I do not own the rights to Moana.

Welcome

I swear, if he wasn't a shapeshifter, I'd chain him to the chair. I still might try that actually.

Ever since Te Fiti, a lot has changed. Thanks to Maui's help, we've started voyaging again and discovering new islands. Most are abandoned, with only the some broken pottery, a few skeleton remains, and outlines of where huts would have stood showing that humans once inhabited the island, among the overgrown plants and trees. The best we can figure out is that whatever humans were there were the victims of the Darkness—or the Black Rot as my father calls it—though we do our best to hope that some managed to escape.

There have been some islands with people, though they are always wary of our arrival at first. Who can blame then, when Montenui never had any visitors? Not all are friendly, but some are. There are some that are eager to trade for new goods, hear tales of what happened—for Montenui wasn't the only island which had the Black Rot reach its shores only to disappear quickly—and some are eager to be taught the old ways again and join us as we voyage.

So many new islands have been discovered we've actually started recording them on maps, along with marking which islands are inhabited, and which ones we should stay in contact with, and those which should be avoided.

We still go back to Montenui of course, using it as a base of sorts. No matter how far I'll sail, it will always be my home. Besides, there are still those who are too frail to sail, or too afraid to venture beyond the reef, even with the monsters all gone. Thankfully my parents, especially my father, are not among them, something I thought would have never happened—he's actually been the most eager out of all the villagers to go voyaging.

Despite the many changes in my life, there is one constant. No matter where I am—on a boat, a distant island, on Montenui, I always leave out an extra bowl for him.

When we were sailing to Te Fiti to return her Heart, Maui would speak sometimes about his exile on the island for those thousand years. Apparently as a demigod he doesn't have to eat to survive, but still enjoys it. That's why he was so eager to eat Heihei at first. According to him, he was so hungry for something other than fish or berries after a thousand years, even a scrawny stupid chicken looked delicious. He still threatens Heihei every once in a while, but more out of habit or to mess with me.

Nobody is going to eat Hehei while I'm around.

Sometimes the bowl is empty when I come back, other times, it's still full. But when he does come, I'm lucky if I can catch him in the act—and it's always in one of his animal forms. Iguana, bird, snake, even the shark head once.

Never as a human.

Then, when I do catch him, he gives a quicks nod of his head in thanks and takes off, even if the bowl isn't empty yet.

It's so aggravating. I've tried begging, offered to throw feasts in his honor, joked and insulted his honor and bravery, but nothing ever works.

It's not just aggravating because he's so stubborn and refuses every time—sometimes by avoiding the question completely, or making some smart-ass comment about me being obsessed with him, or some weak excuse. It's also the fact that nobody really believes me that he was involved.

They believe in the Black Rot. They believe that I left and saved the day somehow, and came back. They believe in the old ways. But Maui, demigod and shapeshifter, extraordinaire? Hah. He's just a story. Even if was real, what would he be doing sneaking food out of a bowl when I'm not looking?

For all that my parents have changed, I can see they're still a bit skeptical about Maui. At the most they've seen Maui in animal form once or twice. I did try to point out that he didn't act like other animals until they countered with neither do Pua or Heihei, but that doesn't mean they're demigods in animal form.

Since chaining him, trapping him in a cage, capturing him with my own two hands are not options because he'll just shift shapes and escape, I' finally came up with a decent solution to get him to stick around long enough for me to talk with him.

Monsters no longer roam the waves like they once did, but a few weeks ago we did come across an island filled with Kakamora. I guess even they had to come from somewhere, and we left as soon as the first blow darts were shoot at us, but not before a few managed to make it onto our boats.

Including the one I managed to extract the paralytic from to sneak into the food—after going through four darts to do so.

At first, I'm worried that because it's in food and not a dart my plan won't work, and I keep still while watching him eat from a distance. We're back on Montenui for the time being, which offers plenty of foliage to hide behind while waiting for a hungry demigod to show up.

He does eventually, in his cute little iguana form and when's he's halfway through he starts having difficulty moving, his face landing so close to the next bite he tries to get at it with his tongue, but misses, just barely.

"Gotcha!" I cry, and sneak out of from hiding spot.

He sighs. "Let me guess, blow dart in my…" he trails off, the paralytic taking full affect, making him unable to speak.

"Food," I finish for him, and scoop him up into my lap, stroking him gently. Not knowing how long it'll be before it wears off and he escapes I get to my point.

"Maui, why won't you come inside and eat with my family like a normal person? Actually, why won't you just show up as yourself? You're more than welcome to. If this is about the whole stealing Te Fiti's heart and nearly dooming us all with the Black Rot, I wouldn't worry about it. The Heart has been returned, the Black Rot has vanished, and we're back to voyaging, something that you helped with. I don't get it, why don't you just stay?

"I mean, I know you're a demigod and off doing demigod stuff and wasn't expecting you to come back—don't get me wrong, it's nice seeing you again, and I don't expect you to stick around permanently, but why don't you show up in your human form? I thought the great demigod Maui loved having feasts thrown in his honor, so why don't you want us to do the same? Why do you even bother coming around if you only do so in your animal forms?"

It's longer than expected, so much so I can feel him starting to wriggle around in my hands, finally getting control over his body back. I let him go before he changes into a shark or something and squashes me. "I just don't get it Maui," I add quietly. "I thought we were friends."

Any moment now he's going to change forms and take off like he always does, and I'll be lucky to ever see him again. Except the form he takes surprises me- it's his own.

"We are friends. It's just—" his voice trails off and Mini Maui is looking up expectantly at him, just waiting for him to finish. He's not the only one. He picks up, running his fingers through his long hair. "It's just… look, this whole friend thing is still new to me. And while I like hanging out with you and checking up on you, I just don't think I'm ready to deal with all of them," and jerks his thumb in the direction of my family's hut that's currently filled with villagers eating and discussing where to go next and what to do with the islands we've already found.

"I don't understand, you've been with humans before…" Maui doesn't answer, but Mini Maui does for him, shaking his head at me, and I realize what's going on.

Maui has been around humans before, but always as a guest of honor, somebody to be worshipped and admired. Never as himself, and certainly never as a friend. His own parents threw him away, and he was raised by the gods. I doubt he's ever actually been a part of a village, or family for that matter.

"So don't come as Maui then." He gives me a confused look, but I continue, not really knowing if my idea will work. "Come in one of your animal forms and get used to them. And then, once you're ready to, you can come as yourself, just Maui. Not as a demigod, not as a hero, just… Maui."

"Well, I don't think I'll ever be just Maui," he says, shrugging off my suggesting, and making me think he'll just take off again. A quick change, and this time he's back in his iguana form. "But I can be a cool and wise-cracking iguana for the night who loves attention and great food."

I shake my head at him, but it's a start. And I didn't have to chain him to a table after all.

*Author's Note*

I apologize for the lateness of this chapter. Christmas was suddenly upon me with a bunch of things left to do which sadly took priority.

But here's the last chapter finally with Moana's POV that explores what she and her people did post-movie, but also explores her friendship with Maui a bit more. Given all his issues with realizing how much he cares about her as a friend and the fact that the movie only shows him at the end in his bird form rather than animal, I thought there was still more to his story to wrap up after last chapter.

I'd like to thank , Silversun XD, and Buca for their reviews last chapter, along with everybody who's reviewed/favorited/followed this story. I answered the lingering questions I had regarding the movie, and as far I'm concerned this story is done. I hope to update my other stories eventually, once my internet and the site start getting along better (another reason it's been a while since I've updated, didn't have the time to spend an hour trying to get a chapter to save).

Thanks for reading!