The Snake and The Bounty Hunter | Chapter 2
For a mortal, this man certainly didn't seem to be affected by the blistering heat in the slightest. He insisted on walking, it seemed. 'How curious.' She followed the faint, dusty footprints he'd left behind, doing her best to stay just within sight of him - quite a feat when there's nothing to hide one's silhouette in the distance - for no more than an hour until she noticed he was no longer moving in the distance. He had stopped walking, and she could only assume why. Her lips curled up into a smirk as she made her way towards him, and he waited for her to draw near. When she was within range of his glare, she stopped, allowing him to voice his reasonings, "Do you have a death wish?" Ah, starting with threats, was he? Tsk, tsk. "Your threats fall on deaf ears, bounty hunter. I do not fear you." She did not lie. "Why are you following me?" His stance became aggressive. Did he really need a reminder? "As I said before, I know no one and I most certainly know not where to go. Following you is better than wandering aimlessly. Besides, you refused to so much as give me a direction to go. Me following you, is technically your own doing." "Are you kiddin' me?" His eyes narrowed. She ignored his ridiculous question, "What I don't understand is why? You could have easily pointed in a random direction - the wrong one even - and been rid of me easily. Alas, you did not, and here I am. Now, will you direct me to somewhere other than this ghastly plain we're standing on, or not?" His expression was incredulous, but he sounded conclusive in reply, "You're just going to follow me anyway." "An excellent deduction. Perhaps you're not a fool after all?" He just grunted in response. He clearly wasn't happy about this, and it left Tanya feeling awfully smug. With a shake of his head, he turned his back to her and continued walking, not casting a single glance at her as she proceeded to follow him at a distance. She did not bother with small-talk whilst on this journey - the bounty hunter certainly made it clear he didn't care either way. Instead, she began to consider her options on how to get back to Outworld, and then deal with that wretched sorcerer. To get back, she would need a portal that could take her anywhere but here in this mortal realm. Finding a way to Outworld from another place would be considerably easier than doing so from here, so she was open to options that took her off-course, if only temporarily. But where in this world would she find something capable of making a portal? Was there any magic at all to this place? Or was it truly devoid of all things occult? Surely other mystical beings have at some point or another been to this realm.. how else would there be tomes filled with information about it? She supposed it was all a matter of following what could quite possibly be some archaic trail of crumbs to find an answer. This was quite an undertaking - she knew this could take quite some time, especially in such an unfamiliar and uncomfortable place. She cast a glance at the back of the bounty hunter several steps ahead of her. He was obnoxiously stubborn and seemed to be very self-oriented; not unlike herself in the latter sense... but he seemed to know his way around. Perhaps he could be of further use to her? Her brow creased as she recalled his earlier impertinence towards her. Perhaps not. The bounty hunter paused in his pace and gave a fleeting glance over his shoulder, "See that ahead?" He nodded in emphasis. Ah, yes. That was the outline of structures in the distance. She gave him a curt smile, "That I do." "Good. Now you can go do whatever it is you gotta do, and leave me out of it." With that he turned and began walking at a brisker pace than before towards the settlement in the distance. She followed, keeping up with him relatively easily. "That's it? 'There you go, good luck'? You won't even offer advice or the sort?" He fixed her a venomous look as he stopped to point a finger in her face, "Do you remember how I said I didn't care?" "I-" "That point still stands." If his hat didn't sit so low on his head, she'd probably be able to see a vein at his temple with the way his face was scrunched up. He was furious with her. Something she found amusing, "Very well then, bounty hunter. I shall leave you be. Just know that, while you found my presence bothersome, I actually happened to enjoy our crossing of paths. You mortals take everything so personally." She gave him a genuine - if somewhat pompous - smile with that remark. His eyes squinted in such a way that she assumed could be a sneer from him, as he abruptly turned and left her behind for yet the second time this day. Yet another meeting that had not gone according to plan. With the bounty hunter now quickly growing further and further away from her, she sighed and crossed her arms on the spot. If this is how all mortals in this realm behaved, then she might have even more difficult of a time finding what she needs than she'd anticipated. 'This doesn't change the plan just yet, though. Let's see how the inhabitants of such a settlement behave and go from there.' With that, she proceeded in the direction of civilization. What she wasn't expecting was how busy these roads seemed to be. Then again, what could she expect from such a place? Several men and women walked along the edges of this place, proceeding in and out of buildings labeled 'Saloon' and 'General Store', the former she knew not what it was from the name alone. Equines were practically everywhere - regrettably also leaving their waste behind as well - with some pulling covered wagons and others being pulled along by riders. Some were smaller and different looking from what appeared to be the 'usual' variety - larger ears and tails more akin to the large cat-like beasts one may find in Outworld rather than the other equines with flowing tails - and made horrible noise. Others were considerably larger and less like the other equines; perhaps a different species altogether, with horns that seemed to serve the sole purpose of serving as draft animals. One thing that stood out the most from her observations however, was the fact that most of the passers-by all shared the same, sordid look. Whether it was in their face or the way they held themselves, they all struck her as people who are disreputable in a proper society. She would have to remain guarded, even here it seemed. Lovely. There was also a prominent lack of the presence of the bounty hunter as well. This place wasn't overly expansive, in fact it seemed more like a place people just pass through regularly, so it was likely his business was being conducted elsewhere. Tanya was content with not crossing paths with him again, however. Capable warrior or not, she would not miss him or his insolent tendencies. She approached one of the few 'friendlier'-looking mortals idling outside one of the large wooden buildings. He had some kind of small metal plate pinned to his shirt like a badge, but it was too worn for her to read it. When she stopped in front of him expectantly, he glanced down at her from the raised awning in front of the structure and tipped his hat in greeting, "Howdy, little lady." She presumed this was some kind of greeting? "Greetings, sir." "An' how are ya on this fine afternoon?" The best way to lie was to include most of the truth, save a few critical details, "I find myself troubled on this fine afternoon, as you say." "What be yer problem, little lady? Ya new to these parts?" So clueless. "I am, in fact. I would like to know where one would go to obtain some information. Do you know where one should go for such a commodity?" He scratched his chin for a moment, "You talk as if yer one o' them folks from the big town. Where'd'ja say you were from?" She was starting to regret engaging in this conversation, "Not from here. That's all you need to know." She flicked back some of her hair that had blown over her shoulder without a second thought, "Now, will you answer my question? Or do you insist on interrogating me further? I'm... in a bit of a hurry." From the way he raised a brow, he had misinterpreted both her words and that simple motion, "Ye've got quite the sharp bite there, if I do say so, little lady. No need to act like one o' them ruffians you see out an' about." "Excuse me?" He pointed to the pin on his vest, "Yer talkin' to the local Deputy. I'd much appreciate it if yeh'd cut down on the snark, thank-yuh." She honestly didn't understand half of what this man had just said. How was she meant to reply? "I'll... attempt to do so, sir?" "Good to know we've established some propriety in this here discussion. Now," The poorly-disguised fake smile returned, "how may I be of some assistance, little lady?" This was going to be a long day.
