Chapter 6

"Excuse me, Miss?" Talya said, standing behind the counter. Talya had her hair up in a bun, she was wearing a purple sweater and shorts that ended just above her knees.

"Yes?" The woman said, turning to face her.

Talya rubbed her neck nervously. She let out a nervous giggle. "Before I ask you what I want to ask you I should probably introduce myself. My name is Talya." She reached her hand out across the counter.

The woman took it. "Cynthia. Lovely to meet you." She said with a smile.

"Lovely to meet you, too." Talya said, returning the smile. Her nervousness melting away warmly with the friendliness she was now encountering.

Cynthia released her hand and stood hand in hand behind the counter. "So what did you want to ask me?"

Talya rubber the back of her neck again, the nervousness returning. "I was...hoping to ask you about the scars on your cheek. They just, they fascinate me. I was hoping to learn about the story behind them."

Cynthia touched her cheek with one hand. Obviously returning to that night. Reliving the memory. Before quickly coming back to present day. She looked at Talya, her smile disappearing.

"Come with me." She said.

Talya and Cynthia walked through the village together, Cynthia recounting her story to Talya in grave detail. Talya listened intently. She almost didn't believe Cynthia when she told her that it had only happened a few short months ago. It shocked her. Talya couldn't believe that such people existed in this world. Both people like Tuyaka and people like the Fire Nation.

"So those people are still out there? People like the Fire Nation?" Talya asked.

"Yes. I'm afraid so." Was all Cynthia could respond with.

"And Tuyaka is as well?"

"Well yes. But what he did wasn't born out of evil such as what the Fire Nation did."

"In a way it was. There was no justification for killing all of those soldiers, Cynthia."

Cynthia stopped walking. Unbelieving what she was hearing.

She spoke harshly. "How can you say such a thing?"

Talya spoke back, calm. "Well what did they do Cynthia?"

"They didn't help me or stop their Commander!"

"Well neither did any of your villagers. The only one who spoke out was Tuyaka. You're condemning all of those soldiers just for their connection to the Fire Nation. They did nothing wrong. It was their Commander who did, not them."

Cynthia turned, showing her back, and began to walk away from Talya. "I will not listen to you defend those Demons after what they did to me!"

"They did nothing to you! It was that woman! Not them!"

Talya watched as she left her. She felt she hadn't said anything in the wrong really. In her mind she was entirely right. Those soldiers, according to the story, did not deserve death. Nor the condemnation they were being stuck with. It was wrong to her. She truly believed it in her heart.

"Madame?" Someone spoke to her. Talya turned and saw a large man walking toward her. She immediately assumed it was Tuyaka.

"Are you Tuyaka?" She spoke, crossing her arms in front of her chest. She did not like the look of him. Not at all.

"I am." He said. Stopping a few feet in front of her. "And you are?"

"My name is Talya." Talya said quickly. She did not want to speak with him. But at the same time, she needed to learn about him. She wanted to hear why he had decided to kill all of those soldiers. What his reasoning was, his justification. She found herself needing to know.

"I heard you speaking with Cynthia, Miss Talya. I heard you say that those soldiers did not deserve their death."

"Did you now?"

"I did."

"So why did you kill them unjustly? Why did you feel they needed to die? They had not hurt anyone. They did not even defend their Leader. It sounds to me like they would have left peacefully."

Tuyaka closed his eyes and crossed his arms as well. He took a deep breath in, then out through his nose loudly.

He spoke, obviously irritated. "Why do you defend those demons sent from hell?"

"Why do you demonize them without cause?"

Tuyaka shook his head. "Do not answer my questions with questions."
"You did the same to me."

"You are a child!"

"You are a murderer!"

They stood silent now. Both of their eyes thrown open. A crowd had formed around them, small but still growing. No one spoke. Just waiting for someone to speak again. Talya felt everyone was staring at her, anger in their eyes. She could feel the anger from their heat bearing down upon her.

Tuyaka spoke again. "We killed them because they were soldiers sent to murder us all."

"You have no proof of that!"

Tuyaka was far passed the point of anger now. "Their presence in our village was proof enough!" He pointed at her accusedly. As though she were an agent of the Fire Nation herself.

Talya reached to her waist and felt her pouch. She felt she might need it soon. Slowly she pulled it open and poked her fingers inside, taking hold of a seed between her fingers and putting it into the palm of her hand. She closed the pouch back up and stared at Tuyaka.

"Why do you defend those hateful spawn?!"

"Because I do not condemn those that I do not know."

"They've terrorized the rest of the free world long enough that there is no reason to know them. They follow their orders blindly an-"

"No! Your story of what happened months ago is proof enough that they do not. Those soldiers did not follow their orders. They simply stood by, just as your village did without helping Cynthia."

Tuyaka took another breath. Trying to control himself. "I took care of them before they could make the decision to attack us and follow their orders."

Talya opened her hand and dropped her seed into the dirt beneath her feet. "Then you are no better than they are."

"How dare you compare me to the Fire Nation!" Tuyaka shouted.

He launched himself into the air and pulled his hands apart violently. The Earth split apart beneath Talya's feet, launching dirt and rocks left and right. Talya fell quickly, disappearing. Before the Earth slammed shut again.

Just as before, all was silent.