Two Different Words - Todoroki x Reader

3

Soon after you set off on your journey, you found yourself on a small footpath where many horses would travel to and from the village. Your home village was small and many of its food supplies were grown at home. Because it was quite close to the centre of the kingdom (compared to other villages), merchants would often leave to go sell their goods to the people of the city.

After your fathers death, your mother refused to leave the village any longer. However, when he was alive, your mother would often follow the path to the centre of Kaen. At times, she would allow you to join her on her ventures. This meant that you had a rough idea of the path needed to take to reach your first of many destinations.

The path you followed was a simple dirt one. The path meandered around different rocks that were glued to the earth by the dirt around them. Gravel and small chunks of rock scattered around the edge of the path, the grass grew around the hills the horse climbed and mountains could be seen in the horizon. The mountains were tall and reached up to touch the clouds. Snow caps were hidden by the fluffy whites that covered the blue blanket above you, the greys of the mountains hiding the woods that separated your humble village from the bubbling life of the city.

Never had you been to the city alone. You knew where the market was, where to put your horse safely when you arrived and where you could go and read more about the prophecy. Apart from that, you were completely clueless on what you would do when you arrive. You would arrive in the city late at night making everything much more dangerous. You could sneak into and sleep in the library but you would risk getting caught and banished from the city, or worse, taken to the king and possibly executed. The again, you could also go sleep with the horses in the stables. But that would be dirty and you would risk getting trampled on.

Admittedly, this scared you. A lot. You promised your mother that you would be fine and that, unlike your father, you would return. But as you got farther from your life long home, the more uncertain you became of that fact. There was a reason why your father didn't make it back home safely; this world is a dangerous one. The city was dangerous enough as it was in the day, but at night, everything got much worse.

You had heard stories from people in your village about the crime that would happen late into the night. Many would steal things from shops and the homeless that slept in the allies, they would steal the few crops that grew naturally in the city, some would even kill others.

Despite your fears, you continued to trot along the path until you made it to the base of the mountains. Thanks to the many stories you heard from the people in your village – and the few times you went with your mother – as you grew up, you knew of a small path that went through the mountains and reached a small wood. You stopped at the base of the mountains and took out your map.

The map you had brought along with you was one that was handed down to you from the chief of your village. This map was altered to have any and all known shortcuts. This included the small tunnel.

You made your horse turn left and slowly walk on the grass and gravel. You followed that route, slowly, until you reached what seamed to about 20 vines growing downwards. This is it, the place you had been searching for; the entrance to the tunnel path.

You pushed the vines out of the was to reveal the dark tunnel. Too dark. If you went in there now, you'd see nothing the entire way through. You hopped off of your companion, and went to search for a stick. Your phoenix, who had been flying above you the entire time, landed on the head of the tall steed and perched there.

After some searching, you found the perfect stick. You ripped some dried grass from the side of the path and ran back to the bag on your horse. Inside it, you found some loose pieces of twine you used the last time you went on an adventure and used it to tie the grass onto the end of the stick. After that, you set the stick on the ground and rummaged around the bag for the flint and steal you always carry with you. Finally locating it, you took it out and lit the grass on fire. Picking up your home-made torch, you hopped back onto your horse and went into the cave.

Your phoenix, still roosting on the head of your horse, acted as a secondary pare of eyes as you looked from side to side as you trotted along the tunnel. The robe you wore was illuminated by the flames emitted from above your hand. The white fabric of your long sleeves appeared to be shining under the light, the golden accents of the sleeve looking even more magical than before.

The robe you wore was a typical sorceress one. White and gold was the colour scheme. The main outer parts were white, the sleeves having a golden strip of fabric down the seam and around the cuff. The hood was also white with the same accents; a golden rim framing your hair. In the middle, gold was the main colour. Golden fabric was shown off with a white string on either side that laced around the front mimicking the back of a corset. Two strips of golden fabric climbed up the entire front of the dress, a few inches away from the main golden body, all the way to the hood.

Before you knew it, you had exited the cave and entered the woods. The minor forest was mystical, with mushrooms that glowed with purples greens and blues and trees that stretched to the heavens above. Birds chirped as they danced together, squirrels scurried from branch to branch – the occasional nut falling from their grasp – and bunnies hopping into bushes and their burrows.

Your horse trotted on the top of a small stream that led to your destination. The splashing of water making you giggle as more animals continued with their day to day lives. It amazed you how so many different species managed to live symbiotically in the small area. Occasionally, your stead would hop on top of some rocks and then pounce right back into the water.

After some more time passed, the sky began to get dark and the birds stopped chirping as much. This was your sign to have a small break. You stopped your horse, allowing him to have a drink. From a nearby blackberry bush, you picked some fruit to eat. You sat down with your phoenix in a tree, eating the fruit.

You saved some of the blackberries for later and put them in a small pouch in your robes inner pocket. After having a small drink, you hoisted yourself back onto the stead and started to gallop towards the city.

The last thing you wanted was for everything to be closed by the time you arrived. The least you wished for to be open was a small inn you could sleep the night way safely in.

No longer did you slow down, not being able to risk arriving too late. You continued riding at full speed through the forest. You had no idea what animals would emerge out of the forest at night; were they dangerous? You didn't know. So, the best solution to the situation was to avoid ever finding out.

You kept riding, until you finally saw the light of the city. Comfort over came you as you slowed down. You reached the entrance of the city and headed straight to the stables.

"Excuse me?" you questioned, getting off your horse. A tall man wearing what seemed to be a Shepard outfit came out of the shadows of the stables.

"Oh!" he jolted up in shock, "You must be a traveller, you like me to take care of your horse?"

Your were confused by his actions, this wasn't his profession, was it?

"Yes please," you began, ready to question the boy, "but, not to be rude, is this where you typically work?"

The boy looked at you with a warm yet shy smile. "No, I'm a Shepard but I help out here at night for some extra money." He explained. "I'm Koji Koda, what's your name?"

You completely forgot to introduce yourself! This made you feel extremely rude, especially since the bow was so kind to help you. Handing your horse to him, you introduced yourself. "I'm y/n l/n, I'm a sorceress but I'm currently traveling around the land!"

He seemed intrigued by this and looked at you. "That means you don't have where to sleep, doesn't it?" he questioned with a soft tone in his voice.

You looked down and smiled slightly. "Yeah, you don't happen to know somewhere I could sty the night?"

Koda looked at you with a smile. "The Froppy Inn should have a spare room, come one!" And with that, he ran off. Quickly, you followed suit as he led you to the Inn.