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 Posted: Wed Oct 25, 2023 6:03 pm
Rude Introductionswith Minke
Somewhere in Matori | Prentice----------------------------------------
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Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2023 4:39 pm
Deep Divewith Minke
Somewhere in Matori | Prentice----------------------------------------
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Posted: Mon Mar 18, 2024 9:24 pm
Distractionswith Minke
Somewhere in Matori | Prentice----------------------------------------
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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2024 12:11 pm
After the Rainwith Minke
Somewhere in Matori | Prentice----------------------------------------
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Posted: Mon Apr 08, 2024 12:55 pm
Class Solo - Prima
Somewhere in Matori | Prentice
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The small movements of the Hapuna sent tiny ripples racing across the surface of the water, as if Mother Ocean were dancing along with her. Auli'i tried her best to mirror Her, waving her arms slowly to either side of her as if she were tiny waves herself, than bringing them back close to her chest to twirl slowly, bare feet finding easy balance on the sand and rocks beneath her. There was nothing quite like dancing in the ocean. Doing it on the land just didn't compare to the feeling of the currents around your legs and the tickle of the seaweed against your skin. Sand was soft to the touch, but it still wasn't the water. Perhaps it was just a part of being an aquatic race that made her feel this way, whereas Earthlings were probably named that way for a reason. They liked to be close to the ground. Well, most of them. Minke sure seemed just as much at home in the ocean as she was, despite coming from a farming family. She couldn't help admiring him for that. And for his dedication in learning how to hold his breath longer for deeper dives. She wanted to help him out as best as she could. It was hard to imagine her ever leaving a place where he was.
Her thinking about it now wasn't a random thought. Only a few days ago, her parents had approached her. She'd replayed it over and over in her head since than, as she was doing now while she practiced.
She had been sitting outside on the front porch, legs curled in front of her with her skirt pulled up over her knees and a stack of seashells in front of her. She had been roaming the beach for the last week, picking up any damaged shells she could find that wouldn't be any good to any sea creature as a home and taken them back to her own home, to hide away in a box underneath her bed. Once she had deemed herself to have enough, she had pulled them all back out and went outside to sort them by color and shell type, leaving a large space in the middle of them. Than she took selected ones from each pile and broke them further, until they were tiny pieces. With those pieces, she created designs by piecing them together with a glue carefully applied so it wouldn't leak out and ruin the effect she wanted. The goal was to make a few bracelets and necklaces to sell around the town. Just for a little extra spending money when the next festival rolled around or when she spied a beautiful new scarf in a tailor's window. She never thought much further than that.
Auli'i had been stringing her first necklace when the door to the house opened. She paid it little mind, assuming one or another of her fathers was going out for something. It was mid-afternoon, a perfect time of day for small errands. But the footsteps stopped, pausing somewhere near her left leg. Still, she didn't look up, assuming whichever one it was was watching her work.
"Li Li," came the voice of Valu, his tone of voice demanding her attention. She looked up than, curious as to what he wanted. Neither of her fathers was very strict with her, so any time they took a tone with her, it was always soft and gentle and used to grab her attention from something she might be focusing on. Sometimes she found it difficult to hear anything else going on around her when she was working. The tone was necessary. "I wanted to speak to you about something." He didn't wait for an answer as he moved to her other side, where a wooden chair sat facing the water. And she didn't give an answer. Or say anything, for that matter. Just stopped and waited. Her father opened his mouth, than paused and closed it. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth to ask, "You like living here, don't you?"
"Yes, baba," she answered obediently, her voice clear in its confusion and curiosity at this strange question. "I haven't really known anywhere else, but I like it here by the ocean."
"So you wouldn't want to see other places?"
See other places? Auli'i had never thought about that before. She did admit she was a bit curious about other places. She had heard from her parents how different all the Earthling countries were from each other. Much more diverse than the Kahi were. Lands frozen all year around. Dry landscapes. Trees that rose as high as the sky. She knew her fathers had seen it all. Or at least most of it by the time they had been forced to settle down here to have her. Why was baba asking this?
The girl looked down at her craft, turning it over in her fingers as she considered the question. "Maybe," she admitted, still looking down. It might be nice to travel, of course. But she also didn't think she minded if she never did and always remained here in Matori. "But I don't want to leave. At least not yet." She looked up at Valu, his eyes kind as he looked down at her, his pale Hapuna skin tanned from the sun, "I have much I want to do here, still." The unspoken truth hanging in the air between them that she wanted to remain near Minke and help him. She cared more about his future than her own.
Valu tilted his head, now the one who was curious. "Like what?"
Auli'i looked down, again, feeling embarrassed. This was another tough question. While she was always open with her fathers and hid little about how she was feeling with them, she didn't want to tell them she wasn't quite sure beyond her desire to help her friend. "Uh...Things. Like dance." Matori had a lot of dancers.
"Dance, huh?" The girl glanced back up, hearing the amusement in her father's voice, glaring at him. She didn't think it was funny.
"Yes," Auli'i answered with some fire behind her words. "I would like to work more on my dancing."
"Sorry, my little Li Li. I wasn't laughing at your dream. It brings my heart joy to see you with passions." Shifting his weight on the chair, Valu leaned over his knees at his daughter, resting his elbows on his thighs. "But what will you do with your dancing? Do you want to make a living with it?"
Still unclear why she was being questioned so much, Auli'i went back to her work on the necklaces, picking up a small bead of broken shells she had made and threading it through the thick string she was using. "Maybe," she answered with some attitude, knowing she would get away with it and more. "Isn't that what most people do when they have something they really like?"
The chair creaked as her father shifted his weight, again. The girl kept her eyes on her work, ignoring whatever it was he was doing. Though it was hard to ignore his presence completely, as much as she'd love to right now. The questions were making her uncomfortable and a little nervous and she'd like them to stop. Maybe if she really pretended to be busy, he'd eventually go away.
Of course, that didn't happen. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, he was speaking once more.
"Yes, it is. But it still takes a lot of work to achieve ones dreams. Things don't just fall into your lap one day, you know."
"I know that!" the girl sighed, slapping her thighs in her annoyance. "I am not a child anymore."
"No, you are not," came the response, Valu still quick on the draw. "You are almost a woman grown. Your papa and I worry about you, our only child. We want to know you are ready to take on the world on your own one day."
That got Auli'i's attention. She looked back up at her baba's kind face, looking down at her with concern and love shining for her out of his eyes. "Why do you ask me all these things? Is something wrong? Are you leaving me?" Panic entered her voice at the thought of her fathers going back to their adventuring and her remaining behind without them. She didn't feel ready for that. Not yet.
Valu chuckled, the smile crinkling his eyes. There were lines around them Auli'i had not noticed until now. "No, no. We are not going to abandon you, my sweet one. I am sorry for making you think that." He sighed and ran a hand through his red hair before returning them to his thighs, palms facing upwards. "We want to help you make a life here, if that if your desire to stay. We would never leave until you were ready."
A large wave hit Auli'i in the legs, causing her to almost topple over, breaking her thoughts. Valu had sat with her for a long while after he had said those words, discussing the future with her. The thought of being on her own one day scared her, but he had promised to remain until she was confident enough. She trusted those words. She would need to work hard at her dancing, and anything else she wanted to do, before she was an old maid. She would make her fathers proud of her.
Raising her arms, the Hapuna continued in her dancing, closing her eyes in order to feel the weight of the ocean against her. Helping her.
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Wordcount: 1618 words
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Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2025 5:00 pm
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