Hi, everyone! I'm back again. Here's Chapter 4, where Maui, the god of trickery, does what he does best: tricking people!

Enjoy!

Chapter Four: Tricking

Maui's arrogance had returned big and strong. His thoughts were back to full of smugness and contempt.

But he did have an excellent plan.

Not only was he handsome, strong, powerful, awesome, suave, brave, charming, cunning, a god, a shapeshifter, a hero (you get it), but he was also intelligent! Brainy, smart, clever, brilliant, the whole lot of them. After all, who else could've thought to use his trickery to save Moana?

Maui had found the nests while circling over a group of sea stacks. He rested upon a cliff that practically touched the clouds. Upon looking through them, he had found her.

Moana.

She was inside a nest of hay with a group of about five hatchlings. Even with his eagle-vision, it was hard to tell how many were there. Maui watched as his friend smacked them with her oar and yell insults into the wind. He was relieved to see that Curly was okay after being wounded, but still worried about the bandage on her head.

So, what now? Maui thought. He had found Moana, but he couldn't just swoop down and take her away. Why? Well, there was that small, really just insignificant fact that there were a dozen other sea stacks with dozens of other giant birds that would tear him up in a second if he showed himself.

Yep. Just that itsy bitsy little fact.

Maui had shifted on his claws. How could he get down there without drawing attention to himself or Moana, while also saving his friend? For several minutes, he had no answer. Until he saw another gigantic bird swoop down into the sea, grab a fish with its long beak, and come back up. No one gave the bird a second glance. Because it was the same species. It lived there. It was one of them.

And then Maui's idea had hit.

He would use his magical hook to shapeshift into one of the birds! That way, he could slip in like he had just came back with food for his young… yes… yes… this would work!

He quickly transformed back into his regular self, the muscled and awesome demigod Maui, so that he could confer with his tattoos of how to change into one of the birds. Having never attempted it before, he needed guidance.

"Alright, guys," said Maui, slinging his hook over her shoulder and glancing down at his tattoos. "Make me beautiful."

His favorite Maui tattoo- the one of him holding up the sky- grabbed his ink fish-hook and tried to turn into one of the birds. The closest he got to was an eagle. Agh. Back to square one.

"C'mon, everyone, we've gotta save Curly!" he groaned.

Little Moana bounced in agreement.

The Maui tattoo looked committed now. He held his fish-hook high and swirled it around. His body grew to the size of the familiar giant bird that had taken his best friend. Ah. There. Now he was getting it.

Maui smirked in delight. "Thanks, little guy. Alright, time to go get Moana, everyone!" He felt every single one of his tattoos show some sign of happiness. It appeared they had taken a liking to the girl who could always show Maui up. The scoreboard didn't lie, after all, no matter how much Maui hissed at his tattoo to change it while Curly wasn't looking.

The demigod rose his fish-hook and twirled it above him like tattoo Maui had did, thinking of what he wanted to transform into. But it was really his determination alone that made the magical hook bend to his will. He would save Moana. He'd get back his friend.

Soon, he was a bird again, but not the eagle he was familiar to. He was even larger. He mirrored the one that had taken Moana, because that was the only one of its species Maui had seen. With a caw, he swooped from the clouds, and headed towards the nest Moana was in.

He saw Curly turn around to look at him when he descended from the heavens. Her countenance was terrified and her grip on her oar slackened in defeat.

Agh! cursed Maui. Moana probably thinks I'm out to eat her. Hopefully, she won't try to hit me with that oar of hers. Who knew wood can hurt so much? But Curly can make pretty much anything sting if she wants it to.

Maui arrived at the sea stack/nest and landed softly, but his even larger than usual form made the whole nest rumble from his weight. He was huge. Terrifying. A beast.

The five birds squawked when Maui landed. He could hear their complaints run into his head as they chirped.

Mama, help us, there's a two-legger demon who's going to kill us!

It hit me, Mama!

Can we eat it?

I'm hungry.

Maui was confused. Why were they calling him Mama? He looked over his shoulder to see if the mother bird was coming down on him, but saw nothing but cliffs and empty sky. He faced the hatchlings again, alarm bells ringing in his head.

Uh, oh.

Sure, he was a scary beast with a sharp beak and claws. With one swipe, he could kill. He could hunt, roar, protect. He was the top of the food chain.

But he was also apparently the mother of these little birds.

They were now looking to him for guidance of what to do. Now, Maui usually loved it when people needed him. But now… he shuddered, resisting the urge to fly away.

He was their mother to them.

He tried to settle them down. That's what mothers did, after all.

Um… you can't eat it, he told them in a falsetto voice, trying to sound like a girl.

He swallowed.

Children.

The hatchlings shuffled, curious. Why? one questioned, and the rest began to pipe in questions, too. They were hungry, and Moana- or 'the two-legger'- was right there and smelled of fresh, tasty blood. Maui was ashamed to admit that in this gigantic bird form, Moana smelled… good. And not in a nice way.

Can I please please please please PLEASE eat it, Mama? the plumpest of the baby birds begged. I'll share it, Mama. Promise.

Maui felt annoyed and embarrassed as he again thought, Why don't they realize I'm not their mother? Did he really look that… that feminine as a bird?

Before Maui could convince his 'child' not to eat Curly, he heard his friend scrambling back in the nest. He swiveled his head around to see Moana looking desperately over the sea stack, clearly wondering whether or not she could survive the jump. He wished he could shapeshift back to being the amazing demigod Maui and take away her fear, but that would reveal his secret to the other birds and eventually kill them both.

"St-stay back!" Moana warned him, holding her oar out with shaking hands. Her eyes were wide but unfocused. Maui realized that her bandage was bleeding through. She had lost too much blood already, and couldn't survive much more loss. Curly needed help. And soon.

Maui stepped forward so he could try and grab Moana, but he only received a painful hit by her oar on his side. He growled in pain, then immediately regretted it. He was terrorizing Moana.

Moana started to hit him again, this time harder. In annoyance, Maui shielded himself with his large wings, making some sort of blockade between them. But Moana wouldn't give up. She tumbled forward and started to smack his head when she had enough momentum to jump up. Maui had had enough. Moana irritated him even when he was in his human form. When he was a bird, it was almost unbearable. He didn't want to hurt her, but couldn't save her if she was trying to kill him. So, as gently as possible, he pushed Curly back with his wings.

It was a light push, but with his size, it felt like a large smack to Moana. She fell to the ground, accidentally hitting her head wound. She shrieked in pain once, then went limp.

Maui panicked. Oh, gods! Can I ever stop hurting her?

Are you going to eat it, Mama? a hatchling wondered before he could do anything stupid like change back to his much handsomer and much more masculine form. Please don't. We're all super hungry. You never bring us anything good!

Yeah! another cried. I want food!

The chicks began to chant their request: We want food! We want food! We want food!

Maui groaned and shifted his large wings uncomfortably, torn between picking up Moana and flying away or placating the birds. Okay, okay, I'll feed you! But later. See… this two-legger… it, um…

He had an idea.

Have you ever heard of Te Fiti?

The hatchlings cocked their heads.

No, one voiced.

Well, he said, Te Fiti is the goddess of life itself. Very powerful. You don't want to mess with her, or you'll get smited. And Mo- this two-legger did her a favor. So Te Fiti blessed it so whoever harmed it would be cursed for eternity.

Maui inwardly snorted. If that was true, I'd be a walking jinx. He had hurt Moana multiple times on this journey.

So… we can't eat it? the hungry one said, his voice laced thick with so much disappointment that it made Maui want to laugh.

No, said Maui firmly. You all want to be able to fly, right?

Oh, yeah!

We were born with wings. Duh.

Sky, here I come!

Well, if you eat the two-legger… because you harmed it, you'll be cursed to never be able to fly. Your wings will disappear. Boom. Just like that. Gone. You'll be stuck to walk on land like a two-legger forever, watching the others birds mock and fly above you.

Wow, Maui was really getting into this. He continued, You don't want that… do you?

The hatchlings shook their heads furiously, yelling out their disagreement.

I wanna fly! a small one pointed out, and the rest began chirping their consent.

Maui nodded. Well, I guess, since you guys want to fly, I'll have to take the two-legger back, then. You'll get fed later… children.

He gagged on the word.

Then he shook his wings and turned to Moana. She laid still on the hay. Concern creased the demigod's feathery head. He had though that Moana would be up by now, awake and ready to fight. Ready to make a smooth remark or earn a point on her side of the tally-board. Ready to be Moana.

He stepped forward and took Moana in his talons, making sure to grab her oar, too. Moana would be furious at him if he forgot it. He screeched a goodbye to the hatchlings (his hatchlings, he gulped) and began to pump his wings. Soon, he was high above the sea stacks and flying into the clouds. Maui was dismayed to feel that Curly was still out of it and not responding to anything. He switched back into his favorite eagle form so if Moana did wake up on the ride to the boat, she would know she was in the safe clutches of the best demigod who ever lived.

Maui felt relieved as he sensed their canoe waiting nearby.

We're almost there, he promised Moana. Almost there…

Curly did not reply.

So, what do you think? Good? Bad? Awful? Amazing? Please review!

As always, thanks to anyone who reviewed, liked, followed, or read. I still can't believe that people actually like my writing. I get this bubbly feeling when I read the reviews (which I have read over about ten times).

So, should I try for the another chapter tonight? There'll only be five in this story, so it'll be the last. Let me know.

Thanks again!