Starting Life From Zero: Far From Home

Chapter Two

Outside the world was overwhelming in a way that made Steve think back to when he first awakened from his decades long freeze in the middle of New York and ran out into Times Square. People of all shapes and sizes were everywhere with all manner of hair colors, animal heads, and types of ears.

He had seen this kind of thing before on the covers of books and movies, the kind that he didn't typically have the time to indulge in for too long. Animal ears had become a pretty popular Halloween tradition for some women back on Earth too, but these were real and they were not too uncommon.

Steve had checked the street on over in either direction and this seemed to be the main thoroughfare through the city. He had gathered that it was the capital of wherever he was and that the castle was somewhere uphill toward the center. Instinct was to head there and find some way together some answers, but it was like he didn't exist in this world and never had and even more strange was that despite all of that they didn't seem to be bothered by how different he was dressed.

Miss Anastasia had been correct, the navy-blue jumpsuit with the blank space on the chest where the white star had worn away from years on the run didn't exactly fit the general look of the others that he passed. The men tended toward tunics with some of them wearing a cloak or long coat over it. There were some more ornate than others with intricate embroidery and coats of arms affixed to a tabard that they wore. The women had on dresses, though there was a great degree of variety and artistry there too.

Swords, axes, and bows were the most common weapons that he saw and there were great deal of them worn. Some seemed more for show than general use, but the further he headed in one direction the more rugged the weapon and clothes became.

Along the side of a street a trio of women in brightly colored dresses that flared out like tutus and left little to the imagination waved to him. One of them pulled back the train of her dress and let her fishnet wrapped leg protrude out into the path. She was dark skinned with big loopy curls and a pair of ears jutting up out of her hair.

"You're a fine thing," she said, though not with a confidence that made him think that she wanted to do this. Steve didn't know how old she was, but it worried him that the look in her eyes didn't have the fierce pride that he saw in that of the other women.

He came to a stop alongside them. "Excuse me, Miss." Steve stopped and on instinct his body fell into a military parade rest stance. "Would you happen to know where the nearest guard station is or maybe a knight's garrison of some kind?"

"The guards..." she said, her brown eyes wide.

"I just need to check in with them about some things," Steve said.

"Wh-why are you asking me?" she asked.

Steve shrugged. "You were the first person to speak to me. Why? Did you need help with something?" He asked, he couldn't help himself because it wasn't right to look at this young woman standing here like this and not make this was something that she wanted to do.

"I'm fine," she said, straightening up. "I-I just have been kind of struggling to do this work. You know—"

Steve nodded, though he wasn't sure exactly what she meant.

"Sorry, if I offended you by calling out like that. I mean, you probably ain't got to pay for it and if you chose to it wouldn't be with a dirty Demi-human."

Up until then, the other two women had been mostly ignoring their conversation. Then Steve went down on one knee in front of the dark skinned girl in an effort to get down to her level. "That's not true. Look, something tells me I'm going to be here a while—when I get some extra money I'll come by and we'll just go somewhere and talk, coffee, a ba-tavern—whatever you want."