It had been something of an experience, waking up. He'd read books about deep space and even deeper sleeps; he'd even seen movies where people entered weird pods so that they could sleep as they moved through space. It had been entertaining in theory, but absolutely rotten in practice.

He still felt a little groggy after departing from Evan. Once he received his check-up and gotten instructions from a life tech who was very obviously having a terrible day, Isaac approached the Cove as he'd been instructed so that he could receive his weapon.

Stepping into the cool, dim cavern was another shock to his senses. The direct contrast between the high-tech systems he'd first seen when he peeled his eyes open and this cool, almost damp cavern was really quite strange. As he moved down the stairs (very carefully because he did not want to have to tell that very-bad-day-having life tech that he'd broken his leg) he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. The sound was rich and deep and reverbrated off of the walls, and in that instant something seemed to shift in his mind.

He did not hesitate as he moved deeper into the cavern. There was something - perhaps even someone - who was calling him; he'd been told what to expect, and so it did not come as a shock to him, thankfully. What he hadn't been expecting was the voice. She sounded so young, and there was an accent to her words that made him smile broadly.

<Y'gonna stand 'round all day like a jackin' monkey or y'gonna come git me?>

Isaac had been informed by the life tech that only crazy lunatics spoke out loud to their weapons, but here, alone, it felt like the natural thing to do.

"I am coming, I am coming. What is your name?"

<Larkspur.>

"That is very pretty. What are you?"

<S'fer y'ta find out, y'jackin' oaf. C'mon then.>

"I am Isaac."

He found out just then what it felt like when someone who lived in your head rolled their eyes so hard they almost fell out of their skull.

<I know yer name. M'here. Been 'round since y'woke up. Waitin'. Get over here. Y'know where I am. M'ready ta dance.>

Laughing again, Isaac moved towards the direction her voice felt the loudest. He reached out his hand and took up the tablet - it was obvious he chose the correct one, as a swell of giddiness nearly exploded behind his eyes. He was grinning so very broadly as he pulled the tablet free.

A strangely beautiful thing happened.

The tablet shifted, expanded; planes and angles shifted and coalesced and came together to form something else entirely. It was fantastic, and it left Isaac standing there with a stupidly stupid grin on his face and a huge sword clutched in his hands.

If Lark had been standing there before him she'd have been dusting off her shoulders; the sense of pride that filled him - that filled them - was undeniable. Isaac didn't even try, but instead let it wash over him simply because it made him happy to do so. He actually relished it, and they were both silent as weapon and hunter really and truly got to know one another. The weight of her hilt in his hands, the delicate balance of her large blade, the glow of her runes.

She was beautiful, and she was his. He was gentle, and he was hers. The perfect marriage of personalities, comfortable and safe and strong.

<Yer n'idiot.> There was a fondness in her voice already, the petulant tone she'd adopted earlier traded in for something softer. There was now a possessive lilt to her voice - he was hers - but Isaac didn't mind.

<Put me away, y'jackin' fool.>

It happened so smoothly, so beautifully, effortlessly. The deadly two-handed sword morphed into a quarter-sized side-profile gold kangaroo pin; as he cupped it in the palm of his hand, Isaac chuckled. It was a pretty little piece of jewelry, one he'd never have chosen for himself. There was a small green gemstone where the eye was. He very quickly pinned the precious thing to the lapel of his jacket.

I am very glad we have found one another, Larkspur.

<Call me Lark. An' y'oughta be. We gonna make a good team.>

I agree.

<Good on ya.>

He touched one broad, scarred hand to the pin; Isaac fully believed that their relationship was one that would prove beneficial to them both.

<Don't go doin' nothin' dumb. An' stop gettin' all sappy, y'twit. Yer a grown a** man.>

Isaac laughed. Yeah, they would get along just fine.