Enion crouches down, getting very close to the boy.
"Oh, so, Kalui, do you want to play with me?"
The boy's eyes sparkled like never before.
"Let's go! What's the game?"
'I feel lighter these days. I guess I haven't been eating enough.' – thought Roldi.
'What a strange feeling...' - thought Enion.
"Let's play 'What do you see?'. This game works like this: I say the name of something or a place and you answer me the first thing that comes to your mind, both by speaking and demonstrating. Got it?"
'Maybe I can make him remember something.'
"I understand!"
"The first thing is: Food - other than fish!"
Without thinking and with great excitement, he answered him.
"Honey!"
'Honey... Honey is something very expensive in any empire, so he may have come from a rich family, or he ate it once and never forgot the taste. I think the second option is more likely. Besides, at least now I know he can remember something. This game has already been more productive than I imagined. I hope it continues like this.' - Enion pondered.
'Enion as always, extremely intelligent and deals well with children. It is strange, since he is much more serious than I am... I am jealous now!'
"I remember! I remember honey! I remember how I always ask my mother for it! I remember how—!"
Before I could finish speaking, Kalui put his hands on his head with wide eyes. At that moment, all he felt was despair. He let out a scream as he shook his own head and began to cry.
Roldi put his hand on the boy's head, patting him trying to calm him down, and then said:
"It's okay, kid! Calm down, everything will be fine! Calm down, you can talk to us."
After a few seconds of crying, he fainted.
Roldi and Enion got up at the same instant, and rushed to help the child. Roldi picked him up and carried him into the cabin, placing him on his bed.
"What was that Enion!? What happened to him?"
"I don't know either, but whatever he tried to remember, we'd better not ask again. We already know that he has a mother, and that she gave him honey, so this child's family has money. You already have a clue where to start."
"So all we can do is wait." - said Roldi understanding the situation.
The two wait sitting next to Kalui. Enion carefully examines the boy's head, looking for any injury, but finds nothing of the sort.
'I don't know if I am happy or sad that I can't find any wound on your head... What could have happened that was so traumatic that just by remembering it; it would cause a fainting spell? He is only a child! Was it too much to remember all at once? Or just a very bad memory?' - Enion had gone into deep thought.
"What will we do when he wakes up? Pretend nothing happened and wait for someone to show up looking for him or try to find out more?" - Roldi asked a bit frightened.
"I think the best thing to do is to wait until he remembers naturally. I am leaving tonight. Shall we try to cheer him up a bit before I leave? The last time I came to update you on the army, we didn't fight."
While the two were talking, Kalui woke up quickly, but this time he was not sleepy, just confused.
"Did I sleep again? My head hurts. Roldi, what happened?"
Roldi crouches down next to the boy and, offering him some water, says. – "Kalui, come and watch our contest! It's going to be a lot of fun!"
The three of them leave the hut. Kalui sat down beside the fire. Roldi and Enion stand facing each other. Even without understanding the situation, the boy felt that the atmosphere was more intense and was excited about whatever was going to happen.
Enion took off almost all her clothes, leaving only her underwear. His large scar on his abdomen was showing, as if a spear had pierced it.
Roldi and Enion straighten their postures, putting his right leg back, raising his arms forward and interlacing his hands, preparing to push each other.
"May I begin, Roldi?"
"Of course! First the elders."
Enion's eager smile slowly faded. His body began to grow, his muscles changed, his head became larger; claws grew in place of his nails, his teeth became fangs, hair slowly grew all over his body. His posture was no longer that of a human being, his body was deformed and continued to change and grow. When its size reached three meters, its transformation ended.
Kalui was startled, wide-eyed, not understanding what was happening before him. Roldi looked at the boy and said:
"Boy, this is a bear, but a little bigger than usual."
"He is in diaper!" - Shouted Kalui as he rolled from side to side on the floor, laughing like crazy.
Roldi and Enion started laughing too.
The bear said in a thick voice that was hard to understand, as if it had its tongue stuck:
"Your turn, Roldi!"
The boy then stopped laughing and started watching carefully what was about to happen.
Roldi now needed to look up, if he wanted to look into Enion's eyes.
"Do you really think I am rusty?" - said Roldi, with a smile on his face. – "My turn."
He has gone from smiling, to a focused face. While holding Enion's large paws, his skin hardens, his hair stiffens, his wavy gray hair is now rock hard.
'What is going on? I thought he would turn into an animal too... How do the two of you do it?' – thought Kalui.
"Enion, shall we start on three? I'll do the counting."
'What is going to start?' – reflected the child.
"One – two – three!"
The three-meter tall bear put all his strength down, his weight on Roldi was so great that the gray-haired man's leg sank into the earth up to his knee!
'It seems that he has only strengthened his stamina. As always, he starts slowly.' – thought Enion.
"I don't like being buried, Enion."
Veins began to appear all over his rigid body, his skin reddened slightly.
'Now, it's my turn to put power to it.' – thought Roldi.
With almost half of his leg sunk into the ground, Roldi did not appear to be worried. He easily began to push Enion backwards, forming a ditch in the ground with his sunken legs. The bear put even more force into it, letting out a loud roar with its effort. This extra effort he put in had no effect and he was pushed back faster and faster. As soon as he had been pushed back a distance of six steps, they released their hands and Roldi raised his arms in celebration
'É... I guess he really is not rusty! As always, Roldi is the strongest person I know.'
"You are much stronger than last time, Enion. Who knows, maybe in 300 years you will defeat me! Hahaha!"
'Too bad we don't pass 150...' – thought Enion.
The bear's hair began to fall to the ground in chains, his whole body returned to normal in a matter of seconds. Enion put on his chain armor and said while hugging him with a smile:
"Congratulations Roldi, I missed you. It always reminds me of our childhood hahaha! You know we will always love you, right brother?" – He said with his eyes watering.
Roldi hugged him back in silence, with a sad look on his face. The two of them calmed down and sat down in front of the hut.
"So Kalui, what did you think?" — The gray-haired man asked as he sat down.
The boy became agitated, almost unable to stand still. His smile and his gaze showed only curiosity and anxiety.
"You are amazing! And how did you win from such a big bug?"
'Yeah, he really doesn't know anything at all...At least he looks healthy.' – thought Roldi.
Enion interrupted the conversation with something that had puzzled him for some time:
"Kalui, what is your element?"