((A/N: I felt that the first chapter didn't give enough of a taste for what I have in store, so here's chapter two! Chapter three is currently in the process of being written.

If you noticed the "-First time encountering another human" in the last chapter, good! I'm tying this whole story together by Wilson's first two paragraphs describing the importance of "firsts". There are so much more to come, including but not limited to: first fight, first death, and first crush. ;DD So stay tuned!

Also, please excuse any grammar errors or spelling mistakes. Sometimes my eyes scan too quickly and don't spot them. ^^;

Thanks for reading! And as always, enjoy. ))

I won't admit she took my breath away, but airflow stopped abruptly upon noticing her. She had hair as dark as the night, pulled into low, long pigtails that seemed to effortlessly curl up at the ends. Her casual clothing, a red sweater, black skirt and tights, made me assume she didn't belong here either. But she was sporting a makeshift backpack made from woven strands of tall grass, so she seemed to have a knack for survival. Which then rose the question, how long was she here...?

She suddenly shot her head in my direction. My heart forgot a beat when her eyes nearly met mine. From the ground she snatched up a strange looking rod, a diamond-cut red gem roped to the end, taking stance and pointing it in my direction. The tip faded into a glow.

"Show yourself!" She yelled to me. Hearing another human's voice drew a fluttery feeling in my stomach. My fight or flight response kicked in, and I was convinced I was about to turn and run, but she spoke again. "I'm warning you!"

My right foot went shakily first, then my left. The branches brushed my body and face as I emerged from behind the tree. The woman's expression morphed drastically from determined anger to curious confusion. The mysterious glowing rod, however, was not lowered.

We didn't speak for several moments. She was too busy fathoming the idea she wasn't alone. I was too busy swallowing fearfully and looking from her face to the dangerous weapon in her hands and back to those sad eyes again.

"D-Don't be alarmed," I finally croaked. My voice had changed pitch suddenly, which was startling to me, but I couldn't show it. She kept her eyes glued. "My name i-is Wilson...I-"

Hisssssss!

I spun around and gasped at the spider glaring back at me. He caught me with my guard down and immediately pounced, leaving me to watch helplessly as it attacked me. In mid-jump, however, he spontaneously erupted into flames, allowing me to leap backwards as his limp, fried carcass fell to the ground. I fell too, right onto my back, sending a spike of pain up my spine and into my shoulders.

Recovering, I slowly sat up, in awe at the ashes at my feet. My gaze traced back to the female. The rod had stopped glowing. Could it be..?

"Wilson?" She asked. I blinked and nodded quickly, struggling to get to my feet again and pat the dirt off my pants. Casually I swapped my axe to my left hand and I finally closed the distance between us.

"Wilson P. Higgsbury," along with my hand, I offered a smile. She wouldn't let go of her weapon for a second, and my hand fell limply at my side with dejection.

"Willow," she finally replied. Turning away, she knelt down and removed her backpack, pulling out the supplies for a fire, as much of the daylight vanished since I had come across her. I watched her closely, perhaps a little too closely, for she looked back at me with an irritated expression, which I know now is just how her face generally looks. "You have something else to say?"

My mind raced for words. I nearly slapped my forehead from embarrassment. "Oh, yes! Thank you, Miss Willow...for saving me just now."

"You would have been able to fight it off," her voice was flat and matter-of-fact. I chuckled.

"It just caught me by surprise..."

"You'd have to be pretty weak to not be able to kill a simple spider."

I scratched my chin nervously. I really wanted to ask about her weapon of choice, since I had never seen anything like it. But Willow spoke again before I could. She glanced at her tiny pile of logs and studied it. "Do you have any tall grass on you, Wilson?"

Quickly I patted my empty pockets. "I'll go get some," I offered, turning to run into the darkness that approached without me knowing. The sun had disappeared, and suddenly, so did the light. I couldn't see Willow or anything else around me; I couldn't see my hand two inches from my face.

"Oh shi-" I looked around desperately, terror building up inside me. This was it. This was the night I died to the night monster, only minutes after meeting Willow…

Whhhiiiiiiiirrllll...whofooooooooooshhhh...

Click!

My shadow danced on the ground in a pool of reddish-orange tint. I couldn't help but smile as I carefully turned around. A small lighter glowed bright, pouring most of it's light gingerly onto its owner's face. Her eyes were lit up just so, looking like little stars burning in the night sky. She seemed at ease in the fire's light, like she belonged. I noted this.

"I just saved your life again," she mumbled. "If I wasn't here, you would have been without any light."

"Th-that's true," I admitted sheepishly. How could I have been so stupid..."But in my defense, I was looking for fire supplies before I found you. Of which, I've been meaning to ask: how long have you been out here on your own?"

Willow looked away into the darkness, as if she could peer into it and learn it's secrets if she tried hard enough. "It's been about a week now..."

We sat across from each other, the lighter in the center between us, discussing the odd, unfortunate circumstances that had to occur in order for us to get trapped in this hellhole. Our eyes never met much during our conversation, she was keeping herself quite distant from me, but I managed to learn a lot from her. Some of her skills most certainly surpassed mine, which colored me impressed, especially her explanation of the fire staff she wielded. I knew we'd make a great team from the start.

She didn't quite think so.

"I'll see you around, Wilson," Willow sighed when the sun resumed its place in the morning sky. She turned to leave me standing frozen in my own shock.

"W-Wait, Willow!" I pleaded. Willow turned her head so her eyes could stare me down with intimidation. "I thought we could...I mean, Can we...? Don't you think it'd be wise if we... stayed together?"

My counterpart was not impressed with my offer. However, upon hearing a distant hiss of a spider, she reconsidered. "So long as you don't weigh me down."

I beamed and caught up to her. The two of us trecked for what had to be miles. When we first noticed the weather getting cooler, our priority became a permanent place to stay and store our belongings, of which we collected quite a bit of. The scent of winter was starting to linger in the crisp air when we finished personalizing the base: complete with a large fire pit, drying racks for jerky, farms for growing, an icebox to keep spoilage away, a wooden chest for each of us, and (my personal favorite) two large machines for experiments and crafting alike. Being a scientist proved to have its perks, even when surviving in the wilderness.

But scientist or not, this was the wild, and we were only just starting to learn what lurks in this world…

-First base