Here's the second chapter, sorry it took so long! Thanks for your advice
and kind words! And big thanks to my beta also! Enjoy!
* * * * * * *
Chapter 2 - First Impressions
The first thing that registered in Buffy's mind was the heavy, sweet scent of flowers. That made her confused since she didn't remember being anywhere with flowers that smelled like that. She cautiously tried to move her arms and legs and only came up with more confusion. Why on earth was she lying on the hard ground, with tree roots digging in her back? A flash of memory ran through her mind. They had been fighting demons in the forest. Maybe she had been knocked unconscious during the fight.
Buffy slowly rolled over to lie on her right side and with effort tried to open her heavy eyelids. Her body ached like she had been beaten up by a group of vampires. Well, maybe the demons had managed to get more swings in than usual. But as she got herself into a sitting position and finally managed to open her eyes, all thoughts of demons disappeared from her mind.
She wildly turned her head to look around. And only got more assurance for her conclusion. She definitely wasn't even anywhere near the Sunnydale woods anymore. The trees were different, as were other plants, and the air around her felt much warmer and heavier than it did back home. She saw big purple and pink flowers near where she sat; the strong aroma she had smelled when she woke up came from those flowers. They were very beautiful but definitely not from California.
Buffy closed her eyes and massaged her temples. She felt faint headache trying to make its way to her brain. Why everything always had to happen to her? What was it with her and the damn portals? She opened her eyes and stood up to get better view of her surroundings. She stretched a little to get the kinks out of her muscles for lying in the hard ground for God knows how long. As she gazed to the sky she could see that the sun was just little over the horizon, it was just early morning.
'Great, at least I don't have to start to ramble in the dark, I can do it in the light', Buffy thought sulkily. She saw something glimmering on the ground from the corner of her eye. As she turned her head she saw her sword. She picked it up and immediately felt little better. At least she wouldn't be totally unarmed. Making few swings with the sword Buffy came to notice the cut in her right arm that one of the demons had managed to do. Luckily it was already getting better, thanks to her Slayer healing.
Buffy slipped the sword back into its sheath and contemplated what to do next. She couldn't just stay where she was, there was no shelter of any kind and she didn't know what kind of creatures roamed in this world. If she wanted to find her way back home she first had to find someone who could help her. 'Let's hope there are humans in this world or at least some things that are able to help me.' Buffy considered which way to go and finally just decided to walk to the west, assuming that the sun here went with the same laws of nature as it did on the Earth. She deeply hoped she had landed somewhere near the inhabited area.
* * *
Several hours and a lot of stumbling over the tree roots and slippery rocks later Buffy had to admit that Goddess of Mercy was against her, once again. She had been wandering in the woods for what felt like eternity and only things that might be a sign of some kind of civilization were the traces on the ground that could have been some sort of trail. Whether they were made by people or animals or something else Buffy didn't know. Only thing she cared was that they might actually lead her somewhere that was out of the forest.
Buffy grumbled angrily when she felt her stomach emphasize the fact that she hadn't eaten anything for a long time. Surely there had been some berries growing in the bushes she had passed but she didn't dare to eat them, who knew how poisonous they might be. She most definitely didn't need herself to be toxicated among everything else.
"This is definitely just one big bucket of fun," Buffy said aloud to no- one, voice dripping with sarcasm. Things were definitely not looking good. As a matter of fact, they were very close being totally uber-sucky.
'If only I could at least get some water', Buffy though as her voice sounded a little raspy against her dry throat. She knew water was a matter of importance, because the temperature had gotten higher along with climbing sun, and her headache had been getting little worse for a while now. 'I don't need to eat berries to get worse; I'm getting seriously dehydrated at this rate.' Buffy groaned aloud, what had she done to deserve this?
After about another half an hour she heard a faint sound that could have been running water. Feeling a burst of newly found energy, she quickened her step and headed towards what she desperately hoped was water. Finally, she got through the large bush of ferns and sighed in relief. There was a small stream running through the forest floor and water was crystal clear. She fell on her knees and bent down to drink greedily. She was too thirsty to think how clean the water probably was. She decided to count on her Slayer healing to keep her well if needed. Wasn't that why she had it anyway?
After Buffy felt she had drunk enough, she splashed some water on her face and neck, washing away most of the dust and dirt she had gained along her trek. She felt much more refreshed and after taking one more sip of water she stood up again and glanced around her surroundings. She felt the new wave of relief wash her when she saw what was an obvious road on the other side of stream. And this road was definitely used regularly. Buffy got little more hopeful with her situation and jumped over the stream to the other side. She looked both ways to see where the road lead and when she saw thin wake of smoke rising above the trees on her left, Buffy started to walk that way. She couldn't afford to loose her caution now, so she kept her senses alert in case someone or something was to come her way. Best not to have any surprise encounters.
Having walked some while along the road Buffy decided to move to side and make her way among the trees and pushes that inhabited the area. When she got little further her eyes caught the glimpse of what could only be some sort of a roof through the leaves. She neared the edge of the forest and came to face a village. Buffy crouched behind one very thick bush. She would not just walk straight into the village without knowing anything about its residents, no matter how much her stomach wanted to answer to the heavenly sweet smell of just baked bread that was floating in the air.
The village was populated with humans; Buffy couldn't get any kind of demon- y vibes from them. People in the village were dressed very strangely, their clothes were made of leather, wool and some other natural fabrics, and they looked like what was imagined that people wore a couple of thousand years ago. And judging by the look of buildings in the village and the severe lack of any kind of modern machinery, Buffy couldn't help but thought that she was somehow sent back in time, quite far back. But the fact that the portal was supposed to open into the other dimension, Buffy suspected this was the past of her world. Maybe the world in this dimension hadn't developed too far yet.
Getting anxious just sitting behind the bush Buffy decided to take a risk and move into the village. She knew how to fight and she had her sword should any trouble ensue. She got up and stepped away from the forest.
When Buffy walked into the village she got nervous again. Some people were giving her curious looks while some merely glanced at her and went back to what they were doing. Buffy thought her clothes probably looked strange in this environment. She was wearing all black because she had wanted to blend in the darkness of the forest when they had gone after the demons. She had black leather pants and black long sleeved shirt. Her hair was tied in her neck in a ponytail and on her feet she was wearing a pair of black boots. Very break-and-enterish back then, very I'm-so-not-from-here now.
Cautiously Buffy approached older man who was selling vegetables on the side of the street. He looked friendly enough to give some advice for a stranger.
"Could you possibly tell me where I am, sir? I'm a little lost," she said giving the man a small smile, trying to sound friendly.
The man gave her a confused look and when he spoke, Buffy found out her little trip had just gotten few notches lower in the scale of suckiness. She couldn't understand a word of what the man spoke.
"Would that mean you don't speak any English?" she tried again, trying to hold on the little piece of hope she had left.
As the man just shrugged his shoulders and gave her apologetic look. Buffy just let out a frustrated sight. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with the back of her hand.
"Figures. Why would anything be easy for me? Of course when I don't have Giles or Willow with, me things have to go more complicated", Buffy ranted not particularly to anyone. She felt she was becoming seriously brainsick, like she couldn't form a one single coherent thought. The man looked her quizzically as she muttered and she just gave him a sad smile.
"Sorry, it's been a long day for me. Things just seem to be getting worse and worse."
And as if her words would have needed assurance, a piercing scream from other side of the village suddenly filled the air. Buffy could hear several people yelling something she couldn't understand and it just made her more frustrated. 'I wonder what's wrong.'
She got her answer very quickly. As Buffy took few wary strides further into the village she saw a bunch of soldiers trying to catch some of the villagers. And gazing further behind the soldiers she could see more of them coming. Buffy planned to make quick retreat into the forest but when she turned around she came face to face with six more. A couple of the soldiers had captured the older man Buffy had tried to speak with. When one of the men spotted her just standing there he barked an order to one of the other soldiers. The man in question threw a glance at Buffy and started slowly to approach her small smile playing on his lips.
'Well, this is just damn perfect', she couldn't help but thought.
* * * * * * *
Chapter 2 - First Impressions
The first thing that registered in Buffy's mind was the heavy, sweet scent of flowers. That made her confused since she didn't remember being anywhere with flowers that smelled like that. She cautiously tried to move her arms and legs and only came up with more confusion. Why on earth was she lying on the hard ground, with tree roots digging in her back? A flash of memory ran through her mind. They had been fighting demons in the forest. Maybe she had been knocked unconscious during the fight.
Buffy slowly rolled over to lie on her right side and with effort tried to open her heavy eyelids. Her body ached like she had been beaten up by a group of vampires. Well, maybe the demons had managed to get more swings in than usual. But as she got herself into a sitting position and finally managed to open her eyes, all thoughts of demons disappeared from her mind.
She wildly turned her head to look around. And only got more assurance for her conclusion. She definitely wasn't even anywhere near the Sunnydale woods anymore. The trees were different, as were other plants, and the air around her felt much warmer and heavier than it did back home. She saw big purple and pink flowers near where she sat; the strong aroma she had smelled when she woke up came from those flowers. They were very beautiful but definitely not from California.
Buffy closed her eyes and massaged her temples. She felt faint headache trying to make its way to her brain. Why everything always had to happen to her? What was it with her and the damn portals? She opened her eyes and stood up to get better view of her surroundings. She stretched a little to get the kinks out of her muscles for lying in the hard ground for God knows how long. As she gazed to the sky she could see that the sun was just little over the horizon, it was just early morning.
'Great, at least I don't have to start to ramble in the dark, I can do it in the light', Buffy thought sulkily. She saw something glimmering on the ground from the corner of her eye. As she turned her head she saw her sword. She picked it up and immediately felt little better. At least she wouldn't be totally unarmed. Making few swings with the sword Buffy came to notice the cut in her right arm that one of the demons had managed to do. Luckily it was already getting better, thanks to her Slayer healing.
Buffy slipped the sword back into its sheath and contemplated what to do next. She couldn't just stay where she was, there was no shelter of any kind and she didn't know what kind of creatures roamed in this world. If she wanted to find her way back home she first had to find someone who could help her. 'Let's hope there are humans in this world or at least some things that are able to help me.' Buffy considered which way to go and finally just decided to walk to the west, assuming that the sun here went with the same laws of nature as it did on the Earth. She deeply hoped she had landed somewhere near the inhabited area.
* * *
Several hours and a lot of stumbling over the tree roots and slippery rocks later Buffy had to admit that Goddess of Mercy was against her, once again. She had been wandering in the woods for what felt like eternity and only things that might be a sign of some kind of civilization were the traces on the ground that could have been some sort of trail. Whether they were made by people or animals or something else Buffy didn't know. Only thing she cared was that they might actually lead her somewhere that was out of the forest.
Buffy grumbled angrily when she felt her stomach emphasize the fact that she hadn't eaten anything for a long time. Surely there had been some berries growing in the bushes she had passed but she didn't dare to eat them, who knew how poisonous they might be. She most definitely didn't need herself to be toxicated among everything else.
"This is definitely just one big bucket of fun," Buffy said aloud to no- one, voice dripping with sarcasm. Things were definitely not looking good. As a matter of fact, they were very close being totally uber-sucky.
'If only I could at least get some water', Buffy though as her voice sounded a little raspy against her dry throat. She knew water was a matter of importance, because the temperature had gotten higher along with climbing sun, and her headache had been getting little worse for a while now. 'I don't need to eat berries to get worse; I'm getting seriously dehydrated at this rate.' Buffy groaned aloud, what had she done to deserve this?
After about another half an hour she heard a faint sound that could have been running water. Feeling a burst of newly found energy, she quickened her step and headed towards what she desperately hoped was water. Finally, she got through the large bush of ferns and sighed in relief. There was a small stream running through the forest floor and water was crystal clear. She fell on her knees and bent down to drink greedily. She was too thirsty to think how clean the water probably was. She decided to count on her Slayer healing to keep her well if needed. Wasn't that why she had it anyway?
After Buffy felt she had drunk enough, she splashed some water on her face and neck, washing away most of the dust and dirt she had gained along her trek. She felt much more refreshed and after taking one more sip of water she stood up again and glanced around her surroundings. She felt the new wave of relief wash her when she saw what was an obvious road on the other side of stream. And this road was definitely used regularly. Buffy got little more hopeful with her situation and jumped over the stream to the other side. She looked both ways to see where the road lead and when she saw thin wake of smoke rising above the trees on her left, Buffy started to walk that way. She couldn't afford to loose her caution now, so she kept her senses alert in case someone or something was to come her way. Best not to have any surprise encounters.
Having walked some while along the road Buffy decided to move to side and make her way among the trees and pushes that inhabited the area. When she got little further her eyes caught the glimpse of what could only be some sort of a roof through the leaves. She neared the edge of the forest and came to face a village. Buffy crouched behind one very thick bush. She would not just walk straight into the village without knowing anything about its residents, no matter how much her stomach wanted to answer to the heavenly sweet smell of just baked bread that was floating in the air.
The village was populated with humans; Buffy couldn't get any kind of demon- y vibes from them. People in the village were dressed very strangely, their clothes were made of leather, wool and some other natural fabrics, and they looked like what was imagined that people wore a couple of thousand years ago. And judging by the look of buildings in the village and the severe lack of any kind of modern machinery, Buffy couldn't help but thought that she was somehow sent back in time, quite far back. But the fact that the portal was supposed to open into the other dimension, Buffy suspected this was the past of her world. Maybe the world in this dimension hadn't developed too far yet.
Getting anxious just sitting behind the bush Buffy decided to take a risk and move into the village. She knew how to fight and she had her sword should any trouble ensue. She got up and stepped away from the forest.
When Buffy walked into the village she got nervous again. Some people were giving her curious looks while some merely glanced at her and went back to what they were doing. Buffy thought her clothes probably looked strange in this environment. She was wearing all black because she had wanted to blend in the darkness of the forest when they had gone after the demons. She had black leather pants and black long sleeved shirt. Her hair was tied in her neck in a ponytail and on her feet she was wearing a pair of black boots. Very break-and-enterish back then, very I'm-so-not-from-here now.
Cautiously Buffy approached older man who was selling vegetables on the side of the street. He looked friendly enough to give some advice for a stranger.
"Could you possibly tell me where I am, sir? I'm a little lost," she said giving the man a small smile, trying to sound friendly.
The man gave her a confused look and when he spoke, Buffy found out her little trip had just gotten few notches lower in the scale of suckiness. She couldn't understand a word of what the man spoke.
"Would that mean you don't speak any English?" she tried again, trying to hold on the little piece of hope she had left.
As the man just shrugged his shoulders and gave her apologetic look. Buffy just let out a frustrated sight. She closed her eyes and rubbed them with the back of her hand.
"Figures. Why would anything be easy for me? Of course when I don't have Giles or Willow with, me things have to go more complicated", Buffy ranted not particularly to anyone. She felt she was becoming seriously brainsick, like she couldn't form a one single coherent thought. The man looked her quizzically as she muttered and she just gave him a sad smile.
"Sorry, it's been a long day for me. Things just seem to be getting worse and worse."
And as if her words would have needed assurance, a piercing scream from other side of the village suddenly filled the air. Buffy could hear several people yelling something she couldn't understand and it just made her more frustrated. 'I wonder what's wrong.'
She got her answer very quickly. As Buffy took few wary strides further into the village she saw a bunch of soldiers trying to catch some of the villagers. And gazing further behind the soldiers she could see more of them coming. Buffy planned to make quick retreat into the forest but when she turned around she came face to face with six more. A couple of the soldiers had captured the older man Buffy had tried to speak with. When one of the men spotted her just standing there he barked an order to one of the other soldiers. The man in question threw a glance at Buffy and started slowly to approach her small smile playing on his lips.
'Well, this is just damn perfect', she couldn't help but thought.