Maria nodded carefully after Agent Wingate had finished speaking, noticing the different emotions that seemed to be warring for dominance within the older agent's eyes. "Thank you," Maria said politely in response, though what she was thanking Integra Wingate for was unclear. Glancing around the now-empty room, Maria realized that everyone else was already in the simulation. Apparently, they were to track down a siren. Maria had met a few in her time, and although they were not too horrendously deadly, they were definitely a pain to subdue (especially with male partners).
"A siren, huh?" Maria wondered aloud, to no one in particular. Maria was halfway expecting an answer from Ruvik, but she figured he'd remain silent because Maria was just babbling like she usually was. It did feel like she had some kind of link to the stoic anomaly, but Maria didn't know how she felt about that. Come on, she thought to herself, he barely ever talks! That's gonna be a bit dull. Remembering what Agent Wingate had told her about how their minds were connected, Maria flicked her gaze guiltily over to Ruvik.
"Sorry," she apologized hastily, not used to other people having access to her thoughts. "It just....kinda slipped..." Maria trailed off while making a vague hand gesture, her sentence hanging awkwardly in the air like a wingless bird. To Maria, the silence was overbearing, and the tension permeating the room was palpable.
This really isn't gonna work, Maria contemplated, frustrated. Everything about how Wingate treated Ruvik was so damn formal. I can't pull off anything like that. Maybe I could just converse with him like he's an actual human being. That would make it easier on me. Oh! I still need to remember to not leave loopholes or whatever. Yes, I can do that.
Fully aware that Ruvik had known every sentence that had just flitted through her head, Maria put on a cheery smile and turned to him. "So, a siren. How 'bout that? I hope you're immune to her voice, seeing as you have no gender...right?" Maria cocked her head to the side slightly and studied Ruvik's blank face, waiting for him to reply.
Hopefully this isn't a complete bust.