The Cove.

The very name made him think of the sea, caves, whirling sea breezes. And water. Something about it made him think of water. What was one of Bix’s secrets? He’d never been swimming in the ocean. He’d seen it before but he didn’t live anywhere near an ocean and his parents never took them on vacation. He could do lakes. He could do creeks. The ocean? It was a giant, endless mystery that he just couldn’t quite handle. Similar to the fact that the vastness of space terrified him.

Now the trainee, no, hunter stood at the top of some steps and amidst the smell of the sea wafting on the breeze he did his best to choke away the fear that the smell brought him. The fear that he was on an island surrounded by the swirling sea was something he battled. He fought that feeling and also fought the long ingrained, mostly by horror films, instinct to NEVER walk down into the dark and scary cave. Ferdinand would have never gone into that cave. He was no fool! But Ferdinand was gone now and Bix knew that his FEAR really could take shape. His FEAR could actually harm him. His job was to fight fear and smash it into a million pieces. So despite his instinct to run he took his first few steps down into The Cove. The comic book panel of this moment in his life would look awesome... he imagined his silhouette outlined against the cave mouth. His new uniform looked totally badass and his scarf blew dramatically in the breeze. They were the first steps to his new life!

Of course it was dark. It wouldn’t be a dark and scary cave if it wasn’t. What he didn’t expect was for it to be so… small. He had imagined vast, echoing cave ceilings. Instead he got a rather small cave lit with a single torch. So small that he couldn’t even be scared of the shadows because he knew the stone walls were right there. He let out a breath, releasing that tension, and walked forward. It was slightly deeper than it was wide and he could hear a whispering ahead of him. Was someone here going to give him his weapon? He’d been told to find it. Were others here looking too? The whispering seriously sounded like people talking but just like high school, as soon as he reached the action it stopped. Silence reigned and ‘the action’ was nothing but a wall covered in runes.

Upon closer inspection he found that they were stone tablets and the runes were actually the stylized shapes of weapons. He let out a loooooooow whistle and took a step back to truly admire the crazy fantasy, sci-fi concoction. He was a fan! This? FANTASTIC. Something giddy bubbled up in his chest and in the dark he burst out in a smile in appreciation that he was now part of this insane world. His red eyes shot upwards to the wall and his expression got serious. He had to choose his weapon.

We choossssse you.

Something ran down his spine and made him nervous. The voice was seductive, something that never was directed at him. It also sounded far away, as if he was only catching it on a breeze. He reached for the closest tablet that interested him. It was a gun, the only thing he’d had luck with lately, but soon recoiled in fear as a vicious screech erupted from it. It was less of a sound and more of a feeling. Oh No. He wasn’t interested in whatever made that noise.

Bix moved on, now frowning. This was not as simple as it seemed. What did ‘We choose you’ mean? The tablets now seemed less cool. It was like doing a jigsaw puzzle without knowing what picture you were trying to make. Nothing he could see called to him so he reached out again. This time it rumbled dangerously under his hand but somehow never moved. Something seemed wrong about it but he heard it again. The sexy woman’s call.

Ferdinaaaaaand..

Something about the voice sounded dangerous and manipulative. All things he seemed to have a weakness with in women. His head tilted, his ears guiding him towards it. It was also calling him by his real name. “It’s Bix..”

Hahaha.. Ferdinaaaaaannnd…

He frowned. The voice seemed to be enjoying making him squirm. His hands brushed another tile. “AHHHH..” He yanked his hands back. The sound of nails on a chalkboard. THE WORST.

Here you are. Hello snowflake.

It was below him, directly. The sexy call of a woman was coming from one of the tablets right here. How weird. He should have been bothered, freaked out but something about her seemed intriguing.

Her? He was already acknowledging a disembodied voice as an individual. He read too many comic books! No. Never too many comic books. He tapped a tablet, one that looked like a D oh.. wait.. no…

A bow. Something sexy you can hold in your hand. I’m rather beautiful. It’s love at first sight.

The voice seemed to purr upwards through his arms, making him shake down to his spine like when a hot breath washed over your neck. He gripped the tablet and pulled it out.

I love it when you hold me.

It giggled. He had the distinct feeling, as he closed his eyes, that he was being seduced and as soon as he fell for her she’d be bossing him around. His fingers twitched and something solid and familiar formed in his grip. As he opened his eyes he realized he’d fallen for it. Hook. Line. Sinker.

It was love at first sight.

You’re in trouble snowflake.

The voice was not as seductive now but definitely feminine. It also sounded triumphant. “Don’t call me snowflake..” he said it like a zombie almost. He was still caught up in the snow white feathers, the gold, the perfect weight of it… and the awesome glowing red orbs that made him feel like it was watching him.

I’ll call you whatever I want darling.

Did it have an accent? And it was damn bossy.

Do not think of me as an it. My name is Citlalmina.

It reverberated and rolled nicely in her accent. Definitely foreign. HE WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO PRONOUNCE THAT. “How about Mina? Easier for me. And she was a character from Bram Stoker’s Dracula... pretty cool actually she-”

Dead silence. Oh god. She already hated him.

You’ll definitely take some work.