The Unpredictable Fire Adventurers [General Iroh II x Reader] [Legend of Korra]

『a grand festival [2]

The high energy of the festival is all but a buzz to you as the sound of your drumming heart drowns out any surrounding noise. You bump into a few festival-goers as your feet try to guide you somewhere, anywhere to run away from Iroh.

The fear of facing him resurfaces and destroys any ability to act reasonably. As much as you should go back to talk to him, you need to sort out your feelings first. 

But how...

You pause and heave out a sigh in an attempt to shake off the weight of your fears. It helps some, settling down your rattled nerves, but it's then you realize how far you had traveled. The dazzling festival lights are now but a soft light in the distance and the cold feels all the more bitter. You're deep into the mountainlike terrain on the southern side of the city, an area untouched due to its proximity to the southernmost point of the world. 

Another sigh escapes you and it produces a visible white puff of air. Fear is soon replaced by hatred; hatred for your pitiful past, hatred for your mom, and hatred for yourself for even allowing it to affect you this much.

A crunch in the snow grabs your attention and with clenched teeth, you turn around to inspect where the noise came from. 

"It appears lost souls always find a way to each other."

You jump at the chilling voice. Frightened eyes face hallow eyes, and new kind of fear ignites. 

[__]

"Tonraq!" Iroh shouts as he speeds over to his friend, who appears to be engrossed in the woman beside him. She halts her giggling self to give Iroh her attention, forcing Tonraq to face him.

"Is there something the matter?" he asks as he breaks free of her grasp to step towards the panting boy.

"D-Did you see her?"

"[Name]?" Iroh nods his head and Tonraq scratches his head. "No, I haven't but maybe you can ask Haku. He has eyes on everything."

Without another word, Iroh sprints in the direction of where he thinks he will find Haku. Once his silhouette is gone, Tonraq returns his gaze to the girl, who smiles up at him. The confusion in her optics mirror his, and slowly her emotions turn to worry.

"... I should leave them be, probably lover's quarrel," Tonraq tries to reason out of helping.

She grabs his arm and squeezes it. "Do you really want to do that?"

He stares down at his feet, contemplating on what to do. He has no claim to the situation, no right to help but at the same time, there is a bubble forming in his gut that tells him that something isn't right. Something just isn't. He has been feeling an ominous presence loom over the festival for quite some time, but for the sake of his date, he had chosen to ignore it.

But with you wandering the streets alone, he knows he can longer hide from his duties. 

"I'm sorry, Senna. I have to find her to make sure she's safe." His voice breaks at the thought of leaving her, but he knows this is the right decision. 

Her smile remains. "It's fine, we can't leave a girl alone especially your friend."

He returns the smile as his admiration for her grows. "Come on, I'll leave you with your parents so you aren't alone either."

[___]

"I don't want any trouble," you stumble out as you step back. 

The woman before you scoffs and you take the chance to analyze her better. Long unruly hair shapes her slender figure; you can only assume it's from her lack of eating which has caused deep rings to form around her eyes. But the most prominent feature you notice is her lack of limbs. 

At least she can't attack me, right?

"Oh, do we have a guest?... Ah, [Name]," a familiar voice asks as they leave the obscurity of mountain shadows. Your heart drops at the sight of the man who kidnapped you.

"Guess we don't have to find her anymore," another person chuckles.

"Min-Hua, what an excellent catch," Xai Bau claps as he appears behind her.

You turn on your heel to head for the festival, but a water shard zips past your face and slices your cheek. The pain freezes your body. Your heart pumps with adrenaline.

"I don't think you're going anywhere," the woman named Min Hua comments. You glance over your shoulder to see her arms have reappeared as water tentacles.

Oh... Yeah, she can definitely attack me.

[____]

[A/N]: A random update has appeared! I'm going back to respond to earlier comments, haven't been around much but I promise I haven't forgotten this story or you guys. I've just gotten busy. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I will make sure not to make you wait long for the next one e_e