“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that! Isolation can help clear thoughts but can also cause loneliness…are you trying to focus on something? Thank you! I think Ayana is a wonderful name!”

“Oh, it’s ok. I don’t really fit in here, that’s why people don’t come to me. No, I mean I’m trying to figure out why my father sent me here but it’s hard when  people try to tell me what to do. It’s nice of you to try and help me, do you do this with every new student? Thank you, my father gave it to me. Speaking of names, where are you from exactly?”

“Really? I am sure you just have not met the right people yet, not everyone can be best of friends, you know? I think it’s a shame people don’t come up to you, I was told you are a very nice person. No not really…just the ones I notice I guess? Who is you father? Parents don’t tell us things for a lot of reasons, I am sure he knew what he was doing! I’m from the island of Motonui, what about you?”

“Ah, fair. I don’t expect that to happen, really. I don’t even want it. But it’s just difficult to fit in here, you know? To say that it’s a culture shock would be an understatement after living in the Pridelands all my life. I suppose you might understand what I’m talking about. My father is Rafiki, shaman and royal advisor of the Lion King. You know, he used to be a baboon. Nothing like any of the royals whose descendants study here, for better or worse. Though, now that you mention it…he does have a habit of telling riddles instead of giving straight answers. I suppose I shouldn’t be that worried, but I wanna make him proud too. Ah, Motunui. I heard about you guys, the voyagers of the sea. That has to be amazing, seeing so many things and never settling.

“It is difficult to fit in someplace new...but that can be the point of adventuring! And you don’t have to fit in, or be like other people, you’re really cool! The culture shock is so real, Auradon is nothing like home! The Pridelands sound so beautiful! He sounds like the type of parent to have a reason for sending you here. It’s nkt a big type of adventure but it is an adventure! And you can always learn something from somewhere new! Auradon is a big place so you can find a something that you like here that isn’t found back home?”

“Leerie? Is that some sort of other language? Where are you from?”

“Well, sort of, it’s like… jargon. It’s lamplighter jargon. I’m from London!”

“Jargon? I’m not familiar with the word...sorry! But I have heard of London before! It sounds beautiful!”

“Leerie? Is that some sort of other language? Where are you from?”

“Are you ghost girl that Fable mentioned? She said she heard you playing and singing once but we haven’t officially done anything? We were just talking about how fun it would be to have a band!”

ask-kalaniofmotonui

Reggie understood her laughter, honestly; the more he said it, the weirder and more nonsensical his world sounded, right down to mentioning the black holes. He laughed along with her.

“No, my dad kinda gave me a box full of them; I’m not exactly sure where he gets them from, but he gave them to me as a parting gift,” He explains. “Well that, and so I wouldn’t have an excuse not to come visit.”

“They can cut through stuff sometimes, too, though I don’t really know all of their functions.” Reggie chuckles.

“And thanks! I’m not too confident in my music, actually, but I’ll have to play it for you sometime.” He pacifies, though he wasn’t sure if she’d actually like his music much less call it beautiful once she actually heard it. Personally he thought it was garbage, but to each their own.

Kalani was glad he was laughing also, if he wasn’t she’d gave been afraid she might have hurt his feelings, “That is really sweet of your dad! My mom almost didn’t eveneg me keep a canoe here for sailing! She had good reason though, I tend to get lost with time. Thankfully my uncle Maui convinced her I could have it here...but Motonui is still too far away to regularly sail there.”

She clapped her hands excitedly at the idea of hearing him play, “Yay! I would love to hear it anytime! Of course if you’re cimfortable with it I do not want to pressure you into playing if you don’t want to,” She rambled on a bit loudly,“Hearing other types of music is really cool because you can hear what’s different and what is not so different between them! I think it’s neat.”

“And what do you mean by cutting through things? Like a knife? The holes are like a knife as well?”

ask-kalaniofmotonui

“Oh, it’s kind of jazzy and smooth, y’know? A real 20′s sound.” He chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest with a fond yet exasperated expression at the thought of his music back home.

“And no no no, they don’t swirl around; they’re just kind of black, and ya throw ‘em at a wall,” Reggie explains, gesturing to a wall near them for emphasis. “And they stick there. Ya gotta walk through them, and they take ya where ya wanna go.”

“Yeah, I get the homesick part. Auradon Prep’s nice and all, it really is, but sometimes I really miss my home back in Hollywood.” He sighs, fingers caressing one of his many rings that his parents had given him. They weren’t jewelry, per say, more like paint molded into a shape on his fingers, but they were familiar and reminded him of home and his family. They anchored him almost as much as his music did.

Kalani had no idea what he meant by ‘twenties’ sound. But instead of questioning it she brushed it off and decided to find out later. Thankfully she had been introduced to jazz music,“That sounds beautiful! I’m sure it sounds very lovely when you play it!”

“Oh?” She spun around to look at the wall then turned back to Reggie just as quickly, “So if you get homesick you just throw a hole thing onto the wall and you can just...be home for the weekend? Lucky! If I wanted to go back home I would have to sail there! Do you just get the holes or do you have to go and buy them at a store or something?”

She laughed a little at the idea of picking up a black hole in one of Auradon’s stores. It sounded fun, even if she didn’t get the whole jist of how it worked, throwing something onto a wall and immediately being where you wanted to go.

ask-kalaniofmotonui

“Yes, you heard me right.” Reggie laughed. “Portable. Black. Hole.”

Reggie liked Kalani’s enthusiasm; she was so bright and exuberant, and seemed to genuinely be as excited about literally everything she came across as she seemed. It was refreshing in a sense.

He nodded as she talked about how playing music made her feel, and could relate. He listened with an understanding look and a smile, like how he looked at all of his friends.

“Yeah, I get that,” He assures, twirling his ring absently with a softer, fonder smile down at it. “It’s kinda the same for me; playing music helps me stay anchored and connected to who I am and where I came from.”

Reggie lets out a little giggle at that. “Guess we’re about the same in that sense, huh?”

“Yes!“ She thre her arms out in an excited motion,“Anchored! Especially since I am away from home...it helps with homesickness.”

Kalani wasn’t even sure what a portable black hole would be. Did her mean like the ones her Star friends talked about? Of course not! Then again...

“What do the portable holes look like? Do they swirl around all crazy like-” She made spinning motions with her hands,“Or is it different?”

“Yeah! The same! How cool is that! What’s music like where you’re from?”

ask-kalaniofmotonui

Reggie laughed a bit himself, the sight of Kalani giggling like a kid on Christmas with a stiff back that resembled a stereotypical displeased queen brought a smile to his face.

“I’ve heard of Motanui, actually. Well, in fables and history textbooks mostly.” He admits.

“And hehe yeah, it’s fun to live in Toon Town. Lots of craziness,” Reggie laughs fondly. “They do accept outsiders, sometimes even welcome them, but it’s a nightmare to get there.” He chuckles.

“I had to use portable black holes to get from there to here.” Reggie explains with a small laugh.

‘She looks more interested that scrutinizing,’ He thinks as he nods his head and agrees to play music with her sometime (without!! sheet music??!). That thought caused him to gradually relax in posture as she talked excitedly at him.

“Yeah. We’ll have to play together sometime.”

Kalani let her shoulders relax again and gasped shortly,“Really? I had no idea we were in text books or in fables! That sounds so cool! Of course we have our own fables we tell about our ancestors but I didn’t know the stories were spread! And...wait...portable what to get here?”

In all honesty Kalani was just excited to be talking to someone else about the things she liked! There was a bonus to that: she was maybe making a new friend! Which was always amazing! Even she didn’t understand something he’d mentioned.

Kalani clapped her hands together excitedly and suddenly, thinking about music again, “Yay! I love to play music, even if I am not as great as the musicians back home I feel more connected to myself when I play. Make sense? Like how you said you write to get out your feelings, I play feel more...I guess?”

“Transfer? Oh you’re from somewhere outside Auradon? Can I ask where?” Kalani was sure she’d seen him around school, but the sheet music intrigued her so she wanted to introduce herself to him. Besides, it was just nice to do so.

She didn’t pick up on any of his nervousness, but continued on,“Do you wrote your own music? I can’t write it, but I do play it a lot, I thought maybe I should try once but…it did not work out well.”

“Yeah, I write my own music. It’s therapeutic for me to like…write a song and get all of my feelings out, yanno?” Reggie chuckles. However, the smile slides off of his face when he realizes that she’s asked where he’s from.

He twirls his ring around his finger a bit more incessantly,

Reggie sighed a bit, squaring his shoulders and readying himself for the ridicule this girl was going to bestow upon him once she realized he was a freaky toon boy.

“Um, Toon Town. It was apart of some outreach program, I guess.” He shrugs, closing off physically a bit as he turns away from Kalani to rearrange his sheet music.

“Toon Town?“ She asks, pronouncing it carefully before grinning widely,“I have never heard of it! Is it from? I’m not from around here either, I’m from Motonui, it is a small island pretty far from here. You probably haven’t heard of it. Is Toon Town a fun place to live? It sounds like it!“

Kalani didn’t really get why he was stiffening up more, but maybe he just liked good posture or something, so she sat a little straighter herself and kept talking quickly.

“Does your town like outsiders visiting? I like going new places, maybe I’ll visit there one day! Oh, maybe we could play music together! My instruments are...different than the ones here. And I can not read sheet music, I play by ear. We don’t have sheet music back home, I think it’s fun like that though. Because even if you mess up it is part of the music, right?“

“Transfer? Oh you’re from somewhere outside Auradon? Can I ask where?” Kalani was sure she’d seen him around school, but the sheet music intrigued her so she wanted to introduce herself to him. Besides, it was just nice to do so.

She didn’t pick up on any of his nervousness, but continued on,“Do you wrote your own music? I can’t write it, but I do play it a lot, I thought maybe I should try once but...it did not work out well.”

OS: Pride Pastel

“Your art is looking so great!” Lakhi said excitedly, before she even looked at their canvas. As she turned though, Lakhi had to do a double take to stop herself from gasping, “Woooow! That’s so… orginial… and creative!”

The outdoor painting event had been going so well, Lakhi had been mingling with royals all morning. Not many people knew her, but now was a perfect chance to make good connections and get close to some of the royals here. Everyone loved a good pride event, right? Even if Lakhi hadn’t put a drop of paint on a canvas herself.

“Oh! You really think so?” Kalani tilted her head at the canvas, it was half finished and...well, half finished. It was a floral painting using her flag color scheme. It wasn’t very creative, but it was fun! Ever since arriving at Auradon she hadn’t actually heard of the ‘Pride’ event as it wasn’t something she had at home. Thankfully someone had explained it to her and, after more talking, she’d discivered her own orientation she didn’t even know had a name. She thought it was sweet of Lakhi to organize the event,“You are Lakhi, right? I am Kalani, thank you for saying that about my painting but this isn’t...much. If I had more wood I could probably carve something worth saving.”

CS - This Music is My Language

ask-kalaniofmotonui‌:

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. But the Beach Boys are like, so iconic, I totally live for 60′s music,” Motonui had always sort of intrigued Fable, as beach islands almost always did. She’d give music from anywhere a good college try, though she’d have to bring some music of her own to shown them as well, “But whatever! I’ll ask around in some classes, maybe we can find some girls who like to play drums, or something else percussion. This is going to be awesome!”

“If they are so iconic I will have to listen to them, I probably can on my...phone. Yeah, on my phone, and maybe I’ll like it and play it! That would be fun! If we wanted to call ourselves the Beach Babes we should all love the beach? Whoever else joins should like it!” Kalani easily three out the vague discomfort and was energized for the use yet again. She could make other friends, but musicians here probably did things differently than back home. That was probably a good thing though,”What are bands here like?”

“I’ve neveer sailed before, that is so exciting! Can you take me sailing someday? It would be so much fun right! I’ll show you the Hundred Acre Wood in return! You will love it there, it is so peaceful.” He said excitedly, hoping that she would say yes to taking him on an adventure. He has never seen the ocean before, the Hundred Acre Wood had streams and ponds but no ocean. “Pretty please?”

Take someone sailing? Kalani lit up immediately, sitting a little straighter and nodding excitedly, he didn’t need to ask twice,“Yes! I love the waters around Auradon, they’re alnost always perfect for sailing! My canoe is docked here and it’s perfect for a small adventure! Are you sure you will alright, though? If you’ve never been sailing you might get seasick, which is never fun for an adventure!” Of course now her mind was reeling with sailing possibilities and imaginings of what this forest looked like. She’d never been into a forest like that, and the gardens around the school didn’t count.

Open Starter

: everything is by design :

Sat under a tree in the open courtyard Kalani had a small circle of wood shavings around her, all the product of her carvings. Her carving skills, in her own opinion, needed a lot of work if she were ever to be on par with the wood carvers in her village. 

Aside from that, it was just fun.

She had a few small blocks with her and three already done, time seemed to pass as quickly as it came and she didn’t realize she’d been there for well over a few hours now. Each carving took a shorter time than the first as her hands remembered the movements she’d been taught at home. It had been so long since she’d picked up these tools Kalani was scared she would lose what she had of the skill altogether.

Setting out that morning she had only her tools, her blocks, and a book in her bag. The book sat on top of the bag now and every once in a while she leaned over to brush shavings off of it, abandoned for a time as Kalanoi focused on carving out a small stingray. She noticed the light dimming a bit and looked up, startled to see someone there, “Ah! Oh, hi! Sorry about that, you startled me! Is there something you need?” She asked, shaking her head a bit, feeling dazed from being focused on one thing for so long.

Kalani looked up at the tree, then down at the belongings she had strewn all over the grass, then back up to Christopher,”Oh! Am I in your way? I didn’t know this tree was a climbing tree, I can move to another one if you need me to!”

“Really? Let me guess, it’s a wood one hundred acres big? I like that! I’ve never heard of it though. I am from Motonui, it’s an island you probably haven’t heard of.“ She considered asking Christopher if he had anything to say about her carvings but also didn’t want to get in his way of whatever he was wanting to do.

“No you aren’t in my way! This is my climbing tree but I can always climb another day. Any day can be climbing day if you try hard enough!” He said enthusiastically before plopping down next to her. 

“It is one hundred acres yes, be a bit silly if it wasn’t right? Also I have in fact heard of Motonui, because I love to go on adventures and going to a beautiful tropical island is definitely an adventure! At least to me anyway, what is your idea of an adventure?”

“Whew,” She faked relief and wiped fake sweat from her forehead,”I’d hate to get in your way at all! You know what? You’re right! I love to climb trees and whether you have the urge to you just have to go for it. Right? I love looking for trees I’m not familiar with, it makes it different and fun!” She was a little startled to have him sit by her but not unpleasantly,”Yes, It really would be silly! Really? I’m surprised, most people don’t know of us only because of our small size in comparison to Auradon. If you like adventure then you’d love Motonui, but you would have to sail there, there’s no besides unallowed magic, but that’s just part of the adventure! My adventure is going someplace new, adding a new spot on a map you’re still working on. Adventures can be small though, I considered coming to this school an adventure!”

Stingrays 🖤

I swam with some when I was 11 in the Cayman Islands 🤙

Open Starter ll Castle-leaving

Kalani sighed, feeling for the girl. It wasn’t easy to fit in someplace you weren’t used to, but she wasn’t going to berate Beth for not liking it. Sometimes when you experienced things outside of your comfort zone or culture it was a fantastic expeience...other times you just wanted to get out. She knew the uncomfortable feeling,”Well maybe you do but- hold o a second-”

She stood near Beth and measured their heights quickly with the palm of her hand,”You’re just about as tall as I am...and we’re probably the same dress size...you know, if you want to, you can borrow something from me and come back down? I don’t think I have any ruffles or feathers, it’s just not my style I suppose, but we could get you something different to wear for now and come back so you’ll be more comfortable? Or I could just help you out of that up in your room?”

CS - This Music is My Language

ask-kalaniofmotonui‌:

Fable’s mouth dropped open, “You don’t know who the Beach Boys are? They only like, the coolest band ever! I mean like, except us now, but like, you’ve totally got to listen to them!” Like, she knew Kalani wasn’t from around here, but how could someone not know who the Beach Boys were? Was she living under a rock the past 3 decades? Fable ook her bands extremely seriously.

“Oh! Erika plays piano! That’s not drums though… I don’t know, but your fa’atete thing sounds cool! We could see if it works, and if it doesn’t, we’ll find someone with a full set. We can’t be the only kids here who play instruments.”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t know them,” It didn’t bother Kalani too much when she didn’t get references or didn’t know groups that others did. She knew she grew up in a different place, so it was normal. But when it was made even a small deal about it was uncomfortable and it made Kalani shift in her seat,”I like to listen to the music of my people. On Motonui the bands that are famous here are not famous there.” She shrugged,”Hopefully it does! I think I would enjoy playing it in a band more than this. Erika? I don’t think I’ve met her but she sounds great! I think starting a band would be so fun, we could meet new people that way!”