Spirit Shadows: Meeting

Meeting is the second chapter of Spirit Shadows. It is told from the point of view of Jetera, and introduces Mokatu.

Story
A bright light began to grow, then faded somewhat. It revealed a small room, built out of sticks and vines. There were a few objects on a wooden platform, and a bed, on which lay a black cloaked figure.

Jetera - for that was what the figure had decided his name was - examined his surroundings. He had no memory of coming here. The last thing he knew he had been traveling along the shoreline, looking for signs of life. Evidently, that life had found him first.

He sat up, expecting to find himself pulled back down by ropes or wires -- but surprisingly, nothing restrained him. He stepped over to the strange objects, intrigued by their appearance. Picking one up, he found that it was an odd shape, rounded on one side but flat on others. A notion came to him, and he began to pull it towards his mouth - but it stopped. Feeling at his face, he found that a mask now covered it. With his free hand, he tore off the mask, and pulled the strange object into his mouth. He felt it leave his hand, and he felt something moist and tangy flow through his insides. He began to grab at the other objects and absorbing -- "digesting", he thought -- them. At one point, he felt a sickening spike in his throat, then saw something half-destroyed flying out of his mouth.

After finishing this strange process -- "eating", he thought it was -- he stepped outside of the hut. He found himself in a thick jungle, full of plants glowing with green, blue, and purple. He began to slowly walk through this jungle, getting tangled by the vines trailing the jungle floor -- then heard a sickening scraping sound. Turning around, he found that the little house he was slowly coming apart, and turning into a mass of trees. He felt a tug at his ankle. Suddenly, he was hurled away from the spot of his former shelter, and found himself suspended with his back against a tree, tied by three tight wires. He looked around him, and saw a rustling in the bushes below him. After a second, he could make out the form of a person - clad in armor the color of the jungle. He carried some sort of weapon pack on his back.

"Good to see an honorable foe," Jethryn muttered, "who can beat me in a fair battle."

"I'm glad you appreciate my art," the figure replied.

Jetera started in his aerial position. He did not except his captor to speak his language, or to hear them. He figured it would be best not to explain what he really meant by that. "What do you want?" He spoke.

"Depends on who you are," the green-clad warrior said. "Are you a Toa?"

Toa.... the word sounded familiar. He had heard it in his dream. "Yes", he answered.

"Alrighty then", the hunter said. With that he grabbed a blade from his back, wedged it between Jethryn's stomach and the ropes, and snapped them. Falling to the ground, Jetera instinctively pushed his left hand out, so that he balanced himself on that and his feet when he fell. Standing up, Jetera was able to get a closer looker look at the hunter. He was rather short - only reaching up to Jetera's chest. His armor was large and heavy in some places, but around his hips, elbows and shoulders was scanty, allowing him mobility. His upper arms were almost bare, but the little bit of armor on them included some sort of bolts, suggesting that some other plate was meant to be added to them.

Still holding his blade in his right hand, he extended his left hand to Jetera. "I am Mokatu, Master of Wind."

Jetera took the hand and shook it. "I am Jetera, Master of.... nothing."