#mtcolubo

Intrigued, Ace steps down from the temple’s pedestal, approaching the mortal with his bare feet pressing into the warm tile floor. She has placed nothing in the offerings dish and carries no gold that Ace can see.

“You bring nothing with you,” Ace notes, stopping a few feet away from her. She stands only slightly shorter than him but barely looks up to maintain eye contact. She is the first mortal to look him in the eyes in...well, a long time. 

“I bring everything with me,” the woman counters. She sets her jaw. “I ask for your protection.”

Ace cocks his head. “Protection from the god of fire? Unusual. There are other gods--”

“They will not protect me,” the woman interrupts, and Ace feels his eyebrows shoot up at her nerve. “Apologies.” She ducks her head and swallows before looking up once more. “I seek forbidden knowledge. In doing so, I have made enemies. Powerful ones.”

“Powerful enemies?” Ace begins to circle the woman, taking stock of her. She is lean, that is certain, but time and circumstance have carved her body from stone. “I could smite them for you.”

“They do not deserve death.”

“Strong words from the woman who came to the god of fire’s temple seeking help with nothing to trade.”

The woman lifts her chin. “I trade my name.”

Ace stops. His eyes narrow. “Your name.” It isn’t a question. He then shakes his head and scoffs. “You mortals and your desperation. I do not accept your name.”

The woman stiffens. “But--”

“You have something else you can trade.” Ace has made a full circle and so stops again to meet her eyes, which shine like steel with restrained tears. He cannot explain why this mortal intrigues him so, but he will not fight the thread of fate that winds around her. “Go from here with my blessing and the knowledge of three things: that the other elements will never be able to harm you; that fire will forever be your friend; and that you must never use this protection for ill.” Ace steps closer, his fiery hair casting the woman’s face in a flickering light. He softens his gaze. “Follow these guides, for they are your answers. Spread the will of fire, and hold your head high.”

The woman swallows and nods. “Thank you.” She turns and leaves, only to pause in the doorway. “Robin,” she says.

Halfway back to his pedestal, Ace glances back. “Hm?”

“My name--Robin.”

Ace grins. “Fair winds, Robin.”

The next mortal strides into the temple and dumps a lighter into the dish. Ace, dematerialized as the flames lighting the torches lining the walls, waits to see what the mortal intends to do.

“Ace,” the mortal says, his eyes fixed on the podium, “I need to borrow your strength.”

Ace collects himself and materializes on the pedestal. He remains seated, one knee bent so he can sling an arm over it. “Oh?”

The mortal, a young man with swept blond hair and an immaculate suit, meets Ace’s eyes with a disconcerting confidence Ace has only seen once in recent memory. “I bring my past to bargain.” He indicates the lighter, which shows signs of wear and tear from a short lifetime of use.

“No small matter,” Ace says. “But what strength do you want in return?”

The man lifts his chin. “The strength to protect my friends. I cannot stand by and watch them fight alone.”

“Fire for battle,” Ace says, shifting so he can prop his chin on his palm. “How uncreative.”

The man’s jaw clenches for just a moment before he closes his eyes. “Please,” he says. Ace doesn’t let his expression change, but surprise flickers through him at the pain in the mortal’s tone. “They’re all I have, now.”

“So you sacrifice your past for your future. Quite a gamble.” Ace stands and the mortal opens his eyes. “But I accept your bargain.” He snaps his fingers and the man stiffens when the lighter disappears. “Your leg burns with fury’s fire. Use it wisely.”

The man leaves with squared shoulders that cannot hide the trembling in his heart.

“And what do you want?” Ace asks, opening his eyes from where he was meditating on his pedestal. This mortal bears a scar under his eye and a blazing red shirt. Ace appreciates his style, if not his manners.

“Nothing,” the mortal says with a smile. “Just to thank you.”

Ace is unmoved. “That is something. You ask for my time.”

The mortal purses his lips. “Well, yeah, but that’s free!”

Ace wonders, with a half-hearted kind of impassion, whether this mortal understands where he is. “What, then, are you thanking me for?”

The man steps forward and two mortals enter the temple. Ace sits up straight, recognizing both of them: Robin, and the blond one. The thread of fate he saw around Robin during her first visit now rests around her like a shroud, and it stems from the one in the red shirt.

“What is this?” Ace asks, returning his focus to the red-shirted mortal when neither Robin nor the blond one speaks.

“You kept them safe,” the man says, “and they helped me find what I’ve always wanted to find.” His smile widens to an almost impossible degree. “So thank you!”