Laurel

Gaheris' head pounds with grogginess. There’s a soft, salty sea breeze blowing over her motionless form, and the sensation of water lapping at her legs. She slowly opens her eyes, to find herself on a warm, sandy beach. She tries to catch her bearings, but the sea breeze is soothing and calming to her stressed mind, after fighting for so long under a smoggy, sunless sky. She rises somewhat, trying to sit up despite her temporary weakness, and spots the endless blue of the ocean. Very peculiar. She is also takes note of the fact that, for the first time in her life, she is over-dressed for the warm, mild weather. The sea is very calm, the sky equally so. In fact, there is not but a single cloud in the sky. She can hear the cries of seagulls, and when she looks around, she sees a few have landed on the beach and are pecking at the sand with their beaks. She’s also covered with sand, but even so, she’s never seen such a serene sight before. 

But, she needs to get herself oriented. Feeling empowered, Gaheris pops up and cracks her sore joints. She takes off her thick coat and tries to shake off the irritating layer of sand. She takes a short moment to remember how to walk, then begins to stroll along the coastline, hoping for someone to pop up and tell her where the nearest knights are, or whatever the equivalent is for this place. After quite some time of walking, with her thirst itching the back of her throat, she eventually stumbles across a jagged cliff above her. There, she hears shouting and scuffling noises above; said noises are awfully aggressive. She presses herself to the base of the rocks, and listens closely as the noises get louder, and then die out slowly. Some small rocks are toppling off the side of the cliff.

Maybe she should check that out. She looks up over the craggy cliff side, and thinks to herself. Maybe Queen Artura's survivalist training will come in handy, after all! Gaheris ties her heavy, wet coat around her waist and tries to navigate the craggy rocks, trying her best to get a foothold despite her thick winter boots. She wipes beads of sweat from her forehead as she holds on tightly to the stones, she figures that she's definitely going to need different clothes for this kind of weather, this kind of hot and rough terrain is not her expertise, at all. Once she reaches a sufficient height, she peers just her eyes over the cliff edge, trying to catch a look at what could have caused the commotion she heard. 

When the peeks, she sees some men wearing, white… sheets? Walking off. One of them bears a bow, and they talk loudly. 
“They’re getting too lenient with these monsters. Seriously, we used to kill things like that in hordes! You know, my father…” 
The chatter trails off as they leave. What did they mean? A monster?

She peers over to where the men originally came from, no monster in sight... She clambers upwards, lifting herself onto the cliff using her fair strength. He rises up into a hunch, in the pose that her older sister taught her for sneaking about from place to place. She darts from short bush to short bush, hindered slightly by how sandy and rocky everything seems to be.  

This land is nothing like Camelot! 
She clutches the hilt of her blade tightly, still awfully wary of monsters lurking about. As she scans the area, she notices something shift behind a shrub. Could it be? She readies herself, tightening her grip on her training blade. But... No, not quite.

The “monster” lets out a long sigh, and stumbles to its feet. Hey, that’s just a girl, right? She looks beaten up. She’s got an arrow in her arm, too.  Wearing a blindfold, her black hair cascades over her back. Were those guys just bullying a blind girl? Gaheris, embodying all the naiveté that got her scolded back in Camelot, sheaths her weapon and makes haste to check up on the girl. 
"Hey!" She shouts, a little too loud perhaps. "Are you alright?"

The girl spins around in panic and tenses up. “Huh—?!” She yelps, and goes to grab the sword sheathed by her side. However, this moves the arrow in her arm, and she lets out a loud groan of pain. 

Gaheris puts her hands up, but continues to push forward. "Woah, woah! careful careful. Let me look at that." She thumps her large backpack on the ground next to the girl and rummages for her handy-dandy med-kit, courtesy of Bedivere, and starts to pull different bandages and pills from it. The blood looks pretty bad, but Gaheris figures that since her arm is still moving, it's probably not THAT bad. "You're lucky, you'll heal, but... Not without a scar." she pouts visibly. If only she'd been there sooner!

The girl struggles uncomfortably at first as Gaheris pokes at her wound, but quickly relents and allows Gaheris to work on her. Pointedly, she looks away from her. After a while, she speaks: “Why are you helping me? What do you want? I don’t have anything…”

She carefully wraps one of her hair ribbons around the upper arm, trying to stop some blood flow with pressure, just like Lancelot always told her to. Gaheris goes to shush her with a finger. "Careful! This will hurt!" before yanking the arrow out, causing the girl to hiss in a peculiarly snakelike manner. She quickly gets to tending to the wound with some rubbing alcohol and cotton, stuffing it inside the wound. Is this overkill? The blood has stopped, uh, bleeding. She awkwardly bandages over it, and then responds to her earlier question once finished.
"Oh you don't have to give me anything, I just want to help! It's what a knight does" she says, with a little wag of her tail.

The girl looks at her, looking confused and unsure. “A… Knight?” She pauses. “…You’re covered in sand and water. Your clothes are weird, too. You’re foreign.” She seems a little bit relieved at this revelation. “What is… a knight?”

Gaheris is instantly put off by that one, surely even people on the mainland know what a knight is, right? Oh well, she needs to be more open minded! Just like Agravainne lectured her about... "Yeah, a Knight! A defender of the people! Or at least, I'm training to be." She grabs her med-kit and pushes a pill to the girl's lips. "Here, it's not much, but one painkiller is better than none!"

The girl gingerly accepts it. She internally remarks on the similarity the pill bears to the medicines sold by those strange foreign merchants, but also that Gaheris looks nothing like them, and thusly abandons this train of thought. “A defender of the people…” she sighs. “That’s what everyone calls themselves these days. But they’re all just selfish idiots who want fame for killing a strong monster…” she slumps over, rubbing her bandaged wound with her free hand.

Gahreis's tail wagging slows a bit, unsure of how this girl feels about monster hunters. After all, she is training to fight a big monster... Uh, a really big monster. That big monster probably doesn't have a soul, so... Aw, geez. "Well, um! My name is Gaheris. It may seem strange, but I'm trying to find people to fight a monster... a real monster!" She awkwardly claps the girl's shoulder. "I'll protect you! A good knight protects all people! Uh, if you need it, of course, haha!"

The girl looks at her, despite her blindfold, without saying anything. Then, she shakes her head slightly, holding it with the hand attached to her healthy arm.
“Gaheris… what a strange name. Um.” She shuffles a little bit. “I’m Medusa. I’m a demon, so everyone wants to kill me. I guess I should stop telling people it. It doesn't feel right to hide it...” A demon called Medusa? Like the vicious demon man with snake hair? But, this girl only has two snakes in her hair. She doesn’t seem all that dangerous, either.

Gaheris smiles reassuringly. "Well, demon or not, you are still a person! And, I vowed to protect all life! Um. That I can manage, of course!" She wags her tail a bit in hopes of seeming more friendly. "No one will kill you on my watch, Medusa!" She says, patting her shoulder for emphasis. Medusa stares blankly at her, and then smiles very, very faintly. 

“Wow… That’s very nice of you. Um. Where are you from… Gaheris?” She struggles with the pronunciation a bit. “Your accent is very… strong." 

Gaheris blushes a bit with a sudden embarrassment. Oh no! Has she been looking like an idiot? What language is she even speaking in? She has not realized that up to this point, her vowels don't match that of modern Halsgrofian in the slightest! 
"I'm. A, hehe, a Knight of Camelot! Are you from the mainland? Is that why you haven't heard of us?" She asks, looking over Medusa to try and figure out where she actually is. She certainly looks very different. Not a tiny bit of technology on her... Maybe her cell is just hidden under her dress?

“Mainland… This is mainland Lastola, true. Um, Camelot… I’ve never heard of a place like that…” she scratches her chin. “I’m not very well-travelled. Maybe if we go into town…” she trails off, and sighs again. “…Maybe someone there will have heard of it…” She lamely suggests, causing Gaheris to perk up at the mention of a town. Yay, civilization!

"Yes! Could you lead me into town? That would be wonderful!" She does a little happy bounce. She stops suddenly, remembering the men walking away, who seemed to be vaguely mentioning a government. Maybe it would be better to stick to Medusa as long as she could, she certainly seemed plenty nice.
"How about I be your bodyguard when we get into town? I may only be a knight in training, but I'm pretty good with my sword!" Gaheris suggests, smiling excitedly. Medusa smiles a little bit more at her suggestion. 

“I could use a bodyguard. Um, if it’s not too much trouble. You seem pretty brave.” Medusa rises to her feet. It’s true— she has absolutely no technology on her at all. Where's her phone?! Gaheris stands up after her, and she motions for Gaheris to follow her. “Being with me might be a bit of trouble. Um, but I guess you don’t have a tour guide, so…” She sighs, looking sort of embarrassed about it.

But, Gaheris bounds after Medusa, bouncing a bit on her heels. She doesn't really hear Medusa's expression of woe, and instead starts to ramble. It's all so exciting, really! "Truth be told, I've never been to a city outside of Camelot. There's a whole island that I'm from, but I've never even seen the other side of it!" Then, the snakes attached to Medusa's head catch her attention, and her curiosity gets the better of her. So, she pokes one of Medusa's snakes. They don't seem to be the head of snakes like the stories! The snake wiggles and nips at her finger harmlessly, and Medusa doesn’t seem to even notice.

“Really…? It’s nice to explore. Um, in my opinion. But if you were happy there, it was probably a nice place to be…” As they walk, Gaheris takes careful note of the Mediterranean geography, with all its low shrubs and trees, and the craggy rocks that line the dirt road. It all seems so… untouched. The sea breeze cools her, and almost seems to take the weight of her task with it momentarily. Gaheris wishes there were tall trees like back home to get a better look at her surroundings by climbing one. Yeah, she's used to the occasional dirt path or pebble road, but there seems to be no technology anywhere! Seriously, where's the telephone poles? Her phone certainly isn't getting any sevice. She tries a few times in vain to check for nearby wifi, or emergency services, but none of it is working at all. So, she just sighs and powers it off, tucking it away into her pocket. Medusa seems to manage just fine without it. Medusa, however, looks curiously at her strange and alien items, but chooses not to mention it.

Soon, some dots of white can be seen, shimmering on a hill under the warm sun. That must be the town! After quite a while more of walking in semi-silence, they’re at the city gates. Medusa sighs and covers her head with a small cloak, and they enter without any event. 
“Stay close, okay?” She whispers. As they walk through the streets, Gaheris is amazed; there’s no technology anywhere. this place must be really out there! Furthermore, all the buildings are in a sort of Greco-Roman style, and all the people around are in varying types of sheet-dresses and similar clothing articles. What do they call them again? Togas? Gaheris looks around, stunned. No lamps, no hoverbikes, no nothing. It's just people and their draping cloth, and marble. She holds onto Medusa's arm and attempts to duck and weave through all the bustle. 

“You look surprised.” Medusa remarks plainly.

Gaheris peeks around to meet her look, and laughs a bit, unsure. "Yeah, everyone here is so..." She gesticulates vaguely. "Old fashioned!"

“Old fashioned? Yeah, maybe… Um, a lot of people here actually think it’s too ‘forward-thinking’, actually. I don’t know all the details… this place is called Pelarae.” The town is absolutely bustling. It’s crazy how many people can be in such a old-fashioned place! The two soon come upon the market square, and it’s incredible! Tons of merchants! Some of them are wearing different kinds of clothes, too. It’s exciting! It’s amazing! Medusa leans in to be heard more clearly. 
“Maybe you can find a merchant from your home? There’s lots here. It’s a port town.”

Gaheris tries to tiptoe and look around. She is not exactly blessed in height, but, she tries to anyway. Everyone around just seems a little... not pale enough to be from Halsgrof. The fresh fruit and bright rugs catch her attention at every turn, blinding her a bit to how close Medusa has tucked close to her. Then, the crazy scents start getting to her, and she feels her stomach squeeze uncomfortably with hunger. She grips her stomach as it growls, and Medusa seems to notice, stopping her walking.

"I'm a bit hungry, do you think they have something filling here?" Gaheris asks her, eyes hopeful and terribly hungry. She could just eat her jerky, but, why would she?! There's so many yummy smells here!

Medusa nods. “There’s nice fruits at that stand. Um, but, over there, you can get a shwarma. They’re not very expensive.” She points to a stand with a young tanned man running it. "They're really good. Um, well, I like them, anyway."

Ecstatic at the idea of yummy food, Gaheris grabs Medusa's arm and drags her over to the seller. 
"Hello sir! Uh... Two shwarmas, please!" She takes out her phone and turns it on, lowering the brightness to conserve energy. "Do you guys take Apple Pay?" She asks, excited, but he doesn't respond for a moment, seeming confused. Gaheris doesn't get it, really, maybe he just needs a minute. Medusa and the man both stare at the phone with a sense of deep puzzlement.

Medusa looks at him, and he at her. 
“Apple…? Hmm? Wh—“ the man starts, but Medusa cuts him off. 

“Sorry. My friend is foreign.” She rummages in her pocket and pulls out two silver coins, giving them to the man. he gratefully takes them, and the two step back to watch him prepare it. Soon, they recieve their food, which both looks and smells delicious... But, it doesn't really resemble the shwarma that Gaheris has eaten before. Maybe it's just an aunthenticity issue. After all, she's never had real ramen, either, and that sure looks different, so...

Gaheris pouts a bit. "Oh damn. I guess they're THAT old fashioned. You guys only do cash..." She sighs awkwardly. She totally just goofed up, huh? But, her embarrassment is quickly replaced when Medusa turns to Gaheris, extremely curious. 
“What is that shiny panel?” Medusa asks her, tilting her head. Gaheris feels surprised by the question, but then figures that since nobody here uses technology, there's no way Medusa would even be able to know about it, so she reserves her judgement. Open minded, Gaheris! Open minded!, she hears her sister's voice in her head. 

She brightens her phone a bit and shows Medusa. "It's not fancy, just a phone. It does all the usual stuff, text, call, apps." She scrolls through her pages, with a very silly wallpaper of the moon and a wolf howling. Medusa pokes the screen of her phone, and jumps when an app opens. Predictably, it shows a message saying that there is no internet, but Medusa studies it curiously all the same. 

“A… Phone. Texts… is it, um, some kind of philosopher’s tool?” Medusa mumbles, feeling a bit silly herself. This item is probably really common in Halsgrof, and she's just uneducated...

Gaheris is in a bit of shock now, looking bewildered. 
"wow. you're like. Amish levels, Medusa." She drags her over to a short stone wall and motions for her to eat her shwarma. She opens the phone app and turns the camera to face them, snapping a quick selfie of them both. She sets the phone background as that instead. 
"See, it's us!" She finds this way less embarrasing than the wolf and the moon. Kinda cheesy to have your link as your background, right? Galahad always teased her about it.

Medusa begins eating her food, but is clearly amazed. “It made a painting? No… it captured a moment in time… that’s amazing. This must be a rare artifact.” The town square bustles with excitement. This place… it really is nothing like home. Gaheris certainly sticks out like a sore thumb, at any rate. Gaheris is so, deeply confused but quickly scarfs down the shwarma. She sits back and lets the food wash over her. How long was she on that beach for? Sheesh. She straightens up and forms a game plan, since it's unlikely she'll be able to bounce back through universes that easy. What do people even do in this place for work? 

"Hey Medusa, what can a girl do around here for a bit of money? I have a feeling you guys don't really take Halsgrof currency..." She says, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. Her poor credits, wasting away in her virtual account...They probably don't even take chip. She hasn't seen an ATM the whole time she's been here, so withdrawing is out of the question, too.

Medusa pauses to think, currently halfway through her shwarma. 
“Oh. Um. Well, since you’re a fighter, maybe someone would hire you to fight. But…” Medusa sighs. It’s kind of obvious she doesn’t know any other options. “I can afford us an Inn, though… um, just for one person. But we’re both girls, so it’s okay.” She explains, and takes a bite of her meal.

"Gasp! Sleep over!" Gaheris pops up, with a renewed vigour to explore the city with her new bestie! "Don't worry, since we're girls, it should be easy for us to get hired somewhere, right?" She thinks, I mean, if this place is LARPing as ancient greece, maybe their hiring policies are the same amount old fashioned? Medusa rubs the back of her neck, and doesn’t say anything on that matter. 

“Haha... Let’s get going, I’ll show you the place I like to stay.” After Medusa quickly finishes her meal, the two make their way away from the bustling town square. It seems to be just about midday (something that is not corroborated by her phone, which thinks it is currently 3:21AM), and there’s tons of pedestrians; not a car in sight. Or even a bicycle... This place is so Greek-Amish. She’d think that she travelled through time, but that’s totally impossible. Right? ...Right? She really sticks out badly, and it's only becoming more and more hot as the day stretches on. She is sweltering. 

"Medusa, how does anyone survive in this heat!? Please tell me the inn we're going to has AC or something!" She complains, fanning herself with a hand, her ears pressed to her head with agitation. 

“Oh." Medusa pauses to think really hard about it. Aeci...? "...I don’t know what Aeci is, but your clothes…” Medusa turns to Gaheris and touches her shirt, making a long face at the feeling. “It’s um, definitely too thick. You’re not dressed for warm weather."Then, she sighs a bit. Gaheris shrugs and tugs at her collar. She zips it down a little but still not super helpful.

"Well, when we get to the inn, I'll strip to my thermals and just hope no one is too puritanical about it!" She tells Medusa.

"I don’t think it will be an issue. Lots of people around here don’t wear a lot of clothing...” Medusa says, seemingly humored. 

Soon, they come upon the Inn. It’s a small place, and when they enter, there’s a man at the front. Medusa walks up to him and exchanges some brief words, hands him some coins, and motions for Gaheris to follow. When they get to their room, it’s a small, barebones place. No electricity of any kind, and yet it feels comfortably ventilated. Medusa sits on the single, moderately sized bed and relaxes slightly into it. Gaheris, on the other hand, makes quick work of removing her sandy clothes and dusts them out the window, as well as flopping her damp winter coat over the windowsill to hopefully dry overnight. She spends some time dusting herself off, and then plops herself onto the bed when she feels she's clean enough. She then looks around, trying to spot a washroom, but doesn't find one.

"Is there a shower here? Or do you guys use buckets and ladels?" she jokes, looking over at Medusa, who is laying beside her on the other side of the bed. "No seriously though. I hope it's not a bucket."

Medusa laughs a bit at her joke. “Oh, no, they actually have nice bathhouses here… there’s one down the street. It’s relaxing.” She realizes. “You’re still covered in sand. I guess I forgot. We should head out, then.” She says, and starts to sit up again.

Gaheris blushes at the thought; is a public bathhouse really better than buckets and ladels? Maybe she should have held her tongue. She feels awful nervous about it, I mean, what is this, medieval times? Still, she follows anyways, leaving her heavy stuff behind at the inn and dressing in the lightest possible form of her outfit, leaving behind her insulated tights. Already an improvement! Then, they exit the inn together, and head out towards the bathhouse.