Pomaika'i's Furious Trail

Chapter 5

The rain had already come and gone on the south shore by now. The rain did pour so much the beach was dotted with puddles even an hour after the clouds had dissipated in favor of a cloudless afternoon. The moment the rains stopped and the beach mostly dried up, the kids came out to play. The beach was soon filled with their excited shouts and screams as they splashed water at each other, aggravating their parents until they finally dragged a few away from the shrinking puddles. It didn't matter that much anyway, since the kids all ran into the water.

Meanwhile, the farmers checked their crops and from the look of things, they had nothing to worry about. A little rain never hurt crops, unless the rain was so bad that it drenched the crops. Not so much here. Even the pigs and chickens were satisfied.

More people joined the kids in the ocean. They were all young, restless individuals looking to go surfing. Some of the boys flexed their muscles, boy existent and non-existent to girls looking for some action. Some of those boys ran out into the water to surf. Though the waves weren't big, they were just what those testosterone-fueled boys needed to get the attention of all the wahine.

A few more people ran into the water, inadvertently spurred on by the surfing boys. This didn't happen very often, and most of the other grown-ups were content to work, rest or play.

Manti chose the former.

The Chief sat on his hut's raised porch, with one foot dangling off to the side and writing on some kapa paper. A basket next to him held other items, like kapa cloths with Pele designs. Trade, basically. And he was keeping inventory of some of the stuff they traded and traded for. As with any civilization, trade was important. And although the Teo and Pele traded many of the items amongst each other, they also traded items neither of them had, like the clothing we previously mentioned. Also, the Pele supposedly made some damn good arrowheads, while the Teo we're supposedly great at making spear and arrow shafts.

Tim the white boy sat next to him, looking over for a moment, then looking back and repeating the process a few times. He wrote down some similar items on his clipboard. Tim's hair had grown out and he wore it in the same style as many of the other village men. His tattoo was also completed and he wore the same clothing everyone else wore.

Manti occasionally looked up from his work to check on the people in the water, which included two of his sons. They flirted with some of the wahine, flexing their muscles and posing to impress them. "Reminds me of when I courted my wife," he said.

"You keep talking about her," said Tim. "What happened to her?"

What should have been an easy question turned out not to be the case. Manti sadly lowered his head and visibly fought to keep the tears from welling up. "Sickness," he said. "It is... rather painful to discuss."

"Forget I asked," said Tim.

"Not your fault," said Manti. "How is the inventory coming on your end?"

"So far, so good," said Tim. "I admit that I'm not the best at this, though."

"Just keep going," said Manti. "We will be done soon."

Manti happened to look back up at the water right as Kame, who'd gone in, was coming out, and froze in place. He stared at Kame's surprisingly-sculpted chest and body. Inside, he wondered why the kahuna's appearance was so... enticing. Manti always knew he was interested in women; he realized this attraction when he was young, when he got a glance of a woman emerging from the ocean, appearing like the Goddess of the Sea. But here, Kame was doing the same thing. And he found himself feeling the same way then. And it surprised him. Even more surprising, he felt his groin getting tight. He tried to fight it, but it caught Tim's attention.