The Heart of Tangaroa✔️

Chapter 5: Acceptance

•Moana could see her island from here; her precious Motunui on the far horizon. As her canoe flew faster towards it, the sparkling green mountains and the crystal reef water all welcomed the young chief back with open arms. She barely noticed that both Heihei and  Maui had gone missing from her craft, and she instead steered over the final ocean swells leading to her home.

Landing on the white sand, Moana giggled as she disembarked, only to skid to a stop as the tip of a spear was suddenly pointed at her. Standing alone, Moana glanced around to see several more, included one held by Sina, her own mother,

"What are you doing back here, fiend?" She snapped, "I told you to go and never return!"

"Mom, it's me, Moana-"

"You don't speak! Filthy demigod,"

Moana squeaked as the hilt of one of the spears slammed onto her shoulder from behind, forcing her to fall into a collapsed kneeling as her people glowered into her from all directions. This couldn't be happening. Motunui was home...a few magic tattoos wouldn't make a difference to them,

"Mom, w-what's going on?"

"You don't speak to her without my permission," 

Moana turned as the crowd parted, allowing Aisuka to step through. He was wearing Tui's chief headdress, and held a knife in his hand. But it want him which shook Moana the most, it was the young woman on his arm. Moana was staring at herself,

"This is some kind of nightmare," Moana croaked, hiding her face as Aisuka and her 'other self' approached her with the shining blade, "this has to be a nightmare!"

"You die now, Demigod!"

Just as the glinting of the blade peeked through the shadows of her own terror, there was a ferocious jerk and the dream faded away into nothing•

Moana sat up rapidly, breathing heavily as she blinked and stared around her. They were still on the ocean, she and Maui, sailing back to Motunui. Currently, the Demigod was fighting against the current, which seemed to want to push them backwards. Shaking her head, the current stopped completely and Maui realized she was awake,

"Must have been some dream you were having," he said, feeling the water to make sure the current had indeed ceased, "the current just started pulling us off course about half way through,"

"Sorry, I must have been doing it while I was sleeping," Moana apologized, picking up Heihei from the canoe's hold and pulling him close to her, "was I that bad?"

Maui didn't seem to want to answer the question as Moana turned her back on him and looked down at her reflection in the water. There were tear streaks on her face, now beginning to dry sticky on her skin. She didn't want the dream to be true...yet it just seemed too possible.

Glancing down as there was a squeezing of her skin, Mini Mo was hugging Moana tightly, bringing a smile to her lips. To her even larger surprise, Mini Maui appeared as well, joining in on the hug. Not really questioning why Mini Maui was on her shoulder, she glanced up as the real one came to sit next to her. He looked pretty uncomfortable, but probably felt as though he needed to say something,

"You don't have too," Moana stated, watching as Mini Mo left her tattoo and ran off onto Maui's chest with the miniature demigod of the wind and sea,

"But I want to," Maui mumbled, kicking weakly at the water, "uh, I haven't known you very long, Curly...but, I can tell something about...that," Maui jerked his head, as if the nightmare was still sitting where Moana had fallen asleep, "really freaked you out. I'm not super good at emotions, but...you helped me once, so I want to try too,"