Brian did not like the idea of being the runt of the bigger boys' group. Scowling at the older boy, he moved closer to the younger children. "Maybe I like them better!"
"Awwww." The older kid grinned and squatted down next to Brian, ruffling his hair. "You are so cute when you are angry. I think I want to keep you as my baby brother."
"I don't want no stinky big brother!" Brian stomped his foot in the mud and folded his arms across his chest in a pout. "I wanna be a big kid!" Even as he said that, his eyes widened and he jerked his arms apart. He was acting like a little boy!
The older kid was watching him and nodded, still grinning. "The younger you get, the harder it is to keep control." He reached out suddenly and hefted Brian up in his arms. "And you are already looking like me."
Brian struggled as he was carried over to a place where there was still water, but the older boy was able to keep hold. "Stop fighting me just for second and take a look." His captor leaned over so they were both reflected.
Brian made the mistake of looking. His struggled immediately ceased and he stared at the uneven reflection. The older boy was coarse-featured and homely like most of the other children, with a tangled mop of matted brown hair and hazel eyes. The child in his arms was no longer blue-eyed and blonde-haired - the boy, who looked to be about 5, had medium brown hair that was getting darker, and his features were shifting even as Brian watched. To resemble the boy holding him!
"No!" Brian struggled again, trying to pull free as he was carried around to where the toddlers were making mud pies. His brother... no! the older boy pulled him free and set him down in the mud next to another child who might have been 3. When Brian tried to scramble away, he got dragged back. The older boy shook his head. "No, you have to stay here. This is where the babies play, and you are my baby brother. He scooped up a handful of mud and smeared it down Brian's chest. "Can you make a mud pie for me?"
Brian was confused now. He frowned down at his still-shrinking body, knowing he was not really a big kid. His small hands dug into the mud and he suddenly threw a handful that splatted on his brother's face and chest. "Oh, you did it now!" His big brother grinned and slathered Brian with mud all over, then hugged him tight. The embrace was really nice, and Brian hugged back as well as his arms would allow. When his brother finally set him back down in the mud, he looked different, but was still way bigger than Brian. His brother looked down at himself and sighed. "Dang it. That cost me a few years. But the Wizard will reward me for taking care of a snoopy stranger." Then he squatted in front of Brian again and grinned. "And it really is nice to have a baby brother who loves me and will do anything I tell him." He leaned over and kissed the top of Brain's head.
Brian giggled in delight and beamed up at his brother. He adored the bigger boy, though he had a strange notion his brother had been bigger before, not the 8 year-old he was now. There were many strange notions, like Brian being a grown-up, then a boy with pointed ears, and adventuring with a horse and a dragon and an elf-lady. But that was all silly. Brian splatted at the mud with his hands and giggled again in delight. His memories were still there, but they were being covered over by the much simpler and stronger identity of a three year-old peasant boy.
His big brother rejoined the older boys. Brian watched him for a minute, determined that he would be just like his brother when he grew up. Then one of the other little boys wanted to wrestle, and they tumbled clumsily in the mud together.
TRhe older boy watched Brian playing with a sly grin. The nosy adventurer would be unrecognizable to anyone from his own party, and he was now totally loyal to his 'big brother.' At the end of the day, he wouild take the brat to the wizard, and Brian would happily agree to anything he was told. Willing subjects were always valuable to the wizard. With luck, the wizard would reward him not only by making him an adult again, but releasing him from the town completely.