Oystercatcher Tide Pools Crushed and filled with all I had

@Keanu for visibility

It had been dusk. 

That was the first thing she remembered.

It had been dusk. Kua was setting over the Sea, his light turning the clouds a brilliant shade of red.

Keanu was at the head of their band, the sun turning his coat to molten copper beneath its orange light - light that matched his fiery gaze as he turned to look on them. "We'll rest here," he had said loudly enough for them all to hear. Ahe had watched wearily as Ioke slunk away, no doubt to converse with their pantheon. Usually the fire kissed girl would have followed after her sister, but Ioke had withdrawn further after Akamai's betrayal. 

Ahe felt burning anger simmering in her chest just thinking about it. Her father's lust had cost them their home, their way of life, their mother. Thinking of Ailani hurt worse. She was the only mother Ahe had known, or at least the only one she wanted to know. Her abandonment stung like sea salt in an open wound. 

The mouthpiece watched her go with a sigh, allowing Ioke her privacy. 

Ahe turned to look for Keanu, finding his massive form on the beach, facing the waves. Her foster siblings seemed to have scattered, taking to the forests that lined the beach in search of prey or privacy or whatever it was they were looking for out here. 

The firebrand settled at the Mō'ī's side, lacking the caution that usually came with approaching someone of such a high station. No matter how fearsome Keanu looked, Ahe had never feared him. She knew him better than anyone, knew the gentle heart he hid under a rough exterior. Part of her would always see him as the boy who had chased her through the sand, who had made her part of his family when she had no where else to go.

"Hey," she greeted as she stretched pale legs out before her, leaning against his ribs comfortably. 

"Do you think we'll truly find it?" Keanu wasted no time with small talk and Ahe didn't need to ask what it was he referred to. She glanced to him, finding his conflicted citrine gaze turned to ʻO ke kai. 

Ahe placed a paw over his own, her own pale appendage dwarfed by his. "Of course we will, brother," she insisted quietly, her confidence in Keanu present in her voice. 

"We are together," she reminded, referring to the whole of their family. "We'll be alright together."

She opened her eyes as the memory faded, closing them again almost immediately. It was daylight, that much she could tell, likely some time in the afternoon if the light that had blinded her was to be believed. 

The E'ōlelo shifted, almost imperceptibly, trying to determine how badly she was hurt and what her surroundings were. She could hear the water splashing somewhere behind her and the occasional call of a gull, the sound of the wind soughing through the trees. She couldn't hear any wolves nor could she smell them.

She was alone.

Ahe sat up, carefully, her limbs stiff and sore from gods know what. The firebrand groaned as she stood, stretching her limbs and popping her spine. The girl shook sand from her vivid coat, untangling herself from a web of seaweed. 

Golden eyes scanned the beach, searching for life. It was low tide but there were no tracks, nothing to determine how exactly she'd gotten there. 

"Keanu!" "Ioke!" "Leilani!" The girl called cautiously, the names strong with their proper pronunciation. There was no response. 

Ahe turned to the sea for answers, not recognizing the beach. It was not the one from her memories - the wet sand giving way to a series of pools that held a bounty of fresh seafood. 

As the girl peered into one, she caught sight of her reflection. A gash spanned from her ear, just missing her right eye, to her cheek. It was deep, but crusted with dried blood. 

Ahe's mind raced, trying to puzzle out the situation she'd found herself in - injured, alone, and in foreign lands. 

Think, Ahe. The flame told herself, squinting her sunshine orbs shut to focus. The memories were lost, save for some flashes and flickers she couldn't quite grasp onto - black clouds in the sky, the sea churning, Keanu shouting, cold and dark, pain splitting her head open as it slammed into something hard and rough - a boulder. Pain blossomed behind her eyelids and she was forced to open them, panting.

For a moment, there was little she could do but sit by the tide pool - dread curling in her guts like so many heavy rocks. There was no telling where her family was, if they were even alive. Despondency began to set in and the Reaver felt a lump forming in her throat. 

A flicker of movement caught her eye and despite herself, the she-wolf lunged for the fish - ravenous from her unplanned travels. When Ahe had eaten her fill of the Mother's bounty, she licked her chops and got to her feet.

The firebrand began to head east, determination replacing dread now that she'd gotten her second wind. They were alive, they had to be. They were Islanders; they were born for the water. If they were out there, Ahe would find them.