Gwendolyn had decided the first step to integrating into her new world was too learn about what she missed over the past 150 or so years. While Charlie Sinclair helped her get settled into her new life, she had an obligation to do her part, as well. And a big portion of that was learning what the h*ll has been going on. The admission fee to the New-York Historical Society was a bit hefty - everything was so expensive now. But it seems like everyone got paid a lot more? She wasn't too sure, honestly, she had some people protesting about the 99% and how the wealthy had gotten a lot power or something. She wasn't even sure what the 99% meant. In either case, it was time for her to dig in to learn about... Airplanes. And cars. And mobile applications? Oh, no, Mobile phones. Like the telegraph, except with voices and tiny and they could take... pictures. 

She probably looked a bit strange in her 1800's dress. Some people were giving her a look, probably due to her dress. Maybe her violet eyes? She had green eyes before... The travel. But now, they were violet with white specks in them. She wasn't sure what happened to her, what do they call it in this time? DNA? Something like that. It had to have done something to her during her time travel. She was not ready to give up all of her past, at least not yet. She knew deep down that there was no way of her going back to her time but there was still a wish that there was a way. Once she adapted to this new world, she was determined to find out about her father, mother, and siblings. She had to find out what happened - did they all day? Does she have any relatives that are alive today? Those were objectives for another day, though. For now, she had to learn about this world. She had a lot of catching up to do, too.

(Mirror Grey-Morris) 

Gawain was supposed to be doing work, as usual. Now that the portal was open between two version of reality, there were immediate concerns, and then also long-term ones; taking a break from the fighting and patrolling, the mirrorwalker decided to take a swing at the less pressing sides of the issue.
Like history.

The two New Yorks were alike in most ways, but not all. And if they had alternate timelines, that meant they also had alternate histories. Since Gawain had never been a local history buff all that much, and was mostly interested in pre-colonial eras, he needed to brush up on his local New York history first, before he could go off checking it against the other side. Hence, he was taking a field trip. To the New York historical society.

Walking down the exhibit hallway, he spotted the woman in a 19th century dress. She was wearing it elegantly, and she appeared to be more like a visitor than staff. Gawain smirked. He loved living history. If this woman was playing a character, he definitely wanted to know who she was. Walking around, he gave her an easy smile.

"Excuse me, miss? Could I have a minute of your time?"

Gwendolyn was unsure about how to feel about all these new advances. Airplanes, men on moons, machines and mechanisms venturing into space. She was reassured that, at least, demons didn't turn out to be real. She wasn't sure if she believed that, though. There had been some awful things that had happened in this world... She had heard about the Holocaust, WWI and WWII. Vietnam and the Koreas. Democracy seemed to be flourishing in most parts of the world, at least. Except for a... Communist China? Which was kinda like the olden monarchies? It was a relief to know the monarchy of the British had continued. At least the Union won the Civil War, but not without massive destruction and causalities. It seemed like so many evil things had happened but the good kept winning - slavery was happening, but they defeated the slave holders, the Holocaust happened, but the American & European armies defeated the Germans. 

>> "Excuse me, miss? Could I have a minute of your time?"

She was so lost in her thoughts she almost didn't notice the man who began talking to her. She jumped a little with a quiet gasp, her violet eyes darting towards him. She tried to see if he was a threat but turned out not. He wanted some of her time? Well, she skipped, what? 157 years so it's not like a minute would hurt anything. She gave him a smile, "Oh, sir, you gave me quite the fright. How do you do?" Her upper class, 19th century Bostonian & British mixed accent coming out. She gave him a small curtsy. She kicked herself mentally. They say 'Hello' and 'Hi' now. And they definitely don't curtsy. Apparently, it's the shaking of hands.. What was it called? Handshake? Handshakes! In either case, what was it that he was wanting from her? 

The girl had all the mannerisms one would expect from someone of the 19th century - and stunning violet eyes. Gawain blinked in surprise as he saw that. Those were... either contacts, which would be wildly out of place for a historical character, or her actual natural eye color, which made her either very lucky, or a mutant.
... well, technically a mutant either way.

>>"Oh, sir, you gave me quite the fright. How do you do?"

Oh, she was good. Definitely good at her job. Gawain, having spent time at Ren fairs and historical reenactment events, knew a pro when he saw one (even though the 19th century was not really his expertise). Her accent was really great, too. Gawain smiled, bowing lightly in response to her curtsy. She was not supposed to break character anyway, but he could at least make it easier.

"How do you do?" he offered a hand anyway, for handshake or hand kiss, whichever she would give her hand for "Gawain Morris. I apologize for the fright."

Good thing Becca was not around. He would never hear the end of this.

Gwendolyn was getting used to people getting surprised by looking into her eyes. She wasn't sure what happened when she was ripped from her timeline, but for some reason, it seemed to have messed with her eye color. Kind of a weird side of the effect that she wouldn't have expected for being torn through the space-time continuum, but oh well. In either case, the train car that was sent with her here was now in a museum, being restored. They could even restore items to conditions right like they were in 1862. Impressive. On the plus side, this time still couldn't figure out how the Romans made their roads, so that made her feel a little better.

She gave him a smile and offered her hand to him, nearly expecting him to kiss it. She grabbed it and shook his hand, a little too hard. She was still getting used to these kinds of customs. 

"Apologies accepted, Mr. Morris. I'm more on nerves these days, albeit quite well." She gave him another smile and looked back to the exhibit that was in front of her - it was dealing Central Park & how it was founded. Interesting. The environment seemed to be having some issues, or at least from what she could gather. Everything was so different. 

She wasn't really sure what he was doing - actually, was he mocking her customs? His ancestors used to be this way, too. Or presumably, anyways. The realization made her a little upset, but he probably did not even know she was from the 1800's. Most people didn't realize it. In either case, though, why was he acting this way? "May I assist you, sir?" 

They ended up shaking hands. She was a little awkward at it. Gawain was, once again, impressed with the nuances in her performance; he had been fully ready to kiss her hand, but apparently she was using her talents to show how handshakes were not common for women back in her... era? He knew she was somewhere in the 19th century, but did not have enough expertise to guess the rest. Either way, she was definitely dedicated.

>>"Apologies accepted, Mr. Morris. I'm more on nerves these days, albeit quite well."

This was too much fun. She did not give her own name, which was a slip (characters loved to give their names), and now he was also curious who she was in real life. Acting student?...

>>"May I assist you, sir?"

"Sorry?... Oh, right. Well, I came out here to find out a little more about the history of New York City, and I was wondering if you would mind helping me with that? Given that you lived... um, live in an exciting time?"

That was her job, right? Telling people stories?

He seemed friendly. But people in this time seemed... Strange, weird. Of course, she knew rationally that she was the weird one - everyone else was normal. She was wearing this pretty, amazing dress which wasn't even the most common in 1862... Apparently, this style became more fashionable in the later parts of the 1800's. She didn't fit in 1862 and she doesn't fit in in 2017. Go figure. 

>>"Sorry?... Oh, right. Well, I came out here to find out a little more about the history of New York City, and I was wondering if you would mind helping me with that? Given that you lived... um, live in an exciting time?"

She was a bit surprised at his questions. What? She shook her head, "Oh, I have never lived in New York City until a couple weeks ago." She smiled towards him, "If you want to know about Boston, though, I can give you some fun details of the 1850's and 1860's." She sighed as she remembered some of the fun things she used to do. Going to balls, exploring the city with her friends, after church festivities... Even some of the more mischievous things she did she missed - like sneaking out to fun dance parties and getting intoxicated by alcoholic beverages. Stuff that made her seem wild seemed pretty normal in this time period. She looked back towards the exhibit. It was bittersweet to be in this time. It was remarkable but it confirmed Gwendolyn's worst fears about humanity - they were savages, barbarians. 

Gawain reminded himself why he was here in the first place. Interactive history was all neat and well, but he really did need a refresher course on New York City history, if he was going to get anywhere with his inter-dimensional research project. But if he could do it while spending time with this cool person... so be it.

>>"Oh, I have never lived in New York City until a couple weeks ago."

Gawain blinked. Okay, so that was a little unusual for a live interpretation character. Why would they place her here? Did they have a special exhibit or something?

>>"If you want to know about Boston, though, I can give you some fun details of the 1850's and 1860's."

"Well... that sounds interesting" Gawain noted. Interesting, but not useful. He decided to try another angle. Maybe the character's idea of history was different. "How did you end up moving to New York, then?"

She was unsure about the boy's attention at this point. He seemed a bit curious about her - and wanted to know more information about her, at least from her time period. Why? How or even did he know she was from the past? He had to know, or he wouldn't have said anything about her being from her time period. It was on the front page, anyways - 1800's lady runs out from the teleported train, suspected mutant from 1800's teleported him and her into the present. It also mentioned one casualty, an individual who was smashed under it - but the body was unidentifiable. She scratched the back of her hand as she held them at her waist as she debated on just walking away from.

>> "Well... that sounds interesting. How did you end up moving to New York, then?"

Guess he wasn't interested in Boston, then. It was a wonderful city, but New York City seemed amazing, at least now. She had never been to New York City in her time period. Of course, she had never really left Boston in her time period. Apparently, everyone and their brother left their home towns and cities. The world was connected now - something it wasn't really back in her... Day. D*amn, she was 177 years old. Technically. She sighed, a bit exasperated, "It's... A long story. Not a pretty one. But I guess I can talk to you about it if you're really that interested." At least not for the kid that pulled her into this world. She sighed, a sad look on her face. While she enjoyed this world, she still missed family. What had happened to her family and her families tree? She may never know.

Well, he was in too deep now. The thing with talking to characters was that Gawain was inherently curious. He did not see anyone else clamoring to talk to her either, which was a pity, because she had clearly put a lot of effort into preparing. And he wanted to hear what she had to say.

>>"It's... A long story. Not a pretty one. But I guess I can talk to you about it if you're really that interested."

"I would like to hear it" Gawain volunteered. He really did. Plus, who was to know that other parts of America did not have different histories? He decided that knowing one short time period really well, and comparing it to the other side, would probably yield better results than searching for differences blindly "I mean, if you are willing to tell it, Miss...?"

>>"I mean, if you are willing to tell it, Miss...?"

She perked a brow and sighed but she nodded. She had all day anyways, it wasn't like she could get a job. At least not yet. She hadn't figured out the whole government mess with her being, well,l 177 years old but looking 22. She motioned for him to follow her to a bench, where she sat elegantly down and patted for him to sit beside her.

She better start from the beginning, at least. "I'm originally from Boston, as you know. I was to be wed to the Pennsylvania Senator's son, at the time. It was a surprise wedding and especially surprising that his family accepted my fathers dowry. I am 22, an old maid, at least in my time. I preferred to teach. I also wanted love, not an arranged marriage." She sighed, "But, this opportunity was too good to pass up or so my father told me. So, I packed my bags to begin the journey to Washington, D.C. to get married.. I did not have a choice."  Lucky or not lucky, she did not get married - she got teleported to freaking New York City, over 150 years into the future.

She decided to pause and wait to see if he had any questions before she continued. "Any questions so far?" The next part was the crazy part, so she needed to make sure he understood this part well. 

She still did not give her name. Gawain didn't push her. In her world, it would be impolite anyway, for a random guy to ask a girl's name like that, and as a museum guest, he did not want to be a jerk to the actress. She probably got a lot of those a day anyway.

She sat down, and Gawain sat too. Now she was curious what kind of a story she had to tell.

>>"I'm originally from Boston, as you know. I was to be wed to the Pennsylvania Senator's son, at the time. It was a surprise wedding and especially surprising that his family accepted my fathers dowry. I am 22, an old maid, at least in my time. I preferred to teach. I also wanted love, not an arranged marriage."

Oh, nice. Gawain decided he liked the girl. The character, anyway. She could not fully go against her time, but at least she had dreams and aspiration. Also, he was very glad to be living in a time when arranged marriages were not the norm in America, and neither were matches based on wealth. Otherwise, he would have been screwed. Double screwed. Triple, if counting the gender shifting...

>>"But, this opportunity was too good to pass up or so my father told me. So, I packed my bags to begin the journey to Washington, D.C. to get married.. I did not have a choice... Any questions so far?"

"I am sorry they put you in that situation" Gawain noted "It could not have been an easy decision to make. But... if you were headed for Washington, then, why are you here?"

He seemed pretty interested in her story. It was a bit endearing, even if he was probably going to mock her customs and ways. She had a while before she would be fully adapted to the culture, language, and customs of her new timeline. 

>> "I am sorry they put you in that situation"

She nodded and gave a weak smile, "It's not your fault. It's good to see that that is no longer the case. Love seems to be flourishing all over the place now..." Kinda, anyways. She had heard of these 'sugar daddies' and 'cougars' and 'sugar babies.' Different time, and slightly different reasons, but ultimately the same outcome - wealth.

>> "It could not have been an easy decision to make. But... if you were headed for Washington, then, why are you here?"

She nodded, "It wasn't. But, I had to for my family. Our life expectancy then wasn't like it is now... It was short and we had to have many children." Another good thing she had learned - babies actually live, well, a lot more than back in her time. And women didn't die during childbirth nearly as much either.

But here came the twist in her story, the reason she was in New York City. She took a deep breath and cautiously looked at the man, "Well... I was boarding my train to go home. A small boy, a mutant, as your time calls him," she sighed. She needed to stop saying 'your time.' This was her time now, too. There wasn't a way for her to go back and she had accepted that - plus, there are really nice things about this time. Toothpaste and perfume. Medicine. Relatively clean air and waters. And the food. So much food. And so easily available! 

She paused, thinking of the next words and how people in this time, her time, would say it, "He... Manifested. He ended up taking me, and him, and the train car, into the present, into 2017. Poor boy did not live." She sighed and gave him a weak smile, unsure of his reaction.

Well, for better or worse, they were having a conversation now. Gawain listened to her story, which was very much fit for the 19th century - for her race and class, anyway. Could have been better if she was a man, but it also could have ended a lot worse. He suspected they did not want to make the museum visitors too uncomfortable right off the bat...

>>"It wasn't. But, I had to for my family. Our life expectancy then wasn't like it is now... It was short and we had to have many children."

Okay, so that checked out. But if her character was all marriage and babies, what was she doing in New York City? Was that just an inconsistency in the planning?...

>>"Well... I was boarding my train to go home. A small boy, a mutant, as your time calls him,"

Gawain blinked. Mutant? That was interesting. No one was entirely sure how long mutants had been manifesting powers... but they were not usually included in the history books just yet. Intriguing.

>>"He... Manifested. He ended up taking me, and him, and the train car, into the present, into 2017. Poor boy did not live."

Gawain paused, staring at her.
For a long time.

"The train car?" he had heard the news, even though he did not exactly keep a close eye on the media. He had written it off as yet another weird side effect of the rip. The fact that someone had walked off of it had never made it all the way to his brain. "You were on that...?"

But then that meant... Gawain looked the woman over again, stunned.

"Wait... you're for real?!"

It was a wild story, for sure. It was insane to believe it was true - if it hadn't happened to her, she would never have believed it was real. It was a crazy man's tell. She watched him closely. He had asked her for the truth and her story, so why not tell it? It was crazy and he'd believe it or not. Ultimately, it didn't really matter to her.

He stared at uncomfortably long. She squinted her eyes and started scooting away, uncomfortable with him staring at her. It was very... Strange.

>> "The train car? You were on that...? Wait... you're for real?!"

She nodded, "Yes, I was," she said curtly. She nodded again, "Yes... I am, 'for real,' as you say." She looked down, her hands still folded in her lap, "I'm a 177 years old." 

She didn't even know if her family tree had died off or not. Talk about a complicated family tree line if she has kids...