Biko, during the way, scrutinized the weapon received, he looked at the drawings engraved on both the blade and on the handle, they were very thin tribal designs that adorned the sword in all its parts.
--Are you able to use it? -- Zandi asked, -- looking you handling it, it seems you've never seen one before.--
--Sure, I've seen swords, when I was a kid I imagined fighting for fun, even with other children, but when things get serious, everything changes --Biko answered.
--We hope we do not have to use it and solve everything using timeliness as a weapon,-- Ima added.
Biko, walking, simulated a hypothetical fight in the wind to get familiar with the weapon.
- We hope so, but in any case I want to get ready for the unexpected, and then you see, it's not so difficult to handle it, look! -- saying so Biko started a duel but with an accidental blow he overflow the head of his sister Ima who drew down appropriately, and he cut her a small lock of hair.
--Ops! Sorry, my sister,-- Biko promptly replied.
--It is better you keep it in its scabbard, otherwise we will not arrive in three to the forest – Ima reproached with a serious face.
Zandi looked at both of them and they all laughed.
--Where exactly are we heading?-- Zandi asked.
- General Kruken's base station is located east of the forest, so his soldiers will leave from there looking for Demetrio, we would start on the west side in the hope of finding him first, and flee from the west part—Ima specified.
-- My sister is born as a strategist, she has already elaborated a plan, even when we were little she was always like that, she was the mind and I was the arm- Biko added.
--Have we some indication about Demetrio's refuge, to speed up the search?-- Zandi said
-- No, no, no one can approach him, his house is the forest, who creates damage to the forest will receive his anger, he is very suspicious to everyone, and I think he will be with us too but we have to try – Biko explained.
--So if he will attack us too, we should not be surprised, maybe he will think we are trying to catch him – Ima said.
- I do not think he listed us as bad people, because otherwise he would not have defended us against the soldiers, his instinct is with us, I think -- Zandi concluded.
--We have arrived, we must climb this clearing and there is a slide that will take us straight to the west side of the forest. Slipped sitting in balance if not we could hurt – Biko precises putting his sword with a belt behind the back and starting to climb on the clearing.
Once he reached the top he offered his hand to Zandi and quickly pulled her up next to him, then he bowed and he did the same with his sister, when all three of them climbed Biko moved some bushes and revealed a beginning of the slide that started with a curve on the left. They could not see anything else, in the background they could see the forest much lower than where the three boys were.
--Are we sure we'll live to the end?-- Zandi asked doubtfully.
--Be quiet, even if it 's very much that I do not use it, we will not get hurt, I think, we must always keep the cenrte of the slide, staying in balance sitting down, it' s not difficult – Biko reassured.
--Yes, Zandi, the bed of the slide is made of sand and a sort of moss that allows you to slide without making us ache--
- Come on, I begin, come behind me, Zandi – Ima reassured.
But when she was about to position herself seated on the slide, about twenty meters far they heard a strange little noise and a dozen small birds flew up, the three looked in that direction, then Biko took the sword he had placed behind his back and intimated:
--Who is there? Let's see if you do not want to be killed --
But no sound and no response came from the foliage, Biko advanced a few yards with his sword forward and cautiously to see if anyone was hiding, but he found nothing.
-- Maybe it has been some passing mongoose,-- Ima said.
--Perhapes your sister have reason – Zandi reinforced.
Biko returned near the two girls and he put the swords in the scabbard, he remained a few seconds on the area from which that sound had arrived and then he stood as a third recommending the girls ..
--Attention to the balance, otherwise you can hurt yourself- -
--You think about you – Ima replied and she threw herself followed by a cry of euphoria, Zandi shrugged as if to say '' What doyou want to do? '' and she follow Ima.
--Girls! – Biko pronounced and he threw himself down to the slide.
The run of the slide for Zandi and for the other two was a wonderful and incredible emotion, they slipped sitting balanced on the moss that made them slippery like soap, they passed through colourful flowers of which some petals remained on them, they grazed small animals who watched them astonished, they immersed themselves in a thick and soft green foliage where they were caressed, until Ima and Zandi arrived at the end of the slide where a soft grass allowed them to roll for many meters in a joyful and fun way. They lay smiling, looking at the blue sky, under a tree on which there were two birds watching to the girls laughing, then they both looked at each other strangely flying in the sky.
Ima abandoned her lying position sitting and shaking a little green foliage off her back, Zandi made the same thing a few seconds later.
- It 'was beautiful, I had never tried an experience so amusement, even at the most sophisticated rides, we have to do it again in the future – Zandi pronounced cheerfully.
-- But my brother, where is he? - - Ima said worried looking at the end of the slide, when immediately they heard Biko’s shout, it was not a scream shouted by the girls, it seemed a confused shout, in fact at a distance of dozen yards from where Ima and Zandi had arrived, they could see a great dustiness followed by branches and pebbles and some small animals looking surprised, from this dust the scream came falling to the ground creating a trail, after about thirty meters of pulley he stopped, the head of Biko came out from the vegetation, all dusty with dry branches in his hair and a pile of foliage in his mouth that spit out, then Biko looked at his arms and he saw some big ants starting to climb him up, he broke his eyes and screamed.
--A formicary !!!!! --
He got up and after a few hundred meters he threw himself in a small pond nearby, the girls enjoyed the whole scene smiling, then they got up, they cleaned the rest of the body walking towards the pond. As they arrived near the shore
- But where is your brother? Will he not be drowned,? -- Zandi asked.
--No, quiet, Biko is a fish, he can swim very well,-- Ima replied.
Biko emerged from the water and spitting out a fountain of water he said:
-- I've seen it ugly! --
-- Were you not the boy who made us a thousand of recommendations? -- Zandi asked ironically.
Biko coming out of the water replied:
-- It was not my fault, I slipped perfectly, the sword is caught for a moment on a bush making lose my balance, and then thanks to the luck I end up on a anthill – he ended squeezing the clothes and putting the sword back on his back.
--This area is the most west part of the forest, we have to start from here, let's distance each other so to be able to control a wider area of forest but still remaining on sight always – doing so Biko stood between the two girls and they began to scour the forest looking for Demetrio.
--Attention Girls, we must be discreet, we could run across the soldiers, so we have to observe well and make little noise – Biko précised.
- Usually he lives on the trees, you can rarely see him wandering on the ground, but we never know – Ima added.
--I have understood!-- Zandi answered, bending her head slightly forward in the direction of affirmation.
After a few hundred meters of reconnaissance Zandi glimpsed near a large trunk of a bare tree becoming gray, an animal that caught her attention.
--you’ll see that beautiful cat, very large and it seems docile -- Zandi pronounced approaching the animal.
