Chapitre 6: Meeting A Dwarf

"So where are we going exactly?" Julia asked as they made their way along the dirt road. "You didn't just set out without a particular place in mind did you?"

"We've been walking for around 10 minutes or so and you just now asked me that?" Victor replied, shooting Julia an amused glance before pointing at the distance where a line of trees could be seen, indicating some sort of forest. "We're headed over there."

"As I said to the villagers before departing, we wont last long without food or water. We need to go some place where we can get both of these things and find temporary shelter before moving on to somewhere else." Victor reached out and tapped Julia's chains which still hadn't been taken off. "We also need to find something strong enough to break those annoying bracelets you got on. Not to mention we still haven't removed that dog collar from around your neck."

Julia touched the black collar fastened around her neck, a symbol that someone was a slave and belonged to someone else, another persons property. "I think I'll keep this collar on actually, its safer to pretend that I'm your slave than to wander around without it. However I do agree on taking off the chains to my hands and feet."

"All things aside, our first priority is locating a clean source of water," Victor said as he stared at the trees in the distance. "Preferably a lake where I can rinse off the smell of smoke as well as my wash my clothes. Of course I may be asking too much."

The two of them proceeded to walk in silence for a while as they walked closer and closer to the line of trees. It wasn't an awkward silence but more of a calming lapse in noise that allowed the two of them to think over the numerous things they had on their minds. Victor was debating what to do next while Julia was mulling over all the events that had happened to her in such a short amount of time.

After around 30 more minutes of walking in absolute silence, the two of them stopped at the edge of what was indeed a forest. The base of the trees alone were at least fifty feet and the dense foliage made it almost impossible to see very far into the distance. Still though, they had no choice but to enter. The only other option was to go back the way they came and head for the other village but Victor had already said no to that.

"Guess we should get moving," Victor said, finally breaking the silence. "Try not to get lost and stay close to me. If you get lost imma start calling Zoro and brand you as the person who has no sense of direction."

"Zoro?" Julia asked. "Why would you call me that? Furthermore, why label me as anything when getting lost in this forest would probably be pretty easy?"

"Cause I just really wanted to give an anime reference," Victor answered honestly as he began stepping over the bushes, making his way into the foliage. He had to constantly check to make sure there was nothing to stab his feet as he didnt have his flip flops with him. "Lets get moving Jules. We should find a water source before the sun fully sets."

Julia decided to keep quiet instead of responding despite wanting to know what an "anime reference" was. She simply followed the young man into the woods, also making sure that her bare feet didn't hit anything sharp. She could always heal her foot if she did scrape it but she didn't want to waste her magic just in case something else came up that required its use.

For a while, these two trekked through the woods while every so often stabbing their feet on branches or getting bitten by bugs or ants. The travelling itself was pretty slow as well not only because of their bare feet but also because of the seemingly endless amount of bushes and fallen trees that blocked their path. These obstacles by themselves were a pain in the ass and put them both in a rather sour mood.

However, fate finally seemed to smile on them as once they passed through another crop of tall bushes, they finally found not only their source of water, but also a place to bathe. Behind the last bush was a large crystal clear blue lake with, oddly enough, an opening in the trees that allowed them to see a darkening sky tinged with red, orange, and yellow.

"I have finally found it," Victor exclaimed, falling to his knees. "This must be heaven!!"

"Shouldn't we check to make sure that the water is drinkable?" Julia asked as she stepped up next to her friends collapsed form. "It may look good but it doesn't mean its fit to drink let alone bathe in."

Pushing himself to his feet, Victor nodded his head. "Your entirely right Julia!! We should check it out right away!!" Taking off his shirt and tossing it to the side, he broke into a run heading straight for the water.

However, right when he was about to jump into the water, something slammed into his stomach and sent him stumbling back as his breath was knocked out of him. He fell on his ass, struggling to suck in air while his eyes attempted to pin down what had hit him. Embarrassingly enough it seemed, the thing had hit him was a rather short girl with purple hair and purple eyes.

The girl was around 5 feet tall with purple hair that reached the middle of her back and was tied up into two pigtails. She wore a white crop top and a loose skirt held up with a thin copper belt that had a skull in the front of it. She wore black glove that also had skulls on them and a white hat that had two pointy ends that mimicked cat ears.

"The hell did you think you were about to do?" The girl asked, her voice ringing loud and clear as well as containing unmistakable hostility. "Hopping in this lake is prohibited if your a human. All humans are disgusting creatures and would only dirty the pureness of this lake."

"I'm so confused," Julia said, unable to understand what was happening. She hadn't even noticed when this girl appear, let alone what she had done to hurt Victor to the point where he was on his ass struggling to regain oxygen. Things were just happening so fast and her brain couldn't cope.

"You, elf, however are allowed to enter," The girl smiled and gestured with her hand. "That foolish human has no right to even be in your presence let alone travel with you. Honestly killing him would be a huge favor to you."

Julia wasn't sure what to say to this short girl except ask the question she most wanted to know. "Who are you?"

"My apologies," The girl replied, lowering her hands and giving a slight bow. "My name is Astra Carda and I'm a dwarf currently living in these woods. Its a pleasure to meet you!!"

"A dwarf?" Victor croaked out after finally catching his breath. "I guess that explains why your so short!! Also explains why your so damned strong! Damn nearly killed me you psycho!"

Victor pushed himself off the ground and stood back up, rubbing his stomach. "That really hurt you know. I could've died!"

"Its a shame you didn't," Astra shot back, her cat-like purple eyes glaring into Victors neon blue ones. "Someone who enslaves an elf doesn't deserve to live in the first place. I should've hit you as hard as I can instead of just tapping you gently."

"That was a gentle tap? Motherf*cker felt like you hit me with all your strength!!" Victor coughed a few times before continuing. "Also, whatcha mean enslave? Jules has those chains on because I RESCUED her from her owner. Of course I don't really need to explain any of that to a little kid like you!!"

Julia didn't say anything as she watched the two go back and forth. She had so much to say but she also didnt want to draw the attention of them as the figurative sparks were still flying. She was smart enough to realize that this dwarf known as Astra wasn't a bad person despite all of the rude things she was saying.

"Who are you calling a kid? I happen to be 35 thank you very much." Astra stomped her foot in frustration which didn't really help her case. "You humans are so dumb but I bet if you could live hundreds of years like the dwarves then you'd at least be a fraction as smart."

"35? Is that how many brain cells you have left?" Victor was actually having fun toying with Astra even though he found her slightly annoying. "Also, it doesn't matter how long you live if your not smart enough to learn basic manners you idiot!! You need to ask questions before you attack someone.....didnt anyone ever teach you that?"

Astra looked like she wanted to seriously punch Victor in the face and she probably would have if not for the fact that Julia stepped in. She had eventually had enough and decided to just clear things up before someone (mainly Victor) got hurt.

"What he said before was true," Julia said quickly as she walked to stand in between them. "He saved me from slavery just a few hours ago and we didnt have the chamce to remove my chains yet. This man has done nothing but help me in every way possible. Some humans may be filthy and disgusting but this one is definitely not...at least not to me."

Astra stared at Julia for a few seconds before letting out a sigh and shaking her head. "Fine, I'll let him into the lake. However, dont think for a second that this means I've accepted you. Your nothing but scum and you always will be!! Its just a matter of time before you show your true colors."

With those words, Astra turned around and walked away towards another section of the forest before disappearing entirely. Victor was confused as to why she gave up so easily despite clearly hating his guts because of his humanity. She gave off a murderous vibe yet the girl had held herself back purely because Julia had vouched for him.....it was truly confusing but Victor had no choice but to accept it.

"I f*ckin hate dwarves," Victor muttered softly.