03 A Shocking Realization [Open]

[chosenbytheocean]

WHO: Moana Waialiki
WHERE: Inn/Between the Inn& the Woods/Woods
WHEN: Feb 6th – Feb 15th
OPEN TO: ALL
WARNINGS: FEB 10th has a lightening attack and mention of scars after that.
STATUS: CLOSED

---

Where you are…[Feb 6th – Feb 9th] Forest/Inn/Anywhere In-between

Moana was able to find a dried fibrous grass, milkweed, to not only make a net with, but possibly a new dress as well. She’s set to make the net first, getting used to the new material. It’s different from the small hairs on the outside of a coconut, longer, but just as strong. She spends a few days gathering as much grass as she can find, stashing a lot of it in her room at the Inn. She broke the stalks off so that the roots remained safely tucked in the ground and are able to regrow in the spring and summer. Moana was silently thankful for the cold weather and snow. The cold killed the stalks and the moisture from the snow softened them enough for Moana to take them apart.

Through the next few days she can be found tugging these long stalks from the ground, searching for more, returning to her room at the Inn with an arm load and then sitting next to the fire where she fights to peel away the outer section of the stalk to pull at the thin fibers inside. Her fingers are a sore by the end of each day but Moana didn’t mind. It’s something she was used too and the work brought its own sort of distracting comfort.

Her efforts outside were dictated by the rising and setting of the sun. In the evening she could be found near the fire with thin strands of milkweed at her side. Her fingers knotted and twisted the material together to create a rope that slowly formed into a net. During her work she’s singing softly, the song moved her through her work as she focuses on each task.

So here I'll stay
My home, my people beside me
And when I think of tomorrow
There we are

I'll lead the way
I'll have my people to guide me
We'll build our future together
Where we are

'Cause every path leads you back to
Where you are
You can find happiness right -
Where you are

[ooc: Full song here.]

Shocking turn of events…[Feb 10th] Between the forest and the Inn

Moana had heard about the incident at Ren’s house and while she hadn’t known the man well, she felt the loss as she walked through the village. There was a shroud of sorrow draped over the town and it was a feeling that she just could shake. Moana believed in a journey after death but people should be allowed to rest where their families were, not in an unfamiliar realm. She had seen the mark left by the lightning strike. That sort of thing was hard to hide in a village this small though Moana couldn’t say what it meant.

Trying her best not to worry, she tried to continue her work, helping in the few ways that she knew how.

It was when she was walking back to the Inn that she felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. Electricity crackled as a ball of lighting pulsed and shot through the air. Moana’s head turned in time to see the brilliant white light as the pulsing orb connected with her arm. In three milliseconds she felt everything. Her heart shuttered and every nerve in her body stripped and screamed as if it grated against by course paper. She felt the tendrils of electricity seeking an exit like the hum of wasps violently buzzing inside of her skin. Her shoulder was burned, her clothing singed and her arm was marred by bursting blood vessels creating a scar that twisted violently across her dark skin.

Moana heard a horrific scream and it took a moment to realize it was her voice that was making the terrible sound. Her knees buckled and slammed against the hard ground. The collection of dried reeds she’d been carrying burst into flames as they fell to her side, sending a lazy circle of smoke up to the sky.

Can’t sit still…[Feb 11th – Feb 15th] Around the Village

The lighting strike left a noticeable scar on Moana’s arm though she continued to comfortably wear her tank top around the Inn on those rare days that she had no intention of going outside. Her moods had been erratic since the strike and there were moments where she’d lose control of her arm as if a lose current of electricity sought an exit.

She knew that she should be resting but Moana wasn’t very good at doing nothing. She also wasn’t very good at listening to others when she thought they were wrong. The first few days she crept out her window to collect more reeds but as the days pass she can be seen getting back to work on her net. When her arm would freeze or jolt erratically Moana would frown and at times throw the string to the ground in her frustration.

"Why are you being so difficult!?" Moana saw nothing wrong with yelling at the fibers of string. "Animals eat you!"

Comments

*sighhhhhhhhhhhhhh* i'm so mad i accidentally lost my tag lol - FEB 10TH

[kestreldawn]

Jyn's only just changed into her dry clothes that she somehow arrived with. She managed to scurry behind a building, using it as cover, to quickly peel the wet ones off, shove them in the pack, and slip the dry ones on. Now, she's just trudging through the area, trying to learn where things are, gain her bearings. She feels a bubbling in her gut, an ache that runs down to the cells of her body. Survivor's guilt.

But she can't acknowledge it. She can't give it a name. Not yet. She knows that the moment she does, the moment she allows a wisp of it out of its cage, she will fall apart. She will self-destruct and crumple under the weight of what she's been through. And for now, she needs to keep moving - she needs to keep surviving. She needs to figure out where she is, how she got here, and -- what? Try to go home? There isn't a home for her to go back to. Not a place, not a person. He had been her home, had been the closest thing she'd ever known to it, had given her a glimmer of what life could have been - and he was gone.

It was all gone.

Jyn shakes her head to get the thoughts of her mind, but her self-induced trance is quickly shattered at the sound of screaming. It sounds like a woman, like a woman being slaughtered. She unfortunately knows that sound all too-well. Before she can think, before she can react or think otherwise, her feet are moving - first right, then left, back and forth until she's in a full sprint to the source of the sound.

She sees a woman on her knees, a strange puff of smoke above her. Jyn rushes over without hesitation, landing hard on the ground. She winces as the pain shoots up her legs, but she'll deal with it later.

"What happened?! Are you all right?" She doesn't touch the woman for fear of hurting or injuring her further. But she's close enough to do so, if she needs to. She sees the scar almost immediately - electricity. But where? How? There isn't anything here that could have caused the tendriled scar on her arm. "Is there a med bay here?" she asks, frustrated in herself for not knowing the layout of the area. "Bacta tanks? Something?"

FEB 10TH <3

[chosenbytheocean]

As Jyn ran forward Moana felt her body crumple to the ground. It was all happening so quickly and yet Moana saw the world around her slow as her back met with the cold touch of the sidewalk. The voice was distant as if Jyn was shouting from miles away from her. Moana's eyes slowly blinked, her eyes tried to focus on the new face but the image blurred and darkened.

A choked noise exited her lips when she tried to speak. Her throat hurt but that felt like nothing compared to the cells screaming through her body. Her tongue dragged over her lips but her mouth, everything, was dry. She tried to understand everything that the girl was saying but it didn't make any sense. The words were like a riddle that her mind couldn't unravel on it's own.

Moana coughed and tired to push herself up only to fall back to the ground screaming. Her long messy black hair fell on either side of her shoulders as she looked up at Jyn. Her voice was weak but with great effort Moana forced herself to speak. "The Inn..."

Her body was going into shock and it took everything that Moana had to fight it.

[kestreldawn]

Jyn's training is screaming loudly in the back of her mind, reminding her how to proceed. She tries to speak to the woman, see how alert she is - but the vacant, dizzied look in her eyes is more than enough proof that she's close to going unconscious. Jyn shifts her weight, delicately brushing a few strands of hair from the agonizing woman's face. Jyn's been shocked before, mostly out of her own stupidity (and sometimes at the end of an enemy's stun gun), so she understands the pain. She knows that every single nerve ending in this woman's body was on fire, screaming out in terror. She doesn't want to offend them any more than she has to.

The Inn. It's one of the few buildings Jyn recognized, knew its location due to its closeness to the fountain. She nods and, in a moment, scoops the woman up like a child in her arms. She stumbles for a moment, only to get her footing on the hard earth, but then it's muscle memory from here to the building - she hesitates to think of how many people she's had to carry like this, dead and alive, in her short 22 years.

"All right, stay with me," she's saying, over and over, glancing down at the woman as she races towards the inn. "We're almost there. Stay with me." She nearly shatters the door once she's there, immediately going over to a vacant table and laying the woman on it, as gently as possible. She shouts for water, for a pillow or something for her head, gazing down into the woman's eyes. "Still with me? Still here?"

[chosenbytheocean]

The quick movements made Moana's head spin and her stomach knot. A soft cry of surprise escaped her lips as Jyn swept her off the ground. Every muscle in her body protested against movement, even Jyn's efforts to help. Moana was short but muscular and no doubt heavier than she looked.

The journey to the Inn was a blur of white and blue color. Moana felt the table beneath her before she realized that they were inside. It was warm and that warmth was a welcome change to the stinging cold from outside. Her muscles were not responding how she wanted them too and it took all of her effort for her to roll her head to the side.

"I'm here." Her voice was weak and her throat very dry. "It hurts." It was an experiance that Moana hadn't expected. She trusted herself to heal but as the shock faded she felt the pain on the skin of her shoulder, the sensation of needles pricking against her skin.

"My shoulder..." She wasn't able to see the mark left there or the burn. This was the first time that she's been struck by lightning.

[kestreldawn]

The woman's voice, though weak, is like a beautiful song to Jyn's ears. It means she didn't suffer any internal hearing damage. That's a better prognosis than Jyn was expecting, and there's a tiny smile on her face as celebration: a stark contrast to the contortion worn by the other woman.

Once some things have been gathered, Jyn places a soft blanket underneath the woman's head, then elevates her lower extremities with a small footstool. She wonders if the woman can move her arms, her legs. She knows there's often paralysis with these kinds of injuries, and she hopes the woman's managed to come out as unscathed as possible.

She sets the glass of water on a nearby table, wanting to ensure the woman's status before offering her any liquids. The mention of the arm draw's Jyn's eyes there, and she sees a scar of a thousand tendrils, jagged and raw. She knows it could be worse, and her initial assessment tells her that the burn should be relatively okay over time. She wishes for nothing more than the bacta tanks she's used to, or even a medical droid. She doesn't know enough of what's available here to help to the best of her ability, but she knows she won't find those things here.

"Your shoulder's going to scar," she says quietly, her voice soft and gentle. "But you should be all right. Can you feel your hands? Your feet? Can you move them?"

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana felt her head and feet rise as Jyn moved to support them. Everything around her was moving too quickly and as soon as it was there it was gone. Her lips parted and she slowly tried to turn her head to look at Jyn. There were so many questions bubbling through her thoughts but like the world around her they speed away before she could make sense of them. There had been lighting, a bright light; Moana blinked trying to refocus.

"Yes." Her voice rasps with her answer to the first question and paused, unable to speak with the discomfort in her throat.

She tried to wiggle her toes, her fingers or shift her weight. Her muscles and nerves screamed in protest feeling stiff and disjointed with each new attempt. A low pained groan vibrated through Moana’s chest making everything feel worse. Jyn would notice the slight movement of Moana’s fingers, soft twitches that at least show that the girl lying across the table wasn’t paralyzed. Her toes moved as well however it was impossible to see through the thick boots on her feet. Bit by bit sensations came back to Moana. Her head began to throb and her skin itched and burned while her muscles tightened and screamed with anger.

"Water?"

She wanted to speak, to at least have the process of breathing not hurt.

7 February

[powerunleashed]

It was the singing that caught Jean's attention first. There wasn't any music here and no way to listen to any as far as she'd discovered. She'd always loved going to the record store to listen to albums and not having that outlet left her life devoid of something she couldn't quite put her finger on until she heard Moana singing just beneath her breath. She was a good singer, actually, and Jean focused on that for a moment before noticing what she was doing with her hands.

"Oh, hey," she said, giving her an awkward wave. "I didn't know you could sing. You sound good."

7 February

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana liked to sing, it was a part of her culture and her people. It made her think of the sun, the crashing waves of the ocean and the warmth and comfort of home. Her voice was sweet and earnest, like many in her culture, she sang with all her heart.

Her fingers curled and she paused in her work to look up at Jean. She liked the other girl and it was nice to see her again. "Hi!" Moana smiled brightly though her smile was a little duller compared to when they had first met. "Thank you. I like singing. My island had a lot of songs."

She glanced down, her fingers continuing to move before she spoke again. "Do you like to sing?"

Re: 7 February

[powerunleashed]

"I'm not much of a singer," Jean admitted. "I like music, sure, but I don't think you want me to sing anything."

She didn't know if she was good or bad necessarily but she knew she definitely didn't want to put on a performance for anyone. It wasn't her style.

"We don't have any music here, really. It was nice to hear some."

7 February

[chosenbytheocean]

"I’ll be happy to sing more or teach you some of the songs I grew up with. I might even be able to make a drum for us to use." Moana believed in doing whatever it took to have fun and lift the spirit. Keeping the spirit happy was just as important as keeping the body happy.

"It also doesn’t matter if you’re good at it. What matters is that you enjoy it."

Moana twisted a small bit of the fibers in her fingers and then licked her thumb before continuing her work. Her thumb was a little red and sore and the liquid from spit helped work the material over the raw skin of her finger.

"We can start with a small part of a song."

"Ou mata e matagi"
Full Song

Re: 7 February

[powerunleashed]

Jean hummed along for a moment before lifting her voice to sing, trying to match the pitches and rhythm of the song. Dazzler was a mutant who could do this with ease; clearly when God was handing out mutations, he didn't give Jean the ability to wow anyone with her song.

"I'm not as good as you but it's fun to sing along," she conceded, grinning a little.

7 February

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana smiled brightly. "Having fun is all that matters. I know a lot of songs but they're mostly in the language of the elders. I can still teach them to you but you might not always know what you're saying." Which could be both a good or a bad thing.

"Do you have a favorite song from home? One that you remember by heart?"

Feb 8 - Evening at the Inn

[hawkeyesniper]

It was hard not to take notice of a woman working by the fire day in and day out, singing to herself. Riza had made note of it, but being on her own schedule did not find much time to stop and listen or felt the need to comment.

Still, on this particular evening, she found herself unoccupied. This was never a good thing because then it meant she'd be left alone with her thoughts. Thoughts that often took her down roads she'd really rather leave untraveled. It was because of this that she decided this evening she would actually stop and talk to Moana.

She quietly watched Moana for a few moments before speaking, "I used to have a friend who would always sing while she cleaned. I thought it was strange...but maybe there is something to it. Does it actually help?"

Feb 8 - Evening at the Inn

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana was focused on her task but she always took note of those who’d walk in and out of the Inn. She knew who lived there, who visited and was able to see faces of those she scarcely spoke to. She would sometimes over hear others when they were talking; the only exception to this was when she was singing a familiar song softly beneath her breath. Moana would often sing what came to mind. Singing, like dancing, was a rich part of her island and it wasn’t something she wanted to forget.

At the familiar voice Moana paused and looked up. A light smile tugged at her lips when she spotted Riza. "Sometimes, it keeps me calm so that I’m able to work. If I get frustrated the threads usually tangle or I lose track of what I’m doing." In short, it helped her focus.

Distractions were bad when you were attempting to tie a lot of small threads together.

[hawkeyesniper]

"So what is it that you're working on specifically," Riza asked, observing the fact that she was weaving. However, Riza had never been involved in crafts like that, so she couldn't tell what it could necessarily be used for. It hadn't quite progressed far enough along for Riza to tell it was a net on sight -- it could be anything. But, she was curious and after a long day she did want to socialize a bit.

She just hoped Moana didn't mind talking. Which, given her statement, Riza raised a hand apologetically, "But...if I'm going to distract you let me know."

[chosenbytheocean]

"It's a fishing net." Moana smiled and pulled the net up for Riza to see. She had most of it gathered to her right and with it about a third of the way done, it expanded between Moana's shoulders and then down into her lap a foot or two.

"I'm making it for Thorfinn." Mostly because he asked and he gave her a cloak when she first arrived but also because he'd promised to teach her to sail.

"You're fine. I can work on this and talk. It's actually how I learned."

[hawkeyesniper]

A net was practical and made a lot of sense, they could use more people catching fish for them to use. Riza is impressed at her skill, mostly because she often admired people for skills that she did not possess herself. "So you made these often back home? Do you also fish," she asked, deciding that since she'd been given the go ahead, she'd continue the conversation.

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana nodded her head as she explained further. "My island had a lot of people who fished. We also made baskets, nets, clothes." The list went on and on. "I didn't make these that often." Which was why this project was taking so long, besides the unfamiliar material. "But I had to learn all of the roles on my island." It was to help her one day take over for her father.

"It isn't so hard if you want to learn."

Feb 13?

[pretendtoneedme]

"Because you're making 'em do something they don't wanna do." Clint was exiting the inn when he saw the young girl apparently having an argument with what looked like a hemp bundle, which... yeah, he'd seen stranger. He didn't even blink at the situation as he walked over to pick the mess of reeds up and offer it back to her. "Not that I really know anything about whatever you're doing, but would getting them wet make it easier? That softens up some things and makes them more pliable."

He wasn't trying to be patronizing or anything, but it was the only idea he had that might actually help. It wasn't like they had some sort of reed lotion that would make the things bend easier, but the "underwater basket weaving" joke had to come from somewhere, right?

Feb 13?

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana’s head turned when she heard Clint speaking to her. There was a soft pout on her lips; one that looked like it belonged to a very stubborn child. Her expression softens when he hands the mess back to her. "It would but I need to be able to tie it and water makes the fibers slipper and they should want to do it." She mumbled the last part beneath her breath though it’d be audible to Clint.

It took Moana a moment to realize that he had no idea what she was doing. She shifted her hips so she was sitting more comfortably and then gestured over to the thin strands sitting next to her. "I’m trying to make a fishing net. On my island I used coconut fibers which are a lot shorter and flexible than these." It ripped up her fingers when she weaved the threads together.

"This thing is being mean for no good reason." She wanted to throw it again but since he’d just handed it back to her, she decided not to. "Maybe I will throw it in water." Moana was trying not to be salty, she didn’t like being salty but it was annoying and the string was stupid.

[pretendtoneedme]

He didn't even blink at the pout. It was an expression he was very used to seeing, on a variety of faces - including some of his teammates. But at least she was trying to do something instead of just sitting around pouting about being stuck in this place, so that's already a point for her.

"Your island? Where're you from?" One area Clint hadn't had much to do with in the time he'd been an agent was the Pacific islands; he'd been to a few of the more major countries a couple of times, but the residents there tended not to refer to their homes as "the island." A lot of them were just too damn small to need an agent visiting them, not to mention he'd've stood out like a sore thumb among the populace. "If you could figure out how to make a net and show the rest of us, that'd be a big help. Doesn't look like there's a lot of fishing poles in this place.

"Maybe try soaking just one small part? Just make a test run, then if it doesn't work right, you won't lose too much work."

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana had many skills however she wasn't able to sit and do nothing for long stretches of time. Sometimes she'd go to the river, just to talk or dance with the water, but even then she'd return to the inn quickly. It was too cold to be outside and she'd accidentally fallen into the snow more than a handful of times.

"Motunui." So far, no one has heard of her island. She didn't expect for Clint to suddenly know now. "It's always warm there." The phrase was spoken wistfully, as much as she missed her island, her family, she also missed warm weather.

"I might." Moana pulled at her current progress, draping the net across her lap. "This isn't so hard. I found a good plan in the forest and I've been using the fibers from inside to weave. I can teach you if you want. This net is for Thorfinn but I can make more." Each net took her a little over a month to finish. She's started working on remaking her dress from home but she's spent very little time on it. Moana always put the good of the village before herself.

It's what she'd been taught.

[pretendtoneedme]

Her guess was played out as he shook his head: no, he didn't know the name. But there were a lot of islands in that area, far more than he even knew existed most likely, and he wouldn't even claim to try and be an expert on them.

"Yeah, I'll bet. The few times I was over that direction, the weather was always great. Never got to stay long, though." Just your normal statement for the everyday spy. Honestly Clint couldn't even remember all the places he'd been in the course of his career. "It'll get better here as it gets out of winter. Uh, not that anyone wants to be here that long, but weather and climate..."

Foot in mouth and hope for the future aside, Clint was overall fairly impressed. A lot of the teenagers he knows in his normal life wouldn't be this self-sufficient, or at least attempt to be within their limits, and she can't be all that much older than Cooper. "If you've got time later, sure, I'd take you up on that, but it's no rush. Not usually a lot of fish activity in the winter. Uhh, I'm Clint, sorry, forgot that."

Feb 11th

[seekingvinland]

Thorfinn had heard what had happened to her, just in passing. He made his way inside holding a book under his arm. It was only when he found where she was working a soft smile offered as he sat the book down before her.

"You should be resting, Moana." he spoke almost as if trying to be stern. "You are lucky to not have died."

Feb 11th

[chosenbytheocean]

Moana looked down at the book first, slowly reading the lettering on the cover. After a moment she looked up, a stubborn expression pulling over her features.

"I'm fine." She was mostly fine, the scar looked pink and sore and she was experiencing weird muscle spasms but Moana figured no one would worry if she didn't draw attention to it. "I'm working on the net."

She pulled some of the strands to her left where the net had begun to form. A few more weeks and she'd be finished a good size net.