collision → atla, reader insert

chapter four

      "Are you okay?"

      She looked at him with slight surprise. He was asking if she was okay.

     "I'm fine. It just caught me off-guard, that's all," she trailed off, trying to regain her composure. "Sorry about your dad."

      Reo half-heartedly shrugged. "It's nothing. It was bound to happen anyway. We're always strengthening our armies."

      [Y/N] bit the inside of her cheek before saying, "The nation has soldiers that train for this, though, right? Why did they come to an outskirt island to draft?"

      "A couple years ago, there was a nearby battle in which the army was short on soldiers. They came here to recruit temporaries until the battle was over. My father was one of them," Reo spoke into his tea. "They deemed themselves so useful that they were officially recruited into the army after a few years of training."

      "They could deny the offer though, right?"

      "That's the thing," Reo said. "My father—he accepted it. I haven't seen him since."

      [Y/N] opened her mouth to apologize again but quickly closed it. Apologizing wouldn't do anything, she knew. She wasn't responsible for Reo's father so she shouldn't feel the need to apologize on his behalf. Even if she really wanted to.

      She watched him carefully before saying, "Your tea's cold."

       He blinked then glanced at the porcelain cup on the table in front of his folded arms as though he had forgotten it was there. To her surprise, he laughed.

      "Yeah, I guess so." He replied

      After they'd left the tea shop, the marketplace was the most lively that [Y/N] had ever seen it been. It was buzzing more than usual—strange considering the small population—but the villagers didn't seem to be invested in the goods rather in something else.

      "What's going on?" [Y/N] asked Reo.

      "I'm not sure." Reo responded, he was just as confused as she was.

      As they walked past a kiosk, a merchant approached them. [Y/N] was ready to tell him they didn't want what he was selling until he began to address them with something else.

      "Did you hear the news?"

      Reo and [Y/N] exchanged glances.

      "What news?" Reo asked.

      "Devastating news!" The merchant exclaimed. "After one hundred years, he has returned!"

      "Who?" [Y/N] she asked. "Who's returned?" 

     "The master of all the elements, he who survived the Air Nation genocide, the—"

      [Y/N] groaned, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Stop being dramatic and just tell us who it is, old man."

      "The Avatar!" He cried, his back falling into his kiosk which shook his merchandise in their place. "The Avatar has returned to destroy the Fire Nation once and for all!" The merchant ran off, probably to annoy someone else.

      "The Avatar, huh?" [Y/N] said, slightly impressed.

      She didn't know anything about the Avatar, yet it piqued her interest. Master of all the elements. This guy must be pretty powerful, she thought.

      "The Avatar is back," Reo said from next to her. His voice was flat.

      [Y/N] remembered the merchant's words—that the Avatar was back to destroy the Fire Nation.          This guy may have just become her enemy.

      So, [Y/N] was in the Fire Nation and she was from there—she assumed the latter from the red clothing she owned. The Avatar is back and there's a war going on. She ran away from home and she sort of knew why she had the bow.

     She collapsed back onto the bed in her hotel room. It felt great to know something, but it would feel even better if she knew what to do with this information. She didn't even know if any of this was important. For all she knew, she was just learning fun facts about herself.

      Maybe she could sleep on it. She blew the candle next to her bed out and she laid her head on the soft pillow. A little tossing and turning and she was out like a light.

      That night, her dreams weren't really dreams. They were vignette flashes of settings and objects. Some were way too fast for her to make out until she realized it was only a few being repeated until she could understand what was happening.

      At first it was raining. The rain was thick, heavy, and nothing could be seen from the other side. The fat raindrops hit the ground with such a force she couldn't describe then thunder rolled. It was a nasty storm.

      Then it stopped. An arrow flew past her head at the speed of light, missing her by two inches. She followed it to its destination, but it never reached it only to later be engulfed in flames merely seconds later. The ashes fell onto the ground.

      A gust of wind blew the ashes away. Then it grew stronger, nearly knocking her off her feet. When it settled, she looked for the source only to see the vague outline of a person in the distance. A glow emitted in the shape of a few arrows and two eyes.

      She gasped. Her eyes opened to the wooden ceilings of the room, her heart beating widely. The panels could barely be made out and the moon still shone bright through the blinds onto the floor. It was still night out.

      She clutched the thin blanket, going over her weird dreams.

      They didn't make any sense, but she also had a funny feeling it had something to do with the Avatar. A lot of things happened today and she may have just gotten her first lead.

      She had to find the Avatar.