Whare Potae (The House of Mourning)

Chapter Fifteen

Author's Note: Guys, I am SO sorry about the lack of updates over the last couple of days. I ended up rushing off to New York overnight to visit my grandmother (who is doing fine, so all is well), and I didn't take my computer with me, so I wasn't able to post. Thanks very much for your patience, and I will do my best to put out two chapters today to make up for the lapse!

Chapter Fifteen

For once, Maui was true to his word. First thing the next morning, he let Moana drag him off to find the damaged totara tree. With Sina and Rangi's help, they chopped it down and carried it out in front of Moana's home, where Maui got to work on hollowing out the trunk to carve a canoe from the wood.

At first, he had more help than he was sure what to do with. Moana had a pretty strong idea of how to get started, as, she proclaimed triumphantly, she'd helped build several of the new fishing canoes that they'd needed over the last few years. Rangi wasn't much good at boatbuilding but he was strong and followed directions about as well as any teenage boy ever could. A few of Sina's friends from nearby houses brought carving tools that looked as though they hadn't been used in years, and one or two even contributed bowls of sweet potato or dried fish from last night's huge dinner.

Most the villagers, however, still kept their distance, although Maui did notice that several children were creeping closer and closer as the day went on, obviously itching to see what was really going on with the giant, new voyaging boat. Maui tried smiling at them, but as soon as he did, their mothers hurried them back inside or away from the boat-building project.

"Don't force it," suggested Moana, stifling a laugh. "You're scaring the kids."

"What?" Maui was a little disappointed. "I'm just smiling at them."

"You're nervous," explained Moana. "That 'smile' looks like a grimace of death. Don't worry about it, okay? After we stop the sea from raging, everyone in the village will be so grateful, you'll have a hard time keeping them away, whether you're friendly or not."

Maui sighed.

"I think you said something like that before," he muttered, "right before your council tried to have me thrown out of the village."

Moana bit her lip and winced. "Uh, that's true, but, well.... this time, I'm sure it'll work!"

Maui snorted a laugh and got back to his carving.

The weather, unfortunately, had other ideas about Maui and Moana's best laid plans. Just as Maui finished hollowing out the trunk, it began to rain. While Moana, under his direction, focused on cutting out the tailboard, it started to pour. The clouds came out, obscured the sun, and any helpful villagers left, one by one, returning to the safety of their homes. Before too long, Maui and Moana were crouched out in the downpour alone, working diligently, pushing wet hair out of their faces and blinking rainwater of their eyes as the skies rumbled.

After a while, Maui heard a clucking noise behind him, and then the sound of something drilling diligently against wood.

"Heihei," snapped Moana, "come on, knock it off! You're going to make holes in the tailboard."

Maui turned around and saw the chicken seated next to Moana, cocking its head at the work she was doing and, every now and then, hesitantly pecking at the wood. Moana gently grabbed him by the beak, turned him around, and gave him an affectionate little push, so that he wandered off obediently back towards the house.

"Hey, drumstick!" Maui grinned. "Long time no see. I was starting to worry that maybe they'd cooked you after all."

"Trust me," sighed Moana, "lots of people have suggested it. Oh, and here's Pua!"