[Thera]

Thera slept better that night. The food in her stomach warmed her as she lay on the hard ground of the cave floor. It wasn't all bad. At least she could be thankful for the sleeping roll that Medusa had provided her. She woke slowly and registered the sounds of the cave around her.

She could hear Medusa's sibilant breathing and the soft scraping sounds of a page being turned nearby. Medusa must be reading something.

"Awake at last little mouse," the gorgon said with a distracted voice, like she had hardly glanced away from her book long enough to see Thera rise. The blind girl froze at that little nickname, her body flinching as if she had been slapped.

"What's wrong now?" Medusa asked, having noticed Thera's reaction, but Thera tried to hide it. She didn't want to burden Medusa with thoughts of Caelus, didn't want to explain that he to had called her that name when he had slamed her up against a wall and whispered the most vile of threats to her.

"N-nothing miss," she finally answered after a long moment. Seaking to move away from thoughts of Caelus, Thera stood shakily and tested her new brace with a couple of steps. She used the spear haft to steady herself as she moved forward. She was doing better but still a far cry from being fully healed.

She felt the weight of the grime on her skin, the mud in her hair, and the blood that still stained her face. She needed to clean herself.

"Miss Medusa," she took a deep breath as she tried to muster up her courage. Speaking to Medusa was still unusual and frightening, but she couldn't afford to always stay silent.

She heard the gorgon shift and turn, she guessed, probably looking at her. the slightest clink of a glass being set to the side could be heard.

"What is it, little mouse?" She asked with a hint of curiosity. Thera had to bite back her reaction to the nickname. It still gave her very bad memories. She bit back a sob that rose in her throat and tried to keep her voice free of fear and pain. She was semi-successful.

"I-is there a place that I may bathe?" Thera cringed a little at the shake in her voice. She thought she sounded like a needy little girl. She had always hated to ask others for even the barest curiosity or consideration. Her upbringing told her that she didn't deserve such niceties, that any such kindness was something to be earned. That's why Cassia had been treated better. She deserved good things.

A silence between them for a few moments, she figured the gorgon was calculating some sort of price or task that Thera could do to earn this luxury. She thought to the stories she had heard of Medusa. They said that the gorgon would drink the blood of those who she hadn't petrified, keeping them alive for weeks to satisfy the gorgon. Would be what happened to her? Was that why Medusa let her live?

The silent moments felt like hours to Thera, but was in reality only a few seconds as Medusa thought about something.

"There's a hot spring that flows through the caves here. It's close. I will take you to it," Medusa slithered from her spot and began to rustle through something nearby.

Thera took a tentative step towards the sound, still warey of a price to pay for this. Medusa made a thoughtful sound. Thera could hear that their was something odd about Medusa's voice. Her words fell together, overlapping and stretching just a tiny bit more than they should. Her voice felt almost warm in comparison to her usual demeanor that Thera had begun to grow used to.

"I don't have any clothes that are your size, but these should work for now. We should probably burn those rags you're in. They are hardly covering you," Thera felt her cheeks flush a little at that. She crossed her arms over her chest and hunched her shoulders. She felt a little uncomfortable with losing her dress. It was one of her last remaining possessions that was only hers. She had worked hard to try and earn the garment.

"D-do, do we have to burn it?" She felt her voice begin to shake as she she could feel Medusa slither closer. It was odd to hear the sound of Medusa's tail instead of footsteps.

"I don't particularly care, but why would you want to keep this piece of tattered cloth?" Thera didn't know how to explain it to the gorgon. How would she explain that this little dress meant so much to her.

"Whatever, keep it, but don't leave it laying about. I won't tolerate clutter filling up my home," Medusa slipped a hand around Thera's wrist and put a bundle of clothes in her hand. She then moved away again and then returned.

"You can use this cloak as a towel, follow me," Medusa began to move away from Thera and the poor blind girl began to panic as she tried to hole in the general direction of the gorgons voice.

"W-wait..." Thera reached her hand out pleadingly as she heard the other woman's slithering sliding sound began to feel too far away. She hated this and hated that she needed guidance. She hated being so helpless that she could hardly even walk without requiring assistance.

[Medusa]

Medusa raised an eyebrow as she turned back to look at the blind girl, wondering what she could POSSIBLY need now. She did really have the brainpower at the moment to be very angry. Her mind felt fluffy and clouded. The wine she had opened today was especially potent. A good deal more so than even Medusa was used to. She turned around to see the girl standing uncertainty a few meters behind her, she wasn't facing the right direction.

Right.....blind, she thought to herself. She was so unused to interactions with any human that she tended to forget that the girl lacked sight. With a humph, she slithered back near the girl and put a firm grip on the girls shoulder.

"You are an impossibly needy creature," Medusa sighed as she began to push the girl forward down the hall. She saw the girl lower her head, and wrap on of her arms around herself, giving herself a little comforting hug.

"I-i'm sorry miss," the girls apology was almost inaudible, but Medusa caught the whisper, feeling a pang of something unfamiliar hit her heart. She shook her head, the wine must be playing tricks on her.

Her snakes seemed interested in the girl, trying to move their heads closer to the girl, tasting the air around them with their forked tongues. She looked as one of the longest of her snakes put its nose against the girls cheek. That was Calista, the most assertive of her serpentine hair. Thera jumped at the contact, letting out a little yip of fear.

"W-what was that?," she asked, turning her head back and forth, trying to catch a sound that could identify the touch. Calista tilted her a head a little as she backed away. Medusa had always found it a bit odd that the snakes on her head acted on their own initiative rather than be at her command.

"Calista! Leave her be," Medusa commanded as she gently tapped the snake on top of its head. It wasn't unlike the snakes to investigate new things, but Calista wasn't normally so gentle with it.

"Calista?" The girls voice shook as she tilted her head around frantically, "are there other people here?"

Medusa rolled her eyes, but it was a little amusing how easily the girl would jump to being scared of the smallest thing. She really did feel like a little mouse.

"She's one of my serpents, calm yourself, girl," Medusa started to lead the girl again, slithering slowly through the winding halls that cut through the massive mountain that contained her home.

They walked in silence the whole journey until they finally arrived at the hot spring. It was a dark cave lit with only a few candles. This was one of Medusa's favorite parts of her home. A place where she would sit for hours in the warm water.

"I'll take off the brace. Don't put any wait on your leg or hit it on anything," she pushed Thera down gently into a sitting position on the lip of the spring. With clinical efficiency, she unwrapped and deconstructed the splint into its composite parts.

Thera hissed and clenched her teeth at even the slightest contact. She held her ankle tenderly but made sure not to let it touch the ground.

"You will have to handle the rest on your own girl," she was willing to help the girl with some things, but dressing and bathing this little thing was out of the question. The gorgon turned away from the girl and began to slither back towards the cavern that contained her nest and, more importantly, her wine.

She turned around just as she reached the doorway as she heard the girls tiny voice echo off of the walls and water.

"T-thank you miss," Medusa looked at the girl bust, saying nothing more.

Once alone, Medusa turned to glare at Calista. The longest of her serpents, she was an albino with pearly white scales and red eyes.

"What is your problem? I know it's odd to have someone else here, but you are not to bother her. We want her to leave, and you can't control your venom. If she gets poisoned and has to stay here longer, then I will stop giving you any bird eggs and give them to Mia instead," she glared at the snake even though she knew that she couldn't stay mad at the snakes dumb little face. She felt her glare fall away and grinned, giving Calista a scratch under her chin.

[Cassia]

Cassia growled to herself as yet another idiotic hero came to claim the quest. as much as she feared Caelus, she was almost more willing to face his wrath than deal with another hero who thought he could demand Cassia herself as a reward for their efforts.

"And what are you going to ask for?" Her voice was growing horse as she had been at this all day. This man was the very picture of moronic heroics. He was tall, muscular with light eyes. He wore armor and had a spear at his side.

"I ask only for enough supplies to make the trip and the direction of your sister so that I may bring her home," the man gave a dashing smile as he looked to Cassia.

Cassia, for her part, felt her eyebrow raise. Was this some sort of joke? But by the look on the man's face, she was starting to believe that he was serious.

"Is this truly all you ask for?" Cassia couldn't help her curiosity. Who did something like this for nothing?

The man looked up at her, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Something was off with him, the way he watched her movements, the way his eyes slid along her body. Even Caelus didn't look at people like that, didn't look at her like that. Caelus wanted power and glory, not whatever was hidden behind the heros eyes.

"It is my darling princess, for to save one so innocent is it's own reward," his grin never moved. The way his eyes moved across her felt invasive and wrong. He felt wrong..... but he asked for no reward. Free help wasnt something to be denied.

"What is your name?"

"They call me lucius, my princess," he gave an all to short bow to show full respect to Cassia, but just enough to be mistaken for trying. His eyes never left her.

"Go, return my sister to me," she ordered, gesturing for the man to be supplied and sent on his way.

[Hey, sorry this took forever, I've been having a pretty bad time with being sick and collage and life so I tried my best, sorry if it's kinda a bad chapter, hope you enjoy anyways, please comment your thoughts and ideas]