The first place that they stop is The Abbey. Or to be more accurate, they are camping alongside the Mo Ce Sea when they are found by a man named Bato.
He is from the Southern Water Tribe, left behind after receiving a debilitating injury from a skirmish with the Fire Nation. Raiden makes small talk while Mika eyes him warily from across their campfire.
Somewhere in that conversation, Bato invites them to come with him to The Abbey, which is where he has been staying to heal from his injuries.
Raiden happily obliges and they end up staying for two days.
The nuns tut over their filthy clothing and filthier persons. They run hot baths and Mika…can't deny that she enjoys it. It is the first true soak and wash that she has had in years.
They even gift her with some of their homemade soap and perfume!
Mika attempts to hide the latter from Raiden, but the way he smiles whenever she takes discrete sniffs from her drawstring pouch leads her to believe that he knows anyway.
Mika is sad to leave, but Raiden insists that they must keep moving.
Mother Superior is kind enough to gift them with a few jars of topical medication, fresh bandages, and a small metal bowl meant for cleaning and reusing the bandages. One of the other nuns gave Mika a few drawings of local plants that make good medicines, with their uses scribbled in the margins.
Even Bato contributed, seeing them off with three waterskins that he crafted, claiming that he made them out of boredom and would love to see them put to use.
They are thanked profusely for their generosity and wave it off like it is nothing, even refusing payment.
Mika isn't used to such…charity. It is unheard of in the streets and slums of Caldera City.
As The Abbey disappears in the distance behind them, Mika decides that she likes it.
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Their next stop is Makapu Village, which resides at the base of Mt. Makapu.
"That's an active volcano" Mika deadpans.
"Yeah" Raiden says.
"As in smoking active volcano. How close is it to erupting?"
Raiden looked pensive, "I once commanded a war ship that went past Crescent Island. That volcano erupted a hundred years ago and has been active ever since. I was told that The Fire Sages periodically check the lava levels."
"So, you have no idea."
Raiden shrugs. Mika sighs.
They ask some random merchant, who directs them to the home of someone named Aunt Wu. The second Mika lays eyes on her, all she can think is 'con artist.'
There had been a million of them back in Caldera City. Older women dressed in seemingly ornate clothing with as many beaded hair sticks as possible stuck into their buns to make them look more otherworldly and knowledgeable to their brain-dead clientele.
The worst part was it worked.
As evidenced by Aunt Wu, who had the entire Village convinced that they were safe from the volcano. Even after Raiden and Mika hiked up there to confirm that, uh no, they are very much not safe. But, of course, nobody listened.
They resorted to faking an attack from the Fire Nation under cover of darkness to drive everybody from the village and toward safer ground. It was tedious and difficult, and Mika had to own up to the Avatar thing and pretend to go off and kick Fire Nation ass to take back their town.
Really, she did try to save the town, but she has only just finished mastering all the intermediate katas for fire bending and accidental earth bending can only take you so far.
The entire place ended up getting wiped off the map by the lava.
The Villagers…were surprisingly blasé about the entire thing. Most of the older earth benders and carpenters just sighed deeply because apparently this was normal? Or at least had happened enough in the past for it to go from alarming, to tedious.
Raiden and Mika didn't end up resupplying because there wasn't enough to go around after the town was destroyed. Aunt Wu remained on her pedestal despite the inaccurate prediction. Mika completely tuned out whatever foolish reason people gave for why she wasn't really wrong. Listening to it would only make her stupider.
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Their next stop is Harbor Town.
They make it there after a few days' travel along the coast and a jaunt across a rickety wood bridge. Mika breathes a sign of relief when they make it. She has no desire to repeat their last river experience.
Once in the village, they agreed to help a local fisherman in exchange for some of his catch. The storm that the man ended up leading them into, the one that Raiden warned him about, almost kills them all. It's only Raiden's experience captaining a ship that saves them.
Unfortunately, this also leads to the fisherman discovering that Mika is the Avatar.
"So, this little chit is the Avatar?" The fisherman scoffs.
"Got a problem with that old man?" Mika asks.
Raiden, sensing the rapid rising of Mika's temper, grips her shoulder.
"She's the Avatar. You know any powerful earth benders who might be willing to teach her?" Raiden asks.
The fisherman hums thoughtfully, "No earth benders maybe…but I do have some advice for you."
For the first time in their acquaintance, the fisherman looks serious. "Look. I know that you two are Fire Nation and I hate Fire Nation. Bunch of murderers, all of you. But you're the Avatar and given that you're here and not kissing the Fire Lord's ass in his fancy palace, I'm gonna give you a tip. Head Northeast. Up over the mountains."
Then he just…walks away. Doesn't even give them half his catch as promised, the absolute asshole.
"It's not worth it" Raiden hisses, as Mika makes to follow him.
Even missing an arm, Raiden is ridiculously strong and manages to keep her in place with only a hand on her shoulder. Fire wisps out from between her lips.
"Calm down" he orders.
She listens. Clenching her fists and taking a few deep breathes.
Once the tension in her shoulders dissipates, Raiden takes his hand off and pulls out their map, furrowing his brow.
"There aren't any villages in the mountains. Does he mean for us to go to the Pohuai Stronghold? But that's a Fire Nation stronghold?"
"That's a little too Northwest, and he said Northeast" Mika says, "maybe he just wants us to get caught."
Raiden hummed, running a hand through his dark hair in what Mika had come to recognize as a deep-thinking tic.
They ended up heading Northeast…and coming upon some ruins.
"What the fuck" Mika deadpans, staring intently at a moss-covered statue of a badger mole.
There are buildings carved into the side of the mountain and overgrown with vegetation. Some look like they've collapsed in on themselves. Others look…almost like they've been burned.
Raiden rubbed his stubbled chin thoughtfully, "You know…early in the war Fire Lord Azulon attacked the city of Taku. It was a main Earth Kingdom port that distributed goods all over the world. Very strategically advantageous for the Earth Kingdom, before the Fire Nation destroyed it. It is one of Fire Lord Azulon's first big military victories in the war."
Mika kicked a stone. It cracked off the badger mole statue, separating into two neat pieces that flew in opposite directions.
"Why would that fisherman send us here?" she asked.
The former Fire Nation Colonel shrugged. "I think that he expected us to find something here. We may as well look. We need to find a good camp site and start a fire anyway."
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They end up camping in a half-collapsed home near the summit.
A noble of some sort had obviously lived here prior to the invasion. Half the building had been destroyed, but the other half is still standing, and that half is very ornate. Almost obnoxiously so.
Raiden took the time to gather several large rocks and organize them in a circle. One rock was three times larger than the rest, with it's flat face pointed toward the fire and a break in the circle directly opposite to it. Logs, the driest they could find, gathered from a dead tree that had fortuitously fallen inside one of the half-destroyed buildings and been protected from the rain and moisture, were stacked in a teepee in the center and lit with a wave of the former Colonel's hand.
A smokeless fire.
It was the first thing that Raiden had shown Mika when they started on the run. That, and how to draw the smoke out of a fire when there isn't time or resources to build a smokeless fire.
"It would be easier if we had an earth bender" Raiden explained, using a stick to prod at the kindling, "a true smokeless fire is in the ground with a separate opening to feed air to the flames. That is one of three things that fire needs. Fuel, air, and a spark. That is also why your breath is so important in fire bending."
Mika sat across from him, eyes on the four duck skewers roasting over the fire. They were lucky enough to capture and butcher two wild ducks when they were exploring the ruins.
Raiden never allowed them to stray far apart. He hadn't said anything until Mika got tired of seeing the tension in his jaw and shoulders whenever the prospect of them leaving each other's immediate sight came up. She'd blown up on him a few weeks ago about it, accusing him of not trusting her or not thinking her capable enough to take care of herself.
He had looked at her with genuine surprise that had morphed into pain. "I..It's not that" he'd said, whispered really, licking his lips anxiously before continuing, "I know that you're capable. You are an intermediate fire bender after barely a month of training with me and you are getting better at earth bending. Even without a teacher, you can perform basic earth bending moves. You don't need me to look after you. But…I mean, you're all that I have. My only family is my mother in the Fire Nation, but I betrayed them. I will never see her again. If anything happened to you…"
He'd trailed off but Mika understood. Really, they are all that they have right now. If anything were to happen to Raiden, Mika would be completely alone.
Now, they hunted and explored together. The ducks were a lucky catch and Mika had butchered them and placed the meat on four sticks in a feeble attempt to mimic chicken skewers.
"It's good" Raiden said.
It really isn't.
Without any cooking oil or spices, the meat is dry and flavorless. On top of that, Mika overcooked it. They couldn't afford to waste the food, so they ate, but it was necessity not enjoyment.
"I think that we need to keep heading Northeast" the former Fire Nation Colonel said, gazing at the map consideringly, "the fisherman did tell us to go over the mountains, after all."
"He also said that he didn't know any earth benders. Guy was probably just blowing smoke out his ass."
Raiden gave her a dry look, one dark eyebrow raised.
Mika hated that look. It makes her feel unreasonable even though she clearly isn't.
"What? He probably was. Guy even said that he hates the Fire Nation."
"He could have turned us over to the local authorities or sold us out to the rest of the village. We would have been imprisoned or driven out. Possibly even killed" Raiden points out, like the reasonable asshole that he is.
Mika huffs and tears another chunk of meat off her skewer.
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The next morning, they abandon their campsite and head further up the mountain. They start out at a heavy pace but are forced to slow down as the air grows thinner and thinner near the summit. Raiden is dealing with it much worse, given that he still has not recovered from his injuries.
"I'm fine" he breathes, half sitting on a boulder.
He is grimacing in clear agony with his good hand clutching his stump. Phantom pains.
One of the nuns at The Abbey had quietly drawn Mika to the side and warned her about those. They were often seen with Earth Kingdom Soldiers who lost limbs during the war or villagers that lost them to wild beasts. Pain felt from a missing limb, forgetting that the limb is no longer there, infection, all things that Mika would need to look out for.
Raiden had already beaten the initial infection during their escape, but the wound is still far from healed. If not for Mirari and Jing, he would have died. The additional treatment that Raiden received from Mother Superior and the nuns at The Abbey, as well as the topical medications that they were kind enough to gift them with were helpful, but it would require months to properly recover.
Mother Superior and Bato had both expressed surprise at his continued survival given how fresh his injury was and still is.
Really, Raiden shouldn't be hiking across the Earth Kingdom with Mika. He should be in the care of a doctor and resting until he's fully healed. Mika feels both guilty and selfishly grateful, depending on the day.
"It's about time for us to change your bandages" Mika says, already removing the drawstring pouch from her back.
Another gift from Mother Superior, two rolls of bandages to replace the ones that Raiden had been using. Prior to receiving them, they had been acquiring new ones from whatever local doctor they ran into on their way. Stealing or purchasing.
Mother Superior had tutted at both the poor quality of the bandages and the wrap job, then proceeded to teach them how to treat a wound.
Raiden quickly proved hopeless with only one arm, so Mika became his de facto nurse.
She also took charge of boiling the dirty bandages in hot water after every change. The small metal bowl that Mother Superior gifted her with is invaluable both for washing the bandages and for sterilizing water for Raiden to clean his wound.
"Keep still" Mika says, pressing a hand to Raiden's shoulder when he attempts to stand. "I'll build the fire and change your bandages, you rest."
The former Fire Nation Colonel grimaces, but obliges, sliding down to a seated position on the ground with the boulder at his back.
Mika doesn't bother with a fire, using water from their spare waterskin and fire from her palm. She's careful to place the bowl on a stone before heating it, not wanting to burn her hand with superheated metal, and places the dirty bandages inside, using a stick to stir.
Dried blood and flakes of skin come off in the water, but there is no pus, which is a good sign. Mika washes the bandages twice just to be certain, dumping the dirty water and cleaning the bowl between washes. Meanwhile, Raiden uses a scrap of wet cloth to wipe down the wound and apply the salve from The Abbey.
It is designed to both clean and numb pain from the site of the wound. But it does nothing to stop the phantom pains.
Raiden crunches down on wild nuts and massages the remainder of his bicep while he waits for Mika to rewrap his arm. She takes her time cleaning the used bandages and carefully dries them with fire bending before rolling them up and placing them in the – also freshly cleaned – metal bowl. They are then stored in her drawstring bag.
Only then does she approach Raiden with their spare bandages. It is good to allow the wound to breathe between changings. At least that's what Mother Superior said when teaching Mika how to take care of Raiden's wound.
It is truly horrible to look at. The doctor that Mirari and Jing called to treat Raiden managed to cap the bone with muscle, and the skin is slowly healing from the outside inward, but all the physical activity often causes the scabbing to break open and bleed.
With careful hands, Mika replaces the bandages.
Once she's done, she finally looks Raiden in the face and is rewarded with a tight smile of gratitude.
"You've gotten really good at this," he says, "thank you."
Mika ducks her head and busies herself with gathering their things. "It's the least I can do after you lost it defending me."
He drops his good hand on her head and ruffles her hair, "Would do it again in a heartbeat. You're worth it."
"Because I'm the Avatar?" She asks.
"Originally" he admits, "but now I think I would much rather give up an arm for Mika than I would for the Avatar."
Embarrassingly, Mika feels her eyes burn. She keeps her head down, hair draped around her face, and her lips pressed tightly together as she finishes packing up their meager belongings.
"I would give up an arm for you too" she whispers, once the lump in her throat has gone down.
After a long pause, his hand drops down on her shoulder and draws her to his side in an awkward half-hug. "Much as I appreciate it, we only have enough room for one cripple on this journey" he says, voice raspy, with a rough chuckle added on at the end.
Mika barks out a laugh and wraps one arm around his back. She's not used to touching or being touched, affection is such a foreign thing, but she doesn't want it to be.
"Guess we just have to kick everyone's ass then" she says.
Raiden laughs and squeezes her in closer, "You are the most vicious little Komodo rhino that I have ever met."
Mika laughs too, feeling a foreign sense of relief and warmth settle deep in her bones.
For the first time in a very long time, she feels like everything is going to be okay.
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