Chosen by the Spirits | A male reader x Avatar the Last Airbender story

Chapter 12- Strange Encounters

It took me a while to fall asleep after my strange interaction with the three girls. I couldn't tell if it was because I was lying on an uncomfortable sleeping bag on the floor, or if something about the girls unnerved me. The more I thought about it, the less it made sense. Why would they be camping right outside of Omashu when they could just stay inside the city. Also, something about that one girl didn't seem right. Whenever she spoke it sent chills down my spine, as if she was constantly plotting something. Nonetheless, I managed to brush it off and get some sleep.

When I awoke, it was bright and early. I packed away my sleeping bag, extinguished the fire that I had lit last night, ate some breakfast rations, and then quickly left for the direction of Gaoling. I knew that team Avatar wouldn't stay in one place for very long, so it was absolutely crucial that I got there with good speed. Then again, I wasn't even 100% sure if they were even in Gaoling. Still, I paced south eastwards relentlessly. I walked for a whole day through dry, arid land and grassy plains until I found myself walking through a forest. The forest was peaceful and calming at least, and the foliage shielded me from the sun's boiling rays. I could hear animals and birds in the distance, and the crunching of leaves as I walked.

As I set up camp later in the evening, I felt the feeling as if I was being watched. I kept glancing over my shoulder, as if expecting somebody to be there, but there never was. I tried my best to ignore it, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that there was somebody there. Contrary to the night before, I didn't rest very well that night. I awoke with every snap of a twig and crunch of a leaf, even though it was likely that they were just animals. When the sun finally rose once more, I set off again quickly. I was so paranoid that I didn't even realise when the dry dirt and leaf-covered floor became more moist and squelchy. I was leaving the forest, and found myself in a swamp. It was quiet and eery in the swamp, which did nothing to settle my nerves. The sound of wildlife had disappeared and soon I was trudging through murky swamp water. But something about the swamp felt different, almost like I had been drawn here.

I did my best to quicken my pace through the mud and water, as I didn't particularly want to spend the night in this swamp. However, I stopped in my tracks when I noticed something in the mud. It was a huge paw print, and one that only could have been made from one creature: Appa! This quickly brightened my mood, as I now knew that I was heading in the right direction. The paw print didn't look new, but the fact that it was still visible was enough of a sign that it had only been a day or two since team Avatar was here. This discovery made me quicken my pace through the eerie swamp, but it wasn't long before I froze again. I could hear whispers, and the feeling of being watched had intensified. Somebody was here in the swamp with me. I looked in circles around myself, but saw nothing except for turbid water, trees, vines and moss. Suddenly, I heard a playful giggle from behind me and rapidly whipped around, only to see nothing. Every hair on my body was standing up, and I felt as if I was going insane. Then, I heard a 'psst' noise from further within the swamp, and quickly craned my neck towards it. I saw somebody crouched on a distant tree branch, and they were looking right at me. They were too far away for me to see their features, but I could tell it was a girl of medium height and long hair. I felt deeply unsettled as I noted that she almost didn't seem real, as if she were an apparition or something. My curiosity beat fear, and I sprinted straight towards the figure, ready for a confrontation. But as I ran towards them, they let out a laugh as they expertly jumped and swung from different trees away from me. I'm a very fast runner, but even I couldn't outpace their amazing skills. Eventually I gave up and watched them swing into the distance. My heart was beating at a hundred times a minute, and not just because I had been running. That person seemed so real, yet I was convinced that they were just an illusion. Had I not been drinking enough water or something? 'Maybe it's the swamp water fumes getting to me' I thought to myself. Either way, I knew I had to get out of here.