Away From Here

Chapter Two: Lost

His eyes finally parted to take in the scene around him. To his left was the town center, to his right was a alleyway long enough to vanish into fog. He chose to keep to himself, navigating into the deep alley. He carried his timekeeper under his arm with his book clutched tightly in his hand. If he stayed out of sight he could avoid the embarrassment he felt. Even if they didn't know what happened to him, he knew and that was painful enough. The damp alleyway dropped water on the brim of his hat as he kept on. Soon the path came to the back of the first level of shops, their back doors framed with product containers. He wrinkled his nose, kicking aside a stray foul smelling fruit. He skipped the boxes it fell from and tried to find a case that looked like it could house helpful items. Boxes of fruit and cooking utensils told him this strip was useless to him, of course it wasn't going to be that easy.

Without the watch or timekeeper that he depended on so tightly, he had no clue exactly how long he had walked. It was enough to make his knees tighten and a previous injury flare up on his ankle. He parted through fog and trudged up stairs, surveying any sign of gears or discarded metal. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a different path to adventure on. With a deep sigh and turned on his heels to hobble down that way, the stinging in his ankle starting to swell more. Once his eyes adjusted to the white lingering fog, he caught the first glimpse of the city he was scowering. He had managed to make it to a top layer, able to see the layers of city and paths below him. The people who lingered were large, their skin decorated with swirls of different colors. Their hair consisted of thick black hair, growing from what looked like tentacles that hung down from their heads. The Koktur, the people of this city. Atticus knew very little about them besides vague personal accounts from bounty hunters. He felt another pin of guilt stab into the back of his neck, without his gear he wouldn't even begin to start hunting. What if the outlaw managed to knock another person off the roster. He pressed his hand against the cold railing and leaned more over the end to stare deeper into the spiral of the city.

"Are yah lost cowboy?" Came a confused, gruff voice from behind him.

Atticus turned to see a Koktur wiping his hands with a cloth, finalizing his cleaning of his palm by gliding it across his protruding stomach. The Koktur were much larger when you were face to face with them. This one had to be five heads taller then Atticus and fifty times his frame. He kept his tentacles up in a ponytail and wore a chefs apron tied around his waist. He must have spotted Atticus lingering.

"Pardon me sir..." Atticus took his hat off in respect, "Do you know of any hunters in town?" Atticus kept his voice low, and was still cautious to ask so bluntly. But from this man's sky view, he could have seen something.

"Hunters?" The man placed his wide finger up against his chin, "I did see some suspicious lookin boys going down to Bugg's...Had some of them funny looking gadgets," He pointed at the gear hoisted under Atticus's arm.

"Bugg's?" Atticus furrowed a brow and placed his hat back on his head.

"Right across the way," He gestured to a rowdy looking establishment across a metal path over the city. A few Koktur lingered outside, keeping the door open. As Atticus focused on it, he pinpointed the bustle of music and a jumble of voices.

"Thank yah..." Atticus murmured, ducking his head down slightly as he started his walk. He heard the man he left behind mumbling something hushed to himself, but Atticus let it pass over his head.

Getting to the bar-like building wasn't too difficult, just took a heavier toll on his flare up. He came to five feet before the front door and glanced back up where he had come from, seeing the towering man looking over him. His arms were crossed and once he saw Atticus had made it he saluted with two fingers, parting from Atticus's view. Atticus felt like he had made his first ally, his shoulders finally relaxing themselves. He took in a deep breath and dragged himself the rest of the way to the door. The Koktur who had been outside fell silent to allow Atticus to pass, the smell of warm fire radiating from the door. The electronic buzz of their music player mingled with the voices of people enjoying a drink and a round table game. Atticus scanned the room much like he would scan with his watch, his eye catching what looked like hunters. One Koktur, a female Tunzok from dimension 4-598, and a male who's origin he didn't recognize. They stood out in the room of Koktur, their timekeepers basically calling out to Atticus. With a hurried step he approached their table, pressing his timekeeper against the metal of their play table. They were in the middle of some kind of card game, their attention caught from Atticus's action.