Chapter 4 “Rough Town Rooky”
After a long two weeks of recovery and stuffing his mind with all things
Junti, Lewa wakes next Friday morning remembering another woman he skimmed by not long before meeting Venimbus. What happened to Marine? he wondered. His concerns grew so strong that the subject on wooing his sweetheart would have to be put on hold; Marine was a more important priority, and Lewa knew just the person he should consult on the matter for aid in finding this water-maiden; Tahu.
Lewa flies to Nu-Ta-Koro and asks around the village for Tahu. “Excuse me..but have you seen? Hold it, wait, have any of you seen...excuse me, sir have you seen Tahu...?” sputters Lewa as people skim by and ignore him. Most the Matoran and Agori are too busy with their work to give a care; and Lewa tiredly sits down at an outdoor juice stand and sighs. A fire Agori sitting next to him smirks and puffs smoke from his cigar in Lewa's direction. “Toa Lewa..is it?” Lewa glances up at the Agori and nods. The Agori smirks, “So, you're looking for Tahu; don't worry about the locals, they're always grumpy during mid day work hours. Listen, if you want to find Tahu, he's in the sand field over that way where people spar and sometimes play games.”the Agori directs. “I hear he's supposedly there training some new, young hot shot in town who caused some kind of commotion at the Capsaoe Pub this morning. “ Lewa nods, “Thank you.” he says while getting up and heading for the sand field this Agori spoke of.
When Lewa reaches the field he spots Tahu sparring with some kid, and squints for a better look. “Aww, naww...” he says to himself with a smirk, realizing the kid sparring is Ashton. Lewa does his best to contain laughter, and yells out, “Tahu?!”
Tahu hears Lewa's call, but keeps his eyes on his opponent, part of the sparring practice. Ashton on the other hand glances over at Lewa, and loses his concentration just briefly; before Tahu plants a fist to his chest and knocks Ashton off his feet, causing him to fall onto the sandy ground. “Oof!" Ashton groans.
Tahu shakes his head, “What did I tell you, don't lose your concentration, no matter what.” Tahu then glances over at Lewa who waits, “Eh, take a break, kid.” Tahu sighs to Ashton.
Tahu comes over to Lewa and waves. Lewa smirks, “Ay, Tahu... First, w..why are you teaching Ashton?”
“Well, someone had to teach this hot shot some manners.” sighs Tahu, as Lewa snickers at this response. “He was pushed on me because he got into a fight at the bar, and the guys did a vote on who would get to train the bugger. He's fully healed from that arena match a couple weeks ago..so of course he's being troublesome. Speaking of healed... *goes into a low whisper* how was your hospital visit?"
Lewa gives a blank stare and sarcastically remarks, "Pleasant.."
"I hear it was *ahem* according to Ashton, a BUTT load of fun." replies Tahu.
Lewa takes in an uneasy breath “Yeah, well..”; suddenly he realizes that even though Pohatu swore not to spill such details, other beings not of the Nuva team were free to spread the word. Lewa rolls his eyes, “Oh great, the kid is quick-spreading rumors.” he says grouchily.
Tahu smirks, “Well, they're not just rumors obviously... but anyway; what did you want to talk with me about? Why are here in New Ta-Koro?”
“Well, not long ago, before the whole arena thing; I bumped into somebody.; and that somebody, I realize now may be in some sort of trouble...and, I can't.. get it off my mind.” starts Lewa.
Tahu nods, “This..somebody was, who? You have a name?”
Lewa nods, “Yes, her name is Marine.”
Tahu thinks for a moment, “So, we're looking for a woman?”
“Yeah.” confirms Lewa.
“Her color?” asks Tahu.
“Blue.” Lewa replies dryly.
“Ah, a water type.” nods Tahu, “And her region? Or do you know?” he questions.
Lewa awkwardly scratches the back of his head, “Ahh...well, I bumped into her while I was in one of the jungle markets... so I don't really know.”
“You bumped into this female..how long ago?” asks Tahu tiredly.
“Uh..two weeks.” Lewa says.
“Two weeks?” gapes Tahu, “And your concerns for her are..?”
“She looked like she was running from something. Not something immediately behind her, but like something from her home she was running from. She mentioned about something being wrong in her palace, and was all jumpy..afraid.” continues Lewa.
“Her Palace?” questions Tahu, “You mean to tell me she's a royal from the water gate regions?”
Lewa nods, “Probably... Another reason why I'm worried. A little royal princess is running around panicked out there in the dangerous jungle...somethings up.” he confirms.
Tahu nods and thinks for a moment, “Maybe we should go and visit the archives, research more details on this....Marine. Eh, heck, I'll drag that kid in on it; he needs some training in scouting no doubt.” says Tahu while glancing at Ashton with a mischievous grin.
Lewa smirks, “Good..get his mind off Fiamma..”
“Fiamma?” questions Tahu.
“Female fire type who he fought in the arena.” snickers Lewa.
“Ah sheesh..” puffs Tahu.
“Boy was he hitting on her.” grins Lewa.
Tahu lifts a brow, “Right.... well, lets try to knock some sense into him, shall we?”
Tahu goes over to the tired Ashton and picks him up by the back armor. “Ay!” growls Ashton, “Woo..what did I tell you about touching my armor, man?! You know how long it takes to wax... especially my back side.”
Tahu shakes his head and looks Ashton in the eyes. “Are you going to stop worrying about your image?” he says in a flat tone, then breaks the news; “Listen, we've got a little SCOUTING game to do, doesn't that sound fun?!” grins Tahu sarcastically.
Ashton flops his head, “Oh great...oh no.. no no no no no. You're going to pull me in on a scouting mission? Let me get this strait, you just beat my hind end from this end of the field to that one, and now you plan to take me on a scouting mission? Are you for real?!” he growls.
Lewa rolls his eyes and looks at Ashton, “Oh please, he's run me ever-harder into the ground than he ever has you.”
“Enough chatter, air type!” snaps Ashton. Lewa lifts an irritated brow at this young ones behavior; and suddenly Ashton recognizes Lewa, then grins, “Hey..you're that guy with the tube in his butt! I remember you... hehe, you're turning rosy beneath the mask, I can see it already!”
Lewa's lips tighten, “Yeah, and this time I'm not strapped to a bed, so if you don't want me to kick your butt, you'll behave.”
Ashton rolls his eyes and confidently says, “Wow, pal..you do forget I have elemental powers just as you do.
Lewa looks at Tahu and sighs, “Can I have a go at him, please?”
“All right, fine.” snickers Tahu, “and then we'll tell him the mission; whether he likes
it or not.”
Ashton is pushed out to the middle of the field, irritation already rising in his eyes. Lewa picks up a small sand cyclone and sends it towards him, causing it to spin faster and faster in circles around him. Ashton rolls his eyes,and folds his arms in a pouting manner at what seems to be a pathetic attempt to scare him. “Oh..what's this gonna do? I'm really intimidated...” he says with an arrogant, sarcastic tone. What Ashton fails to realize is that Lewa is forming a vacuum around him; when he tries to ignite a flame from his hand, a spark flashes for a second, then dies. Without air, his fires can't burn, and Ashton realizes he's in trouble. “Shoot..” he heatedly whispers to himself, then yells out at Lewa, “Cheater! You...cheater...”
Lewa shakes his head, “Nope, not a cheater, I'm just using my elemental abilities. Suddenly Ashton's head feels dizzy as the air becomes too thin to breath.
Ashton chokingly says, “....Doesn't that....take a lot of power?” Lewa doesn't respond and Ashton starts to stumble in the sand from lack of oxygen, his head spinning and making him nauseous as the twister circles around him. Suddenly he feels his stomach clench, and can no longer contain his lunch *buaaaaw * he pukes, barf splattering all over his newly shines armor.
Lewa stops the cyclone before it picks up any unpleasant debris, and Ashton collapses on the sand from nausea.
Tahu grimaces at the smell and goop of Ashton, “Ah gross..” he quietly mumbles; then flops his arms in irritation, “Typical! Of course...now we're going to have to take him to the baths.”
Lewa shrugs, “As long as you don't throw me in, and we get to mess with the kid by giving him a bath for bad behavior..sure.”
Tahu lifts a brow in thought, then nods and nudges Ashton's back with his foot; “Yeah...come on Ashton, get up.” In his anger, Ashton flips Tahu the bird, and flops his head back on the sand; Tahu shakes his head and gapes with shock at Ashton's gesture.
Lewa, to Tahu's surprise, back hands Ashton in the head for such behavior, and avoids getting any goo on himself in the process, making him feel quite proud about his swiftness.
Tahu nods with surprise at Lewa's bold move; “You actually reprimanded a kid..wow.”
“Ay, respect is worth something.” Lewa nods.
In rage, Ashton secretly grabs a handful of sand and heats it slowly in his palm; glancing up at the two Toa as they talk and direct their attention away for a moment. Ashton waits for a clear shot, and when Lewa turns his head, Ashton throws his glass ball at the back of it.
“Owww, BAA!” growls Lewa, rubbing the back of head from pain.
Tahu glances at Ashton angrily, “Ashton, what did I tell you about glass balls?!” he says while whacking his shoulder. Tahu then glances at Lewa and says concerned, “Did that cut you? Hope not...” Lewa takes his hand away from his head and sees his fingers are coated with deep purple blood.
Ashton gets up tiredly and doesn't even look at the two, but rather glances down at his own armor, seeing it's caked with barf and sand, dripping with what appears to be his lunch, extra chunky chilly. “Ehh, gross.....” he mumbles with exhausted disgust.
Lewa glances at Ashton, then says to Tahu, “Hey, why don't we hose him down before we take him to the baths? They'll probably appreciate it.”
Tahu smirks, “Yeah...I'll be right back, I'm going to get the hose.” he whispers, “Oh, and *hands Lewa a cloth* might want to wipe your head off.”
Lewa takes the cloth and doesn't realize how bad the cut is; as he starts to wipe he feels a terrible sting, “Ah...Breysha! There's still glass in there.” he groans.
“Listen, I think they have medics at the baths... why don't you go ahead, and I'll catch up after I hose down Ashton.” sighs Tahu.
Lewa nods, “Yeah, I'm going to start heading over there; you hose him down and then bring him over.”
Tahu smirks, “Oh, what's the matter? Don't want to have the fun of helping me drag him?” he remarks sarcastically.
Lewa rolls his eyes, “Not when I have glass in my head.” he says.
“Yeah, wouldn't want to spring a leak.” smirks Tahu.
“Tahu...” smirks Lewa, “I think that would be if Gali got cut.”
“Naww Lewa, you're leaking air.” chuckles Tahu.
“I have a brain in there you know.” snickers Lewa.
Tahu smiles and nods mischievously, teasing no further.
Lewa heads over to the bath house and approaches the front desk. “Do you have anyone who can do first aid at the least?” asks Lewa.
The male fire Agori glances at the back of Lewa's head from behind the counter, “Oo, you have glass in your head....? How did you do that?” he asks.
“It's called young fire type plus glass ball, equals bad things.” sighs Lewa.
The Agori shakes his head, “Ah yeah, glass balls... they're worse than snowballs any day.”
Lewa blinks tiredly, “Of course they're worse than snowballs... Snowballs don't hurt like this, and they don't cut you.”
“They do if they're compacted ice balls.” replies the Agori.
“That's not a snowball, that's an ice ball...I should know, I've been hard-bolted by those things.” adds Lewa.
The Agori stares blankly and starts to ignore Lewa's chatter, then says, “Anyway, go down that hall there, we have a couple nurses who can help. Just tell them what happened and they should get that patched in no time.”
Lewa nods and heads down the hall, stops at the door with a blue plus, and knocks. When the door opens, Lewa sees two females, one ice type, and one water type; the water type being the one to answer.
When the water type sees Lewa, her eyes glow bright, “Ooo hi!” she greets with a bubbly tone.
Lewa grins, “Hi! Umm, a glass ball to the back of the head....can you kind-help?”
“You have a cut?” the water type asks concerned.
“Yeah, pretty sure there's still glass in there.” says Lewa.
The water type opens the door, “Aww, come in..” she sympathetically signals. Lewa does as she asks, and sits down so she can look at his wound. The water type glances, “Ope, yeah, looks like the bugger got ya good. Hold on.” she says; then looks at the ice type who coldly blinks in return. The water type rolls her eyes and ignores the cold stare, then says, “Could you get me some rubber gloves, numbing ointment, a few tweezers, and such..?” The ice type quickly gets the supplies and never says a word, just nods when the water type says with sarcasm, “Thank you..”
Lewa remains as peppy as can be as the water type slips on some gloves and gets to work. “So, who's the stinker that gotcha?” she asks, doing what she can to keep Lewa distracted from discomfort.
“Ashton...” Lewa says plainly.
“Oh him..yeah, does he look kind of...you know, has flame tipped mask designs on the top edges of his mask, and thick black eyebrow designs?” she asks. Lewa snickers, implying she has it right. “Yeah him..” she nods, “that bugger...”
Lewa smirks, “What did he do?”
She smiles, “Well...before he was sent to the sand ring for training, he got in trouble because uh.....he made me mad while I was having a spiced cola this morning at the pub.”
Lewa smirks, “What did you do, douse him?”
She smirks, “Well first he...hehe, he yanked on my skirt flap and managed to make my back side flash a whole crowd of men sitting behind me. Thankfully Tahu...*blushes * hansom Toa, showed up and managed to grab the bugger by the back of the neck, then sat him down, and all the guys surrounded him, then pitched a vote on who would have to train the kid. I didn't stick around by that point, rather I left in embarrassment.”
Lewa nods, “Yeah, well Tahu is the poor soul who has to train the kid.”
“Ah, well better him than the other guys I think.” she says.
Lewa lifts a brow, “Why?” he asks.
“Because the other guys don't seem to have the guts and spirit.” she adds.
“Yeah, that's Tahu for ya.” snickers Lewa.
“Oh, do you know Tahu?” she inquires.
“Yes... I'm Toa Lewa”. He nods.
The female thinks for a moment, “Oh..you're part of the team!” she squeaks excitedly.
“Yeah.” nods Lewa.
“Well hi!” she says in bubbly excitement, then pats his shoulder and titters, “Eee, it's so nice having Toa in here, I don't get to see many people, especially not hansom ones.”
Lewa smirks, “Yeah, you get nothing but mostly fire types coming in here. What are you doing so far from the water lands?” he asks.
“Well you see, a lot of fire types around here aren't the most gentle medics, so I was hired, and they pay well. Now that one over there *points at the ice type* ; she's very skilled at what she does, is very good at stitches and shots...but beyond those skills, she's not exactly the greatest with customers... We'll just put it that way; she does her job, and I give the orders. That's partly why they hired me too... I have a personality.” She and Lewa start to snicker, and the ice type glares at them.
“She doesn't like it when we talk about her..shh, don't make eye contact.” the water type playfully adds.
Lewa shakes his head, “Oh, I don't doubt she has a personality, just not quite as bubbly of one.” he says with a smile.
The blue female pats his shoulder, “Well gee, I'm a water type...of course I'm bubbly.”she says.
“Yeah, not the only water type I've known, so I can attest to that.” says Lewa.
“Of course, not all water types are bubbly.” she adds.
“No..I wouldn't exactly consider Gali bubbly.” says Lewa.
The water type grins, “Mm, no....of course I'm sure you could have lots of bubble babies if you married a water type.” she titters.
Lewa lifts a brow, “ME, marry?” he snickers.
The female shrugs, “Oh, well...nothing wrong with that.” she says.
“No..ME, get married, ha!” laughs Lewa with a 'yeah right' tone.
The female looks at Lewa's eyes and can tell he's thinking about someone, then smiles. “I'll take it you already have an attraction to someone..hmm? Oh Mr. Air type...don't be such a reserved fellow, I know you're thinking about a girl.”
Lewa denies her teasing and clears his throat, “Ay..am not.”
The water type laughs, “I know that look....Now, hold still.”
Suddenly Lewa feels tweezers yank on something; “Oww...owwhoww..oww” he mutters. The female gently yanks, “Oh boy...you got a big one stuck in there. Hold still....” she says while yanking a little more. “Owww..oww” Lewa continued to grumble.
She stops for a moment and grabs a bottle of numbing ointment, then pours it into the wound. Lewa takes in a sharp breath at the stinging sensation, “Sss, oww.” he groans.
After about three minutes, all Lewa feels is a small yank, but no sharp pain. Finally the nurse manages to yank this large chunk of glass from his head, and holds it up in front if him to see. “Wow....look at that.” she says. Lewa whistles with surprise, and the nurse nods, “That was in your head.” she says; “Oww.” is all Lewa sounds. The nurse shakes her head, “Somebody needs to tell that fire type to stop throwing glass balls, especially not that big.” she says, while concentrating back on her work. “Lets see, you have a few small slivers; I'll just get those out.”
Once all the glass is out, the nurse pours some disinfectant medicine into the wound, and seals it shut with some odd sticky stuff and a layer of gauze; then smiles and says, “Ok, you're good. Just don't get your head in water, ok?” Lewa nods, “Ok.” he confirms.
The nurse rolls her eyes, “What am I saying? You're an air type...you probably don't like swimming.” she snickers.
Lewa shakes his head, “No..no I don't. Thank you very much; do I need to pay for this at the front..or do I pay you directly?” he asks.
The nurse smiles, “Oh..uh, you just pay us.” Lewa pulls out his coin card (credit cards of this universe) and swipes it on the cash board. The nurse nods, “Ok, you can go now.” she happily remarks. Lewa nods, “Thank you very much.”
As Lewa heads back to the front desk, he hears a whining voice, followed by the sound of an irritated Tahu who yells out, “Stop being such a baby!” Tahu drags the smelly, dripping wet Ashton to the front desk and slaps down some coins, then says, “Bath please, a large bath, with lots of soap.... for him * points at Ashton* not me. Though I'll probably have to get in anyway and scrub him down.... You have any help here?”, he asks.
The desk workers start laughing at Tahu's words and the struggling Ashton who desperately tries to free himself from a soon to be carried fate. “Why I oughta!” Ashton growls.
Lewa comes to the counter and says, “Wellp, I'm fixed. Oh, and Tahu, next time he starts throwing glass balls, you need to do something about it, cause * pulls out a small bag with the chunk of bloody glass in it* THAT, was lodged in the back of my head.”
Tahu grimaces, “You can slap him now if you'd like.” he grumbles.
Lewa shakes his head, “No, I'm going to throw him in the pool-bath.”
Tahu nods, “Yeah, it's a bath all right, it has soap... Care to join?”
Lewa's eyes droop, “I'm not getting in, you know me... Besides, I'm not aloud to get my head wet because the bandage.”
“You don't have to get in” sighs Tahu, “I meant do you want to help from the sidelines?”
Lewa smirks, “Oh yeah...hand me a hose and I'll be happy.”
Tahu smirks, then gets to work on making the order, listing down the supplies they'll need, and explaining to the desk workers why Ashton smells so bad; just to confirm he needs one serious scrub down. In one sentence Tahu explains, “The kid barfed on himself.” The workers grimace and simultaneously sound, “Ewwww...”, then set down extra bars of soap and long bath brushes for Tahu to use on him. Ashton struggles in humiliation, “Hey, I'm not to blame for this mess...the air type caused me to barf!” he growls. “Quiet!” snaps Tahu.
One of the lady workers leads them back to a special bathing room; “Right this way.” she directs with a smile, trying not to laugh at a struggling Ashton who drags his feet along the way, causing a terrible screeching sound of metal scraping against stone. “Let go of my neck!” he screams out; “I did NOT sign up for a bath! I signed up for training...and I didn't even sign up for that, I was pushed into it. Now let GO!”
Tahu lifts a brow and sighs, “You know kid, you gripe more than Lewa....”
“Wow, now that's impressive, especially for Tahu to say it.” Lewa snickers.
Tahu smirks, “Although... Ashton is young, you're not...Well, not that young at least.” laughs Tahu.
Ashton flops like a rag doll and grumbles to himself as he's dragged along, doing his best not to cuss at Tahu.
Lewa lifts a brow at Ashton's grumbling, “What's the kid trying to say?” he wonders.
Tahu shakes his head, “You don't want to know.”
“Hmm..” Lewa skeptically hums.
When they reach the bath, Tahu smiles and looks at Ashton, “Oh look, it's a bath!” he says with sarcastic excitement. Tahu nods to Lewa, and signals for the door to be shut and locked; then Lewa smirks and says, “Hand him here.” He grabs the back of Ashton's neck, offered to him by Tahu, picks him up by the back of his neck and ankles like a sack of potatoes, Ashton flailing and screaming, and throws him over the pool; then runs to the corner of the room before Ashton splats into the middle of it, causing a large splash.
When Ashton surfaces, he spits out water and clenches up, his anger so great, the pool starts to boil from the heat of his body. “Ooo....ok, that's it!” he growls, and tries to climb out out of the pool.
Before he can surface, Tahu puts his foot on Ashton's chest, and kicks him back in the water, then grudgingly jumps in himself. Tahu smirks, “Ok, SOAP. Now Ashton, you can either bathe yourself, or I'll bathe you, and give Lewa the honors of aiding in the scrub down... your choice.”
Ashton says nothing, then Lewa says to Tahu, “I'll have to use the power hose, cause there's no way I'm getting in there.”
Tahu shakes his head and hands Lewa a long bath brush, “I told you, I'll get in.... and hold him next to the side of the pool while you scrub him, ok?” Lewa nods, “Yes please.” he says with mischief; then walks over to the side corner of the pool where he needs to be, and Tahu hands him some soap. Lewa fully lathers the brush with soap, till the bristles can't be seen through all the suds, then grins and says, “All right, buddy, time for scrubbing!”
Ashton frantically swims away from Tahu, who manages to corner him next to the poolside, and gently, but firmly holds him down, placing his hands over Ashton's neck and chest. Ashton growls and struggles, unable to free himself as Tahu gently leans his head back and says to Lewa, “Ok, you can start scrubbing him now.”
Lewa gingerly starts to scrub Ashton's sides and chest armor, causing him to wriggle and squeal from the tickling scrape of the brush, growling as Tahu flips him over so Lewa can scrub his back too.
After several minutes of this humiliation, Lewa stops and peppily shouts out, “Done! Quick-rinse time!” Ashton is ticked, “Air head!”, he growls; then splashes a large amount of soapy water out of the pool, causing it to splash over Lewa's feet.
Lewa sighs and goes over to a side wall and rinses his feet off with a small hose; then grabs a power hose and glances at Tahu, saying, “Hey Tahu, hold him him up for me will you?”
Tahu nods, “Might want to turn that thing down to low pressure.” he adds. Lewa listens to this advise of course, and Tahu drags Ashton out of the pool and over to the corner of the room. Before Ashton can reacts, Lewa counts, “One, two, three..” and sprays him down.
Ashton puts his hands in front of himself, and scrunches up in the corner as water blasts him into submission. When Lewa finishes he grins wide, and Ashton can only tremble at what's to come next. “Drying time!” shouts Lewa peppily. Suddenly a gust of wind bombards Ashton, drying him and the corner of the room along with it. When Lewa stops, a silence hangs in the room, and only dripping water can be heard; Ashton glaring at them with a pouting face as he sits humiliated in the corner. He blinks angrily, then puts his hands up and takes a breath, “Ok... that's it. I'm done, I'm not training anymore...that's it.” he heatedly puffs.
Tahu shakes his head and mumbles to Lewa, “This is how he behaves all the time; he tries to give me orders, when I have my own orders... and he tries to change them.”
Lewa snickers and says to Ashton, “Hey, kid, good luck with that.”
Ashton clenches his fists, “I'm not working for you *points at Tahu* or YOU *points at Lewa * for that matter; I don't like fire types that are OVERBEARING, or air types that are so full of it they could just float into the atmosphere and suffocate!” he snaps.
Lewa shakes his head, “Into the atmosphere? Nice..you mean out of it.”
Ashton rolls his eyes, “It's still the atmosphere...”
Lewa tries to teach Ashton, “No, past that point there's nothing.”
Tahu taps his foot, snapping Lewa from a foolish argument and back to more serious matters. “Hey Tahu, remember? We have a job to do.” Lewa quickly states.
Tahu nods, “Yep, lets discuss it in here while the door is still locked, shall we? Now...we're looking for a princess named, Marine.....?” He pauses and looks over at Ashton, “Come here Ashton.” he says impatiently.
Ashton puts his nose up and turns his back on them, “I told you, I'm not doing it.” he says defiantly.
Tahu sighs and grabs Ashton by the back of the neck, then faces him towards Lewa, and continues; “Now, you're going to listen. We're looking for a princess named, Marine, who's obviously from the gated water kingdom. We have suspicion that she's running from a threat, according to Lewa, and could be in danger, you UNDERSTAND that?!”
Ashton blankly stares at the wall, and cleans his ears with his pinky, “I'm not listening... I have water stuck in my ears...no thanks to you, so of course I'm not listening.” he rudely says.
Tahu growls and continues to state the facts, “It's been two weeks time since Lewa saw this princess; where she was running to, and where she could be now, we don't know. We're going to have to ask around, do some research, find of picture of her..and all that.”
Lewa raises a hand, “I think I had my mask cam on that day.” He then flips through some old vizor videos, and pauses, “Found it! It's blurry....but I found it.” he says happily. Lewa takes out a mini thumb drive from his arm compartment and transfers the data from his mask, then loads it into Tahu's vizor video chip.
Tahu shakes his head, “Well, now I know what she looks like...but a lot of good it does. I need to get some pictures made for handing out to people. I'll be back, I'm going to the front desk to see if they can print this image for me.... While I do that, you get to keep an eye on Ashton.” he says to Lewa.
Lewa shrugs, and Ashton pouts, “What?! Ah....you gotta be kidding.” he whines.
When Tahu leaves, Lewa hopes to keep Ashton in a better mood, and starts up a joking conversation; “So, have you seen Fiamma since the arena match?” he asks mischievously.
Ashton stares blankly, “No....” he says with monotone irritation.
Lewa smirks, “Doesn't surprise me.”
Ashton looks at the floor and says, “Besides...don't even mention what she said. We definitely wouldn't get along.”
Lewa taps his foot and smirks, “No, really?” he says sarcastically.
“Oh yeah...” Ashtons grins, “I remember your situation. So, have you seen that green female around?”
Lewa shakes his head, “No..”
“But you're thinking it, aren't you?” says Ashton.
“Oh I wish, but it's not going to do any good.” says Lewa.
Ashton smirks, “At least the female I'm attracted to isn't protected by some crazy tribe.”
Lewa lifts a brow, “What would you know about that?” he questions.
“I overheard the medic.” chuckles Ashton. Lewa nods, and Ashton continues, “But boy oh boy, I'd love to see what would happen if you actually manage to get near her.”
Lewa gives him a questioning look, “What, did you watch our fight?”
Ashton shakes his head, “No, I didn't get the chance to watch it live, but later on I watched some clips of it on tv.”
Lewa smirks, “They televised that?” he asks with surprised puzzlement.
Ashton grins, “Yeah, I could watch that clip over and over....” he says dreamingly.
Lewa shakes his head, “Yeah, the poison... that stuff sucks...or at least the treatment for it does.” says Lewa with a snicker, as Ashton breaks into a chuckle at his remark.
Lewa's plan of keeping Ashton laughing and occupied during Tahu's absence holds up, much to his relief.
Ashton shrugs, “Lets face it, both of us probably aren't very experienced in talking to girls.” he says.
Lewa thinks for a moment, “Well, I've had a little more practice...on a brother sister kind of level thanks to Gali, but that's about it.”
Ashton lifts a brow, “Yeah...I just think you don't pay attention.”
“No, I don't...” Lewa willingly admits.
Ashton smirks, “Yeah.. I guess you should find a lady who doesn't mind gas, cause that's what you're full of.”
Lewa snickers, “Kid, I may be an air type, but I aint' full of gas.”
“Mm hmm, sure, I can feel a draft right now.” remarks Ashton, not realizing Tahu had just returned and opened the door. Ashton's eyes get big; he glances around awkwardly and gulps, “Eh he he....” he nervously laughs.
Lewa looks at Tahu tiredly and says, “Could you teach this kid some manners? Because he has none.”
Ashton folds his arms, “Manners? Me, learn manners? You're asking an older hot shot to teach a younger hot shot some manners.... are you nuts?”
Lewa's lips tighten, “Yeah...now that you mention it, we should let Kopaka go after you.”
Ashton's eyes grow big, “I'm not dealing with ice types, I don't do well with ice types.” he shivers.
Tahu gets tired of the ranting, and hands a few copies of Marine's image to Lewa and Ashton, while keeping some for himself. “Don't lose these. I'm going to ask around the fire villages, and do some computer research; while I do that, Lewa, you need to do aerial routines, and fly over places you think she might be. Perhaps you could skim the water regions if you have to..no doubt it will be a long flight.”
Tahu then directs his attention at Ashton, “And you...” he says while taking out a small bracelet, then clicks it to Ashton's wrist; “This if for talking, all right? You push this little red button on the side so you can talk to me, understand? When I ring, you answer..if you don't, I'll find you, and then we'll have a talk. Now, you go ask around in any of the fire regions I can't; if you have any connections who might know where Marine is, ask. And when, or if you get details, be sure to tell me as soon as possible.”
Lewa adds in, “Now kid, I know you may not believe this, but this situation is serious enough that it could mean life or death kind of serious, all right?” he says with a slightly condescending tone.
Ashton lifts a brow, “You know, you could at least talk to me like I'm an intelligent being, not some baby.” he irritably mumbles.
“Mm, you see, to me you sound about five.” Lewa coldly adds.
“Oh right, and I'm talking to a three year old!” spouts out Ashton as Lewa leaves the room. Tahu whacks Ashton's back, “Ay! Respect your elders.”
“Elders?! That guy is about as low as my butt.” spits Ashton.
Tahu blinks, “You know, when someone is that low, you're vulnerable.” Suddenly Ashton feels Tahu spank him hard on the hind end, “Oww!” he tenses. “Move...” growls Tahu, pushing him along out to the hallway.
Lewa pauses at a small food stand in the bath halls, grabs a vanilla and chocolate cream stuffed pastry, pays, and starts to stuff his face.
Tahu lifts a brow at the sight when he comes from the room; “Lewa, what are you doing?” he asks.
Lewa shrugs, and says with a stuffed mouth, “I need food if I'm going to fly for hours.”
Tahu nods and likes the idea, then looks at Ashton, “You need a snack, kid? I need a snack...it sounds good.” he says while eyeballing the pastries.
Lewa leaves the bath house and starts his work right away, flying slowly through the sky while eating his pastry, which loses its contents slightly from the wind gust. Suddenly a large blob of chocolate escapes the pastry, and splats on a poor Matoran below. “Ah...what is that?!” he yelps; a friend comes over and wipes the ooze from his mask, then tastes it. “Huh..tastes like chocolate.” his friend remarks; “Bleh..!!” he hollers, shivering and squirming with disgust at the bold move his friend just made.
Lewa bites his lips as he hears this down below, realizing the contents of his snack are escaping, and starts to snicker when he realizes the poor Matoran thought it was gukko poop.
During his scouting, Lewa stops at Nu-Le-Koro, and hands out a few copies of Marine's image. “Any travelers going through, make sure they have a copy.” he says to one of the Matoran. “And if anyone finds anything, tell me, understand?”
The Matoran nods, “Ok... pretty water-maiden she is.” he says while glancing at the picture. Lewa smirks, “As much as I'd like to chat, I have a duty to do.” he says before taking off.
Lewa continues to soar over many different regions of the jungle, and even skims some of the water regions throughout the day; never once does he spot Marine on what seems to be a lousy Friday of fruitless searching, but he does learn the land better as he scouts, a plus for the future, he thinks to himself.
During Lewa's scouting time, Tahu does computer research, and contacts Kopaka for aid on the matter; explaining the possible seriousness of Marine's situation. Kopaka agrees to help, and does more in depth searches to aid as best he can in finding this princess.
Meanwhile, Ashton asks around a small fire village that works on reinforcing their cob homes and mini stone fortress. Ashton approaches one of the Matoran who scoops mud from a pit, and plops it into a wheel barrow. “Excuse me... I was wondering if you've seen this woman around.” says Ashton while showing the Matoran Marine's picture.
The Matoran shakes his head, “Nope, all we ever see is crumbling walls and the need to fix those crumbling walls.” he says tiredly. Ashton finds this Matoran to be rather reserved, and leaves him to work.
Ashton already starts to feel tired of his mission, and grudgingly asks around, getting similar answers from each Matoran and Agori. Finally he comes to a stone wall and speaks with the masons hard at work. “Hey fellas, have you seen this girl? Anyone...anyone seen this girl?” he asks; they all shake their heads, and one of the main workers grouchily replies, “Get lost kid! We're trying to work and have little time in helping you find a date.”
Ashton snarls, “Why you! Who says I'm looking for a date, short stuff?! I don't care about this princess, I'm just required to help find her.”
“Short stuff! Who you calling short stuff?!” growls the Matoran. Suddenly all the Matoran rise up angrily at Ashton's remark, and pummel him with mud, throwing stones and mud balls at him, chasing him from the village until he's out the gate, which they then lock behind him.
When evening falls, Lew flies down low, tired and worn from a fruitless day of searching, and lands outside Tahu's home; then knocks on the door and yawns, “Tahu? You in there?”
Tahu opens the door, his face just as tired, as he takes a large gulp of coffee from his mug; “Oh? Lewa...did you find anything?”
“Nothing...” sighs Lewa. Tahu shrugs, “Well, I found some details about the princess; Kopaka and I have been working through the computer, searching multiple files and coded data for clues. Come on in.”
Lewa tiredly scuffs into Tahu's living room. “Do you mind if I crash on your floor tonight?” he asks exhausted.
Tahu smirks, “Why the floor, when you can have the couch?”
Lewa smiles, “Thanks.”
Tahu lifts his mug,”You want some coffee?”
Lewa shakes his head, “No thanks, not if I'm going to deep-sleep tonight.”
Tahu nods, “Well... there's someone who isn't here yet, so I'm waiting.”
Lewa grumbles to himself, realizing Ashton still hasn't returned.
Tahu tiredly rubs his head then says, “And yes,I have to keep Ashton here. I'll probably lock him in his room.” Lewa nods in agreement, “Mm, sounds like a good plan.” he says tiredly.
Tahu smirks, “Yeah, especially when the room is fire proof.”
“Isn't your whole house fire proof?” Lewa questions.
“Not all of it..” snickers Tahu.
Lewa smirks, “Well at least it's fire retardant.” he adds.
“I know, he's coming home.” Tahu laughs.
“How?” asks Lewa. Tahu holds up a small screen with a red blip on it. “Oh, nice.”Lewa snickers.
“He thinks it's a watch with a snazzy little talking devise in it.” chuckles Tahu.
Lewa smirks, “Yeah, tracker with talking devise and watch, all in one; smart.” he snickers.
Tahu nods, “Yeah, I'm not that trusting, especially not towards Ashton.”
“Yeah, I was wondering why you were letting him go off by himself.” says Lewa.
Twenty minutes later, an exhausted Ashton Knocks on the door. Tahu gets up to answer and mumbles partially to himself and partially to Lewa, “Yep, knew it, knew he'd be coming home.... Of course this isn't really his home, but it's home base.” When Tahu opens the door, he grins, and immediately says in a happy yet irritated tone, “Find anything kid?!”
Ashton tiredly blinks, “You mind lowering the volume, man? I'm really tired, and the locals.... well, lets just say they're not happy.”; he says while scuffing inside, so tired he can barely stand. When he sees Lewa on the couch, he says with a haggard, exhausted voice, “Hi Mr. Air type.”; then suddenly falls forward and crashes on the coffee table, too tired to move. He breaths heavily and mumbles to Lewa, “Unlike you, I have to walk...”
Lewa smirks, “Yeah, although flying does take a bit more energy than you think.”
“Well as far as I'm concerned, we're both winded.” smirks Ashton.
Lewa chuckles, then glances at Tahu and says, “All right Tahu, you first, what did you find?”
Tahu brings up some computer files and displays them to Lewa and Ashton. “Well, this is what we found on Princess Marine; she's second in line to rule the water kingdom, which is located inland, near to the sea of liquid sand.”
Lewa lifts a brow, “Liquid sand?” he questions.
Tahu nods, “Yes, dangerous stuff. It's a type of quick sand that still makes up a large plain of land in the southern region of this planet. Supposedly the surface has been hardening, but the risks are still high, and could swallow anything at any moment.”
Lewa shivers at the thought, realizing how dangerous that could be for a poor soul who can't fly.
Tahu brings up an image of Marine on the screen, and continues, “Here's a clearer image of Princess Marine, so now we know exactly what we're looking for; I've made some better copies of her picture for handing out. I have to admit, I don't know why someone like her would be running around the dangerous jungle.... unless she's absolutely desperate.”
Ashton glances at the image and smiles, “Wow..she's not bad looking in that image.”
Tahu rolls his eyes, “Keep dreaming, rooky.”
Ashton smirks and flops his head back down.
Tahu types in a few more things, and brings up several more windows, then adds, “These articles all have one thing in common, they say Marine is being searched for; and there's a reward set down by the queen for her capture and return.”
“Capture?” Lewa suspiciously questions. “If you're trying to find someone you think they'd say find and return, or locate and return...but capture? Something seems off.”
Tahu nods, “Yes, I was getting to that. The entire article does seem suspicious. They claim that Princess Marine has fled her kingdom for no apparent reason; and is seriously ill, supposedly. They claim her mind is delusional, and that she claims her mother the queen is trying to steal the kingdom form her, and control every aspect of her life; further stating that Marine needs serious medical attention for her state of mind.” he finishes.
Lewa shakes his head in disbelief, “She seemed perfectly in her senses when I met her.” he says with assurance.
Tahu thinks for a moment, “Wait a minute, do you still have that video of her in your vizor chip?” Lewa nods, “Yeah, of course I do.”
“Upload it to the computer.” says Tahu. Lewa does as asked, and the trio watch this small clip. Tahu nods with suspicion, “Yep, she doesn't act at all like there's something wrong with her. But there's definitely something wrong with that kingdom, especially when they're this desperate to get her back that they're willing to pay a bounty according to a highly coded article Kopaka sent.”
Lewa starts feeling ill, “Bounty...?” he sadly questions.
Tahu nods, “Yes, they're hiring anyone, including bounty hunters to get her back.”
“Bounty hunters would rather kill her.” snorts Lewa.
Tahu shakes his head, “Eh...not kill her, but more likely use her to get higher pay.”
Ashton stays silent, but starts thinking about the situation, secretly knowing where bounty hunters like to hang out, and even has a few friends in the business. Ashton flinches when Lewa suddenly looks at him and says, “What about you, did you find anything while you searched?”
Ashton nods, “ I found a bunch of grouchy Ta-Matoran, building a giant mud mass of a home. When I started asking around, they got mad, and I got caked with mud. All that after a bath day... and I didn't find jack crap.” he grumbles.
Lewa flops his head, “And all I know is part of the forest like the back of my hand.”
he sighs. Ashton grins, “Did you see anything interesting in the forest?” Lewa shakes his head, “Of her, no.” Tahu lifts a brow, “Who's HER?” he questions. Lewa blankly stares, “I was referring to Marine.” he says dully.
Ashton starts to snicker, realizing Tahu doesn't yet know of Lewa's secret attraction to a female Junti. Lewa playfully smacks the back of Ashton's head, “Zip it.” he whispers.
Tahu starts to feel tired and glances at Ashton, then says, “Ashton, don't you want to sleep on your bed?” “Huh?” Ashton tiredly moans. Tahu points to the hall, “Your bed...don't you want to sleep on your bed?” Ashton simply grumbles, “I'm feeling like a coffee mug right now; leave me alone.” Tahu shrugs, “All right, fine, you can sleep on my coffee table...just don't break it.”
Around 2 A.M. , the Toa fall asleep in Tahu's living room, and rest till sunrise.
Life of Lewa chapter 3- Part 2 "Flushed Out" <<previous chapter/next chapter>> LoL-Ch 4-Part 2 "Heart Burn"
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