collision → atla, reader insert

chapter five

[Y/N] GROANED.

       With her head in her hands, she sat in the uncomfortable wooden seat to the desk in her room. A soreness began to form in her upper back and shoulders from being hunched over the table for what felt like days. She hadn't left since she woke up that morning, choosing to spend her last day on that island attempting to decipher the map she received the evening before.

      But good luck did not seem to be on [Y/N]'s side when she found the map was much harder than she expected. Her eyes drooped, not from tiredness but from a lack of stimulation. Staring at the multi-colored continents for so long nearly drained all her energy. Would it really have been too much to already have this skill before waking up in this strange place?

       Another millenia passed for [Y/N] to finally gain some kind of understanding of what she was looking at. Every once and a while the thought of asking Reo for help crossed her mind, but she immediately swatted it away. Asking him if there was any place in the village to buy one was enough. The last thing she needed was someone to get suspicious or curious of why she was leaving the Fire Nation. Not because she didn't want him to know her business (even though she did not want him to) but also because she wasn't sure herself where she was going.

      Another part of her wanted to rip up the map and throw it in the ocean. She wanted to forget about finding the Avatar and lay down and sleep hopefully not to wake up in this place again. It was a dream after all and it wasn't like the Avatar was leaving any breadcrumbs for her to follow.

     If what that dramatic merchant said was true about the Avatar returning to destroy the Fire Nation, why should she actively seek him out? Would he attack her when he sees her? If not, what would she even do when she meets him? [Y/N] had a feeling telling him "You're the man of my dreams" wouldn't go too well.

      She buried her forehead into the palm of her hands. She wasn't sure what to do about the Avatar or if it was even wise to look for him, but she did know one thing. She had to get off that island.

      Pushing away from the desk, the chair scraped the ground producing an unpleasant sound that made her involuntarily flinch. She figured she needed to go into town for more food before sundown and all the kiosks closed.

      She gathered the miscellaneous items she used to keep the map open when her hands got tired, then rolled it up, dropped it back into its holder, and slid it into her bag. She knew Reo's mother came into her room when she was out to clean—though there wasn't much filth to begin with—[Y/N] didn't want her to come across the map.

     Shouldering her bag, she headed into town where the news seemed to simmer. As she passed, villagers still leaned in close to whisper among themselves words she didn't care to make out. Their focused attention on her didn't concern her anymore. Reo said himself that the island rarely got visitors, besides she'll be gone before they even got used to her.

     The sun was way past the middle of the sky when she left the inn. While the other merchants packed up their shop, there was one on the far end of the marketplace that was still open.