collision → atla, reader insert

chapter nine

A MASK WAS PRACTICALLY SHOVED into [Y/N]'s hands when she entered the village. She didn't complain though, paired with her hood, no one batted an eye when she weaved through the crowd of eager adults and enthusiastic children.

     Music blared in her ears as she took liberty in stocking up on food while trying some celebratory specialties merchants pestered her to purchase. Swallowing the last of her Roku style skewer, she wondered if she could take the moment to enjoy herself for once.

     She was stocked up on food and pretty sure she was unidentifiable. And this was a festival, after all, she thought. Hugging her cloak tighter her body, she didn't allow herself to ponder on the possible harm of staying a little longer before heading out. Besides, the skewers were a lot better than she expected.

     In every corner, there was something new to see. Of course, kiosks with clothing, accessories, food, toys, or anything else you could think of were everywhere. Men in colorful robes produced familiar rhythms that passerby clapped along to. A puppet show with a small crowd of youth played out with dragon puppets the children ooo-ed and aaa-ed at.

     What really caught her attention was the way fire was being used. [Y/N]'s only exposure to firebending was when she broke the Avatar out of the Fire Nation prison. Even then, he hadn't experienced it ever bent at her.

     Though as she watched the firebender morph her flames into the shape of a hippo-ox and the bright smiles that grew on the children's face in return, she saw something in the flames she'd never noticed before.

     Continuing to move through the town and taking in all the festivities, the messily rolled up poster burned a hole in her bag where she hadn't noticed her left hand gripping the strap so hard her knuckles were turning white. Even with her mask and hood, she felt as exposed as ever though no one paid her mind. She couldn't shake that feeling they all knew way more about herself that she didn't.

     And admittedly, that scared her.

     Waving off another seller trying to sell her some snack she'd never heard of, she drifted into one of the much larger crowds to ease her slowly-growing anxiety. A wooden stage was about twenty feet from where she was in the back of the audience. Two men dressed in animal furs shaped their fire into shapes and patterns. Even [Y/N] found herself entranced by the firebenders combining their talents to create an otter-penguin in the night sky.

     Applause broke out when the men bowed and exited the stage. Another man occupied their spot with a toothy grin large enough to be seen by [Y/N] in the very back. He wore flashy robes with bright flames on them.

      "Thank you!" He said when the applause died down.Someone brought a chair onstage and placed it behind him. "For my next trick I need a volunteer from the audience!"

     He made a show of scanning the audience for a volunteer bouncing between the several hands that shot into the air. The crowd applauded again when he pulled a masked girl from the front of the audience.

     The performer produced a red rope to restrain the volunteer to the chair. "This next trick is called 'Taming the Dragon'," he explained animatedly, "You will be my captured princess! Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!"

     [Y/N] felt a pang in her stomach. She wasn't hungry, so that could only mean one other thing—something was about to go horribly wrong.

     The performer used the fire from the lit totems on stage. He bent it into the form of a dragon similar to the puppets [Y/N] saw before. He expertly let it go so that it swerved above the heads of the audience before producing a thin, leash-like flame to "capture" the dragon.