The air was thick with salt and carried the wafting scent of beach life over only a sort distance to the cove's path--where a particularly determined trainee found herself navigating.
The nostalgia was inevitable, her hazel eyes rolling back, her dark lashes fluttering in delight; this was like home. This was as close to home as she would ever get now. Visiting the fish markets dotting their harbor, holding the hand of her mother as the two of them browsed the wares they couldn't afford, looking on hungrily while being absolutely content to do so every Sunday morning.
Minerva didn't realize that she had stopped until a thunderous crashing in the distance washed away the daydream. Waves of water that brushed against the island's shore could be seen some ways down the path, and in that same area a peculiar, hollowed out formation did rest. This was it.
Her partner was somewhere in there.
The stair case was certainly an unexpected touch, and traveling down their winding design did not provide any way of dating their creation--All Minerva could assume was that the cove and its downward path had been around for a while. A long...long while.
And the room at the bottom also served as an interesting surprise, Minerva pausing at the base of the stairs to assess the new area. It felt tiny, and from what could be seen looked the part just as well. It also smelled of wet-dog, was, unfortunately, very dark, and oddly enough empty. There was no hesitation on the woman's face as she strained to see through to the farthest corners, eyeing the single torch which hung on the nearest wall; but there was suspicion, taking a step toward the long, humming wall before her.
How long had the hum been ringing in her ears? She couldn't quite pin the time when the ocean's serenade ended, and felt as if the sound had been echoing all around her for quite some time...perhaps not with as much intensity as it was now, standing directly in front of the walls face--but there nonetheless. And it was here that Minerva could see the cracks and runes which dotted the cove's wall, and it was also here that she could get the sense that she was not wanted. At least not on THAT side of the wall.
The pictures were all of weapons, which was a good start. She had been instructed to find 'the one'; HER weapon...but this was proving to be a difficult task as her gaze fell upon large ones, small ones, some that didn't even seem to fit the weapon standard, and all of them humming. How would she be able to know which was hers with all the humming?!
And with some of them being so high up there?!~
Perhaps if she started on the bottom and worked her way up, she would just happen upon it...A gun-like rune caught her attention after a broad visual sweep, it's sleek and smart design depicted quite well on the crumbling surface it was carved. It appealed to her aesthetic and practical senses...and because of this a hand lifted and brushed without pause, palm flattening out before a scream sent her reeling backwards.
Minerva turned quickly and looked wide-eyed all around, gripping both of her shoulders with a shudder. "Who's there?!" She made the demand with as much as strength she could muster, the simmer of fear starting to cultivate in the deepest part of her mind. The shadows were ominous within the cove, dancing by the light of a flame; taunting her. There came no reply to her question, but what she felt was perhaps as good as any would have been. Something pulled her forward, yanked at her without touch or presence.
Minerva moved instinctively toward what she believed was a groan. And the closer she got to the wall again, the louder and more eager the groan became, until two sickles on a stone was all she could look at....
Was all she wanted to look at.
"Hello." Minerva spoke without thinking. She furrowed her brows afterward, confused. Who was she talking to?
<...Hi.>
This time, Minnie tilted her head and wrinkled her nose. What...what was going on?
"Why?" Again, the woman paused afterward to shake her head. Who--
It clicked, but still she looked a bit disoriented. "...So you're...?" A sense of sadness seemed to overcome her then, followed by a bit of a temper.
"Well...not really, I mean there's a lot of weapons to choose from and..."
Minerva blinked several times and rubbed at one arm, shifting her gaze to the side. "I never really saw myself with a hand weapon. I...figured I would be more of a bow wielder or something..."
The room became very quiet then. Almost too quiet...Minerva grit her teeth before muttering. "Come on! Say something?!"
"I--"
"I guess...I mean, I can feel something. I guess I could use sickles..."
Minnie smiled, but her thoughts were skeptical, still unsure.
<We will be friends. Just you watch!>
"..."
"Minerva?"
She leaned forward and did as she was told, sliding the tablet out of the wall and tilting her head in surprise when it shifted and molded and became two golden sickles. The skulls on each glowed a brilliant green, and the braided handles that she gripped (until her knuckles turned white) felt warm and welcoming to the touch.
Minnie could feel the power.
..."Oh yes...I like."
