So this was it- the cove they'd been told to go to.

Reine had waited until it was dark, just for the thrill of it. She was, honestly, somewhat afraid for whatever awaited her- but her biggest fear, right now, was losing her balance and tumbling downwards. Clinging to the walls like a lizard, the girl moved down cautiously, making sure the ground was solid under her before she let herself put any weight on that foot.

Her own footsteps echoed hollowly, and she had to remind herself that she was alone.

Or was she?

Heart pounding, Reine stopped where she was, straining her ears to listen out for any sounds around her.

Nope. Nothing.

There was an audible sigh of relief before she continued downwards. Who.. would be waiting for her there? She couldn't imagine why anyone would wait in the dark- why not meet up in the cafeteria, have a talk over some probably bland tea? That thought rang alarm bells- why the 'Cove', indeed? Was this some kind of prank on the new recruits, like what they did with college freshies?

Stay on guard, Reine whispered to herself, shifting so she had her fists up in front of her. Ready to punch anything that came her way.

« Is there really a need to be so formal, darling? »

Waitwha----- with a yelp, the girl slipped, caught by surprise, and ended up rolling down the stairs. Oh god. Ouch. Ouchhhhh. Groaning, she sat up, rubbing her head where she was sure there'd be a bump in a few hours.

"Helloooooo?"

That was.. that was impossible. There was no one in the cove, other than her- the light, even though it was dim, told her that much. Scooting over to the wall with the torch, Reine looked upwards, just to make sure there wasn't something lurking up there (you could never be too sure)- but no, not that either. And yet she could've sworn she'd heard a voice.

Where had it.. come from?!

« heeheeheeheehee »

"Hello?!?!" A chill ran down her spine just from the way that.. voice giggled, and it was only then that she realised something- the voice was in her head. What did that even.. mean? It was a decidedly female voice, with a decidedly creepy tone to it- one that actually reminded her of a particular male voice she'd heard a while ago.

"Doctor?" Was it him, using some sort of voice changer?

« I'd say you need to get checked out by one, hmmm? Guess agaaaain, princess~ »

"Stop messing around with me, you *@$&*#$&@."

« heeheeheehee aren'tyousopreciousssss »

"Shut up."

« I bet you can't find me. Know what you should doooooo? »

"Walk out of here and never come back?"

« Wrong answer, kitten. »

For the first time, Reine noticed the faint humming in the room, and the runes on the wall. Running her hand over them, she realised they were on separate tablets, each one eliciting a slightly different response. Some made her hand tingle a little, others had no effect; still others trembled a little as she touched them. What was she supposed to be looking for?

« Come closer~ »

"Huh?" Reine pressed herself against the wall. "Like this?"

« Oh, yes. Kitten's so smart. »

".... and... then?"

« Put your hands in the air and dance! »

"..... You're kidding me."

« eheheheeheeheeheehee »

"WILL YOU STOP IT WITH THE GIGGLING!!!"

« chill, kitten, just chillllll. »

"So done with you," she growled, unsticking herself from the wall. "And by that I mean SHUT UP."

An eerie silence followed- oddly, it made the hunter feel much more uncomfortable. She examined the tablets, noting her reactions to them; they were, for the most part, unimpressive. Perhaps this was a test- you had to pull the right tablet out, and a door would open somewhere in the chamber, leading to where she would eventually meet her partner. Whoever the other girl was, Reine was at least 95% confident that she needed a punch in the face.

Now the question was: which tablet? She could approach this systematically, trying every tablet on the wall- but there were so many. Picking at random, though, was going to be ridiculously messy. So what else was there? Gut feel?

Sighing, Reine looked harder at all the tablets, trying to identify the runes. They weren't letters, it was likely- rather, they looked more like pictures, or just symbols in general. Was this some sort of rorschach test? Turning to the other wall, she examined the tablets there, running her hands over them, only to jerk her hand way from one particular tablet that hurt to even touch.

It was cold. Freezing cold, where the rest had just been cool to the touch.

"This is the one, isn't it? Figures.." Grimacing, she pulled it out of the wall, only to have it transform into something.. sharp.. some kind of sword? The coldness faded away, but she dropped the weapon anyway, out of surprise.

« Oh, that's how it is, now, is it? Mistreating me right from the start? »

"You... what.." The girl's head was reeling, trying to absorb everything.

"You're my.. partner?" Kneeling, she picked the weapon up.

« If you want to propose, kitten, you'll need to do a better job... Besides, I.. I'm not ready for this I don't think we know each other well enough perhaps some quality time together would fix that, hmmmmm? »

"... If by quality time you mean training, sure.."

« Initiative. I like that. But you're forgetting the most important thing, darling. »

"Oh, right, polishing. You're not... rusty though, are you? I don't know if they have tetanus shots here, to begin with.."

« I wouldn't mind being polished, but I'm not sure we're on such good terms yet, my pretty. »

"... Oh. Well. Uhh.. I'm.. Reine? Nice to meet.. you? Use you?"

« Alynthe. »

She could've sworn the weapon actually *purred*.

« Oh, and for future notice? »

"Yes?"

« We're linked to each other, so you don't have to talk to me- just think. »

"...."

« You know, thought it might be useful to note, so you don't make a fool out of yourself-- and me. »

You couldn't have told me that from the start?!

« teeheeheehee! »