The Outer Layer

Chapter 2

Koa looked around as he entered the city, it was similar to the ones he'd seen before, but also different. Koa didn't live in the city, but he could only assume that taxi's didn't fly. He stilled as it flew above his head, no exhaust came from it, and instead of being yellow, it was a bright orange. His eyes were wide as the taxi grew farther, his jaw was dropped, he probably looked stupid, but he couldn't bring himself to care. A taxi just flew. Right above him. He felt faint, since it was impossible, surely. However, he supposed he should get used to this if he were to fit in, he couldn't let something probably normal here shock him. Yet this seemed useless, consudering the fact that everyone here had colored hair, not one person had a natural color. He closed his jaw and continued walking, noticing a few people staring at him, which was not what he wanted to happen. He could hear the distant chatter of people, and some music playing.

He passed different shops, some of them were for things he had never heard of before, because what on earth was a Chatterpack?? He glanced away from the shop, looking back ahead at a bus passing by, that was also floating. It wasn't shaped like a normal bus, it was an oval shape, with one big window instead of many small ones, and it was a deep blue color. Apparently stopping im the middle of a side walk was not ok, since the people who went around him gave him dirty looks. It was a girl and a boy, the girl had eletric pink hair, and bright yellow eyes, the boy had deep purple hair and red eyes. Definitely not normal.

At this point if he had any hope of fitting in, he may as well get his hair colored too. He sighed as be trekked onwards, passing by buildings that were defying gravity, because no way is it possible for a building to go beyond the clouds. Who knows, maybe they did, and his whole life was a fever dream. He was turning a corner when he felt a force bump into him, sending him backwards. He landed on the sidewalk, his tail bone was pretty sore, and those things never healed fast. Rubbing his head he looked up, his eyes meeting another boys, the boy had light pinks eyes and deep red hair, he would fit in for Valentine's  day very well. Clearly the boy realized his mistake of bumping into Koa, as his pink eyes were wide and unblinking as he stared at Koa. The other boy quickly snapped out of his daze, grabbing onto Koa's arm and dragging him into an alley. It was then that Koa thought he would be killed, because, really, who is put in this situation and expected to come out of it alive.

The boy had a hand over Koa's mouth, and an arm pinning him to the wall was he heard multiple rushed footsteps passing the alleyway. The boy looked nervous, he was also pressed close against Koa, as if trying to keep hidden. Eventually after one very long minute, the footsteps grew distant and the boy holding him let out a sigh.  Koa watched nervously as the boy took and hand off of his mouth and stepped back. They both stared at each other for a moment, before the other boy sighed and spoke, his voice was smooth and calming. "I apologize for that, I wasn't planning on getting anybody involved, however I was not paying attention to my surroundings. Please excuse my mistake." The boy bowed his head a bit, his hands clasped together before lifting his head once more.

"It's ok.. Uhm, what is your name? I am Koa." Koa picked at a string on his sleeve, still keeping his distance from the strange individual. The other boy seemed a bit surprised before responding. "My name is Harukio, I apologize, Koa, however it seems I may have caused some problems for you. You see, those people are guards, and they are searching for me. They are not normal guards either, they can tell who has come into physical contact with me just by one look, and I fear for your saftey. I would advise coming with me, or if you are willing to take the risk, you may continue on your way." Koa's fingers stopped pulling the string, all his attention on Harukio. He already had problems, he was stuck in who knows where, and now on top of that, he was in danger just because Harukio came into contact with him. Was he cursed?!

Koa took a deep breath before glancing at the potential royal figure, or perhaps he was just a very important person? If that was so, then Koa must have seemed suspicious for not knowing who Harukio was. "Excuse my ignorance, but why are there guards after you?" He saw Harukio grimance, looking at the ground. "I have escaped from my home, and since my parents don't like me going outside the tower, I decided to leave."

Koa paled, so this Harukio was an important person. Great, that's wonderful actually, now he has to worry about half the city going after him. "So, you're.... a famous person...?" Koa cringed as he spoke, he most definitely didn't sound like a local, actually, he didn't look like one anyways, so what was the point of blending in. Harukio looked at him as if he was an alien, which was kind of fair, he might as well be at this point. "Indeed, I am the prince of Wakeila, and by the looks of things, you don't seem to be from here. If I may ask, where are you from?" The prince asked, leaning closer to Koa, his eyes practically burning a hole through Koa.

At this point, Koa might cry, and it's not like you could blame him, he had only been in this city(kingdom?) for a few hours, and the prince of the place had figured him out in a few minutes. He was most definitely doomed here, there was no way he was getting out of this place. So in a moment of desperation, he blurted out "Nowhere!" like and idiot. Harukio leaned back, looking shocked, before over his smirk with his hand, a small laugh escaping his mouth. "Alright Koa of nowhere, do you want to come with me, or go back to nowhere with a bunch of guards after you as well." He spoke, his eyes watching Koa intentlt. Koa groaned, because at this point, he couldn't say no. "Fine, I'll come with you, but where are we even going?" He crossed his arms, looking at Harukio suspiciously, leaning against the brick wall behind him.

Harukio hummed, a hand to his chin and he looked in thought. "Hmmm, anywhere safe, I suppose, as long as it's not here. So, let us head off, hopefully we can outrun the guards." Koa sighed helplessly, shaking his head. "I was always told to never trust strangers, yet here I am." He saw Harukio smirk, tilting his head down to face Koa. "It could be worse, you could be trusting an ugly stranger instead." Yeah, this was definitely going to be a long journey.