I dare you to spend an afternoon alone with Makuahine.

“Rotui!” Nanami crossed her arms as she stared at her older brother. The pair shared the same bright blue gaze, but he had more violet hues in his hair than she did which resembled their mother’s own darker and violet appearance. Like their mother, Rotui was also very good with socializing and could easily charm his way in a crowd whereas Nanami had been quiet and reserved to the point that most thought she simply believed them to be beneath her. And even now as Nanami chastised him, her older brother seemed confident and unbothered by the glare she sent his way.

“What? You didn’t want to tell the truth about some matters, so I thought I would challenge you instead.” Teased Rotui, the Kawena simply shrugging as he looked around them. They were currently in a small tavern by Hota which was often only used by wandering merchants since many didn’t visit this area for vacations or anything like that. The deeper caves were a mystery, the Kawena with their reclusive ways only recently coming back out from the depths to interact with the other islands. After Nanami had spoken with her Kane, the mystic had sought out a path back home with him and left her family behind to enjoy their vacation a bit longer. She had three days before Noelani and the others would arrive in the area, the family agreeing on giving Nanami that much time to reunite with her family and sort out lodgings for their stay in Hota. And now Rotui was here, her brother having rushed to meet her and their father as soon as they arrived in the area.

“So you bring out a childish game of truth or dare? I didn’t even play that with you as children.” Protested Nanami, “It was something you and your friends did.” They were the ones that got to play around more with Nanami being too shy to interact and later becoming even more reclusive after her brother decided to leave home to travel across the other islands. “It’s hard to speak about the past and sometimes it’s best if you don’t know what happened while you were gone.”

“What? I know some about your vigilante acts and you sent me a few letters over the years once we found each other again.” Rotui was the one that she had communicated with the most, that much was true. So why did she hesitate to tell him about what she endured in his absence? Did she truly not want to burden him that much? Despite his playful expression even Nanami knew better than to take it as his true stance on the matter, it wouldn’t surprise her if he did feel guilt for leaving like that. After all, she felt guilt in a similar manner without even having left behind a sibling to take on the responsibilities she was supposed to carry that Rotui initially dumped on her. “So truth or dare? Will you go spend the afternoon with Makuahine? You can work with her to prepare the guest rooms for your family. There’s seven of you? It’s been a while since our manor held that many people.” They did live in one of the largest manors in Hota, the larger cavern carved out into several rooms and even hosting a grand meeting room for the council members where their mother took her place as their strongest member. Nanami had once loved the curving staircase, the natural spring trickling down in the back room with a spring there, and the glowing crystals that gleamed along the walls before finding the place suffocating once Rotui left and she couldn’t escape the pile of study materials or their Makuahine’s watchful gaze.

Nanami pressed her lips tightly together, debating her options before finally holding up a hand in defeat. “Fine. I’ll go to the manor alone while you prepare things with Kane for my family. There’s my partner, our four children and her parents with us.” It was a large travel party, but nothing that their family couldn’t find the space for within the manor. Their youngest could stay with their grandparents while the oldest could have their own room and Noelani could share her old room with her. Either way she refused to linger on the past and let her brother feel bad about leaving her behind, she would just gather her courage and go face her mother as her brother dared her to do. A silly dare…forcing her to go alone? Who would have thought that Nanami would have the courage to do such a thing? When she was younger she would have simply melted into the shadows, hoping to not be noticed but now she made no efforts to be silent as she accepted the challenge. And so without another moment to waste, Nanami grabbed her cloak and waved towards her brother before storming out of the tavern and walking up the familiar path to her family home to face her mother.

[846]