Itus pawed at the dirt in front of the campfire. His big skag body being used as a
boney pillow for his master. A biologist from the planet Earth named Selene Felloux.
She had come to Pandora to study the fauna of the planet; a job that no one else on her
planet dared to take. The creatures of Pandora were dangerous, vile beasts, 100 times
worse than any predator on her home planet. She had studied the predators of the 7
continents of Earth; been attacked by lions in Africa, chased by bears and even had to
escape the jaws of a shark on occasion but none compared to the horror she found on
Pandora. Itus, her pet Skag, was the only friendly creature she had even met on this
planet. He was nicer than most humanoids she met too. Hence why she kept him so
close.
Selene slowly opened up her eyes. Her left eye was glazed over, completely
blind. She sat up and stretched, moaning softly as her joints popped. She pulled out a
eye patch from a satchel that was sitting next to her made from rakk wing and sighed,
looking at it, then tossed in back in the satchel, "Fuck that stupid thing." She turned and
looked at her less that pretty companion. "Not like anyone is gunna see me out here,
right?" Itus looked at her and opened up his trisected mouth and let out a strange,
guttural growl in reply and licked her cheek. Selene smiled a little and turned back to the
fire. Itus nuzzled his rough, boulder like head into Selene's side, sensing that she was
upset about something. He didn't understand why, but he knew she was.
"Oh, Itus," Selene sighed as she wrapped her arms around the beast's neck, "I
would go mad with loneliness without you."
The sun was going to be coming out soon and she needed to be headed into
Fyrestone to pick up more bullets for her revolver. She had used the last of them on a
fire skag that she was trying to get a DNA sample from while it was knocked out.
Needless to say it awoke before she anticipated.
Itus was big enough to mount and ride like the horses she had cared for back
home. As they rode into the direction of Fyrestone, Selene checked on the gash in her
arm from the fire skag the was wrapped up. It had stopped bleeding the night before but
it still stung. As they got closer, she pulled out her eye patch and sighed as she put in
into place over her left eye.
She stopped Itus just outside the town and commanded him to go hide someplace
safe and come when she called him back. It was just not smart bringing a Skag into a
town. He would be shot down in seconds. Selene walked into the Fyrestone and looked
around. There were actually quite a few people standing around buying ammo, weapons
and med vials. She wasn't complaining. She knew the people around here were probably
not friendly but just being in the presence of humans was nice for a change.
She walked over to the ammo vender and started scrolling through the list of
products. A few feet away stood two men chatting over a pint of Rakk Ale. One was tall
and skinny as a zipper. He wore a pair of goggles on his forehead and had a long, pointed
beard, it was black as was his hair, which was worn in dreadlocks, up in a ponytail, which
made them jut up and out like a rooster tail. The other was stocky and dark skinned. He
wasn't skinny like his companion, but built like a soldier of war. Both of them had
respectable weapons, the dark skinned gentleman had a big ass shotgun on him and the
skinny one, a long rifle and a dagger. The thin one looked over to Selene as he sipped his
ale, listening to his companion. "Roland," he said to the soldier, stopping him mid
sentence, "You seen that girl 'round here before?"
The soldier, whose name appeared to be Roland, looked over to Selene and
thought for a moment, "hmm," he hummed to himself as he tried to remember, "I'm not
sure, I would have to see her face. Why do you ask? In need of a new toy, Mordecai?"
"Shut up, man," Mordecai laughed, not taking his eyes off her. "Maybe Marcus
knows her, he knows everyone."
"He should be coming into town soon with the bus." They watched Selene
purchase her ammo and turn to walk away from the vender. They noticed her eye patch
and Roland said, "Naw, man I would remember a girl with one eye. You'll have ta' ask
Marcus." A Claptrap rolled up next to Selene and said something to her out of their
earshot and startled her. She turned and kicked it over out of reflex and the claptrap flew
a few feet screaming. Mordecai covered his mouth with a fist and chuckled out loud.
Selene turned to the Claptrap and groaned, "Oh, I'm sorry, robot!" she went to go
help it get back up, it was cursing and grumbling as it got up and rolled away from her,
ignoring her apology. Selene huffed to herself and shook her head. It had apparently
been far too long since she had been around civilization, not that things were very
civilized on Pandora. She went on to continue looking at the venders, this time just out
of curiousity.
"So uh," Roland uttered to a very distracted Mordecai, "Not interested, huh?"
Mordecai was too busy ogling the mysterious one eyed woman and biting his lip
slightly to even realize that Roland was talking to him. Roland shook his head and was
about to turn his head and look around right as the booming voice of Marcus struck his
nerves and made his heart stop for a second.
"BOYS!" Mordecai must have jumped about 3 feet into the air when Marcus'
boomed that one word and patted both of them on the back. "How goes the treasure
hunting, eh? Been running into trouble?"
Roland laughed at his friend's almost feline reaction to Marcus, "Always,
Marcus!"
Mordecai's nostrils flared up every time he breathed in he was breathing so hard
from the shock, eyes wide like a deer in the headlights.
"You scare easy for a hunter who's been on Pandora for as long as you have,"
Marcus laughed.
"Morde's a little distracted right now," Roland said, trying not to laugh harder.
"Man," Mordecai snapped at Roland, "Shut the fuck up, Roland!"
Marcus followed Mordecai's gaze to Selene as he laughed. "Oh the one eyed
girl?"
"Do you know her?" Mordecai inquired.
"Yeah I drove her out here about 3 months ago. A biologist from Earth I think
she mentioned."
Marcus went on about what he knew of Selene, which wasn't much. Selene was
still looking around at the vendors when a white and grey feathered vulture like bird with
blood red, leathery wings swooped over her head. Her eyes were immediately drawn to
the creature as it flew to perch on Mordecai's shoulder.
Mordecai was now cussing Roland and Marcus out for poking fun at him, not
realizing a very curious one-eyed girl walking up to him at a fast pace.