It was what had kept her and her closest friend's heads above water. And while she had been offered this 'recruitment' to help keep those she held close safe... Didn't mean she entirely trusted them. Not just yet. She needed to do this...
They had instructed her that she would receive a weapon. So where the frick was it!? She barely had time for this 'mystical' crap if she was to try and hold off what 'evil' she had been warned about!
And she really didn't appreciate the lack of lighting. Her sea-foam gazed squinted ahead of her as she used the wall to try and direct herself further down the steps. Upon reaching the bottom step, her fingers brushed against something a little more... off-leveled from the wall.
And then a low hum vibrated out beneath said digits.
She retracted her hand as if she had been burnt. But no pain. Only a heightened sense of caution replaced her sour mood.
But... Now that she looked a little closer... The walls. They were covered in tablets! Everywhere she turned! And the room... It made the small hairs of her neck and arms stand a little but not in an entirely bad way. It wasn't hard to miss the heavy ominous presence (or presences) around her.
Perhaps... This was how they did it. Some kind of test before being a weapon. Sonja supposed it was a good idea. Some people probably shouldn't have one.
She savored another long look around the room before rubbing her hands together with a loud 'CLAP'. It was time to get down to business!
Sonja was going to have to rely on what she knew she was good at using. Instinct! Since the first runic tablet she had brushed against yielded a bit of something, maybe she just needed to find the right one?
It shouldn't have been as disappointing as it had felt but... Nothing was reacting any differently. She would receive the occasional hum or a whisper but nothing super fancy. Nothing that revealed themselves. Nothing that popped out like a cartoon and just started speaking to her... NOTHING!
She had half-hoped that these people weren't just messing with her. Leading her along with the promise of saving her friends... She sunk to crouch, bringing her knees to her chin with her arms encircling her face. She had no family to speak of so they were all she had! Sonja always shared her meals with her little rag-tag group of friends.
Telling stories, boosting their moral to keep themselves going to live another day. To show that there is still light at the end of that tunnel... It was what she was good at, even when she sometimes didn't believe it herself.
And now... With all these stones around her, surely laughing at her at her futile attempts at trying to be stronger than she thinks she can be, she felt so alone...
Sonja froze. Her head whipped around to and fro to try and figure out where the source had some from. Had that been...?
"Yeah, I know that..." This voice sounded definitely different than her own. Commanding.
Boy, this voice sure had some lip!
"I'm not! I'm- ARGH!" Her fingers dug into her hair, mussing it up in frustration.
"I just want to keep people safe. Let them live better than I had. Give them more hope than I could ever hope to have..." To have a . To love and be loved. It wasn't so hard to want that for anyone or... Maybe even herself?
<...>
Whatever it was it seemed to contempt for several moments while Sonja straightened herself back to her feet. She knew if she were any worse, she would have given up and walked back out to find another way. But this place... She knew whatever was here could help her! And she would be damned to let it slip through her fingers!
"I-"
Again, Sonja froze.
This was different. Well, more different. The hum was louder. Pleasant, in it's own way. It carried something else along with it... Music? A low thrumming that she could have sworn was her own heart beating but... Offbeat. It called to her. Beckoning for her to come. And she did. One foot after another.
Until she stood behind the drumming tablet, beating like heart after a long jog.
"... I'm Sonja." She felt it was probably a good idea to introduce herself before touching...? Yeah, touching the other.
<... Li-liang. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.> While she could tell they seemed like a more proper type, the slight change in octave had her smiling.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're smiling."
"Well, not visibly, no but you sound like you'd be." A small noise is produced from the runes, something more along the lines of annoyance.
Sonja can't help but chuckle before raising her hands in surrender.
"Alright, alright, I'll stop," She places both of her hands upon the stone, feeling the cool surface give way on contact to reveal her new weapon.
"You ready to help me out, Li?" Her fists tightening around the knobs of the tonfas, admiring the glowing runes along each blade.
