there, I can feel the presence of the water energy, in a way, but it’s also hard to tell how much is really me sensing something and how much is just my expectation because it would make sense for it to be there, you know?” They both continued walking and he faintly gestured in the other direction, towards the treeline at the edge of the beach. “Unlike with life magic, where I’ve gotten good enough that when I really focus, I can sense specific things sometimes, without any other clues. It’s pretty useful for avoiding ambushes in dangerous areas, as long as I’m already somewhat on guard, you know?”

“Wow… so you can, what, sense people out of sight or something?”

“To an extent. Can’t tell anything about them except maybe their general size and location, up to a point. But for example I used it to sense some bandits getting ready to jump over a hill and attack the lepne group Lykou and I were traveling with.”

“Lepne, bandits? What are those like?”

“Oh, right, you missed that I guess.”

“Sorry!” she said with a sheepish smile. “I don’t mean to ignore Lykou, but I guess I just got fascinated with your magic stuff.”

Kuna chuckled. “Fair enough.”

“So yeah, what are those things?”

“Well, a bandit is any kind of person that attacks other people to steal things from them-”

“Shit, that’s fucked. Is that a common problem?”

Kuna thought for a moment. “Hard to say, honestly. We’ve encountered a lot more untamed wilderness than people, but of the people we’ve met… the shakonu love in pretty rough place surrounded by people that might be worse than bandits. Ursarans themselves are just violent conquest-happy bastards. And Clovaria had a bandit problem for a bit, but as it happens, Lykou and I helped them clear out a bunch of them,” Kuna said with a small hint of pride. “Including their real nasty leader who was also a magic user.”

“Sounds scary… so Clovaria is a place, huh?”

“Yep. Clovaria is this big region with a bunch of rolling hills covered in short grass- really open place, only smaller patches of forest here and there. And the temperature was a lot closer to what Lykou and I are used to.”

“Sounds interesting… and I guess lepne and shakonu are, what, people?”

Mhmm. Shakonu are these big… well, hard to describe. They have four legs instead of two. It’s like if a regular person grew out of some the shoulders of kind of wild animal.”

Hoku gave him a look. “...what.”

“Yeah, definitely strange, but not as jarring as it sounds, especially once you get used to it,” Kuna said, chuckling a bit. “If I had something to do it with, I’d draw you a picture.”

“Oh, so you’re a magic user and an artist, too?” Hoku asked with a grin.

Kuna blushed and giggled. “Well I wouldn’t go that far. But I used to doodle with anything I could get my hands on the pass the time when I wasn’t out gathering or something. Haven’t had much chance to since we’ve been on this trip though.”

“You’ll have to show me sometime before you two leave.”

“Heh, maybe. I suppose I could try to during breakfast.”

“Mm, yeah… kind of a shame you two are leaving right after getting here, but I can understand why.”

“Yeah… poor Lykou. He hides it well most of the time, but I can tell he’s hurting for home.”

“Poor thing… I hope your journey isn’t much longer.”

“Same here.”

“So… tell me about the lepne.”

“Well, they’re the only ones that live in Clovaria, as far as we know. Furry like us, slightly on the shorter side if you don’t count their sorta funny looking long ears, and… they all talk with this weird accent for some reason.”

“Accent, huh? Well I’m not surprised, given they’re from another part of the world. In fact, now that you mention it,” Hoku furrowed her brow slightly as something occurred to her. “It’s interesting that you don’t have one- or that we even speak the same language,” she commented, growing mildly bewildered as the words left her mouth. After a moment, she stopped walking and gave Kuna a look. “The old stories say that people from different places a lot of times don’t even speak the same language, so they had these weird tricks for communicating until they could learn to talk to each other properly. Is that not true?”

“Oh, right! That. Heh, actually, we’re not speaking the same language, I’m pretty sure,” Kuna smirked and pulled the medallion out from under his poncho. “I’m sure you saw the one hanging around Lykou’s neck earlier. These are magic medallions that let us talk to anyone- er, well, pretty much anyone, regardless of language differences.”

Hoku stared at the thing in fascination. “Wow…. And here I thought the glow was just because they were made of something like the Teeth- or excuse me, ‘Tears of Tuimana’,” she added with a slight eyeroll. “But they’re actually magical, huh?”

“Mhmm. They were a gift from the shakonu. It was… pretty awkward when we first met, to say the least.”

“I can imagine… how do they work?”

“Well, from what I was told, it connects people and transmits intent in a way that bypasses actual sound and makes it look and sound like the other person is speaking your own language and vice-versa.”

“Weeeird,” Hoku said. After a moment’s thought, she grinned. “Hey, does it just stop working if you take it off?”

“Er, yeah, why?”

“...can I hear your real language real quick? You’ve got me curious now.”

Kuna smirked and shrugged, then took it off. “How’s this? Do I sound weird enough for you?”

Hoku gave him a bemused look. “Ae, kaore au i te mohio ki ta koe i korero ake nei. Engari he pai ki ahau te ahua o te tangi.”

The sereva chuckled and slid the medallion back on. “No idea what you just said, but hey, your language does sound kind of pretty actually, for what it’s worth.”

“Funny, that’s what I was saying to you.”

Kuna giggled.

“Wait, so did you and Lykou not know how to talk to each other either when you first met?” the raptuva asked as they both finally resumed walking. “That must have been pretty awkward.”

“That’s the funny thing, we actually did. We were wondering about that, but somehow we speak the same language despite our people supposedly never having met before.”

“That’s strange…”

“Mhmm. He thinks it’s something to do with these spirits called the gunibi that were supposedly responsible for teaching people how to talk to each other in the first place.”

“That does sound familiar actually, now that you mention it.”

“Wait, really?”

“Yeah, I don’t think we called them the gunibi, but I vaguely remember something in the old stories about some spirit or spirits that taught people how to talk back in the beginning. Unfortunately that’s not one of the ones I remember too well.”

“Huh… I guess it had to come from somewhere, after all.”

Hoku nodded and they walked in silence for a moment. “...so what was that about the lepne having an accent? If those things cover up language differences, I’d think they’d do the same to accents.”

“Yeah, you’d think so wouldn’t you? I think they usually do, but just… not with them.”

“Strange…” Hoku grinned after a moment. “So what did this accent sound like?”

Kuna grinned back and thought for a minute. “...weel ah’m prolly messin’ it oop somethin’ awfy, bit t’was somethin’ lik’ thaes.”

Hoku snorted and burst into a small fit of laughter, which the sereva joined in on. “Wow…”

“Heh, I’m just glad none of them were around to hear that…”

“I’d love to meet them, honestly. But I imagine it must’ve still been tricky to understand them with an accent that thick.”

“Not really, actually. Even though it sounded odd, the medallions still let us know what they meant, even when they said things a bit weird- like saying ‘ken’ instead of ‘know’. And other than the bandits, they were all pretty great people.”

“Well that’s good. Still strange that the medallions let the accent through though.”

“Yeah… To be fair, I think it has something to do with… well, Clovaria’s history and a certain individual that watches over it.” He paused to scratch his head. “Er, pair of individuals, rather. It’s kinda complicated.”

“Oh really? What, something to do with magic?”

“That’s the simplest way to put it, yeah.”

“Who are these two individuals?”

“Oh boy, that’s a whole conversation in itself…”

“Oh yeah? Sounds really interesting.”

“You don’t know the half of it...”