Out in courtyard 6, another class of recruits was receiving their assignments from a very different instructor.
    Their teacher was a bald woman of medium height, swathed in no less than four scarves, and almost as many coats. She introduced herself as 'One', and no one had the courage to ask her whether or not it was her real name or not. Scars- ones that crisscrossed in tiny x's- ran down One's face and hands, and there were ones under her sleeves that revealed themselves with her movements.
Lillian stood in line, oblivious to the fact that she was being watched.
She had a vague impression of unease, and then felt something slip into the small pocket in the back of her uniform trousers. Reaching back to retrieve it, she was thwarted by One snatching her wrist with all the speed of a snake's strike.
    " Hellions..." One whispered. Lillian tried not to flinch when the instructor leaned in and sniffed her.
    " Yesss.. The Kitties will like you..." One said, then moved on to torment the next rookie. Lillian snatched the thing in her pocket, and brought it up in front of her face.
The thing turned out to be a scrap of cloth, with a disturbing message, written in jagged letters.

I WILL CLEANSE YOU

Chills ran down Lillian's spine as she tried to process what the message's sender might mean by 'cleansing' her. The options were- unfortunately- near endless.
A mere row behind her, a killer plotted his options.
Lillian shook the message from the forefront of her mind and stuffed the message back into her back pocket, making a face when her hand came away sticky and red.
    " that's some ink.." she muttered bitterly, wiping her hand clean on her uniform trousers.
One turned on her heel and marched back up the line, her eyes glittering behind her heavy scarf.
    " Blood.." she hissed.
Lillian looked down at the stain on her trousers, then back at One.
    " Blood? No.. this is just ink..." Lillian started, but One had already whipped a box of pads from somewhere within her fourth coat, and shoved it in Lillian's direction. A smile was plastered across her face as she offered the box with both arms fully outstretched. Lillian shook her head, trying to block out the laughter of her classmates.
One raised a hand, and the courtyard silenced.
" I will give a lesson to you." she said in a surprisingly clear voice.
Groans rose in a chorus, but Lillian listened in carefully.
One disregarded the groans and began talking about her life, and how she had managed to survive well over a decade in the devastating, bone-chilling mountains of the Old Himalayas. She spoke of traveling in a group through valleys brimming with bandits, and criminals of the very lowest caliber.
The vivid words meshed to the forefront of the imagination, and soon, the entire class started listening- halfheartedly at first- but then their interest increased with every word.
One finally ceased her wild tales, and gestured towards the door.
" You are dismissed. Find your dorms enjoyable!"
The class milled around uncertainly, not sure where the dorms were, or if they were supposed to go anywhere else.
Finally, someone suggested food- which sent most of the group running into the base, but Lillian stayed behind, pondering the meaning of the message she had received.
    " Are you lost?"
Lillian whirled around, and found herself facing two men- students who had stood behind her in the line.
    " Don't worry!"
The words came from the leaner of the two, spoken with the precise grace achievable only through years of corrective schooling. Messy tufts of sooty black hair fell across his face, obscuring deep set eyes, but the haircut did nothing to conceal the uneven skin bridging his cheeks and slightly off-center nose.
    " my name is Jacques. Jacques Dupont. This is my associate, Tomislav Sobol." Jacques shot Lillian a smile that nearly knocked her off her feet. His teeth were off-colored, and Lillian noticed that he had a piece of food stuck in the gap between his front teeth.
Lillian eyed Tomislav.
Unlike Jacques, Tomislav had a very welcoming presence. His face was round and trusting, and he seemed shy, but enthusiastic about being introduced.
Jacques whirled around and spread his arms wide.
    " well Tommy-boy, what was it you were saying about this chick? That she was pretty enough to be a wife?"
Tomislav's cheeks flushed rosy pink, and he waved his hands defensively.
    " No! No! I said she was pretty! Not the other stuff!" his voice was colored by the slightest hint of an unplaceable accent, though it may have just been his fretting.
Lillian smiled at his antics, and decided to play along.
    " I'm pretty?" she teased. Tomislav straightened up from his spine-crunching slouch, smiled at Lillian, sincerity in his eyes
    " Yes.. you are beautiful" the confidence that appeared in that statement was slightly surprising, but not at all unwelcome, and Lillian smiled.
    " Thank you!" Lillian crooned, bouncing onto the balls of her feet, then leaning a few inches closer.
    " Someone's flirting..." Jacques muttered, though it wasn't clear whether he was referring to Tomislav or Lillian.
    " I was just complimenting you!" Tomislav didn't notice his mistake until Jacques started to double over from laughing. Lillian raised an eyebrow.
" I mean her!" Tomislav squeaked.
    " Thanks Buddy, but you REALLY aren't my type." Jacques called. At some point in the recent past, he had pushed himself onto a waist-high shelf in the wall, and was reclining against the cold surface of the stone. Lillian scoffed and shook her head.
    " You know what I meant." Tomislav accused, jabbing a finger towards Jacques.
Lillian slipped between the two before their disagreement could escalate into a full-on brawl. Retrieving the bloody cloth from her back pocket, she held it out with both hands to Tomislav, hoping he could provide some insight.
    " Changing the topic.. Did you two happen to see who slipped this into my pocket?" Lillian asked.
Tomislav squinted at the text for a good minute before straightening up and shaking his head.
    " No. My apologies."
The words were curt. Lillian backed out from between the two men, not wanting to be out in the open any longer than necessary.
The door leading to the base swung open, revealing Alex in the doorway. His face was shadowed, conveniently hiding how he was really feeling.
    " Lillian! I see you've met half of your new squad." he said, forcing enthusiasm. Lillian's eyebrows shot up. Alex chuckled and nodded.
    " Yes those two. Your new squad just got announced over the intercom. Didn't you hear it?" he asked
    " and who's the other member?" Jacques called. His head lolled over the side of the wall, facing the heavy grey sky.
    " the other man in your unit is Lillian's elder brother." Alex said.
Jacques and Tomislav perked up, and exchanged a look.
    " she has an older brother?" Jacques asked.
    " what's he like?"
Lillian sucked in her breath, and willed Alex to leave out Hobbins' kinship to violence out of his description. He had been violent almost since the start, and it had affected everything about daily life. No one knew what would set him off, so the early days after the adoption were almost silent. Lillian shook herself out of the past and focused on Alex's description of her brother.
Much to her amusement, Alex seemed to be head over heels for her brother, however, a single glance at her new teammates was all that she needed to gauge their feelings on the subject of two men being in a relationship.
Jacques quirked an eyebrow, and a smirk pulled on the corners of his lips. However, Tomislav looked furious. His hands were balled into fists, and the look in his eyes rivaled the earlier storm.
Alex continued speaking obliviously, not seeming to notice the thick tension curdling in the air.
Jacques spoke lightly, slipping off the stone shelf with feline grace.
    " Two cute siblings? How am I gonna decide!?" he teased. Alex stared, jaw hanging open, when he realized what Jacques was implying.
    Jacques winked at Alex and sashayed out the door, leaving even more tension in his wake. Tomislav growled a curse under his breath that was foul enough to strip paint. Lillian reflected on earlier, when Tomislav had seemed harmless- even friendly- and wondered if she was missing something crucial.
    " You like men?" Tomislav growled.
Alex took a step back, and shrugged.
    " I like women and men. I'm bi, so.. Yeah! I go both ways."
Tomislav looked even angrier, and the tension grew even stronger.