Chapter Text
It was late morning when Mualani finally crawled out of bed, sick of trying to sleep when the sun kept shining through her blankets. Besides, it was summer in Natlan and her windows were right in the way of the sun, heating her house far too warm for her liking.
She kicked her covers off with a grunt, still lazy and unwilling to put in much effort. She checked the calendar hung up above her desk; there were tours this week, no contests, and no meetings… However, the bright blue highlighter, underlined three times and circled four, was a big picture of a shark. “Introduce the twins!”
“Shoot…” Mualani muttered, eyes widening slightly. How could she forget? Today was the day she’d show Kachina and Kinich her family friends. It was supposed to go really smoothly, like she’d all planned out, but given that she was already thirty minutes behind schedule, she’d really have to pull her weight to make it work.
She beelined for her counter, grabbing her sash and a protein bar she’d left out the night before, scrambling out the door. The surfer waved hi to all the tribemates that greeted her, but she made sure to cut the small talk so she could sprint faster, talk later. In no time flat, she ended up at the twins’ house, panting heavily.
“..hey…! Ya in here?” She gasped, leaning on one of the wooden supports on their porch. “It’s me… Mualani…!” Lucky for her, it seems they’d clearly forgotten too, because a very sarcastic blue haired girl flung the door open, sticking her face out and nearly hitting the surfer in the head.
“What? I thought you were busy today.” Huffed the girl at the door. “Sorry, Marina. I forgot I was supposed to take you and your brother to meet my friends today. Uhm. If you didn’t plan anything today, I think I can still work with the schedule.”
“One sec.” Marina said, sticking out her finger before slamming the door. Mualani wasn’t even trying to listen in, but she could clearly hear the girl’s shouting through the door.
“Mako! You busy today? Okay, good! Mualani’s dragging us along somewhere!”
Mualani could only assume Mako had made his quiet response somewhere between Marina’s yelling. The door flew open again, this time Mualani was prepared, stepping back as it slammed into the wall it was mounted on.
“We’re free.” Marina replied, hand on her hip. “Let’s go, Mako can catch up.”
“Are you sure? I don’t wanna leave him behind-”
Marina sighed and grabbed Mualani’s wrist, dragging her along. “C’mon, let’s just go.”
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Kachina tapped her boot on the bench, impatiently waiting. “Didn’t Mualani say she had someone she wanted us to meet today?” She said, turning her head to look up at Kinich, who was seated beside her.
“I doubt she forgot. She probably just got wrapped up in something else, but she’d never miss a planned event.” The hunter replied, tightening his bandana from the back. “Yeah, you’re right. I wonder what they’re like? Do you think they’ll be similar to her?” The girl asked, kicking her feet to occupy her boredom. “Probably not. She mentioned some theory about ‘opposites attract’.” Kinich pointed out, standing up from his spot on the bench. “They’re here.” Kachina immediately snapped to attention, back straight, pleasant expression. Her parents had always taught her to make a good impression when meeting new people.
“Sorry we’re late!” Mualani called, stumbling towards her friends, the twins in tow. “So, there’s two very important someones I’d like you to meet! This is Marina and her brother Mako. They’re from my tribe! Say hi, you two!”
Marina smiled and waved in response, opening her mouth to talk. “Hiii, I’m Marina, I don’t really know how to do introductions, but I’m a lot of fun. That I can promise. And this is Mako, like Mualani already said. He’s-” Mako nudged his sister slightly, clearing his throat. “Marina… I can introduce myself this time. Uh, hi. You can call me Mako. Or uh, don’t call me anything at all. I’m uh… not very talkative.”
Kachina seemed to relax at the two introductions, happy that neither of the twins were positively terrifying and intimidating. They seemed around Mualani and Kinich’s age, further making life easier for the girl. Meanwhile, Mako had buried his head in Marina’s shoulder, dark hair covering his face while he repeatedly smacked his skull against his sister’s arm, like someone banging their head against a wall out of frustration. She looked extremely used to this, talking like nothing was happening whatsoever.
“Don’t mention his ‘introduction’. He might genuinely never leave the house again if you bring it up.” Marina sighed, giving her sibling a small side eye. “Alright, and twins, this is Kinich, from the Scions of the Canopy. And the little one is Kachina of the Children of Echoes.” Mualani said, pointing to each person. “Now this is the part where you all get along and be friends.” She added, winking.
Kachina piped up, her high pitched tone voicing an important question. “Uhm… Mualani? Did you plan anything for us to do to get to know Marina and Mako? Because neither me nor Kinich are the best at socializing with no purpose.”
The surfer widened her eyes, like she’d just remembered something. “Oh, oh! Of course, how could I forget? Let’s go to the Weary Inn to grab lunch. All on me! Just order whatever you want.” “Oh, you don’t have to tell me twice.” Marina snorted, running past Mualani, who chased her with a grin. “Wait, Marina, you can’t-” Mako reached his hand out, like he was trying to hold his sister back, but then let it slack against his body.
“-run in the stadium. Are those two really racing right now?” The soft-spoken boy said, judgingly, navy blue eyes holding only the mildest droop of annoyance.
“I’d join them if I could, honestly. But even I couldn't think to run somewhere as busy as this. Seems a bit irresponsible.” Kachina muttered, eyes locked on the two racing girls until they ran out of sight.
“Interesting how a child is more socially correct than two grown adults.” Kinich looked to Kachina, then Mako. “It’s like they feed off each other’s energy or something,” Mako replied quietly, fidgeting with his kaholasaur tooth necklace. “Marina causes problems, Mualani doesn’t see the problem and joins in, and then small problem becomes big problem. But this one seems harmless enough.”
“It’s lucky for them that the stadium is mostly empty today, or I’m sure they’d have angry people shouting at them to watch their step.” The saurian hunter observed, picking up his pace. “Though, we should probably catch up.”
The little girl nodded in response. “Agreed.”
With that, the three speed-walked to the inn, where Mualani and Marina had already entered, the door still slowly closing from when they’d opened it.