Ablaze || Aang x Reader

16: Zuko Was Actually Useful

"The Avatar! The Avatar is here!" She shouted.

I would've covered my face if I wasn't carrying seven fruits, three vegetables, and a glider. I wasn't used to Avatar praise. It was weird to be in the spotlight.

People heard her calls — it would be hard not to — and began flocking into the vicinity. I could hear subtle exclamations of shock in the small crowd that was forming.

Once people found out who I was, there was no stopping them. I was given a brief tour of the entire village, then I was sat down on the fountain in the center of the village where I was offered a variety of different treats and pastries while a very elderly woman painted a portrait of me for her collection of 'curious travelers'. She was too sweet for me to decline.

I also had a couple children sitting around me in a half-circle asking me questions. Most of them were young, maybe four to seven years old, but there was one boy who looked to be no older than I was. The young ones were cheerful and giddy to ask questions upon questions upon questions but he stood in the shade of a nearby tree and skulked. I shrugged it off and turned my attention back to the kids.

"Can you really fly? My papa says the Air Nation was able to fly." A little girl questioned, tugging on my pants leg.

"Hm... there was one airbender a long time ago who could. I can't do it the way he could, but I can do something similar with that." I replied, gesturing to the glider that I had leaned on the edge of the fountain.

She gasped then demanded, "Show us!"

The other kids joined in too, chanting, "Show us! Show us! Show us!"

I barely managed to but I calmed them down after a few seconds.

"Not right now." I said.

"Why notttt??" Another boy whined.

"Well, we don't want to interrupt that lovely lady taking my portrait, do we? I can show you when she's done."

They reluctantly agreed and continued asking more questions which I struggled to answer since they really had no idea what life was like in the temples and therefore asked unrealistic questions. I wasn't mad about it, though. It was cute. The little old lady had eventually left after finishing her portrait.

I was in the middle of answering a kid's question about whether or not we had flying armadillo-bears when the kid in the shade interrupted.

"How can we be sure you're not a spy here to help the Fire Nation raid our village?" He challenged.

"Um... excuse me?" I uttered confusedly. It took me by surprise to switch up from flying armadillo-bears to village raids so quickly. The boy stepped out of the shade and came closer.

"Well with that scar and those clothes, you gotta get real chummy with the Fire Nation to get those, right?" He observed hatefully, now standing right at the edge of the circle of children.

I had almost forgotten about the fact that I even had the scar. None of the kids had paid any attention to it until now. It was on full display and everything since I had tied the robe around my waist.

"Muyang!" A woman scolded. She had been walking over to us, holding another tray of pastries. After speeding up a bit to arrive at the fountain faster, she stood behind the boy then turned to me and said, "I am so sorry about him, Avatar Y/n."

"No, it's fine. Don't worry about it." I assured her. I stood up, grabbed a hold of the glider, and the kids made space for me to pass through. I stood up straight and in front of him and spoke again, "He just doesn't know the full story. Muyang, was it? Do you want to know how I got this scar? Fighting away the soldiers who ambushed my home in the middle of the night. I'm wearing these clothes because it's all I was able to steal since all my stuff got blown up."