Atticus was a bit surprised to see other animals that weren't just cows and steers, but he didn't say anything because that might draw suspicion. They soon came up to a female cow who was behind the bar. Atticus looked around before he sat down with the cowboys.
"Howdy, boys, what'll it be?" The cow smiled to them.
'Knowing this place, it must have the same choices as any Old Western place other than the meat.' Atticus thought to himself.
The cowboys gave their usual orders.
"And how 'bout you, sweetie?" The cow asked Atticus.
"Oh, um..." Atticus said, unsure of what to order.
"Give him some too." Dakota suggested.
"Fair enough..." The cow nodded her head with a smile. "Nice to see a new face in town."
"Um, thank you, ma'am." Atticus smiled back to her.
The female cow soon went and got their orders ready.
"Thank you, ma'am." Atticus smiled.
"This here's Miss Lily." Dakota told Atticus.
"Oh, thank you, Miss Lily..." Atticus said as he looked around. "This saloon sure seems nice."
"Thank you kindly, stranger." Miss Lily smiled.
Atticus smiled back to her. Miss Lily gave them all some root beer to drink until the food was ready.
"Root beer?" Atticus asked.
"Root beer?" Montana repeated. "That must be fancy talk for 'sarsaparilla'. You'll love it!"
The four of them soon drank up their drinks while Cody took Atticus's spell book to take a look inside while trying to not be seen.
"Wow... That is good!" Atticus smiled.
"So, you new in town?" Miss Lily smiled to Atticus. "I don't think I've seen y'all 'round here before."
"This is my first day here actually." Atticus said.
"It's always nice to see new folks in town," Miss Lily smiled to him. "Where ya from?"
"Oh! Um... The Big City..." Atticus made up.
"That explains it." Miss Lily giggled to him.
"My name's Atticus by the way." Atticus introduced himself to her.
Cody soon opened the book and found out it was filled with spells. "What kind of book is this anyways?" The young calf asked himself.
A few other calves came to see their friend, one of them being a female bison who was like an Indian.
"Hey, guys." Cody smiled to his friends.
"What's that you got there, Cody?" The female bison asked.
"That guy had this book in his bag..." Cody said, pointing to Atticus as he spent time with the cowboys and had fun so far. "It says it's a 'spell book'."
"A book with spelling words in it?" A male calf guessed.
"I dun' think so, Jake... But... I dunno... Take a look..." Cody told his friends before showing them.
The bison girl looked at the words in the spell book and gasped as she knew what it was. Cody's other friends, Jake and Carly, looked as curious and bewildered as he did.
"I wonder what this book's fer?" Cody wondered before looking over to the bison. "Uh... Are ya okay, Tejua?"
"This book is filled with spells from witchcraft!" Tejua told them.
"Witchcraft?!" The calves gasped in slight panic.
They soon looked over at Atticus before Cody flipped through some pages and found the page of the spell Atticus used.
"He's a... A... A... 'Hoo Man'?" Jake asked.
"Maybe..." Cody shrugged. "He sure is strange."
"And since he uses witchcraft, he must be dangerous." Tejua said.
Atticus looked over with a friendly smile to the calves and waved to them before looking back.
"HE SAW US!" Carly panicked. "He knows what we're up to!"
"Quick, run!" Tejua added.
The calves soon ran off to hide somewhere safe.
"Hm... Must be a kid club meeting or something..." Atticus shrugged to himself.
"Here you go, boys, on the house." Miss Lily smiled as she served Atticus and the cowboys.
'This seems like a nice place, maybe it'll be great to stay for a while.' Atticus thought to himself.
The cowboys soon ate their hay burgers. Atticus glanced at his sandwich and ate it, he was nervous at first, but he soon enjoyed it and ate more. Miss Lily smiled to the cowboys as she washed a mug behind the counter.
"This place is the best," Atticus smiled. "I think I'm gonna like it here."
"Oh, I'm mighty happy to hear that, dear, I hope ya have lots of fun here." Miss Lily smiled back.
Atticus and the cowboys continued to eat before they decided to show him around after they ate some lunch, and where he was having such a good time that he didn't notice his spell book missing. Atticus smiled as he looked all around before they ran into another female bovine, though this one was more masculine than Miss Lily.
"Howdy there." The cow girl smirked to him.
"Oh, um, hi..." Atticus waved. "I'm new in town. Who are you?"
"They call me Cowlamity Kate Cudster." The cow introduced herself.
"It's nice to meet you, Miss Cowlamity." Atticus smiled.
"Just don't ya forget that I'm as good as any bull and we'll get along fine." Kate smirked to him.
"Um, will do." Atticus promised. He soon saw the look in Dakota's eyes as he looked at Kate.
"Ya ever need anythin', I'll be at the Golden Cud Mine." Kate told Atticus.
"Uh, yes, ma'am." Atticus smiled as she then went off and couldn't help but smirk to Dakota.
"What are ya smirkin' about?" Dakota asked him.
"Oh, um, nothing..." Atticus replied innocently. "You seem close with Miss Cowlamity."
"Heh... We're just good friends, that's all, buddy." Dakota smiled sheepishly.
'I bet he wants to be more than just friends with her.' Atticus thought to himself.
"So, that pretty much covers Moo Mesa, little buddy." Montana smiled to Atticus.
"It looks great!" Atticus smiled back. "I love it here already!" He soon saw a horse tossing cows and steers off as they tried to ride it. "Whoa." Atticus said as he made his way to the wild horse.
"Careful, kid!" Montana warned. "That horse looks quite feisty!"
The steers tried to handle the horse, but it soon bucked a steer away and into the horse water which made some of the other horses laugh at the humiliation.
"Buddy, you okay?" Another steer asked the fallen one.
"That there horse sure is one hard horse to tame." The steer said before getting out of the water.
The wild horse simply snorted before looking at Atticus. Atticus looked over to the horse from where he stood. The horse glared towards Atticus and even ran to him.
"Gangway!" A steer panicked and ran with the others.
The horse kept running towards Atticus and where Atticus got ready to get on the horse as soon as it was close enough. The horse soon came up to Atticus and Atticus quickly got onto the horse. The horse glared up at Atticus and tried to shake him off and buck him off like it did with the other unlucky cows and steers, but unlike them, he kept a strong grip on the horse, but not too strong and where it was enough.
"Easy, horsey, easy..." Atticus told the horse.
The horse neighed aggressively, trying to get him off.
"Easy!" Atticus told the horse. "Stay calm... Calm down... Easy..."
The horse continued to try to get him off until it finally got him off.
"Is that kid crazy?!" A steer complained. "Ain't nobody able to handle that horse!"
"I don't give up!" Atticus proclaimed. "Never give up!" He soon got up and where he could see in the horse's eyes that it was scared and was just misunderstood.
The horse glared, but it didn't seem so aggressive once Atticus looked into its eyes.
"Aw, easy, it's okay... I'm not here to hurt you..." Atticus soothed and shushed the angry horse. "I know you're scared, and I know what you've been through, Look in my eyes, Can't you see I'm frightened too?, So let's take one step at a time~"
The horse neighed angrily while glaring at Atticus when he came closer.
"I won't give up, that's one thing I swear will be true, For it's said by the wise and keep your eyes on the prize, and I've got my eyes on you~" Atticus sang as he brought out rope.
The horse soon circled Atticus, looking annoyed by him while everyone else watched in suspense.
"It's hard to trust when you've been misunderstood, It's starting now, we'll be treated like we should~," Atticus continued to sing as he put the rope around the horse's neck, coming closer as it backed up and soon led the horse out with the rope. "So let's take this ride 'til it's true, I won't give up, That's one thing I swear will be true~"
"And I won't give in, I'm stronger than they ever knew~," Atticus sang as the horse looked at him while everyone kept watch in suspense as some of them covered their eyes before uncovering them to continue watching. "Don't try to run, I'll just be there when you do 'cuz it's said by the wise, keep your eyes on the prize and I've got my eyes on you~"
Atticus soon got on the horse as one of the cows soon fainted as he couldn't take so much suspense. Once he was on the horse, it started to try and shake him off, but this time, Atticus was going to stay on.
'If you meet a troublesome horse, don't let him win, that'll just add fuel to the fire and you'll feel lesser of a species, it takes guts, courage, and determination.' A familiar and friendly male voice advised Atticus.
"I'll try..." Atticus whispered to himself. "Man, Cherry's dad has pretty great advice now that I think about it."
The horse kept trying to shake him off as it even jumped over a steer who fainted afterwards. And where during the horse kept trying to shake Atticus off the rope he used on it fell off while he was still on and where it went on until the sun started to set.
"I won't give up, that's one thing I swear will be true, for it's said by the wise keep your eyes on the prize and I kept my eyes on you~" Atticus sang as he was able to tame the horse along, gaining its trust.
The horse soon smiled to Atticus after calming down.
"Well, I'll be..." A steer said out of shock as Atticus was able to soothe the savage horse.
Atticus soon got off the horse.
"Looks like you've got yourself a horse." Montana smiled at Atticus.
"Oh, m-me, you think so?" Atticus smiled back.
The horse smiled to Atticus, now trusting him.
"What's its name?" Atticus asked the other cows and steers.
"We haven't named it; we've been too busy trying to tame it." A steer said.
"Kinda reminds me of my friend's old horse, Speck." Atticus said as he gently stroked the horse's nose.
The horse nodded, liking the name.
"You like that name, buddy?" Atticus asked.
The horse nodded to him.
"All right then," Atticus smiled. "I hereby dub thee Speck!"
Speck soon nuzzled against him.
"Aw, good horse..." Atticus smiled as he pet the horse.
This made the cowboys happy for him.
"Well, good luck, kid, but I don't think ya need it." A cow told Atticus about the horse.
"So, Atticus, do ya have a place to stay?" Dakota asked.
"Uh... Well... No, actually..." Atticus admitted. "Um... I came from the city for a new life in the Wild West. Know any place that might take me in?" He then asked.
Dakota knew that his place had plenty of space for one more steer. Atticus smiled to Speck as they got acquainted with each other.
"Well, I know a place for ya," Dakota told Atticus. "When yer ready, we can go."
"Cool." Atticus smiled.
After he got what he needed for Speck, they were ready to go with Dakota to the place he mentioned. Atticus looked all around as they traveled together until Dakota took them to a stop. And they soon saw where they were going to stay.
"Whoa." Atticus smiled.
"Welcome, kiddo." Dakota chuckled.
"What is this place?" Atticus smiled to the sight.
"This here's our hideout, though not like Sidewinder City if ya know what I mean." Dakota told him.
"Looks so cool." Atticus smiled.
"It's our own little home on the range." Dakota smiled back to him.
They soon brought their horse inside. Atticus looked around and soon came off of Speck's back while exploring his temporary new residence.
Montana and Cowlarado smiled to Atticus as he got settled in, almost like he was another one of them. Once Speck was settled, it was soon Atticus's turn.
"This place looks pretty amazing..." Atticus smiled as he explored.
"Thank you kindly." Dakota smiled back.
Atticus chuckled as he took a look around.
"For a city boy, he sure knows how to handle a horse..." Montana commented to Dakota.
"He sure does." Dakota nodded.
"Ya don't suppose he could become part of the group, do ya?" Montana asked.
"Possibly." Cowlorado said.
"We'll talk to 'em about it," Dakota suggested. "I think it's a fine idea though, 'specially since he's got his own horse."
"He seems strong for a young calf." Montana chuckled to him.
"He sure does." Cowlorado said.
Once Atticus was given his own room, he started to unpack. He hummed to himself as he unloaded the clothes and other things, then his eyes widened. "W-Where's my spell book?!" He then panicked. "Oh, I must have dropped it somewhere!"
Dakota, Montana, and Cowlarado let Atticus alone to get settled in, but got worried as he sounded panicked.
"Oh, no, oh, no, oh, no!" Atticus panicked as he searched the room, going through a frenzy. "Without that book, I can't tell how long the spell will last."
"Should we go see him real quick?" Dakota suggested. "I'd hate to bother him, but he sounds jumpier than a rattlesnake in a peanut barrel."
Atticus began to think back of when he last had the spell book. Eventually, the others came to see him.
"Oh! Uh, hey, guys..." Atticus smiled.
"Are ya okay, kid?" Montana asked. "You were fine a few seconds ago!"
"Um, yeah, it's just that I'm missing a very important book to me." Atticus said.
"A book, huh?" Montana asked.
"Reading is its own adventure." Atticus grinned innocently.
"Well, it's getting dark, we'll have to look for your book tomorrow." Dakota said.
"Um... Okay..." Atticus said softly, just hoping nothing chaotic would happen. "Sure, guys."
"Besides, what could go wrong by losing one book?" Cowlorado shrugged.
"Heh... Funny you should ask that..." Atticus smiled sheepishly.
"Don't worry 'bout it much now, kid, ya need to get some rest." Dakota advised.
"Okay." Atticus said.
The cowboys told him good night and let him get some sleep.
"Oh, man, I can't believe I lost that spell book..." Atticus groaned. "Drell is gonna kill me!" He soon got some rest and decided to look for the spell book in the morning. Eventually, his eyes felt heavy and he yawned while falling asleep.