Hiiaka's answering song, though pointed with blame, gives proof that her own intuitions were not entirely at fault:
A ka luna, i Pu'u-onioni, Noho ke anaina a ke 'Kua. Kilohi a' ku'u maka ilalo, I ka ulu o Wahine-kapu: He o'ioina Kilauea, He noho-ana o Papa-lau-ahi, e. Ke lau-ahi mai la o Pele ia kai o Puna: Ua one-á, oke-á, kai o Maláma, e. E málama i ka iki kanaka, I ka nu'a kanáka; O kakou no keia ho-akua-- Akua Mo'o-lau, e! O Mo'o-lau ke ala, e!
From the crest of Tremble [10] Hill I look on the concourse of gods, At ease on the gossip-ground, The seat of Wahine-kapu, Rest-station to Kilauea, Its pavement of lava-plate: Such plates Pele spreads in Puna-- Hot shards, gray sands at Maláma. Succor and life for small and great! Be it ours to play the god; our way Beset by demons four hundred!
The communication between Hiiaka and her sisters had, on their part, been carried on mostly by means of gesture and sign-language. But on this return of Hiiaka the whole family of brothers and sisters were so moved at the thought of the danger to Hiiaka that they spoke out at last and frankly advised Hiiaka to go before Pele and demand of her the gift of spiritual power, mana, that she might be able to meet her enemies on equal terms at least, so that she need not feel powerless in their presence. But nothing came of this move at the time, for at this moment out came Pele from her cave, and, seeing Hiiaka standing with the others, she addressed her sharply and said: "What! You still here? Why are you not on the way to fetch our man?"
Face to face with Pele, Hiiaka's courage oozed away and she promised to make another start in the morning. When on this new start she had come near the top of the ascent, she turned about and sang:
Punohunohu i ka lani Ka uahi o ka lua; He la'i ilalo o Kilauea; Maniania 'luna o Wahine-kapu. I kapu, la, i ke aha ka leo, e?
The pit-smoke blankets the heavens; Clear is the air in Kilauea, Tranquil Wahine-kapu's plain-- The Woman, why silent her voice?
Hiiaka now made common cause with the group of sisters and relatives who were bent on securing for her justice and fair treatment. Among them, taking council together, sat Ka-moho-alii, Kane-milo-hai, Kapo and Pohakau [11]. By this action Hiiaka took a new attitude: while not coming out in open defiance to her sister, she virtually declared her determination no longer to be domineered over by Pele.