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It was their third day of travel since restoring the island of Motufetū; and a bright clear sky and cooperative ocean were giving them speedy passage across the waters towards the humans' island home. The humans were overjoyed with not only their recent victory but also the approaching end of their journey, so what little Kotu could understand of their rapidly-spoken tongue made his stomach twist with homesickness and jealousy.
Moana had promised to help return him home - to the island where his tribe would surely be now that the ocean was connected again - but some part of Kotu felt that with every wave traversed he was pushed farther away from them, not towards.
How would the tribe even react when he was returned? Did they think of him as noble or idiotic?
Would the chief ever forgive him for sacrificing himself so easily, when even he, leader of the tribe, would not cut the rope?
He was taught young the weight of the duties of a chief; how one must sacrifice personal wants and gain for the good of the tribe; how to be cruel when it was necessary; and how to know when to be kind. Surley, Kotu had done the right thing? He had deprived the tribe of an heir, but if he hadn't, there may have been no tribe to be heir of at all.
Another twist in his stomach jolted Kotu out of his head, this time not of emotion but hunger, which reminded him of just one more reason he'd love to be back among kakamora instead of humans right now: he would know what he was allowed to eat. Kakamora were generally not too picky when it came to food: fish made up most of their diet, but it was common practice for kakamora of his age to be able to catch and prepare the fish on their own, and not take from others, except for caregivers (not that that applied to ships they plundered or ransacked) which left Kotu in the predicament he was in now.
Was it right to accept food from these humans, and, if not, how the hell was he going to catch any fish with no equipment and practically no swimming skills? So far it hadn't been a problem, since kakamora only ate every other day or so, and there were much bigger things happening up until three days ago, but now the emptiness of his stomach was getting truly difficult to ignore. Caught between a sour mood, a social dilemma, and a misery only hunger could produce, Kotu had spent the morning simply sitting by the edge of the canoe with his knees drawn up to his chest, watching the sea spray jump up and the legs of the boat hit the waves over and over. He grumbled, unsure of what to do. Perhaps they'd just reach the island before it became too much of a problem.
Kotu found himself letting the noises of the ocean and the chatter of the human language wash over him as he started into the blue, and after a while a lull in chatter followed by approaching footsteps drew him to the present once again.
"Hey, coconut, you alright?" Kotu didn't move, but recognised the voice as Kele. Kele seemed to be the greens keeper of the group, and perhaps the one Kotu liked simply for his brash demeanour, and that he talked slower than the others, making it much easier to understand him.
Kotu vocalised his displeasure, hoping that the human would just leave him alone.
"I don't really know what you guys eat, or even if you eat at all, since you've never joined us for a meal." Of course, that had to be the exact thing Kele wanted to talk about. "But, uh, I brought you fish?"
Now Kotu turned. Kele was holding a small bowl, with chunks of whitish flesh that was probably one of the 'ahi that swam by earlier. He only intended to refuse the food, but it seemed the sight of it was enough to trigger a rumble in his stomach that had Kotu folding back towards himself in embarrassment, looking straight ahead, and thanking his coconut armour for hiding the blush that surely covered his face.
"Ah, well that answers that then," the human chuckled lightly, "The only question that remains is, why won't you eat anything?"
Kotu chittered and crossed his arms tighter. There was no way the human would understand, having their flippant tendency towards the matter. It had taken Kotu a good while to figure out that Kele was one of the older humans, and Moni the youngest, but once he had he discovered that there seemed to be no sense or order to who did what. It seemed that the older humans barley respected the younger ones autonomy (except for Moana, their wayfinder and apparent leader, and Loto but only when she was working on the boat), and the younger humans had little care for their eldest, working Kele as hard as the rest of them.
Hearing the canoe boards shift, Kotu let his head fall against the front of his coconut armour tiredly. He didn't want to talk to Kele, didn't want his food or his pity or his curiosity, but there the human was anyway, making himself more comfortable and setting the bowl beside him, out of Kotu's view.
"It's been quite a long few days, and I know stress can be a big thing on an appetite, but it won't do anyone any good if you go tumbling over the edge of the ship because y'don't have enough energy to stay upright."
So, prioritising helpfulness over autonomy, not complete chaos then.
"Besides, it took me long enough to clean and cut up all this. It would be rude to waste it."
Ah. Had Kotu been the one stepping on toes by refusing food from the human? He made a curious noise, glancing towards Kele, who raised an eyebrow in return.
"Oh, yeah, I did make this for you after all. Unless it'd- make you ill or something. I don't know."
Perhaps, it was ok to take this fish from Kele. Apparently it was not only a human custom to casually prepare a meal for others, but it was also rude to refuse it?
Kotu stood up, fully facing Kele. He'd seen the humans bow their heads slightly when accepting things from one another sometimes, and it seemed the appropriate thing to do.
The weight of the bowl settled in his waiting hands a moment later, and Kotu looked up to find Kele smiling at him. Satisfied he hadn't offended the human, Kotu sat back down carefully, bowl resting on the boat between his legs, and ate the first meal he'd had in about a week.
Had 'ahi always tasted this good?
Kele laughed again, a proper one this time, and Kotu noticed the enthusiasm with which he had begun to dig into the fish. "If you like that, I'm sure I could find you some things you'd enjoy a lot more while we're at Motunui. Y'know, before we take you back."
We? Was Kele also going to be sailing out again with them? Kotu paused, managing to tear his gaze from the fish for a second to get some confirmation.
This time it was Kele choosing to scan the horizon. "Don't tell the others. I think the ocean life is growing on me a little bit."
Kotu huffed amusedly, briefly, before shoving another small piece of fish into his mouth.
Kele getting used to the ocean life suited Kotu just fine, because it so happened that maybe sailing with humans was growing on Kotu, to.