The Voyager and the Rogue

Chapter 57

One day, roughly a week or so before the wedding, Hiccup was out with Astrid on a walk. He led her into the woods to get some fresh air, a short distraction from Eyarr and Laeli's wedding preparations. As they walked, he heard an odd noise not too far from where they were. Hiccup spied a familiar flash of purple explode through the brush in the distance, and for a split second, he thought of Toothless's plasma blasts, but no explosion sound followed. Instead were voices in a wildly different language; the only familiar voice Hiccup and Astrid recognized was Maui's.

"Maui?!" Hiccup called out. He expected Maui to attend Laeli's wedding, knowing their close bond as an uncle and niece. He felt confused about hearing more voices in addition to Maui's.

"Hiccup! My man! Be right there!" The demigod hollered back. Astrid raised an eyebrow at her husband, who shrugged.

"He's a demigod. I mean, they're always up to somethin'." Hiccup remarked with his familiar awkward grin. They turned their attention to footsteps making their way through the brush, surprised to hear more than one pair of feet.

Hiccup and Astrid's breath caught in their throats upon seeing Laeli's face. Or, not quite. No...

If it wasn't Laeli, then...

"Oh my gods..." Hiccup breathed out once he realized who the woman was before him. Her curly hair was the giveaway.

"Moana." Hiccup finally said. The aforementioned Moana smiled at him upon hearing him say her name. Several other figures appeared behind her—a middle-aged man, keeping his hand on Moana's back. Hiccup and Astrid knew that it must be Laeli's father, Keoni. They could see Laeli in his face as well, especially the nose. His black hair was short, though the gray hairs were evident.

Then the younger woman was revealed to be Laeli's sister, Aihe; she took more after her mother, mainly in her hair texture and face. An elderly woman by the name of Sina, Moana's mother. And a short, curvy young woman by Aihe's side named Heilani, who was Aihe's fiancée.

Hiccup pulled Maui to the side, asking how this was possible.

"Well... long story short, a little help from higher up." The demigod grinned, pointing to the sky for emphasis. Hiccup and Astrid were astonished this was even possible. They knew that Laeli told them about her being able to see her family again for a month. But everyone had thought that would be the last time that Laeli would get to be with her family.

But that was no longer the case.

"Also, while they're here, you'll all be able to understand each other."

"Huh? Meanwhile, Laeli had to learn our language?" Astrid exclaimed, "That doesn't seem very fair."

"Hey, this is the gods doing, not mine. But I'd hate to ruin it for Laeli by keeping them here."

"Fair enough." Hiccup and Astrid returned to Moana and her family, formally introducing themselves.

"We didn't mean to be rude, we weren't expecting you to be able to be here." Hiccup said, feeling awkward. Moana shook her head in assurance.

"It's no worry! We didn't know either until Maui told us."

"Yeah! Initially, he just said Laeli was getting married, and then he threw in that he was bringing us to the wedding!" Aihe exclaimed. Hiccup chuckled. Yep, this was Laeli's sister.

"I'm just glad this was possible," Keoni said with a gentle smile.

"As are we. Come, we want you to meet some folks before we shock the bride with your arrival."

"Understood. Please! Lead the way!" Moana said, helping her aging mother along.

As Hiccup, Astrid, and Maui led them through the village, Moana and Keoni noticed the stares they received and noted how truly different these people were.