Hiku followed the two members as they escorted her out to the special arena.

Each step she took exuded grace, head held high and shoulders thrown back. Every movement she made gave the impression that everything in existence was at her beck and call, her wit and whim.

As they approached the sunny outdoor arena the two members stood across from one another and bowed their heads. She flowed by, eyes forward and locked on to one of the few beings who could ever stand in her presence and not kowtow. If one were told that the woman was carried forward by the tiniest molecules rather than moving on her own, they would agree.

Unlike in the arena, the ground here did not yield to her will. This ground belonged to the Tu’i and yielded to none else.

Standing in the middle of the beautifully lit arena was the being who ruled over this forsaken island. The only man she considered an equal.

Behind him the sun slowly set, casting it’s orange sight across the purple void-ocean as it announced its departure for the evening. It cast him in a fiery halo of shimmering light, draping him in the soft orange caress of the sun’s departing wave.

Unlike Hiku, Nima gave off the air of an unassuming nobody. Even the way he stood was reminiscent of a sulking teenager, shoulders slightly hunched as if he were trying to hide his true height. He wore his usual sullen, slightly sour face. The same one that made people think he was always in a deep, slightly confused contemplation.

As Hiku drew closer a slight smile creased his face as he opened his arms and walked towards the regal woman.

They greeted each other as kin did in the ancient way. They touched cheeks before pressing their foreheads and noses together. Nima gently held Hiku’s face in his hands as he took in the face of a woman he only saw once every few hundred cycles.

“You’ve gotten old, woman.”

Hiku let out a warm laugh as she jokingly pushed Nima away.

“And you’ve gotten stupider.” She punched his shoulder playfully.

Even the lightest punch from the woman carried an immense amount of power. Her single, joking punch sent a sea splitting shockwave through Nima’s shoulder.

If it were anyone other than the leader of the Tu’i, the punch would have been too much. Nima merely smiled as he summoned comfortable chairs facing the setting sun. In between the chairs sat a small table holding a variety of simple snacks that they had enjoyed once upon a time.

He motioned for Hiku to take a seat as he plopped down into his own. “Let’s watch the sun set.”

Hiku gingerly sat, ever the graceful queen. Even when sitting she kept her posture upright and regal.

“You remembered!” She picked out a simple coconut candy that they had often made when they were younger. “It’s been so long!”

Nima smiled as he picked up a candy as well. They were freshly made and still warm to the touch, ready to melt. He popped it in his mouth and savored the sweetness of the caramelized treat.

“I made these myself,” He said as he bit into the chewy exterior of the candy. “So you better feel special, haven’t made ‘em in forever.”

Hiku politely covered her mouth as she chewed, savoring the tangy sweetness of the homemade candy. It reminded her of those long lost days, back when they had been so young and naive. Before titles and honors, before long, painful lives.

“Well.” She said as she swallowed the delectable treat. “For someone who always sucked at cooking, you did a pretty ok job.”

Nima chuckled as he popped another of his homemade candies into his mouth. For him the candies brought back memories of forgotten places. And the memories hurt now as much as they had when they had been first expelled.

They continued to enjoy the treats as the sun slowly set, final red-orange rays waving the two regents goodbye. As the creeping blues of the blue hour set in, the two figures finally broke their silence.

Hiku went first, trying to head off the objections Nima would most likely raise.

“Come back. Please. We need you. All of you.”

Nima continued to watch the waning blues of the night sky as they slowly transitioned into deep purple. In his usual fashion he mulled over what he heard, digesting.

“Can’t.” Was all he said after a long silence.

Hiku’s regal facade faltered minutely at his succinct, blunt answer. It had been years since she had last dealt with him and she had forgotten just how obstinate he could be.

“Why? You still haven’t told any of us why you won’t come back.”

“ ‘Cause, I can’t.”

Nima sat, still watching the slowly darkening sky with his hands clasped in his lap. His stony facade gave no hint of what was going on in his head.

Hiku took in her old acquaintance's face, trying to read him. As she remembered, it was impossible.

“Pulotu isn’t going anywhere. Why do you need to stick around?”

Nima shrugged as he shifted his gaze to the woman. Their eyes met and he felt the simmering frustration.

“I’m not needed.”

Hiku tried to understand what he meant, parsing his face for any additional tells.

“What makes you say that?”

Nima shrugged again as the slightest flash of pain crossed his face. It was a mixture of pain and sadness that Hiku couldn’t remember ever seeing him show before.

“What happened?” She asked as she leaned forward a bit, hoping against hope that a more inviting posture would get him to open up a bit.

Nima sat back in his chair, slouching as he twiddled his fingers. He appeared to be thinking over his answer but there was no real way of knowing.

“Can’t.” He sighed as he pointed at his temple, gesturing like he was firing a gun.

This perplexed Hiku but it also annoyed her. What did that even mean?

“I can’t help if you won’t say.”

Nima shook his head as he leaned forward, motioning for Hiku to lean closer to him. They looked like two children conspiring on the best way to steal more sweets.

He began to pantomime, using exaggerated motions so Hiku would hopefully get his message.

The first thing he did was point to himself with his thumb, fist closed. He jabbed his thumb into the middle of his chest a couple times while motioning to Hiku with his other hand.

After a momentary pause Hiku caught up.

“You?”

Nima nodded. After pausing for a bit he continued with his pantomime. He had both index fingers pointing out with his hands closed and palms facing down. His right hand was slightly raised above his left and he proceeded to sharply slap his left pointer fingernail with his right pointer finger while shaking his head.

“What? Fingers? Nails?” Hiku was a bit slow on the uptake, her random guesses frustrating Nima. He paused before continuing with his sign language, vigorously shaking his head in accompaniment.

“I don’t know what you’re getting at.” Hiku grumbled as he continued. “Can’t?”

Nima nodded as he vigorously pointed at her and gave her a thumbs up. She couldn’t help but chuckle at his odd behavior but an underlying sliver of fear snaked through her.

“You can’t? You can’t what?”

Nima held his hand out to her, palm open as he signaled for her to hold on. She understood that one and waited.

This time he used his right pointer finger and tapped his chin a couple times, just below his lower lip. While doing this he was pursing his lips in an odd way, pushing them out and wiggling them around. This distracted Hiku as she chortled a bit at how ridiculous he looked.

“What is wrong with you?”

Nima just shook his head and repeated the gesture, this time without the lip movements.

Hiku stared at him, trying to figure out his meaning.

“You can’t chin? You can’t feel your lips?”

Her inane guesses seemed to be getting on his nerves as his face twitched. He switched his signing. Holding up his right hand, he showed her that he was holding out 4 fingers by counting each finger with the thumb folded. He then turned his hand sideways and tapped his chin, just below the lower lip, a couple times with his right pointer finger.

This time it sort of clicked for Hiku.

“You can’t talk?”

Nima shook his head slowly while motioning for her to continue.

“You can’t say?”

“Mm.”

“But you couldn’t just say that?”

“Can’t.” Again as he said that one word he mimed the shooting motion at his temple.

“You can’t say or you’ll die?”

“Mm.”

Hiku grumbled in frustration. They had done all that just so he could communicate a short sentence. But she was also frustrated that someone as powerful as him was limited by something.

“I’m gonna guess you can’t directly talk about what caused it?”

Nima nodded slowly, face blank. He then pointed at his temple again, this time with only one finger, and slowly shook his head.

“You can’t even think about it?”

He nodded once, wincing. He shivered as his face contorted like he had a headache.

“Anyways.” Nima said slowly, face carefully blank. “Wanna have a match?”