The farewells as they left were hard. Since Moana had returned from her first voyage, her family had never been apart. And this time Sina was seeing off two family members instead of one. She had a bad feeling, but kept it to herself. Instead she put on a brave face. Gave them comforting words. And then stood proudly as they went off to save the ocean. Again. At least she would have Pua by her side. And the new island had a chief to take care of it. All she really had to do was wait for their return before they would move on to wherever the horizon took them.

The waiting was the hard part though. Who knew how long they would be gone for? And every time she thought of it, that feeling in the pit of her stomach would return. So she watched. Watched for as long as she could. Until their boat was no longer visible on the open waves. And still she watched, until she could no longer stand it and returned to the budding village. Pua on her heels, looking like how she felt. It was suffocating.


"This is amazing!"

You couldn't ask for better waves, or a more fortunate wind. Moana was ecstatic as their boat cut across the ocean with some of the fasted speeds she had ever felt. Having Maui at her side certainly helped. Someone who was likely the most experienced sailor to ever exist was going to make this voyage as easy as the last one. Or, as she thought to all the difficulty they had in their first adventure, hopefully easier.

Even though Maui was injured he still managed to pull his weight and then some. Proving himself to be as incredible as he boasts. Taking a few moments here and there on the first few days of their journey hyping himself up. Moana would always roll her eyes when he would start, but humoured him none the less. It's not like it wasn't earned. And she could tell her father was enjoying it immensely.

At night she would watch the stars for as long as she could. It had been a long time since she felt so at peace under the night sky. When voyaging with her people it was never quite quiet or serene. There's a welcome calmness to it. Only broken by the light snores of her companions every now and then.

She laid on her back and stared up at the sky. Keeping her eyes open until it finally stung, and then kept looking even longer. A stray wave splashed her and she darted up, hoping it was her friend. But no one was there. Just the calm waters stretching further than she could imagine.

She let out a sigh before setting her eyes back on the horizon before their boat. While checking the stars with her hand, she made some slight adjustments to their course. They'd made good time so far, she wasn't going to be the one to let them get off track.

"So what have you been up to since we split up?" Moana asked after about a week of sailing.

"Making up for lost time of course," Maui said. His smile was wide and his eyes glinted with excitement. "I was trapped on that island for far too long. Needed to stretch my wings you know."

"Ah. Getting in trouble I see."

"Hey!" he protested. "Maui does not get in trouble. He solves other peoples troubles."

"And what problems have you solved exactly?"

Maui recounted a few of his recent adventures. Going from island to island. Meeting the people of the modern era. A lot can happen in a short amount of time. And he was stuck away for a lot longer than he would have liked.

"And that is how I saved a village from a hoard of stampeding boars."

"Did... did that really happen?" Moana asked. "Even the part with the giant snake dancing?"

"Every word."

Moana knew that Maui had a tendency to put himself on a bit of a pedestal. But it's not exactly like he would just lie to her about that. He had done a lot of incredible things for humanity over his many, many years. And she probably shouldn't question it considering the things even she had done. She was lucky enough her village believed her about her last adventure.

I found a demi-god who then travelled the sea with me. Was attacked by tiny coconut creatures, and a giant singing crab in the realm of monsters. And then went up against Te Ka. Walked across the ocean floor as it rushed me, returned it's heart and transformed into Te Fiti.

Even in point form her journey sounds near impossible. And sometimes even she can't believe she not only went through all of it, but actually came out of it saving the ocean. So she was inclined to believe Maui, no matter how tall his tale might sound.

"Still as incredible as ever," she said.

"You think I'm incredible?" he asked.

"Of course-" she gestured to the ocean around her "-look at all of the things you've done. Some of which is the only reason we're even here."

"She's right," Tui said. He'd been listening in on their conversations. Didn't have much to contribute, but was intrigued all the same. "I grew up listening to stories about the mighty Maui. If even half of what was said is true, we owe you a great deal."

"Oh it's all true," Maui laughed. "But if anyone's incredible it's Moana here."

"Me?!" Moana could feel her face grown warm in embarrassment.

"Yeah you." He tied off the sail to let himself rest. The infection, or whatever it was, was still growing up his side. And with it a slight pain every now and then. Breaks were needed every once in a while, so he sat himself down. "I'm a Demi-God. My accomplishments are to be expected. A normal day for me really. But you? You're mortal and look at what you've already done! Rescued me, saved the ocean, taught sailing to your people, and began charting the open seas."

As the embarrassment passed she couldn't help but smile.

"Most people could only dream of half of those things. And it's the latter half. I'd still be stuck on that rock if it wasn't for you. Like I said. You're the incredible one." He turned to Tui. "You should be proud of her."

"Oh I am," Tui said as he clapped a hand on Moana's shoulder. "Couldn't be prouder of her. She's going to be a fine Chief."

"Chief?" Maui asked.

"Some day, dad," Moana said, pushing his hand off. "That's still a long time from now."

Tui just shook his head and wen back to talking to Maui.

"She's reluctant about it. But there's nothing she can't do. What about you, Maui? Do you have any family?"

Moana froze and her eyes went wide. She could feel the air stiffen from behind her as Maui tensed. She shook her head subtly to try and get her dad to take it back but he kept focused on Maui.

"Hey I know," she tried to interject. "How about we catch some fish so that we can-"

"It's okay, Moana," Maui said.

She turned to him and saw the sadness clear on his face. It pained her to see him like this. After he told her about what happened to him as a child she decided to never bring it up again.

"I do. Or did I guess," he continued. "It was a long long time ago. I was mortal once. I can't remember much about it anymore. But sometimes I'll think to back then and sort of see faces. Nothing much. But I was thrown away by them."

"Thrown... away?" Tui couldn't believe what he heard. "Just abandoned?"

"Right into the ocean." Maui looked out onto the open waves. "I probably would have drowned if the Gods hadn't rescued me. And then you more or less know the story from there. Became a Demi-God and with the power of my magic fish hook I've done some pretty unforgettable things."

"World changing."

"Sure." Maui shrugged. "Like I said. It's easy for me. More or less. But you two are the ones taking a huge risk." Moana noticed his demeanour change. Even in his solemn look there was an air of dread coming off of him. "We didn't really talk about it. You know this will be dangerous."

"Of course," Moana said. "That's why my dad came this time."

"I almost died out there." He stood up and made his way over to the two of them. "I'm going to need help, but I can't promise I'll be able to protect either of you." His eyes set squarely on Moana. "I don't want you to get hurt."

Moana could feel her stomach drop. She would be lying if she said she fully thought things through before jumping at the opportunity for another adventure. Even if it was exhilarating, there was a very real chance she could get hurt. And hearing Maui be worried over her made her feel even worse. But beside that was a bit of happiness. She always wondered what happened to him after they parted ways. If they'd ever meet or if he ever thought about her. A big part of her missed him, so it was nice to hear that he cared.

"We'll be careful," was all she could say.

It appeared her father already had thought all this through. He gave her a forced smile and nod. The rest of the day, evening, and next morning of travel kept the same tension. She hoped that in her eagerness she didn't make a mistake. Maybe she should have snuck away again. Wait till her father was asleep and then she and Maui could have gone on their own. Would that have been better?

Keeping up with her sailing tasks, she watched her dad close. He had clearly improved a lot when it came to voyaging. If they had snuck off it was possible he would have just pursued in his own boat. Something that could have ended up being more dangerous. Maybe they should have brought more people? No. The more people they had the slower they would be. And the more likely they would get hurt. So far the journey proved to be safe. But you never know when something can go wrong. They were better off on the island. She was just thankful that they should be getting to their first stop soon. The first island Maui pulled up. Once they were there they could hopefully restock on some fruits and nuts to go along with their now mostly fish diet.

"Could really go for some chicken right now," Maui said into the night. He and Moana stayed up this time. Tui fast asleep at the other end of the boat. "Fish is great and all, but you need to change things up."

"Totally agree," Moana laughed. "I hope the first island has animals of some kind."

"Possibly." Maui thought it over. "I never really stuck around to see what happens to the islands I pull up. But they usually look like life is already on them. Like they've been there forever."

"A blessing from Te Fiti?"

"Could be." Maui stared at his fish hook, spinning it in his hand a few times. "I can only do it with this. Perhaps the God's magic is what does it."

"I thought you pulled them up with your own strength," she teased.

Now it was Maui's turn to laugh.

"Of course I do. You have no idea how hard it is to pull up an island. That's all me." He flexed his pecks to showboat a bit, Moana just watched and then rolled her eyes. "But I bet the magic in the hook is what makes sure the island is already habitable."

Moana fixed her vision on the horizon. It was dark, but she had gotten used to the nights on the open waters.

"Well," she began. "I guess we'll find out soon." She pointed ahead and there it was. A dark shape on the edge of the horizon. The first island. And their first stop.