10 - The Heart of Te Fiti [OPEN]

[chosenbytheocean]

WHO: Moana
WHERE: The Forest & The Inn
WHEN: July 5th - 15th
OPEN TO: Closed
WARNINGS: Fighting/Violence most likely...

---

The Inn - July 5th - 10th

Moana wasn't sure what to make of it. She had found the heart over a week before but hadn't thought to show it to anyone. She kept it in her grandmother's necklace which was now useful as well as a keepsake of the only family member who truly understood her.

She sat on the floor near the fire place. It was to hot to have the fire going but this had been Moana's seat since winter. She saw no reason to change that now. Itiiti, the little piglet, was snuggled against the side of her skirts, enjoying the feel of the grass around his round little body. She looked down at him briefly, smiling before she gently opened her necklace.

The heart dropped lightly into her palm, glowing a familiar green light.

"Why are you here?" She asked the heart as if it might be able to reply back to her. She'd notice that the strength of it's glow had been changing. Right before the earth quake and now she felt that it was dimming. Like a heart beat that was slowly reaching it's end. "Please. Please don't die. I need to return you to where you belong." Moana begged softly, curling her fingers protectively around the stone.

The Forest - July 8th - Bear

She knew that the heart brought trouble, Moana had seen it first hand on two separate occasions, but she hadn't thought that it would happen here. This village, this realm, felt so far removed from the world she knew. Surely no one knew what the heart was or what it could do.

She'd been wrong.

It still brought trouble to it's bearer though it was a little different from before. Moana had been walking through the forest, following behind Itiiti as the little pig sniffed out mushrooms and other eatable roots. She had a small basket with her that was half filled with things that she planned to bring back to the inn. With the crack in the rocks and the damage to the town, food that could travel seemed more important than before.

Her fingers sank into the earth as she dug up a handful of fungi. Itiiti bumped her elbow, sending Moana face first into the dirt. Her necklace popped open as she hit the ground and the glowing green heart rolled out of it's hiding place. Moana pushed herself up and reached for the stone. When she her fingers touched the smooth surface of the Heart she heard a roar echo threw the forest. The ground trembled and she thought it was another aftershock of the quake. It wasn't. The trees parted and a large black bear lumbered into view.

"Itiiti Run!" The piglet didn't need to be told twice. He squealed and took off into the woods. For anyone who ran into Itiiti he'd be too frightened to lead you back to his owner.

Moana scrabbled to her feet, wondering if she'd somehow stumble onto the bears home. Her basket of roots and mushrooms had fallen over and now sat a few feet to her left. Against all logical reason she reached down to try and gather up the food back into the basket. "Please stay away." Moana was used to monsters that could understand her and talk. She's never seen a bear before.

The Inn - July 15th
Place Holder. ooc: Heart looses it's glow. Unsure if Moana will have traveled to 7i by then or not. Pending how the meeting on July 10th goes. She wants to see the ocean as soon as she can. And try to get a boat there so that she can try and sail across the ocean. I might also have another prompt up where Moana is being chased by wolves on the 11th or 12th if anyone is interested in that.

Comments

Inn - 5 July

[powerunleashed]

Jean had finally gotten used to the fact that there wasn't going to be another huge earthquake like the one a few days prior and while there had been aftershocks, none of them had done any damage like the first one. The Inn, at least, was a sturdy enough building that she felt safe enough hanging out there and it also had the advantage of being close to where Logan was laid up in the hospital; he hadn't seemed pleased about the concussion or the stitches. Jean guessed she wouldn't have been either but especially not if it had been a good century since she'd been injured.

Seeing Moana parked in front of the fireplace was nothing new. It was a common place to sit in the Inn, a place where people were drawn to talk and gather. Jean guessed it was the old fashioned version of gathering in the tv room but with no tv (or radio), fire it was. Uncharacteristically, Moana seemed a little lost in thought and when Jean dropped in a chair opposite her, it took a moment to catch her attention.

"Moana, earth to Moana? What's that?"

Inn - 5 July

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana blinked as Jean’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Earth too… what?" She asked in a confused haze. She looked up at Jean then, her dark eyes slowly refocusing while her fingers curled protectively around the glowing green stone in her palm. It was obvious that she was distracted but she was attempting to pull her focus to the present.

The earthquake… Jean…

"Jean! You’re okay." She exclaimed a little too loudly. "How is your house?"

She’d been so distracted by the heart and then the earthquake that she hadn’t had time to run around and see how everyone was doing. She didn’t feel like a very good friend. "Sorry. I should have some to see you sooner." Moana rubbed her eyes with her free hand before she was able to fully pull her attention to Jean.

Inn - July 5th

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"Why is who here?" Lucrezia asked, sitting in a chair near Moana. She had been stitching a new skirt for herself, embroidering it with small doves in white, using the light from the flames to help guide her hands. It was too warm for a fire, but it helped her tired eyes see, as there were few candles to help them.

"What did you find?"

Inn - July 5th

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana looked up, her expression distant and unfocused. Her large dark eyes lingered on the woman in front of her before she realized that Lucrezia had been speaking to her. "Oh. It's um... It's a long story." It was all Moana could think to say.

The Heart of Te Fiti. It shouldn't be here and yet it was pulsing within Moana's palm. She hesitated a moment, her fingers curled protectively over the stone before she slowly lifted her hand for Lucrezia to see.

"It's something from my world. I found it here but the lights been getting softer..." She knew that it didn't explain much but it was hard for her to talk about. She groped for the right words but nothing formed coherently in her thoughts.

[the_scandal_of_italy]

"We have nothing but time for long stories." She smiled sweetly, moving from her chair to sit beside Moana. The girl was lovely, but her gaze was distant and faraway. It was a look she understood well.

Her gaze drank in the stone curiously, struggling to understand its importance. "What is that?" There was something about it that seemed...powerful and strong. There was a beauty in it, but one she had never seen before. "The light? What does the light mean?"

[chosenbytheocean]

"This.." Moana looked down at the stone in her palm, watching as it pulsed gently. "This is the heart of Te Fiti and with it you're able to grant life. It was stolen by Maui. Demi-god of wind and earth. When the heart was stolen, darkness fell over the lands and island after island began to die. It finally came to me island." She paused, moving the stone close to her chest.

"I was supposed to return it. This is her heart, the glow is it beating and... it's getting softer." If it stopped... then Moana would have failed and her island would be gone.

[the_scandal_of_italy]

She gazes down at the stone apprehensively. While she had been surrounded by sin and blasphemy, priests breaking their vows repeatedly, including her beloved Cesare, it was strange to be confronted with an item that sound quite a bit like magic. Her brothers would find it fascinating, perhaps even searching for a way to make use of it for the benefit of the family.

All Lucrezia could do was try to wrap her mind around the concept of a stone granting life. Gods and magic, she had read about them and dreamed of them, but she had always known they weren't real. "What...happens if you don't return it? If it is stuck here as well?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana expression fell while her eyes focused on the stone. "If I can’t return it then the world will be covered in darkness. The darkness will slowly drain the life from everything." While Te Fiti granted life, without her heart it was taken away. Moana didn’t know why but she’d seen it on her own island to know that it was true.

"The darkness… it had already chased away our fish and polluted the plants on the island. I’ve seen it." She whispered the end of her words as if she couldn’t dare to speak the truth louder. "This place, is so far from my home… I don’t know if I can get it back there."

She was the daughter of the village chief, it was her duty to save her island and those who lived on it. She loved them with all her heart.

[the_scandal_of_italy]

It was a frightening prospect, for as much as she could understand. The story was like the ones that Ancient Greeks would share as warnings or lessons for others to learn, but the stone was before her, not symbolism but a physical object. "Is there a way to send it back?" Perhaps placing it in the fountain? It might slip through whatever brought others to the world.

She shivered, disturbed by the image she spoke of. "I wish I knew the means of returning you home." To receive gifts, she simply made a wish, but this was different. If she knew how to appeal to whoever brought them here, she would be back in Rome now with her son.

"Will the stone effect this world?"

Bear (8 July)

[thenewways]

There's only so much fixing that Nerys can do at a time, only so much picking up of pieces and finding salvage. She's never been much of a wrecker; that job was a specialty on Bajor that required a harder heart than she's ever had. Her own house is...not completely a shambles, but the shoring up she did after the last earthquake is all that's kept it from complete collapse.

It won't last another. She's getting the feeling, deep in her gut, that they won't have many of the original houses--and those had been solid enough construction--if it happens again.

So after putting in another shift of interminable construction work, Nerys is off to the woods now just with her thoughts, ostensibly hunting rabbits and voles with a sling. She's exhausted and looking for distraction, which is probably why she runs towards the shout, and keeps running even when she nearly trips over a piglet running hellbent back towards the village.

What she finds is one hell of a distraction, that's for sure. Hissing a curse in Bajoran, she tries to remember all the guidance (most of it conflicting) she's ever been given about dealing with large predators. What to do--right.

"Stand up," she says gently but firmly to the young woman--girl, really--who is trying to gather up her things, then draws herself up to her full height. "Don't crouch down, he'll think you're..."

She may be trying to walk a thin line between being definitive and ensuring that neither of them panic, so holds off on the word 'prey'. "Hey, you, there" she says to the bear, in a faintly trembling voice of false bravado. "We're just going to be going now, if it's all the same to you?"

It does not appear to be all the same to the bear.

Bear (8 July)

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was quick to listen to the woman. She didn't know much about the wildlife here and wasn't afraid to defer that judgement to others. She had already gathered most of her things back into her basket when she'd been directed to stand up anyway.

She took a step back, positioning herself next to the tree so that she might be able to run or possibly climb up it. Moana didn't know if bears could climb trees but given it's size she had a feeling that it wouldn't need to if it wanted to get at her. Her feet were bare which allowed her to find the root that lifted behind her and avoid falling over it as she continued to take slow steps backwards.

The bear turned it's head towards Kira. There was a pause as it rose to it's feet, producing
a deep-throated pulsing sound. "I think we should run." Moana's voice didn't betray her fear, only her uncertainty. This wasn't the first time she'd faced off something that was significantly larger than her.

It was the first time that she couldn't get it to talk about itself though.

Re: Bear (8 July)

[thenewways]

Nerys herself doesn't know much about the wildlife either, in perfect honesty, but after meeting Logan and the moose, she's made a point of learning what she can. She shakes her head a little, steeling herself and drawing her chest up to try and look even larger. It doesn't seem to be impressing the bear. "Back away slowly. Running means it'll think..."

The bear scratches the ground with one of its paws, opening its mouth in what may be a yawn or may be one hell of a demonstration, and Nerys tries not to ignore her own advice and run like hell. "It'll think we're food, prey runs away from it. Let's go towards high ground, back towards the path."

She reaches blindly for the young woman's hand, and addresses the bear. "We're going to be going now. Have a good day, all right? We're people, we don't want any trouble."

Of course, this advice is all perfectly acceptable...for normal bears, not bears in wherever the hell they are, she realizes with a fresh jolt to her stomach.

Bear (8 July)

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana felt Nerys's hand and then the gentle tug backwards. She took a step and then another, watching the bear as it continued to stand and stare at them. It was ominous in the way that it loomed feet over top of their heads.

It didn't seem like it was going to move, until Moana stumbled backwards. It was only a few steps but it was enough to coax the bear into moving. It landed on it's paws, shaking the ground as it crashed down and then lunged at the pair.

"Run!"

Moana shouted and turned, pulling Nerys with her. She was a very skilled runner.

Re: Bear (8 July)

[thenewways]

Much as she'll hate to admit it later--particularly as, up until this point, she has been following All The Rules about large wild animals from other residents and the survival manual she got in the wintertime--Nerys shrieks in surprise and panic as the bear bounds towards them. She doesn't have much time to scream, though, as her cry is cut off by the effort of keeping up with Moana.

She bolts along the path, just behind her, branches and thorns and petals whipping into her face until she ducks her head down a little more. "To the water," she shouts to the young woman. "Maybe we can lose him!"

Bear (8 July)

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was pretty sure that bears could swim but she veered right and headed towards the river. She knew the forest, even though it changed. Her head turned to look back at the bear, her hand instinctively grabbing at the pendent around her neck.

'The heart.... he's here because of me.'

She turned forward and then shouted. "Go left! I'm going right!" With that as her only warning Moana turned again, hoping that the woman took her advice. If the bear followed her she'd have to use some quick thinking to lose him... maybe if she ran far enough?

Even thinking about it sounded like a lame idea.

the forest (after the bear) - july 8

[maternis]

Newt had been packing up his campsite, breaking down the not very useful items, and sorting the rest into his pack. It only took a little more time than he would have liked, just because he was having---not misgivings but possibly second thoughts.

Second thoughts about his decision, brought on in part by Percival, to move in with both the other wizard and Credence.

It wasn't abhorrent, the idea, but Newt was far from a social creature. He had a hard time fathoming why it is that they would want his company for an extended amount of time. Surely it was just easier if he kept to himself. He had very nearly talked himself out of going entirely when he'd hard the squeals of a very familiar animal. A piglet, actually.

"Itiiti?" Newt calls out, putting what little he had left in his hands into the bag, and closing it up. He hunkers down, and offers a hand to the piglet. When he looks around, though, he frowns. He doesn't see Moana anywhere.

"Moana, are you there?" Newt calls out. When he doesn't get an immediate answer, he checks over the little piglet for any immediate signs of injury. It only seems to be scared. Perhaps he ran away?

But from what? "Don't worry. Let me just grab my things. We'll get you sorted."

the forest (after the bear) - july 8

[chosenbytheocean]

It took Moana some time to lose the bear. She got to learn a few helpful things about bears. First, they can climb trees. Second, they can run decently fast. Third, they can swim. Fourth, they are kind of frightening when you aren't sure why they are chasing you.

By the time that Moana had lost the bear she was panting heavily. She'd run towards the inn first. It was usually where Itiiti ended up if he ran off but he wasn't there. She could only assume that he'd gotten lost in the forest. She kept her heart in her necklace, careful to keep it hidden. It was a beacon for trouble no matter where she was; apparently.

"Itiiti!" She called into the thick throng of trees, knowing that it wouldn't do much good.

Hopefully the bear didn't decide to come back.

"Please be here!" She called again. When she turned it felt like the forest had shifted and changed. Moana wasn't in the mood to play around. She had to find Itiiti before dark. She didn't want to think of what would happen then.

"ITIITI!"

the forest (after the bear) - july 8

[maternis]

Newt, recognizing the signs of the sun beginning to set, started out for the village. It always grew darker in the forest first due to the canopy, and it wouldn't do them much good to be caught out after dark. Not to mention the fact that he had still yet to find Moana.

It was more than a little worrying.

Still, he kept their progress slow enough that he could still stop every once in a while, call out, or just listen. He didn't want to leave the forest entirely before reuniting her and the piglet. That was when he thought he heard something echoing through the darkening woods.

"Moana? Can you hear me?" Newt calls it out with a sense of urgency in his tone. So calm during the hailstorm, but he had found Itiiti frightened and alone. He was concerned as to what could have befallen the young lady.

the forest (after the bear) - july 8

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana wasn’t expecting to hear someone calling back to her. To start, Itiiti can’t talk. It took her a moment to recognize the voice and then determine where it had come from. She grew up playing hide and seek around dense trees and, while they weren’t the same breed of tree found in this forest, she knew that the tall plants could distort the sound of someone’s voice.

"Newt!" He’d help her. She didn’t want to impose but she had to find Itiiti and make sure that he was okay. Nothing else was as important.

Moana picked up her pace, running towards the voice. "Have you seen Itiiti?" She broke through the trees spotting the back of Newt’s head. Then her eyes dropped to the little piglet running towards her. "ITIITI!" Her feet propelled her forward, sliding to her knees to meet Itiiti in a hug. Her face buried against his back as she held him close. "I’m so happy that you’re okay."

Itiiti wiggled in her arms, as if he was trying to hug her in return. Moana knew that Newt was standing there but she was too distracted by the piglet wiggling in her arms. She didn’t think she could go on if something had happened to Itiiti.

july 5th

[learned_to_die]

Moana had been in Ned's thoughts since their discussion while he'd been planting the Weirwood. For a girl so young, she carried a certain wisdom well beyond her years, though she so often seemed clouded by doubt and proverbial unsure footing. He's thought to meander by her cabin on more than one occasion but had always talked himself out of it, instead adjusting his trajectory and returning home. He isn't entirely sure why he hasn't taken the time to check on her and see how she's been doing, but when he sees her in the Inn, kneeling near the hearth, he thinks it a sign that he should finally breach the avoidance.

He approaches gently and cautiously, carefully moving around so he isn't coming from behind but rather in her field of vision. He crouches down near her once he's close enough.

"Are you well, Moana? Certainly you aren't looking to start a fire in temperatures warm as these?"

july 5th

[chosenbytheocean]

Any other time, Moana would have seen him coming and would have greeted Ned appropriately. Today, her thoughts focused on the glow green stone held loosely in her palm. His voice snapped her out of her thoughts, making her jump with a start. Itiiti snorted, annoyed that his pillow had moved so suddenly, before going back to rest against Moana’s thigh.

Moana looked up at Ned and for a half second she said nothing. "Oh." Fire. "Oh, no. I wasn’t starting a fire." She gently clamped her eyes shut, her fingers curling over the stone before returning it quickly to the inside of her necklace.

"I was just thinking and this is…" She looked up at him, her expression looking pained by how lame her words sounded. "…my thinking spot?" That was an awkward way to put it. Moana pushed her hair behind her shoulders before shifting so that Ned could sit if he wanted too. She preferred to sit on the floor with Itiiti but she’d join him in a chair if that was more comfortable.

"I sat here a lot over the winter. When I first arrived." She clarified, not yet addressing the stone that she’d obviously hidden in her necklace.

[learned_to_die]

Ned catches sight of her placing something back into her necklace, but it's obvious she wants to keep the object concealed. His gaze flicks up to her face to study her expression, the nervous aversion of her eyes. With a bit of a groan, he lowers himself to the ground and sits himself opposite her on the other side of the hearth, glancing down to give her pet pig a gentle stroke on the head.

"It's good to have those," he says, sitting back again. "My favorite back home was in the Godswood, under the Weirwood tree. I'd spend hours there thinking, reflecting, polishing my sword, speaking to the Old Gods." His eyes dart to her necklace again before rising to try and meet her eyes. "What is it that has preoccupied your thoughts, Moana?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana watched as Ned lowered himself to sit with her. She was grateful for the distraction and the company. She didn't know what to do with her thoughts, which were currently very unhelpful.

Itiiti oinks happily at the attention and flees Moana's side to momentarily snuggle up next to Ned. It wasn't a permanent arrangement but he knew he could get at least a few pets or pats from Ned before he would inevitably stop. In case his intentions weren't clear, Itiiti nuzzled at Ned's hand.

"Did they answer?" She wished she had a god to ask about this or even her grandmother. Anyone who might be able to answer the questions buzzing restlessly around her head. "I found something from my home. It was at the bottom of the waterfall. One think I know about this place is that we don't have things from home and I don't know why its here. Maui once told me, it was a homing beacon of death." He might have been exaggerating.

[learned_to_die]

Ned lets out a good-natured laugh at Itiiti's behavior, obliging rather happily and stroking the piglets head a few times with fondness. He misses, despite himself, the direwolves of home - the ones his children had raised after he and the others had found the pups in the forest. A piglet certainly isn't a substitute for a direwolf, but its companionship isn't all that different. Ned gives Itiiti's ears a good, earnest rub before glancing over to Moana again.

"Silent as the wind," he replies softly. "Oft times, it was not their outright advice I was seeking so much as needing to sort out my own thoughts and needing a place to do it." Ned's faith in the Old Gods was stronger than many who still lived in the North, but he knew there was a clear separation of man and god; he usually felt that the Old Gods simply observed the foolish ways of the mortal world, tsking with their all-knowing gaze. "Yet things from home seem to appear, don't they? If you remember, I received the Weirwood sapling not too long ago. It seems that .. whomever, or whatever, keeps watch of us seems to send us things - though their meanings might not be as clear as we would like." He falls quiet for a moment or two. "What do you think it means? If I were one of your villagers and came to you with this predicament, what would you say to me?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Itiiti appreciated the attention and curled comfortably next to Ned's side to receive as much affection as possible. The moment that Ned stopped would be the moment that Itiiti returned back to Moana's side to nap.

Moana didn't think the wind was silent at all but she didn't find it important enough to mention. Her thoughts were clouded by the heart.

"I would say..." Moana gently placed her fingers on her lips. "That we should take our blessings, whoever they are from and be thankful for what we have, but I don't know if that advice works for this." She gently ran her finger around the top of her shell necklace popping out the stone from it's hiding place.

"I found this..."