Chapter 7 - Via

"Just a little further and we'll be out of the dead woods." Via stated. "I have a hideout not that far into the forest, we just have to make it there and we should be fine."

Awwoooooo

"Is that wolves?" Aaron asked.

"We need to move faster." She said as she began running.

Aaron followed behind her but couldn't keep up because of the fact that he wasn't wearing anything on his feet. He stumbled, tripped and winced in pain as he stepped on rocks and branches that littered the ground.

Awwooooo!!

Via stopped and turned around to find Aaron was having trouble keeping up. As he was struggling to catch up to her she noticed two large shadows growing nearer to Aaron.

"Oh no, get down!" She yelled.

Aaron turned as a wolf the size of a truck jumped out of the mist at him. He fell backwards as the beast flew over him. The second wolf attempted to pounce on Aaron as he was down but was blasted away by an incredibly strong gust of wind. The wind dispersed all of the mist in the area and launched the wolf through several trees. Aaron looked over to Via as he was scared speechless. The wolf that stood between them growled and glanced back and forth between the both of them.

"Get ready to run to me." Via said.

As she said that the wolf ran for Aaron who was still shaken on the ground. Via slammed both of her hands on the ground and said...

"...kálymma."

Vines then lifted from the ground and wrapped around the back legs of the wolf causing it to fall forward.

"Come to me!" She shouted to Aaron.

Aaron hesitated to stand up as the wolf was still attempting to attack him but was just barely out of reach. The first wolf was now back on its feet and moving towards Aaron and Via again.

"Damn it!" Via said as she touched the ground again. "Kálymma."

A large vine erupted from the ground next to her and traveled over to Aaron who was just getting back onto his feet. The vine swiftly wrapped around his abdomen and pulled him over to where Via was.

"Come on." She said pulling him from the vine.

She then turned and sent another gust of wind towards the wolf that was now charging towards them. The attack knocked it back several meters but not as far as before. That didn't matter though because it gave Via and Aaron enough time to run away. Both wolves howled as the mist flooded back into the area.

"Come on we're right here." Via said as she was panting heavily.

The mist began to clear and the terrain began to display more green features. They stopped running as they entered the forest that Via mentioned before, however it was not at all what Aaron was expecting.

"What- where are we?" Aaron asked looking around.

"This is the Redwood Forest." Via stated.

Aaron took a minute to take in the fantasy like scene before him. The trees were a dark red brown color and their height was unbelievable. Each tree was the size of skyscrapers. They were so tall that small patches of clouds formed under the forest's canopy. Individual rays of sunlight peeked into the forest which illuminated the unique ecosystem that lived inside. Colorful plants and small animals roamed wild and peacefully.

"How's your feet doing?" Via asked.

"Oh, they're alright, I should be fine." Aaron answered still in disbelief of his surroundings.

"Let me see them."

He sat down on a mossy rock and allowed her to inspect his feet. Both of them had scratches and bruises but no damage that would be long lasting.

"This will help." Via said as she raised her hands over his feet.

Aaron watched as a green mist appeared from her hands and settled into the wounds on his feet. After just over a minute passed she stopped and was visibly breathing harder than before.

"How does it feel now?" She asked.

"There's no pain at all." Aaron answered standing up.

"That's good to hear..."

I don't know what she did, but it was probably a strain for her. Aaron thought as he watched her.

"How old are you?" Aaron asked.

"15."

"And you're out here by yourself?"

"Well, there's no one that I could be out here with. I've been alone for a while now."

"...Who's Venmi?" Aaron hesitantly asked.

Via also hesitated to answer.

"He was my older brother. He died a few weeks ago."

"...I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, I'm sorry that I brought you here. I spent weeks researching about the lake and I knew that the chances of me getting my brother back were slim, but I- I had to try."

She assumed that lake would bring her brother back to life, but it instead brought me here. It's safe to say I've been reincarnated in some way, but I still look the same as before.

"If it's alright with you Via, you can vent to me about your situation." Aaron said.

She looked at him, then crossed her legs and looked to the ground.

"My mom and dad were originally from Ventus on the air continent. I don't know what happened because I never asked, but for some reason they were on the run from authorities in Ventus. At this time my mom had just became pregnant with me and my brother was only nine years old. They decided that they would flee to the water continent because the two lands have a friendly relationship and we probably would be able to live here without being questioned. Somewhere along the journey from Ventus to here, my dad gave his life to protect us and ensure that we would make it here safely. Which we did. A few months after arriving on this continent, my mom gave birth to me. The next three years were actually peaceful for us. My mother taught my brother how to be a hunter and what it means to protect your family. He became driven by the fact that he was the man of the family even though he was only twelve. As he got older he steadily began to take on more responsibilities as 'the man of the family'. I didn't know at the time but apparently Venmi blamed himself for dad's sacrifice. He felt as if he wasn't strong enough to help dad with whatever obstacle they were against, and that's what led to dad sacrificing himself. That thought ate at him even though mom tried to convince him that it wasn't his fault. His strong sense of protection came from a negative place, but it wasn't necessarily a bad trait. However, a person with a trait like that has a huge weakness, and that's when they can't protect what they want to. My mom loved to explore ruins and learn about the history of the four great lands, and after I turned four she began taking me on her adventures. One day mom and I went to a ruin without Venmi and something terrible happened. Deep in the ruins we came across an actual witch. It's rumored very few witches still walk the lands and with our bad luck we happened to encounter one. Mom fought to protect me but I ended up handicapping her too much. We escaped the ruin but not before the witch placed a curse on my mom. The weeks that followed were depressing for Venmi and I as we watched our mothers physical and mental state deteriorate. With every day that passed she forgot who she was and who we were. It wasn't long before we had to restrain her because she started to attack us like a wild animal. I shouldn't have to say how difficult this was for Venmi to endure. But, during mom's adventures she collected many books and I started to read them on my own. After a year passed I found out that there was a way to break the curse on our mom and I told Venmi about it. The way to break the curse was simple enough. Either we get the person who placed the curse to lift it, or we can kill them. Easy enough right?" She said with a smile. "Of course Venmi rejected what I presented. There was no way the witch would just release the curse and we don't even know if it was still in that ruin. But the main reason he said no was because of me. Venmi was again blaming himself because he didn't travel with us that day mom was cursed. He thought if he came with us things would've been different. So he came to the conclusion that he would never leave my side and devoted his life to protecting me because he owes it to mom and dad. I went back to researching mom's books to try and find another way to lift the curse, but I had no luck. Then one day, mom's restraints came loose... At this point there was no traces of her left, just this wild animal we had tied up. She attacked me and was going about to kill me by strangling me. Venmi had no choice but to attack her and fight her off."

At this point Via began to wipe away tears.

"Venmi had no choice but to kill her. He killed her and- and... I'm sorry." Via said as her crying prevented her from saying anything further.

Because of her crying she didn't notice when Aaron moved over to her and embraced her with a hug. Aaron didn't know but it had been a long time since she was held like that. The feeling that she prayed she would get to experience again was finally given to her and it only made her cry more.

"If mom- didn't have to protect me then- she wouldn't have been cursed. If I was strong enough- to protect myself- Venmi wouldn't have had to kill her. She was crying when she was attacking me! Because of all that, Venmi spent the rest of his life- protecting me, and that only got him killed too! From before I was born, people were sacrificing their lives to protect me... if I was never made- then they would all still be alive! WAAAAAAAAAAA!"

She cried her lungs out for several minutes as Aaron held her in his arms as if she was his own daughter. Without saying a word, Aaron allowed her to release these emotions that she had been holding in for years.

"Saying it's been rough would be an understatement." Aaron said. "But I'm glad that you were able to tell me all of this. You can take your time opening up to me, it doesn't have to be all at once. I'll be waiting for whenever you're ready to tell me more."

"You're not leaving me?"

"Where would I go?" He replied with a smile. "I'm grateful to you, because if you were never born then I wouldn't be here right now. I still would be dead and I wouldn't have awaken in this world if it wasn't for you. So for that I say thank you, and to show my gratitude even more. I promise to stay with you moving forward."

"You'll stay... with me?"

"Yeah, I will. I can't become a replacement for your brother, because I'm sure he did a fine job raising you given the circumstances. And I probably won't be able to provide the same level of protection as he could but I-"

"I don't need you to protect me!" Via exclaimed. "Sorry, but I don't want anyone else risking their life for my sake. If anything I'll do my best to protect you."

"...Alright, I'm in your care Via."

Via stood up and wiped her face clean before facing Aaron with a smile.

"Let's go Aaron." She said.

"I'm following behind you." He replied.

Kaden buddy, I hope I was able to protect you. I think you'd be glad to know that I'm not quite dead yet. I'm gonna make the most of this second chance at life I've been granted. Until we meet again in the afterlife, stay well brother.