collision → atla, reader insert

chapter one

     "Hello." He said, almost hesitantly.

     [Y/N] saw his eyes flicker from her attire then back up to her face. The long cloak messily thrown over her bag and bow was bound to create some suspicion that she was prepared to ignore.

     She ignored his greeting. "Is there a town nearby?"  

     Taken aback, he replied, "Yes." He tied the rope in his hands around a wooden pole burrowed deep into the sand, then pointed behind him. "That trail goes right into the village."

     She followed his gesture to see two trees framing where the sand morphed into a stone path. She internally fought the urge to slap a hand to her forehead.. How did she not see that before?

     Despite him answering her question, he continued, "I happen to also be heading into town, if you want some company."

     [Y/N] eyed him. He was taller than her with slightly tanned skin. But what stood out to her was the red attire he wore. Compared to hers, his clothing was duller and much more . . . simpler. She easily shrugged it off assuming red was just a popular color.

     "No, thanks," [Y/N] said finally.

     Without bidding a goodbye, she walked away. She intended on that being the end of the conversation but much to her dismay, the boy caught up with her and brought the stench of fish with him. She probably wouldn't have minded if the smell wasn't strong enough to make her nostrils flare up.

     "I haven't seen you around before," he said after a bit of silence. "Is this your first time here?"

     She kept her eyes forward. The boy was way too casual for this to be their first time speaking to one another. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he watched her expectantly for an answer. She fought to keep her neutral expression, fighting down the grimace that wanted to make its way onto her face.

     "Yes." She replied shortly.

     "Where are you from?" He was quick to ask another.

     [Y/N]'s eyebrows twitched. How many questions did this boy have?

     She opened her mouth to give another short answer, but closed it when nothing came out. She didn't know where she was from. Did she know anything?

     "Away." She looked away to hide her scowl. "Far."

     "How far?"

     "Very."

     Surprisingly, he didn't have a quick response to that. [Y/N] was relieved. Maybe he had gotten the message that she wasn't in a talking mood. Only a few seconds passed when she was proven wrong.

     "Do you always answer with one word responses?"

     [Y/N]'s head turned to the boy with narrowed eyes. He should be grateful that she was even answering his questions. There were infinite things she would rather be doing—should be doing—than being interrogated by some stranger.

     For example, . . . well . . . she wasn't exactly sure.

     Yet.

     Her face fell when she saw that a teasing smile played across his lips and his brown eyes flashed with the tiniest hint of playfulness. She looked away, embarrassed that she automatically thought the worst of someone who seemed to have good intentions. He didn't seem to notice.

     Dad would have been disappointed in you, A voice too much like her own echoed throughout her head.

     She ignored it. Instead, crossed her arms over her chest.

     "Do you always ask so many questions?" She shot back.

     She heard him chuckle from beside her. "My mother did always call me a curious child."

     She rolled her eyes at this. Luckily, the path before them brightened. Several buildings could be seen in the near distance. Even though she unfortunately had gotten used to the horrid fish stench, [Y/N]'s eyes slightly lit up at this. Maybe she could lose him in the village.

     The entrance to the village wasn't too grand. Two wooden columns supported an arch way with patterns carved into it that muddled together with time. Vines began to grow at the bottom but were long from twisting its way up the verticals.

     Her first goal was to find somewhere to stay for the night. The sun was still high but she wanted to get a place to stay out of the way as soon as possible. There was no way she was sleeping on the forest floor again.

     [Y/N] was too busy looking around for what may be an inn to register the words that left the boy's mouth.

     "What?" She asked.

     "Reo. My name," he said. "And I, um, asked for yours."

     "Oh."

     [Y/N] ignored the weird looks a few of the villagers gave her. Either it was obvious that she was new in town or maybe the cloak was a bit too out of the ordinary for them. She guessed the latter.

     The boy―Reo―was nice, unfortunately. She couldn't think up an explanation to convince herself a reason to not give him her name. It wasn't like he knew too much about her anyway. He only knew as much as she did. Very little. She changed the subject.

     "Is there an inn around here?" She continued to look around.

     Reo blinked. It was obvious he didn't expect her to dodge the question. His surprise didn't faze her. He was kind and she would never admit that his company began to grow on her. The faster she found somewhere to stay, the faster she could have some time to herself—in a furnished environment.

     He stopped walking. [Y/N] stopped, too, just realizing that she hadn't ditched him as soon as they made it to civilization like she'd planned earlier.

     "It's on the other side of the village." He had recovered from the bit of surprise. [Y/N] was thankful he didn't push her for her name. "I can show you there."

      [Y/N]'s eyes flickered to the crate of raw fish in his hands and forced as polite of a smile as possible. "That's not—"

      "I insist." Reo persisted. "I just need to drop this load off at my grandfather's shop and then we will be good to go." [Y/N] didn't even notice that they stopped in front of a butcher shop. He didn't give her a chance to answer before offering a warm smile."It will only take a minute."

      Instead of refusing again, [Y/N] just nodded. She watched his back retreat behind the velvet curtain of the small shop.