Chapter Text
With the adjacent forest being a charred skeleton of its former self along with the majority of the desecrated buildings, it seems almost unbelievable that a few people still remain in the fallen Earth Kingdom village of Shùmù two years after the Fire Nation all but razed it to the ground. In reality, when people have no where else to go they make do with what they have. Passports are hard to come by, and residents and wanderers alike came together to form this little community, always looking out for one another.
While springtime brings warmth and new life after the cold winter, for this region it also brings storms and the flooding of the river that runs through the middle of the small village. Today happens to be one of those stormy days and Jin is thankful for her stilted home, as she remains dry and warm in front of a cozy fire.
She is reading a slightly scorched book she found scavenging in one of the abandoned neighbouring houses when something out of the corner of her eye catches her attention. She rushes over to the window and notices what appears to be a person lying on the ground in the shallow flood water, completely exposed to the elements. After a few moments when the person doesn't seem to be moving, she grabs her cloak and shoes and rushes out towards them. The rain hammers away at her face and the wind threatens to topple her over but she pushes through it and kneels down next to the stranger—a young man with a large scar on his face. She tries to speak to him, shaking him in an attempt to wake him up, but he remains unresponsive and she fears for the worse. She hesitantly reaches for his neck and feels around for a pulse, sighing with relief when she picks up the faint rhythm. But he is terribly cold, wounded, and his face looks hollow, he won't survive long in these conditions—if the cold doesn't take him, the apparent starvation certainly will.
She clumsily drags him through the mud and water into her house, quickly disposing of his filthy wet clothes and drying him off as best as she can, briefly taking note of his injuries. She pulls him further into the house and onto her bed, finding some of her late father's old clothes to dress him warmly before piling several blankets on top of him. Bringing his body temperature up is of utmost importance and luckily the injuries on his body just consists of bruises. Other than that his body is just a bag of bones, and she wonders when he last ate something of substance. It's the only reason she was actually able to get him into the house by herself.
She stokes the fire nice and warm, and gets to work inspecting his head and face. She finds a bump on the back of his head, but luckily the only open wounds are a few small cuts on his face. She cleans the wounds out and applies a homemade ointment to stave off any possible infection. When she's satisfied she finally changes into some dry clothes herself, before cleaning up all the mud in the house and washing their dirty clothes, leaving it out to dry near the fireplace.
She checks on him a few times during the day keeping an eye out for a possible fever, her eyes are drawn to the angry scar over his left eye. What has this poor soul been through?
The next day, Jin wakes up in her chair with an aching back from the awkward sleeping position. She walks over to her bed where the stranger is still asleep, and feels his forehead. Luckily he doesn't seem to have developed a fever, but he is very emaciated and weak which is of great concern. She goes to the fire place and stokes the fire when he suddenly stirs, and his eyes weakly flutter open. Naturally, he looks confused and attempts to speak but he can't seem to find the strength.
"Shhh, don't speak. Just rest. I'll be right back."
She brings him some water, helping him bring it to his mouth until he finishes it, then she leaves again, returning a little while later with a bowl of hot broth.
"Drink this, you need to build up your strength," she says, yet again helping him.
"Thank you," he says hoarsely, barely above a whisper. When he touches the fabric across his chest and realizes it's unfamiliar he frowns. "What am I wearing?"
"You were completely soaked and freezing, I had to get you out of your clothes so your body heat could come back up again," Jin explains with a flushed face, realizing what he must be thinking. "Don't worry I didn't take everything off! I-I didn't see anything I wasn't supposed to, or anything!" She explains, panicking slightly.
He blushes when he realizes that included his pants but he's too exhausted to really freak out about it. "Uh, thanks... for saving me."
"I'm Jin, what's your name?" she asks, trying to break the awkwardness.
"I'm-" he starts, but pauses for a few moments before simply answering, "I don't know."
"Do you remember what happened to you?"
"No, I don't remember anything..." he says, frowning. If he had more strength he'd probably be having an existential crisis right now.
"I noticed a bump on the back of your head, I wonder if that has something to do with it?"
He feels around until he finds it himself. "Yeah, I must have hit my head against something."
"Or someone hit you over the head with something. You're pretty beaten up, and covered in bruises."
He tries to sit up and groans. "That explains why everything hurts so much."
She gently pushes him back down onto the mattress. "Don't get up, you should keep resting," she insists. "Let me know if you need anything and I'll help you."
Not having the strength to argue, he lies back down. "Thank you. I won't impose on you for too long, I'll be out of your hair as soon as I can."
"Don't rush yourself, it's actually nice having some company for a change. Though..."
"What?"
"Since you don't remember your name could you perhaps decide on one to use in the meantime? I don't want to go around just calling you 'stranger' all the time."
"You can pick one, I don't care either way."
"How about... Lee?"
"Lee... it feels familiar. I don't think it's my real name but something about it feels right."
"Good, Lee it is," she smiles. "Get some rest. I've got some chores to get done but I'll come check on you soon."