Lei and the Fire Goddess, page 15
What looked like hundreds of tiny, furry mammals were flying around the space. They were zigging and zagging, up and down, left and right. They kept rhythm to something Anna couldn’t quite make out. It sounded like a loud hum, but if she concentrated, she could make out different tones. Were they singing? The purple glow seemed to be little lights all around the cave. Anna approached the closest one to inspect it. It was a seedpod that was hollowed out with a little purple flame inside. It reeked! Anna coughed and stepped back, the heel of her foot sinking into something.
Looking down, Anna realized she was standing on a dirt pile. Shaking off her foot, she moved a little deeper into the room.
“Ilikea,” she whispered, trying to make out her companion’s white tuft in all the chaos. “Ili,” she tried again. Nothing. “Makani?”
They swooped down instantly, enshrouding her in warmth.
“Do you see Ilikea?” Anna asked.
Anna felt them glide down her right hand and tug her index finger out to the side, effectively having her point toward a little alcove with a few bats hanging inside. Anna moved in that direction. Sure enough, Ilikea’s white fur patch was visible as she approached. Anna nodded as Ilikea looked her way.
“Bojo, Momi, this is the girl I was talking about,” Ilikea said to two bats next to her.
“Nice to meet you,” Anna said, smiling. Ilikea cracked up.
“Ahhhh, just too easy sometimes. They’re bats! They can’t understand you. They’re not special like me.” She winked.
Anna frowned.
“Don’t go getting all nuha. I’m getting the info. Just hang tight. Ha! Another hanging joke. Okay, you can’t hang. Just stand there.”
Something warm dripped onto Anna’s arm. She looked up. Bats were flying over her.
Oh.
My.
Gross!
A bat just peed on her! Or pooped. She wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. Both were disgusting. She swallowed her squeal and wiped her arm on the nearby cave wall, only to pull away quickly when she felt how wet the wall was. Okay. Don’t freak, don’t freak, don’t freak. Ilikea was working on getting information. Hopefully. She looked down at the ground as she stepped away from the wall and into another dirt pile.
Only, she realized it wasn’t dirt. She shook off her foot and stepped away from that pile toward a rock before returning her eyes to the bombardiers above her.
Continuing to dodge falling feces, she spoke up. “Um, Ilikea?”
“What?”
“Mind if I wait outside?”
“Just shush. Give me a minute.”
Anna bit the inside of her cheek and darted another poop bomb. “Makani,” she whispered. “Can you make a little wind above me to keep the crap away?”
Makani started up a little fan action that protected Anna as Ilikea finished up discussions. She stared at the girl bat in wonder, realizing that Kaipo, too, was an animal who could talk to other animals despite his human appearance. So much of what she thought she knew about her best friend was a cover-up. His house, for example. There were always reasons why they stayed at Tūtū’s or in the yard:
Tūtū had better food at her house.
His house was a mess.
His pet mouse had escaped again (he knew Anna was freaked out by their tails).
A likely story. An owl having a pet mouse. A small laugh escaped her lips. Was he having fun messing with her, making up those excuses? He was pretty good at it. She hadn’t suspected a thing. Anna wasn’t the least bit mad. How could she be when obviously he knew her better than she knew herself? Maybe she hadn’t been ready to know.
Some friend she was. Was he lonely having to pretend all the time? Having to hide that part of himself? Anna chewed her lip. How exhausting it must have been to constantly have to be something he wasn’t. To only let Anna know a portion of who he really was. Well, that was over now. Now she knew, and he could be whatever he wanted to be around her. Though she wasn’t sure how going swimming would work. Maybe he really did prefer the human form.
“Okey dokey, you ready?” the bat finally said, separating from the others and flying toward the exit.
Anna watched her step, following carefully after Ilikea. She stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb the strange humming and choreography around her.
They emerged, blinking into the daylight, and Anna sucked in the fresh air. That tang she smelled must have been all the guano! Her gag reflex activated, salivary glands working overtime to pump saliva into her mouth and try to purge the overwhelming poo odor.
Ilikea was doing spins and loop the loops in the air ahead of Anna, completely oblivious. “Wasn’t that just AWESOME?! Gah, I love that place. Coolest club ever.”
“Club? Like, a nightclub dancing place?” Anna had zero insight into clubs. Pretty sure those would wait till college. But in the shows she watched, people always went dancing at night.
“Think about it, for flap’s sake. For bats, it’s a day club!” She circled in the air. “BootsnCatsnBootsnCats . . . ,” Ilikea repeated over and over while Makani bounced and jiggled her around to the beat. Must be nice to be so close and trust that they won’t let you fall. Anna shook her head, erasing thoughts of Ridley dropping her like a steaming bag of bat poop.
“Okay, glad you enjoyed yourself. Did you get the info? Had any of them seen Kamapuaʻa?”
At that, Ilikea stopped her twirling and flew down to Anna. “You would not believe it. Well, no, maybe you would. It’d stretch your imagination a bit. But, I mean, given what you’ve seen over the past few hours, you’d have to be a complete—”
“Ilikea!” Anna cut in.
“What? Yeesh. So loud with the yelling all the time. Anyway, it seems as if you were right. The crew have spotted the Porcine Prince prancing about this side of the island. His latest resting place—”
“Wait, like, he died?”
“No, like, he sleeps. His latest sleep spot is over toward Hilo a bit more, but a couple of the bats noticed him heading this way yesterday, and rumor is he is somewhere much closer right now. Probably drawn in by the eruption, trying to figure out who ticked off his ex.”
Anna pumped her fist, energy zinging through her. One step closer! Finally, it felt like they were on the right path again. Kaipo would be so proud of her for this idea. It had to work. She wouldn’t worry about the fact that she was trying to find a massive legend whose tusks were known for churning up lava, whose tricks upset villages for eons, and whose affairs with Pele caused some of the most epic breakup drama in Hawaiian history. “Great! Let’s go.”
Ilikea flew ahead, singing to herself. Words faintly floating back to Anna on the breeze, “BootsnBatsnBootsnBats . . .”
As she followed Ilikea through the brush, Anna went over what she was going to do. She had seen Pele. Pele wanted her scale to go find Kamapuaʻa in the ocean. Anna held on to the scale, preventing Pele from finding him. Hopefully that would be enough reason for him to help her. Uncle Tiny talked about double-reverse-kōkua, constantly helping other people because you know you’ve been helped somewhere along the way, too. Keeping the good vibes going. It was a good system. Maybe he’d agree.
Ridley used to be a fan of that system. She and Anna had helped each other out so many times in the past, it was impossible to tell who owed who a favor last. Thinking through the pictures she had on her phone, Anna knew she had some okay ones with Ilikea in the lava tube, and Makani making her hair fly when they emerged. But if she could get a picture of Kamapuaʻa? Whoa, that’d be epic. Hennley would totally have to admit that a boar the size of a bear was terrifying, and if Anna was posing next to it? She’d be the fiercest kid at school.
But . . .
Was that still what she wanted? Anna chewed her lip, thinking about it as they walked. Why should Hennley, of all people, deserve to see proof of these literally unbelievable beings? Why should Anna be busting her butt over her approval? There were clearly bigger things in life to worry about than having the right shoes or saying the exact right thing all the time. Just look at Ilikea. She said the wrong thing most of the time, but they were figuring each other out.
It was too bad Anna couldn’t just ignore Hennley completely. She had too much history with Ridley that she wasn’t willing to let go of quite yet. She missed her old friend who was sucked to Hennley like a moth to Anna’s headlamp.
Anna almost stopped in her tracks. She had never stopped to consider what it was about Hennley that drew Ridley in (and Anna, too, if she were being honest). Why did Hennley seem so special? She appeared strong. Powerful. Anna thought back to Pele, formerly known as ʻUla. That same powerful attitude immediately sucked Anna into her vortex. Maybe in middle school, it had done the same for Ridley.
Anna pondered this as they moved together through the jungle. Eventually, Ilikea stopped at a big tree with silvery green leaves waving in the breeze. Clusters of white flowers broke up the greenery, and greenish-brown golf-ball-size nuts hung from the branches. Anna couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful it all was.
“Right, so I’ll just wait over here for you,” Ilikea said, fluttering close to Anna’s ear. “Scream if you die so I know not to keep waiting.”
With that helpful encouragement, she flew off to a nearby māmane tree and hung upside down near the yellow blossoms, wings crossed.
Anna studied the kukui tree Ilikea had led her to, not seeing any signs of a pig or person.
“Hello?” she called out. Makani tugged at her pack, so Anna swung it around. Guavas! She had spotted the big boar picking guavas. Maybe she could use these as an offering. She pulled them out of her side pocket. Looking around, she saw a ti plant. Anna tugged at loose strands that had fallen out of her braid. In hula, eons ago, she’d learned that offerings were traditionally wrapped in ti leaves. But what if this ti plant was sacred or something? She should have paid more attention to Kaipo when learning about which plants she could pick stuff from and what makes certain kupua mad. Better not risk it.
“Kamapuaʻa? I come bearing guavas.” Anna approached, entering the shade of the tree. A flat stone the size of a skateboard lay near the trunk. Anna lined the three ripe guavas neatly in a row on the stone. Then she backed away slowly.
This Little Piggy
Anna glanced down at the ground while backing up. The roots and plants under the tree’s canopy were tripping hazards, and it’d be embarrassing to fall on her ʻēlemu in front of a legend. As she watched her footing, she realized something had changed. Sunlight danced on her arms, warming her skin. Her own shadow was clearly visible on the ground. Startled by the sudden shift, she looked up.
The kukui tree was gone.
In its place stood a boy about her age, maybe a bit older. Dark brown skin, wide nose, high cheekbones, and a small smirk as he bit into one of her guavas. He tossed a second in his other hand and stepped toward Anna.
“Mahalo no nā kuawa. E lawe mai i ka moa i kekahi hui ʻana,” he said, chewing and grinning. His Hawaiian flowed over Anna like a turbulent stream. The boy’s gruff, slightly scratchy voice sounded like he had just woken up or hadn’t talked a lot recently.
This was the legendary Kamapuaʻa?
“Um, hi. Just so you know, I didn’t catch what you said,” Anna said.
He blinked, and his smile widened, a guava seed stuck between his two top teeth.
“You have a . . .” Anna bared her own teeth and ran her tongue in the spot the seed was in his mouth, trying to get him to do the same.
He just tilted his head.
She pointed. “Right there, there’s a seed.”
His lips closed, his brows furrowed. She could see his tongue working behind his lips for a bit, and then he grinned again extra big, exposing even his gums.
“Yeah, you got it.” Anna gave a thumbs-up, not sure what he understood.
“So, hi, I’m Lei,” Anna said, awkwardly holding out her hand.
Then it hit her. She had called herself Lei! She didn’t know how that came out of her mouth, but somehow it fit like a cozy warm hoodie on a cool Volcano day. A smile stretched her lips. Tūtū’d be psyched to hear her now. Realizing she’d been standing there looking like a fool, lost in thought, with her hand out, her smile faded.
The boy wasn’t taking her hand, so she dropped it. Most of the people she met in Hawaiʻi were Tūtū’s friends. The “aloha” greeting would be followed with a honi, a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. Out here in the rainforest by herself, she instantly reverted to a handshake. Leaning in for a cheek kiss with the legend was a bit more than she could handle right now.
He popped the rest of the guava into his mouth, then spoke. “Whatchoo doin’ out here?” he asked in accented English. A bit of guava flew out of his mouth as he talked. Anna wiped a chunk off her cheek, grimacing.
“I walked here from my tūtū’s house.” Anna paused. She had to start easy, start small—if she immediately accused him of following her, he’d never help her find Pele. “I’m looking for my friend,” Anna continued carefully. “Somebody’s been making trouble in the jungle. They think they own it all. My friend was just trying to help me out, and now he’s gone.”
“Who’s your friend? Maybe I’ve seen him.”
Anna gave herself a mental high five. She had him interested at least. Now to try to get him on her team.
“My friend is Kaipo. Well, he’s more than a friend, actually.”
Kamapuaʻa’s eyebrow rose.
“No! Not like that. Gross.” Heat prickled along her neck, and she knew she was probably bright red. “I just mean he’s more than a friend because he’s my ʻaumakua. Our family’s protector.”
“I know what an ʻaumakua is.”
“Right. Of course you do. Sorry.”
The boy took a bite of the second guava and waited.
“Yeah, so anyway, I’ve been trying to get him back.” Anna paused and watched the boy. He stood there looking completely at ease in a deep blue T-shirt and turquoise ocean with lots of little fish–print surf shorts. Just hanging out in the woods. No big deal. He chewed slowly and swallowed before speaking.
“You gonna tell me who took him, or are you keeping it a secret for fun?”
“Oh! Yeah. Um . . . Pele?” Her nervousness made her statement come out like a question, her voice going squeaky high at the end. Kamapuaʻa’s eyes widened, and he grinned.
“For real?”
Anna nodded. Didn’t he remember? She was pretty sure he had seen her with ʻUla earlier.
“No way! What’d you do to tick her off?”
The tips of her ears got hot. “Does it really matter? I need to find Kaipo—”
“Ooh, this story’s gotta be good if you don’t want to tell me.”
Anna rolled her eyes and tried to brush it off. “It’s so not a big deal.”
“Then why don’t you tell me?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.” Now the heat had spread from her ears to her cheeks. She really didn’t want to have to relive this.
Kamapuaʻa finished that guava and made a big show of casually walking back to the stone to grab the third and final fruit. He inspected it carefully, like it was a diamond he was searching for flaws instead of a yellow orb flecked with brown scratches.
Like he had all the time in the world.
“Fine. I picked her lehua, okay?” Anna crossed her arms against her chest. The boy took a bite, then motioned with his hands for her to continue. “Ugh! Yes, I may have said something like, ‘I don’t believe in her and legends are stupid’ or something like that, but obviously I came to find you and don’t believe that anymore, all right?”
“Ah, and there it is. But, Guava Girl, what do you believe?”
“I just told you.”
“No, you told me what you don’t believe, not what you do.”
“Well, obviously since I don’t believe that the legends are fake, I must believe that they are, I don’t know, real or something.”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Anna was completely flustered by this line of questioning. How could somebody even answer that question? She only knew she was running out of time. “Oh my goodness, can you just help me find Kaipo or not? I have to hurry!”
“Is she always like this?” Kamapuaʻa called out.
“Yup. Pretty much,” Ilikea said, fluttering over Anna’s shoulder.
“What! I am not always like this, whatever this”—she waved her arms around—“is.” Anna fumed as the legend raised his eyebrow again. “Fine! You know what? Never mind. I’ll do it myself. Forget I asked.” She pivoted on her heel and was about to walk off when the bat and the boy broke into laughter. Anna looked back and saw Ilikea lying sloppily on his shoulder. She felt like an outsider looking in again. She imagined Hennley’s crew teaming up with those two and joining in on the laughter. Ridley would be standing on the periphery, looking awkward.
Makani patted Anna’s head with puffs of air, trying to make her feel better.
“Ha, ha, so funny,” Anna bitterly muttered.
“Sorry! It’s just been a while since I had someone to mess with,” Kamapuaʻa said. Then he looked over to Ilikea, who’d pulled herself together and was fluttering near his head. “Humans, am I right?” Anna’s jaw dropped as he held up his fist, and Ilikea did a little batty fist bump into it.
“So you all know one another then?” Anna asked, the words coming out sharp and prickly. “There’s a ‘Legendary Creatures Conference’ you all go to and hang out? Catch up on which human you’ve punked lately? That’s real cool.”
Anna rolled her eyes. So she wasn’t part of their crew. What else was new? She didn’t care. Really, she didn’t. She wasn’t here to make friends. She just needed them to help her get Kaipo. Clearly, she was going to be the mature one here and get them to focus. She swung her bag around and pulled out the moʻo’s scale. The laughter cut off. Ilikea watched Kamapuaʻa to see how he’d react.
Looking down, Anna realized she was standing on a dirt pile. Shaking off her foot, she moved a little deeper into the room.
“Ilikea,” she whispered, trying to make out her companion’s white tuft in all the chaos. “Ili,” she tried again. Nothing. “Makani?”
They swooped down instantly, enshrouding her in warmth.
“Do you see Ilikea?” Anna asked.
Anna felt them glide down her right hand and tug her index finger out to the side, effectively having her point toward a little alcove with a few bats hanging inside. Anna moved in that direction. Sure enough, Ilikea’s white fur patch was visible as she approached. Anna nodded as Ilikea looked her way.
“Bojo, Momi, this is the girl I was talking about,” Ilikea said to two bats next to her.
“Nice to meet you,” Anna said, smiling. Ilikea cracked up.
“Ahhhh, just too easy sometimes. They’re bats! They can’t understand you. They’re not special like me.” She winked.
Anna frowned.
“Don’t go getting all nuha. I’m getting the info. Just hang tight. Ha! Another hanging joke. Okay, you can’t hang. Just stand there.”
Something warm dripped onto Anna’s arm. She looked up. Bats were flying over her.
Oh.
My.
Gross!
A bat just peed on her! Or pooped. She wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. Both were disgusting. She swallowed her squeal and wiped her arm on the nearby cave wall, only to pull away quickly when she felt how wet the wall was. Okay. Don’t freak, don’t freak, don’t freak. Ilikea was working on getting information. Hopefully. She looked down at the ground as she stepped away from the wall and into another dirt pile.
Only, she realized it wasn’t dirt. She shook off her foot and stepped away from that pile toward a rock before returning her eyes to the bombardiers above her.
Continuing to dodge falling feces, she spoke up. “Um, Ilikea?”
“What?”
“Mind if I wait outside?”
“Just shush. Give me a minute.”
Anna bit the inside of her cheek and darted another poop bomb. “Makani,” she whispered. “Can you make a little wind above me to keep the crap away?”
Makani started up a little fan action that protected Anna as Ilikea finished up discussions. She stared at the girl bat in wonder, realizing that Kaipo, too, was an animal who could talk to other animals despite his human appearance. So much of what she thought she knew about her best friend was a cover-up. His house, for example. There were always reasons why they stayed at Tūtū’s or in the yard:
Tūtū had better food at her house.
His house was a mess.
His pet mouse had escaped again (he knew Anna was freaked out by their tails).
A likely story. An owl having a pet mouse. A small laugh escaped her lips. Was he having fun messing with her, making up those excuses? He was pretty good at it. She hadn’t suspected a thing. Anna wasn’t the least bit mad. How could she be when obviously he knew her better than she knew herself? Maybe she hadn’t been ready to know.
Some friend she was. Was he lonely having to pretend all the time? Having to hide that part of himself? Anna chewed her lip. How exhausting it must have been to constantly have to be something he wasn’t. To only let Anna know a portion of who he really was. Well, that was over now. Now she knew, and he could be whatever he wanted to be around her. Though she wasn’t sure how going swimming would work. Maybe he really did prefer the human form.
“Okey dokey, you ready?” the bat finally said, separating from the others and flying toward the exit.
Anna watched her step, following carefully after Ilikea. She stayed quiet, not wanting to disturb the strange humming and choreography around her.
They emerged, blinking into the daylight, and Anna sucked in the fresh air. That tang she smelled must have been all the guano! Her gag reflex activated, salivary glands working overtime to pump saliva into her mouth and try to purge the overwhelming poo odor.
Ilikea was doing spins and loop the loops in the air ahead of Anna, completely oblivious. “Wasn’t that just AWESOME?! Gah, I love that place. Coolest club ever.”
“Club? Like, a nightclub dancing place?” Anna had zero insight into clubs. Pretty sure those would wait till college. But in the shows she watched, people always went dancing at night.
“Think about it, for flap’s sake. For bats, it’s a day club!” She circled in the air. “BootsnCatsnBootsnCats . . . ,” Ilikea repeated over and over while Makani bounced and jiggled her around to the beat. Must be nice to be so close and trust that they won’t let you fall. Anna shook her head, erasing thoughts of Ridley dropping her like a steaming bag of bat poop.
“Okay, glad you enjoyed yourself. Did you get the info? Had any of them seen Kamapuaʻa?”
At that, Ilikea stopped her twirling and flew down to Anna. “You would not believe it. Well, no, maybe you would. It’d stretch your imagination a bit. But, I mean, given what you’ve seen over the past few hours, you’d have to be a complete—”
“Ilikea!” Anna cut in.
“What? Yeesh. So loud with the yelling all the time. Anyway, it seems as if you were right. The crew have spotted the Porcine Prince prancing about this side of the island. His latest resting place—”
“Wait, like, he died?”
“No, like, he sleeps. His latest sleep spot is over toward Hilo a bit more, but a couple of the bats noticed him heading this way yesterday, and rumor is he is somewhere much closer right now. Probably drawn in by the eruption, trying to figure out who ticked off his ex.”
Anna pumped her fist, energy zinging through her. One step closer! Finally, it felt like they were on the right path again. Kaipo would be so proud of her for this idea. It had to work. She wouldn’t worry about the fact that she was trying to find a massive legend whose tusks were known for churning up lava, whose tricks upset villages for eons, and whose affairs with Pele caused some of the most epic breakup drama in Hawaiian history. “Great! Let’s go.”
Ilikea flew ahead, singing to herself. Words faintly floating back to Anna on the breeze, “BootsnBatsnBootsnBats . . .”
As she followed Ilikea through the brush, Anna went over what she was going to do. She had seen Pele. Pele wanted her scale to go find Kamapuaʻa in the ocean. Anna held on to the scale, preventing Pele from finding him. Hopefully that would be enough reason for him to help her. Uncle Tiny talked about double-reverse-kōkua, constantly helping other people because you know you’ve been helped somewhere along the way, too. Keeping the good vibes going. It was a good system. Maybe he’d agree.
Ridley used to be a fan of that system. She and Anna had helped each other out so many times in the past, it was impossible to tell who owed who a favor last. Thinking through the pictures she had on her phone, Anna knew she had some okay ones with Ilikea in the lava tube, and Makani making her hair fly when they emerged. But if she could get a picture of Kamapuaʻa? Whoa, that’d be epic. Hennley would totally have to admit that a boar the size of a bear was terrifying, and if Anna was posing next to it? She’d be the fiercest kid at school.
But . . .
Was that still what she wanted? Anna chewed her lip, thinking about it as they walked. Why should Hennley, of all people, deserve to see proof of these literally unbelievable beings? Why should Anna be busting her butt over her approval? There were clearly bigger things in life to worry about than having the right shoes or saying the exact right thing all the time. Just look at Ilikea. She said the wrong thing most of the time, but they were figuring each other out.
It was too bad Anna couldn’t just ignore Hennley completely. She had too much history with Ridley that she wasn’t willing to let go of quite yet. She missed her old friend who was sucked to Hennley like a moth to Anna’s headlamp.
Anna almost stopped in her tracks. She had never stopped to consider what it was about Hennley that drew Ridley in (and Anna, too, if she were being honest). Why did Hennley seem so special? She appeared strong. Powerful. Anna thought back to Pele, formerly known as ʻUla. That same powerful attitude immediately sucked Anna into her vortex. Maybe in middle school, it had done the same for Ridley.
Anna pondered this as they moved together through the jungle. Eventually, Ilikea stopped at a big tree with silvery green leaves waving in the breeze. Clusters of white flowers broke up the greenery, and greenish-brown golf-ball-size nuts hung from the branches. Anna couldn’t help but marvel at how beautiful it all was.
“Right, so I’ll just wait over here for you,” Ilikea said, fluttering close to Anna’s ear. “Scream if you die so I know not to keep waiting.”
With that helpful encouragement, she flew off to a nearby māmane tree and hung upside down near the yellow blossoms, wings crossed.
Anna studied the kukui tree Ilikea had led her to, not seeing any signs of a pig or person.
“Hello?” she called out. Makani tugged at her pack, so Anna swung it around. Guavas! She had spotted the big boar picking guavas. Maybe she could use these as an offering. She pulled them out of her side pocket. Looking around, she saw a ti plant. Anna tugged at loose strands that had fallen out of her braid. In hula, eons ago, she’d learned that offerings were traditionally wrapped in ti leaves. But what if this ti plant was sacred or something? She should have paid more attention to Kaipo when learning about which plants she could pick stuff from and what makes certain kupua mad. Better not risk it.
“Kamapuaʻa? I come bearing guavas.” Anna approached, entering the shade of the tree. A flat stone the size of a skateboard lay near the trunk. Anna lined the three ripe guavas neatly in a row on the stone. Then she backed away slowly.
This Little Piggy
Anna glanced down at the ground while backing up. The roots and plants under the tree’s canopy were tripping hazards, and it’d be embarrassing to fall on her ʻēlemu in front of a legend. As she watched her footing, she realized something had changed. Sunlight danced on her arms, warming her skin. Her own shadow was clearly visible on the ground. Startled by the sudden shift, she looked up.
The kukui tree was gone.
In its place stood a boy about her age, maybe a bit older. Dark brown skin, wide nose, high cheekbones, and a small smirk as he bit into one of her guavas. He tossed a second in his other hand and stepped toward Anna.
“Mahalo no nā kuawa. E lawe mai i ka moa i kekahi hui ʻana,” he said, chewing and grinning. His Hawaiian flowed over Anna like a turbulent stream. The boy’s gruff, slightly scratchy voice sounded like he had just woken up or hadn’t talked a lot recently.
This was the legendary Kamapuaʻa?
“Um, hi. Just so you know, I didn’t catch what you said,” Anna said.
He blinked, and his smile widened, a guava seed stuck between his two top teeth.
“You have a . . .” Anna bared her own teeth and ran her tongue in the spot the seed was in his mouth, trying to get him to do the same.
He just tilted his head.
She pointed. “Right there, there’s a seed.”
His lips closed, his brows furrowed. She could see his tongue working behind his lips for a bit, and then he grinned again extra big, exposing even his gums.
“Yeah, you got it.” Anna gave a thumbs-up, not sure what he understood.
“So, hi, I’m Lei,” Anna said, awkwardly holding out her hand.
Then it hit her. She had called herself Lei! She didn’t know how that came out of her mouth, but somehow it fit like a cozy warm hoodie on a cool Volcano day. A smile stretched her lips. Tūtū’d be psyched to hear her now. Realizing she’d been standing there looking like a fool, lost in thought, with her hand out, her smile faded.
The boy wasn’t taking her hand, so she dropped it. Most of the people she met in Hawaiʻi were Tūtū’s friends. The “aloha” greeting would be followed with a honi, a kiss on the cheek and a warm hug. Out here in the rainforest by herself, she instantly reverted to a handshake. Leaning in for a cheek kiss with the legend was a bit more than she could handle right now.
He popped the rest of the guava into his mouth, then spoke. “Whatchoo doin’ out here?” he asked in accented English. A bit of guava flew out of his mouth as he talked. Anna wiped a chunk off her cheek, grimacing.
“I walked here from my tūtū’s house.” Anna paused. She had to start easy, start small—if she immediately accused him of following her, he’d never help her find Pele. “I’m looking for my friend,” Anna continued carefully. “Somebody’s been making trouble in the jungle. They think they own it all. My friend was just trying to help me out, and now he’s gone.”
“Who’s your friend? Maybe I’ve seen him.”
Anna gave herself a mental high five. She had him interested at least. Now to try to get him on her team.
“My friend is Kaipo. Well, he’s more than a friend, actually.”
Kamapuaʻa’s eyebrow rose.
“No! Not like that. Gross.” Heat prickled along her neck, and she knew she was probably bright red. “I just mean he’s more than a friend because he’s my ʻaumakua. Our family’s protector.”
“I know what an ʻaumakua is.”
“Right. Of course you do. Sorry.”
The boy took a bite of the second guava and waited.
“Yeah, so anyway, I’ve been trying to get him back.” Anna paused and watched the boy. He stood there looking completely at ease in a deep blue T-shirt and turquoise ocean with lots of little fish–print surf shorts. Just hanging out in the woods. No big deal. He chewed slowly and swallowed before speaking.
“You gonna tell me who took him, or are you keeping it a secret for fun?”
“Oh! Yeah. Um . . . Pele?” Her nervousness made her statement come out like a question, her voice going squeaky high at the end. Kamapuaʻa’s eyes widened, and he grinned.
“For real?”
Anna nodded. Didn’t he remember? She was pretty sure he had seen her with ʻUla earlier.
“No way! What’d you do to tick her off?”
The tips of her ears got hot. “Does it really matter? I need to find Kaipo—”
“Ooh, this story’s gotta be good if you don’t want to tell me.”
Anna rolled her eyes and tried to brush it off. “It’s so not a big deal.”
“Then why don’t you tell me?”
“Because it doesn’t matter.” Now the heat had spread from her ears to her cheeks. She really didn’t want to have to relive this.
Kamapuaʻa finished that guava and made a big show of casually walking back to the stone to grab the third and final fruit. He inspected it carefully, like it was a diamond he was searching for flaws instead of a yellow orb flecked with brown scratches.
Like he had all the time in the world.
“Fine. I picked her lehua, okay?” Anna crossed her arms against her chest. The boy took a bite, then motioned with his hands for her to continue. “Ugh! Yes, I may have said something like, ‘I don’t believe in her and legends are stupid’ or something like that, but obviously I came to find you and don’t believe that anymore, all right?”
“Ah, and there it is. But, Guava Girl, what do you believe?”
“I just told you.”
“No, you told me what you don’t believe, not what you do.”
“Well, obviously since I don’t believe that the legends are fake, I must believe that they are, I don’t know, real or something.”
“Isn’t it obvious?”
Anna was completely flustered by this line of questioning. How could somebody even answer that question? She only knew she was running out of time. “Oh my goodness, can you just help me find Kaipo or not? I have to hurry!”
“Is she always like this?” Kamapuaʻa called out.
“Yup. Pretty much,” Ilikea said, fluttering over Anna’s shoulder.
“What! I am not always like this, whatever this”—she waved her arms around—“is.” Anna fumed as the legend raised his eyebrow again. “Fine! You know what? Never mind. I’ll do it myself. Forget I asked.” She pivoted on her heel and was about to walk off when the bat and the boy broke into laughter. Anna looked back and saw Ilikea lying sloppily on his shoulder. She felt like an outsider looking in again. She imagined Hennley’s crew teaming up with those two and joining in on the laughter. Ridley would be standing on the periphery, looking awkward.
Makani patted Anna’s head with puffs of air, trying to make her feel better.
“Ha, ha, so funny,” Anna bitterly muttered.
“Sorry! It’s just been a while since I had someone to mess with,” Kamapuaʻa said. Then he looked over to Ilikea, who’d pulled herself together and was fluttering near his head. “Humans, am I right?” Anna’s jaw dropped as he held up his fist, and Ilikea did a little batty fist bump into it.
“So you all know one another then?” Anna asked, the words coming out sharp and prickly. “There’s a ‘Legendary Creatures Conference’ you all go to and hang out? Catch up on which human you’ve punked lately? That’s real cool.”
Anna rolled her eyes. So she wasn’t part of their crew. What else was new? She didn’t care. Really, she didn’t. She wasn’t here to make friends. She just needed them to help her get Kaipo. Clearly, she was going to be the mature one here and get them to focus. She swung her bag around and pulled out the moʻo’s scale. The laughter cut off. Ilikea watched Kamapuaʻa to see how he’d react.
