There are exclamations when Hika returns to the surface, a young woman with rings of hair on either side of her head rushes forward.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

Hika's hands move around her in a flurry, trying to calm the deities. Rainbow Crow flaps over to her and alights on her arm. He caws in her ear and Hika smiles, sending a ribbon of starlight to curl around him. His feathers ruffle and he caws again, the sound a tiny bit less raspy. Hika smiles at the crowd.

"I'm alright, I was just speaking with Loo-Wit."

They exchange confused glances. "Loo-Wit has been consigned to be the mountain for eons past, she cannot emerge to speak."

Hika lifts her chin, sure in what she has to say. "Loo-Wit may be the mountain, but she can control herself. She brought me inside herself to speak, forming a body of earth and dust to speak her words for while we both share the language of flames, they are often hard to understand."

"So you're saying she didn't leave herself, she didn't break out of what the creator of her people made her into?"

Hika turns to see a young man standing there, the long mass of his hair draped over one shoulder. She knows him for who he is at once, sad tears in her eyes. Hika smiles at the Creator of the Nisqually.

"Yes, Loo-Wit remains as the mountain, and she is happy."

He dips his head to her. "I thank you, Hi'ilani. Now tell me as Rainbow Crow has spoken of, how could you swim through molten rock like water?"

Hika laughs. "My 'Anakē taught me how to swim in lava despite how dense it is. Of course, it makes it disorienting whenever I enter water now, it's far too easy to move."

"Does the heat not hurt? Lava is supposed to be quite hot."

A star appears on the tip of one of Hika's fingers. "My stars burn hotter than lava, it just feels pleasantly warm to me."

"Interesting. Show me more of your stars, please."

Hika laughs again. Each day she has been here, they have asked to see her stars. There are so few who can control their strength that her gift is a rare sight, even amidst an immortal lifespan.

"Very well, although darkness may be best."

"Show us now and again when night has fallen."

Hika dips her head and stars burst into life around her, drawing their power from her golden hair. She can feel the light fading from the locks as the stars dance beneath the light of their cousin, the sun. It is the only star she cannot touch, the one exception to her power. The sun is governed by other gods, she has a gift for all the others.

The circle of stars weaves amongst itself above her head, stars branching off to spin amongst the deities. One of them laughs and Hika pulls the star's heat back in time for the woman to cradle the tiny ball of light in her hand, watching colors play along her skin. Hika pulls all the stars back towards herself and amasses them into one, a star the size of her head.

She holds it between her palms for a moment, staring into its glowing center. The faintest hints of colors swirl inside the star, flashes of blue and red among greens and pinks. They're only the barest hints of color, but she can see them. Hika tears her eyes away from the center of the star and forces it to explode. The star remains still for a few heartbeats before it draws into itself and then expands outward in a wave.

Everyone around her is pushed back slightly by the shockwave, Hika alone untouched. The deities clap after a moment, staring at the space where the star had just been with wide eyes. Hika curls a ribbon of starlight around her wrist before dismissing it, tucking the remaining energy inside her pendant. One of the Abenaki men beckons to her.

"Come, the light will fade soon and you go on the morrow. We have gifts before our meal."

Hika follows the group away from Loo-Wit's mountain, into the nearby woods. They may be far from human towns, but it is still good precautions to keep their activities from being seen. There are stories where this was forgotten and bad things came as a result.

~~~

Time has been forgotten, a fire crackles merrily in the center of the clearing and the continental deities dance and leap around it, fire flickering over the human faces and across the feathers, fur, or scales of the animals. Rainbow Crow alights on a branch beside Hika, his feathers gleaming with dark color in the light. He caws at her, the sound curious.

"Why don't you join them?"

Hika shrugs. "I like to watch the fire, and their joy. Me sitting here will do no harm."

"You are the youngest among us and this is for you. Join the dance."

"But-"

"Join, Hi'ilani. Join the dance."

Rainbow Crow flaps toward her and Hika laughs, rising to her feet. One of the younger deities, a little girl wrapped in the pelt of a white buffalo, notices Hika and reaches for her hand. She laughs with childish delight.

"Dance with me, cousin."

With a grin, Hika lets the girl pull her into the dance, her footsteps light across the green earth.

~~~

Hika yawns, her eyes heavy. She can feel the weight of the moon in the sky, the starlight soaking into her hair. She's been continuously streaming the light into her pendant, storing it for another time. While she sits here beneath the stars it is impossible to use the light faster than it can be replenished, her hair remaining bright, gleaming gold. Droplets of starlight gleam throughout the clearing, fueled by their kin high above.

In the dark they gleam bright, casting soft shadows across the clearing and turning it eerie and fey. Any human of old who came across this place would leave instantly in fright, so strange does it look. But here there are only immortals, those who find this place lovely but not too strange. Hika looks down from the sky to see a few of the immortals standing before her, watching with their constant gazes. Hika flushes.

"What is it?"

"We have gifts, Hi'ilani." The first deity steps forward, a young woman from the Abenaki. She presents the moccasins in her hand to Hika, smiling warmly. "Your feet will carry you far, Hi'ilani, but there are places where you will need something more. Places where you will need protection from the elements and terrain. If you use these well, they will be hard-pressed to fail you."

Hika touches the buttery material of the shoes and smiles at the young woman. "Thank you."

The woman smiles again and steps back to be replaced by the little girl who danced with Hika. The girl is carrying a white bundle in her hands, the same color as the pelt slung over her shoulders.

"Where do you plan on going next?"

Hika frowns, unsure why this question is being asked. But she answers anyway. "North. North and across the sea."

"Your clothes will not sustain your fire in the cold. Myself and our cousins to the north," An inuit youth steps up to stand at the girl's side. "We present you with this coat, to keep your warm in the harsh winter. We hope it will keep your flame unwavering."

Hika smiles and takes the bundle from the girl, setting it on the rock beside her as the next deity moves forward.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Umi kūmākolu = thirteen, when counting

What do you think of this? Do you like these deities? Did you already know about any of them? What do you think will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out