collision → atla, reader insert

chapter twelve

     "You heard me," the older said. A small smile played at her lips.

    [Y/N]'s younger self watched her intently. She was smiling, too.

     "When we finally get out of here," she said, "We'll live in the Earth Kingdoms."

     The younger one tightened her hand around her cup of tea. "Why the Earth Kingdom?"

     "Because they have the best teas," the older winked, causing the younger to giggle.

     "Miss [Y/N]," someone materialized in front of the two. A slight bow came from the older woman, her eyes trained on [Y/N]'s younger self. "Your father wishes to speak with you."

     Smiles fell from the girl's faces and even a shiver ran down [Y/N]'s spine as she watched the atmosphere ripple from seven simple words. Still, the woman stood awaiting further instruction. When it became obvious the younger wasn't going to speak, the older did for her.

    "Thank you," she forced a small smile, giving the woman a nod.

     The woman bowed again wordlessly and retreated back into the home.

     "I had a weird vision this time," the younger one said when the doors slid close. "Freakier than usual."

     She stood, dusting her robes of invisible dirt.

      The older hadn't moved with her—their teas long forgotten. "You're gonna spill?" When the younger stayed quiet, she continued. "I know you like stalling, but he'll catch on soon." Silence again. "You're a Seer. For now, it's your duty."

     She sighed. "I know, but sometimes," she paused, lowering her voice, "there are things I don't think the Fire Lord should know."

     The older's eyes flicker with something too fast for [Y/N] to catch. "You should go before he sends someone again," she said, "I'll clean up here."

     And when the door closed again, [Y/N] was in her cheap little motel room again. The Sun beamed through the window and the bustling of the city drifted through shut blinds. She moved to her bag where she pulled out her poster. The paper was wrinkled from being squished by her other belongings and the ink was beginning to fade ever so slightly.

     She'd unwrapped and wrapped it up so many times, it was like muscle memory. The image was imprinted on her mind. But, after seeing that memory and hearing what that older girl (too young to be a mother, too similar to be a cousin—she had to be a sister) had called her—a Seer, she recalled what the young boy Reo told her months before. Her father wasn't looking for her, the Fire Lord was.

     Subconsciously, she glanced over to her bed where her scarlet robes were discarded in a stack under where housekeeping couldn't find them when she was out. She'd comped green robes at one of the villages she stopped through, working miscellaneous jobs to gain some Earth Kingdom money just in case she ran out of Fire Nation money.

     Though, she was glad to switch wardrobes—even styling her hair differently to fit in with everyone else. It eased her to know she'd probably looked different than her portrait on the posters that even when the Fire Nation invaded Omashu, her identity was never questioned. Yet, she was faced with another problem: leaving.

     A cup of tea was placed onto the table in front of her. The waitress gave her a small smile.

     "I assumed you'd want your usual," she said, dark brown skin shining in the Sun.

     "Thank you, Xian," [Y/N] said gratefully.

     She nodded politely, shuffling away at the sound of a customer ringing the bell at the counter. [Y/N] watched her for a minute before turning back to her steaming cup of tea. She'd been visiting this teahouse close to her motel frequently just to get outside every once in a while. As she sipped her drink, she couldn't help but think back to her sister from her memory. The Earth Kingdom does have good tea.

     But even then, that wasn't why she'd found herself in Omashu. She'd heard people talking about the city being one of the biggest Earth cities out there. If her sister was anywhere, it was in one of the Earth cities. She hadn't known if she could trust her completely yet—but she did know that they both had similar feelings about her father.

     It was truly a wonder how a man she'd yet to meet nor see make her mouth go dry by simply the thought of his presence. She'd never admit that when she can see the stars at night, she'd wished that the day they're face to face is not soon.

     Omashu didn't have her sister, but it granted her comfort instead. There were a lot of people there—too many people. But because of the tight-knit buildings, the roads were never crowded. Now that the Fire Nation dethroned the King and soldiers paraded through the town, the roads were even more scarce.

     Though, [Y/N] found solace in the small teahouse where she'd accidentally befriended a waitress. Xian, a girl shorter than her yet a few years her senior, was a long-time worker of the shop. She'd clocked [Y/N] being new instantly, but didn't question her identity as an Earth Kingdom resident at all.

     [Y/N] liked Xian. She was shy, so she didn't talk much, but [Y/N] was able to learn a few things. Like how she planned to escape Omashu with her younger brother to meet their parents in Ba Sing Se with the help of an underground resistance.

     [Y/N] took a mental note.