Together, Korra and Kuvira cut their way through the mountains with earthbending. Once they got to the other side of the first mountain, they met a lush valley with a small pond, Kuvira turned and fell flat on her back. Exhausted from walking and starving through the desert for days, she fell asleep near instantaneously.
"Is she okay?" Korra asked.
"She was in so much pain from Mako burning her so bad she didn't really sleep at all in the desert," Wu answered. Mako cringed but didn't say anything.
Korra said, "I guess this is a good time to take a break."
Everyone else got as comfortable as they could on the hard ground, and waited for sleep to come.
The next morning, before sunrise, they rose and cut through more mountains. It took another few mountainsides before they finally came across a town in the middle of a valley.
"A village," Mako said, "we should avoid it, right? That was the plan?"
"I'd rather stop there and eat something," Wu whined as his stomach growled.
Kuvira turned to them and said, "We need a map. Mako, you're just the man for the job."
He said, "But we don't have money, how are we-" his eyes went wide, "Oh no! I'm not stealing a map. I am a police officer; I don't break the law." He waved his arms in defiance.
She replied smoothly, "Bolin told me otherwise."
"What?" he said, "You mean he told you about what I did with the triads? No! I told him never to say the illegal things we did out loud to anyone! This isn't right, I won't do it." He turned away from them and crossed his arms.
Kuvira walked around to face him and said, "I thought you said you were going to listen to me and do as I say."
Wu stepped between them and said, "Kuvira's right, Mako. You're going to have to go into that town and get the stuff we need. The rest of us all way too high profile. The king, the avatar, and the world's most famous prisoner can't do it." She raised an eyebrow at him. "No offense."
"I don't know about this," Korra said anxiously, "what if he gets caught?"
"He won't," Kuvira said, "he's a master of sleight of hand."
He sighed, wondering what Bolin didn't tell her about their childhood, then said, "Right. Maybe I can panhandle instead?"
"In a town that small you'll be lucky to get two copper pieces for an entire day. A decent map of the entire nation usually costs at least five silvers," she said.
Mako sighed and said, "Alright, I'll do it, but this better not come back to haunt me." He walked away toward the town.
When Mako returned, he brought out the map. "It's only of the western half of the kingdom, I figured we didn't need the east half." He handed it to Kuvira.
"Thanks," she said quickly unrolling the tube and laying it against the ground.
Korra raised an eyebrow as she looked her over and asked, "Do you have to sit like that?"
"Sit like what?"
"In the full splits?" she asked, "Seriously how are you doing that? Doesn't it hurt?" She tried to go the splits too but instead flopped over halfway down.
Kuvira said, "Slow down, you'll pull something if you go too fast." She turned her attention back to the map and frowned. "No, the train depot is further away than I remembered."
"We're around here somewhere," Wu said, pointing at the town they were next to, "and the closest train depot is all the way over there, and the swamp is down south."
"It's going to take at least a 5 or 6 day walk to the train depot avoiding all the trails," she said.
Korra asked, "What if we go on the trails?"
"3, maybe 4 days," she said, then shook her head, "but that's out of the question. We'll be recognized for sure. Word has to have spread by now that the avatar and the king is currently missing. It's too risky."
Korra looked up and asked, "What if we had disguises?"
Kuvira replied, "It's not a terrible idea. We would get to our destination a lot sooner."
Mako said, moving his arms horizontally for emphasis, "No way. The only way we're getting disguises is if I steal some, and I'm not stealing anything else!"
"Then the plan stays the same," Kuvira replied, "We're avoiding the trails." They moved on.
As the hours wearied on, and the mountains mellowed out into rolling hills, the greenery wasn't getting any easier to walk through. They climbed a hill and ventured into another overgrown valley.
"Good!" Wu shouted, running up to some red berries, "finally, some food!"
Kuvira's eyes went wide. She gasped, "No! Don't eat those!" She ran up to him and ripped it from his hands, then chucked it into the forest. "Those are makaola berries! You'll go blind!"
"I thought they were pakui berries!" he exclaimed, he let out of breath, "How could you tell the difference?"
"Pakui berries always grow in clumps of three," she answered, "like those," she pointed to the red berries down the small hill, in small groups of three instead of the massive clump Wu found earlier.
"Oh good!" he said happily, "Some real safe food this time." He snatched some berries up and shoved them down his throat. He nearly gagged. "They're not ripe yet." He turned them around and saw they were still half green.
Kuvira said, "It's the wrong time of year."
Korra said, "They can't be that bad." She ate one and her face went sour. "Okay, they're that bad."
"Better than nothing," Mako said, eating a few without hesitation.
He motioned for Kuvira to have some as well. "I don't want any," she said, "I'll be fine."
Korra asked, "Are you sure? You haven't eaten since yesterday." Kuvira nodded, hoping the questions would end. They didn't.
Mako asked, "What's the matter?"
"I'm too stressed out to eat," she confessed, "okay?" She hugged her own waist. The entire journey had her stomach in knots from the very beginning. Leaving jail, meeting a town that turned against her, crashing in the desert, being burned alive, and now walking miles a day on a whim that Toph would want to help them. What wasn't stressful about that?
Wu turned his attention back to his own stomach. "How much longer until we can eat real food?"
Mako replied, "It's going to be a few more days, Wu. Come on, you survived out in the desert and now you'll survive here." His stomach growled loudly.
Wu gestured to him wildly, "Your own stomach wants some real food too! You can't argue with that."
He sighed. "Fine, when we come across the next town, I'll see what I can do. For now, let's just keep moving."
Later, when they did finally reach another town, Mako went in alone and came back with some surprises. "I think I found a way in. Tonight, they're having a masquerade festival. They were giving out free masks everywhere." He pulled two of them out of his shirt.
One was the face of a fox, another of an old man. Korra asked, "Why did you only two?"
Kuvira grabbed the fox one and said, "I get what you're thinking."
"I don't," Wu confessed.
"We're going there tonight, and we'll steal some food, maybe some money for later," Kuvira explained, putting the mask on over her face.
Korra asked, "Just you two?"
"This isn't the time for amateur hour," Mako explained, putting his mask on too, "if we get caught, we're in serious trouble."
Kuvira added, "Sorry but you're going to have to leave this to some old pros."
Wu asked, "Kuvira, you've had to steal food before too? When?"
"I used to an orphan," she answered, "I've lived on streets identical to the ones down there. Just stay here and wait for us to get back."
As the sun set, Kuvira and Mako made their way back into town. With the streets teaming with people, it was easy to take advantage of the crowd. Kuvira did her signature trick; one she hadn't done since she was 8 years old. She made the ground move just enough for a fruit stand to drop some food. Mako would swoop in and help the owner pick them up off the ground. He would take one for himself, and every once in a while, the owner would give him a few one for being so helpful.
That wasn't the only trick Kuvira knew. Being a metalbender, she could take the coins people had on them directly out of their pockets without touching them. A few coppers here, a silver or two there. No one would notice a coin or two missing. After she managed to get her hand on a gold, Mako stopped her. "What are you doing?" he asked, "We're only on the road a couple of days. We don't need all this money."
"I was thinking we could stay at an inn for a night or two along the way," she replied, whispering."
"It's too noticeable," he insisted, "you know we can't."
She knew he was right, but she also wondered how much more sleeping on the ground, avoiding building fires, and staying off the trails the group could take.
Turns out, she wasn't far off. By the next evening, after the food they had gotten them had all run out, Wu had had enough.
"I know this is only temporary," he said, "but this sucks." He kicked a rock into a tree.
"I don't want to sound like a whiner," Korra added, "but I'm starting to agree with Wu. Its taking way longer than it should to get the train depot because we're not on a clear-cut trail." She used earthbending to take down some thick vegetation in front of them, revealing another town by a riverbed.
Mako sighed and asked, "Then what do you suggest?"
Kuvira said quickly, "Disguises."
"What?" Mako asked.
"I'm not crazy about it either," Korra said, "but at this point we don't have much a choice. I don't know how much more tall grass I can take."
Kuvira chimed in, "You don't have to steal anything this time, I got us enough money to get exactly the kind of disguises that we need." She pulled out all the coins she stole from people's pockets before.
Wu looked up at her and asked, "Where did you get all that money?"
Ignoring him, Korra asked, "What did you have in mind?"
"Make-up is cheaper than clothing," Kuvira explained, "Wu, Korra, and I, the most recognizable here will cover our faces in fake burn scars. Also, maybe get Korra a jacket or something to hide her water-tribe origins so she doesn't stand out as much." She gestured to her bright blue shirt.
Korra looked down at herself and nodded in agreement.
Kuvira continued, "Most of these places will still probably recognize me, so I'll keep wearing the mask. We'll claim my throat was burned out by a firebender and I'm too shy to show my face."
"That..." Korra said awkwardly, "sounds terrible. You can't think of a less tragic story?"
"It doesn't matter anyway, it's not like we're going to come across anyone else out here," Mako said, "I'll buy the make-up and be right back."
It didn't take long for the transformations to be complete. Although he wasn't famous, not wanting to stand out, Mako also added burn scars to his face. Korra put on a green jacket. Now instead of being the avatar, the king, and the world's most famous prisoner, they were now three people who happened to look like those people. Kuvira went the extra mile. She hid her beauty mark and took her hair out of the bun. Instead opting to go for the simple braided hairstyle. With the fox mask on, no one could tell she was once The Iron Maiden.
"Now we need a good cover story," Kuvira explained, "in case we run into any other travelers now that we're using the main trails."
Mako asked, "A cover story? Why bother?"
"What are a bunch of young adults doing traveling all the way out here?" Kuvira said, then shrugged, "Someone is going to ask that sooner or later. If you guys can't get your story straight, I'll come up with one myself and you might not like it."
Mako said, "Alright, I'm a cop from Republic City. There. Story covered."
She raised an eyebrow. "Okay, cop-from-Republic-City. What are you doing all the way out here in the middle of nowhere?"
He panicked. "Uh, stuff?" Korra giggled. He added, "It's none of their business anyway."
"Right," Kuvira replied, "that'll win people over."
They carried on anyway, this time making double-time thanks to the wide clear-cut trail they found. There was no need to hide a fire or campsite either. Instead, they stayed right off the trail, not bothering anyone.
It wasn't until Kuvira stood up to get some water after dark that she ran face-to-face with an old couple of nowhere. "Ahhh!" She covered her mouth, almost forgetting she was supposed to be mute.
The old couple barely moved. "Oh, sorry dear," the old woman said, "We didn't mean to sneak up on you. We just thought we'd see what the fire was all about."
Korra said, "We're just camping out."
The old man asked, "Mind if we join you?"
No! Kuvira thought. She wondered if she had met them before. Were they earth kingdom? It was almost guarenteed that they were. What if they recognized her, or Korra, or Wu? Then what? She never thought a couple would sneak up on them in the middle of the night. The disguises worked best in passing. At least it was dark out, so they couldn't get a good look at their faces.
"Um," Mako said, "okay."
As they sat down around the fire, Kuvira sat next to Korra anxiously. As if to read her mind, Korra asked, "Where are you from?"
"The northern water tribe," the old man answered, "we've been wanting to spend our older years traveling around the world for a while now but after the earth queen died this whole country turned into a mess. Then that lady showed up...the iron something or whatever they called her. I can't remember her real name now."
"Kuvira," Wu said. She glared at him through the fire.
"Yeah, her," he continued, "ever since she was in charge this whole country is so much better."
"We can travel in peace now," the old woman said, "and you must feel the same. What are a couple of strapping young men and beautiful young ladies like yourselves doing out here in the middle of nowhere though? Young people tend to stick to the cities."
Kuvira raised an eyebrow and looked at the other three. They all stared at her in mild panic. Silence. Now knowing she never met them and there was no way they could recognize her, she turned back to the old couple and answered, "Oh it's part of our religious studies to wander the world first before deciding on dedicating ourselves to becoming nuns and monks."
Wu nearly choked.
Mako's eyes twitched.
Korra said as smoothly as she could muster, "Yeah, I can't wait to become a nun."
"So, you're all celibate," the old man said, looking at all of them, "no wonder I can't figure out who's dating who."
"Yes," Kuvira replied, faking a smile, "we're celibates."
The old woman said, "Oh, what an interesting path to take in life. What made the four of you each want to become nuns and monks?"
"I love meditating," Korra answered, trying her hardest to hide the pain in her voice, "I want to spend the rest of my life meditating." She nudged Kuvira hard. "Your turn."
Kuvira put her hand on her heart and answered, "I've always wanted to be part of a sistren." She turned to Mako and Wu who stared awkwardly.
Mako said, "Right, being a monk has just always sounded..." he turned to Wu.
"Interesting," Wu finished, "being enlightened, and spiritual, and everything sounds great." He gulped.
Thankfully the rest of the evening was uneventful. The next morning at sunrise they parted ways. Before they could even make it around the next corner, Korra asked, "What in the world is a sistren?"
Kuvira replied, "Really, you're asking me that now?"
"I can't stop thinking about it!" Korra said, "Seriously, what is it?"
"Sisterhood."
Mako asked, "Why couldn't you have just said that?"
"I had to do something," Kuvira defended, "all of you were just sitting there in a panic. I told you that if you couldn't come up with your own coverstory that I would make one for you."
Wu said, "That's it, next time I'm the one coming up with the cover story." He pointed at himself with his thumb.
The next evening, they found a farm in the countryside Kuvira knew she hadn't come across before. The farmer was a nice older man who had enough room and food for them to stay for dinner.
He asked innocently, "So what are a bunch of youngsters like yourselves doing traveling out here in the middle of nowhere? Usually, you kids are busy backpacking more exciting places than this."
Before Kuvira could say anything, Wu blurted out, "We're part of a traveling circus!" They all turned and stared at him in shock. "Sorry," he said, "a bit too enthusiastic?"
"A little," the old man said, "you are circus people then. I haven't seen one of those in years, not since before the queen died anyway. I haven't gotten out much since all that craziness started out there. Anyway, what are your acts? What do you do?"
They all stared at Wu to start since he's the one who got them into that mess. He answered awkwardly, "I am a...uh...badger mole tamer. I make them dance and use their earthbending in unique ways." He smiled big.
Kuvira answered, "I'm an aerialist." She turned to Korra who was clearly lost.
"I'm a...I swing in the air..." she answered.
The man said, "Oh, a trapeze artist, now that's a neat trick. So is flying through the air on nothing but fabric. What's your act, young man?" He turned to Mako.
"I..." he started, "juggle."
The old man's eyes went wide. "Can I see some of that?" he asked.
Mako panicked. "I don't have anything to juggle here, sorry."
"The name's Jingo in case I didn't say earlier," he carried on, "what are all your names?"
"I'm Sarita," Kuvira said, then turned to the rest of them, panicking. She hit Korra sitting beside her and answered, "She's Senna."
"I'm Mako!" Wu blurted out.
Mako side-eyed him for a second and said unenthusiastically, "I'm Bolin."
The next day, the group carried on to their destination. As they left the old man's farm, Kuvira said, "Really Wu? If you're going to make us be circus people, can you actually come up with something real to do? Badger mole tamer, who's heard of such a ridiculous notion."
"Actually, Kuvira while you were taking over Republic City and being an overall conquering dictator," Wu explained, "I was underground evacuating the innocent people you were putting in harm's way. I sang to badger moles from the local zoo and tunneled our way out of the city." He smiled at himself.
Kuvira gave him a bewildered look.
"He's telling the truth," Mako replied.
"No," she said hastily, "no, I don't believe that for a second."
Wu said, "Okay then, don't believe me."
As they continued to walk, she muttered to herself, "That train depot better come sooner rather than later."
