sixthiterationlogs | 10 - The Heart of Te Fiti [OPEN]

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10 - The Heart of Te Fiti [OPEN]

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.

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"Who?" Nerys mouths to herself, and gets a mouthful of leaves for her time, no less, considering she's running at full pelt. It takes her adrenaline-fueled brain a moment to realize that the woman was likely referring to the pig she'd seen taking off like a photon torpedo earlier. As it happens, she runs past the pig, who is snuffling in some underbrush near the water, and wheels a little as she does a doubletake.

Well, if the little pig isn't running, then it's probably safe for her to slow down, right?

"Are you...uh, It-tee-tee?" she asks the animal, barely getting the words out for panting, hands on her thighs as she's half-bent over. He snorfles a little, grunting softly and emerging with a mouthful of grass and twigs, which isn't the response Nerys is looking for--but then again, she hasn't exactly been expecting him to talk.

Itiiti was still young by pig standards and small. His body was a light pink with a few dark spots that would darken with age. He had good senses and was a good pig, even if he was a bit of a protected scaredy-cat most of the time.

His nose wiggled a bit when the stranger approached as if he was a dog sizing her up. He didn't know her but he had smelled the scent around the inn, which Itiiti firmly associated as home.

Bit by bit, the little piglet crept out from his hiding place, coming to sit at Nerys's feet. He snorted softly almost as if he was answering her question.

Nerys crouches down on the path, wishing she had a piece of fruit or something to extend out for the piglet and convince him she isn't danger. "I know, the bear was scary. But he's gone the other way now," she says, fairly confident that that's the case. She's not entirely confident in what may have happened to Moana, but the least she can do is help with her pig.

"Should we look for your friend?" she asks, as Itiiti emerges from the underbrush, snuffling a little at Nerys' boot. He's only a small pig, though she's not certain she'd want to carry him for long if she has to. "She asked me to come find you."

It's probably a sign of the stress she's been under, that she doesn't feel self-conscious about having a conversation with a pig.

Itiiti didn't look convinced by Nerys words but he could smell a familiar scent faintly clinging to Nerys clothing. It was Moana. Without a doubt Itiiti knew his charges scent. He slowly crept forward, his nose wiggling as he approached the stranger. He snorted once at the woman's shoe as if to say Moana's name.

He was a very loyal pig.

After a second he headbutts her ankle and then sets his nose to the ground. He snorts every couple of steps following the faint scent of his person. He paused after waddling a few yards away from Nerys and then oinked in a soft snort-like tone.

Itiiti was leading the way and this person was coming with him.

Not being from Earth, Nerys has no idea if pigs are supposed to be clever or not--but seeing as this village is anything but normal, she's willing to accept a pig that gives instructions. Which is, really, what Itiiti is doing, that much she can tell, with the walking ahead of her and waiting. His snout is to the ground, so in that sense, Nerys is pretty certain he has a far better shot at finding the young woman (damn it, what is her name, she knows she's seen her before), by scent rather than footprints and her own guesswork.

"Right, sorry," she says, striding along after the small pig. "I'm coming." And they trot along fairly comfortably for a few moments.

Pigs were very similar to dogs in many ways. They were loyal, had excellent senses of smell and trainable. The largest difference between pigs and dogs on Earth were that pigs were generally smarter than dogs. With every animal you got the lame and the gifted but on average, pigs were smarter than dogs.

Itiiti was a very special pig. He hadn't only been trained by Moana but has been forced to think for himself. Moana had learned when she was young that giving animal's room to make choices and see their outcomes would help them learn. Itiiti wasn't good at remaining calm in a crisis, few animals were, but not that the crisis was over he was on the hunt for his person; Moana.

After two small loops and one larger loop, Itiiti broke through the tree line. He was heading out of the forest and towards the town. He turned to look back at Nerys, snorting once before squealing and taking off. Itiiti bee-lined for Moana who was currently wandering around the town, close to the inn, calling Itiiti's name. She didn't know Nerys name so she couldn't call it as well.

Nerys is only just starting to worry that Itiiti is leading her around in circles a little when he breaks off and changes direction at speed. Seeing as she's not exactly as nimble and agile as him, being a humanoid and of average size, she nearly does a comedy pratfall when turning, stumbling a little to get back onto her feet and after the pig.

Fortunately, he's going towards town, so the ground becomes considerably more steady underfoot, and Nerys is able to keep pace--okay, fine, not able to keep pace, but able to keep at an even distance behind him so that she doesn't get completely left in his dust. Looking up, she sees the young woman from the woods in the distance, and waves. "Hey," she says, still scrambling for a name. "Hey, over here! Glad you're okay!"

She really needs to get better with names.

Moana ran towards Itiiti, scooping the pig into her arms. It was amazing that she was still able to lift him considering how heavy he was getting. In a month or so it was going to be a problem. Her dark eyes looked up towards Nerys while a warm smile spread over her lips.

"You made it!" She was happy to see them both, even if she didn't particularly know Nerys. She suspected that the bear had been her fault in the first place.

Moana walked closer, pausing when she reached Nerys. She still had the basket under her arm and while it wasn't full, Moana had been able to save some of the roots from the bears clutches. "Thank you for taking care of Itiiti for me."

Nerys smiles back, very relieved to see the young woman was in one piece and relatively unharmed. Certainly, at least, not mauled or anything like that. "I'm more glad to see you made it," she says, sighing quietly with her relief. "I've never seen anything like that before. Never been charged like that either. I'm really glad you're okay, how did you even get away from it?"

She reaches out and pats Itiiti on the head, scratching him behind the ears very gently. "And more like he took care of me, once I found him. I'm Nerys, by the way. What's your name?"

From her perspective, it's always best to get names after near-death experiences.

"Moana," She smiled brightly before hugging Itiiti tightly. "He is a very smart pig." Itiiti was also enjoying all the attention that the two women were currently giving him. It might just be Moana, but near-death experiences made her want to hug the important people, or in this case pigs, in her life.

"I out ran it and eventually lost it. I think it was looking for the Heart" She gently pressed open the shell necklace around her throat, pulling out a glowing green stone. "I was once told that it was a homing beacon for trouble." She was paraphrasing but she thought that Maui had exaggerated his 'homing beacon of death' nonsense.

Maui was a little bit of a ham.

"Let's go inside? We can talk more there." The inn felt safer than talking out in the open.

"Wish the circumstances could have been better, but it's nice to formally meet you, Moana." Nerys smooths down the thin, coarse hair on the back of Itiiti's head, and smiles. "And this guy, too. He's some pig. Pretty clever, and he was a big help when I was looking for you just now. I'd still be back in the woods."

She mouths 'the heart?' silently with a cock of her head, the expression shifting to recognition (though still confusion) once Moana pulls out the stone. "Wow. That's...the only time I've ever seen anything like that was when I was with one of the Orbs back home." The color of the stone, unlike the welcoming yellow light of the Orb, is a vibrant green--not sickly, but looking like it doesn't quite belong in this place.

"You're right. Let's go in, we can get some water and sit down." Not that it'll be cooler inside, relieve the sweat sticking her hair to her face, but the adrenaline is wearing off and making every little scratch and bruise sting.

Edited 2017-08-10 22:09 (UTC)

Moana had met others under worst circumstances. At this point, she considered it a win as long as everyone came out unharmed. "He is." She beamed when Nerys complimented Itiiti. Not that his intelligence had anything to do with her personally, Itiiti was just very smart. "I'm lucky to have him." She looked down at Itiiti who knew that he was being talked about and snorted in reply.

Her fingers curl back around the heart after Nerys got a good look at it. She didn't want to keep it out in the open for long, more so after the bear attack. "Oh? I don't think there is anything else like this where I am from. The heart is…" Moana paused, sorting through the words in her head. "It's a long story." One that she didn't mind sharing but once they were inside.

Moana turned and lead the three of them inside where they could sit, "I'll get us some water." Itiiti took a seat beneath what he assumed would be Moana's seat when she returned with water. He looked a little tired now that they were safe.

Nerys starts out of the chair, trying to object, but Moana is faster, particularly seeing as she herself is still not quite 100 percent after her sprint through the woods. Between their diet and the fact that she's not getting any younger, her stamina seems to be slowly dwindling, which is pretty worrisome.

Reaching down, she scratches Itiiti behind the ears as he stretches and settles into a resting position under the chair opposite. Only looking up once Moana returns, she smiles a brief thanks with a nod, and takes a sip of water to clear her throat. "So is this from your home, then?" she asks, gesturing to the heart. "It's just...I don't really know anyone who's had anything like it before, here. Usually people just get random things."

Itiiti had been a random thing and it made Moana looked down at the pig with an affectionate smile. Sometimes random things were perfect.

After taking a sip of water she turned her attention back towards Nerys. "Yes. It's from my home. I don't know how it got here but it didn't show up in a box like the other things." Her necklace was also from home but Moana didn't know if that was important to mention or not. "I found it at the base of the waterfall when I was poking around."

Moana placed her glass on the table. "I don't know why it's here."

Nerys sips her water, puzzling over this for a long moment. In the end, she comes up completely blank and unable to explain the situation, as seems to be the case with most of the mysteries of the village and their environs. "That's...so strange. So it caused trouble for you, back home?" she asks, trying to unpick at least some of the situation, though it's a bit like a knot that's been felted into place.

"What if other people get things like that?" she murmurs, almost to herself.

Moana nodded her head briskly. "Yes. Because creatures are drawn to the heart. I don't know why." She paused looking a little unsure. "There is a lot that I do not know." Everything that she knew about the Heart of Te Fiti was drawn from legends. Moana knew it was true but often times legends deviated from real life; she didn't know where one starts and the other ends.

"Things like what?" Moana looked up from her water as she asked. She didn't know if Nerya was referring to the heart causing trouble or simply receiving items from home. Both, she thought, were rare.

"Creatures...so animals are drawn to it. Like a homing beacon, maybe." Nerys is mostly talking to herself, face scrunched up as she thinks aloud. "Though that certainly doesn't look like technology I'm aware of--it looks more solid state, just like the Orbs."

After a moment, Nerys shakes off her reverie and takes a sip of water, looking back up at Moana. "Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I mean...things that could cause problems. Not necessarily inherently bad things, just things that are dangerous or complicated, or have unintentional consequences, like drawing bears nearby, or telling the future, or something."

Though really, their Observers could very well be planning to drop a couple of disruptor pistols or something even more deadly into the mix. Not something she'd put past them.

"So I've been told." Using that exact phrasing actually. "It isn't technology." Moana had had technology explained to her and this wasn't like that. "It's the heart of Te Fiti. It's more like a stone." Except it was a very important stone that was alive.

"You aren't rude. I shouldn't have let it fall out of my necklace." It had been an accident.

"I wish I knew why it was here. All I can do is guess." Moana took a sip of her water, looking more than a little unsettled by her uncertainty.

From that, Nerys can only surmise that this must be some sort of religious object for Moana as well. In honesty, she's not sure what she would do if she got one of the Orbs, nor if she'd want to see the pagh-linked vision that would ensue in these parts.

Nerys drinks some more of her water, the liquid all too welcome on her dry throat. She'll need to patch up some of these scratches, at some point--the risk of infection is incredibly worrying, and haunts her dreams.

"I think all any of us can do here is guess," she says, then looks up at Moana. "I'm glad you're okay, at least. I didn't think anything quite that size or temperament was living here, I'd think someone would have run into one before." The region that they're in isn't that big, and the boundaries are remarkably finite, that much they know.

"The forest moves. I've been thinking that the animals might move with it too." It made sense, if someone's home moved; they would then move to go find their home.

Moana huffed a short breath before nodding her head. "I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to take Itiiti and go to sleep." At least a short nap after all that running around. "Will you be okay?" Moana looked up at Nerys with a worrying expression.

"That...is a good point." Nerys hasn't taken that into consideration, and she files it away for memory. "And yes, I'm fine. I just need to get some aloe on these," she gestures to her face and forearms, "and get some rest myself. You two be careful out there."

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10 - The Heart of Te Fiti [OPEN]

The Inn - July 5th - 10th

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