"Mordo."
"I'm here, Master." The broad-featured, almost bald man with a fleshy face saluted the Ancient One, who had called his name.
"Is everything ready?" The Ancient One asked him gently. She treated everyone the same: calm as a clear breeze, yet warm.
"Everything is ready, Master." Mordo nodded. The Ancient One rarely gave him tasks, and he meant to handle this one beautifully.
"I went to Kunlun myself to trade with the elders there. I did use your name, of course, Grandmaster." Mordo wanted her to know how much care he had put into it. He had even invoked her name.
"Every last one is the best of the best!"
"When you handle something, I can rest easy." The Ancient One nodded in satisfaction. She had seen the phrase long ago, but it was only after joining the Chat Group that she had picked up the habit of saying it.
Mordo returned the salute, thanking her for the praise. Then silence settled between them.
"Mordo, how are things outside?" The Ancient One asked, breaking the silence. Joining the Chat Group had changed her too, if only a little.
"Much the same as before, except for that showy Iron Man." To mages like them, changes in the outside world had little to do with them. This one new arrival was worth mentioning, though.
"Iron Man," The Ancient One repeated, knowing whom Mordo meant.
She thought of the future she had seen countless times through the Timeline before joining the Chat Group, and smiled to herself.
Suddenly, her expression shifted. "Mordo, a friend of mine has arrived. I'll go meet him. See to your own affairs."
Mordo nodded and left. He was curious who her friend might be, but a proper mage did not pry into things he was not meant