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Toby felt himself tense up as his boss called out his partner's name. Sadie? Really?? He didn't even know her name until yesterday, when Slender had mentioned her while he was busy organizing the pairs....

㋛ 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖍𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐 ㋛

The faceless entity was leaned over his desk, his supposed eyes staring at the innumerable piles of paper on the desk. The papers were the files of all the residents in the home, and contained history, family records, medical records, habits, quirks, etc.

Masky and Hoodie stood in the very back of the room, standing so ramrod straight and so still that they might have been mistaken as statues, had it not been for Hoodie sneaking a hand under his mask every so often to scratch at the scar that now covered his face. He had been hit with some itching poison from the attack, and the deadly substance burned his skin, leaving the side effects of the scar in constant need of scratching.

Toby himself stood at the side of his boss, as his second-in-command, his posture somewhat slumped as he leaned over the desk to point out certain attributes that would make for good pairing. After a moment or so, however, he sighed and straightened his back, his shoulder jutting out in a loud popping noise as he did so

"S-Sir," he began respectfully "Wh-Why do we ha-have to be st-studying these papers for hours? Why ca-an't we just pull some names out of a hat to p-p-pick the partners?" He asked, earning a loud scoff from Masky in the corner

Tim cleared his throat, stepping forward from his dark corner and bowing his head at his boss "Slender, may I explain?" he asked, clearly feeling a bit....egotistical at the fact that he knew something that the other twitching male didn't know. When he recieved a nod from the entity, he began to explain the pairing situation in a slightly condescending tone

"You see....Toby....these partners will be together for an entire year" he began to pace slowly, feeling proud at himself for being so smart "They need to be compatible with each other, help each other out. Whatever one person's weakness is, their partner needs to be able to help them with tht weakness, and visa versa for their strengths. We wouldn't want two people who were both strong and didn't have any brains now, do we?" the brunnette asked, tapping the side of his head with a smirk

"For example, say we have-" he trailed off as he walked towards the desk, shifting through the papers for a moment before grabbing two "-Jeff and......Hoodie" there was a small sound of surprise from the dark corner, which was Brian jumping at hearing his alias, thinking he had missed something important. "Jeff has many, er, great qualities. He has that natural bloodlust, and.....other things. But he also has many, many flaws. His skills with his knife is mediocre at best, the only reason he completes his mission is because half of his victims die of fear at his ugly, dadgum fa-" he cut himself off abruptly, glancing up at Slender nervously before continuing once more "Now, let's view Brian. Brian is able to shoot accurately, taking only a second or two to aim. He is very empathetic with others, and he does what he's told. But he also is unable to socialize, and is very easily distracted by, say, butterflies or rainbows."

"HEY!" Brian protested in the corner, stepping forward and scratching at his face "It was pretty! And when do you ever see a butterfly and a rainbow at the same time?!?!"

Slender sighed in annoyance "Get to the point, Timothy." He muttered.

"Of course, sir." He said promptly "So my point is...." he trailed off again, realizing that he completely forgot his point in the example...."Is, uh... we have to be....careful who we put together...." he awkwardly

Groaning and shaking his head in disappointment, the monster let out a huff and put a hand on Toby's shoulder, much like a father would. "His point was that we need people who will be able to work together well, since they will be with each other for an entire year." he said gently, trying to explain his point to the male.

Toby nodded his head slowly, and then a bit more quickly as he let out a long "ohhhhh" when the meaning finally dawned on his. "I get it...so, u-uhm, who wi-ill I be p-put with?" he asked quietly

"You will all learn your partners during the meeting tomorrow" he replied, sighing as he sat down in his chair, rolling it closer to his desk so that he could rest his elbows on the table, something he never did. But this time was an exception...he hadn't slept since the attack. There was too much to do, from the burials of the dead to caring for the wounded....he just needed some sleep "However, I'm having trouble with Sadie..."

"W-who?" Toby asked, confused once again, tilting his head to the side as he ran the names of all the residents through his head....ones that were still alive, that is.

"The new one." Masky interjected, nodding and simultaneously frowning at the fact that he even knew her. "The girl with all the bandages covering her arms" he ran a hand down his own arm as an example.

"O-oh, yeah.....th-that's her name?"

"Indeed, Rogers." Slender sighed "Now go and get some rest. I'll handle the rest of the work here."

๑۞๑,¸¸,ø¤º°'°๑۩ 𝕱𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖍𝖇𝖆𝖈𝖐 𝖔𝖛𝖊𝖗 ๑۩ ,¸¸,ø¤º°'°๑۞๑

Sadie herself was not very happy with her...pair. She froze, becoming even more still (if that was possible) for the rest of the meaning. Slender spoke a few words, words of encouragement and other stuff, but they all sounded fuzzy in her ears...she had to work with someone? Oh, no...oh, no, no, no, people suck, people let you down.

People die.

She was snapped out of her trance by the movement of all the pastas shuffling out of the room. Realizing that the horrible meeting was over, the female stood up, casting a glance at the twitching boy next to her, who was just sitting quietly, and made to follow the others out the door.

But that plan didn't work out very well. A large hand laid itself on her shoulder, causing her to flinch and instinctively cast a glare at the assailant. Oh, it was just that boss guy...shaking her head at the entity, she tried to leave again, only to have him tighten his grip on her

"Sadie" Slender said, stressing her name. "Wait. You and Tobias will be leaving in the morning, so be sure to get some rest. I will be dropping off a bag at your door, filled with the necessary items. Do not pack anything else, except a change of clothes and a weapon. Understand?"

The brunette hesitated for a minute before she slowly closed her eyes, nodding her head as she refused to speak. It was a natural thing to happen, and Slenderman had gotten used to it over the small amount of time she was here. The dame had never said a word to anyone in the mansion, with the exclusion of Masky and Slender himself, obviously.

"W-where are we-e going?" Toby interrupted, stepping forward and tilting his head up at the much taller man "....s-sir." he added, almost as an afterthought

The leader sighed, glancing at the wall as he thought....let's see.....where did he choose for them to go, again....? Right.... "The two of you will be searching the Appalachians." he paused a moment before he spoke to the two of them again "I expect both of you to be up and standing in front of my office door, ready to go, by seven a.m." And with that, he vanished. Disappeared without a sound or any warning.

Sadie blinked at the vanishing, regaining her wits after a few moments and sighing at the boy in front of her, her eyes moving up and down as she surveyed him, taking in his flaws that she could see...wondering why on earth she would ever get put with a happy-go-lucky oaf like him...and then she left, walking out of the meeting room silently.

Toby stood there, not knowing what else to do. She obviously has /some/ skills, he reasoned, or else Slender would have never put her with me.....well, I'll figure them out soon enough, I guess. And at least she doesn't look that bad...

And with that...little thought in his mind, he walked out.