Opposites Attract!

[Ivory]

Akala smiled at the kids, pausing to crouch down so as to be at eye level with the little munchkins.  "I am Akala," she said brightly.  "This is my friend Ha'aheo.  We've traveled a long way up the beach.  Do you mind if we ask you to lead us into your village for food and rest before continuing on?"

The little boy shrugged his shoulders in answer.  "I guess," he said, though his eyes were still fixed on Ha'aheo.  The girl remained shyly -- and wordlessly -- beside the boy, clinging to his hand as she stared at the strangers with wide eyes.

"Thank you," Akala answered with a laugh.  "Come on, Ha'aheo."

The boy skipped along beside the mershark, thrilled at the prospect of acting as escort -- and, no doubt, a chance to ask more questions about the blood.

OOC: I'm going to let you handle this...  Lame post is lame!

[Paradox]

There were so many more questions the boy had to ask Ha'aheo as they walked. Ha'aheo tried to follow the child's excitable language , but half of what the kid asked him flew over his head. "I've never seen you before. Are you from one of the other villages? "

Ha'aheo understood little. He glanced to Akala , looking for her help.

The boy didn't wait for him to answer, " Are you a hunter? You look like a hunter to me. You're really big and strong! "

Ha'aheo understood more of these words and nodded. Yes. He was a hunter.

The boy's eyes lit up and he looked so beside himself with excitement that he might burst,"Cool! I'm going to be a hunter too when I get bigger too! I'll be the best hunter ever! Even better than Kai!"

Ha'aheo recognized the name and frowned. "Kai?"

The boy nodded, " He's a hunter like you, Ha'aeho. You should meet him. He might be able to teach you something you don't know."

"Huh..." Ha'aheo picked up on bits and pieces of that sentence. He understood the suggestion of meeting this Kai. And, well, he already had. And that hunter would recognize his face and then there might be trouble. Ha'aheo was far more helpless here on land and these hunters were much more skilled with weapons than those silly pirates.

"Akala..." He stopped walking just as soon as they'd reached the first hut. He looked at her , wanting to say that he didn't have a good feeling about this but he didn't have enough words. His expression revealed his trepidation, however.

Now he looked ahead toward the village. It was only a few steps away and already he felt nervous. There were quite a number of people there. Mostly women and childeren, some elderly going about various activities.

Ha'aheo took a step back, his deep blue eyes wide and confused. The sight of so many people together in one place was intimidating to him.

"What's wrong?" The girl ,whom had been silent up until now, inquired.


"Not know," Ha'aheo wasn't even sure how he felt or what to say. He was very confused. Seeing females caring for young. Small young and larger. Seeing everyone co-exist here without fighting , without killing or raping. He shook his head , " Ha'aheo...no see."

"You're blind!?" The boy gasped.

"What blind?" Ha'aheo was even more confused now.



ooc: Don't worry! This was equally lame!

[Ivory]

"I think he means he doesn't understand," Akala said, breaking her own silence.  She had been watching the conversation with growing amusement at the predicament poor Ha'aheo had found himself in...and the excitement with which the boy addressed him.

"Can you go get some water in a bucket?  And a cloth?" Akala asked the girl.  She nodded brightly, glad to be involved, and dashed away.  "And do you know anyone who might have something Ha'aheo can wear?" she added to the boy.  He looked a bit hesitant to leave, but, after a moment, he ran off to find something for the mershark.

Drifting back to Ha'aheo's side, Akala laughed quietly.  "Is this the first time you've been to a village?"  Unlike Ha'aheo, she had no concept of living alone -- and so, she thought, the village couldn't be very different from a mershark village!  "It's alright.  No one's going to hurt you."  She extended a hand towards him in offering as the pair were beginning to draw confused and concerned looks from the villagers.

[Paradox]

Ha'aheo nodded, " Many ...people. Not know...how..." He looked uncomfortable, nervous. It was an odd expression for a creature the was so accustomed to coasting through the waters with arrogance, strength and feral grace. But he was on land now in a world that was alien to him. He felt like an awkward youngling that had only hatched a few moments ago.

"Akala know?" Ha'aheo was hesitant to trust her words. She might not intend to harm him, but she could not control how others responded.

He stared at her offered hand and blinked. He wasn't quite sure what the gesture meant.

To have second thoughts about this now!

He looked over his shoulder at a pair of elder women who were watching him curiously.  They didn't seem to fear him, but clearly found him interesting in an odd sort of way. "Akala seems to have made a new friend, " One of the wrinkled old crones commented to her companion. The other woman whom was even more wrinkled than the first chuckled, " He looks like a tough one. See the scars?" She pointed out and her friend nodded. Ha'aheo's darkly tanned skin was blanketed with scars from head to toe .

"Akala,  " The first old crone greeted her and , perhaps unwisely, approached the pair, "who is your new friend?"

Ha'aheo growled at the old woman and she stepped back, giving him a peculiar look. What a strange reaction from a man! "There's no need to become hostile, young man. " The old woman laughed, " I just wanted to welcome you to our village."

ooc: Apparently , old women frighten him!

[Ivory]

"It's alright, Ha'aheo," Akala replied with a smile, allowing her hand to fall back to her side as she turned to greet the woman with a soft laugh.  "Hello again, Manaka!"  She stepped forward to greet her properly by lightly rubbing noses, as Akala had attempted to show the mershark earlier.  "This is Ha'aheo.  But he doesn't like to be touched," Akala added hurriedly, just to avoid an additional incident.  "Ha'aheo, this is Manaka.  She's one of the village elders."

She half-turned towards Ha'aheo to see how he was taking this whole introduction...and to make sure he behaved!

"Ha'aheo is a mershark," she announced, pleased.  "We've helped each other out a few times now.  That reminds me.  When will the hunters be back?"  There was, after all, the matter of the danger out on the water...  "There are some men in a boat just off the shore.  They tried to take me onto their ship against my will."  She delivered the news with something of a pout!  They weren't nice people!  "If Ha'aheo hadn't been there, I think I would have had no choice but to go with them..."

[Paradox]

"A mershark? " The elderly pair inquired in unison. They then exchanged uneasy glances. A mershark! Surely, the girl wasn't serious!  Such creatures were never friendly! They murdered, they raped and they stole from the people! To think that one of their ilk stood here now...

"You brought one of those monsters here!? "

"Hush, Iolani, " Manaka cautioned her upset peer, " We do not know this Ha'aheo. I'm sure that if he were as terrible as the others that Akala would never be so foolish as to bring him here and place the children in danger. Perhaps this man is different. " The old woman circled Ha'aheo, observing him from every angle. Ha'aheo stood still, frowning and not quite sure what to make of the strange old woman. He only knew he didn't like how close she was to him. "Hm....yes. I see..." Now she stood before him, on the tips of her toes looking up , staring into his eyes. " I can see. "

Ha'aheo turned his head away from the woman's intense stare and looked at Akala, very bewildered by these bizarre people and their behavior.

"You are indeed a special one, Ha'aheo. I've never heard of one of your people helping one of ours. Thank you for saving our Akala. You are more than welcome here so long as you behave yourself," Manaka announced warmly with a smile.

Iolani did not appear to be so convinced, but she backed down. Manaka was not the eldest in the village , but she was fairly wise (perhaps a little mad) and greatly respected. She said nothing to this , but glared at Ha'aheo, quite sure that he would prove Manaka and Akala wrong when they least expected it!

[Ivory]

Akala watched the exchange with interest, curious expression becoming one of delight when Manaka spoke her judgment.  "The spirits seem to agree," Akala answered warmly.  "I think he's very important somehow."  How, though, only the spirits knew!

Akala glanced to Iolani and leaned in to murmur, "Anyway, I don't think he likes to eat people.  But he seems to love pineapple."  She grinned widely at the elderly lady, then stepped back over to Manaka and Ha'aheo just as the girl returned with the bucket.

"Can you wash the blood off your face?" Akala asked as she accepted the bucket and cloth.  "Like this.  See?"  She demonstrated the process for him; there was no need to scare the entire village or make them think he had done something wrong!  Like eating somebody...

"We learned how to walk today," she told the women proudly.  "I think he must have known how once and forgotten...  He was actually rather good at it to begin with.  And he already knew how to speak our language.  He's...brilliant, actually."

[Paradox]

Ha'aheo stood there quietly, listening to the women chatter at one another and wondering what it was that they were talking about. He knew they had spoken of him, but he could not digest every word. Frustrated, the mershark frowned. His eyes studied one of the elder women, the one called Iolani. She was looking at him with a familiar look. One that told him that he was not welcome here. It was the same hateful glare that the hunters gave him. He wasn't ashamed of that look, but he knew that when people looked at him like that , that he needed to watch his back or else he'd find a knife in it!

He turned to regard Akala when she held up a wet cloth and wiped her own face with it. Why was she doing that? "Huh? What Akala ....?" He didn't quite understand that she was asking him to wipe his own face at first.

"She wants you to do what she did," The little girl offered.

"Oh." Ha'aheo snatched the cloth from Akala's hand and tried mimicking her earlier demonstration, wiping his mouth with the cloth. He missed a spot. "Good?" He looked to Akala for approval.

"That is odd, " Manaka said, " Most of his kind are quite adept on land. Perhaps Ha'aheo does not visit land very often."

"They only come to land to make trouble for us," Iolani bitterly remarked.

This was true on both accounts!

[Ivory]

Akala grinned at Ha'aheo, seemingly ignorant of the expression on Iolani's face.  "You missed some," she said with a laugh.  "Right here."  She touched the corner of her own mouth to demonstrate.

"Perhaps not," Akala agreed with a light shrug.  It didn't really matter much to her.  She liked Ha'aheo!  And, on that note, she turned to frown at Iolani.

"Ha'aheo is my friend," she told the woman pointedly.  There was an edge to her voice now that had been lacking earlier, even when dealing with the pirate crew.  "Just as you are, Iolani.  You have my word that he will be no trouble, and, if my word is not enough, then we will leave as soon as we resupply.  I would never put anyone at risk, and that includes Ha'aheo."

[Paradox]

"Oh." Ha'aheo wiped his mouth again. Now, the blood was gone! "Good?" Again, he looked for her approval much like a child though more like a dog.

"Your face is clean now, " the little girl reassured him.

Ha'aheo nodded and still held the wet and bloody cloth, not quite sure what to do with it now.

He didn't say much when Akala stood up for him. He wasn't quite sure what all of this was about and it didn't occur to him that anyone would advocate for him being trustworthy. He only understood that there was some conflict between Akala and Iolani. He didn't need to understand their words to be able to read the tension between them. Then there was the look Iolani gave Akala when the younger woman was speaking. Whatever Akala was saying to her, Iolani clearly didn't agree.

"I mean no disrespect to you, but I think it's a mistake to let him be here," Iolani told Akala stubbornly, " he is an animal with instincts. No different from the rest of his kind and he will not be able to overcome them. Mark my words, Akala, your 'friend' will bring nothing but trouble for us and especially for you. If you had any sense at all, you'd encourage him to leave before that happens." Having spoken her piece, the old woman shuffled off in a huff.

Manaka shook her head , " Don't let what she says bother you too much, dears. Iolani was born with a stubborn-streak. It takes her a little more time than some others to welcome new things."

Ha'aheo watched Iolani storm off. Yep. That woman did not like him at all!

Now the boy did arrive, running over to Ha'aheo and holding up some clothing. He was grinning from ear-to-ear, proud of his accomplished task, " Look what I brought! " He demanded Ha'aheo's attention excitedly.

Ha'aheo tilted his head, "What that?"

The boy giggled. The man couldn't be serious, but he was funny!

[Ivory]

"That may be," Akala answered sadly.  "But the serenity of the village is equally as important as its safety.  If her opinion is shared by others, then it may be best we leave."  Her people, she thought, were better than that...  But, it seemed, she may have given them too much credit.

The boy's arrival made her smile again, however, and she nodded in approval.  "Thank you!  That will be perfect!  Ha'aheo, these are clothes.  Do you remember how we talked about needing clothes?  Would you like me to help you put them on?"

Accepting the clothing from the boy, she shook them out and held them out towards Ha'aheo.  Yes, they should be perfect -- much better than the ensemble he currently wore...which was barely decent.

[Paradox]

"Clothes." Ha'aheo nodded. Yes. He did remember Akala saying something about needing them, but he still didn't understand why. "Clothes strange." He commented and looked at the other humans. They all wore skins over skins! It was very confusing to him! He reached out and touched the cloth that Akala held up with a finger.

"He doesn't really know what clothes are? " The boy gaped. "Do you run around naked?" He giggled. How funny! What a funny guy! "Oh! Were you raised by animals? Amoka told me he met a man once who was raised by wild dogs!"

Manaka shook her head and laughed, "I'm certain that Amoka may have embellished a bit on that one, Hokuao."

Stamping his foot Hokuao insisted, "It's really true! He gave to me this necklace," he pointed to a necklace that bore three canine fangs, " and he said that the dog man got these teeth from his brothers when he bested them in combat!" 

"Oh, well, in that case I suppose you're right. How fascinating! " Manaka smiled at the boy. Whether she believed him now or not, who could say?

Ha'aheo blinked, staring at Akala, "Not know.  Akala...help?" He still had no idea what these humans expected him to do!  And it was embarrassing that he had to keep relying on this woman every time. For everything.


ooc : So many names! I'll do my best to remember them all (or keep looking back through posts to find them! )

[Ivory]

OOC: Names are good!

Akala nodded serenely.  Of course she would help!  "Now, you two turn around a moment," she told the kids, making a circular gesture with her hand.  Ha'aheo had no concept of privacy, obviously, but there were still a few things that were private in Yoreiq...and what was under one's loincloth was nothing to share with children.  They would understand in a few years!

"This will be a bit easier than before," Akala promised brightly.  "Here we go now."  With a flick of her wrist, she untied the knot that held the makeshift outfit in place, replacing it soon after with the new piece of cloth.  It was, apparently, more difficult to do it on another person, but she soon got the cloth folded neatly around his waist and secured in place with a decorative wooden clasp.

"Ha'aheo isn't Yoreiqi, Hokuao," she said, once satisfied with her work.  "You can turn back around now, by the way.  Ha'aheo is a mershark."  Picking up her own discarded cloth, the blood-stained rag, and the bucket of water, she added, "Shall we go into town and see if we can't get any food?"

[Paradox]

"Huh?" Ha'aheo stared at Akala blankly. He wasn't sure what to think about what was about to transpire and so he just stood there, watching his new friend with curious eyes. The children turned away and he didn't think much of it but when Akala drew near he took a step back. What? What was she doing!? He did trust her, to some extent but her weird behavior always made him feel uncomfortable because he didn't know how to respond to it. Perhaps he should have just stood there and acted as though nothing was happening, but he couldn't help but wonder why she was acting the way that she was and what one of her own kind would have done in such a situation. He hated being ignorant!

He blushed. Not from his nakedness nor from what Akala was doing , but from embarrassment over his lack of understanding. He was even more determined now to learn now so that he wouldn't keep looking like a fool around these humans.

Newly dressed, Ha'aheo looked down to see what Akala had done. He looked bewildered. What was the purpose of this? He looked at her but she was preoccupied with gathering her things.

"A mershark!? Really!? " Hokuao hopped up and down , hardly able to contain his excitement. "That's SO cool! But..." He stopped hopping and looked up at Ha'aheo with a frown. "Where are his fins?"

"Mersharks use a form of shapeshifting magics that allow them to walk on land as humans do, " Manaka explained to the lad kindly.

"Oh...neat! I wish I could shapeshift too! That would be so COOL!"

Manka chuckled and turned from the excitable boy to look at Ha'aheo and Akala. " Mersharks have insatiable appetites. I'm sure you must be hungry, Ha'aheo."

At that moment, Ha'aheo's stomach spoke up for him. The mershark nodded , " Hungry. Have...fish?"

"We have lots!" Hokuao exclaimed. "I'll get some for you! " Before anyone could protest, the boy ran off , disappearing into the village.

Manka chuckled , "Full of energy, that one. Well, let's follow him, shall we?" She smiled at the pair and moved slowly to follow at a pace that was reasonable for a woman that was well into her late years.

Ha'aheo didn't move to follow them . He still seemed very lost , confused and uncertain. But he was pretty hungry! And he had to admit that he had not been expecting these people to come into their world. If he wanted to keep things like this...he didn't know if he could meet their expectations and he hoped he did nothing to screw things up too badly and ruin this opportunity to learn!

Or he would have to go home, to the sea...and go back to the usual . boring routine.

[Ivory]

"Ha'aheo?" Akala asked, pausing several steps down the path to turn back to him questioningly.  "Are you coming?"

Hang it all!  She trusted Ha'aheo, and the spirits led them to this village.  They obviously felt it was safe enough here, or they would have led them in another direction!

Crossing the few feet she had traveled to stand in front of her friend again, she said worriedly, "It's okay, Ha'aheo.  No harm will come to you here.  There's food.  You can meet new people and make some new friends.  And we can rest safely here."

It dawned on her, suddenly, that there may be a problem afoot she did not consider...  She glanced over her shoulder at the retreating old woman, then turned her attention back to Ha'aheo.  "You don't have to come if you don't want to.  I could take you back to the beach, and we can meet up with each other later."

[Paradox]

Ha'aheo watched Akala move away and did not move even to follow her. Where she had faith in spirits, he had nothing but his instincts to rely on and even if these people seemed harmless, friendly even...he had grown accustomed to always being cautious because the ocean was a very dangerous place. Constantly.

"Not know Akala, " He tried thinking of a way he could explain what he was feeling to her with the few words that he knew, " All..." he gestured to everything around him, "new to Ha'aheo. Ha'aheo not know how to...be. " He did not know the word for nervous. "Make ...trouble for Akala." Yes, he supposed he worried about her a little too. She was the first creature that was food that he wouldn't think of eating or even chewing on! Though she smelled so tasty!

And he'd somewhat grasped Iolani's meaning. There were likely other people who would not be happy to have him here.

[Ivory]

Akala's expression softened.  "We were all new to this world once.  There's no reason to be ashamed of that.  And the world is such a big place, there's always going to be something new for you to try or to learn -- whether it's food or meeting new people or learning to surf."

Picturing Ha'aheo on a surfboard momentarily made her giggle.

"You won't make trouble for me.  If people don't like that I've brought you here, they simply won't talk to me.  That's fine, because you're a wonderful person, Ha'aheo, and if they don't want to take the time or trouble to come to know you, then I'm not sure I want to talk to them either."

More solemnly, she said, "But if you want to go back out to the water, I won't make you come into the village.  It's your choice, Ha'aheo."

[Paradox]

Akala's reassurances made him feel a little better even if he wasn't so sure that she could protect him from the hunters if they decided that he was too much of a threat to the village. Individually, he was confident that he could best any one of them, but humans found greater strength in numbers.

"Know water. Not this." He looked back over his shoulder, back the way he had come from and considered going home. He knew he could not remain here for much longer anyway. However, he turned back to her and shook his head. "No go. Ha'aho comes to see. " He'd come too far to turn away now when this much progress had been made.

"Akala not know Ha'aheo . " He informed her . She really didn't! This was but the second time they'd met ! He hardly knew a thing about her either and what he knew of her might have amounted to more than what she knew of him. "What wonderful? Is like...good?"He moved forward, walking down the path toward the heart of the village.

[Ivory]

"It's better than good," Akala answered with a laugh.  Silly mershark!  "And you're right.  I don't know you very well, but...  I know enough about you to believe I can trust you.  You haven't tried to eat me, and I don't think you intend to.  I don't think you intend to eat any of the people here either.  Do you?"

She was looking at him now curiously, dark eyes studying his as she awaited an answer.

"This is part of being someone's friend.  You trust them.  And they trust you."  Hopefully, the villagers wouldn't make her regret those words...

"But if they don't like you, we'll go.  I don't think any of them would try to hurt you as long as we leave peacefully..."  She would hope not...

[Paradox]

"Beh...behttar than good? " Ha'aheo blinked. "Beh-tar. What that?" He honestly had no idea! And he was full of questions, but this was one question that would have to wait as Akala beckoned to him to come with her. He shook his head at mention of him eating her, "No eat. " His face twisted with disgust, " No eat Akala. No good. Smell good. " He tapped the tip of  his long , pointed nose with a claw, " No good eat."

He tilted his head like a curious dog, " No eat...people. Ha'aheo eat...fish. Pineapple. Uh..." He had not the words for things like crab, dolphin, whale,sea gulls and just about anything in the sea that was fleshy.

"Oh..." Ha'aheo sort of understood but didn't. This was all new to him and he was starting to realize that all the talking in the world with this woman would only open up his scope of understanding so far. If he wanted to learn, he'd have to move forward and interact with these humans. "Ha'aheo comes."

As they entered the village, passing the modestly constructed huts, Ha'aheo could feel quite a few pairs of curious sets of eyes following him. It made him feel a little uncomfortable and he subconsciously moved closer to Akala.

Hokuao came running toward them with a plate which he held up enthusiastically to Ha'aeho. "I brought you lots of fish, Ha'aheo!" He boasted ,seeming quite proud of himself.

Ha'aheo stared at the plate piled high with his favorite food and blinked. He wasn't used to being fed. Now this was the second time he'd been freely offered a meal. It was confusing to him , but he wasn't one to pass up a free meal. Ever. He grabbed the fish and ate them as though he were a starving man. All three fish had vanished in a mere matter of seconds.

"WOW!" Hokuao gasped, staring up at the mershark in amazement, " You are REALLY hungry! Wait here. I'll go get more!" He ran off.