Better Days

Better Days is a short story written by Pitcat that takes place in the universe of Nothing to Lose. Originally meant to

be in the 2017 Spring Writing Contest, the story was not completed in time for the deadline. It is Pitcat's first story on the wiki.

Story
Hewkii looked up to the sky. The clouds were a deep shade of grey; they had been for ages. But this time, he knew it would rain. The cold embrace of winter had loosened, once more allowing a little more warmth into their lives. The plants shined a dulled green, as they desperately yearned for the sun’s rays to pierce the sky and indulge them in the nourishment they desired.

Not content with staying inside, Hewkii grabbed his Kolhii stick and left his hut. It was a somewhat crude amalgamation of earth and stone. The local Toa guardians made these huts, Toa of earth and stone respectively. Sizeable, the huts were mostly constructed out of stone, with a sort of insulation supplied by the Toa of Earth. Dalva was her name. Hewkii saw her sitting on another crudely made stone bench next to the fire pit at the center of the town. Her Pakari seemed to weigh her down more than usual, and her muscular frame sulked. Her axes beside her, she seemed to be in a sort of daze as she mindlessly shifted the cinders in the fire pit with a stick. Concerned, Hewkii approached her with a swift step in his foot.

“Dalva?” Hewkii called out

Dalva immediately perked herself up and seemed to regain some of her poise. A weary, but genuine, smile crossed her face. “Hewkii!” She exclaimed joyfully. “How are you doing, Hewkii? You seem to look pleasant today. Are you perhaps visiting Macku? She has just returned from deployment.”

Hewkii had no intention at first to visit Macku; he was simply going to solo-practice Kolhii. He didn’t even know she returned. Once he knew she returned, his plans quickly changed. “Yeah, I was planning to play some Kolhii with Macku. I really missed her. And besides, I can’t just stay pent up in a hut all day!”

“I don’t suppose you can. Thankfully nothing much happens here in this part of the Southern Continent. It seems we have been holding the line fairly well.”

She was talking about the constant fighting on the Southern Continent. Not a real line per say, but he nonetheless knew what she meant. Hewkii trusted Dalva’s words, but something was off with her. Hewkii addressed his concern. “Enough about me, Dalva. Something seems up. What is it?”

After some hesitation, she replied. “Torace, my partner was 'requested' to reinforce the western front, leaving me to guard over you all. He left rather recently, but I still worry for him. Toa rarely are ordered to reinforce the front lines unless it is dire. With the Toa population decreasing, the Hagah are trying to throw Matoran in as cannon fodder. The fact that is even happening infuriates me. To save your own sorry hides, you are throwing innocent Matoran in front of you as a shield? If it meant the loss of my life to save even one Matoran from dying, I’d take it in a heartbeat! But betraying the Hagah solves nothing, so I must stay put.” She sighed. “Sometimes, I wonder if we Toa deserve what’s coming to us…”

Hewkii butted in before she could finish her thought.

“Dalva!” he exclaimed. “How could you even say something like that? Many of the Toa Hagah are selfish beings, but you can’t let them represent every Toa. All my life, I’ve been surrounded by great heroes, all of them Toa. Rarely have I seen a Toa who did not represent the virtues we uphold. You’re in the majority for sure. Things look bleak, Dalva, but good will prevail. It always has in the past. Torace is strong willed, he will survive. You will too. Now, you need to pull yourself together. These Matoran look up to you for aid. You are their leader, a shining beacon for which they look towards for guidance.”

He grabbed the stick out of Dalva’s hand, tossing it aside. “You have to be strong for them, Dalva.” Her slumped body stiffened, her posture regained. She placed her axes on her back, and stood up. She now towered over Hewkii. She sighed. “Thank you, Hewkii. You always know the right words to say, don’t you? You’ll make a fine Toa someday.”

“But then I won’t be able to play Kolhii, now would I?”

Dalva let out a soft laugh. She seemed cheerful. “Now run along now. Don’t want to keep Macku waiting, do you?”

“I guess I don’t. See you later, Dalva.”

“Goodbye, Hewkii. Oh, and one more thing.”

“Yes?”

“I know you and Macku like to wander off to who knows where. It’s dangerous out there. And since there’s only Toa around here…” She paused. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you. Promise you’ll stay close?”

“I promise.” Hewkii assured her. Dalva looked back into the fire pit, before looking once more out towards the town.

“Be safe, Hewkii. Please.”

Hewkii did not respond this time as he walked away towards Macku’s house. As he left the Toa, he swore he could hear a lonely sigh.

Hewkii looked up towards the sky again. The grey clouds looked as if they were ready to burst. Spring would finally start, at least, in his eyes. He was approaching Macku’s hut. It looked the same as all the other houses, albeit with some decoration out in front, most of it being sports memorabilia, most of it being signed by himself. It brought him back to the sports star glory days before the war. Before he could reminisce on it any longer, he saw the familiar blue Huna in the window, and the Huna-wearer saw the familiar brown Kakama staring. Hewkii had never seen someone move so fast, as the Huna-wearer bolted out her house. Before Hewkii could even get a word out of his mouth, he was greeted with the Huna-wearer throwing herself into Hewkii’s arms.

“It’s good to see you too, Macku.” Said Hewkii, in a calm, but cheerful tone.

“That’s one serious understatement and you know it” Macku responded, as she held Hewkii in a tight grip.

“Who am I kidding, it’s wonderful to see you, Macku” Hewkii returned Macku’s gesture as they embraced each other. Hewkii continued, as they cradled each other. “How long has it been since we last saw each other?”

“About a few months”

“So, too long?”

“Yeah”

The hug lasted for what felt like ages when they finally let go of each other. Without an exchange of words, they headed inside to Macku’s hut. Macku sat in her bed while Hewkii made himself comfortable in a chair. Not content with the silence, Hewkii engaged in conversation. “You were drafted into the navy as a navigator, right?”

“I was. It seemed they were in dire need of navigators so the Hagah’s military conscripted me and a few others. Fortunately, it was mostly calm.”

“I’m just glad you made it back safe. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Hewkii.” Macku chuckled “You don’t have to be so sappy”

Hewkii let out a smile and stayed silent. This persisted for only a sparing moment until Hewkii once again spoke. “I was wondering, wanna hit the ball around?”

“Sure” Macku replied “Wanna go to our spot?”

“Where else would we go? I’ll bring the equipment.”

“The Spot” was a flat area next to a river that ran through the village, located much farther downstream. It was truly a remarkable sight. Although shrouded by a thick forest and dense underbrush, one would not have to go far to see it. The river itself was a clear crystal blue, roughly three meters in diameter and only half a meter in depth. A certain spot on the riverbank, farther down, was very flat and dry; a perfect place for casual Kolhii practice and plain old relaxing. It was outside the limits of the town, which the Matoran were advised to never leave, but that never stopped Macku. It had gotten her into trouble many times, but she persisted. Hewkii chucked to himself. That headstrong spirit was one of the many reasons he fell in love with her in the first place.

After about forty-five minutes of travelling, they reached “The Spot.” Its appearance did not alter since the last time Macku and Hewkii visited. The flat dirt ground was worn from the various sporting scuffles between the couple. Beside it, a small house painfully made of wood and chiseled stone, another achievement made by the two. To them, this place felt more like home than the village.

Just as Hewkii and Macku reached their precious spot, Hewkii, carrying all the Kolhii equipment, promptly threw it onto the ground, collapsing along with it.

“Ughh, why couldn’t you have helped me carry everything? I’m exhausted; certainly too exhausted to play Kolhii. Isn’t that why we came out here in the first place?”

Macku gave him a smile. “First off, isn’t that the gentlemanly thing to do? Second, I didn’t drag you all the way here just for Kolhii.” Macku lied next to the exhausted Po-Matoran. “It’s been months since I saw you last, what I really want is just some time together. Just us. No one else. Think of it as a sort of vacation.”

Hewkii was quick with a concerned response. “You do realize that we will have to go back to the village before nightfall, right? Last time we were out here for too long, Dalva searched the entire forest to find us.”

“But she never did find us did, she?”

“No, it’s just I don’t want to worry her, especially at this ti-”

Macku interrupted him. “You need to stop thinking of others for once. You deserve the right to be selfish every now and then. We can stay a little longer than usual. There’s nothing stopping us from going back after all.”

“Well if there’s nothing stopping us, what’s stopping me from going back, huh?” Hewkii said in a playful, yet still somewhat serious voice. “If you want to spend some quality time with me, then you’ll have to come back to the village with me. You will not be stopping me.”

A piercing rumble resonated throughout the land, quickly followed by a massive downpour of rain. The clouds had finally given way, and the thick, fast raindrops pelted Hewkii as he sheepishly ran into the stone hut, as Macku followed. As they made it under the roof and collapsed on the floor, soaking wet, Macku gave Hewkii the biggest grin he’d ever see her make. “Looks like I didn’t need to stop you.”

Hewkii gave out a long sigh as he started to snuggle himself up her. They stayed like that for what felt like ages, as the downpour pelted noisily onto the hut’s roof. Not a word was spoken between the two, but it felt like so much was shared in those precious moments.

They kept their gaze to the ceiling when Hewkii broke the silence.

“I love you.” He said

“I love you too” She replied, as the monotonous yet melodic sound of the raindrops put him into a trance. Unable to fight the urge for sleep, he closed his eyes.

Hewkii was awoken by the alarm at the side of his bed of his Metru Nui apartment. Outside his window he saw the same skyscrapers with the same urban smog; heavy rain outside mercilessly pounding the street. Hewkii looked to his nightstand. It was a drawing of him and Macku, masterfully done by a Le-Matoran artist long ago. Next to that, a potted plant, it was the only green he ever saw in most of Metru Nui. He looked longingly at both, before putting them down with a sigh of defeat and sadness. Looking once more at the drawing, he departed the apartment, heading to the streets below.

Characters

 * Hewkii
 * Macku
 * Dalva
 * Torace (mentioned)