collision → atla, reader insert

chapter two

     The Sun was blocked by the red canopy over the shop entrance preventing its rays from reaching her. She took the agonizing wait to take in her surroundings.

     The village was small and quaint. It wasn't flashy nor interesting, but it had everything a village would need. None of the villagers seemed to be miserable or upset by their living situation.

     [Y/N] didn't like it here. It was missing some hustling and bustling of people. There was a lack of nearly crowded marketplaces with numerous kiosks, shops, and vendors. There would be children separated from their parents attempting to steal fruit from unsuspecting merchants. Those towns had paths paved in stone to run throughout them.

     She dug her heel into the ragged dirt path of the village she stumbled into with a faint distaste in her mouth. A distant feeling of homesickness grew in her stomach. It twisted deeper, making her homesick of a home she didn't even know of. Biting the inside of her cheek in annoyance, she tried to push the feeling away.

     Eventually, Reo emerged from the shop.

     "Took you long enough," [Y/N] said as he approached her.

     He beckoned her to follow and they entered the village again. "Sorry, my grandfather kept asking me questions." A corner of [Y/N]'s mouth smugly twisted up a bit at this. Now he knew how she felt. "He was upset I'd taken the rest of the day off without a warning."

     "You work at your grandfather's shop?" She asked.

     "It's a family business." Reo smiled, seemingly to himself. "I usually go out and fish and work the counter and clean. My grandfather does all the hard work, dealing with the meats."

     [Y/N] hummed like it was interesting to her. He didn't mention his father, she noted but didn't dwell too long on it.  

     "I don't mind it though," he continued. "I'm happy as long as I can still help out." He spoke as though he'd be an employee forever.

     [Y/N] raised her brow. "Won't the shop be passed down to you?"

    His face fell. "Yeah . . ."

     She watched him for a second before returning her gaze forward. She was supposed to be the one giving the short answers in this conversation, not carrying it on her back. She'd rather have Reo's unimportant rambling than the sound of their feet brushing against the dust on the path.

     It seemed as though she struck too far than she should have. She mentally scolded herself for not leaving it as it was in the first place. So, she did what she does best—she changed the subject.

     She cleared her throat. "Where is this inn anyway?"

     "Just a bit further up." Reo responded.

     The village entrance had all the shops and kiosks and few restaurants. The buildings were close, breathing on top of one another—the space in between them could barely fit a child. It made [Y/N] feel a bit claustrophobic just walking through there though the villagers didn't seem to have a problem with it.

     Past that was what she assumed were where the villagers lived. In contrast to the entrance, the homes were quaint and rather spread out from one another. Large patches of healthy green grass blew in the wind between each of the houses.

     [Y/N] never got to see how big the island was but judging on the size of the village, she thought it wasn't that big. But seeing how the villagers used the unoccupied land to spread their homes out as far as possible, she came to the conclusion that she somehow miscalculated.