Hanu {Moana X Reader} [HIATUS]

Chapter III: Ropes

As the sun crawled over the sapphire waves licking the shore, I felt sharp twinges on my cheek, as if someone were picking at me with a sewing needle. I reached up to scratch my cheek, and it stopped for a moment. The peace didn't last long, however, as it promptly began once again. I groaned as my eyes fluttered open. What greeted me were two large eyes separated by a crest of red, resting on a bobbing head. I would've first assumed it was a chameleon, as its pupils traveled to two different horizons. What betrayed that identity was the small beak that now pricked my skin relentlessly.

With a jolt, I sat up in the soft bed, causing the scrawny bird to roll onto the floor. The rooster didn't even blink as it slithered to a standing position, glancing at me and tilting his head. I was honestly surprised none of his bones broke on the way down.

"Was it good for you as well?" I asked with a raised brow, rubbing my cheek in annoyance. Stretching my arms, I rubbed the back of my neck before rising to my feet. The relatively satisfying sound of my limbs stretching and bones popping filled the small hut, and I let out a deep breath as I suddenly felt a draft from outside.

"E ala 'oe, lolo!" A voice said suddenly. I had but a moment to turn to the front curtain before a bundle of rope and palm fronds were thrown into my arms. Peeking through lines of green, I noticed Moana standing before me, her hand at its usual spot on her hip. Next to her stood the chicken that woke me up, as well as a small white pig with brown spots. Moana had begun to look more and more like someone out of a fairy tale, though it seemed to strangely fit her.

"And what am I supposed to do with these?" I asked curiously, blowing away a bit of frond that had caught in my mouth. Moana simply chuckled, and cocked her head to the side, before walking outside of the hale. I followed close behind her, and we walked through the open air of the village. While Moana confidently held her head high, I couldn't help but keep mine a bit low. No matter what kindness was shown to me, I knew I was a stranger here. If there were any boundaries, I would be wise to take care not to cross any of them. After a short while, we approached a small, incomplete hale, where several young men were working on it. Moana said several words to them, patting my back hard and causing me to drop the supplies I was carrying. They glanced at one another rather cautiously, and replied in unison. Moana then turned to me, smiling knowingly before strolling off, her animal companions trailing behind her. I spun back to the young men working, and let out a breath.

"Alright, lads, I suppose we should get back to it, then." I said, grabbing the fronds and rope and slowly approaching. One of the young men walked up to me, promptly grabbing the supplies and holding his free hand out before I could get closer. He frowned, shaking his head and returning to his fellow workers. I was about to protest, but I ended up biting my tongue, not wishing to instigate anything. I ended up standing around for the project, which I knew wouldn't exactly help my image with the locals. I watched the men finish the hale, albeit reluctantly, while leaning against a nearby palm tree with my arms crossed. Sighing in boredom, I glanced around the village, and noticed a group of people weaving baskets from more palm fronds. It seemed impressive to most that they could find multiple uses for the island's resources, though as a sea dog, the crew and I always had to make due with what we had.

Curiously, I walked over to the group, crouching down near a pile of fronds and grabbing one. A woman had noticed the motion, and hesitated when watching me picking the frond apart. I glanced up at her for a moment, and tried to give her a friendly smile. I then began layering the frond blades over each other, which seemed to catch her eye. Scooting a bit closer, she set down the incomplete basket she had been working on to grab a new frond. After picking it apart, she then gently tapped my arm, before layering the blades in a similar way to myself. I watched her for a moment, nodding my head and following her example. Before too long, two new baskets were completed, and a sudden, yet subtle urge swept over me once more.