#i had to find out how to make the hands more apparently pitayas right? OBVIOUSLY the answer to this conundrum is Very Green Nails

[paintaya]

very beautiful. very powerful.

[prazeodymium]

Legends Don’t Remain in the Dark, They Glitter Ch. 4

Chapter 4: The Creation of Lalotai

            Hearing those words your body stills and your face goes pale. The shouts of your tribe echo in your ears.

            “Somewhat,” you reply tonelessly before gesturing to be put down, “I need to put the salve on the wound which is clean now. Thank you.”

            Tamatoa’s eyes bore into you and your skin prickles with awareness.

“That’s not an explanation about what happened, babe~” Tamatoa drawls out as he brings you closer to his face. You swallow drily and anxiety begins to eat at you. “And for those marks in your wrist to be that deep your hands must have been tied for hours.”

A flush spreads across your face and anger stirs in your belly. How dare he?! He has no right to ask! “It’s none of your business about how or under what circumstances I ended up here in Lalotai.” You bite out with narrowed eyes that mimic his, “All you need to know is that I’m stuck here with you, and as long as I’m healthy and can help you any way possible, I will.”

For a moment you both stare at each other, unwilling to budge from your positions and give the other a smidge, until you begin fear that he won’t put you down at all. A shock of pain spikes up your leg as the wound remains open to the cutting air. The sharp pain of it reminding you of its current condition, and you can’t help the well of tears that begin to from in your eyes.

“Really, Tamatoa…please just put me down. My foot—” your voice cuts off as the exposed nerve endings from the gash begin to burn. Frustrated at yourself and your lack of control you can’t help the swell of emotions that rise up within you. Never before had you been in a position, except for the last three days, where you could not manipulate the situation and find a way out. Then you had found that tribe—that tribe of traitors and superstitious folk!—and were thrown, quite literally in fact, into a world where creatures could tear you in two without a second thought. Cornered and without any leverage, not even with the absolute knowledge that Tamatoa wouldn’t eat you once you helped him, the mixture of pain, rage, and betrayal manifested into a current of angry tears.

“Oh, for the love of Ta’aroa, babe.” Tamatoa sighed in exasperation before you were lowered onto the shell of his stomach. Through the angry blur of tears you collapse and drag your wounded leg towards you while hissing. Brushing the tears away with an irate sniff—thankfully they were slowing to a halt by now, you hated the fact that you cried when you were angry—you eyed the wound critically. Pink and puckered, the split flesh formed a puffy slash into your foot. Pressing firmly against the cut the blood that drips is clear of any infection. Head nodding in satisfaction your hand reaches for the bowl and you coat your fingers liberally. Rubbing the slick ointment between your fingers you glance up and see that despite Tamatoa not pushing for answers he isn’t satisfied with what you’ve said, and had you been in his position you wouldn’t have either. You withhold a wince and stare at the paste before closing your eyes in resignation. I don’t have to tell him everything, but our lives would so much easier if we just…laid everything out. Trust can’t be built if everything is hidden.

            “Look,” you begin as you slather the ointment generously but carefully onto the open wound, “the reason why I’m here,” you hesitate before tossing your head back and looking at the crab straight in the eye, “is because I stole something from the tribe I had been making a pit-stop at.”

You don’t mention how they were the third tribe you had debated with yourself over at staying and making a home in.

“The artifact had belonged to my people when—,” your voice chokes off slightly but you continue, “when we were still a people. The tribe misunderstood my intentions and became suspicious of me and the artifact that I had taken. Things soon got blown out of proportion and resulted in, apparently a death banishment.” You pick up the knife and cut the soiled part of the bandage off. Slicing up the remaining cloth into a more manageable size you quickly begin to wrap the wound. “The marks on my wrist,” you continue while still focused on your task, “are from the ropes that bound my arms behind my back. The tribe had very strict ritual rites. The one I underwent had my arms bound for two days while fasting for the last 24 hours.”

You don’t mention the attempt at burning your soul tattoo away by one of the villagers which in almost every tribe you had been part of would have called for immediate banishment of that villager for sacrilege. Looking back on it now that was probably your best warning that the tribe had other plans for you at judgement.

“After that,” you continue in a bitter tone as you tie and tuck the bandage securely, “I was blindfolded and dragged to a canoe where they took me to the spire that led to your realm, but not before forcing me to climb damn thing blindfolded.” Sighing, you pop your neck and feel a swell of relief at the numbing cold coming from the paste. Content that the herbal remedy is working you tilt your head to meet Tamatoa’s eyes. He hadn’t said anything and his face was impassive but you could detect a strange look of what looked like sympathy in his eyes. Uncomfortable with the display of opening up you direct the attention onto him, “What about you? What’s your story? How did you end up,” you gesture to all of him, “like this?”

            “Maui.” Came Tamatoa’s clipped reply.

“Maui? Like demi-god Maui from the legends?” Surprise coats your voice and your eyebrows raise in disbelief.

            “Yes, that demi-mini-god and just for the record not all the legends about him are entirely true. Many are rather embellished.”

You shrug your shoulders before moving into a more comfortable position, “Never was much of a believer to begin with. Every tribe I visited had a different story for each legend. Made it easy to only believe them as stories for children. Ironic isn’t it? A non-believer gets thrown into a place where almost all the legends, in some way, are true.” Tamatoa chuckles and your face breaks out as well in a small smile. It really was amusing in a sick-twisted sort of way, “Anyways, I interrupted. Do continue.”

“Well, as I was saying, it’s all his fault that I’m in this mess.” His face darkens momentarily, “and the fault of that other insipid human girl.”

            Intrigued you skoosh closer, “Another human in Lalotai and with a demi-god? Well, that does sound like a story. Much more interesting than mine. Care to elaborate to the awaiting audience?” You watch as Tamatoa’s face lights up at the thought of finally being able to tell someone his side of things when your stomach growls. Tamatoa sighs dramatically before giving you a pointed look.

            “Hey,” you say defensively, “I was a little too busy acting as bait while running from your breakfast to get mine.”

            Tamatoa rolls his eyes, “Well, I can’t tell my story when the audience’s stomach sounds like s'il se dévorait. Do you think your foot can handle you getting yourself some food?”

            You open your mouth to answer him with a definite affirmative before pausing and actually thinking about it. Tentatively, you stand up and immediately collapse, your face turning ashen. Nope, no standing for the time being. Not until the scab forms. You don’t even have to say anything for Tamatoa to understand. He only has to take one look at you before he starts looking around him with a frown. When your stomach lets out another groan you look up at Lalotai’s ceiling.

            “Tamatoa? Will the fish be able to see the glint of the shield from here?”

            Tamatoa glances up too and frowns before shaking his head, “One of the reasons why I built my home here is because of how the ocean drops in the area where ceiling opens. It’s one of the only places in Lalotai where the ocean is close enough. Otherwise it’s too far for the light to catch the fishes’ attention. I mean can you picture it? Me walking around as I normally do with fish raining around me the entire time? No thank you, how unglamorous.”

            The laugh that explodes from you is something that you haven’t experienced in a long time. Tears of amusement prick at your eyes as your mind creates the image perfectly and all too clearly. By the time you have calmed yourself down Tamatoa has three large fruits in one of his pincers. Curious you accept the proffered offering and recognize two of the fruits from your travels, well somewhat recognize, Lalotai had made hybrids of them. The first is pitaya, distinct with its spikes and colors Lalotai had dyed the outside a shockingly bright teal with spikes a vibrant orange. The other fruit, you eye with curiousness, is cherimoya, or at least that’s what you think it is. Unlike up at the surface the texture of it is fuzzy like the skin of coconut while at the same time it skin flickers with a glowing magenta light. The final fruit though, you turn it around in your hands carefully, you have never seen it before. It looked like a burr but dyed a sharp scarlet with hair that swayed in different colors. How did Tamatoa get these? He didn’t just pull them out of his shell. You glance up a view his shell dubiously, did he?

            “Where did you get these?” You finally ask while rotating the fruit thoughtfully in your hands.

            “Honestly, babe, one would think you’d have a better grasp on your surroundings.” Tamatoa replied with an eye roll before pointing at a tree that was spouting from somewhere above his head.

            “That was not there earlier!”

            “No?” Tamatoa asked before looking up in interest, “Huh, Lalotai must be busy then.” You stare up at him in confusion before he obviously takes pity on you and elaborates, “Lalotai is a pretty inhospitable place but she takes care of all of us in some way. When she decides that one of her creatures in her realm are in need she just,” he shrugged, well, as much as a crab could shrug while lying on their back, “fulfills that need.”

            “You talk about her as if she were sentient.”

            “She is. Just not in the way most would think.” A grumble rumbles from your stomach again and Tamatoa looks at you with exasperation, “Babe, how’s this? You eat the fruit that Lalotai has provided for your feeble and fleshy mortal-self and I’ll tell you the story about how she was created.” You nod enthusiastically and quickly wipe your blade clean before slicing open the pitaya. Stunned, you stare at the neon green flesh, a complete contrast to the usual white, before taking a tentative bite. Sweetness explodes on your tongue and you can’t help the moan of satisfaction as the juice trickles down your chin. You catch Tamato’s satisfied expression before he launches into his tale.

            “First thing you must understand is that unlike the Gods and Goddesses of other legends, Lalotai is not part of their circle or realm, she’s on entirely different level because of how she came to be.” You raise your eyebrows as Tamatoa dramatically pauses to build suspension. “From shattered pieces, Lalotai, was brought into existence from Hine-nui-te-pō heart.”

            Your head jerks up at that and your eyes widen, “The Goddess of night and death? The ruler of the underworld? That Hine-nui-te-pō?”

            “Yes, human, that Hine-nui-te-pō.” He looks at you in amusement, “Seems like you know your legends pretty well for a non-believer.”

            You shrug before opening the cherimoya, the flesh of it the same as the above world’s; however, you are taken by surprise when the flavor is not of its usual combination. Chewing it thoughtfully you try to place the new flavors before deciding that it tasted like a mixture of guava and poha berry. Sweet in the initial bite, and tart in the aftertaste. Swallowing, you glance back at Tamatoa who still hasn’t continued his story, “I may not have believed in the legends but I found them fascinating nonetheless. Are you going to continue?”

            “Depends, babe, are you going to interrupt me again?” You smile brightly in response before pointedly taking another bite of your breakfast. Tamatoa sighs in mock irritation before continuing, “Anyways, eons had passed with Hine-nui-te-pō continuing with her sacred duty: providing refuge to souls after they had traveled the seas and were ready to be reborn. On a day where only a few souls had gathered to take their next step in their life she noticed a collected crying below her. Now Hine-nui-te-pō was confused at this, from her knowledge there should be nothing beneath her, but the continuous cries suggested otherwise. Gaining help from her younger sister, Mahuika, she used the flames to illuminate the saturating darkness. With the little amount of light she was able to see that huddled in wandering masses that continuously cried out, souls who were never part of the human race. Her sister and she watched as the souls would hurriedly run to where the meager amount of light shown and cry in relief from seeing that they weren’t alone in their trapped void of bottomless darkness. However, Hine-nui-te-pō’s sister couldn’t stay forever illuminating the small patch where the souls would gather. She had her own duties to fulfil. Her own souls to offer light to, so it was only Hine-nui-te-pō who would listen night after night their cries in the darkness to her.” Tamatoa broke off then and started to sing in a haunting tone that made you pause and stare wide-eyed at him in mid-bite.

“Hine-nui-te-pō, Mother of Souls, great woman of night,

Why have the Gods forbidden us light?

Lost, alone, but somehow together we move and roam

Crying as one as we search for a home.

  Will you abandon us like those of before?

Cast out by Gods, abandoned to the sea floor.

Us lost and wandering without the sight of our kin

Because of your shadow you have buried us in.

  Mother of Souls, Hine-nui-te-pō

Please bless the wretched things that remain of our souls.

We ask, we hope, we pray not much,

For you to envelop us in warmth of your touch.

  It doesn’t have to be much just something bright

Something that won’t leave us forever in your night.”

  Tamatoa came out of the song with a sorrowful draw that filled the inside of your chest with an aching loneliness. You watched as he blinked his eyes rapidly before clearing his throat uneasily, “Anyways, the souls beneath Hine-nui-te-pō sang this song day and night and every night as their sorrowful wail would reach Hine-nui-te-pō it caused a deep cold to form in her chest. When the tenth night came Hine-nui-te-pō, restless from the moans and cries of the harrowed, the moon in the sky even blotted out above her, her eyes went wide with grief from the souls that were cast out by the other Gods. With a single tear escaping her eye her heart broke and scattered below.

“From those broken shards Lalotai came to be. Born from Hine-nui-te-pō’s grief and compassion for the souls Hine-nui-te-pō’s shadow covered she encompassed all of them within in her. Lalotai, although part of Hine-nui-te-pō but separate, created a light that none of the souls had ever seen before. It was something different, unique from the world above, yet connected to Hine-nui-te-pō’s own love for them. A love that none of the other Gods had given them. She offered refuge for souls that Hine-nui-te-pō could not take and although, somewhat inhospitable due to her origin, she provided for each them the best she could. Still does,” Tamatoa’s eyes wandered back up to the tree above his head that had begun to glow with a pleasant light.

            “Wow,” you breathe before sliding closer to Tamatoa to see the tree better, “I never thought of the creation of Lalotai before. In almost all the tribes I’ve visited, Lalotai was only referred to as the realm of monsters. There was no…” your voice trailed off as patch of flowers bloomed to your left. Stunned you watched as strange lights floated out of their centers and moved towards you and Tamatoa. They were fluffy, yet jellyfish like with their neon tentacles that swirled softly in the air. As they came closer, lights flickering and changing as they did, you could hear soft hum similar to the tune Tamatoa used for his song.

“Tama, what are they?” You asked before tentatively trying to stand. Tamatoa immediately placed a claw behind you for support as a dark purple one floated near. For a moment feather light tentacles brushed against your forehead before you were filled with wave of an emotion that brought tears to your eyes. As the tentacles continued to brush against your forehead you were filled with an emotion that was not your own. With a shaking a hand you reached up and brushed the top of one and are taken by surprise when the creature-like light flickers from it soft peach like color to a bright coral, teal, and purple patterned glow. It nudges against you once more before all of them had slowly fade out of existence.

With a blinding grin you turn towards Tamatoa ready to bombard him with questions of what you just experienced when a shaking rumble throws you off your feet.