Chapter 4

Co-written with Mazula

So I had no choice but to wiggle over to the pond and using my back legs to weakly push myself forward. Finally, I made it and panted with my face in the grass, exhausted from only crawling a few feet!

"Ugh…just look, wake up a bit, and move it!' I thought. Shakily, I raised myself up on my knees and looked into the water.

I blinked.

"Oh Mata-nui…

Oh…my…"

"Holy Mata-nui! What the HECK!"
Or at least that's what I thought I said. But all I heard was,
"Shriek, trill, craw!"

And then I jumped back and landed in what I guessed to be a potted plant that fell from its perch and crashed to the ground.

CRASH!

"What the-!" The green clad being tossed his work aside onto his desk, where he had been currently working, and rushed to the backyard where he heard something crash.

He threw the backdoor open and looked around franticly, his yellow-green eyes soon settling on the mess of a broken pot and a rather mangled plant sitting below a pedestal by the pond.

"Aw, not my new-…what the…?" He paused when he saw something cowering behind the lump of dirt and pottery pieces, shaking from what he guessed to be his staff tightly in defense, he slowly moved towards it and shoved the mess aside with his foot. He blinked and kneeled down…

Oh my head…this was too much; I'm a…oh Mata-nui, I'm getting a headache from all of this.
'What next? The idiot dumps me off in some strange place, turns me into this…what next!' I thought.

But I suddenly became aware of a shadow cast over my weak form and I managed to barely turn my head enough to squint up at someone kneeling over me.

"Well hello there Pokawi-bird . Where did you sneak-come from?" he asked. Tree-speak…? Was I in Le-metru!
'Wait…I know him…'
He was…I knew him from before I died! His voice…
It was Turaga Matau!
…bird? Oh Mata-nui…
'I'm not imagining things…'
I was turned into a Pokawi!

"Aw, you don't look so good-well. Don't fret-worry…"

With a yelp, I was picked up into the turaga's arms. He grinned down at me and turned for his shelter.

"Now let's get you inside. You must be hungry-starved!" he said cheerfully. And I couldn't refuse even if I wanted to…

Matau had set me down in what I guessed to be his office on a lounge chair, a blanket draped over me and a plate of raw fish and water placed before me. And it wasn't after I had been set down, I had realized how hungry I was. Though at first unappealing, I was too hungry to care that I was eating raw fish at the moment. It also probably helped that I had a 'Bird's tongue' since it actually tasted great!
I practically inhaled the water and then dropped into a short nap…or more precisely a coma. I was exhausted…

Matau watched as I dropped off to sleep and smiled happily. It wasn't everyday you find a rare Pokawi in your garden. But he suddenly frowned and sighed wistfully.

As nice as it was to get a rahi in his home, he knew he couldn't keep it. He was too busy with the chute repairs and reports to care for a rahi. With all of the new construction going on in his metru, he barely had time to care for himself!

"Darn it …" he huffed. Maybe he could give it away to someone.
Kongu? No, the toa already had enough on his hands; what with keeping his metru safe and assisting in repairs when he can. Lewa was in the same situation. And he did not trust the toa with a pet; not after going through ten Cave fish simply because he forgot to feed them.

Maybe one of the other turaga?
Dume was out of the question; he was strictly a Burnak person; namely twin fire- burnaks that will maim any kind of person.

Vakama was a Burnak person as well, and since he and Dume shared the same living district, the Bird would still be in the same situation if he chose Dume.

Whenua was allergic to birds, so he was a 'no'. Besides, he had a Ussal crab to look after.

Onewa? Heck no. Not after the Proto-drake incident!

That just left Nokama and Nuju.
Nokama already had a young Dikapi, so at least it wouldn't be lonely. So maybe Nokama was a good choice…

Lonely…

A smirk slowly cracked Matau's masked face and he chuckled deviously. He had a much, much better idea…

Picking up his office communicater,he dialed Dume's number with a smirk and his eyes set on the sleeping bird across from him.

"Dume, I wanted to ask you if I could bring a little something over to our meeting today…" he started. Oh Nuju was going to probably kill him for this, but it would be so worth it.

If you could use a word to describe Nuju currently, you'd immediately come up with one word; depressing.

Although he wasn't necessarily doing anything depressing, it was just the look in his eyes and the aura he emitted. Many often proclaimed him to be in what some may call, 'eternal mourning' because it seemed like he was still, and forever will, mourn the loss of his assistant of a year ago.

Heck, it was more than just mourning; it almost seemed like he was in guilt.
But that was all going to change the moment Matau entered the room.

"Hi all!" he sang as he all but struts into the room, head held high, a huge grin on his face, and a partially open box in his arms. The other turaga rolled their eyes at Matau; he always seemed to want to make a grand entrance…

"Must you always 'strut' in here every time we have a meeting?" Dume asked with a raised brow. "Yes! But this time I have good reason to proud-strut." The green turaga said as he set the box down on the large round table the turaga were situated at. "So you told me." Dume said with a knowing smirk and a glance to Nuju. The ice turaga paid no mid though; he hardly spoke at meetings or any other social gatherings anymore. He had no need anyways; Ko-metru was probably the mostly completed metru currently, so no issues were brought up from him since they were doing so well.
He only came because Dume asked him to.

"Well then, before we get started, Matau…" The eldest fire turaga motioned to Matau and smirked.
"I believe you have something for Nuju?" he said. Matau's grin broadened as the other turaga turned their attention to him curiously; even Nuju graced them with his attention.

"Well, thanks to my generous and rather charitable heart, I have decided to spare a small moment of my time to go out and-"

Matau…enough with the boasting. Just give it to him already." Dume said in a bored manner. Matau pouted but none the less did as told.

"Oh alright. Nuju, heart-believe it or not, I and the other turaga, as you probably know, have been concerned-worried for you since day one of Metru-nui's reconstruction. I'd say why, but we all know the heart-breaking reason…" a very brief moment of silence descended upon them all, and Nuju's eyes seemed to take on a glassy shine and a darker hue. But bringing his attention back, Matau cleared his throat and set the box up on the table's center.

"But, I have found-reached a solution to your lonely-problem! Nuju, say hello to your new friend!" he opened the box and presented its contents to the others.