The Warrior And The Pacifist

Epilogue

Six weeks had passed since what Tamura secretly decided to refer to as The Battle of Taihua Mountain had passed. The first three weeks being reserved to ferry Baliph back to Misty Palms. When they had touched down close to where Leki and Tamura first had during their previous visit. Absolutely nothing had changed.

Admittedly Tamura had tried at least half heartedly to see if Baliph would reconsider leaving them, knowing that she was an irreplaceable member of his rather small inner circle. But Baliph was adamant that at least for now, her path lay with trying to find her tribe, and hope that they'd take her back.

Tamura had attempted to help Baliph in that quest, withdrawing his journal for the first time in weeks, flipping to an empty page and writing out a detailed account of every deed that Baliph had been party to since joining up with him, of course omitting some portions in favor of saying Baliph had helped defeat a great evil. Leki doing much the same on another sheet of clean paper. Their shared thought process having been if Baliph's tribal elders had letters not only from the Avatar, but from a Nomad then that would at least be enough to get her "in the door" so to speak.

Tamura had never been a man who easily showed how he felt about people, at least before he had met Leki. But before departing he had hugged  Baliph tightly, wished her luck, and told her if she ever wanted to travel with them again she would always be welcomed.

Though before parting Leki had asked. "Are you sure this is what you want to do?"

Baliph had been silent for longer than normal, her expression changing several times before it had finally relaxed. "You know...I'm not sure, at least not entirely. Spent so long running away from things that it feels strange running towards something for a change. I'm excited, but at the same time scared...if that makes any sort of sense."

"I think it does." Leki had replied with that sweet giggle that Tamura loved so much. "Yengi used to tell me that when we are at our lowest point then we are open to the greatest change. As wise as she was I doubt that was a saying she came up with on her own, but I think it fits in this situation."

Baliph had smiled at that.  "I want the thank the two of you for giving me that chance to change. If you ever need me again you know where to find me...though if another apocalypse is coming...maybe leave me out of it." She had finished with a laugh.  "Don't you two be getting into too much trouble without me now, you hear?"

That goodbye had been a somber one, both Tamura and Leki's eyes glued to the ground as they departed, watching as Baliph waved at them until she couldn't be seen anymore, Tamura had known he would miss her. But he knew that wherever Baliph would go now she would be in a better place than when he and Leki had first found her.

The remaining three weeks had been spent going across this so called "Earth Kingdom" back to where all of this had began for them. At least for Baliph anyways, Pungsan of course included in that. Heading towards the southern air temple they had made more than one stop in that path. First being a short but very important trip to the deserted ruins of Iyizi, to take the time to pay their respects to the dead. Almost poetically they had arrived right as the new moon had begun to appear.

Being back there had stirred anger inside Tamura, but at the same time it had left a pit of sadness as the two of them walked those deserted streets one final time. Looking out at those fields that would never be farmed again, looking up at that house Ren had shared with her children and realizing that it would never be filled with the love of a family again. Both of them having seemed to replay memories of the people who had once called that place home.

Leki had been silent during that, her hands clasped together in prayer. And Tamura had found himself doing the same. Muttering a similar prayer like he had given for Hong Bu.