Ablaze || Aang x Reader

16: Zuko Was Actually Useful

I flew northwest, judging by the sun's position. Flying was something I hadn't done in a long while — at least not without a prince on my back — and I hadn't thought I ever would after losing my own glider.

I wasn't sure where on the map I was, but I knew that if I had previously been at a Fire Nation spa, then I was probably in the Fire Nation. I hoped that by going northwest I'd find the Western Air Temple.

Gyatso had said it was where I was born. Though I had visited it a few times, I never took the time to really appreciate it. I needed to find a place to do some planning anyway, and it was probably the closest temple.

It took several hours of flying to reach the temple. I stopped at a little Earth village that somehow hadn't been taken over by the Fire Nation despite its proximity.

I thought it would be a short trip. I only need to pick up a map and some food. My only problem was that I didn't have any money.

"Little girl, are you trying to scam me? I have paying customers to serve!" The stubby-legged cranky lady at the vegetable stand lectured me. I looked behind me and the only person there wasn't even a person, it was a pudgy cat and it was sleeping.

"That cat's got money?" I questioned.

The lady just glared at me.

"Ma'am, I am in no way trying to scam you, the money I was going to use to buy food here was stolen a while back." I lied. Well, it wasn't a total lie since I had had twenty-seven copper pieces I won from bets with Suki and I lost them when the ship sank.

"No money, no food." She said.

"You really wouldn't consider sparing a mango or a papaya?"

"Every fruit you see here I grow in my garden myself! You would have to be national royalty or the darned Avatar to get a drop of juice for free!"

"That's great! I'm the Avatar!"

She whipped out a wanted poster from beneath the counter and shoved it in my face. I was met with a printed picture of Aang.

"The Avatar is a bald boy! You are neither bald nor a boy!" She yelled. She was a very loud person.

"Yeah, well there's two of us!" I yelled back.

"That's ridiculous! My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents were the great-great-great-grandchildren of the last split-spirited Avatars!" She recounted while counting the greats on her fingers, "I would know if I met an Avatar, of which you are not! If you were an Avatar, you would be an airbender!"

I looked at her with the most annoyed face I had. Could this lady be more ignorant? All five of my arrows were visible and I was holding an authentic glider.

I was mad and I was a very petty person. So, without any further remarks, I raised my arm and shot a gust of wind at her face. It knocked her off the little stool she stood on in order to see over the edge of her counter.

She recovered quickly and looked at me with an expression of wonder. Then she pulled out glasses with the thickest lenses I had ever seen and put them on. The lady examined my tattoos and the glider before gasping.

"You're..." she gasped, "You are an Avatar!"

"Am I really?" I retorted sarcastically.

The lady hastily selected a few fruits and vegetables from her stock then shoved them into my arms, saying, "Please! Take these! My sincerest apologies for doubting you!"

"Thanks, it's alright though." I replied. She switched up on me real fast.

She stepped down and came out of her stall. Then she grabbed the hem of my robe and started dragging me further into town.