While Kifa continued cooking, Enzo asked what he had been wanting to ask all day.
"Zeli, do you mind if I ask you some things? I’ve been wanting to know ever since I woke up, but I was afraid others would think I was strange."
Zeli sidled up to him, sitting close, ready for whatever he wanted to ask.
"Can you tell me about this place? Like, where are we? And what’s a sub-beast? I heard you mention it before. Why am I a cub? Why was I alone when I woke up?" He rattled off the questions he had been curious about all day, then looked at Zeli, eagerly waiting for the answer.
"Wow! You really did forget everything!" Zeli remarked.
"Of course I did. Didn’t you hear Gato?"
Zeli waved his hands. "I’m not saying I don’t believe it. I think it’s weird. You can forget your entire life, just like that. I don’t know what I would do if I forgot everything. I would probably be scared."
"You have no idea," Enzo mumbled. He didn’t forget about his previous life, but waking up in a new place knowing nothing, he wanted to disappear.
Again, Zeli’s expressive deep-blue eyes watched Enzo pitifully.
"You, if you want to know anything, I will tell you. I won’t hide anything from you."
Hearing the name You, again, the corner of Enzo’s mouth twitched.
"Zeli, can you not call me You? I think Enzo is a good name. Do you mind using that instead?" He asked a bit sheepishly.
Begging to be called by his own name. He never thought he would see such a day.
"Alright," Zeli replied.
"Good, now, about what I asked..."
"Ah, right." Zeli smacked his forehead. Enzo looked at him, amused. "Our tribe is called the Tiger tribe. Our chief is called Orin. He has a son, Rider, who’s going to become chief soon. He’s the strongest in the tribe..."
For the next few minutes, Zeli gave Enzo a breakdown of the tribe. It had five hundred members. Of these, three hundred and twenty-five were able-bodied workers, beastmen making up the vast majority.
One hundred cubs were part of the tribe. And to Enzo’s surprise, he was still considered a cub. He learned that the coming of age for young cubs was at twenty. His current body was nineteen. He still had several months before he became an adult.
As for the elderly, their numbers weren’t large. There were seventy-five elderly.
Not to mention, he learned that the lifespan of beastmen and sub-beasts was three hundred years. So those considered elderly were already over one hundred and fifty years old.
The knowledge amazed Enzo. First, he cut ten years off his life; now he could live to be three hundred. He became more interested as Zeli spoke. He leaned in, soaking up every bit of information.
He learned what sub-beasts and beastmen were. When he heard that sub-beasts were the ones who gave birth to cubs, he couldn’t help blurting out, ’Where are the women?’ Zeli gave him a strange look when he mentioned women.
His confusion made Enzo even more bewildered. There were no women, only beastmen and sub-beasts. And even sub-beasts were in demand. For the five hundred people in the tribe, there were no more than seventy sub-beasts.
It was normal for them to have multiple beastman partners.
Enzo’s mouth fell open when he heard that.
He thought back to his own misfortune. It hadn’t been more than a week when he found his partner cheating. But now, in this place, it was normal to have multiple partners.
The thought rattled him. His body trembled, and he shook his head imperceptibly. He didn’t want multiple husbands. Even if it was the norm for the beast men here, he didn’t think he could bring himself to have multiple partners.
Just as Zeli was about to continue, Kifa left the kitchen.
"Time to eat. Zeli, get the other bowl for me."
Zeli got up and grabbed the large stone bowl from the kitchen.
Enzo saw the three bowls coming out. It smelled fragrant, but he choked on air after seeing the size.
Did they think he was a whale? The bowl was almost as big as his head. Seeing them bring them out with ease, he secretly let out a breath. He acknowledged their strength. If he could get some meat on his bones, he might have their strength.
Kifa laughed when seeing Enzo’s comical expression. "Little one. No need to look so surprised. I heard you and Zeli from the kitchen. Though sub-beasts are not as strong as beastmen, we are strong in our own way. Now, don’t just look at the food; eat."
Enzo didn’t need to be told twice. The bowl in front of him was a soup with various items inside. The broth was milky white, but there was meat cut into thin slices, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and what he thought was yam.
He wanted to take his time and eat, but he couldn’t help himself. The warming soup entered his stomach, and his whole body felt like it was soaking in a hot bath. With every bite he took, he moved faster.
Soon, he was practically shovelling the food into his mouth. He couldn’t help himself; he hadn’t known getting food after nearly starving would cause him to inhale it like this.
"Slow down," Kifa said, patting his arm. "You don’t need to rush. There’s still more in the kitchen."
Hearing Kifa’s warm tone, Enzo couldn’t help blushing. He visibly slowed his eating. Still, he was the first to finish the food, though Kifa and Zeli weren’t far behind.
He rubbed his stomach and stared at the bowl. Only after eating his fill did he realize he had completely eaten everything in the bowl. The same bowl he claimed he couldn’t finish.
He coughed awkwardly. "I’ll...I’ll help clean up."
"No," Kifa refused. "You rest. You are a patient. Gato said you still need to rest."
Enzo wanted to refute, but Kifa’s glare stopped him.
Zeli laughed, seeing Enzo so timid.
Kifa took the dishes away. Zeli told his sub-father that they were leaving and that he would help Enzo fill his vat.
"Enzo?" Kifa asked.
"You said he wants his name to be Enzo now."
Kifa glanced at him, smiled, and said, "Enzo. Remember to come back for food later."
Enzo thanked Kifa for his hospitality and left. Zeli took his jug with him and dragged Enzo along.
He sighed as he jogged along with Zeli. Tomorrow, he would start training. He imagined Zeli dragging his tiny body all over the place in the future; he refused to accept it.
For the next hour, which Enzo estimated, the two moved back and forth between his hut and the stream. Finally, the task ended. He would have water for the next few days.
Enzo felt the sweat clinging to his back. He was now thoroughly disgusted with himself.
"Zeli, I want to take a bath."
Hearing this, the excitable Zeli dragged Enzo out once again.
"Zeli, where are you taking me?" Enzo shouted.
"To bathe," he replied simply.
Confused, Enzo once again allowed himself to be dragged.
They arrived at a small pool farther downstream from the area where they filled their jugs. Their approach alerted the other people there.
"Zeli," a sub-beast called out.
"Nova," Zeli replied.
Enzo, behind him, could only follow in his footsteps. He walked awkwardly behind Zeli, keeping his head down. He had seen some of these sub-beasts earlier and hadn’t acknowledged them.
Enzo thought to himself, well, this is embarrassing.