Disclaimer: I don't own Fire Emblem Awakening, all rights to the owners.
Minor: Dark Flier, Immortal, Boxer (Pugilist), Exploitive, Swordmaster, Angry Cinnamon Roll, Tripping, Perpetual Cheer, Chef, Blacksmith, Pegasus Knight, Teacher, Librarian, Masochist, Literal-Minded, Authoritative, Middle Age, Wyvern Rider.
Standard: Elemental, Deaf, Foreign, Future sight, Tiny, Nurse/Medic, Valmese Tactician, Medusa, Racer, Amazon, Genderfluid, Gift from Validar + evil to good, Mind Control, Banshee, Bard, Dancer, Mimic, Emotionless, Khan, Crippling Overspecialization (Idiot Savant), Coward, ESP, PTSD, POW, Magician, Mute, Savage, Handicapped, Secret Helper, Crazy, Respawn, MPD, Morpher, Dreamwalker, Motherly, Lich, Twins, Regenerating, Sadist, Animal Whisperer (horse/wyvern), Naga/Tiki Assistant, Sleepless, Plant, Fairy, Deadly Touch.
Unlikely: Chrom's child, Minotaur, Paladin, Werewolf, Assassin, Future Soldier, Bounty Hunter, Weather control, Kleptomaniac, Druid, Steampunk, Shadow Familiar, Magic Augmentation, Lucky, Exile, Piper (Charmer), Gladiator, Witch Doctor, Centaur, Drunk, Demon, Punk, Harpy, Revenant, Luck Manipulation, Demon Summoner, Megalomaniac, Kitsune, King of Plegia, Mood Ring, Reverse Aging, Hammerspace, Prostitute, Demon Hunter, Cyborg, Maid/Servant/Butler, Deadlord, Rebellion, Einherjar, Trap, Yandere, Living Weapon, Size Shifter, Queen of Plegia, Gluttonous, Stretchy, Ninja, Alchemist, Protoss, Spirit Manipulation, Invisible, Plegian Honor Guard.
Other: Pokemon Trainer, Self-insert, Second Generation replacement, Dimensional Walker, Cycle, Fates.
Goddess Robin, this is my second time trying to get this to work. Requested by Darklight of the 0 Arcana, Darkness is complete, and Zero kami no mu. This turned out much differently than I expected; out of all my ideas this was the one that worked.
Ricken is terrified.
He's down on one knee in front of an altar in the royal cathedral. The mage isn't particularly religious, he prefers to focus on his own strength rather than praying for divine favor, but the one time he comes to pray this happens.
She's clearly not Naga. The divine dragon doesn't dress in a tactician's longcoat, nor does Naga have a massive head of silver hair that reaches her ankles. Naga also doesn't have light brown skin or silver orbs for eyes.
This girl lacks the pointed ears usual to dragon deities, but Ricken has no doubt this girl is divine. She appeared in a flash or black energy, and her mana pool is so large Ricken can feel the magic rolling off her without activating his arcane sight.
Despite her adult body, she's incredibly childish. She's lying on her back on the altar, gazing at the little mage with innocent eyes. She rolls over onto her stomach and extends an arm, her fingertips brushing Ricken's oversized hat.
"Gish." She chirps. "Gaah."
"Uh…" Ricken panics. "H-H-Hi?!"
"Ooah?" The girl mimics. "H-H-Hoooi?"
"Oh Naga, what am I supposed to do?!" He thinks. "Wh-Who are you!?"
"Ooh ah oooh?"
"This isn't working…" The mage takes a few steps back. "I-I'm going to get someone, you just stay here."
"Wah! Gah!" The girl exclaims, grabbing at him. Her face contorts into a pleading look.
Ricken is unnerved. He has an adult-looking child goddess person asking… for him to stay? The way she's grabbing at him looks like she's asking to be picked up. Can he apply normal child behaviour to a goddess? Should he even try? She's not a beanpole, Ricken doubts he can support her weight.
"Maybe she's lighter than she looks?" Ricken asks himself, tentatively stepping towards her. "I can at least try. It's probably a good idea to not leave the infant goddess on her own where she might panic and burn down the cathedral, or turn everyone in the the country into rabbits, or whatever a panicking goddess does.
So Ricken tries. He carefully slips his arms under the girl's neck and legs and attempts to lift her. She's too heavy on her own, but she wraps her arms around his neck and wraps her legs around his waist to put less weight on his arms.
She's still heavy, the goddess has an adult body after all, but Ricken manages to carry her out of the building.
###
"Robin." The goddess chirps.
The little mage blinks in surprise. He honestly hadn't been expecting her to have an answer when he asked what her name was (for the twentieth time). Apparently she does have a name… despite the fact that she couldn't speak less than a week ago and no one ever gave her a name.
"Uh.. hi Robin." Ricken says tentatively. He still doesn't know how he should treat her. She's a goddess. Granted, a goddess that spends half her playing with Ricken's hat and making unintelligible (but adorable) gurgling noises, but still, she's higher rank than royalty. "I mean… your Highness?"
"No!" The goddess pouts instantly. "No, no, no, no, no!"
"Uh, okay!?" The mage squeaks. "Sorry?"
"Nooo!" Robin pouts again. "No sorry!"
"Okay, okay…" The mage thinks of another important question to ask now that he knows Robin has knowledge outside of what she's seen with them. "Who are your parents?"
"Momma and Dadda!"
"Yes, but who are they? What are their names?" Ricken pushes.
"Grima!"
Well that's ominous. "And…?"
"Joustep!"
The mage blinks. "Joustep?"
"Joustep."
Ricken has no idea who that is.
###
"Woooah." Robin gasps as Ricken tears apart the straw target with his magic. "Whoosh!"
"Yeah, cool isn't it?" Ricken brags, feeling proud. "I've been improving a lot lately. Soon I'll move on to Elwind!"
"I try, I try!" The goddess chirps. She fumbles to her feet, tottering like a young child over to his side. Sparks of electricity dance across her fingertips. "I try?"
"Sure." Ricken says without thinking.
Robin takes aim at a new target. Unlike Ricken, she doesn't need to charge her magic. The flash is blinding, and the lighting devastates more than just the target. It pierces right through the straw dummy, shattering it, and burns through several trees behind it.
"Oh gods that's strong." Ricken thinks, thoroughly intimidated. In hindsight he should have expected this, she's a goddess, but the fact still remains that she just destroyed half a dozen trees without any apparent effort.
"I did good?" The girl asks, looking down at him eagerly.
"Y-Yeah…" Ricken stammers. "Really good."
The mage is distracted by a faint crackling noise, and the boy's eyes widen in alarm.
"Forest fire." He breaths, catching sight of the burning trees. He turns around and runs. "Captain! Fire!"
###
Ricken and Robin sit pitifully on the ground, heads low as Chrom glares at them.
"Ricken, you should have known better than to let her Majesty use magic." The captain scolds. "You should have known how strong she could be. She's not a goddess for nothing."
The mage cringes at his own stupidity. "Sorry Captain."
"And Highness, you need to be more considerate of your power." Chrom sighs. "What if someone had been in the forest? You could have hurt them. I'm surprised you didn't hurt Ricken with your lack of control."
The goddess wilts. "Sorry."
"You two will do extra chores for the next week to make up for the damages." The prince says sternly. "And your Highness, no magic."
The girl pouts. "Aww..."
###
Robin isn't exactly a child anymore. Her speed of mental growth is extreme, she's gone from a helpless infant to a young adult in a mere three months, and she's starting to figure out what her specialties are.
"So combat is an obvious one." Robin says, jotting it down on the list.
"But is it every aspect of combat?" Ricken suggests. "Or just magic? We know you can blow things up with lightning, but can you use swords? Axes?"
"Good point." The goddess nods. "We'll put that in a second column… we know I'm no good at diplomacy. I couldn't talk us out of those chores."
"I'm not sure that's diplomacy so much as deception."
"Fair point." Robin acknowledges. "I can't cook either."
"You're good with directions." Ricken offers. "You never seem to get lost, even after only seeing things once."
The goddess notes that down. "Good one. Let's see… actually, I just have a good memory in general, don't I?"
"Yeah, I guess you do." The little mage nods.
"Me-mo-ry…" She mutters. She slashes out 'good with directions' and writes 'memory'. "Okay what else?"
"Uh… I'm running out of ideas already." Ricken admits. He's mentally running through a list of compliments he could make and drawing ideas from that. "The problem is you've only had three months here, so you haven't had much of a chance to figure out what you're good at."
"Especially since I spent the first few weeks with the mind of an infant." Robin sighs. "I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough. Memory and combat huh…? Those feel auxiliary, like I'm missing my main skill."
"We'll figure it out eventually." The little mage reassures. "Maybe we should go around doing as many things as possible! That should help right?"
Robin's eyes light up. "Good idea! Ooh, where should we start?"
"How about sports?" Ricken says, suggesting the first thing that comes to mind. "I'm sure we can recruit Vaike and Sully into playing something. Just be careful, if your physical strength is anywhere near your magical strength... I'd rather not lose my head to a stray ball."
###
"What?!" Ricken shouts indignantly. "Why?! Why can Robin go and I can't?!"
"You're not old enough." Chrom says bluntly. "And her Majesty is smart enough now. Plus, she's a literal goddess of strategy."
"Are you calling me stupid?!"
"No, I'm saying her Highness is smart. Are you trying to tell me she isn't?" The captain sighs.
"Well of course she is." The mage mutters. "She's a genius, a goddess. She's younger than me though!"
"But she's more mature squirt." Sully chuckles. She pats the mage on the head as she passes by. "Her Holiness ain't your play buddy anymore."
Chrom glares at the cavalier disapprovingly before turning back to Ricken. "Look, just a few more years and can fight with us too."
"A few years?" He whines.
"Yes Ricken." The prince says firmly. "Hold the fort until we get back."
Ricken waits until Chrom walks out of earshot before he mutters. "Hold the fort? It's not like we're going to get attacked, and it's not like I could do much on my own anyways."
The mage kicks around the courtyard, watching everyone pack their horses and prepare for the journey to Ferox. He watches the two cavaliers checking both their warhorses and packhorses, and sees Sumia stumbling over a pebble.
"Seriously, she can go but I can't?" Ricken grumbles.
He glances at Frederick helping Lissa properly tie everything to her mount, and then turns to watch the captain. Robin is next to him, and the two chat amicably, and Ricken's mood immediately takes a nosedive. He spins around and storms off angrily.
"Sully's wrong." He mutters to himself. "Robin's still my friend. I'm just as mature as she is…"
Ricken hears the goddess laugh loudly at something the prince said, and he picks up his pace. The scowl on his face is from not being able to come along, and certainly not from annoyance and fear of losing his friend.
No, not at all.
###
Robin doesn't actually fight. It would be a dead giveaway as to her presence. She doesn't remember why she's hiding, but she is. Luckily her main skill is tactics with combat as an auxiliary skill, so she can still contribute a lot even without using a single bit of her magic.
She chose to come on this journey to Ferox, and while she doesn't regret it this trip certainly brought some things to light. Nothing to do with battle actually; it has to do with her fellow Shepherds.
Everyone bows to her and calls her "your Highness" or "your Majesty". Chrom does, Lissa does, even Sully does. Robin doesn't mind terribly much anymore, it's not like a few months ago when she would have pouted and whined about someone calling her by a title.
She's a goddess, people are going to worship her and all that stuff, it's best she get used to it now… but she really does miss just being called 'Robin', and she's having a hard time finding something to do in her free time. Usually she'd hang around Ricken and they'd play chess, or she'd help him with his studies, or they'd practice magic together (Chrom lifted their ban on practicing together once Robin matured a bit).
Ricken isn't here though. Chrom said something about him being too young (which is bullshit, Robin is barely half a year old and that's including her time with Mom, but she was allowed to come along). To be honest, Robin is sorta happy that Ricken isn't here. Not that she doesn't enjoy his presence, but she's glad he's out out of danger. The goddess knows he isn't combat ready like herself.
"Ricken would hate that." She thinks, smiling fondly.
Due to her nature as a divine being, Robin doesn't have to sleep. She can do it anyways if she feels like it, but there's no biological need. The same goes for eating and drinking actually, but there's no way she's passing up good food. Anyways, that means she has a lot of free time over the night. She's read a lot of books to pass the time, and messed around with some of her more minor powers (changing her appearance, minor illusions, creating objects pertaining to her domain like swords and tomes, scrying).
Tonight she's trying something different, and it involves Ricken. Robin knows Mom occasionally gives visions or dreams to her followers, and Robin wants to try. Since she doesn't have any followers Ricken should make a good substitute.
Robin has no idea what she's doing though, so she has to be careful. She doesn't want to accidentally destroy Ricken's brain or something.
Is that a thing she can do? She hopes not. Accidentally murdering her best friend doesn't sound fun.
In the dead of night, when she presumes Ricken is asleep, Robin casts a spell. She's taking a guess as to how it works, and dumping an enormous amount of magic into the spell to ensure it doesn't fail. She's locking onto his magical presence, which probably won't work for anyone who isn't a magic user of some sort.
She'll figure out a better locating system some other time. She just wants to see if this spell works.
Finding Ricken's magic signature isn't hard. He's a torch of magic power among a field of tiny sparks. Robin picks him out and channels for only a second.
Success. She can feel the connection. It's a strange feeling to have her mind linked to the boy, he feels so fragile compared to her godly powers. She's nervous to do anything to him, so she just watches his dreams. It's a confusing mess of nonsensical conversations and sequences, but Robin is surprised to see herself appear several times.
Eventually she musters up the courage to make herself known. Robin uses a bit of magic to block his dreams for a second, and then quickly fabricates her own image so she can communicate with him. She makes a simple stone room, just like the ones at the Shepherds' barracks, with the two of them sitting across from each other on comfy chairs.
"Hello Ricken."
"Hi Robin." The mage responds, sounding dazed. Sleep seems to be doing weird things to his brain. Maybe it's a quirk of being human?
"I'm actually messaging you from Ferox." She says. "Just to check in on you."
"Really…?" Ricken doesn't seem phased. "Oh, this is a dream…"
"Well yes, but I actually talking to you. This is a spell." She clarifies. "I'm sitting in my tent right now."
"Oh, oh." The boy says, blinking rapidly. "Wow, that's cool."
"Isn't it?" Robin chuckles. "Usually this spell is reserved for contacting worshippers, but I don't exactly have any so I'm testing it on you."
"I'm flattered… I think." He mutters, and then frowns. "Wait, I'm basically a lab rat!"
"Yeah." Robin teases. "A little rat in a hat."
"I'm not little!"
"Yes you are." Robin insists.
"Am not!"
"I can get Miriel to prove you're small if you want." Robin teases. "I'm sure she can find the average height for a boy your age."
"No, don't get her to do that!" The mage says hastily.
The goddess smiles in amusement. "Because you know I'm right."
"Sh-Shut up…"
###
"Got it?" Robin's voice whispers in his head. The telepathy is new, she developed it as a deviation from her dream-connection spell. "You see them?"
"Yeah, I see them." He nods. Aversa and Maribelle are only a dozen or so meters away, and it's only thanks to the bush that Ricken hasn't been spotted yet. "I'm ready."
"Just wait for my signal." Robin murmurs.
The little mage waits tensely, nervously. He listens as the talks go downhill and sees Chrom stab the soldier. Ricken is sorely tempted to strike right then and help the ensuing fight, but he remembers Robin's words and reluctantly waits. She's called a goddess of strategy for a reason.
"Go now!"
Ricken leaps from the bush, casting his Elwind as he runs. The blades of green wind slice through the air and knock the the Aversa off her feet. Maribelle is quick on the uptake and makes a bolt for the treeline. Her tied hands are an issue for her balance, as are her high heeled riding boots; the girl trips almost as much as Sumia does. Ricken desperately flings spells at their pursuers and squeaks in fear when Aversa sends a blast of Waste over his head.
"Maribelle!" Sumia shouts, swooping down on her pegasus. She lands in front of them. "Get on!"
"Wh-What about me?!" Ricken panics as he helps Maribelle up on the mount.
"I can only carry one person at a time." Sumia says. She shouts "ya!" and her pegasus takes to the air again. "I'll be back in a second!"
She flies down the cliffside, leaving the mage alone against Aversa and a small squad of wyvern riders now flying escort around her.
"Oh shit." Ricken mumbles, backing away to the edge of the cliff. He grips his tome tightly and prepares another spell. Who does he aim for? If he attacks Aversa the wyverns get him, if he attacks the wyverns then Aversa gets him.
"So you saved the girl, good for you." Aversa says dryly. The sultry demeanor she was using before is totally gone, and she's glaring wholeheartedly at the little mage. "Was it worth it, brat? To save the bitch in exchange for your own life?"
She summons another Waste spell and holds it high over her head. Ricken hastily aims his own spell at her. "I-I did what any man is supposed to do! I fought to save my teammate!"
"Oh how noble." The lady sneers. "Well, I hope you're satisfied in your last moments foolish boy."
Ricken really isn't. He expected to survive this, not be a sacrifice to save Maribelle! He desperately flings his spell at the lady who sidesteps the attack with ease. She sneers cruelly and shoots the black ball of magic straight at his chest.
The spell never makes contact. A bolt of lighting sears over Ricken's head and makes contact with the Waste spell. The bolt effortlessly destroys the other spell and smashes into Aversa's stomach which sends the dark flier sprawling onto the dirt with lightning burns on her skin.
"Exactly as planned." Robin's voice whispers in the mage's head. "Now, jump off the cliff. Sumia is busy elsewhere."
Ricken is positive she's joking. Sumia is busy so Robin wants him to kill himself by jumping off a cliff!? "B-B-But-"
"Trust me."
She's not joking. "I'll die!"
"Trust. Me."
Ricken doesn't have time to think about his choice. Aversa is getting back to her feet, and the wyvern riders are closing the distance. The little mage whispers a quick prayer, takes a deep breath, and leaps off the cliff.
He falls a couple dozen feet, holding in a scream the entire time. He clutches his tome against his chest and his hat flies off his head, snatched by the wind.
An entirely different gust of wind bursts up from below him. His cloak catches the wind and billows out, and the sheer force of the wind slows his fall. The gale cuts out only a few meters from the ground and the little mage drops safely into the arms of the goddess waiting below.
"Trust me." She repeats with a smirk as she meets Ricken's dumbfounded expression. "Come on, I'm a master of strategy. Have a little faith."
"I-I, w-well..." He stammers. "I wasn't expecting that!"
"I can use more than just lightning magic." Robin scoffs. "I learned the others from Miriel back at Ferox."
"Oh." Ricken tries to hide the disappointment in his voice. He wanted to be the one to teach Robin wind magic. "Cool. Does that include dark magic?"
"Yep." The girl nods as she strolls to the Shepherds' backline while totally ignoring the battle happening around them, and the little mage is fairly sure that's the opposite of what she's supposed to do. "Healing magic is a bit of a hassle though. You think me being a goddess would mean I'm good at it because healing is based on divine magic an all, but no."
"H-Hey, aren't we supposed to be fighting? Aren't you supposed to be giving orders and stuff?" Ricken interrupts.
"I am." She says calmly. "You aren't the only one I can talk to with my mind, and as a goddess my multi-tasking is incredible."
"How incredible?"
"I'm currently in conversation with each Shepherd individually as well as Emmeryn and Phila." Robin hums.
"Oh wow."
"So yes, I am supposed to be giving orders, which I am doing."
The two of them get to the backline no problem. Maribelle is already there, having been dropped off by Sumia. Lissa, Miriel, and Virion are also here healing, casting, and shooting respectively.
"Enjoying yourself Ricken?" Lissa calls, smiling cheekily. The little mage doesn't get what she's talking about for a second, but then realizes that Robin is still carrying him around bridal style from when she caught him after his jump.
The boy scrambles out of the girl's grasp, flustered. The goddess is calm as usual, and only waggles her finger to control the wind and bring Ricken's hat flying over to land on his head. Robin adjusts the hat, disregarding Ricken's obvious embarrassment.
###
"Checkmate."
Ricken pouts as Robin wins yet another round. "Now you're just showing off. Only seven turns?"
"Not my fault you suck." She snorts, but is smiling when she says it. "I'm-"
"-the goddess of strategy, I know." Ricken snorts. "Everyone keeps reminding me, along with scolding me for not calling you 'your Highness' or whatever."
"Please don't." Robin sighs. "I'm already sick of Chrom and all the other Shepherds constantly bowing down to me."
"Even Sully?"
"Even Sully."
"I would like to see that." Ricken says cheekily. Robin rolls her eyes.
"Petty."
"She keeps making fun of my height! I'd be funny to see her bowing down." The mage insists.
"What's wrong with being short?" The goddess asks. "It's cute."
"I don't want to be cute!"
Well too late for that. "Of course, my bad."
They play another game in relative silence. Robin's incredible skill shows through again as she demolishes him again in eight turns. Against most people Robin holds back a bit, usually putting some restriction on herself to make the game more challenging. She knows Ricken would hate that though, he wants to be seen as an equal by everyone. That's why she continues to go all out despite knowing it makes the game impossibly one-sided.
She just wishes he'd let her teach him instead of insisting that he can learn on his own.
###
Ricken doesn't know what to think. Robin isn't the person he remembers… and yet she is. She's still the friend he remembers practicing magic with and the person he played soccer with not half a year ago.
Except she's good now, far better than him. She can effortlessly blow away massive sections of forest but also has enough control for pinpoint shots if she feels like it. Robin's tactical mind makes anything but luck games an effort in futility, and even when doing something like arm wrestling that's purely physical the goddess far outstrips even the strongest of Shepherds.
Ricken can't compare to her in any meaningful way, and he isn't stupid enough to think his conversation is particularly entertaining. He honestly wonders why Robin hangs around him when she's not working. As much as he hates to admit it he's childish compared to her now. It's weird to think half a year ago he was the mature one and she was the child.
Robin also isn't the eager bubbly person she was before. She's calm and collected now, with no trace of that enthusiasm she had as a child.
"Ricken, it's your move."
The mage startles for a moment. He was lost in thought so much that he forget they were playing something. It's a game Robin bought while out in Ferox called War of Worlds and it's super complex. Ricken frantically glances across the board, noting how Robin has moved her fliers even further up the mountain and is splitting her heavy infantry from it's cavalry escort. All of her troops are rather spread out.
That probably means something, but Ricken doesn't know anything about battle tactics. He wishes he did, but admitting he doesn't know what to think is just going to make him look even more childish.
"Maybe I can fake it." Ricken thinks. "Just keep doing what I was doing, it's all part of a plan."
The little mage moves his archers up close to the mountains, he can't hit the fliers but he's hoping to catch them when they leave. He pushes the rest of his troops forwards in a rush to try and take out Robin's exposed mages.
With a perfectly calm look, the girl says "you have no idea what you're doing, do you?" as he ends his turn.
"I do!" Ricken insists, lying through his teeth.
"Really? What's your plan?"
"I'm not telling you! You're the enemy!"
"Ricken." The girl says softly. "I'm not mocking you. I'm offering to help."
The mage grimaces. "I don't want help. I'll figure it out on my own."
"But you won't." Robin says curtly. "We both know you won't, so don't tell me you will."
Ricken feels abashed. He lowers his reddening head to hide behind his wide-brimmed hat and clenches his fists. "Y-You don't know that."
"But I do. I know you Ricken, I've been keeping a watch on you since I learned to scry. I know you're too stubborn to admit when you can't do something." The goddess says. At that moment, Ricken hates her calm and collected look, he hates how she can sit there with arms and legs crossed and tell him that she can read him like a book.
He's like a child to her: petty, difficult, but simple.
The mage stands abruptly from the table, growls out something about having other plans, and storms out of the building.
He hates how Robin doesn't even react, she doesn't even try to stop him. She probably expected this because he's just so easy.
###
Robin hates to admit she didn't have a plan going into that talk, and in hindsight the way Ricken reacted was absolutely to be expected. She challenged his fragile confidence, of course he was going to be upset. He's been trying to prove himself to the Shepherds for a long time and she more or less told him that she though he was incompetent. Granted it was at tactics, something most of the Shepherds suck at, but it makes sense he wouldn't be happy to hear that from a friend.
At least she hopes she's still a friend. There's been a disconnect between the two of them for the last little bit which Robin is fairly sure is due to his inferiority complex. The tacticina is worried that her status is a goddess is causing friction by making her seem too far above him.
She already has problems with the other Shepherds because they think she's so much better than them. They treat her with either reverence or a low-key hostility as some of them resent having their hard work and training look like nothing compared to her inborn skill and knowledge. Robin doesn't want the same reaction from Ricken; she wants him, her first and only friend, to not dislike her because of factors she can't control.
Sometimes Robin wishes she was human. She wishes she was weak and stupid again. She wishes she could still train alongside Ricken with each of them having their own areas to improve. They'd excel in different places, neither necessarily better than the other. Instead she's a goddess, and that fact has overshadowed every relationship she's had since the day she was sent here.
But she can't let that show. Saying such a thing would sound petty. She should be thankful for her position, she has power, could easily have money, and followers would flock to her if she just flexed her abilities a little.
Her life would feel awfully hollow without a friend though. No amount of power or money could fix that. That's why she's determined to get this right and not lose Ricken.
The question is how. How does she convince him that she's not mocking or patronizing him? How does she explain that she still values his company even if he can do nothing that will impress her? How does she explain that she wants to help him improve, and not out of pity or patronization but genuine enjoyment of helping a friend?
Maybe she can't convince him right now. There's nothing she can do but wait for the right moment, a moment when he's willing to hear her all the way through. Patience, the best plans rely on patience…
###
Ricken knows he's being petty. He's been avoiding Robin. He overreacted and he knows it. He could have been rational, he knows he's not good at strategy just like Robin said. She was blunt, yes, but he would have continued to deny everything otherwise.
He really is a child. He's running and hiding from his own friend for something absolutely not her fault. Ricken just doesn't want to admit that he's never going to equal to Robin again.
Does that mean they can't be friends though? He'll never be able to help her in a meaningful way because Robin just knows better than him.
"Ricken."
Oh gods, he stopped paying attention for only a few minutes and she found him. He's not ready for this conversation. The boy nervously spins around to face the tactician, who still looks and sounds totally calm. "Y-Yes Robin?"
"Can we talk?"
No no no no no no no no. "Yes, okay."
"You sound nervous."
Play it off or be honest? Last time he tried to play off his incompetence and it ended in disaster. As much as he hates showing weakness (it makes him look childish) he'll do it here because he doesn't want to make the situation worse. "I am."
"I'm not mad at you Ricken."
How did she guess he was worried about that?! "I-I w-well-"
"Can you promise to hear me all the way out?" She asks suddenly. The goddess stares right into his eyes with her own piercing silver orbs. "Before you make a judgement?"
"Okay." He breathes, immediately worried. She seems particularly serious, that can't be good.
The tactician takes a breath, arranging her thoughts, and then says slowly. "Ricken, we're friends right?"
"Yes."
"Do you know I only want the best for you? As a friend I want to see you succeed and improve." Ricken squirms in embarrassment, but when he doesn't say anything Robin takes that as a cue to continue. "I didn't mean to patronize you during that game. I figured you might like to learn, a one-sided game is no fun after all."
"But I'm never going to get close to your level." Ricken mumbles. "Not through my whole life."
"So? I'll never be as stoic as Lon'qu, but that doesn't stop me from trying." Robin jokes lightly. "It doesn't mean the effort is wasted. Even if you can't beat me, that doesn't mean you won't be able to give me a run for my money at some point, especially if I teach you everything I know."
"But what can I offer in return?" Ricken insists. "I don't want to be your student! I don't want to be seen as a child to be taught!"
"Who said anything about you being a kid?" Robin asks with a tilt of her head. "Ricken, you're my friend, you don't need to give anything in return. You're not going to school."
"Y-Yeah, but…" Ricken can't quite find a way to voice his thoughts. "I guess what I'm asking is why you're my friend. I can't do anything impressive."
Robin raises an eyebrow. "You're good company. Does there have to be another reason?"
"Well... yes, yes there does." Ricken nods. "Why go through all this effort if I'm just 'good company'? We're not equal, how can we be friends?"
"But we are equal. I don't particularly care for my status as 'goddess'." Robin insists. "And so what if I'm better at most things? As long as you enjoy being around me and I enjoy being around you the difference in our capabilities isn't all that relevant."
Ricken never really thought of it that way. So long as they help each other out and enjoy the other's company, what's the problem? Was he really so caught up in this whole power imbalance that he forgot what the point of a friendship was? "I… uh… yeah. I can't argue with that."
"Good." Robin nods. "Because I've had no one to play with the last few days and I'm bored out of my mind." She smiles at him, and he returns it sheepishly. "I miss my game buddy."
"And here I thought you were getting too mature for me." Ricken mumbles.
"The day I'm too 'mature' to play games with a friend is the day I know I'm a boring old lady like Mom." Robin snorts. "Now how about we resume that game we started a few days ago? If you're gonna get better at it, I have a few things to say already."
"Oh boy." Ricken says with a roll of his eyes.
"What? You want me to go easy on you?" She scoffs.
That question puts so much into context for Ricken. Robin was trying to respect him by not holding back, because she knew he'd hate that… which was why he never improved, because he was getting stomped every game before he could even figure out what was going on. This really was all just due to his stupid pride. "Not really."
"Then you better start learning so you can challenge me." She says with a calm smile. "Unless you're too 'mature' to pick up new tricks."
Ricken snorts. The serious air is completely broken. "No way! I'll improve so fast you'll have to study overnight just to stay ahead of me!"
This is longer than I expected, over 5500 words.
Truemmerphantom: I'll admit the deadly touch is an idea that I already had. The spirit manipulation thing is interesting, though I have no idea how that would be implemented. I'm going to put those down as two seperate ideas.
Guest (X2): This is The Robin Variable, not The Anyone Variable. I'm keeping a theme here. Besides, that's what Varied Awakenings is for.
Wyvern Rider will be put under minor.
Darkness is complete: Curious and difficult idea. Not sure how I'd use that, but sure. On the list it goes.
SirHaloFan: Jedai and Jaeger are way too inconsistent with the theme of Fire Emblem for this collection. Plegian Honor Guard is a nice one though.
Tom: No. Just… no.