"I've always been academically inclined."

"You'll have a pretty good chance, then!"

"Sweet."

"Wanna come to my hotel room after dinner?"

She really should say no. But she's not going to.

"All right."

Yes!!!

"Awesome!!!"

"Any hints for what I should expect, or will it be a surprise?"

"I like surprises, myself."

"As befits an ambush predator like a tiger."

"Might be part of it!"

"I can't venture a better guess without knowing more, of course."

"You'll have to get to know me better."

"I find I'm not averse to the prospect."

Teeny tiny wiggle!

Then they can fill their dinnertime with idle conversation.

Enjoyable for its own sake.

And - head to her hotel room after?

Ellie is still on board with that plan.

Good!

It's the same exceptionally nice room as she had last night. She goes to stand over by the window, where there's some comfortable armchairs, and makes sure the blinds and curtains are closed.

Ellie will take a seat in one of the chairs.

She pulls a small jewelry box out of her inner jacket! It's actually surprisingly low on the gaudiness, though it's definitely fancy - red wood and black lacquer with tigers and nature scenes in gold. She sits across from Ellie.

"Now - first off. You can't tell anyone about this."

"I assumed as much."

She opens the box, turning it so Ellie can see inside. There's a variety of small pieces of jewelry - pendants, mostly, though there's some rings. "These are artifacts. They're what give me my powers."

"All of them?"

"Yep! Though you only need one as your bonded artifact - these're all extras. Mostly ones I took from assorted meguca I've beaten over the years..." She gestures, and suddenly a golden bracelet is visible on her left wrist. There's a single charm on it, depicting a stretching tiger surrounded by little flame-like swirls. "Except this one, the Burning Ruby Tiger artifact. It's the first one I found - and it's my bonded artifact."

"It's pretty."