sixthiterationlogs | 13 Voyage [CLOSED]

Entry tags:

13 Voyage [CLOSED]

WHO: Moana
WHERE: 7i Ocean
WHEN: October 1st
OPEN TO: Bucky Barnes
WARNINGS: N/A

The sun had not yet risen over the peak of the canyon walls when Moana made her way down to the shore. She had a bag of food and supplies slung over one shoulder while an oar occupied her other hand. She had left Itiiti behind, in the care of Owen, as she headed towards what might be her own demise. She was stubborn and she hadn't heeded any of her friends warnings.

She was quick to pack the boat with supplies, readying the craft to set out. As her preparations went underway a soft white flurry began to drift from the sky.

"No. No no no no." Moana was still wearing her island dress and shoeless. She knew that the snow might cause some complications but she had already come this far. She wasn't going to turn back down. She exhaled a soft huff as she turned to look back at the village behind her.

A soft whisper of a sound reached her ear and she turned sharply on her heel. The darkness of the early morning was a little hard for the island princess to see through.

"Who's there?"

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The ocean around them was endless and calm. There was a steady pull of wind and unfamiliar stars but no sign of land or escape. If Moana hadn't known better, she would have sworn that no land existed at all; that they were trapped by an endless plain of blue on all sides.

That night, like many others, she had fallen asleep while steering, the oar clasped firmly in her grip as she dreamed of home. It wasn't like her usual dreams. Usually she saw Motunui, her family and friends, all consumed by the darkens that threatened her island. In this dream she was a hero. She had sailed across the sea and returned the heart. Maui had helped her and Te Fitit was herself again. She sailed home and was able to see her father, her mother and her people again. She cried in her sleep but smiled too. She was home and she would continue to lead her people across the seas to new lands.

With the wind in her sails, she had become a master wayfinder. Then she woke up.

"What?" Dark brown eyes blinked as she clung to the oar she'd been sleeping against. Her mind raced with everything that she'd dreamed of. Her hand instinctively when to her grandmothers necklace which contained the heart.

"Bucky?" She turned and looked for her friend. "I just... did you..."

Was it all just a dream? No, Moana didn't think she'd have been able to dream that. Was it like before when she'd gone home but only a glimpse. Was there any way to really know?

"Bucky we need to go back."

Edited 2017-10-08 19:02 (UTC)

He was half out of it, staying awake to keep watch. The trip had been rougher than he’d expected, not accustomed to sea travel, but he’d gradually started to get the hang of it as they spent more time building their own rhythm. Naturally, Moana took to it better than him regardless. But even as much as it was necessary to stay vigilant, know where their ship headed and maintain course, the happenings at sea tended to be few and far in between, even if the happenings often meant fighting for your life in some capacity. Given it was a lull, it wasn’t the easiest for him to stay fully attentive.

It’d gotten colder and when Moana had taken to rest, he had draped a second cover over her, not wishing her to catch her death when there was still God knows how many more miles to cover. Beyond that, he was watching, fixing the angle of their direction every so often but mostly just waiting. For something. Anything.

When she spoke up, he hummed, assuming it’d been like any other instance, where she was still disoriented after having just awoken. But when she said that they needed to go back—

“What?” The surprise was clear in his voice. “Wh... What’s wrong? Why?”

Moana hadn't noticed the extra blanket or that it was freezing out on the water. The first dusting of snow had fallen on the day of their departure but Moana had been secretly hoping that it might warm up through the duration of their trip. Somehow, it was both hotter and colder on the ocean.

She scrambled to her feet, almost tipping off the side of the boat as she dropped down next to Bucky's side. The boat wasn't that large but Moana was small enough to jump between the areas where there was room to sit.

"We have to go back. Nothing's wrong," She added quickly, realizing that she might be alarming him. "...it's just... that's where we need to be right now. Not out here in the middle of no where with no where to go." Moana watched him before resting a hand over her necklace. "Bucky, I returned the heart. Not Maui. Me. It was a dream but it wasn't. I dreamed of home."

He took a moment to process what she was suggesting, visibly calm though internally quite confused on her sudden change in stance. Before he had the time to think of how to reply however, Moana had continued on, clearly speaking of something that she needed to get off her chest.

“What do you mean it wasn’t a dream?” He had of course been privy to watching her sleeping form for a while, so it was difficult to gauge why she would have said such a thing otherwise. Though the sudden notion she suggested was quite troubling to hear her raise on her own, he kept his expression and tone calm, not wishing to distress her.

Of course, he had no idea who Maui was either or what she meant by “the heart”, but he knew that Moana would not leave him in the dark so long as he gave her time to explain her part. He let her speak, however much or long she needed, or at least enough to get whatever jumbled her thoughts into the string of sentences she had just uttered grew more coherent even in her own mind.

Moana forced herself to calm down so she could try to explain clearly. But how could she!? Would he even believe her? She looked up at Bucky with those familiar wide dark brown eyes of hers and tried to figure out what to say.

She didn't want to hesitate anymore.

"It wasn't just a dream." She said again, her tone soft but confident. "I saw Motunui. My island. Not how I remembered it but how it is now. I returned the heart." Her hand moved over the pendant, somehow knowing that she carried the dormant version of the heart with her now. "Paka was Ta Fiti. Once she lost her heart, she had forgotten who she was. She turned into the lava monster. When I returned it, she lifted the darkness that was swallowing my island."

Her finger opened the shell necklace around her neck to show a dull green stone. "This heart..."

She wouldn't blame him if he didn't believe her but she hoped that he would.

He’d had years of experience, patiently waiting through Steve’s explanations of fever dreams. Though the situation was hardly the same, it warranted the same restraint, the soldier knowing better than to rush what wasn’t easy to put into words in the first place. Especially given the content and manner with which Moana detailed the events, this notion proved wise.

He of course had never asked Moana of her circumstances. Regardless of familiarity on the isle, they were all victims of circumstance, and he never presumed himself any better than the rest than to demand anyone else’s histories when he was not even capable of providing his own. But Moana gave her account with sincerity and trust, and even while the full of the details nagged at him, Bucky understood enough of what she’d described to get a clearer picture of what had even made Moana the young woman he’d come to know over the past several months.

“You proved yourself, what you are capable of. To the others on your island, I mean.” Despite the factuality of them, the statements were meant as a praise. He had always understood Moana to be far ore capable than she appeared, and this much must have been monumental for her and her island. Or at least he assumed. Offering a smile, he continued, “You saved everyone?”

Moana dropped down on the boat, crossing her legs beneath her. She felt as if she had lived the events but also like she had dreamed them. She remembered seeing her grandmothers spirit when she had been lost, learning that it wasn't some outside force that drove her, but something that was inside of her. She moved her hand over her heart as she turned to look at Bucky.

"Yes. I think so." She never tried to keep her history a secret. If Bucky had asked then she would have freely told him about her island and the people who lived there. She loved her home and she loved talking about them. "I had left the island without telling my father. He never wanted me to go but I had too." Her head tilted to the side as she recalled the events. "My Grandmother, before she passed away, showed me what the darkness was doing to the island. It was killing our crops and chasing away the fish. We wouldn't have been able to survive."

It was a chief duty to protect the people of the island and put them first. "When I first sailed out. I thought it was for myself because I wanted to be on the ocean. Then it turned into something more. That's why we have to turn back. We saw what was out here.." Which was nothing. "...and the people back in the village need us."

He had his suspicions and knew better than to let his guard down. When he was certain enough Moana had every intention to embark on her own, he decided in an instant that he would not let her, no matter the cost. Even strong and independent in her own right, it was far too risky an endeavor for him to let her endure it on her own.

Waking early had never been a difficult task, his general lack of sleep was often enough as it was, and so it was that he began taking to the docks before the sun had risen to keep watch, knowing it would eventually pay off.

Though he had watched for several moments, he knew he couldn’t let her slip away when he was right there. He approached, as silently as he could, but not knowing how to present himself, he kept himself concealed to the shadows. Only when she noticed did he decide on how to make his appearance.

“Y’know, I thought something was fishy, but I didn’t think you’d all out bail on me, Momo.” His tone was light-hearted, soft rather than chastising. He understood why she likely had every intention to continue on her own, but a part of Bucky simply did not agree with the notion.

For those who knew her, Moana wasn't the best liar. She wore her emotions out for the world to see. There were times where she tried to lie to herself but the truth always found it's way out. The best she could do was escape before anyone noticed she was gone.

She released a soft huff of air as she relaxed and turned back towards the boat. She was almost ready to embark. "I'm not bailing. I'll be back." She should have expected someone to try to stop her but she had hoped to make a clean escape.

Dark eyes looked up at Buck hoping that he might leave. "Why are you here?"

Moana didn't realize how predictable her actions had made her. She spent a lot of time by the beach while the boat was being built and bit by bit began to bring her personal belongings with her. She felt more comfortable sleeping by the ocean.

He smiled as sheepishly as he was willing to muster, not wanting to get into an argument with Moana of all people. He didn’t want to disrespect her preferences and wishes either, but he knew he would regret it if he didn’t stop her from continuing alone.

“Figured you could use company.” He paused, cocking his head slightly to the side. “Y’know. For the trip you’re clearly about to head off on.”

Moana's jaw opened and then snapped shut. She turned to look at the boat which was already stocked with food and blankets for the trip. Her original plan was to slip away undetected and it clearly hadn't worked.

"I wasn't planning to take anyone with me." She admitted with a sheepish shrug. "I'll need more food and... do you know how to swim?" If not they were going to have a lot more problems later down the road.

He chuckled at her defensiveness, knowing better than to let himself seem like an extra weight.

“Collected provisions for myself already. And yes, I do. With just the one arm.”

Moana was hoping that he didn't know how to swim or that he'd walk away to collect food and she could leave while he was gone. Neither of those plans had worked and she was left trying to form a back up plan.

After a few seconds of silence she exhaled a soft breath. "I don't understand why you want to come with? You could die." She was comfortable with herself dying but she didn't want that to happen to anyone else.

“So could you. Die, I mean.” The notion was quite hypocritical, but he didn’t really blame her for not considering that aspect. If she was allowed to decide that for herself though, he could do the same.

Moana closed her eyes, counted to ten, and then opened them again. "Yes but I knew that before I decided to head out there. It's okay. I'm ready and I'm not going down easily." She'd face waves like mountains and warriors who wore coconut armor. Moana was fairly confident in her abilities to face whatever this ocean dished out at her.

"I've sailed on the ocean before." Only once before.

“And I haven't, but that doesn’t mean any less. If I go at all, the risk is the same regardless. Better to do than to fear, don’t you think?” He took a step forward, indicating his resolve physically.

“Besides, it’s not like I didn’t know all that either, Momo. And I don’t go down easy either. I mean, look at me, I’m built like a tank, even if I’m short an arm. But that doesn't stop me from fighting when I need to.”

Moana looked nervously between Bucky and the boat. It could fit him, she knew that, but she was still very uncertain about this. She looked up at him, squaring her shoulders and firmly setting her gaze. "Fine but I have one condition." She held up a finger as she spoke, hoping to make it clear that this condition was not to be broken.

"I'm the captain. You have to listen to me or we won't be going anywhere." Moana was going to have to teach Bucky how to sail the boat.

Raising a brow, he cocked his head to the side. There wasn’t any way he would have had it any other way, logically. He didn’t know how to sail, so direction had to come from Moana of course.

Rather than articulate any of this though, he just smiled. “Aye, aye, captain.”

"Good." She lowered her hand to her side before looking back at the boat. "Put your previsions in the middle compartment there. If it doesn't all fit then take one of the cloaks out." They were going to be blankets but she didn't really need more than one.

"Once you do that we're setting off. I'll need you in the boat." Hopefully she can push it into the water with him already on it.

“Will do.” He slipped back into the darkness briefly to retrieve his pack, neat and ready with everything he needed (he was a light packer, what could he say?) before climbing over the side of the boat to add it to their cargo. There were a few seconds of items being shuffled about, repositioned to account for the new inclusion, but it all went in quite nicely, to his great pleasure. He wouldn’t have wanted to make things complicated by taking up too much space.

Only after he closed the compartment did he pause to think about hanging around and letting her cast them off though. Maybe if he had been any other person it would have been fine, but Moana probably didn’t realize the several extra pounds of metal hidden inside Bucky’s body to help reinforce his ability to even maneuver Hydra’s fist without breaking his shoulders every swing. Not that it really mattered so much anymore without the arm even being there anymore, but it made a different with this at least..

“Maybe I should help push too... Or I can push... I’m, uh, not...that light. Compared to any other guy that’s normally my size, I mean.”

Moana stared at Bucky like he had suddenly grown a second arm.

She knew that Bucky was missing an arm, it was hard not to notice, but she's seen him in action and it's never slowed him down. It was part of who he was. She never imaged that there might be more to his arm loss. She had never asked about it.

"I'll be fine." She didn't want to have to try and pull him into the boat. She knew that she was flexible and fast enough to jump in after she had it into the water. The tide was falling, it was now or never. Moana didn't wait for a response. She dug her heels into the sand and lifted the boat while pushing forward. It was WAY heavier than it should be and after budging a fraction of an inch she set it down.

"How are you so heavy?!" She sounded exasperated. Moana really shouldn't have trouble with this.

Edited 2017-11-04 19:44 (UTC)

Chuckling, he stood again and hopped off the boat calmly. Despite the ease with which he did so, the soft thud that came as well as the noticeable indent in the wet sand he made likely aided in hinting toward why she’d had so much difficulty.

“Hundreds of extra pounds of metal. In here, I mean,” he answered, patting his chest lightly. “You can’t see it, but it’s there and definitely very heavy.”

The boat lurched forward when Bucky jumped off, sending Moana face first into the sand. She pushed herself up, scrambling to make sure that the boat didn't take off without them.

"Metal? Like the tools at the inn?" She looked over at Bucky, her palms flat on the boat to keep it steady as the waves rolled beneath it. "How?" Moana didn't know how metal worked or how it could be inside of him.

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13 Voyage [CLOSED]

Waking from Dreams [Canon Update] October 7th

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