Pandora followed the Wolf girl, slowly walking behind her. She would then begin to see the large grey trees stop far ahead, knowing she had reached the end she began bolting it towards the clear sky. "Finally! Im out of this damn forest!"
"Hey! You might wanna watch where your!-" The wolf girl yelled. A thud could be heard in the distance. "Going.." She looked down at one of the large slopes that separated the forest from what looked like plains below her. Following next into her gaze was Pandora, lying flat on the ground with red dust flying onto her clothes from the fall. Pandora groaned in annoyance, the Wolf girl laughed a bit at her clumsiness as she slid down the slope and stood next to her. "Rule two of this place. Dont go running in blindly." Pandora stood up and began brushing herself off. "Yeah Yeah whatever.. Not like i wanted to come here anyway." She looked up into the distance at what seemed like a large tower with two jagged prongs pointing out of the top. It was grim and the metal of it could be seen rusting all the way from where she was. The dark red sky accompanied by two crescent shaped moons only the thin amplified the strangeness and mystery that this world was. "What is that place..?" The Wolf girl looked at her, then turned and began pointing towards the tower. "Its an old watch tower. Were headed there." Her eyes grew in confusion and slight horror. "No way! Not after what i saw in that forest! I almost died! Ive seen enough today!" The girl would growl at Pandora. "You've only been here for less than three minutes. You haven't seen shit. You've got no right to complain." She scoffed walking ahead of the cougar, tail bristling slightly. "Come on." She said walking faster. Pandora followed slowly, a bit confused on why she got snappy all of a sudden.
After walking for a few minutes, she looked up at the tall standing tower once again. The Wolf girl stood in front of the steel door entrance. "Alright, were here. You might want to be a little careful, This guys a bit gritty. So you might want to try and watch what you say and do around him." She began to push open the door. Pandora immediately noticed the eerie feel in the air. The walls were full of grunge and a bit rusty in places. The lights hung from what looked like strings from the ceiling. Some of them being broken. Some of them just not working properly and flickering on and of. Pandora felt her fur stick up a little as she stepped on a few rusty gears and.. Bones? "Uhh.. This place is freaking me out- " The wolf girl flattened her ears and slightly growled. "Stop being such a wuss and relax. Were here anyways." They got to another set of metal doors, in which she slammed her hand against a rickety looking button which opened the doors slowly. Inside was a few steps leading down to a main floor, which in Pandoras eyes, kinda looked like a run down laboratory inside. There were gears and wires spread out all over the tables. She stopped to look at what seemed like an unfinished drone of some sorts. Suddenly she flicked her ear at some big footsteps that were coming down a large set of stairs. Now standing in front of them was a tough looking panther with bright yellow eyes.
"D! Just the guy i wanted to see." The wolf girl said smugly. The panther then replied, his voice was deep and it echoed a bit throughout the room. "Melody.." He rolled his eyes looking at her with annoyance. "Call me that again and it'll be the last time you see my face." She laughed a bit. "Ah, chill out man. Been a while! I haven't seen you since you went missing in Crimson beast territory." She sneered. He growled while crossing his arms. "What the hell do you want?" She pointed at Pandora who was peaking over her shoulder at the tall cat. "Found this newbie in the Silent forest. Almost died to an Abyssling the moment she opened her eyes." He slowly walked over to her and looked down at her. Of course, she was shorter than both of them. She avoided his eyes, slightly nervous. "U-Uhm.. Im Pandora.. Nice to meet-"His tail tip flocked back and forth as he stood over her. He growled and tilted his head, which made her shut up. "I dont remember asking you.." He glared at her, then stooped down to get a good look at her. She flinched a bit which made him snort in annoyance. "Shes weak. She wouldn't survive here. She'd be better off thrown to the Skullmites then to end up being slaughtered by anything else." He said as he turned away from her, his arms still crossed. Pandora narrowed her eyes and looked off. "Hey! weak? Im not weak!" He then whipped around and stared her directly in the eyes with a mean snarl. She flinched again, backing up. He scoffed and shook his head, then turned to Melody. "Im not training her." He began to walk away towards the spiral stairs. Melody scoffed. "Come on Derick, If you see shes weak cant you also understand why i brought her here? Besides, isnt it your job to help out the Fresh Meats? Your supposed to toughen the weak." He turned his head slightly and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I volunteer to help them. I dont make them stronger, i give them the rundown. The moment they complete my training they're on their own. And of all the people ive come across, This no wit, half pint, would just be a waist of my time." Pandora snapped. "You talk down on me like you know me! I havent the slightest idea why im here! I never wanted to come here in the first place! The least you could do is show me a bit of sympathy and help me out!" Melody shrugged. "The girls not wrong. Look she may be a bit naive but its not her fault if she just got here. I was confused my first time too. Its not like she asked to come here. She won't get in your way, just train her enough to get her by." Derick then looked at the now determined cougar, and dropping his arms with a sigh he nodded. "Fine. Tomorow ill take you through the simulations here. There will be others like you, so bring your all. Be here early and dont be late. I dont have time for slackers." He lashed his tail as he looked at pandora. "Awesome! Thanks D!" Melody poked at him again. Derick slumped his shoulders and hissed. "Get out.."
Pandora sighed of relief once she got outside. "That was the worst! Whats up with that guy?" Melody stretched her arm. "Hes Derick, Hes been through a lot. I'm sure that was obvious though." She shrugged. Pandora assumed she was referring to the numerous scars on his face and arms. "Well yeah but geez.. Hes so mean." Melody sighed. "Its what this world does to you. Unlike you or me Derick was born here ages ago. Hes been here longer than most. Hes seen people come and go, comrade or not. Can't really blame him for being an ass. Besides, hes fun to poke around once hes softened up to you." She winked with a cheery smile. "I don't even have the slightest idea what this world has to offer yet.. I guess it makes sense for him to be a lot tougher than i am." I guess it also explains why she snapped earlier. Melody tilted her head towards the direction of the city in the distance. "Come on, ill let you stay at my place. Its the least i could do." Pandora smiled gently and nodded. The two walked to the edges of the of the city. Pandora looked up at The tall glass industrial like buildings that were run down. Some of the windows were broken and the doors were poorly boarded up in some areas. There was spray paint all over the walls and lots of loose paper and trash in some corners of the streets. "Welcome to your new home." Melody said with dullness in her voice. The alleys were so dark, though she swore she could see a few glowing eyes from within the shadows. "Uh.. Is this really a safe place to live?" Melody shrugged and flicked her tail, obviously noticing how naive Pandora was. "There is no safe place to live in this world. We've just got to make due with what we have." The two then stopped at an old shack like house. Melody tapped on the door and it opened itself. The inside wasnt in the best shape, it was pretty small too. "Sorry it aint the best, i dont remember what houses look like on the other side but im pretty sure they're much better than this." She said with a slight chuckle. Pandora smiled slightly and scratched the back of her head. "Nah its fine, my apartment back home was pretty bad anyway, im used to it. Besides, its better than sleeping outside am i right?" She said jokingly. Melody smiled a bit. "Hell yeah, you've got no idea how many people ive had to kill to keep this place to myself." She said in a proud way, sitting on the couch with her hands on the back of her head. Pandora looked at her with slight confusion and chuckled nervously. "Theres an extra room if you don't wanna sleep on the couch, theres only one bathroom though so we'll have to share." Pandora stood up and sighed. "Alright cool. I think ill just go get ready for the night. You got any extra clothes? I would've brought my own if i knew i was gonna be transported to some wacky alternate reality." She giggled. "Yeah ive got some stuff. Though it might be a bit big for you, tiny." She joked. "Ill leave them out on the bed in the other room. Im just gonna head to bed." She said as she started to get up and walk towards her room. "G'night. Ill wake you up early tomorrow." Pandora waved at her and then got up to go find the bathroom. The floor slightly creaked as she stepped on the floor boards. Finding the bathroom she turned on the light. It wasnt all that bright, and the bathroom mirror was pretty clouded and a bit cracked in some areas. Guess no one really cares about how they look around here much. She went to turn on the sink, in which at first the water didnt come out. She tapped the faucet a bit and eventually the water came out. She splashed some on her face, though out of nowhere the water got burning hot. "Ouchh! What the hell!"
"Oh sorry! I forgot to tell you the water does that sometimes! Y'know its because were pretty much surrounded by lava?" Pandora groaned in annoyance as she dried the water off her face with a towel. She just changed clothes and went to the guest room. This room wasnt too great either but it looked better than the rest of the house at least. She got under the cover and looked up at the ceiling. What am i doing here.. I don't know these people, i dont even know if any of this is real.. Will i ever get back home? Maybe not. Maybe im stuck here. Well, i hope this training goes well. Otherwise i probably wont have a clue what to do next.. She then found herself drifting off to sleep. Tomorrow would be the start of a new, uneasy life for Pandora.