summary: the story of a girl who manifested her soulmate as a child and a guy just looking for his ferret
prompt: the red strings of fate
a/n: this is for the second prompt of an avatar/tlok writing collaboration that @twilight-toph is doing! the masterlists for the collab can be found here :)
a/n again: also i totally didn’t get the idea off of practical magic aka the best witch movie ever to grace this world
When Y/N was eight years old, she dreamed of finding her prince charming.
She would have her parents read love stories to her every night. She remembered one myth that her mother once told her called the Red Strings of Fate, which entailed an invisible thread that connected one to their soulmate. She believed it to be true until she took the idea too literally, and was frustrated to find there was no red string attaching her parents together.
One night, Y/N had to the crazy idea to create her own soulmate. Her perfect match. She grabbed a glass jar and her mother’s herbs and spices. She collected everything and brought it into the dining room and stood on chair. She thought for a while, what her perfect match be like?
“His favorite color will be green,” Y/N manifested, picking up a random green leaf for her parents’ tea, dropping it into the jar. “And very handsome.” Another leaf went into the jar.
“Y/N? What are you doing in there?” Her father asked from the sitting area. He was listening to the radio, and she could faintly hear a Pro-Bending Tournament happening.
“Nothing!” She shouted to him as she picked up a random white powder from a bowl. “And he’ll be famous.”
She picked up a few red flakes from a tiny jar. “He’ll always have something red on him. Like the strings of fate.”
Y/N thought of what else he would like, scanning around the room. She noticed her cat owl, Mittens, looking up at her from under the table.
“He’ll have the cutest pet in the whole wide world,” The young girl manifested as she picked some sugar between her index finger and thumb, sprinkling it into the glass jar. “And he’ll love noodles!” She ran to the kitchen and grabbed a noodle from a large bowl that was meant for supper. She hurried back into the dining room and dropped the noodle into the jar.
“It’s perfect!” Y/N exclaimed. She closed the jar and shook up the ingredients. “Wait. I’m missing something.”
Y/N made her way back to the kitchen, leaving a mess on the table. She found a pitcher of water and opened the jar again. She catiously poured some of the liquid into the jar, trying not to drip it onto the floor, but failing. She set the pitcher down and closed the jar before shaking her love potion again.
“Mama, I made a magic potion!” She announced as her mother entered the kitchen, unaware that she was about to get in trouble for making a massive mess.
Ten years later, Y/N still remembered that night fondly. She kept the jar under her bed despite mold beginning to grow.
One chilly autumn day, she was dressed warmly. Her mother sent to the markets to grab a few things for dinner that night. She made her way through the streets of Republic City, smiling politely at the passing strangers. Eventually, Y/N found herself at the markets. She gently picked up a large, red tomato, inspecting it carefully. As she rotated it, she felt something on her leg, like tiny claws poking her through her pants. She looked down and saw a...rodent with red fur? She shrieked, nearly jumping out of her skin and accidentally dropping the tomato onto the pavement. The rodent flinched but continued to cling onto her clothes, and began climbing up her leg and into her coat pocket. Y/N froze, not knowing what to do. She saw it poke its head out, and look up at her curiously. The more she looked at it, it looked pretty cute. Actually, extremely cute.
“Hey! You’re gonna have to pay for that tomato!” The merchant suddenly yelled at her, pointing down to the tomato guts spread across the street.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am!” Y/N apologized, reaching into her pocket to where the thing was. She gently pulled it out, realizing it was fire ferret, before set it on her shoulder. It held one of her coins in its paws, which Y/N snatched and handed to the angry woman. The woman flared her nostrils at her and turned away. Y/N turned her head to look at the fire ferret.
“You’re in big trouble, sir,” She said sternly, but not being able to hold any seriousness. “You’re lucky you’re so cute.”
Y/N stepped away from the tomato stand and continued down the street.
“Do you have an owner, buddy?” She asked the ferret, who simply squeaked in response. “I’ll take that as a maybe.”
She made her to the next stand full of cabbages. She picked up two, paid for them, and the merchant for that stand thanked her before handing them back in a brown paper bag. The fire ferret chirped, sniffing down at the bag.
“No, mister, that’s not for you,” Y/N scolded quietly.
“Pabu!” A voice behind her shouted. The fire ferret on Y/N’s shoulder perked up before quickly climbing down her body, running in the direction behind her. She turned around and saw a guy who looks frantic and out of breath.
“Oh, is that little guy yours?” She asked as the man approached her. She instantly noticed his piercing green eyes.
“Yes! Thank you so much for finding him and taking care of him!” The guy said as the red fire ferret, she assumed who was named Pabu, jumped into his arms.
“He’s a mischievous little guy. He made me drop a tomato and then tried to rob me!” Y/N explained, breathing out a laugh.
“I don’t even know what got into him! We were reading today’s paper and he just took off! I spent, like, forever looking for him!” The guy said, giving really dramatic arm gestures. “And bad Pabu! We don’t steal from strangers!”
Pabu’s ears tucked back in response, seemingly ashamed of himself.
“I thought he was massive rat at first! He scared the hell out me,” She said, gaining a laugh from the guy.
“I’m Bolin, by the way,” He introduced himself. “You might’ve heard of me and my brother, Mako. We play for the Pro-Bending Fire Ferrets Team!”
“Oh, yeah! My father and I have listened to many of your matches!” Y/N said, smiling, and feeling a little starstruck. “And I’m Y/N.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Y/N,” Bolin replied while grinning, his emerald eyes sparkling. He held out his hand, which she took, and shook it firmly. “And you’ve already met Pabu.”
She smiled, reaching her hand out to pet Pabu’s red fur, who was planted firmly on Bolin’s shoulder.
“I have to repay you somehow! Would you like to accompany Pabu and I to Narook’s Seaweed Noodlery? They have the best seaweed noodles in Republic City!” He offered. Y/N felt her stomach grumble.
“Oh, wow. That sounds great actually,” She replied. “I just need to finish getting a couple things for my mother.”
“Of course, of course. We’ll tag along with you!” Bolin insisted. Y/N nodded eagerly, sending him a warm smile. He lifted his arm, offering it to her. She didn’t hesitate to wrap hers around it, and they began their walk down the pavement.
Pabu jumped over to Bolin’s other shoulder closest to Y/N’s and settled in between. As they made their to next food stand, her mind began to wander to the potion she made years ago.
