Jude hadn’t stopped smiling since they’d met up. She’d ushered him quickly away from her house after making absolutely sure her dad saw him so
that he couldn’t be accused of kidnapping this time. It was still mid day and they had plenty of time to do whatever he wanted on the Shore before
the sun set. So they set out to do just that, passing through town on his bike and going until the road ran out and the met the forest edge. This was
probably deeper into South Shore than he was supposed to go, but no one was in the Dark Forest during the day anyway. Besides, Kaili had shown him
pretty much everything there was to see inland the last time they had run away together. She wanted him to see something new.
And what was better then the falls? It was beautiful back there and Kaili knew that Jude would appreciate it for what it was. He wasn’t like the
other outsiders she’d met before, he’d proven that the last time they were together...She could trust him with the falls. She could trust him
completely.
“So what have you been up to since you were here last?” She asked, beginning casual conversation as they started making their way through the
brush and into the thick of the of the forest. She was sure he already knew what she’d been doing seeing as she was grounded. She had left the house
maybe twice during her punishment. Both times to help some of the kids in the tribe with their summer school work. She had done nothing. But
she was glad she was getting back to something with him...
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
As soon as they'd stepped off of the the road and into the thick brush, an unnatural darkness fell. It was almost like it was five in the evening, as
opposed to afternoon. But it wasn't frightening, nah...well, at least that was what he was going to say if Kaili asked him. The Dark Forest. It had
sounded completely brooding when Kaili had recommended it to him, soon after they'd left her house. But, he thought it was just a name, like so many
other things on the island. Not that the name would truly describe the place where they were going, perfectly. Passing the brush, his bike parked on
the side of the road, he saw just how much the name fit the forest. It was shaded, almost entirely, the large leaves and tall trees providing cover to
the forest floor. He couldn't imagine anyone being there after dark. But the people who grew up on the Shore probably knew the forest so well...like
Kaili. She didn't hesitate as she walked into the forest, stepping carefully, but surely over plants and overgrowth. Jude followed her lead and stayed
close, the underbrush crackling underneath his feet.
"Uh, nothing really." Yeah, kind of anti-climactic. Jude had been doing nothing with his summer. Outside of sketching, avoiding the boardwalk like the
plague and giving Unc' Li brood for leaving him at home all day (which was probably best seeing as they argued when he was home) was all that had
filled his agenda since his first day visiting the Shore. "Just hanging out."
"What about you?" He asked, his hand coming forward to lift a low hanging branch above their heads. "I hope your dad didn't barricade you in your room
the entire time."
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
She watched his face as his eyes adjusted to the dimming of the sunlight, the two of them becoming shaded by the dense tree cover above them. The same
look that he’d had on his first tour of the Shore was the one he wore now; a look of awe, wonder, and amazement. A look he wore incredibly well. She
smiled and she continued deeper into the forest, asking about his time away from the Shore. She’d never really been to the other side of the island
for anything recreational, outside of maybe Surfside and the movie theatre every now and again. What was there to do over there? She was sure Jude had
friend he hung out with...Maybe he just spent his time with them...
Or maybe not. Nothing? Really? He hadn’t done anything with the last two weeks of his life? Nothing outside of a very vague ‘just hanging out’.
They had a lot in common it seemed...minus the “out” part of everything. The question was thrown back at her and she sighed at the thought of the
abyss that was her life since she last saw Jude. Her nothing was a lot more nothing than his nothing. Easily.
“No, not the entire time I guess-,” she giggled a bit, trying to make it seem as light a situation as possible. “I got out like twice, but it
was just to tutor some of the kids in the tribe. Dad’s a stickler for punishment.” Oh! What? Why the hell would she say that to him?! It was like
she wanted him to stay at arms length for the rest of her life.
“He’s a teddy bear though...”
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
Nothing. Really. Jude's answer had been completely anti-climactic, he knew that. And he could tell in Kaili's reaction as quiet fell between them for
a few moments. For a kid whose life was pretty much "the Shore", she probably had been expecting more from his "other side of the island" life. But
there really wasn't much more to say as...he didn't feel like he belonged there anyway. He kept to himself, mostly, stopping at Santa Clara for a
couple of comics every once in awhile, as he got along with the kid that worked the cashier pretty well. Then he was off again, riding his bike to
outskirts of town to hang around the docks and shit. Not for anything serious, really. Just because he could. He liked being...alone. It made "not
being" more tolerable. But he didn't have to worry about that when he was on the Shore. Even though his first encounters were a bit rocky, there was
complete doubt in him that the Shore - the sand, the waves, the crisp air - would ever turn him away.
"Good." He answered to her not being held completely captive since the last time he'd seen her. Believe it or not, he felt better. He'd gone for weeks
not knowing if her dad had sacrificed her for her disobedience or something (which was crazy) and it was good to know that he hadn't caused too much
trouble. Her father had actually been pretty nice to him, once again, when he showed up at their door that afternoon. And Jude had been respectful,
which was more than anyone could ask. It wasn't hard though. The guy exuded power. With his tall, broad stature and long, dark hair - streaked with
gray, everything about him said "respect me or perish".
"Teddy bear?" He responded, giving her a skeptical look, eyebrow raised and the corner of his mouth curled in amusement. "Definitely not the word I
would use to describe your dad. That's like calling my uncle 'cuddly'." He chuckled softly as they continued to walk through the thicket. No, no one
would ever call his Unc anything short of "leering" or "hard as rock". They were alike, kind of. His Unc and Kaili's dad. Jude could see some
resemblance there in their faces...their stance. And...Jude liked to think, even if he was making it up in his mind, that he could see some
similarities in himself too. It was kind of weird to see where they, he and his Unc, were connected to this land and its people...yet so far apart.
"So..." He began, stepping carefully over a wet, decaying tree trunk. "Where are we headed?"
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
Well yeah, maybe. Maybe she was expecting something just a little more exciting from the other side of the island. She’d never really spent that
much time out of the Shore. Sure, she’d done a few nights out with friends or whatever. Movies, concerts, random things, but she’d never just
explored the area. Her father didn’t like her to be over there. She used to ask him why not and he would always tell her that “the
foreigners cannot be trusted” and the few times she had been outside of the Shore it was always with some kind of escort, usually Nui would
volunteer and spend the entire night trying to get her to ditch the group to be alone with him...Like that would ever happen...But yeah, who knew what
kind of stuff was over there to have fun with?
Well Jude seemed like a logical answer, but his answers weren’t giving her any more than her imagination could. It was fine though. Seemed she would
know for herself soon enough, what with her transferring to AJW in a few weeks. Ugh! Every time she thought about it she got frustrated! Why was her
father doing this to her! He was the one hell bent on keeping her from going to that side of the island, now he wanted to ship her over there daily?
Ugh! By the Gods, she swore she didn’t understand the man! Jude was right, maybe teddy bear was a bit much...his uncle?
“What, you and your uncle don’t get along that well?” Was that too personal? What business was it of hers if Jude and his uncle got along?...She
could probably guess they had their rifts though. What family didn’t? She knew for a fact she and her dad didn’t always see eye to eye; this AJW
thing being the best example. And with Keahi being who he was, he figured he had a say in her life too...She shut him down a lot of the time
though...when she could anyway. But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t kill for either of them in a heartbeat. She couldn’t imagine Jude and his
uncle having too bad of a relationship. They were family after all.
She was pulled out of her own head by his voice asking what the final destination was. “Actually-,” she responded, stepping over an unearthed tree
root as she pulled back the natural curtain created by an overhanging tree of banana leaves. They stood at the top of a small incline that lead to a
clearing at the foot of the Falls.
“We’re here.”
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
Totally opposite of his appearance, Jude wasn't really a "fun guy". Yeah that was sarcasm. No one really thought "fun time" when they looked at him at
AJW, which was probably why no one wasted more than two seconds looking at him in the first place. Either the vacant expression that he wore wasn't
inviting enough and made everyone pass him by or the scowl that sometimes visited his face (thanks to an annoying classmate or douche of a teacher)
scared the living shit out of other students and they...passed him by, as well. Not like he was really one for inviting people in. He liked for the
other kids at school to stay where they were, on the outside...looking in. It was just better that way. Nobody poking their fucking nose in on him and
his business...and no chance of comparing himself to the kids that filled the halls of AJW and remembering that, once again, he was nothing like them.
That he just didn't fit the fuck in.
Catching the tail end of her question, Jude grimaced. Dammit. He hadn't really meant to bring his uncle up and into their discussion. It had
just...happened. And now, she wanted to know. Silence set for a couple of seconds after she'd asked, the best answer that he could have given to avoid
questions that he didn't know how to answer, formulating inside of his head. It wasn't that he and his uncle didn't get along...er, well that exactly
it, actually. If Jude said "green", his uncle said "you're wrong". It was just how things were. They steered clear of each other most times, trying
their best to avoid the shouting matches that started when Jude turned eleven. The year...he started asking about the Shore.
"Yeah, we're lucky we love each other..." He answered vaguely, a forced smirk on his lips. He didn't really want to get into all of the details with
her. Not just yet. Of course he'd have to tell her one day, how his uncle WAS his only family. She'd told him so much, already. He owed her. But now,
wasn't the time. "But...we get along okay." And that was all he had to say and the timing couldn't have been more perfect as Kaili had come to a stop
in front of him, her hands pulling at a low-lying brush of massive leaves. As she pulled them out of the way, the light, that had been so scarce in
the forest, broke again. It wasn't so much that Jude had to squint from the arrival of it. It was just enough. Dim, but illuminating them enough that
he could clearly see the clearing around him.
"Wow..." He said, a laugh behind his voice. The falls, which oddly enough he couldn't hear until they were beyond the veil of leaves, cascaded down
the rocks and into the pool that came to a calm standstill about a foot away from their feet. His eyes grew as he noticed the glowing green that the
sunlight reflecting on the moss cast around them. He bent down, without thinking, his hand hovering over the water. But something...told him to stop.
To wait. Ask, first.
"Uh..." He looked up at Kaili, smirking a bit as he tried to think of a way to form his question. "Is it okay?"
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
She turned, small smirk on her face as she watched his reaction to seeing the Falls. Awe and wonder suited his features well. His eyes jumped from
place to place, scanning the section of forest before them and taking in the beauty of the falls. He liked it. She could tell in the way he stared.
There. She knew she could trust him with the Falls. Because what she saw outside of the complete and total admiration for the beauty the Shore
offered, was respect. Keahi had warned her before leaving that Jude would change. That all outsiders changed eventually and Jude would be no different
from the other...Kaili knew he was wrong though. The kind of respect she saw in him wasn’t the kind that changed. It wasn’t the kind that went
away. He appreciated this.
“Come-,” she said quietly, stepping carefully down the short incline with Jude just behind her. She walked through the clearing, stopping at the
waters edge and letting him have his moment with the newest part of the Shore he’d been introduced to. He bent down, prepared to dip his fingers
beneath the surface...but he stopped. His hands hovering for just a moment before he turned, his eyes finding hers just in time for her to watch his
excitement quell in them. Is it okay?
“Wouldn’t have brought you if it wasn’t-,” she said with a smile. That was half true. She knew it probably wasn’t okay. Native or not Jude
wasn’t one of them; the Shore wasn’t his home and he knew nothing, outside of what Kaili had told him, of its history. Keahi would probably be
pissed if he ever found out and maybe even her father too...So she guessed that meant they just couldn’t find out. This could easily be her and
Jude’s little secret. He could have his moment here, hear a story of two about the Falls and no one would ever have to know he’d seen the place.
Besides, she’d heard talk of people who didn’t belong having wandered back her anyway. Even if someone came snooping and found prints, who’s to
say they wouldn’t be that of a lost and extremely ignorant foreigner.
She watched him as his hands broke the surface of the water and a small smile broke his lips. “The waters are said to have power that cleanses more
than the body-,” she said matter-of-factly, “There’s ‘lore if you want to stay for a while and hear it.”
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
The softness of her voice almost caused him to miss her beckoning word. Come.... Without a second's delay, he followed her, stepping where
her sure, confident feet stepped. Jude knew, without asking, that Kaili could probably navigate the entire space around them with her eyes shut tight.
She moved fluidly, carefully over the unearthed roots, loose ground and small, moss covered rocks. He, on the other hand, was anything but graceful,
his boots meant for rough, road biking were putting up a serious fight with the delicate nature of the Falls. Everything was damp, causing his feet to
slide if he wasn't careful. But he never missed a step and kept up with Kaili until they arrived at the edge of the softly churning water. The small
body of water was peaceful, the stream never stopping as it flowed to who knew where. But Jude could tell as he watched it from where it originated,
that it was powerful. That there was enough current to take you under if you didn't know how to wade it. And he didn't, sadly. He didn't know anything
about where he stood, nothing about the darkened forest that surrounded it. And nothing about the mystic of the place...of the ground that his feet
met.
Leaning over the water, his hand still hovering over the calm, still surface, he waited for Kaili's word before he touched it. Hearing her words and
seeing her smile, he turned back around and without much more hesitance, his fingers rippled the surface. The water gave away around his hand and he
couldn't stop the surprise that crossed his face. The water felt like satin around his hand, like he was rubbing the skin there across an expensive
fabric. He smiled and looked at Kaili, her voice breaking the amazement he felt, the silent revelation of just how amazing the falls truly were.
"The water...it's really...soft." He said after hearing about the magic in the water. He knew his description was stupid. How could water be soft? But
it was. Drawing his hand out, he stared at his fingers as he rubbed them against his palm. Even though his hand was away from the water, his skin was
still silken. His eyes left his hand again and focused on Kaili. They could stay? Of course he wanted to stay, especially as there was more folklore
to hear. She'd only told him so much, but secretly, that was the part he liked about time with her. He loved to hear her tell the stories of her tribe
and her people. Her voice rising and falling dramatically, the native words of her people coloring the stories. He wanted to do nothing more than just
sit there and listen to her. She didn't even have to ask.
"Sure..." He responded, attempting to sound like he wasn't ready to burst from the inside from this time on the Shore. "...I want to hear more..."
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
He was like a kid being given a gift on Christmas. What was he so excited about? She had never met an outsider so into knowing more about the Shore
than Jude. Even though he was from the other side of the island, he had an obvious passion for his history. She now knew his parents weren’t around
to teach him the folklore and the real history of Kapuhai Reef, but surely his uncle had at least mentioned it right?...Obviously he hadn’t
because Jude was visibly eager to know more. To experience more.
Kaili smiled, watching his expression as his hands dipped into the cool water of the spring, his eyes somehow becoming brighter as he just kind
of...felt it, letting the current run through his fingers. She didn’t really have to ask whether he wanted to hear some of the lore that
went with the Falls, she knew the answer before he gave it; the excitement in his eyes betraying the “nonchalance” in his voice. She smirked a
bit, knowing very well how interested Jude was in hearing legend about the Falls and Kaili was happy to give it to him. Taking a seat where she was
Kaili settled in next to Jude, leaning back on her hands and the tips of her shoes hung just over the edge of the water.
“Legend holds that this is the first freshwater source created by the Gods, Kanaloa and Kane. Supposedly, Hina, Kane’s wife, anointed the water at
the first spring with healing powers beyond that of any medicine man on the island-,” Kaili shrugged a little, “I’m not sure how true it is, but
they say if you drink from the highest point of the Falls, it’ll cure anything that’s wrong with you, but only if your illness was caused
by dark magic and only at the very brink of death. It came in handy because Hina was cursed and prophesied to die a week after the birth of
her first child. She fell into kuhohonu moe after her and Kane’s first son was born-,” Kaili paused, remembering who she was talking to,
“Sorry. It means, uh, ‘deep sleep’; like a coma or whatever...Anyway, the tribe had given up hope after the few days as she grew weaker, but
Kane refused to live without her and on the sixth night brought her to the Falls and it worked. Hina lived and the curse was lifted.”
Kaili sighed, a small smile on her lips as she remembered who it had been to tell her this story first, “My dad actually told me this story himself.
On one of the rare days when he wasn’t giving every minute of his time to Keahi, he brought me out here...said he thought I’d like watching the
waterfalls...” Woah, relevance? Personal tidbits weren’t part of the lore, “Sorry, I tend to babble-,” she said with a smile allowing another
silence to settle over the two of them.
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
Why shouldn't he have been excited? This was like...a dream to him. From the moment he'd heard talk about the Shore, rumors and all, he'd wanted to
see it for himself. And with Mauli watching his every move anytime that they went to the Shore (which pretty much had only included Kapu'aina and
nothing else), there was always no possibility of him seeing anything outside of what he was allowed to see. But all of this? He thought he
would've never...never gotten the chance to experience it. If it wasn't for Kaili...he wouldn't have been standing there. He knew how cheesy
it sounded, but...he was completely grateful for the day he'd run into her. And if he had known that the angsty girl kicking dents in his locker
would've turned out like this, he probably would've been nicer. Hell, he probably should've apologized to her for all of that...attitude. He should've
said sorry the second that he'd seen her again. That was just him. If Jude couldn't tell you from Adam, then the brood was just expected. He owed her
more than that. For everything.
Without looking up, he listened to Kaili's voice, the tale of the healing waters of the Falls on her lips. As she started, he watched the flow of the
water, his eyes moving along the current, where the water rushed and swelled. And where it slowed and trickled. Slowly, he looked to the falls. The
peak of the falls, where the healing water that Kaili spoke of was supposed to exist. There was something different about the water that had touched
his fingers. He could feel it, even before she'd started the story. But to believe in the lore? That meant to believe in everything IN the lore. From
the magic to the...
Kane. What? Had she said his last name? His listening had almost given way to his thought, but now he was fully listening again and,
yes...there it was. Again. Kane. A god? The was a god with his last name? Righteous. With a soft smile, he looked at Kaili, just watching her
lips, waiting for that name...his name to break the air around them again.
"I liked that one." He muttered as her sigh brought a smile to her face. Then, before he knew it, she started talking about her family. About her
father and the time that she'd spent there with him, alone...father to daughter. About how her brother had not been his main concern when he was there
with her. Without even noticing it, she'd slipped from the story of the tribe to the story of herself. And to Jude, it was just as interesting. Of
course because he got to see how Shore families were different...and...yeah.
"No, it's okay...do-" Hesitating for a moment, Jude thought about his question, wondering if it would be too...personal. "Does he spend a lot of time
with your brother?" Not that it was any of his business, he just...something inside of him wanted to know what that was like, some times. How it
felt...to have a dad.
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
He didn’t owe her anything. She was happy to hang with him. She liked him. Of course, she would never say that to him out loud. Jude
probably didn’t even go for girls like her. The ones she wanted never did...Of course that was mostly because they were afraid of the hell they
would catch from her father, but somehow Kaili hadn’t been the only Akame Jude had charmed. Somehow he’d convinced her father that the two of them
hanging out, alone was a good idea. By the Gods, her father was changing. He was doing so many things that went against everything he stood
for, sending her to AJW, letting her be with Jude...well not that she had a problem with the latter...Of course she wasn’t really with him
either. They were just friends...right? They were at least that...yeah, at least.
They had to be with the way she was going on about her family. When had she switched from folklore about the Falls to memories about her own family?
She apologized, for going on about her father and her brother, but to her surprise, he was...interested. He started to ask her something, shying away
for just a moment before he regained his nerve. Did her dad spend a lot of time with Keahi? Ha! She scoffed a little, looking away as she tried to
pull together an answer that didn’t sound too harsh. “Every waking moment-,” she said quietly. Hell, they probably spoke in dreams too...
Ugh. She didn’t really like talking about her relationship with her dad. It was...weird. Kaili loved him! More than anything, she loved him and she
would do anything he asked without so much as blinking, but...sometimes she resented being the second born girl child of a tribal leader. Keahi got so
much time with with her dad because he had to be trained to take over. They had something to bond over...Sometimes she just wished she and her dad
could have that. Before he decided to send her to AJW, she pretty much only got his attention when she did something he didn’t approve of.
“But, I mean, I get it. He’s got responsibilities to Keahi. He’s important...-,” That sounded way too self-loathing. Shit, he was going to
think she was depressed or something, “To the tribe I mean. Keahi’s going to lead and my dad has to prepare him for it...I get it.” Jude
probably didn’t. She was being pretty vague, but she knew for a fact she’d be in trouble if she went into specifics on this particular subject.
“I love them both though. I do-,” she smiled a bit, “I know when you met Keahi he was a little bit of an asshole, but he’s not always that
guy...New people just make him...nervous.” Vicious was more a more fitting word, but nervous was the one that might keep Jude around. “But my dad
seems to like you so Keahi should lighten up. They tend to agree.” Ahh! There she was being presumptuous again!
“I mean, y’know, if you come down more...or whatever...”
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
Sitting there in the settling silence after Kaili finished the story of the "Healing Waters", he thought to himself...mostly about how Kaili didn't
have to waste her time being there with him, schooling him like the outsider that he was, when she could have been somewhere else. Anywhere else. Jude
couldn't really tell, but something told him that Kaili, unlike him, actually had some kind of life outside of her own shell. He could tell that she
had friends and that they hung out, spent time together, did whatever it was that girls..."did". He didn't know! He hadn't ever taken the time to
know, either. It was safe to say that Kaili was the only girl he'd said more than two words to...those two words often being "What?" and "Move."
Girls, at least the ones on the other side of the island, just seemed to be gossipy, annoying twits with nothing on their minds but who liked them,
what they wore and what shade of lip junk they were going to wear next week. Kaili was different. She told magnificent tales, the folklore of her
people. She talked about more than herself, and she didn't...she didn't look at him like he was diseased because he didn't play play ultimate Frisbee
and didn't dress like a douche.
Actually, this was the only time he'd found out anything personal about Kaili. Sure, he'd met her family and all, but there were no details before.
Nothing besides names and the fact that they didn't really like him at all. Well, her brother didn't. Her dad was different. He was
kinda...cool. Not like his uncle...at all. But he guessed if his uncle was a tribal leader instead of a stuffy, stick up the ass cop, maybe
Jude would think he was cool, too. Did she think so? Because he wasn't so sure. Her answer to his question was quick, soft and...and sad. All
he could do was nod, but he didn't understand. How could she be sad when her father was there, in the flesh. Still had air in his lungs...still had a
heartbeat...
"So..." He began, waiting until she stopped talking, glancing at her sitting at his side. "Your dad is kind of...training your brother to be a leader
too...I get it." That was all that stuck out to him. Because since the moment that he'd heard about her father being a tribal leader, he couldn't help
but wonder who his father had been. He had been the first child, the only child between his mother and father, as far as he knew. That meant, he
would've been like Keahi. He would've learned the secrets that Keahi knew and warned Kaili against telling, He would've been strong, like Keahi. He
would've been...paid more attention, loved more, maybe? With eyes that widened momentarily from understanding, he understood. Keahi was the next
leader and Kaili, as she once had said, was "just Kaili".
Smiling softly at her, understanding coating his eyes, he looked away and watched the water, hearing what sounded like an invitation to get closer to
Keahi. Nooooo thank you. Nearly being pummeled in the face by him was enough. But that also sounded like...an invitation to show up more.
"Yeah, I intend on coming around. If it's okay, that is." Shifting with discomfort, he looked at her again, his lips moving, for a second, before
sound decided to come out. That involved knowing how to ask what he wanted to say without sounding completely stupid.
"I know you show me around this place all the time and I know that the otherside of the island has nothing on the Shore but...you should let me return
the favor..." He choked out. What the hell would he show her? He barely got out himself! "I just feel like I'm taking so much with you, you know?"
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
Jeeze! Did she ever get tired of practically begging Jude to come to the Shore? Apparently not. Because she was doing it again now, not even realizing
what she was saying before she said it. There was obviously no reason he wouldn’t want to come to this side of the island; and with how
fast he’d made it over here today, she should have been wondering when he planned on moving to the Shore. Ha. Wishful thinking? Maybe a little. But
that was neither here nor there. His living in the shore was irrelevant, as long as he still came around...which he intended on doing, apparently.
She smiled at his response to her awkward invitation before watching him struggle for his next words a little. He had to relax. It was just
the two of them now and Kaili wasn’t analyzing his every word. He was welcome to ask anything on his mind and she’d answer the best she could.
Really, her brother made entirely too big a deal about sharing the history with--WHAT?! Her eyes had been off of his face, trying to give him
time to put his words together without a pair of eyes seemingly rushing him; but when he said that...You should let me return the favor...
Was he asking her out?! He was! That’s exactly what it sounded like. He was inviting her to his side of the Reef to hang “out”, to go
out. By the Gods, she couldn’t even form words. And gosh! Why was she smiling like this?! Crap! She looked away from him again, attempting to
get her smile to fade as she tried to think of something cool to say. Somehow she was sure ‘Um, HELLS YEAH’ wasn’t exactly the answer
she wanted to give. “I, um...-,” she paused. Her father would probably never let that happen and she knew her brother would raise a stink over it,
but, “I’d like that-,” She looked back at him, tucking her hair behind her ear as the smile that had yet to fade became more acceptable and less
spazzy lovesick school-girl. “I’d like that a lot.”
Would she ever! A date with Jude Kane...So did this mean he’d be interested in dating...her? Well she obviously couldn’t ask! Damn relationships
and their complications. They weren’t even in one yet and already she wasn’t sure how to read what he said to her. Gahh! She couldn’t dwell. She
had to change the subject.
“Do you um, do you swim?” She stood up, brushing her hands together to knock the loose dirt from them as she untucked the bottom hem of her shirt, “Come in with me-,” she smiled down at him, her arms crossing in front of her body so that she could remove her shirt. Life usually
took her to the shores of Kai Pulehu, so of course she had a suit on underneath, just for such an occasion. A swim was the perfect thing to get her mind off what his invitation might mean and give them
something else to do...or it might have been.
Kaili paused just before the shirt came over her head, sure that she’d heard a branch somewhere near by snap. Jude hadn’t moved and nothing was
underneath her feet so where had that come from? Looking back, her answer became obvious.
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
That question, the one Jude had hacked out and probably sounded completely awkward asking, made him nervous. Not that he had an issue with asking
someone like Kaili to go anywhere with him. She'd been so...cool. Cool about everything. His probably very annoying questions about the Shore, taking
up her time just so he could get a guided tour around the part of the island that he wasn't supposed to see in the first place and even his distance,
which he kept, unaware. There had been so much that she'd shared with him, about herself and her land and he had yet to tell her anything outside of
his name. Sure, she'd gotten the details that his parents weren't around and he went to a school filled with adults that he hated. Most of that was
either from what she figured out on her own or from him being a smart ass the first day they'd met. His mention of his name...and uncle had actually
been the first time he'd truly given details about himself. And that bit about his uncle, he'd never told anyone that. But he'd told her. And he
didn't know why, but he kind of felt like Kaili wanted to know more. That in everything he soaked from her about the land she called her home, she
wanted to know just that much in return. And that's what scared him. Nobody wanted to hear a fucking sob story. Nobody wanted to hang out with a total
introvert who didn't even know that much about HIS side of the island because he was too busy trying to escape it. Where the hell would he take her?
Shit. Maybe he should've thought about that before he asked her out. Asked her out. Whoa. He totally did...just ask her out.
Smirking at himself and his fucking dumbness he shook his head. It was just "returning the favor". Yeah. Of course! That's all she would see it for
anyway, right?
Hearing a positive response to his invite to hang out with him was good enough to shake away any crazy thoughts he'd had about what he asked and what
he'd truly meant to ask. Like the laid back girl she was, she agreed, only hiding her face for a second. Yeah, she probably thought he was asking her
on a date when a "date" was the LAST of the things that Jude really wanted to do. Not saying that he didn't want to spend time with a girl or
anything. He wasn't one of those...guys. You know, the ones that watched the fashion channel and wore make up and shit. He liked girls, he guessed. He
just hadn't really...had the chance to like one. The girls that had passed his path in his years at AJW had mush for brains and completely
stupid mouths to accompany them. They said stupid shit, wore stupid grins whenever the jocks were near and looked at him like "dirtied merchandise"
whenever he crossed their paths. So a hardy "fuck you" was the only thing he had for those girls. But Kaili was...another type of girl. She wasn't so
high strung about what he looked like and how long his hair was, mostly because her skin was just as brown and her hair, just as black. And she didn't
frown up at his bike, wishing it was some fucking foreign "money" car instead. She hopped on the back of it, like a chariot. She was ace and cool
enough for him to actually tolerate her presence. He hoped his question hadn't changed that about them, how cool they were. But as she agreed, he knew
it hadn't.
"Great..." He muttered, nodding at her as she asked him if he swam. That was kind of a lie. He swam...sometimes. When Weimai wasn't as busy because of
the higher tides and the surfers were out for wave play. But that only happened every blue moon. No, he was more about the roads...the trees, dirt.
The air whipping at his face when he was far out enough to ride without a helmet and without the fear of cops pulling him over because of his lack of
one. But he'd do water, no problem. Moving to stand up, he looked at Kaili as she rose to her feet and untucked her shirt, he froze. Shit, his board
shorts were still at home, on his bed. What the fuck would he swim...whoa. Eyes catching Kaili's arms cross over her front, she lifted the
bottom of her shirt, the skin, brown as his, showing more and more as her shirt rose. It...her skin? Even though it looked the same, it was different.
More...bronze. Like she laid in the sun, bathing in it, against the black sand of Kai Pulehu. And as much as he wanted to tear his eyes away, he
couldn't. His eyes, refusing to look away, would stay on her until that shirt was completely off. Until he could take her, wholly in. Until her skin
was so deeply etched in his memory that he could easily recreate her in his sketchbook.Something inside of him just wanted to keep staring.
But then, she stopped, lowering her shirt as if she heard something and then her eyes...moving behind him as if she...saw something. With a stern
face, half annoyed at whatever had stopped her from showing more of her...breathtaking skin and the other half...waiting to see Nui...or Keahi...or
even her father behind him, breathing fire down his neck. But as he turned around, all he saw was the livid, no, BEYOND livid...seething face
of his uncle, Mauli.
"Jude?" His uncle's unsteady, deep timbre rumbled, confusion and anger mingling there. His eyes were ignited as he looked at his nephew, who should've
been no where NEAR the shore. But his face only showed authority and was absent of the emotion that Jude KNEW he felt. As usual.
"Wh-What are you doing...here?"
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
Well sure, she would love to know more about Jude. Outside of his name, she knew next to nothing about his habits, or his hobbies, or his
family...well he’d mentioned his uncle and she knew about his parents, but outside of that...not much...Yeah, she’d love to know more about the
boy she escorted around the shore, but she wasn’t going to squeeze it out of him! Some people just weren’t as into talking about themselves as
others. Kaili didn’t seem to shut up, but that didn’t mean Jude had to say just as much. Actually, part of her liked that he was a little bit of a
mystery. At any given moment she could tell you almost anything about any boy on the Shore. She knew everybody. Secrets barely existed, especially in
the tribe and especially when your father led said tribe. Their people came to him for absolutely everything. Big problems, small problems, hell,
medium sized problems. If it was something they couldn’t fix themselves, they let Alemana know and he fixed it. Maybe not always directly, but
things got done when the tribesmen asked her father. And with him already having so much to focus on, maybe she just wouldn’t ask about going with
Jude outside of the shore. What? It’s not like she wasn’t going to have to go over there anyway for school, and Alemana had already said that Jude
was okay to hang with...There was no reason to bother him right? Right.
Of course that was an issue for the future. She really couldn’t dwell on this date thing, because if she did she was going to end up embarrassing
herself and that could not happen. So she changed the subject, asking him if he swam and not bothering to wait for a response before she
started to change. Kaili honestly didn’t even stop to think that her sudden removal of clothing would make him uncomfortable. She did it too often
with friends for it to register; it was just the next step in the routine. Her mind said swimming, and her body simply reacted by get ready. So she
stripped; she had to do something to get her mind off the topic at hand and she didn’t know many people native to the island that couldn’t swim.
He’d come in with her, easy. But, they never made it that far, her ears picking up movement behind them before she stopped, lowering her shirt and
looking to see who or what was coming.
She could see him at first, his body hidden by the brush just before the clearing but he pushed through, showing himself in the open before she had to
ask...Oh. A familiar face. Well semi-familiar. Most of the boys she knew referred to him as Officer `Iole. What was he doing back here? Was this even
part of KPD patrol?...No it wasn’t but with the outsiders getting lost lately she’d heard they’d be checking during the day. At night of course
was...covered. Okay no. This was fine. She could easily talk them out of this and they could still go for their swim. They had every right to
be here. Well Kaili did, anyway. And Jude was with her so he did by association. She could talk Officer `Iole into leaving them alone and they could
go back to just...being. Of course, she was pretty sure`Iole wasn’t his name and she obviously couldn’t call him that to his face. She
opened her mouth speak, a small smile on her lips as she tried to turn on the charm, but he spoke first. His look of minor annoyance changing to one
of complete rage as he said a name...Jude.
“Jude?” her face twisted in confusion as Kaili repeated his name, looking from the cop’s face to her friend’s. Apparently a friend she
didn’t know as well as she thought she did. Why was he addressing Jude and not Kaili? How did they know one another? Jude said he didn’t
spend time in the Shore, but apparently he was here enough to be on a first name basis with law enforcement? The fuck? Had he been lying this
entire fucking time? And why...did they look so much alike? The cop stuttered out a question, again directed at Jude, and Kaili wasn’t holding her
tongue for him to answer. Not to answer the cop anyway. No. She wanted answers!
“Jude, you know him? How do you know him?”
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
Too many questions. There were too many damn questions firing off at Jude's head at that moment; he could barely process them all. Forget barely. He
couldn't process. Even though there were only two voices throwing inquiries at him, bot of them, blending together, just seemed like
too much for that moment. Then, there were his own question adding to that twisted symphony of confusion. The one that was ringing out the loudest?
How the fuck was he going to get himself out of THIS one? This one, meaning "this jam", "this predicament". "This shithole". He could only
blame himself. No, not about Kaili. He wasn't really worried about Kaili. Sure, a guy, that by features alone, looked like the spokesman for "the
Shore" just walked right up to him and called him by name. BY NAME. But, it wasn't too serious to Jude that she was lost at the moment. She'd never
asked about more details about his Unc', so he'd never given them. That was just Jude. Out of sight, out of mind. At least when it came to
Unc'...and any discussion about him. The one thing that WAS an issue? Those ocher eyes staring into his matching ones, coated over with a hell of a
load of anger and confusion.
"Great..." He muttered more to himself than to Kaili. He wasn't trying to brush her off, he knew it seemed that way. But with all the "you're in deep
shit" glaring that was flying at him at the moment, his brain was too busy amping up to "excuse overdrive" to really give her an answer! Easing
himself to full height, he watched his uncle emerge from the brush that he and Kaili had just, only a few moments ago, cleared. He wondered, with a
bit of envy that he could openly admit, if his uncle's feet had stumbled over the unfamiliar ground that Jude had nearly lost his footing on or...did
he know the land and the forest just as well as Kaili did. That thought made his eyes narrow even tighter with annoyance as his uncle searched him for
an answer. Well, he wasn't going to GIVE him one. How about that? He didn't deserve one, anyway! Why the hell wouldn't he be there? It was part of
Kapuhai Reef, wasn't it? And since his uncle wouldn't tell him WHY the Shore was off limits, he wasn't rushing to give an answer to WHY he was
there!
"Why does it matter?" Jude snapped, barking a sudden reply as Mauli stepped close to him, his height causing Jude to still have to look up just to
stare in his eyes. There. There was his answer. Why did it matter so damn much, anywa? Outside of the rude, protective men that walked like machismo
douchebags around the shore, there was really nothing to be afraid of. The one elder that he HAD met was totally cool about him being there anyway and
Kaili...well, Kaili was cool about him too. Very cool about him. What the FUCK was the big issue?! If his uncle didn't think it was important to tell
him, then Jude thought it wasn't important enough to stay away. Mauli's mouth twitched as he stared at Jude, probably trying to figure out just what
to say to his once again wayward nephew. The running away, disappearing for hours? Not something uncommon, especially when his Uncle's protecting
"love" was like a fucking vice, sometimes. But this seemed to shake Mauli a bit more. There was something else in his eyes as Jude stared him down.
Something Jude never saw...not there. Why was he...afraid. Without speaking, Mauli's glare shifted, only his eyes moving as he took in the
girl standing at the edge of the water. Before his uncle could even begin to say something stupid, Jude spoke up.
"Kaili. Meet my Uncle Mauli..." He began, turning to look at Kaili out of the corner of his eye. Her face was...angry. Yeah, he could
understand that. They'd straighten everything out...later. Probably much later as the expression on Mauli's face said that Jude would be grounded for
a LONG LONG time. "And Unc, this is..." Before he could finish his awkward introduction, something weird happened. Something that had never happened
before.
"No hea mai ʻoe?*" If Jude hadn't been looking at his Uncle's mouth move, he wouldn't have believed that those words had even come from
him. But they did. His Uncle spoke...the language. Their language. The Shore's. Jude wasn't stupid. He thought his Uncle knew a little bit, the point
was...it NEVER left his lips...until now.
*Where are you from?
Man has a choice and it's a choice that makes him a man...
No the fuck he wasn’t. He was not fucking ignoring her! Her expression soured even more as he muttered out a ‘great’. That sounded like
‘Fuck, I’m busted.’ to her. Seriously? Jude had played her? Fucking played her! Ugh! So who the hell was he really? He
couldn’t be from the Shore because no one knew who he was, but he obviously spent plenty of time with the “law enforcement” of
Kapuaina. Enough for the officer to address him before his eyes even found Kaili. She couldn’t believe this...Keahi had been right. He had been
right the whole time and Kaili was left looking the fool for not listening. Again. Gah. She could already hear him singing his “I told you
so song” while his little partner in crime Nui, takes the opportunity to offer to show her what a “real man” could be for her. UGH! She could
kill this Jude bastard!
But it seemed she’d have to get in line, as his voice, much louder than usual, responded to the officer’s question. Why does it matter?
Oh. That was different...actually,it was a little too much of the same. Officer ‘Iole (and of course the rest of the KPD) never had the tribe’s
respect and it seemed he didn’t have Jude’s either...but so what! That didn’t change the fact that Jude somehow knew someone in KPD which meant
his whold, I’ve never seen the Shore act had been just that. An act. For what she didn’t know, but that’s what outsiders did, now wasn’t it?
Lying, cheating, and stealing to get whatever it was they wanted. Her name falling from his lips pulled her out of her thoughts as he introduced
his...What?! His Uncle Mauli? Officer ‘Iol--Mauli was his uncle?
The anger in her expression melted into confusion and a little embarrassment as Jude tried to finish the introduction. God! He was his uncle! Of
course he knew his name and him being KPD had nothing to do with anything. None of the KPD stayed on the Shore, so Jude’s story held up and she
had...she had been angry with him for no reason. She wanted to apologize, introduce herself properly, try to make something of this already ruined
first impression, but his uncle cut Jude off before he could even introduce her. This time his stern voice was directed at her... And he was asking
her something she’d never been on the end of before.
“What-,” She understood the question perfectly, but she honestly didn’t know how to answer it. She wasn’t part of the Akame tribe. She
was Akame. How did he not know that? Not to toot her own horn or anything but she was the daughter of a South Shore tribal leader. He really
wasn’t even allowed to ask her that...Actually the more she thought about it...it was kind of disrespectful. She shook her head, a silent ‘no’
before she gave her verbal one.
“No. You don’t get to ask me that-,” she stood tall, her body in a challenging stance, “because I don’t answer to your law. I’ve
done nothing wrong, I’m on my land.” Her eyes never left his and she looked at him in a quiet challenge, something her brother might do,
only hers didn’t have that all knowing smirk attached to it.
This was a look her father would give.
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
Confusion was etched into deep lines across Mauli's browned skin. They stayed only for a moment, before erasing completely into the stoic glare that
he normally wore as he emerged stepped closer, leaving the brush, to look more closely at his nephew and...his nephew's..."friend"? And this was where
the confusion began. Mauli had entered the Dark Forest on a report from one of the two deputies that serviced the KPD, that there were more kids,
possibly haoles, fucking around where they shouldn't have been in the first place. And just his luck, he'd entered the forest, only to find
out that one of those kids was his own nephew. Dammit Jude. What the hell was he even DOING on this side? Sure, that obstinate attitude was
nothing new from Jude. He'd been rebellious from the moment that he figured out he could have an opinion...about everything. And any chance he had to
defy or disagree with Mauli was a chance that he never hesitated to take. But this? Him in a place where Mauli had banned him from even
talking about? Out of the norm and definitely not okay. Could Mauli really be surprised though? Things had been...stressed between
them lately. With Jude asking about The Shore more and more those days and Mauli avoiding those persistent questions like a fighter dodging punches?
They were strained. Mauli knew that. And he didn't like it. But if being the "bad guy" kept Jude from straying to the Shore on his own, "the bad guy"
was a title that Mauli would wear.
But that sentiment was in vain, now wasn't it? Mauli knew that it was as he was standing there, on the edge of the sacred falls, staring at his own
flesh and blood. The only flesh and blood that really mattered now, to be exact. And his flesh and blood was staring back, defiant eyes...just waiting
for Mauli to lay into him. But he wouldn't, not now...not when things were so confusing to begin with. What...was...he DOING here? And with
this...girl? Not that Jude being with a girl was a bad thing. It was actually...kind of a surprise, to be truthful. Jude wasn't the social type. Or
the dating type. He'd never brought friends around and he certainly had never brought girls around. He was what Mauli liked to call a
"loner". He hung out by himself, socialized with himself...basically lived with himself, as sometimes he stayed in his room so much and so long that
Mauli wasn't even sure his own nephew knew or cared that he existed. But here he was, girl in tow, on land that certainly was off limits. Not just by
Mauli's rules. No, more than Mauli's law ruled this land and the fact that Jude defied it so dangerously shook Mauli in a way Jude would never
understand.
The scathing remark from Jude brought a scowl to Mauli's face, his stare lingering for a second. Wonderful. An attitude. That meant that he KNEW he
was in trouble and he didn't agree with it at all. By the Gods, he was like his father. So ready for a fight, to defend himself at the first sign of a
threat. Instead of answering, Mauli only looked at his nephew, the silent glare saying everything. There was always so much in Mauli's silence and
Jude didn't have to look too hard into that silence to understand. He knew his Uncle well. Dropping the attitude, he huffed loudly and instead,
introduced his friend. The girl. Ha, Mauli had forgotten all about her, so wrapped up in Jude and the surprise of finding him in the place
that Mauli had so adamantly banned him from ever visiting. With questioning eyes, Mauli looked over Jude's friend. Well. He had to give it to
his nephew...he had taste. Cute girl. Even the look of surprise on her face made her native features stand out. She looked Moku, but one couldn't
tell. So many of the tribes had dissipated into the mainland that it was hard to tell who was who. Best thing to do was ask...
And the answer he got back? Definitely Moku. That haughtiness, the way her chin rose when Mauli even questioned her place on the Shore. It
all said that she was no foreigner to the land...which presented another issue. One that he would take up with the girl as soon as he had his nephew
out of earshot.
"Jude..." His voice was calm and steady, but coated with the authority that his nephew couldn't deny. "Say goodbye to your friend."
Kaili just watched the two of them, scowling and griping at one another like...family. Yeah. This was his Uncle. Possibly the only blood he had left,
what with his parents being gone and all. They fought like it...she was sure they loved harder though. That was the way her family was. even when they
were at one another’s throats the love didn’t stop. They took care of one another, even if one of them was pissed to all hell. And that was
obviously the case here. Jude was far past annoyed and the look in Mauli’s face said he was completely livid, but...why? I mean sure, Jude wasn’t
technically supposed to be here, but he was here with her and that made things okay. Most of her people didn’t wander to the falls that often anyway
and the Pueo patrolled at night. Jude was perfectly safe here...with her.
But with her response to his Uncle’s question, she was sure he wouldn’t see it that way. Kaili had responded before she thought it completely
through and she could see in his expression that it was something he was used to and something he defiantly wouldn’t want Jude to pick up. She
should apologize...but she couldn’t. Her family had its pride and she was right in they way she’d responded. He was not allowed to ask her that
question and she didn’t have to answer it. Hell! It should have been common knowledge. How the hell did he work the Shore and not know the people
who mattered? Kaili was sure if he did know who she was he would not have been so quick to call Jude away, ordering him to tell her goodbye. Ugh! But
they just got here!
“Wait-,” she began, her stance becoming more docile as she reclaimed her place as a woman among men. “Mr. Kane, Jude is more than welcome here
and I promise you he’s safe with me-,” she didn’t want him to go. She had been on punishment for what seemed like eternity since they last saw
one another. The short hour they had spent together wasn’t enough...and neither was her request to have him stay it seemed. She could see in the
forever irritating blank stare he was giving her that she had not changed his mind, and the longer the silence lingered after, the more she
became sure she wouldn’t be changing his mind much at all.
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
What the hell was wrong with him? No, seriously. What the hell was going through his nephew's thick skull. Mauli couldn't help the way he stared from
his nephew's..."friend" and back to the tall, growing like a "weed" boy that wore the obstinate expression that looked just like his father's.
Sometimes...he looked so much like Lewi that it was almost too painful to look at him. Painful to stare too long at that long black hair and face that
said rebellion more than his actions could have. But one thing that he shared with his father that scared Mauli, whether he wanted to admit it or not?
The stupidity. He loved his brother, hell, a lot more than he knew or was willing to say. But damn he'd been clueless. Willing to believe that because
he felt different about the things that we'd be raised believing were true, that any of that shit made a difference. It didn't. On Lewi's death, it
didn't. And Jude was making the same mistakes. Even if Mauli had kept the warning of how dangerous it was to visit the Shore without him, Jude still
visited. And then, when Mauli told Jude the dangers of the Mokukeiki, he went and made nice with one. But the Moku were never nice. Especially the
Akame. There was no love for the haole in their heart. Only hate...and vengeance for those of their kind who found the slightest inkling to love
one.
Staring at Jude and the hesitation in the reaction to his "no questions asked" command to his nephew, Mauli shifted with impatience, his stare never
falling from his nephew. "Did you hear me, nephew?" He asked, his voice only raising slightly, but with enough effect to make Jude's scowling face
that had been avoiding his eyes look up and stare more defiantly before he huffed heavily, stuck his hands in his pockets (the sign of constant
defiance, even when he was complying) and began to move towards Mauli, the stare never breaking between the two of them. Mauli's eyes speaking the
anger and betrayal of finding Jude in the exact place that he'd worked so hard to keep his hard-headed nephew away from. And Jude's eyes,
cold...and angry. Resentful...as always.
Wait. At the sound of her voice, Jude's steps slowed, his head turning to the spot where he'd left her. With hesitance, Mauli's eyes found
the "friend" of Jude's again. This girl, who by every right, shouldn't have been two feet within the vicinity of Jude. Not alone. Not by themselves.
And especially not in the forest. Forget him being a boy...he was a foreign boy. And nothing...about finding him with her made Mauli feel comfortable.
Matter of fact, it bothered him. What if it hadn't been him who found them together? What if this pretty thing had a boyfriend with a fist as big as a
softball? Or a father...with a sharp machete and a short temper. No, they weren't going to wait. He was going to take his nephew the hell...he'd
be safe with her? Was she kidding? All he could do was stare, that unrelenting blank stare not showing the amusement he felt from her comment.
She had to be joking. His nephew...wouldn't be safe anywhere on that goddamned side of the Shore. Especially not when the "right people"
found out that his last name was "Kane". If they didn't already know...
"The truck. Now." Mauli's voice was full of just enough dominance to darken the hopeful look on his nephew's face and get his feet moving again. Would
he find his way to Mauli's truck, right on the edge of where the road stopped? Mauli only hoped. He would be behind him as soon as he straightened up
a few things with this...girl.
Standing as stiff and unmoving as he had the entire time, Mauli watched his nephew pass until his eyes could no longer follow him and the rustle of
the overgrowth behind him signaled Jude's departure. Slowly, he looked back to the girl, sizing her up, his light eyes seeing more than Jude would
ever tell him about her.
"You know..." He began, his voice cutting the still, quiet air around them. "...how dangerous, not to mention forbidden it is to
bring Jude here, right? And if you do, the question is...why the hell would you go ahead and do something so reckless."
Why was he so damn upset? No, Jude really had no business near the falls and yes, they were here alone together...but it wasn’t how it
looked! They were having perfectly innocent fun, with her telling him Moku ‘lore and him soaking it up like an sponge. Nothing was happening and
nothing was going to happen. And even if they had been caught back here by someone else, she was Akame. There would be nothing anyone could say to
her, so what was the problem? Oh right. This guy didn’t know who she was. Ugh. She wouldn’t even dwell on that because it wasn’t the point. The
point was, Jude was happy here...they were happy here. Well at least before his Uncle broke things up.
Kaili whispered out a small goodbye to Jude as he stalked away, his annoyance and anger clear in his demeanor. But she really didn’t want him to
leave. She could plead a case for him. He wasn’t doing anything wrong...but her words had no effect...because for some reason Jude’s Uncle refused
to believe that he was safe there. He refused to believe that Jude would be okay with her...Fucking outsiders. Some of them fucking killed
her; and what hurt more was that Officer ‘Iole couldn’t have been more than first generation off the Shore. She could look at him and tell. Her
father probably knew him, damn it! His prejudice was enough to make her skin heat in anger as he ordered Jude away and waited until he had cleared the
trees to speak to her.
He began slowly, his voice filling the quiet that had settled after Jude’s departure. She knew it was forbidden to bring him here? Maybe for someone
not born of her blood, yes. Kaili could do as she fucking pleased...to an extent...and if she wanted to bring Jude here she totally could. So yes,
maybe she knew, but that particular rule didn’t apply to her. Next. Why had she been so reckless?
She raised an eyebrow, her eyes taking all of him in as she gave his tall frame the once over and took a step forward. “Are you seriously trying to
tell me what is forbidden and what is not? As if I do not know?” she paused, her brother’s signature smirk finding her lips as she
contemplated the consequences of her next words. She had to choose carefully if she wanted to see Jude again, but she also wanted this guy to know
that she would not be spoken to as if she wasn’t who he obviously didn’t know she was. “Try again, outsider. I know what is
right and what is wrong on my land. It’s you who might want to make sure you understand the laws of South Shore.”
She moved past him before she could say anything that might get her into trouble, but paused as another thought came to her, “Or at least check with
Jude. He seems to know a lot more than you do about who’s who on this side of the island.”
I'll let you put your hands on me in my skin-tight jeans;
be your teenage dream tonight.
If Mauli had been a man that found the "humor" in most situations, he would've laughed, the thought of Jude knowing more about the lay of the land,
his land, comical. No one knew about HIS people better than him. And the only other person that did, was dead. Laying six feet under...beside
Jude's mother. Mauli knew beyond the folklore and the stories of the land. He knew beyond what people guessed or pondered about what was happening on
the Shore. He knew the real side of the Mokukeiki. Mauli wasn't stupid. He knew that the things that he'd tried, so hard, to hide from Jude had
probably entered his ears, warping around the questions that he had about the people of the Shore...making them tainted truths. Anything that his
nephew had probably found out about the Moku from this little girl was most certainly coated in lies. The lies that her father told her. That his
father told him. And so on. And so on and...the reprobate past, generations of hate. And being Akame gave Mauli a front seat on just how deeply and
ignorantly the hate could run. And how dangerous it was when it festered and spread.
"Obviously..." Mauli began, his voice breaking from the edge that had begun in it. Though his eyes remained emotionless, his voice threatened to hint
at his anger. Anger that wasn't exactly this girl's fault. Of course she felt safe. Of course she didn't abide by the rules. The rules weren't hers to
follow. Rules were for outsiders. Don't go here. Don't do this or that. And even though she was pure, through and through, his
nephew was not. His face completely told a different story, showing not even the slightest hint of foreign blood. But that very same face was
unfamiliar. The tongue...ignorant of the native speech. And the land...not wide enough to be fooled by a convincing stranger.
"Obviously..." Mauli repeated again, cutting in the middle of the girl's rant. "You seem to be oblivious of one thing, girl." His voice was gruff,
though is face stayed smooth, free of aggression. "You may be of the land, but he isn't. There are things...that he cannot know. You know that."
Hissing the final word, he stopped speaking, his ear catching a quiet noise behind him. A snap of a twig? Rustle of the leaves? The sound of his
nephew lingering around in the brush? Probably the later.
"I KNOW...I know the laws of the Shore." Narrowing his eyes, he stared at her as she made to move past him. "I was reared on these laws, just as you
were. My life began on the soil of the Shore, just as yours did. I left the Shore. The Shore has never left me..." Speaking of the home that he had
departed from so long ago sent a longing through him that he could not ignore. His heart had always missed the land of his ancestors. It called out
for the Shore. He'd never forgotten it. And returning to it...he learned that it had not forgotten him either. Even though his mother and father were
gone now, his last ties to the island deceased, it always remembered...remembered his betrayal. His brother's betrayal. And how he turned his back on
it. But he refused to turn his back on the land again. Never again would he run away. In his own was, he was keeping the balance. He was forging
forward, to a better existence for not only his people...but for everyone.
Hearing those last words should've bristled him. They should've made his skin crawl at the thought that he did not know his home. With the strength in
his voice from the past he endured on the land, the memories of his torn, destroyed family playing in his head, he called out to the girl...answering
her insult.
"I know more about this land than your mind would will you to believe. Do not underestimate me. And what Jude believes about this land doesn't matter.
He won't come here again..."
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