Tui called them to order. “I am reconvening a Council of War,” he declared. “Chieftain Ruru, we will again need your advisory skills. Chieftain Kawau, the new battle will no doubt be fought again over your inlet, so we will need you to do a ground plan. Chieftain Kuku, Chieftain Kaka, Chieftain Pitoitoi and Chieftain Koekoea, please step forward. You all commanded the front-line troops in the first battle; we will need your leadership skills for the second. And Chieftain Kahu, your long-range surveillance will be invaluable to us.”
“May I speak?” a young voice intervened. It was Piwakawaka II, son of the valiant Piwakawaka who had died in the first battle of the birds. “My clan wishes to be involved in the second fight that is to come and to take revenge for the death of our father.”
“Of course,” Tui said. “Is everybody agreed? Do I have your approval that the son of Piwakawaka should take his father’s place among us?”
“Ka tika,” the chieftains nodded. “Yes, agreed.”
“As usual, not a woman among them,” Te Arikinui Huia muttered as the chieftains huddled in conference.
Meantime, other members of the Runanga a Manu had gathered around Skylark and Arnie. They were intrigued by the strangers and wanted to know more about them. “Ko wai koe?” they asked. “No hea koe? What is your genealogy? Where are you from?”
“My species originates from Europe,” Skylark answered, “but was also found in Asia. We weren’t introduced to Aotearoa until the 1860s.”
The young female birds, and especially Kahurangi, Chieftain Kahu’s lithesome daughter, found Arnie particularly interesting. Indeed, Kahurangi was becoming quite hormonally distressed. Arnie’s body-building physique had made him a strong, tough-looking falcon with spectacular musculature. Not averse to attention, he was striking poses, isolating and flexing the various muscle groups, pumping them up until they popped and sizzled. The young females poked and prodded him.
“What kinds of food does he eat to get a body like that?” Te Arikinui Huia asked.
“Raw steak, eggs, vitamins and energy drinks,” Skylark said.
Huia was dumbfounded. “Some of those foods are unfamiliar to me, but he eats eggs?”
“You mustn’t worry,” Skylark said. “He only has them sunnyside up, so you’re perfectly safe.”
She could have made a more sarcastic comment but Chieftain Tui called everyone to attention. He flashed his mazarine cloak, lifted his head and, white collar bobbing, trilled:
“Whakarongo ake au ki te tangi a te manu nei, tui! Tui! Tuituia!”
There was a hush. The other councillors of war took their place beside Tui to underline the fact that what he was about to say had arisen out of group consultation. Their demeanour was serious. Tui cleared his throat.
“Oh save the dramatics,” Kotuku said, “and get on with it, Tui.”
“Friends, nobles, countrymen,” Tui began, “we face again the threat of war, and we thank our two strangers, the Chieftainess Skylark and her warrior prince Arnie, for their long journey to warn us of the coming of seabirds from the future. As we have all seen, these reinforcements are of such number as to tip the balance of any second battle in their favour.”
The parliament warbled, whistled and chirruped with concern. Chieftain Titi was particularly agitated and took the opportunity to get into a close conference with Chieftain Kaka.
Tui turned to Skylark. “We seek more information from you, Chieftainess, before we come to any decision as to how to respond to the current threat. We have already won the battle at Kawau’s inlet. Did not Karoro flee the field? With his departure, did not Karuhiruhi sound the retreat? Why is it that we must fight this battle again? There is no logic to it.”
Skylark breathed deeply. She knew what she would say would hurt Tui, but there was no alternative except to tell the truth.
“Sir, the Lord Tane has given the seabirds a second chance.”
“But what is the reason?” Tui asked, trying to comprehend. “The Lord Tane has always favoured us.”
“I mean no offence to you,” Skylark answered, “but following your victory you forgot to make appropriate sacrifice to him, the very Lord Tane, who gave you your win.”
Te Arikinui Kotuku gave a gasp. “Of course, that’s the matter that has been troubling me —”
Tui blanched. “Stronger chieftains than you have made such accusations about me and lost their lives for it. But your truth is straight and I acknowledge the fault.” His face grew grim.
“It is no one individual’s fault,” Skylark answered. “A chapter of accidents has brought this about. For instance, my mother, in the future, could be said to have been the one to have caused this too. After all, it was she who, by her careless act, set fire to the sacred tree and led to the sky ripping open.”
She turned to the councillors of war.
“Sirs, please forgive my mother.”
“Yes, yes,” the chieftains responded. And that was that. Agreed. Done.
“I can’t believe it was so simple,” Skylark said, astonished.
“They have more important things on their mind,” Te Arikinui Kotuku answered with gentle sarcasm. “Once talk of battle is engaged, the cock is unconscious of anything else.”
“But that means I can go home now,” Skylark said.
Not quite. The chieftain looked at Skylark and then at Arnie, unsure of how to proceed.
“Chieftainess,” Tui coughed, “may I have your leave to discuss with your warrior escort the military disposition of the new seabird reinforcements?”
“You may,” Skylark answered with as much dignity as she could muster.
“Thanks, Skylark,” Arnie said. “I know more about these matters than you do and —”
“Oh give it a rest,” Skylark hissed as she stamped on his feet.
Oblivious to her and Arnie’s needling, the relieved chieftains turned to Arnie for intelligence about the new arrivals. “Brave warrior,” Chief-tain Kahu asked, “what can you tell us about these new seabird reinforcements?”
Arnie stopped hopping around, and pondered his reply. He could have tempered his advice but he didn’t. “The birds from the future are like nothing any of you have ever seen before. They are stronger, more ferocious than Karuhiruhi and his iwi. They are bigger birds with sharper beaks —”
“You keep talking about this thing — the future,” Chieftain Kawau spat with irritation. “What place is that? Is it further away than China?”
“It is not a place,” Arnie explained, “but rather a Time that is still to come. It lies beyond more birdsong mornings than you have ever dreamed of. To get there you would have to fly over a thousand dawns, even more years, and you would still not reach it.”
“Beyond a thousand birdsong mornings?” Kawau said. “You speak of things beyond our comprehension.”
Chieftain Piwakawaka interrupted him. “And what is in the future that gives the new seabird reinforcements such a size advantage, sir?”
“Well, for one thing, the food is better and more plentiful,” Arnie said. “Man has created a rubbish tip of the earth.”
“Man? What is that? Who is that?” Chieftain Koekoea said. “All you say sounds very odd to us. None of it makes sense —”
“What does make sense,” Kahu chipped in, “is what warrior Arnie has pointed out: the size of these new seabirds. Surely that is the reality of what we are faced with. Already our landbirds are becoming nervous —”
“That was because in the past God was on our side,” Ruru hooted, striking a note of doom and gloom. “Now we are being punished.”
“Yes, it’s all my fault that the Lord Tane is angry with us,” Tui said. “I have been too arrogant.”