Scar

Scar Part IV

Eternities passed between days. The only entertainment was watching the scenery change beneath their feet from temperate land to desert. Silence manifested itself as an itch of the mind that could only be scratched by witty conversation- a luxury Evelyn refused to purchase with her pride. Instead, she let her words show the wrath that had been churning inside her to come to boil over her lips. 

"You are the one who every state alchemist has heard of. The mighty scar. Tell me, with a name as bold as that, why are you being so cowardly? You could show your bravery by settling whatever grudge you have, instead of taking so many lives." His face remained stoic as if he had never heard her words. She decided to say what every Ishvalan loathes to hear. "You're a disgrace upon the name of Ishvala." She spat at his feet, turning a spot of sand to mud while a few stray drops mingled with the leather of his shoes. He stopped, jaw tensing. Anger mutated his chi into a chaotic, red swirl that devoured him in hatred.

"I'm a disgrace?" He sneered. "Your affiliation with those military dogs is a disgrace to our people, and your alchemy is a disgrace to the entire cosmos. I should kill you where you stand." They glared into each other's eyes, each holding back their own clenched fists.

"These 'dogs' had families. What's your logic behind making widows and orphans?" 

"They nearly wiped out our race."

"Should we wipe theirs out as well? Doesn't seem like what our God teaches."

"We aren't wiping them out. We're killing only the alchemists. They are what took away our homeland, our families."

"Revenge helps nothing. It only breeds never-ending hatred. Once that is formed, more wars start, more lives are lost, and when it starts, where will it ever end? It's a cycle that repeats constantly without a resolution in sight. We shouldn't risk another war- another attempt at our extermination." The only sound after this was the growling of their stomachs.

"We should find food. Our provisions are almost gone," he said, scanning his surroundings.

"Should have thought of that before you kidnapped me." He pretended not to hear her retort.

They walked forward, both hunting for anything they could find, but there was nothing. As they marched, their stomach's rumbles turned to roars in a desperate attempt to get attention and, more importantly, food. Just as Scar was about to break into their low reserves, Evelyn shouted-

"Here! Over Here!" He saw her violently digging in the sand. He crouched by her side just in time to see her pull out the top of a pineapple. Frustrated by this mockery, he snapped.

"It's an already eaten pineapple, you fool. Come back to me when you find the rest of it." He angrily started walking forward.

"You're the fool. This is a trail- look." His eyes moved across the horizon, and indeed, a few yards ahead, he saw many pineapples peaking through the sand. "It's a trail to an oasis," Evelyn stated smugly, "fool." 

Before he could question her, she ran.  He tried his hardest to keep at her heels, but his body lumbered in comparison to this gazelle. He nearly ran into her when she stopped dead in her tracks. Before them shined a pool of water surrounded by trees in full fruition. 

"Mangoes!" She reached up and plucked one, then two, then four, until her arms were full. Scar followed her as she gathered the fruits, his mouth salivating at the thought of their sweet nectar. He eagerly aided in their washing and preparation. 

At some point during their feast, a rustle sounded in the bushes. 

"What was that?" Evelyn asked nervously, for there were bandits around these parts. Scar began to rise slowly, the look of a hunter in his eyes. She rose with him.