The morning cold was always refreshing, pinching bare skin. And this world's mornings seemed to be colder than the ones back at home, which was an upside. Their fire burned just like one at home too. Their fauna was so different than what he was used to, and the buildings much more.. simplistic. All so very different, yet so many similarities.
But this place was more crammed than the wide streets of Oxarin and much more lifeless than the wilderness outside of Citadels. It helped remind him that this wasn’t home, but just a noisy, often bad smelling parody of it. It didn’t let his mind rest, which helped him focus on his goal of getting back, but only made the ache of yearn that much more worse to bear.
“Still battering the streets in your futile arrogance, I see.” Lawrence heard a voice from somewhere down the alley. Having anyone else in this world would have made it easier on his soul. Anyone else but them.
With a swift motion, the piece of wood was extinguished and placed back with the rest, in the bag he had on him during the accident. And in that same instant he faced the tall and slim figure that had crept up on him. He wasn’t going to fight the same fight he already lost. It was already hard enough for him to admit defeat in the first place.
“And you still exploit these people. Having set that both of these are on the list constants in this world, what else have you found?” The sooner they would part ways the better. At first he stuck with this creature because they both needed to each other to survive. Now only getting back would make him happier than having to never see their face again.
“They don’t have anything that amounts to our Will. I did hear about a certain Will Smith, but besides the name there are no parallels with out Smiths.” So nothing to match their power. At least nothing obvious. That was a relief to some extent, it helped both of them lay low. “They’re simpletons, as I told you. And here is where our paths part. If you have survived that cliff you can survive blending in.”
With that, the tall figure faded back where it came from, down the alley and past a corner, towering over everyone, yet fitting in perfectly. They were in a rush, if not simply eager to leave just as much as Lawrence was. It didn’t matter now, but for some reason he stood for a few moments, as if to make sure they left or possibly as if to wish they didn’t. No goodbyes were said, after all.
They were right on that. These people, all seemed to be so closed and absorbed into themselves, viewing so little of the world. It was both relieving and suffocating at the same time to be the only one like himself he knew of.
Lawrence lingered there for a few more moments, trying to muster up the courage to go into this new world and find a way back. Without any sort of universal power, it would be a hard task to find a way back alone, made even harder by all of the chaos of this world, all of the noise and all of the unfamiliarities.
From his bag he reached for one of his cigarettes, pulling his bandana down, bringing the cigarette between his lips and igniting it with a snap of his fingers. The end burst with heat, followed by a small flame that quickly died out, leaving embers.
As his hands and feet began to feel numb, he made his own way out the alley, walking towards nowhere. At least he would have a way to deal with the noise.
