“And because of it,” Chieftain Popokotea added, “God has taken the side of the seabirds, and we are lost.”
The korero was spiralling downward. Arnie realised it had to be stopped. “No,” he said. “This is all defeatist talk. You are thinking about losing the battle before it has begun.”
The runanga murmured in fear and indecision. Growing hysterical, Kawau intervened again. “How do we know you are not infiltrators or agents for the enemy? Are you pretending to be on our side when, in truth, you are not?”
“What a ridiculous accusation, Kawau,” Kotuku scoffed. “Look at them! They are not spies. They are landbirds.”
At that moment, Chieftain Titi coughed for attention. Both he and Chieftain Kaka stepped forward. “We have already suggested a treaty once,” Titi said.
“Not that old idea,” Kotuku sighed.
“Might not a treaty work this time?”
Arnie’s look was ferocious. Titi and Kaka backed away, and Arnie softened a little. “Kind sirs, no. The new birds from the future are here with only one purpose in mind. To overturn the Great Division so that their descendants will rule the future and the world. They are determined on your absolute extinction.”
Immediately a loud hubbub arose. Absolute extinction? The overturning of the Great Division? No. No. With heavy heart Chieftain Tui pondered Arnie’s words. He took a brief moment to confer with the Council of War, then announced the verdict. “We have decided,” he said. “It shall be war, not because we want it but because we have to defend ourselves.”
A few scattered cheers punctuated the silence.
“Chieftainess Skylark,” Tui confirmed, “thank you for your message. You have given us our warning. Although the Lord Tane has deserted us, let us pray that he will forgive us and return to us the mantle of his protection. Let all birds of the forest rest tonight and prepare for the morrow.”
The meeting broke up. Arnie turned to Skylark.
“Well, we’ve done our job,” he said. “You’ve obtained forgiveness for Cora and we’ve delivered our message about the seabirds. I know you want to go home now.”
But Skylark knew that Arnie’s heart wasn’t in his words. He had a mournful hang-bird look on his face and he kept on kicking at the paepae and glancing back at Kahu and the other chieftains as they planned the following war. Man oh man, how he wanted to be part of it. But he had promised Auntie Hoki he would look after Skylark and, like it or not, his job wouldn’t be over until he delivered her safely back to Tuapa.
Skylark did some quick thinking. Although she really wanted to get back to Cora as soon as, the problem was that Arnie had entered the equation. Without a doubt she would never have been able to make it this far without him, so didn’t she owe him one? Not only that, she also sensed in him some common ground.
There are solitary places in your heart, Arnie, she thought to herself, just as there are in mine. They have kept us both confined in the world of the ordinary. But does that mean we can’t dream? Does that mean we can’t find some extraordinary challenge in our ordinary lives and prove to ourselves that we can meet them? I’ve had my chance to do something amazing, something that other people only dream of and —
Skylark made up her mind. It was Arnie’s turn now.
“You know, Arnie,” she began, “We’ve actually got three days left before we need to go back through the Time Portal —”
Arnie’s eyes grew wide, but he was wary of the thought behind her words. “Don’t do this to me,” he said. “Don’t hold out something to me that you can’t follow through on.”
“I’m serious, Arnie,” Skylark said. “There’s a very good reason why we should think of staying for a while.”
Arnie’s heart began to beat fast. This can’t be Skylark speaking, he thought to himself. This is the girl who always wants to be the boss, in control, the one who brooks no argument. What she says, goes.
“Think about it,” Skylark said. “You know more about Kawanatanga and his cohorts than anybody here. You’re the warrior from the future with the knowledge of advanced technology! And you have army experience too. Can’t you see? You’ve already become their leader. They trust you and they need all the help they can get. You can’t leave now and miss all the fun and —”
Arnie gave a cry of joy. Skylark was acknowledging him as a partner, not just the sidekick. She was telling him that she wasn’t the only one who mattered; he did too.
“Thank you, Skylark,” he said. “Nothing would make me happier than to stay around and help the manu whenua.” He grabbed her in his wings and waltzed around the branch with her.
“Puh-lease, Arnie, get off me, “Skylark laughed. “Don’t make a federal case out of it.” Arnie took off after Chieftain Kahu to tell him the news. Watching his excitement, Skylark congratulated herself for having reached right to the centre of his action-movie heart and making his day.
“Yes, Arnie,” she said, “this is your chance to become the hero you’ve always wanted to be. Go forward, follow in the footsteps of your namesake. Fight for truth and justice and save the world. You are indeed the knight who appears at the eleventh hour.”
And after all that, it was only logical that Chieftain Kahu would nominate Arnie to the Council of War as chief strategist.
“Chieftain Arnie is the only one among us who knows about these new seabirds from the future,” Kahu argued. “He knows how their minds work, their strengths and weaknesses. We can provide the troops, but he can devise the best strategy by which we can win the day.”
“I’m not so sure,” Chieftain Kawau answered. “We’ve always fought our own battles. We’ve never needed strangers to help us.”
“Pull your head in,” Chieftain Tui interrupted, irritated at Kawau’s continuing suspicions. “What Kahu proposes makes sense. Chieftain Arnie’s prior knowledge and experience of the new seabird reinforcements will give us the edge. And you, Kawau, should be be the first in line to thank Chieftain Arnie for his offer to stay because tomorrow, if we fail, your inlet will be the first to be pillaged.”
The vote was taken and Arnie was in.
“Let’s get operational,” he said, spitting on his wings and rubbing them together. “I want a squad to go out with me on a surveillance mission tonight. He titi rea ao ki kitea, he titi rere po e kore i kitea. The muttonbird which flies by day is seen, but the muttonbird that flies at night cannot be detected.”
“Tonight?” Tui asked. “But we never fly at night —”
Luckily, no muttonbirds were there to hear Tui, but, “Excuse us,” said an offended Chieftain Ruru of owls and Chieftain Pekapeka of bats.
“I will need your eyes and your sonar,” Arnie said. “Chieftain Kahu, will you also join us with your best warriors?”
“What is the purpose of the mission?” Kawau asked, as argumentative as ever.
“We must ascertain the size of the enemy force,” Arnie answered. “Once we know how big the threat is, the better we will be able to mount our defensive networks against it. We will leave under cover of dark, immediately after sunset birdsong.”
He left the council meeting and went to see Skylark, who was with Te Arikinui Kotuku. As soon as Skylark saw him approaching, she knew that Arnie was growing into his role.
“I’m taking the boys out on a reconnaissance mission tonight,” Arnie said. “Do you mind? I’ll be back soon.”
Skylark couldn’t resist kidding him. “Yeah yeah,” she answered, rolling her eyes. “I know this script. This is the scene where the hero says goodbye to the little lady before he gets on his starship and thunders off into space. A boy’s gotta do what a boy’s gotta do.”
Arnie gave her a wide grin. “I should have known you were on to me,” he said. “But I wouldn’t get too far ahead if I were you.” He flew back to talk to Chieftain Kahu, who was speaking to his daughter, Kahurangi.