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@o-o-uila
"Oh yeah?" He picked up his surf board and started walking off in the direction of the market. "Why not? It’s always interestin’ out there."
Uila followed, feeling the texture of the ground change beneath his bare feet.
"No time." It wasn't an exact truth, but he hadn't needed to.
"Nah, brah!" He stood up and dusted the sand off his trunks. "I been surfin’ all day, and the waves’ll be here when I get back." He held out his hand to Ulia to help him up. "Besides, I’m the only one that remembers anytin." He snickered. "You ain’t gonna be much help."
Uila grinned. "This should be fun. I haven't been to the market since becoming chief."
"Hm?" He tilted his head. "Who’s that? Can we go see ‘em?"
He thought for a few moments of who else they could go to. “Ahh, this is hard, Heki.. I guess whoever’s close with spirits like you is, cuz.. But I can’t think of nobody..”
"The ghost tribe has a librarian who might - MIGHT - have records of anyone else who might be connected enough to have experienced the event in the way you witnessed. And I'm sure she'd like to record our accounts of it for her records as well." He sighed, wishing he had an account of the event besides the blank space.
"The best place to seek her out would be the Market. Would you like to accompany me? Or would it be too much to ask to tear you away from the waves?"
Wili nodded very thoughtfully, stroking his chin. “I think a dolphin would be cool, right? Or maybe a walrus… hmm..” Wili already felt at home in the water. Maybe he was reborn from a sea creature.
"Oh yeah, braddah. It seemed pretty important! If the spirits speak to you and THROUGH you, it must mean sometin!" He sighed and laughed a bit. "But how could we even find someone else that went through that?"
Uila eyed Wili. Walrus... before, after, and during. He suspected that would never change, though he barely knew the young man.
"That is the conundrum my friend. Aside from meditation I know of only one other person who might have access to records that might give us a lead. And beyond that, I'm sure stories will surface soon enough - if indeed someone else was affected by the event in the same way."
"That’s some heavy stuff, Heki. So whatchu gonna be reborn as? Anotha person?" He looked out at the ocean and chuckled. "A fish maybe, yeah cuz?"
Wili’s eyes widened. “If somebody else went all creepy like you did, maybe someone else can remember what they said!”
"Hekili stay Hekili. Though my own energy will not be reborn. The chieftains and elders of our tribe stay with the World Storm to guide those who follow. A fish - could be fun though."
Uila imagined life within the water could be peaceful, then he remembered the food chain within the depths.
"I hate to hope for it, but judging by your reaction it was ominous, and knowing what the message was could save our lives."
"I believe I was doing exactly as the spirits intended. I cannot imagine the havok that scene would have caused had it happened among the villagers of Hekili Ao."
Uila winced watching Wili put pressure on his wound. “Can I offer some assistance?”
Wili nodded and looked around at the empty beach. “Yeah, I guess this was a pretty good place to do it… You hurtin’ tho? All that lightin’ looked painful, cuz.”
"Huh? Nah, I’m good." He wiped his hand off on his trunks. "Heh, look it’s done bleedin’ anyways. It’s all good, I always cut my feet on shells or rocks on da sand. Used to it by now."
Uila smiled so wide he surprised himself. So much spiritual turmoil recently kept him from doing so. "Electricity is the driving force of our lives Wili. We began as energy, and we will return to energy, ready to be born anew. Lightning rarely hurts a Hekili."
A thought crossed his mind, "I wonder if the eclipse affected anyone else in the same manner as myself..."
Wili smiled and leaned over to shake Ulia’s hand. “Sup brah, I’m- Augh..” When he got closer, a small piece of glass punctured the hand that he was leaning on. He carefully picked it out and laughed.
"Heh, I’m Wili.." He put pressure on his hand so it would stop bleeding. "So whatchu doin’ way out here, huh Hekili?"
"I believe I was doing exactly as the spirits intended. I cannot imagine the havok that scene would have caused had it happened among the villagers of Hekili Ao."
Uila winced watching Wili put pressure on his wound. "Can I offer some assistance?"
He dropped back, falling on his ass, and let out a huge sigh of relief. “Geez.. I was afraid you died.” He looked up at the sky. It was sunny again, as though nothing had happened.
"Everytin’ went dark and and… Shoots brah, you were up in da air! Electricity comin’ offa you shit.. You was talkin’ loco stuff.. But then you said sometin’.." He ruffled his hair trying to remember. Everything happened so fast, and he was so afraid that he forgot the specific details. "You said some bad stuff is bout to go down."
Pushing himself up into a seated position, Uila's eyes searched the sky.
He found no further answers there. "Perhaps introductions are in order? I am Uila, chief of Hekili Ao. Explains the electricity." He frowned as his eyes took in small jagged pieces of glass in the sand around him.
"I wish I could remember..." He shook his head as if to dislodge the emptiness that had entered it.
Wili was already ready to turn tail once the sun turned black. But when Ulia fell, he knew he couldn’t leave. He knelt down next to the stranger and cautiously extended his hand towards him. A few sparks reached out from Ulia’s body to Wili’s fingertips. He recoiled, but tried again, gently laying his hand on Ulia’s shoulder.
He shook him very slightly and spoke in a hushed whisper, as if someone had died. “Hey cuz… you okay? Ohh please say you gonna be okay..”
His body convulsed as the sparks died and he coughed into the sand as he rolled over onto his back.
He stared at the sky behind the walrein's head. His body felt alive, and raw, but he felt his mind was clearer than it had been in ages.
"What- What happened?" The last thing he remembered was the ring of clouds in the sky and the moon.
He nodded in agreement. It was a beautiful sentiment. He would have to remember to add that to his personal philosophies and outlook on life.
Wili looked around at the sudden and drastic change of the scenery around them. His jaw dropped. He had never seen anything like this before. He jumped when Ulia said his name. “Ey bruddah how you know.. Brah what’s goin’ on?!”
He jumped to his feet and took a few steps back. “You alright?!”
Uila's arms shot out vertically, sparks of electricity dancing along his skin. They appeared concentrated around the blue lines of tattoo's that marked his skin.
His mouth moved as if he was speaking but no noise came out at first. His voice came out in a drone, pronouncing syllables unintelligible to most anyone on the island. Finally the gibberish stopped. But the speaking continued.
"Diabolical events are approaching. The sun will be extinguished, allowing the gruesome hours to conquer daylight. And that is just the beginning."
His body went limp, "Diabolical, just beginning." He repeated phrases from the message, the volume of his voice dissolving in the air around him.
His body lowered to the sand in a heap of muscle still sparking with little bolts of light. The light returned as the moon cleared the sun's space.
Wili listened intently. He didn’t know this man, or have any reason to trust him, but he hung on every word. “Yeah, I noticed that too. Surfin’s been pretty choice, but I guess if it ain’t good for things..” He frowned, trying to think of what would happen.
"Wow, that’s cool braddah.. I wish I could hear da spirits."
"Every shift in balance means some things will be better while other things are worse. Don't hesitate to enjoy something, but don't forget the consequences. A shift isn't an end." Even as he said the words, Uila felt a chill crawl up his back, as if a droplet of water had defied gravity and traveled up his spine.
He looked up at a forming grayness in the sky, a ring of clouds around the sun. The spirits couldn't reach him one way, they would find another. The moon hung close to the ball of fire in the sky and seemed to speed its path between the island and the light.
"Wili," Uila had a split second to consider how he knew the name before the darkness consumed the sky.
The ocean stilled, the waves ceasing to rise and fall. The breeze died around them, but the static grew.
Uila's vision focused on the ring in the sky and his sight clouded over as his body was lifted from the sand.
"Whoa, whoa." Wili sat up, sitting cross-legged and facing Ulia. "Whatchu talkin’ about cuz? Balance with what?"
He scratched his head. “You can speak to da spirits? That’s crazy braddah!”
Uila rolled his eyes behind his eyelids. The language the kids of other tribes spoke ruffled the fur of his tail sometimes.
"Everything it seems." He breathed deeply. "Even at low-tide the waters rise higher on the shores than this time a month ago, and even the month before that. The waters are rising. The weather is changing, the wind is stronger now than since the great funnel ten years ago. Everything is out of balance and it will only get worse."
Uila smiled at the awe in his young companions face. "None can speak to the spirits child. But all could hear if they would but take the time to listen. I just have a stronger connection to the World Storm and the ancestors of Hekili Ao."
Wili was riding a monstrous wave, hanging ten right on the front edge of his board. He faltered for just a second and lost his balance, completely losing his balance.
The waves washed him up on the shore, lying right at Ulia’s feet. He looked up and smiled. “Heey braddah. How’s it? You lookin’ pretty tense. Somethin’ wrong?”
Uila hadn't even noticed the surfer until he was at his feet. He stepped backwards as the salt water splashed up his body.
He felt his shoulders rise with his temper but exhaled slowly. He counted to five before responding.
"Balance." His eyes flicked to the horizon, taking in the crashing waves before looking back at the walrein. "The balance is off. Scales are tipping and something is coming."
He lowered his body to sit cross-legged in the sand. "The spirits are restless but I cannot understand."
Uila kept Mount Pele at his back as he walked along the beach. The sand stirred a few inches above the ground as if a localized sandstorm thanks to the static electricity Uila had built up in his personal space. He felt it brushing his skin as he walked and forced himself to stop.
Staring at the sea he counted the waves.
"One, two, three," He started again, forcing himself to exhale or inhale each time a wave crashed upon the shore.
The sand settled and his energy calmed, but Uila's nerves were still on fire. He felt as if the spirits had been trying to tell him something for days, but he couldn't relax enough to get the message beyond a garbled humming at the periphery of his mind.
"The rod’s marking is a circle. Inside of it are really small intricacies. From the bottom one long line extends, and two shorter on both sides." Tilting the design towards her eyes, " I don’t think I’ve recalled this symbol anywhere. I have mixed signals if it’s from the past or present to be fair." A mix of churning and up welling grew in her stomach from uneasiness. She had only hoped this as a good omen, maybe it was?
"I am not familiar with the symbol myself..." Uila straightened his shoulders. "Though I suspect your relationship with the librarian might help you discern further meaning from the symbol, You'd also do well to listen to the spirits themselves."
He raised an eyebrow, "As for the signals from the past and present? I'd be on guard, something from the past will likely blindside you soon. Perhaps the symbol itself is key to knowing what. Or perhaps a bit of meditation with the spirits can tell you more. If you find yourself having trouble with meditation you are welcome to Hekili, Uzoma is amazing at helping me achieve an inner peace I only recently discovered."
ooc; this is one on one for o-o-uila
—-
Gaia was blown away from the performance. She grabbed some tea and began to wait for the rods to cool before she came to take hers.
"That was amazing, but what is mine going to mean? And the symbol…" She was incredibly puzzled about this and highly curious. "Cordelia will have to help me on this. Sighing, she sipped her tea in peace. The crowd was waning away as the only people left were a handful of the chiefs.
She watched as Kolau and Uila exchanged words, still silently and calmly sipping her tea, pondering about which would be hers. She almost felt nervous and quite giddy to find out which was hers. As soon as Kolau had drifted away talking to someone else, she wasn’t sure who, Gaia walked towards Uila.
Placing her pale hand onto the tops of the rods, she guided it over swiftly and gently, to try and find the one that was right from her. Eleven rods later and she stood at the opposite end of the stage. It almost felt warmer than the rest, but she knew it wasn’t really. She felt the warmth creep over her hand as if it was another hand holding onto hers. She slid it out gently from the sand and dusted the opposite end off.
The symbol was quite odd, she never really expected it to look the way it did. It was a large circle, It had little intricacies in the center, as detailed as a spiders web, but still quite clouded enough to look almost as if it was all scraped out of the rod. One long line extended down from the circle, and two shorter ones to the left and right. Her eyes looked glazed from the fires that were still going around her, as she looked over the rod. It was a pale green blue color. A color as hazy as the sea. It was quite opaque though, as the marking stood out a bright gold color. Walking towards the front of the stage, she bowed and began to speak.
"Your performance was most excellent. The most wondrous thing I’ve seen in quite some time." Pausing, she opened her eyes. "I feel as if this is the rod that has chosen me." Holding it in both hands vertically, she made sure the symbol was showing. Gaia’s palms felt slightly sweaty, she was really excited and at the same time nervous to see what this glass rod could for see. She felt as if the warmth mean better things to come, but she doubted herself greatly.
ooc; Wow, i just found this last night by accident. Terribly sorry. I know the festival is over, but I'm going to play this out.
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Uila watched the Weavile woman disappear behind him and reappear to find her rod at the very edge of his periphery. Though he couldn't see the symbol he thought he felt a warmth extend from the rod that was meant for her. When she moved in front of him he smiled as she spoke.
"Gaia, well met. That rod has indeed chosen you. Even I felt the warmth of the spirits touch you as you encountered it." He bowed in reverence. "I must confess, I cannot as yet see the symbols the spirits have chosen for the other chieftains and must rely upon reactions and verbal descriptions. However, you are fairly stoic, your emotions somewhat difficult for me to perceive. Would you mind telling me about the symbol and any thing you felt when it chose you?"
Uila wondered if perhaps she had seen the symbol before, or if it stirred up any particular memories of her past. Perhaps it was completely foreign and it would take the playing out of the year to come to truly discern it's meaning.
Electric Tribe Chief Performance
Uila smiled half-heartedly at the concession. “Thank you."
Matching her posture he said, “Always. But be yourself as well, Show someone the real you on occasion Ailani." An eyebrow raised again. “Your faults, and even your darkness, are beautiful as well."
He cleared his throat and nodded in the direction of the audience. It appeared as if another chief was approaching. “If you’d like to continue this conversation, or another, it might be best to seek me out at a later time. I should return to my duty, and the rods of others…"
She bit her lip and dropped her head. “Of course. I will try to be myself as well. It will take a bit of practice, I suppose!" She laughed lightly.
"Oh!" She looked over to the other chiefs. “You’re right, I should be going. Thank you very much for everything, Uila."
As she turned away, and he turned to face the oncoming chief he said. "Spirits be with you Ailani, and speed of the gods!" He smiled, and mouthed the words, you're welcome.
