Merlini Magia

[Lisnpuppy]

Rose blinked back tears hot with embarrassment and shame. Why had she acted in such a way? She never acted like that. Sure, Rose let her Irish out plenty and many folks could attest to her sharp wit and sharper tongue. But to act like this, to become so angry and practically physically challenge a man over...the fact his grandfather had some cute Indian name for him?

 

"Mary, Mother of God what is going on here?", the young woman wondered not for the first time. Trying to calm herself she began to think of several things..The Battle of Thermopylae, conjurgations of classical Greek verbs, and horses...

 

Ah, yes that beautiful horse she had been stroking when all Hades had broken loose. Rose shook her head and tried not to stare daggers at Kat, who though it was obvious she was not a horsewoman, was making it all look easy and graceful? The young woman groaned, first Ben and now jealously for a woman she didn't know and rare jealousy at that. All the folks here may have had there gender changed but she'd trade plumbing to keep her mind intact. It just seemed what was already bizarre could at least have the decency to be only that and not also change in her mind to angst-filled mush.

 

"I...neeed.....Chocolate" Rose said to herself.

 

She took a deep breath and debated pulling into that precious and limited chocolate resource when she suddenly looked up and realized that "lady" included her too. She gazed quickly from Dinadan, waiting with what seemed like bemusement, to the horse, looking back one-eyed and as if saying (and sounding remarkable like Nanna) 'Well you're waiting for..?' and then back again to the knight. She breathed a quick tuff of air which blew black bangs up with a frill. Then, determined not to look any dumber than she had, Rose looked expectantly up to the knight, nodded and putting her foot in the stirrup swung up with, long-ago practiced and maybe not ease..but at least a decent mounting and seat. Once atop the horse, Rose looked around at the others. She then glanced at Kat who seemed to be now aware of how large horses were and for the first time since arriving, Rose let sneak out one of the famous and wicked MacMurrough smiles, dimpled cheek and all.

[AurianaValoria1]

Kat glanced at Rose and exchanged a weak smile from her position behind Gawain. Oh, if only her students could see her now...could even believe this was actually happening. They'd probably think it was some sort of fangirl-level YouTube cinematic or something.

 

The professor wrinkled her nose. Sure seemed like one.

 

As she returned her gaze forward, she was confronted practically face-to-face with the back of Gawain's helmet, and the first thing she wanted to do was a comparison and contrast to those descriptive passages in the Green Knight story...

 

Before she could engage in such deep thinking, however, they were moving; Gawain's spurs lightly tapped her horse's flanks, and the steed began ambling forward. Dinadan did the same, following close behind her comrade. A few wordless hand gestures and the squires began to accompany them, too, falling into place behind the two knights. Kat looked back again and felt a bit of pity as she noticed the boys would have to go on foot - and judging from the speed of even the walking gait of the horses, it did not seem like it would be a comfortable pace to maintain...

 

A merry jingle of harness alerted her to something beside her, and she noticed that Dinadan had pulled up to Gawain's right, the two knights riding side-by-side to take up most of the dirt road they had begun to follow. The more plainly adorned knight caught her glance and gave a small nod, and Kat found herself smiling.

 

Maybe this would all work out after all...

[FreemasonGamer]

Since the ladies of the group were afforded the luxury of riding with the knightly duo, Benjamin expelled a disappointed sigh as he began to follow behind them and the squires. Even though he was accustomed to walking to school and work from his home, the young man disliked the tiring speed at which he had to jog in order to maintain the pace of those ahead of him. Also, Benjamin did not appreciate the possibility of any of the equestrians up ahead possibly dropping anything that could accidently end up smeared across the underside of his shoes.

 

Nevertheless, Ben refrained from voicing his displeasure, knowing full well that doing so most likely wouldn't improve the situation. At the very least, he was thankful for being in his work clothes; his faded tank top and cargo shorts were ideal for such a physically demanding ordeal as hiking. The stunning British landscape also appealed to Benjamin, reminding him of the themed calendars his mother always hung on the refrigerator back home. Mom would love this, Benjamin absentmindedly thought, grabbing his phone from his pocket and taking dozens of pictures starring the almost fantasy-like landscape.

 

At that moment, Ben was reminded even more of his family when he shuffled through his most recent pictures, viewing countless scenes including his mother, brothers, and sisters. Seeing them suddenly struck the young man with a powerful bout of homesickness that felt similar to the anxiety he had endured earlier in the catacombs. Smoldering sadly, Benjamin also noticed the absolute lack of anything even resembling a signal. After quickly turning his smartphone off to converse its limited energy reserves, he glanced over to Ardan, who had also been forced to travel at the back of the pack.

 

"Where did you say you're from earlier, Ardan?" Ben asked as the pair jogged along, "I suppose we aught to remedy the stranger status among us if we're going to save this genderbent world as a team."

[Lisnpuppy]

Rose's smile faded as she watched Dinadan pull up beside Kat and exchange smiles. She could hear Ben call out to Ardan, his voice clear over the trot of the horses on the soft ground. Rose looked around, the gentle rocking of the horse interrupted only by the laugh of one of the knights or Kat.

 

The young woman looked at the soft, rolling grass as they passed small hills here and there. Rose nodded off occasionally despite her homesickness and loneliness, watching those around her conversing without her being a part. which was not unusual. She could at points smell the sea and at times hear something but she could not yet see it. She knew it must be close and wondered if they would suddenly come to one of the dead drop cliffs she had always seen in the pictures. She had a sudden, humorous thought that at least there were no coyotes in England. Well....there wasn't in her place and time she hoped that it was still so. Maybe wolves but wolves didn't talk to her. But no..she didn't think there had been coyote in England or Wales.

 

'You think there no Coyote here, girl? Maybe not but I don't need a boat to get to you, Rose. Not a boat for water not for time. Coyote is everywhere Coyote want to be.' Rose's eyes flew open at the fading laughter. She looked around then seeing nothing settled back in the seat.

 

Biting her lip at her stupidity, Rose's face burned as she resisted the urge to reach for a Snickers.

[GrueMaster]

Ardan raised his eyebrows at Ben, before grinning ruefully. "Well, as much as I'd like to say I'm from Ireland, I'm afraid it's not so awesome as that." He looked up at the sky above them as they traveled along. "Nope, I'm just a poor farm boy from the middle of nowhere in Virginia. Grandparents are Irish, and my parents largely so as well. Was going to college, but, well," the redhead pulled out his kunai and started spinning it absentmindedly. "Seems the only thing I was good at there was ninjutsu..."

 

Realizing he was starting to lag behind, Ardan adjusted his gait, and caught back up. "But... I've always liked to imagine that I lived in ol' Ireland, and not just Ireland like it is now, but ancient, magical Ireland, where the heroes of legend roamed, and mortals played at riddles with the Sidhe, and all the other tales would be real, too... heh," He chuckled. "I suppose being sucked into this mess is something like a wish come true for me. Certainly got me out of that bloody English paper, at the very least. Writing about Irish legends isn't nearly as fun as talking and reading about them. Speaking of which..."

 

He jogged up a bit to where Dinadan and Gawain were. "Say, Ma'ams, er, Sirs..." Ardan asked awkwardly. "Would the Sidhe, or perhaps the Seelie, happen to exist here, or any other creatures of Celtic lore?"

[AurianaValoria1]

Kat watched as Gawain's head turned slightly to the left to hear Ardan's inquiry. There were a few moments of silence before the knight finally replied, "Aye...both. They have little contact with us, keeping to themselves for the most part."

 

"For the most part," Dinadan quipped with a sly grin, pointedly raising a brow at Gawain, "There are those among us who have Sidhe blood, themselves."

 

Gawain glared, adjusting the lance in her grip, "And there are those among us who cannot resist wagging their tongues."

 

"It is only truth I speak," Dinadan remarked casually.

[FreemasonGamer]

"A redheaded ninja..." Ben mused humorously with a smirk before arching a brow at Ardan's inquiry regarding the Seelie, and the knights' answers intrigued the young mechanic greatly. "Are they like the fay or something? Nature spirits and things of that sort?" He asked to anyone who could answer. While he hardly remembered hearing about any such thing in his high school studies, Ben figured the Seelie were an important topic since Gawain seemed eager to avoid speaking of it.

 

While they were discussing such mythical creatures, a shocking revelation suddenly captivated Ben's imagination before he asked with some small degree of excitement, "Do dragons exist here, too?" It seemed entirely possible in Ben's opinion. If magic and fairytale things existed here, surely dragons did as well? Regardless, the Cherokee's childhood fascination with dragons subtly revealed itself as he eagerly awaited an explanation on whether such fiery beasts inhabited this reality.

Edited December 27, 2015 by FreemasonGamer

[GrueMaster]

"Oh, cool!" Ardan replied, before turning to Ben, laughing a little at the description the guy gave him. "Yeah, something to that effect. Anyway, you would be right to an extent. Fae, Faerie, etc. Interesting folk, though I really don't fancy getting into a fight with them..." He grimaced melodramatically. "Ran into them in a game, before... really nasty fighters."

 

The college student frowned for real, though, at the mention of dragons. "I rather hope dragons don't exist." He stuck out his tongue as if he'd tasted something bad. "I prefer not to end up like many of my meals; devoured."

[Lisnpuppy]

Rose opened a sleepy eye at the mention of the fae. All she needed was the Unseelie Sidhe coming along, riding on a Coyote of some kind. She was sure Gran would be thrilled to death. The woman always claimed the family was related to the fae from WAAY back. She had told Rose one of the reasons that the Irish and Scots had taken up residence in the Appalachians was because of this. Said some where there and some came along with them. Her grandmother never failed to leave milk and honey out after each time it was gathered for the Pixies and Brownie that helped with house things. Rose assumed it was just the local cat or odd bear that was responsible for it being gone the next morning.

Rose shifted in the saddle. It had been many years since she had ridden and she would be paying later, regardless of how much muscle memory she may have. She should tell the knights about that and see their take on it. Rose found this amusing enough that she gave a little giggle/snort in her seat. Suddenly the horse tail flicked and wacked her in the back. All right, maybe it wasn't that funny.

 

Sitting up, Rose spoke to no one in particular, "How long to the Inn?"

[AurianaValoria1]

At the mention of dragons, Gawain gave a small chuckle, "Aye, son, they exist, too...though it's rare to see them...rarer, even, than glimpsing the Sidhe. Ask Lancelot about them when we reach Camelot if you want to know details. He slew one in France, once, if I recall correctly."

 

Dinadan laughed, "Indeed. Maybe talking about himself will pull him out of his tankard."

 

Kat blinked. Was Dinadan implying that Lancelot was a drunkard? Her sudden quizzical expression must have been visible to Dinadan herself, as the knight smirked, "He has not taken his sex change well. It has completely incapacitated him."

 

"Come to think of it," Gawain added, shifting in the saddle, "Guinevere has not taken it well either."

 

"Her change or Lancelot's?" Dinadan grinned.

 

"Both."

 

Kat's brow furrowed, and she readjusted her grip on the cantle; having no back or foot support was starting to wear on her rather quickly, as it made her rely completely on her hands and her balance to keep her from sliding to either side off the horse's rump with its gait. After a few moments, she asked tentatively, "So...Merlin said that the Round Table has been divided by this debacle. Is this true?"

 

Gawain and Dinadan exchanged looks before the former replied with a sigh, "Divided in the sense that half of them refuse to take up arms, for one reason or another."

 

"Some of them are embracing their feminine side," Dinadan grinned again, "Becoming proper ladies of the court as their new sex demands."

 

"Others have been plunged into a depressed state of mind and know not what to do with themselves," Gawain added, "Like Lancelot."

 

"And Tristan."

 

"And Kay."

 

Kat remembered some of the stories about those knights mentioned, and she, too, grinned as the reactions did not seem out of character for any of them, "But the rest...are like you?"

 

Dinadan nodded, expression suddenly austere, "Yes. They, like us, realize that duty demands we continue as normally as possible. We are certain that this is an enchantment that can be broken, not a permanent change."

 

"As such," Gawain continued, "We must endure it until it can be dispelled."

 

There were several moments of silence then (with the exception of the rhythmic jangling of harnesses), until Rose's question made Kat aware they might be able to find food soon. Dinadan answered the girl with a reassuring tone, "Less than an hour, madame."