Questions and something resembling answers.

It took some effort for Johanna to peel herself from the floor of Bul’s temple and approach him. All of her muscles burned, and while the sensation was mildly pleasant, it was also fairly uncomfortable, and upon reaching Bul’s throne, Johanna allowed herself to fall to the ground again, making a small pile of herself between his legs. Bul didn’t seem to mind.

“I’m not sure about a request,” Johanna said, her chest heaving as she tried to regain her breath, “But I certainly have a number of questions, if you’re willing to answer them.”

Bul tilted his head, brushed a few sparks off of his shoulder, and nodded. “You are not the first to come to me in search of knowledge. I cannot claim to hold all the answers you seek, but I have time to answer a few of your questions.”

“I guess,” Johanna mused, trying to come up with the right question, “To start, why did you call me here?”

“You called to me first. And I suspect I was not the only one who felt you,” Bul explained, closing his eyes and inhaling slowly, “Lust and passion burn bright on this desolate island. I know you already met Aqui, but if Raffi and Zem were unaware of your presence before you came here, your… enthusiastic worship with me has surely alerted them of your existence.”

“Raffi and Zem?”

“The Guardians of Air and Earth, respectively. But you need not worry about my lesser siblings, Johanna. You have Bul, and Bul has you.” Bul leaned forward to run a hand through Johanna’s hair, a gesture of ownership she found oddly comforting.

“So there are four of you, then?” She asked, What exactly do you, um, do?”

Bul rose an outstretched hand, and the various fires in the room flared up simultaneously, the bright light causing Johanna to flinch. Bul’s hand closed, and the fires all faded into nothing, the room illuminated solely by Bul himself and what little sunlight filtered in from the entrance. “Without me, the island would burn in the sun, and freeze in the night. Without Raffi, the winds would tear it apart. Without Aqui, it would sink beneath the waves. Without Zem, it would fall to pieces, crumbling beneath its own weight. We each do our part to keep the island alive.” Bul snapped his fingers, and the candles and torches reignited. “The island is a prison, but a necessary one. And we Guardians are its wardens and keepers as well as its prisoners.”

“A prison?” Johanna wondered, standing up, “I wonder what I did to be jailed here.”

Bul exhaled a burst of sparks in a sharp laugh, “Your incarceration was bad luck. Your escape would be worse luck.” Catching her wrist, Bul pulled Johanna into his lap, his bare skin hot against her own, “But I will speak no more of the dark. It is better to focus on the good, yes?” To make plain what exactly Bul thought was good, he pulled Johanna closer, her back lining up nicely against his chest as his hands traced along her body, leaving trails of fire and pleasure.

Johanna knew better than to spend the whole day as Bul’s plaything, but she certainly had time for one more round with the Guardian of Fire… right?