The room they had entered seemed ancient. In the middle, there was a small pile of leaves with a golden point that vaguely interested Homura, but she decided she'd ask about it later. There was a set of stairs that led to another room. Inside the room, there ere a set of buttons on the floor. There was a switch on the wall and a locked door.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one" said Toriel, "Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins."
She stepped on some of the burrons, then pressed the switch. The door opened.
"The Ruins are full of puzzles", Toriel explained, "Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."
Homura didn't understand why they needed puzzles to navigate, but decided not to question it.

The next room contained little canals of sorts with small bridges built over them. On the wall were three switches. Two of them had arrows pointing to them. A set of spikes blocked the entrance to the next room.
"Do I have to press the switches to enter the next room?" Homura asked.
"Oh, you're a smart one" said Toriel. "Why, yes. But don't worry, I've labelled them for you."
Homura pressed the two switched Toriel labelled. The spikes disappeared.

In the next room was a dummy.
"As a human living in the Underground, monsters will attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation."
"I understand", said Homura. "Fighting is inevitable."
"Oh, no, I don't mean fighting", said Toriel. "When you encounter a monster, you will enter a fight. While you are in a fight, strike up a friendly conversation. Stall for time. I will come and resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy."
That didn't make sense to Homura. A monster that would be looking to kill her wouldn't exactly be looking for small talk. But like many other things she didn't understand, she decided not to question it. She stood facing the dummy. Her SOUL came out of the ring- a small, purple gem with a purple heart inside it. She stared awkwardly at the dummy for a while.

"Um...Hi. My name is Homura Akemi."

That was terrible. But Toriel looked very pleased with her.

"Well done, Homura" she said, clapping her hands.

They walked to the next room.

"There is a puzzle in this room" said Toriel. "I wonder if you can solve it."
"I'll try", Homura promised.

They had made it halfway when a frog monster calling itself Froggit tried to attack Homura. But Toriel put an end to it soon enough.

Ahead there was a pool of water with spikes serving as a bridge.

"This is the puzzle?" Homura asked. That looked unsolvable.

"Er, yes, but...Here, take my hand."

Toriel took Homura's hand and guided her through the spikes.

"Puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now."

The next room was a long pathway with a pillar in the corner.

"You have done well thus far, my child", Toriel said. "However, I have a difficult request for you. I want you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Please forgive me for this."
"That seems doable."
Toriel went...only to hide behind the pillar. Homura smiled. Did Toriel really think Homura couldn't see her? But just for Toriel's sake, she walked till the end of the room. Once she had reached, Toriel came out of the pillar.
"Greetings, my child", she said. "Do not worry. I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time."
I saw you, thought Homura. But she did not say it out loud.
"I wanted to test your independence. I have some business to attend to. You will have to be by yourself for a while. Please remain here. It is dangerous to explore by yourself. I have an idea. I will give you a cellphone. If you have a need for anything, just call. Be good, alright?"
The cellphone Toriel gave her seemed old. After giving it to her, Toriel left.

As soon as Toriel was out of sight, Homura left the room. The second she did, she got a phone call.
"Hello? This is Toriel. You haven't left the room, have you?"
"Um...I have, actually."
"I wouldn't recommend that. There are some puzzles ahead I have yet to explain. It would be dangerous to solve them by yourself. Be good, alright?"
Saying this, Toriel kept the phone down.

Homura sighed. Toriel treated her like such a child, even though she was what...fourteen? Fifteen? Okay, that was scary. Homura couldn't even remember her own age.

Homura felt bad about disobeying Toriel but she explored the Ruins. True to her word, they did contain a lot of puzzles. It took Homura quite some time to figure out how to solve them. But she wasn't going to call Toriel. She didn't want to bother her. Besides, even if she didn't remember her own age, it was obvious that Homura wasn't a child anymore. She had to be independent. Monsters did attack Homura. She got some minor bruises, but she managed to talk them out of it. She saw more of those golden points, and her curiosity increased as to what they were.

At one point, she got a call from Toriel.
"This is Toriel. For no reason in particular, which flavour do you prefer? Butterscotch or cinnamon?"

"Oh, yeah, you lost your memories, didn't you? I'm sorry about that. But...you don't have any allergies, do you?"
"Not that I remember. Why are you asking?"
"Huh? No reason."
She kept down the phone.

Homura walked on till she reached a room with a tree that seemed to have lost its leaves.
"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought."
Toriel tried to call Homura on her phone, but then noticed Homura was right in front of her.
"How did you get here, my child? Are you hurt?"
"Just a few minor bruises. Nothing much."
"Even then, let me heal you."
Toriel touched Homura's head. All her injuries disappeared.
"I should not have left you alone. It was irresponsible of you to try and surprise you like this."
Toriel blushed when she realized what she had said.
"Er, well, I suppose I cannot hide it anymore. Come on."
Homura followed Toriel to her home, but just outside, she saw another golden point. Now, her curiosity really got the better of her. She reached out and touched the golden point. A voice that definitely wasn't Toriel's said:

Seeing such a cute, tidy house in the Ruins gives you determination.
File saved
Homura LV 1 2:26
Ruins- Home

Unsure of what this meant, Homura followed Toriel into the house.