Parrothead in Paradise

by PastCat

Chapter 18

We managed to make landfall on Kaho’olawe. There wasn’t much here; it looked like pristine rainforest. Adam and I ate our rations and rested our eyes for a couple hours before being awakened by a cold rain on our faces and a screaming wind tugging at our feathers. We exchanged a glance. I could see the same fear reflected in Adam’s eyes as what appeared in mine. The storm was upon us, and we still had the Maui Channel to cross before we made it to Hawai’i.

“Let’s go before it gets too strong!” Adam shouted. I nodded and we both crouched and leaped into the air. I felt it tugging at my saddlebags as I threw myself into the wind. Adam squawked. I looked over my shoulder to see him struggling against the wind. I did a sort of cartwheel in the air to end up next to him. He looked terrified. I grabbed him and yelled, “hold on to my tail. I’ll pull us through.” He nodded. I felt a pinch as he grasped the tuft at the end of my tail in his teeth while I used my strong wings to power through the storm.

Below us I faintly saw black shadows prowling on the beach at Kaho’olawe. The feeling of wrongness and fear made me beat my wings harder. I wasn’t sure we would be able to use the storm winds the same way twice, but I did my best to keep the pressure behind me and off to the side so I could tack my way to Hawai’i. Just as I was reaching my limits, Adam and I broke through the storm to find ourselves above land once more. The low-lying areas were green and lush, but the highlands were a patchwork of black stone and tan grasses. Exhausted, I began to spiral downwards with Adam still on my tail. I landed roughly in an open area on the edge of the trees. Despite being cold and soaking wet, I fell asleep immediately.

***

The next morning we woke to find we were no longer where we had landed. I found myself in a wooden hut not much bigger than my dorm room back in Iowa. I was laying on a wooden pallet with a thin blanket covering me. I was dry now, but my feathers were a mess. Adam was similarly arrayed, though he seemed more awake than I did. His ears twitched as he listened to voices outside the hut. I tried to listen too, but it sounded like gibberish. By the expression on Adam’s face, he made sense of it.

“What is it?” I asked quietly.

“Shh.” Adam said. “I can’t understand both you and them at the same time.” He listened a bit more before turning to me. “In case you’re wondering, yes we’re alive. We’re on Hawai’i, probably near what used to be Kona. From the sound of it, the locals here speak a kind of Hawaiian Pidgin, so I can make most of it out.” He stopped as someone came in the door.

Our visitor looked like a pony, but she was white with black stripes that extended into her mane and tufted tail. Like ponies, she had a shape on her flank, but hers looked like a stripe pattern in the shape of a leaf. She wore a cape decorated with feathers, kind of like the ones the ancient Hawaiian chiefs wore, and large hoop earrings.

The zebra smiled to see me awake. She offered me a bowl of something and gestured for me to drink. I did. It tasted like some kind of tea sweetened with coconut milk. It soothed my throat as it went down. “Thank you. Mahalo.” I said, my voice still rough. She jumped a little at the sound.

“Chee! You… you speak the old tongue.” The zebra said, her English somewhat rough and overlaid with a strange accent. “I thought I heard your friend speak it too. Your kumu, your teacher, was very good. Was he one of the Old Ones from the Before? It been long time since new Old Ones come.”

“You mean English? We didn’t have a teacher of the sort you mean. It’s our birthspeech.” I said with a shrug. Adam nodded when I said nothing more. I figured I would let him reveal that he understood their Pidgin if he wanted the zebra to know.

“Ah, so you are Old Ones yourselves! Aloha! Tell me, were you alone?” She asked.

“No.” I said. I pointed to Adam. “He was with me. We have four friends who Returned with us on O’ahu. We flew here to return something to its place.”

“Ah, you were chosen to bear the Makana Stone back to its owner. It has been a long time since she has been at her full power. We have long been waiting for it to return.” The zebra said. She turned away. Her cape rustled as she moved towards the doorway.

“Wait,” I said. “Could I ask what name I should call you? Or, uh, title if you prefer?”

“Your caution is worth noting, visitor. Others call me Keeper of the Old Ways. You may call me Kahu.” She said. “If you will excuse me, I will let the others know that you are awake. I will return shortly, Keahi.” She turned to Adam. “And I know you were listening, Makani. You need not hide that you understand the New Speech.” She strode off, letting the tent flap slide closed behind her.

I turned to Adam. “She’s observant, isn’t she?”

“Cautious too. Did you notice? It’s like what Emmy was saying about names having power. She gave us a title to call her by, but she also gave us names. She didn’t ask for our real ones. Interesting choices too.” Adam commented.

“Yeah. She called me Keahi and you Makani. What do those mean, anyway? They sound Hawaiian.” I said.

“They are. She called you ‘fire’ and me ‘wind’. Seem fitting given how we got here and what we were carrying. I wonder who and what it belongs to.” Adam said.

“Yeah. Something tells me our journey isn’t over yet. Anywho, should we keep the names Keeper gave us? It’ll give us something we can use that isn’t our real names. Everybody back on O’ahu already goes by a nickname of one kind or another. Ours are the only ones that don’t get shortened.”

“All right, sound good to me. I’ll call you Keahi and you call me Makani when we’re out and about. “

“Deal. Besides, it sounds better than what I had come up with.” I said. Adam raised an eyebrow. I grinned. “I was going to call you ‘Whirlybird’ if you called me ‘Parrothead’.” Adam cringed at that, and I nodded.

I reached out a talonned fist and he gave me a hoof bump. We both got off of our beds and stood shakily on the ground. I looked at my wings and started to put them to rights. At the moment, they stuck out at all angles like the spikes of a pineapple. Adam snickered, so I suspected the feathers on my head were giving me a serious case of bed-head too. Not that he was in much better shape; his mane had a massive cowlick on one side.

“Hold on.” Adam said. “I’ll do yours if you’ll do mine.” He turned his back to me to show how much of a mess his were. Considering we’d both survived one heck of a storm, I was amazed that everything seemed intact.

“You sure? Remember what happened last time we did this.” I said.

“Yeah I know, but it might make that zebra more comfortable having us in the same hut if it looks like we are, uh, intimately concerned with one another’s well being. I’d rather not see us separated at this point.” Adam said.

I considered the point, then nodded. I fixed his wings as best I could and did my best to flatten out his mane too. Then we switched places and he straightened my feathers. We had just finished when Keeper came back. She gestured for us to follow her outside and we did, a little shakily. I carried our saddlebags. They had been left on the floor next to our cots.

We found ourselves in the middle of a group of about fifteen ponies of various kinds as well as a few zebras and a swarm of tiny creatures that looked like fairies but were shaped like ponies with enormous insect wings and antennae. Everypony around us watched us, most with wariness, but a few younger ones with curiosity too. Seeing as it looked like this was an entirely equine group, I doubted they had ever seen a griffon before.

Kahu spoke. I understood little of it word for word, but she was kind enough to interpret what she said afterwards. “Friends, these visitors have flown from afar, from past the cursed places from the island of the Old Ones. Once, a flying one bearing the wings of leather stole the heart of our protector, who has mourned the loss ever since. Now these brave souls have come to return what was lost. They landed here seeking guidance to the home of Mo’iwahine Pele. Brothers and Sisters, will any of you consent to be their guides through the passage to the Firelands?”

There was some uncomfortable shifting among the listeners before one of the tiny fairy-like ponies spoke up. Its voice was so high-pitched I could barely hear it, let alone understand what it said. A heavily-muscled earth pony bowed his head so he could hear the fairy pony speak more clearly. He nodded. The fairy pony climbed up his mane and took a seat between his ears. “Kahu, though I do not know the way, Kukala does. With his guidance, I, Pohaku, am willing to lead the visitors to the Firelands and beyond.”

“Very well, Pohaku. Come to my hut before you depart and I will give you the Old Tongue so that you might speak with our visitors.” Keeper said. The fairy said something and the zebra nodded again. “Kukala, I am willing to cast it upon you as well, though I do not know if the visitors will be able to hear you clearly.” The fairy pony nodded. Keeper led the pair to another hut. With them gone, the crowd dispersed. Adam and I looked at each other with a healthy glance of “now what?” Fortunately, and before we could get into any trouble with our hosts, Kahu’s ritual or whatever was complete and Pohaku and Kukala came out looking a little stunned, but otherwise okay.

“Keahi, Makani, these are Pohaku and Kukala. You may call them by those names. They will be your guides across the mountains to the place where Mo’iwahine Pele makes her home. Bring with you your saddlebags with the Makana Stone. They will carry enough food to make it there and back.” Keeper said.

Adam and I bowed our heads in thanks. “We thank you for your kindness, Kahu. Is there any way we can repay you for your hospitality?” I asked.

Keeper waved a hoof. “Return the Makana Stone to our Mo’iwahine. Her gratitude will be greater than mine could ever be. Now go before the storm returns to find you.” She turned away and headed back to her hut. Adam and I looked to the sky to the northwest and saw the dark clouds on the horizon.

“Best get moving.” Said a deep gruff voice next to us. Pohaku stood towering over us, a pair of enormous saddlebags on his flanks. Kukala sat between his ears with a similar set of bags on a smaller scale. They looked ready to take on anything the world might throw at them. I nodded and Adam and I followed the mismatched pair up a path that led towards the towering peak of Mauna Kea.

The road we followed wound around through the forest, but not nearly as much as something like a deer trail would. This was meandering with a purpose: avoid a dense thicket here, a large outcropping of rocks there. It was wide too; two cars could have passed by each other in some parts. Of course, I thought, I bet this was the original road that people built to get to the interior of the island. Once that thought passed, I began to notice little details that supported my theory. There were stone cairns at a few places where the path intersected others, some sporting remnants of metal sign posts. Once I caught a glimpse of words carved into the stone plinth at one intersection, though I could not make them out completely.

As we climbed in altitude, the air became cooler and the foliage thinner. Pohaku kept moving regardless, as stolid as his namesake. It was Kukala who called a halt for a midday meal halfway up the slope. Adam and I sat down gracelessly, glad to be off our feet for a while. Our wings were still sore from our big flight, so using them now was not much of an option. Fortunately we had spent most of our time back on O’ahu on the ground, so we were used to walking. Just not at Pohaku’s pace. I wondered if Trish could match him.

Kukala watched me with curiosity before he decided to approach. He fluttered onto my shoulder and said something. I caught maybe one word in three. “Slow down, if you please. I can hear you, but you speak so quickly I don’t understand.” I said in the clearest voice I could manage. Pohaku chuckled; evidently this was a common failing of his companion.

Kukala fluttered like his namesake, damselfly, in agitation, but slowed his speech. “What kind of pony are you, Keahi? You do not walk as Makani does and your wings are greater. Are you part bird?”

“You could say that.” I said. “I am a griffon. Half of me is a bird, but the other half is a great cat. This is why I must have meat to eat.” I pulled some of the homemade jerky Doc had made out of my saddlebag. Pohaku and Kukala both wrinkled their noses at the scent but Adam rolled his eyes.

“Your friends… though you eat the flesh of other creatures, they do not fear you? They do not fear that you will eat them?” Kukala pressed.

“As long as I find other things to eat, I would not even consider eating my friends.” I said. “As long as I can find smaller creatures on land or fish and other things in the shallows, I will not starve. I can eat the fruits that my friends harvest as well.”

“Would you eat spiders and other things that creep and crawl? Kukala’s eyes glittered. I could not tell if it was amusement or what, but Pohaku’s snort suggested we had gone beyond merely satisfying the fairy pony’s curious streak.

“Well, they would not be my first choice.” I said. “But I would eat them I suppose. Especially if they were cooked with spices or candied or something.” I shrugged. It nearly knocked Kukala off my shoulder. “So what about you? I have never met a pony like you before. All of my friends are bigger ponies.”

“Me? I and my family are Breezies. We carry pollen and nectar for flowers and eat that. Bugs are too big for me to eat.” Kukala said, his wings waving in the slight breeze.

Pohaku spoke up at that. “They are more likely to be eaten by those bugs. I have seen them get caught by spiders and birds. Breezies are real delicate and can rarely live on their own.”

“You lolo or something? Of course not.” Kukala said to his larger companion. “That’s why our colony lives with you guys. Big ponies protect little Breezies so little Breezies will pollinate crops for Big Ponies. It is, what you call it? A win-win.”

“Makes sense to me.” I said, careful not to shrug this time. Adam nodded. He hadn’t said much on the trek up here. I suspected he was worried about our friends back on O’ahu. We’d already been gone a few days and had no way of knowing if they were all okay.

“Ready to keep going?” Pohaku asked after a few more minutes. He shouldered his pack. Kukala fluttered his way over to the earth pony while Adam and I got to our feet and stashed the remaining snacks in our saddlebags. Before we left, I made sure the Makana Stone was still in mine. It was. We followed the road even higher until it widened onto a plateau between the twin peaks of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The former had a slight dusting of snow on its summit.

“I forgot it snowed in Hawaii.” Adam commented. “I thought that was just a fancy name for shaved ice cones.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, Mauna Kea is high enough that it gets snow every so often. Adventure junkies used to take helicopters to the peak and then snowboard or ski down.”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Adam said.

I shook my head. “Cross my heart and hope to die, man. I saw videos and pictures of people doing it online.”

“Well given that we can’t prove one way or the other any more, I guess I have to believe you for now.” Adam said. I just grinned.

Kukala watched the back-and-forth byplay with interest. “So you two really are from the time of the Old Ones? Wow! What was it like?”

Adam and I glanced at each other. I waved a wing for him to go first. He took a deep breath. “Do you want to know what it was like here, or where we came from? Neither of us were born and raised on the islands.” We did our best to keep up the pace as we talked, though I’m pretty sure Pohaku slowed down to listen.

“Both.” Kukala chirped. He settled himself more comfortably between Pohaku’s ears. It looked absurdly like someone sitting into a lazy boy chair.

“Well, when we came to the islands, they were a busy place. People came from all over to enjoy themselves. They would play on the beaches and shop in stores and simply enjoy themselves. People would stay for a few days or a week and then go back to wherever they came from. Lots of people came to Hawaii just to vacation.” Adam said.

“All right, so you came here to, uh, vacation?” Kukala asked. He looked puzzled.

“Sort of. Keahi and I were students in the ways of how people lived in the far past. We were part of a group that was seeking to understand the ways of the people who lived on these islands long before we did. Our instructor was teaching us about these ways and had been bringing us back to where we were living when everything changed.” Adam faltered a little at that last sentence, not knowing what terms the locals used for what the Guidebook had called “The Event”.

“Oh! I know that story! It was passed down from the first Breezies. The humans had no magic, so it became poisonous to them when it came to this world. Friends from a place where magic was everywhere cast a great spell that made it so that the people living here would not get sick and it turned them into ponies and sent most of them traveling through time.” Kukala practically glowed as he related that to us.

“Right, so we were traveling back at night and suddenly it was day and the road was gone and I looked like this and she looked like that.” Adam said, the words tumbling out of him like ice cubes from a dispenser.

“Okay. So if that is what life was like on the islands, what was it like where you come from then?” Kukala asked.

“I can take this one.” I said. “My family is from the middle of the Mainland. It took a long time to fly to the islands from there. The place where I was born is on the edge of a huge mountain range.” I gestured to Mauna Kea. “Kind of like that, only it stretches from horizon to horizon and in the winter, they would all be white with snow. I used to play in it when I was little. When I was ready, I left my home near the mountains and went further east for schooling. I went to a place where summers were green instead of brown and corn was knee-high by the 4th of July, as the farmers liked to say and the land was much flatter. Living on the mainland was very different. There were seasons more than there were here. Winter had snow and ice. Summer was hot. Fall had the leaves on the trees change from green to warm colors. Spring was wet and smelled of growing things. Every year had a pattern, so it was not hard to figure out when you were doing something.”

“We can tell when and time here.” Pohaku commented.

“Yeah, but it is more subtle here than where I was raised.” I said. I was about to say more, but then we emerged on the far side of the saddle between Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa. The contrast from one side of the mountains to the other was astonishing. While the side we had come from was covered in greenery, this side was a patchwork of tans and blacks. There was dry grassland interspersed with barren hunks of basalt from the volcano that had built the island in the first place. In the distance, shrouded in a mantle of steam, I could barely make out a crater.

Pohaku saw me looking. “That’s where we are going.” He said, pointing with a rust-colored hoof. “Mo’iwahine Pele makes her home there. From the crater she can direct the lava flows wherever she pleases and even make fountains burn in the darkness.”

I shivered. I had seen pictures of the famous eruptions with the fountains of lava that dwarfed the sightseeing helicopters that flew around them. I said nothing, only followed our guides down the slope towards the deep hole in the distance. It felt as though the ground beneath my feet was holding its breath. There was a tension in the air as we approached the crater. I wanted to run; run to anywhere but that portal to the underground.

Comments

[Alden MacManx]

I thought Pele made her home in Halema'uma'u in Kilauea, not in Mokuaweoweo in Mauna Loa. I could be wrong, though. Closest I ever came to Hawai'i was serving on the USS Kamehameha back in 1980.

[Dances With Unicorns]

9537614

“Closest I ever came to Hawai'i was serving on the USS Kamehameha back in 1980.”

While Kamehameha is the name of a famous Hawaiian king ("the very lonely one" or "the one set apart" in the Hawaiian language); I know it more from Dragon Ball, as Kamehameha means "Turtle Destruction Wave" in the Japanese language. Did your shipmates ever get jokes about serving on the Dragon Ball ship?

[Alden MacManx]

9539303
No, I was aboard the ship BEFORE Dragon Ball Z came out.