# MHO - The Cult of the Crimson Isles - Chapter 5

Author: Lloxie
Tags: Adventure, Canine, Cervidae, Cervine, Custom Species Names, Deer, Fantasy, Husky, Hybrid, Konuul, Magic, Male, Primitive, Raptuva, Scaly, Sereva, Tribal, Wolf

#54 of Mystic Heart Odyssey

Aaaand yet again I had to split it because it was getting too long. XD At least this time it's a bit more of an even split. Enjoy!

Please remember to leave a comment to share any thoughts you have about this chapter! I can only grow with feedback!

Posted using PostyBirb

_Mystic Heart Odyssey_

  

_Part 5: Cult of the Crimson  
Isles_

  

_Chapter 5_

  

_Ooookay, forget everything  
I said about this being a shorter one. Five chapters in and we're  
not even halfway through yet. Oh well, hope you enjoy it anyway! And  
as always, be sure to leave a comment letting me know your thoughts,  
suggestions, speculations, etc.!_

  

_-Llox_

  

\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_

  

"It was pretty scary, but luckily we encountered this one bee that  
wasn't one of the fighters. And she was a lot more reasonable and  
willing to hear us out, so before the warriors could catch up to us,  
she offered to carry us away from the nest. It was a pretty shaky  
flight, definitely a little nerve-wracking, but the important thing  
is she got us out of there safely. And after we landed, we just kind  
of-"

  

"Thanked her and went on our way," Kuna quickly interjected with  
a mildly flustered expression upon hearing the subject at hand as he  
and Hoku returned to the center of the village. He hurriedly rushed  
over to his friend's side and shot him a look, prodding his  
shoulder lightly. Luckily, many of the raptuva had already turned in  
for the night anyway- some of the younger ones quite reluctantly so  
at the insistence of their parents- but he still didn't want to end  
up embarrassed in front of the ones that remained.  
"Andabsolutelynothingelse."

  

Lykou looked up and grinned. "Oh I seem to remember we chatted a  
bit and-"

  

"Nope! Ithinkyou'vehadtoomuchtodrink, timetosaygoodnightLykou,"  
the sereva said, playfully tugging at his friend's arm as his face  
flushed and he avoided looking at anyone in particular.

  

"Ooo this sounds juicy!" Makani commented with a big grin. "Do  
tell!"

  

The konuul snickered. "Maybe in the morning," he said as he  
eventually stood up and stretched. "I'm getting tired and I don't  
want to wake up having been rolled into the ocean by an angry  
sereva."

  

"Awww, come on! You can't just leave it there! I don't wanna  
wait until morning."

  

"They need their sleep before they continue their long journey  
tomorrow, Kani," Hoku pointed out, helping Mata and a few others  
clean up around the smoking embers of the firepit.

  

"Fiiiine... but you better not leave without telling me the rest of  
that story!"

  

Lykou grinned and shot a quick glance at Kuna, before responding,  
"Don't worry, we won't."

  

Kuna groaned and clapped his hand to his face. "Must you?"

  

"He must, he must!"

  

"Would be rude to just leave the story unfinished, you know," the  
konuul pointed out.

  

"Why must you insist on embarrassing me?" Kuna said, blushing and  
rubbing his forehead.

  

"Because you're adorable when you're flustered."

  

"He has a point, you know," Makani pointed out with a grin.

  

"Hey, where are you two sleeping tonight anyway? I wasn't aware  
anyone had spare space," Mata chimed in.

  

"Oh, uh... we-"

  

"Put together a quick, real basic lean-to out in the woods between  
Hoku's place and here. Should be fine for just tonight," Kuna  
quickly explained, gesturing off a bit further north than the spot  
they'd actually picked out, just to be on the safe side. "We're  
kind of used to doing stuff like that by now."

  

"I'm sorry none of us had any space to offer," Hoku said. "Is  
there anything else you'll need?"

  

"Nah. There's no hostile critters around here that we have to  
worry about, right?"

  

"Not really, certainly not so close to a village."

  

"Then we should be fine."

  

"Alright, well, sleep well you two."

  

"Yeah, and remember- join us for breakfast and don't leave  
without telling us the rest of your story and saying bye!"

  

Lykou chuckled. "Will do, Kani."

  

Kuna rolled his eyes and sighed, but then smiled over at Hoku.  
"G'night Hoku. Was nice walking and chatting with you."

  

"Likewise, Kuna. Sleep well and sweet dreams."

  

"You too."

  

After telling the others goodnight, the boys left and started making  
their way towards their camping spot- taking a slightly indirect  
route in order to throw off any potential curious or suspicious  
watchers that might have had any ideas of tracking them down in the  
night. Everyone had seemed friendly enough, but they still felt like  
the extra precaution was a good idea. And in any case, it gave them a  
little extra chance to chat just between themselves before bed.

  

"So it seems like you really hit it off with Hoku," Lykou chimed  
in after they were out of the village proper. Luckily, their eyes had  
adjusted to the dark enough that they could navigate reasonably well  
by moonlight- and with the sky being so clear and the forest being  
less dense near the beach, they had plenty of it to rely on. "You  
both seem to have warmed up to each other pretty quick."

  

Kuna smiled. "Yeah, I think we kind of have a fair bit in common  
honestly. I think, uh..." He paused to scratch his head. "I think  
the practice with my soul magic is starting to give me more insight  
into people, if that makes any sense."

  

"Oh really? How so?"

  

"Well, it's really surface level and uncommon, but I've kinda  
started to notice that with certain people, I get this... I don't  
know, vague sort of impression about them that I can't explain.  
Only a few so far- Moyra was the first, I think. And then Aelana-  
after that initial little freakout, I mean. And to some extent I  
think it was always a subconscious thing I used to get around most  
spirits, especially galdra."

  

"That's interesting... do you suppose it's just something with  
them being other magic users?"

  

"Well no, because I got it with Hoku, too, just tonight, and I  
think I may have also kind of gotten it around Faergus shortly after  
we met... I think. Can't quite remember, since a lot happened after  
that."

  

"What kind of feeling is it, exactly?"

  

"Just kind of a... 'the world is telling me this individual, if  
nothing else, is safe to be around' kind of thing, I guess. Heh,  
you know how I usually am around new people, so I guess it's just  
extra noticeable when I suddenly feel more at ease around someone."

  

"Yeah, that's for sure." Lykou smiled and rubbed his friend's  
back gently. "But hey, I'm glad you two got along so well. What'd  
you talk about while you were gone? Took you quite a while to just  
grab a basket of fish."

  

"Various things. She was curious about my magic, of course. And we  
talked a lot about spirits, too. She's _really_ not fond of  
how those red cloaks have changed certain things around here, and I  
can't say I entirely blame her. You know those stones we found?"

  

"The uh... 'Tears of Tuimana'?"

  

"Yyyyeah, not so much. Apparently they sort of co-opted those to  
suit their narrative, but they used to be called Pelenock Teeth,  
after these little spirit things that sound like something you'd  
love."

  

"Oh really?" the konuul asked, smirking. "How so?"

  

"Well, they sound like kind of a combination of fire and stone  
spirit, that supposedly smoothed out the islands and covered them in  
sand by chewing up a whole bunch of stone that used to cover them,  
making all kinds of sparks and regularly shedding teeth for new  
ones."

  

"That... does sound pretty neat, I have to admit. I wonder if we'll  
see any?"

  

"Dunno. I got the impression Tuimana and his... or its, whatever,  
followers spooked any lesser spirits into either leaving or keeping  
out of sight."

  

"Aw, that's a shame."

  

"Yeah... apparently, these folks used to pray to, or at least  
acknowledge all sorts of spirits, until that group came along and  
basically said 'Tuimana is in charge so no need to worry yourself  
with the rest' or something."

  

"Well that doesn't seem right..."

  

"Tell me about it. Poor Hoku's not happy about it. She's...  
actually pretty spiritual herself. She still prays to a bunch of  
them, but not really asking for things- just kind of 'hey, miss you  
guys, hope you're good, here's how my day went' kind of thing.  
Which seems kind of sweet if you ask me."

  

"Aww, yeah, it does!" Lykou frowned a bit. "I wish there was  
something we could do..."

  

"Don't even think about stirring shit up with the red cloaks,  
Lykou," Kuna warned, shooting him a quick look. "I share the  
sentiment, but just... no."

  

"No, I know, I wouldn't want to risk causing a bunch of drama on  
the island or anything. I was just thinking more like... I wish we  
could get some of those other spirits to come back and visit Hoku or  
something. Just something to cheer her up, you know?"

  

"Yeah... if only." They walked in silence for a minute, then the  
sereva took a deep breath. "...supposedly Tuimana isn't the only  
god around here though."

  

"Oh?" Lykou asked, his eyes widening slightly. "I thought  
spirits that powerful were rare..."

  

"I mean, I'm pretty sure they still are. But, well... supposedly  
she met one in person when she was little."

  

"...come again? She _met_ one??"

  

"Mhmm." The sereva proceeded to tell the canid Hoku's story.

  

"Uh-huh..." Lykou was more than a bit dubious, as indicated by  
his faint smirk. "I mean, interesting story, but she was just a kid  
at the time, after all. Sounds like it might be something her mind  
would make up to make sense of-"

  

"I would think the same if I hadn't seen it too."

  

"What."

  

"Or at least... I think I did."

  

Lykou stared sidelong at him silently for a moment as they continued  
walking. "...you going to explain that?"

  

"When we were on the boat, I was looking down into the water at one  
point, and... I could've sworn I saw these two massive glowing eyes  
peer up at me from the depths, for just a moment. At the time, when I  
pointed it out to her, she brushed it off as probably just either  
being a trick of the light on the waves or some big fish swimming  
around down there. But the more I think back on it... I dunno. Those  
definitely looked like eyes, and I... I think I _felt_  
something. Like when I feel mystical energies that I don't have a  
grasp over- I know they're there, vaguely, but just out of reach.  
Only it felt... big. Faint, but huge."

  

"...shit. That's... definitely something. Damn. Did she tell you  
what this supposed god's name was?"

  

Kuna shook his head. "She doesn't know. It didn't tell her- or  
at least, not in a way she could understand. She's been kind of  
awkwardly praying to it since it apparently saved her life, though."

  

"Well yeah, that makes sense... still, though. Wow." After a  
moment the canid smirked. "I wonder if Sulyr might know the thing.  
Since he's a decently powerful water spirit too, after all."

  

"Hey, he was pretty big for a rima, but I'm pretty sure he's  
nowhere near god-level. Not to mention that was a totally different  
part of the world."

  

"Heh, true. Wonder how he's doing anyway?"

  

"Who knows. Kind of surprised you're thinking about him, though."  
It was Kuna's turn to smirk and prod his friend. "What's wrong,  
craving a waterjob again?"

  

Lykou stumbled slightly in surprise, then snickered and nudged the  
sereva playfully. "I'll show you 'waterjob'... the beach  
isn't that far away you know. And you're easy to carry."

  

Kuna giggled and stuck his tongue out at the konuul. Eventually, they  
made it to their chosen camping spot, and he conjured up his magic,  
quickly setting up their shelter for the night. Afterwards, he and  
Lykou worked on making it look discrete before crawling inside  
together and sealing off the entrance. "Goodnight, Kou."

  

"G'night, Ku," Lykou replied, cuddling up with the sereva as  
they quickly began to doze off.

  

The magic had not gone unnoticed, however. A pair of eyes peered down  
at them from behind a patch of ferns at the top of a hill near them.  
The owner took one last wide-eyed look at where their shelter was  
before turning and scrambling off into the night, stumbling over  
several times in his excitement.

  

A short time later, he arrived, somewhat out of breath, at an  
encampment at the base of the mountain, tucked away from the various  
beaten paths between villages.

  

"Kalei, what are you doing back here this early? You're a way  
from your post, you damn-"

  

"M... magic user!" the one called Kalei finally managed to say.  
"S... strangers. Not raptuva."

  

"...what?"

  

Another individual walked over. "What's going on here?"

  

"This idiot says there are strangers on the island. Non-raptuvan.  
And supposedly one used magic."

  

"...is that true, recruit?"

  

Kalei quickly nodded. "Yes! I saw it with my own eyes! And not only  
that, it... it was like the Speaker's!"

  

"BLASPHEMY!" the second figure snapped. "I should rip your  
tongue-"

  

"N-no, I swear it! On my life, with Tuimana as my witness! He made  
the plants grow and change!"

  

The other two shared a look. Finally one of them, presumably the  
highest ranking, turned to the other and said, "Send word up the  
mountain. He'll definitely want to know." He turned back to  
Kalei. "And if you're lying, you can expect-... well, you know  
what you can expect," he added with a dark chuckle. "Now go on,  
get out of here."

  

"S-sir? What should I do?"

  

"What do you think?? Get back to your post and keep an eye on them  
until they leave the village."

  

"Y-yes sir!" Kalei said, then quickly darted off into the night.

  

\*\*\*\*\*

  

The next morning, Lykou sat near the empty firepit along with a  
number of villagers that were eagerly listening to him continue their  
story over breakfast. Much to Kuna's chagrin and at Makani's  
insistance, he didn't skip the part about a certain giant harvester  
bee's commentary. The sereva just sat off in the corner and hid his  
face as he tried to focus on finishing breakfast without meeting  
anyone's gaze, blushing the whole time.

  

After thinking a minute, Hoku smirked and joined him. When he'd  
finished eating, she gave him a gentle nudge. "Hey. How would you  
like to show me those art skills you told me you practice?"

  

Kuna perked up slightly. "Oh, uh.... Sure?" He looked around a  
moment, then spotted a stick and started doodling in the sand. But he  
was taken aback when she grabbed his hand and chuckled. "Not like  
that. Kind of hard to make things out in the sand like that."

  

"Er, okay," the sereva said, looking around in confusion. "Then,  
uh... where, and how-?"

  

She stood up again and gently tugged his arm. "There's an old  
tradition from our peoples' traveling days that I want to revive.  
Follow m-"

  

"Hold that thought," the chief interrupted, having overheard  
them, as he walked over to join them. "I think I know the tradition  
you mean."

  

Hoku looked a bit surprised, not to mention a bit anxious and  
disheartened. "Is... is there a problem with it?"

  

A smile slowly came across the old chief's face. "Only that you  
thought to be so selfish as to keep it on your shack out where only  
you and occasionally Makani would see it. He should use the  
longhouse."

  

"...really?" Hoku asked, perking up. "I didn't think-"

  

"Hokulani, those days may be past, but that doesn't mean I don't  
appreciate the stories as much as you do. Or artistic talent."

  

"Uh, n-not to interrupt, but... what are you two getting at?"  
Kuna asked somewhat anxiously.

  

They both grinned, then the chief gently set a hand on the sereva's  
shoulder. "Come with me, I'll show you. Fetch the paints, Hoku."

  

Without even saying a word, Hoku rushed off in an unusual display of  
excitement. As she did, Kawelo guided Kuna to the other end of the  
village, to a large building whose roof appeared to be made from the  
hull of a canoe- only it was far, far bigger than any canoe he'd  
previously seen. Not that he'd seen many, of course, but it easily  
dwarfed the boat Hoku and Kani used. The sides of the structure were  
flatter and smoother than most of the other structures, apparently  
made of some kind of white clay, with thick wooden beams serving as  
reinforcement at regular intervals. A few slatted wooden window  
frames were built into the sides, which the chief opened before  
pulling back the thick, heavy curtain blocking the entrance, then led  
him inside.

  

Kuna was immediately captivated by the sight inside the structure-  
several of the walls were covered by various paintings of people,  
boats, creatures, and plants. And the fact that they were all in  
different styles suggested that they were definitely made by a number  
of different people. They all looked quite old, however- worn down  
from ages and occasionally missing bits where whatever they had used  
for paint had either faded or flaked off.

  

"As I'm sure Hokulani has told you, our people used to sail  
around the ocean quite a bit, and we used to get visitors more as  
well. An old raptuvan tradition was for visitors to leave some sort  
of art or crafstmanship behind wherever they visited. We used to  
store such things here, but one of my predecessors was particularly  
fond of paintings, and the way they can tell a story. So, for this  
village in particular, it became a tradition to invite visitors in to  
leave their mark on the wall."

  

Kuna carefully looked over the various paintings with fascination.  
Most of them were clearly raptuva in various styles, some wearing  
unique clothing, while others bravely faced off against monsters  
bursting from the water; there were also various depictions of  
nature, including a small but beautiful mural showing the sun dawning  
over a valley with a river winding down the middle. And intriguingly,  
there were a few non-raptuvan people visible as well, though they  
weren't familiar looking to Kuna at all either- mostly. Suddenly,  
he stopped and gawked at one in particular, tucked away in the  
corner. The people depicted looked almost certainly to be some kind  
of konuul. Some of the details were different- slightly different fur  
patterns and there was slightly less natural curl to their tails, but  
otherwise it looked startlingly similar to his canid friend's  
people.

  

"These... these look like-"

  

"Oh, that's interesting," the chief said as he walked over and  
rubbed his chin. "They do resemble your... friend, don't they?"

  

"Who were they? How old is this one?"

  

"Oh, I'm afraid I couldn't say. Their names are long forgotten.  
The most recent of any of these paintings go back to when I myself  
was a young one. And without context, I suppose they're largely a  
mystery now."

  

The image depicted a trio of individuals. The two on the side lacked  
much distinction, though they clearly looked canine in nature. They  
were standing to either side of a central figure, which was somewhat  
more defined. The middle figure had what looked like a dark blue  
cloak- whose exact color notably wasn't visible in any of the  
paints in any of the other paintings- and was casually holding what  
looked like a cup in one hand in front of itself, the other hand  
perched in their hip. And whereas most other paintings at that scale  
tended to lack much in the way of facial details, this central figure  
was at least granted two dots for eyes- and Kuna thought he could  
just barely make out a tiny, faint smirk on its face, faded over  
time.

  

Oddly, despite the minor detail- many other larger paintings had a  
lot more- the central figure almost felt alive. Kuna couldn't shake  
the feeling he was actually being looked at.

  

He managed to snap out of his fascination and pull himself away when  
the curtain opened up again as Hoku slipped inside with a tray filled  
with small wooden cups and bowls filled with various substances in  
different colors- mostly paste-like, but a few were runnier. She set  
the collection down next to Kuna as Kawelo patted the sereva's  
shoulder. "Lykou has his way of telling your story. I'm curious  
to see your own. Just have some fun with it," he said before  
turning to leave. "And use as much space as you want- not like we  
get visitors very often these days anyway."

  

As the chief left, Hoku grinned at Kuna. "Isn't it great? So many  
people, so many stories..."

  

"Yeah... too bad everyone seems to have forgotten the details."  
The sereva went back to staring at the unknown konuul. "Lykou  
should see this before we leave."

  

She moved over to look where he was looking, then her eyes widened.  
"Oh... oh wow. How have I never noticed that one before?"

  

"Well, it's just one image and it's tucked away in a corner, so  
it'd be easy to miss..."

  

"I guess," she said, looking the image over. "So strange,  
though. Doesn't seem to connect to any of the other paintings..."

  

Kuna bent down and picked up one of the bowls, examining the pasty  
substance inside. "What's this made of?"

  

She leaned over and looked at the bowl. "Hmm, I think that one's  
some kind of berries and clay, maybe some other things." She  
smirked. "Wouldn't recommend tasting it, just in case. Its for  
painting, after all."

  

The sereva smirked and dipped a finger into the paste and drew a line  
on an empty patch of wall. "I know."

  

"You know, I might be able to find some kind of brush you can use,  
if you want."

  

"Brush?"

  

"Yeah, you know... like a stick, but with hair or something  
attached to the end? That way you don't get as messy."

  

He arched a brow, then shrugged. "I'm used to using my fingers,  
ever since I was little."

  

"I bet you were adorably messy," she teased, then chuckled,  
making him blush a bit. "What'd you use for paint?"

  

"Whatever I could. After a certain point I mostly just doodled in  
the dirt, though, since it wasn't like I had anything else to work  
with."

  

She frowned. "Really? Nothing?"

  

"Given the circumstances... nope," he said as he continued  
carefully shaping out a figure on the wall, then let out a sardonic  
laugh. "Ironically, I think being abandoned gave me more chances to  
do this kind of thing. After I found a cave to hide out in, anyway.  
Didn't have to worry about pissing anyone off. Only had mud and  
maybe sometimes some extra berries I stumbled across to paint with  
though, usually."

  

"Damn, Kuna... I'm so sorry."

  

He shrugged again and flashed her a faint apologetic smile. "Sorry,  
don't mean to sound all gloomy all of the sudden. Thanks for  
bringing me these. This is... nice."

  

"Hey, no problem. I'm glad you agreed to it." She moved over  
next to him and watched him paint. "There's a cup of water down  
there if you need it. Starting with Lykou, huh?"

  

"Mhmm. He's the first one I met on our journey, after all," he  
explained with a smile.

  

She grinned back and playfully, but carefully nudged his side. "Just  
don't forget to add yourself there, too."

  

"I will, I will."

  

After he'd been painting a while, Lykou walked in and looked  
around, with Makani following along behind him. "Oh wow..."

  

Kuna looked up from his painting and smiled. "Hey Kou. I'll try  
to finish up soo-"

  

"Nah, you take your time, I'll just work on my instrument until  
you're done. It's nice to see you enjoying yourself," the  
konuul said, smiling over at his friend. "Looks really good, by the  
way."

  

The sereva blushed. "Thanks... really nice to have so many colors  
to work with. I could get used to doing this..."

  

"Hey, we'll make sure you get plenty of chances back at  
Lakefire," the canid assured him.

  

"Oooo, is that what the shakonu look like??" Makani commented,  
looking over the sereva's shoulder. "So cool and weird!"

  

"Hey, careful not to get in his way, Kani," Hoku reminded her,  
gently tugging the other raptuva's arm.

  

Makani grinned sheepishly and backed up slightly. "Right, sorry!"

  

Kuna chuckled. "You're fine. And yep, that's a shakonu. They're  
big people, but really nice once they know you're not a threat."

  

"Hey, if you're up for it, you should try drawing the echo one we  
saw. What was his name again?"

  

Kuna thought for a moment, rubbing his chin and inadvertently  
smearing some yellow-ish paint on it. "...Tareq, I think. And sure,  
I can give that a shot. Should be fun drawing him, heh."

  

"Is that a lepne?" Hoku asked, pointing to a long-eared figure.

  

"Mhmm. Specifically, Faergus, since he was the first one we met."

  

"Wow. Did they all have those blue markings?"

  

"Nah, just the more... warrior-like ones. And it was dyed into  
their fur, not natural."

  

"Oh, that makes sense..." Hoku said, looking around at some of  
the older paintings. "Seems like a common theme for some people to  
paint their bodies for certain roles."

  

"Yeah, a while back I was showing him how some of our hunters do  
something like that for luck on their hunts," Lykou chimed in. "We  
even ended up painting each other. It was a rainy day so we were  
stuck in the cave we slept in anyway. It was fun."

  

"Oh yeah, that was a nice day," Kuna said, smiling as he thought  
back to their little mutual makeup fun, and subsequent goofing  
around.

  

"It sure was." The konuul let him paint in silence for a bit,  
minus occasional interrupting questions from Makani, while he walked  
around, looking at the other, older paintings decorating sections of  
wall.

  

Kuna eventually glanced over at him and gestured to the one corner.  
"Oh hey, Lykou... go look over there. There's uh... one small one  
in particular that I think you'll find very... interesting.

  

"Oh really?" Lykou walked over to search the corner. When he  
eventually spotted the image in question, his eyes grew wide and he  
stared at it for a moment, transfixed. "Hey... are those...?"

  

"Sure looks like it, doesn't it?"

  

Makani rushed over to see for herself. "Wait, we were visited by  
other konuul in the past??"

  

"Apparently. Or people that look a lot like them, anyway," Hoku  
said, tilting her head at the image. "Must have been a really long  
time ago though."

  

"No tribe emblem though, that's strange," Lykou mentioned,  
scratching his head. "I wonder who they were... especially the one  
in the middle."

  

"Or where they came from, exactly," Hoku added. "No offense,  
but I can't imagine people as fluffy as you settling anywhere even  
close to these islands, so they must have come from a pretty long way  
away."

  

"No kidding..."

  

Another hour or two passed as Kuna continued painting. Lykou took a  
good chunk of time just looking over and appreciating the other  
images on the wall before eventually sitting down to work on his  
instrument. Meanwhile their raptuva companions chatted idly with  
them, both contemplating the background of the other images and  
asking questions about Kuna's depictions. On a few occasions, one  
of them left to fetch a clean cup of water for the sereva. In the  
end, he and his poncho were thoroughly covered in little smears of  
paint, but he seemed quite happy regardless.

  

"That looks amazing, Ku," Lykou said, wrapping an arm around the  
sereva and admiring the fresh paintings. "Heh, I'm surprised you  
even added Ink down there."

  

"Hey, whatever I think of her, she _is_ the reason we're on  
this journey in the first place. And, well," he paused, glancing  
around to make sure no other raptuva had entered or were listening  
in, then continued in a lower voice. "She did teach me to use  
magic, anyway."

  

"So that's the creepy powerful lady you mentioned, huh?" Makani  
said, leaning in to examine the figure. "Spooooky~"

  

"Wow... so many fascinating people out there," Hoku mused, a hint  
of jealousy creeping into her voice. "Wish I could meet them."

  

Kuna and Lykou shared a look, then the former gently rubbed her  
shoulder. "Hey, maybe you'll get more visitors soon. Or your  
people will get another navigator sometime and you can go exploring  
with them."

  

Hoku smiled faintly. "Kind of doubt it at this rate, but maybe."

  

Kuna sighed and looked down at the mess on his fingers and poncho-  
not even aware of the bits he'd managed to get on his face. "Well...  
I better go get cleaned up so we can get going."

  

"Hey, that old thing looks good with some extra colors on it,"  
Lykou pointed out.

  

"Yeah, better than just the old bloodstains anyway," Kuna  
retorted with a smirk.

  

"Hey Kani, go let the chief know Kuna's done, I'm sure he'll  
want to see the end result. I'll put the paints away."

  

Lykou packed away his instrument while Kuna went to wash his hands  
and face off in the sea, setting his poncho aside temporarily while  
he did so. He figured the little bit of salt wouldn't be too big a  
deal, and he'd probably try and clean up again later in some fresh  
water wherever they camped for the night anyway. Once he was cleaned  
up and reunited with his friend, the chief approached, along with a  
group of other villagers.

  

"Your painting is very beautiful, Kuna," Kawelo said, with a few  
others that'd seen it voicing their agreement.

  

Kuna blushed and rubbed his shoulder. "Thank you for letting me  
paint it. It was... well, I really, really enjoyed getting the chance  
to do that. More than you probably know."

  

"We will cherish its addition to the longhouse for years to come,"  
the chief assured him. He then adopted a more serious, somewhat  
curious expression. "But now I must ask- where are you two headed  
now? Especially without a boat. And I may not personally know every  
inch of the island, but I'm sure we'd all know if there was one  
of these... 'magic portal arches' you mentioned around here  
somewhere."

  

"Oh, uhhh-"

  

"To pay their respects to Tuimana, of course," Makani quickly  
answered with a subtle wink to the boys. "It'd be rude to visit  
his islands without going to say hi, right? They mentioned they were  
heading that way yesterday on the boat ride over."

  

"R-right!" Lykou quickly agreed with a slightly nervous smile of  
his own. He'd told them about the portals, but skipped over the  
fact that they'd been having to use Kuna's magic to activate  
them. "The, um... re-"

  

"Y-yeah, I'm sure the Order of the Enlightened will certainly be  
able to help you find one somewhere," Hoku interjected quickly,  
rubbing her arm with a fairly forced grin.

  

The chief slowly nodded. "Ah, yes... that... that would make sense.  
In that case, I suggest you follow the marked trail behind our  
village- there are a number of them connected the villages on this  
island, and the ones leading up the mountain are marked with red  
stripes on the trees near it. It's a bit indirect, but trust me,  
it's easier and safer that way."

  

"Thanks for the tip, we'll definitely do that," Lykou quickly  
replied.

  

"Safe, safe is good," Kuna agree with a wooden grin of his own.

  

"I'll take them to it and see them off," Hoku quickly  
volunteered, then hurried over to start subtly urging the boys in  
that direction.

  

"Well then, farewell you two. It has been an honor meeting you  
both."

  

"Yeah, we'll miss you guys!" Kani agreed.

  

"Thank you all for your hospitality, it's been wonderful!"  
Lykou said with a more sincere smile. "It's been great meeting  
you all."

  

"Thanks for the stories, Lykou," Mata chimed in, followed by a  
slew of other similar sentiments from the others present as people  
surrounded them to offer them well wishes, pats on the back, and so  
on as they passed through towards the trail the chief mentioned.  
"Hope you both visit again some day."

  

Once they were finally outside the village, the boys turned to bid  
Hoku a proper farewell. "Definitely don't go up that way if you  
can avoid it," she quickly told them once she was sure nobody had  
followed them. "The red cloaks mostly hang out on the mountain,  
especially further up. That shrine is their headquarters."

  

"Are they really that dangerous?" Lykou asked, glancing warily up  
the trail. "Even if we keep Kuna's magic secret?"

  

"It's... I can't prove anything obviously, but let's just say  
I have a bad feeling about what might happen if you stumbled across  
them. Just call it intuition. They don't really like not being in  
control of things, and you two arriving is definitely something that  
might throw that control into question."

  

"Fair enough, we'll steer clear of them if we can."

  

"You definitely don't have to tell me twice," Kuna said with a  
slight twitch. After a moment, he grinned a bit, then suddenly  
stepped forward and hugged Hoku, taking her by surprise. "Thanks,  
Hoku. It was great meeting you."

  

Lykou chuckled. "Told you he was a hugger, deep down."

  

Hoku grinned as well after a moment and returned the embrace. "So I  
see." After they parted, she turned and hugged Lykou as well.  
"Well, fair is fair then."

  

The konuul returned the embrace. "Give one to Kani for me too when  
you see her again."

  

"Will do. Be safe you two. Hope your journey home isn't too much  
longer." She smirked before turning to leave. "But I hope  
whatever's left of it continues to be good and interesting."

  

"...as long as it's good-interesting," Kuna added.

  

"Of course. But I'm sure you two can handle it either way." She  
winked, then sprinted off.

  

The sereva took a deep breath after she left, then turned to his  
companion, his smile fading. "Well... let's re-do that spell real  
quick."

  

"Oh? Why, did you do something that interfered with it last night  
or something?"

  

"No, I uh..." Kuna fidgeted and adjusted his poncho. "I'm  
hoping it's wrong."

  

Lykou gave him a dubious look. "Huh? Why is that?"

  

"...it feels like its pointing us either up the mountain or to the  
other side of it."

  

"Shit. Alright, let's hope it's a fluke."

  

After a quick re-cast confirmed what Kuna had sensed before, he  
deflated a bit. "Dammit. Maybe we should try going around the  
mountain..."

  

"Kuna. You saw how big this island was from the other one. That'd  
take forever. And then what if it's actually _on_ the  
mountain?"

  

The sereva sighed. "Yeah, I know. But you heard what Hoku said."

  

"Hey, look, we'll just... be extra careful, alright? We'll  
avoid getting too close to any other villages and stay off the  
trails. Even if we do come across those... 'red cloaks', maybe  
they're not as bad as we think. Hoku's nice, but maybe she's  
just a little paranoid, you know?"

  

"I guess... but let's still do our best to avoid them."

  

"Definitely."

  

As they turned to begin their trek up the enormous mountain, a  
certain colorful bird sat on a high tree branch, silently watching  
them go.

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/Vm2LLBL1
Part of the series Mystic Heart Odyssey
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