Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

When the voice came through the other end loudly, Kay couldn't stop herself from pulling the phone away from her ear for a moment before putting it back to her ear again. The female Scottish voice was indeed completely unfamiliar to her and hearing another accent after practically not hearing a single voice other than her own for days, not to mention only hearing the Attilian accent before then, it was jarring and threw her off guard greatly. The fact the first words were 'about time you picked up' told Kay this unknown female didn't register it wasn't John who answered the call initially, and she was just waiting for the woman to suddenly twig she wasn't talking to John. Then it came, the realisation she wasn't talking to John, but to Kay. Hearing this woman say she didn't care who she was, as long she got the phone to John, instantly told Kay that whoever this was, it was yet another person she was kept a secret from.

"I'll try and find him, he's been avoiding everyone..just give me a minute to find what room he's in?" Kay then replied politely and softly, barely able to have the full energy to really go on a hunt for the man she loved. She then placed the phone firmly against her chest as if to make the person on the other end not hear her as she spoke to The House. "House please, I'm begging you, this woman on the phone is insisting on talking to John, I HAVE to get this phone to him. It sounds incredibly urgent" she pleaded with it, hoping it would be enough for The House to accept her plea and take her to him. After she made her plea, she hauled herself off the chair she was in with a grunt through gritted teeth into a standing position and began to walk to the door, opening it and exiting the room. She wondered which way she should turn, should she go downstairs? Stay on this level? Turn left or right? "Okay House, lead me to John please" she asked nicely. She really didn't want to get an earful from the woman on the phone if she couldn't get her to speak with John, especially as she didn't know who the woman was.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Of course he bloody is." There was an exasperated edge in her tone- a mixture of both fondness and annoyance at John's actions. "Just get the phone to him, I'll do the explainin'. He'll listen ta me" the caller replied. She'd expected some obstacle like this, in her experience things never quite tended to be straightforward when John was involved. There was a slight pause. "Tell him it's Nat calling an' she's callin' aboot Noah. That should be enough to get him to pay attention. If that does nae work just ignore whatever the Hells he says, chuck the phone at him anyway and I'll talk some sense into him."

The door lead out onto a corridor, a different one to the one that had been there earlier. It's walls were a dark green in colour with black skirting boards and a dark wooden floor. In response to Kay's pleas the door right across from her opened with a loud creak to reveal one of many sitting rooms. John was sprawled across the couch, glass decanter of some kind of alcohol in one hand, lit cigarette in the other. He looked truly dreadful, hair greasy and messy, clothing rumpled and stained- he clearly hadn't bothered to change since digging the grave as there were muddy smears on his trousers and shirt. It took a few moments for his reddened eyes to focus on the open door and when they did he tossed his head back and let out a pained sigh. "Just fuck off."

 

[MzHyde]

The moment the caller said who it was, she knew instantly if anyone could talk sense to him, it would be Nat. In her weird headspace, she still could smirk slightly at what she said about just throwing his phone at him anyway, a scenario she could see herself having to do. When The House seemed to agree to her pleas and put her into a whole new hallway she had never seen before, she realised it just lead her straight to him without much walking having to be needed. "Duely noted, because no one else has been able to" she told Nat as she saw the door creak open and she walked to it, standing in the doorway for a moment to take a moment to see the sorry state of John. It was like he was just a shell of the man she trusted, loved and cared for. Seeing him with a lot cigarette in his hand, she didn't want to get too close but she knew she had to get closer to five him his phone. She frowned when he told her to fuck off, having to tell herself not to take it personally and that if she was Chas standing here he'd have said the exact same thing, but it was killing her emotionally seeing him like this.

"Well tough shit John, it's Nat on the phone, calling about Noah. She's been trying countless times so talk to her" she told him firmly, walking in, holding her breath after she spoke and held out his phone to him, nudging it at him firmly to say 'and I ain't taking no as an answer, you're talking to someone' whilst giving him a look that matched her action. Despite her slightly bossy exterior and look, she was feeling far from it inside and was desperately trying not to just break down in front of him because of his appearance. Something told her she would have to call Chas sometime soon before dealing with this alone just got too much for her. All this inner turmoil she was feeling wasn't going to be doing her health any good or their baby's, even if John didn't want to acknowledge he was having a biological daughter right now. So for her, she felt like she could only turn to Chas and no one else, it's not like she could turn to her sister like she could when they were kids, or her adoptive parents, she literally had no one outside of John and Chas in this moment. Yet she found herself only holding off contacting Chas because she knew he was grieving as well and she felt selfish for wanting to dump on him. She waited for John to take the phone, before turning on her heels to head back out the room, "I'll leave you be...The House will show you where I am if you don't wanna be alone anymore .." she softly said then exited the room and walked down the corridor to the room she was in, but instead of walking in straight away, she paused at the door and had to cover her mouth as she then let herself break down crying silently. "I can't do this alone...." She sobbed to herself and The House, feeling like although it couldn't do anything for her, it was only being that could listen in a bizarre way.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Had John been in his right mind he would have let out a faux long suffering sigh and rolled his eyes at the mention of Nat, before chuckling slightly to himself and taking the call. But he was far from in a healthy headspace. It was the mention of Noah that did it. John had already been pale, but the blood drained from his face in an instant, his eyes flew open and he shot straight up, letting both the cigarette and the glass decanter crash to the floor. He all but grabbed the phone from Kay's hand. "Is he dead?" were the first words that came tumbling out of his mouth, worried and panicked, no slurring in his words despite how clearly drunk he was. None of that worry was directed towards Kay and her visibly red eyes and defeated posture, whatever was happening on Nat's end was taking complete priority for John. "Never mind how long it took me to answer the phone Nat, you can yell about that later! Just tell me is my... is Noah dead?" In the space of less than a minute the panic in his tone had already turned to desperation.

------------------------------------------------

Kay couldn't have been slumped against the door for more than a few minutes when The House suddenly lurched to one side. The entire building tipped, like a ship changing course, causing Kay to fall against the wall nearest to her. There was a hum in the air that couldn't so much be heard as it could be felt as The House hurtled through the void between worlds before rematerialising somewhere else in space entirely. A few moments later John would dash out of a different door. He'd changed out of the blood-stained clothes and had done something to his hair to get rid of the grease and grime but the real difference was in his eyes, where they'd once been dead and numb, there was now a fire in them.

 

[MzHyde]

John grabbing the phone was of some relief to Kay when it happened, it told her he at least had some emotion to care about something still, even though he was far from okay. She overheard what he asked Nat on the phone as she left the room, and as glad as she was that he had some care for another person and rightly so it being Noah, she still couldn't help but feel jealous of this kid that she didn't even know. Or so she assumed was his nephew. She was hurting too, she came to love Elliott as family as well and she was going through all kinds of emotional waves being pregnant with John's daughter. She was so terrified that she'd have to go through the last of this pregnancy alone, yet there was still that part of her that didn't resent John for it. She just didn't have it in her to be spiteful, no matter how much her mind or body was telling she should be. She almost wondered if she broken in some way for it. When The House leaned sideways, knocking her off balance a d into the nearby wall, she quickly shook heself out of her pained thoughts and crying session to slam her hands on the wall and steady herself before she fell in on the floor.

If that wasn't surprising enough as she tried to not get the feeling of motion sickness from the change of course, she got surprised by John practically flying out of another room and running passed her with fire in his eyes. "John what's going on?!" She called after him, following him down the corridor as beat she could. "is Noah alright?!" She asked again, determined to keep up with him as much as possible. She knew he wouldn't let her out The House but that wasn't going to stop her from trying to find out what had got him so frantic and in a rush, even if she was glad that he had a glimmer of his old self in him again, but sad it was because of Noah and Nat and whatever was wrong with them. It didn't take her long before she couldn't keep trying to run after him though, as she placed her hand on the wall again, riding out the wave of movement and pain in her womb.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John had had no intention of stopping and explaining himself, but there was something, maybe it was Kay's tone and the way the worry in it mirrored his own worry, or maybe it was some little feeler of their bond that he hadn't quite managed to push out. Whatever it was, it made him stop in his tracks, turn around and face her. For the first time since Elliott's death he properly looked at her, not a vacant stare through her, a firm gaze at her. He took in Kay's dishevelled state, crumpled clothes, puffy eyes, tear-streaked face, all of the outwards signs of grief and pain, he saw them and a part of him understood he was partly responsible for it. Unbidden, the words tumbled from his mouth.

"No" John shook his head firmly. "Noah's far from bloody alright. He's been taken. And not by one of those gangs he insists on gettin' bloody involved with, no matter how hard me an' Nat try to get 'im out of them. No, this time it was a bloody demon- if the bloodied and mutliated corpses that have been appearin' over the past few weeks are anythin' to go by. I'm not gonna let Noah be this bastard's next victim" One of John's hands clenched into a fist as he spoke and his vocie trembled slightly. "I cannot, will not lose another person I care about, even if it means I have to tear that bloody demon apart with my bare hands to do so." Nat's call had been the kick up the arse he needed to stop moping around and actually start being again, but it came with a catch- all his focus was on Noah, not his preganant partner and the clear distress she was in.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay wasn't expecting John to actually stop and answer her, even if she did hope he would. Just once she would have liked a response from him, some kind of acknowledgement that wasn't the 'just fuck off' moments ago. So when he did acknowledge her and properly, she made every point to make the most of it. She looked at him back, worry indeed in her eyes, not wanting another child to be in danger. Listening to him explain what had happened, she went wide eyed. She glanced down at his clenched up fist then immediately back up at his face, seeing and hearing worry in his tone and eyes. She knew he had to go, there was no way she would keep him from going, this was important and this was family related. If she wasn't pregnant she no doubt would have said she'd come and help, even though she knew in that situation John would probably decline and not put her so close to a demon for the sake of it, considering everything she had already gone through with demons. "Go, I'll be here. I'll get Chas round or something if I need anything. Just get Noah back and get yourself back here too" she told him as she walked closer to him, ignoring the pain she was feeling, hoping it wouldn't be shared through their bond. She didn't want him to know just how much she was now hurting physically as well as emotionally.

She did however, before he left, give him the briefest hug, partly for herself and for him. The moment demons came into play she got paranoid she'd lose him and he wouldn't return to her. "Just get both of you back safe" she reiterated, giving him that gentle push forward to urge him to leave. Whatever she was going through could wait, kids came first. She just didn't realise that opinion should be applied to their daughter to be as well sooner rather than later. 'i love you' she thought to herself, not wanting to distract him for any longer than she already had. With her words said, and her actions made, she remained stood where she was just to watch him leave where she would proceed to slump against the wall once more and take deep breaths through the pain. "I know little flame...I know.." she said quietly. She didn't want to believe she was possibly etching closer and closer to the day contractions would start, but she was getting scared over the pain and here she was encouraging John only to focus on Noah, no matter how right that decision was, she didn't want to be on her own. "What do I do?" She asked herself.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Nat was already waiting outside, completely oblivious to the turmoil taking place inside The House. She was a short woman, about seven years younger than John, dressed from head to toe in black- black steel capped boots, black jeans ripped at the knees (through they hadn't started out that way), black tank top and black leather biker jacket. Nat's hair was also black, she cut it herself favouring a jagged shoulder-length bob with bangs. The only hint of colour was the dull silver of her jewellery from her jewellery- the pirecings in her right eyebrow and septum as well as the metal chains around her neck. From one hand dangled a lit cigarette. There was nothing delicate about Nat, she was like her accent in that way- tough and rough.

She tossed the cigarette to one side when John came out and ground it under her boot, casting a critical eye over his rumpled form. "Christ, ye look like shite John!" she declared. John rolled his eyes before waving his hand impatiently "yes, yes, yes. What about Noah?" But Nat wasn't finished "what did ye do, spend the week sleepin' in a hedge?" "Nat, now's not the time." John sighed, more tired than annoyed. Nat's eyes darted to the open front door of The House behind him through which she could just about make out the figure of Kay, though the angle meant it looked like she was leaning, not slumped, against the wall. To Nat there was only one person it could be- Elliott. A smile appeared on her face as she gestured to the door "well at least like ye brought tall, dark and handsome, he's got more sense than either a' us."

She took a couple of steps forwards clearly intending to enter The House. John's arm stopped her. "Ell's not with me for this one." "What? Why?" Nat asked. Up close she could see John was more than just rumpled, he was tired, stank of booze and cigarettes in a way he didn't normally and there was a defeated air to him she'd never seen before. She repeated her questions this time her tone much more worried. John let out a sigh unable to look her in the eye. "He's dead Nat." A few seconds of stunned silence, then in a much quieter voice. "What d'ye mean... dead?" "Sword through the chest" John stabbed at his own heart with two fingers to illustrate his point "murdered, the kind of dead you don't bloody come back from!" "Oh John" Nat murmured softly, seeing the tears pricking at the corner of his eyes. Before he could protest or even react she pulled him into a tight hug

Spoiler: Comic book Nat

I really enjoyed Nat as chaarcter in the Sandman universe run of Hellblazer so I figured I might as well adapt her and some of the other from that run into the RP

 

[MzHyde]

At first, Kay was oblivious to the fact that the front door was even still open as she breathed through what she herself was going through. It was only when she heard Nat's voice tell John just how bad he looked that she looked up and toward the front door to see just what Nat looked like. Seeing the woman's appearance, it was no surprise to Kay that it matched the harshness of her accent on the phone, but as she always promised John, she remained back and relatively out of sight, not that she thought she was capable of even getting any closer if she wanted to. She watched on as John stopped Nat from entering and telling her that Elliott was dead, the pain of the grief coming back all over her again. She watched as John reluctantly accepted the hug from Nat, emotional pain coming over her again as she wished she could have been in Nat's place and be the one who he let hug or hold him. She craved not being alone any longer, but she didn't know how to dare tell him that.

Unable to watch it any longer, she pushed herself off the wall shakily and turned on her heels to walk back to her room, wiping her eyes as she did so, now aware that if Nat did look through the door again, it would be clear she was looking at a female and no doubt the woman she spoke on the phone with earlier. She wished she could just be of use in any manner, whether it was going with them or staying behind and being able to help from where she was but she couldn't be. Pulling out her own phone, she stared at the screen wondering who she could possibly message for any kind of chat, but part of her felt like she would just be annoying anyone she contacted. In the end she caved and messaged Chas, "Nat is getting John's help in retrieving Noah as he's in trouble with a demon. Meaning I'm on my own... If you're busy just ignore me, I just I had to message someone. I feel so alone...and it feels like I'm getting closer little flame's arrival..." She messaged him, just needed to get everything off her chest.

(Aww awesome!)

 

[_gallifrog_]

The hug caught John entirely off guard, Nat really wasn't the touchy feely type. In fact the last time there'd been this much contact between them she'd been throwing him (in the most literal sense) out of a bar by the scruff of his neck. So this was a new experience, albeit not an unpleasant one. The last body he'd held in his arms had been Elliott's- cold and rigid with rigour mortis. Nat by comparison was so very much alive. The hug lasted a few moments before Nat pulled away, before things had the chance to become awkward. She didn't say anything further, no whispered platitudes or apologies, though there tears glinting at the edge of her eyes. "Right, let's go nail this bleedin' bastard." Nat declared, pulling back her shoulders, her tone steely. "Singh's already doin' everything he can. 'e's the one who tipped me off to the murders by the way. I'm thinking either you do yer wizardy bullshit OR you go talk to K-mag an' his boys, see what 'e can tell us, either 'bout where Noah is or where the demon is." John gave a firm nod, it was a good a plan, certainly better than his lack of plan. "Let's do it, I'm going to make the bastard pay."

-----------------------------------------
When the text came in it was Renee not Chas who read it. She sighed at it's contents, another person... no set of people whose lives had been thrown into disarray and chaos. The past week had been the roughest in the Chandler household since the aftermath of Newcastle, rougher than the time Trish had been in a coma and the doctors didn't think she was going to wake up. To say they were in a bad way was an understatement. Trish in particular had taken it very hard, Elliott had been like a brother to her and she'd spent most of the last few days alternating between sobbing inconsolably and threatening to murder the monster who'd taken Elliott from them. Needless to say she had taken the day off of school. Chas after telling the whole story had become a shell, retreating into himself, barely sleeping or eating, just slumped, defeated staring into space. Renee had been the one trying to hold it all together. Today was the first day her husband had started to show any signs of recovery, at that exact moment he was passed out on the bed and she had no intention of waking him. Lord knew he needed the sleep. So she set the phone down to one side and left the message seen, but unanswered. It was something to deal with later, when Chas was in a better state of mind.

 

[MzHyde]

Due to texting Chas and walking away, unable to watch John be hugged by anyone other than herself, she didn't even see the two of them leave to do what they had to. By the time she finished typing the text out she made it to her usual room, sitting on the chair as it was so much easier to get up from, than the bed. She hoped that Chas would see the message she sent him and that he would reply, despite saying if he was busy to just ignore her. So when she saw the message be left on read but not responded to, her heart just sank that much deeper into itself. She knew he had his own family, and that family was far more important than herself to him, which was wholly right, but it still managed to emphasise that feeling of loneliness. It felt like it was swallowing her up into a big black hole and because of how far along she was, she couldn't even curl up into a ball and hug herself properly, like she normally would have done. "This is hurting so much, I have no one..." She said, her voice shaking as she fought against the next wave of tears that wanted to fall from her eyes. "You have me Kay, don't forget that.." she heard Fee say to her, but the words meant nothing to her because Fee wasn't a solid being in front of her, someone to hold her and be there for her. No, Fee was still very much just an essence inside of her soul, a glorified spirit as far as Kay was concerned. She even looked at her phone and debated on contacted her sister Sam, but what could she possibly say to her? 'oh hey sis, I know it's been years since I went MIA, but it was to protect you and now I need you. Oh and I'm pregnant with a mage phoenix hybrid.' just wouldn't cut it. "I know Fee, but it's not the same..no offence" she ended up replying to her.

In the end, she resorted to the only thing she knew that could distract her for long enough until John returned or Chas felt like replying....painting. She had an unfinished piece on the desk across the room so she pushed herself off the chair and walked over to the desk, pulling the padded chair out and sitting down, pulling out her earphones and player from the drawer, picking some music and pressing play before picking up her brushes and continuing work on the piece she ploughed all of her emotions into so it didn't transfer to John through their bond. She also kept hoping that when John came back, he'd be more open to seeing her and not leave her so isolated, otherwise she was convinced that she'd end up forcing him to acknowledge her in some way, no doubt in the form of begging and pleading.

Spoiler: Art piece

art by Victoria Frances but sums up Kay's artistic avenue perfectly.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The House//Present day
Time once again seemed to drag now that Kay was on her own. There was no shifting of rooms this time, there was nobody Kay needed to be kept separate from. However this time the silence felt deeper, almost- for lack of a better word- emptier this time around. So when The House's front door was violently flung open the crash of wood against wall seemed to reverberate all around.

The door opened out onto a building site. Heading towards it across the flattened ground were four people -one of whom was unconscious and being carried. A few seconds later the reason they were running became apparent as the horde of demonspawn burst out of the one crumbling that hadn't yet been demolished. The demonspawn were creatures whose bodies looked like they'd been stretched or elongated, with spindly limbs (far more limbs than was normal), sharp fangs, horns and glowing red eyes. At this distance they seemed to blur into one mass. Towering a good four feet over the horde was the demon himself, a muscular red-skinned brute with four arms, leathery wings and jagged horns. It let out a bellowing cry and the horde lurched forwards.

Upon seeing the door open by itself John let out a yell "Get him into The House! He'll be safe there! I'll cover your backs!" summoning up as big a shield wall as he could to protect his companions from the blasts of hellfire being launched by the horde.

The first one through The House's front door was a tall Sikh man dressed in a suit stained with blood and black bile, smeared with dust and dirt. He'd run hunched over, using as much of his body as possible to shield the unconscious person in his arms. Once inside he made for the couch in the furthest corner of the room where he carefully laid down his quarry. They were dressed in tattered jeans, cheap looking sports shoes and a tattered hoodie, which he pushed back, feeling at their neck for a pulse. The unconscious man was black, barely out of his teens with tight, dark curly hair. His face and lips in particular were stained with blood and there was a gash across his forehead from the blow that had knocked him out.

Nat and John followed a few moments after, her arm looped around his shoulder for support. She'd twisted her foot while trying to evade a particularly aggressive demonspawn. Both looked an absolute state, like the other man were splattered with blood and bodily fluids. John had been singed, the hair on the left side of his head burned and crispy. The gash on his forehead for the battle on Attil had also reopened and blood was dripping slowly into his eye. Out of the three Nat was the one with the most blood and bile on her- her hair was matted with the stuff. Gripped firmly in her left hand was a the reason for this carnage- a bloody cricked bat which she'd been using to smash in the heads of the demonspawn.

"Is he alive?" John asked. "I'm no doctor, but there's a pulse, so I think it's safe to say the exorcism didn't kill him." The other man replied, wiped his hands on his ruined suit before reaching up to adjust his turban, checking to see if his police badge was still secured to it. It was and he breathed a sigh of relief. Nat leaned close to Joh, grateful for the support as she surveyed the inside of The House. "So this is yer weird magic bachelor pad place aye?"

Spoiler: Demonspawn and Demon

I was originally going to have the demonspawn look like the souls in DS2 that Doctor Strange encountered when Dreamwalking in his corpse, then found this art from a Magic: The Gathering card


The main demon (taken from another Magic :The Gathering card- butcher of the demon Horde)

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had never felt so thankful for having music to listen to whilst John was gone. The odd time when she did pull out her earphones to take a break, check her phone or get something to eat or drink the silence of The House was deafening and she felt even more alone than she already did. So the moment she was done having a break, she wasted no time in putting in her earphones and pressing play again on her music. Sure, she knew she could have used a stereo of some sort but it never felt the same for her. She grew up being used to the comfort of having music on that no one else could hear her listening to, it helped her to absorb herself into her work and forget about the reality that was passing by her. It made her forget the tough life of other students bullying her for needing out patient care and medication that never worked, it blocked out outside distractions from her art piece and meant just for that moment in time, she was in her own world, unable to even hear Fee talking to her. She hummed at first which lead to her singing along to the music as she worked on her art piece, as per usual she was getting paint on her hands, down her t-shirt and by the time the huge rumble and crashing sounds were happening, she got it on her right cheek and across the bridge of her nose. "What the actual hell?" She muttered to herself, pulling out one earphone and hearing the front main door opening and chaos from outside.

She walked out of the room she was in and saw someone new come running into The House with an unconscious body in their arms. She watched on feeling even more confused than ever before, when she then saw Nat and John running in shortly after which made her fully take note of what was chasing them, the sights before her making her incredibly unnerved as the last time she saw a demon of any kind, she almost died which put her into John's life and then she saw Chas die and come back, before the door slammed shut behind John and Nat. It was then she decided to take out her other earphone, stopping her music and head to the room where they all went into, behind them all but stood aback slightly, hoping John wouldn't be totally annoyed that she went to see what the commotion was all about. Yet it still took her a while to get even the shortest distance as for her back pain and aching limbs, it was a bad day for her, so she only got there by the time Nat spoke to John about The House. "Is....everything okay? Can I help with anything? Or get you guys anything?" She asked, her tone showing she was trying to considerate of their space, but also it had the slightest hint of being timid incase she got yelled at once more by John.

Because of what she had to witnessed in how they all came in, she had completely forgotten she was in her own 'decorative' state from her artwork, instead only taking into account how badly covered in blood and bile the rest of them were. Not only this, she didn't even think if these were people John would want knowing she existed in his life, or could trust with the knowledge of her being here, let alone being very, very much pregnant with his child.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The tall man had been facing away from the door Kay entered through. At the sound of her voice he sharply spun around in surprise pulling a sharp, curved knife from the holster under his arm. However after laying eyes on her, he quickly lowered it. Kay, with her nervous expression and shabby, paint-splattered clothing didn't look like anything like the monsters outside. And besides, it was rude to point a blade at a lady, particularly a pregnant one. He'd been raised better than that. He murmured an apology, his gaze flicking over to John and Nat.

John's face was impassive, giving nothing away. He'd made no move in Kay's direction, nor had he made any moves away from Nat or shrugged her arm off him. Nat's face on the other hand was filled with suspicion and regarded Kay through narrowed eyes. She didn't make the connection between the person who'd answered the phone and the woman in front of her. John had made no reference to her either and so with Chas and Elliott unavailable to help them she'd assumed that The House was empty. Even if she had thought there was somebody else in the massive building, somebody like Kay would have been her last guess. Based on previous experience with John's 'associates' she would have said Chas or somebody of John's ilk- some kind of mage or fighter, cynical and hardened by the world, rough around the edges and a bit of an arse (or a lot of an arse, depending on who you asked). Kay, soft spoken, visibly pregnant in her baggy clothing with paint smeared all over was the very antithesis of a fighter. She was also- at least in terms of physical appearance- the exact opposite of Nat, tall, graceful-looking and pretty.

It was Kay's words that had her scoffing, clearly this woman didn't have a clue. "A bottle a' strong vodka? Better weapons? A magic button that'd destroy all those bastards ootside? A bleedin' explanation?" her tone rose as she spoke and John sighed. "Nat...." the 'stop it' was clearly implied in John's tone and she turned her glare on him. "Care to explain John?" she asked in a pointed tone. The other man didn't say anything, but he didn't need to, the look on his face made it quite clear what he was thinking- he too would like answers. John shook his head. "Not particularly, now's not exactly a great time." "It never bleedin' is is it?" Nat sighed. "Can we just get on with getting rid of the horde?" "Fine." Nat's displeasure was quite clear in her tone. She would drop it.... for now.

Even inside the howling and shrieking of the demonspawn could be heard. It was an unearthly noise. There was a loud thud as one of them ran forwards and hurled themselves at The House's, slamming right into it's protective shield. The sound reverberated around the lobby. The tall man took a step towards the couch while Nat gripped the bat tighter in her hand. More and more demonspawn launched themselves at The House, hissing and snarling, probing it's field for some kind of weakness. "Are we safe here?" The detective asked, eying the wooden walls with trepidation. "Noah is perfectly safe her detective" John replied, knowing what the real question was. "Yes, inside they can't get at us, nothing can get in without without me letting it in. Even when outside, as my guests, this place will provide you with a certain amount of protection."

"So... how do we kill them?" Nat asked. "They're hellspawn so mortal weapons will hurt them. But to destroy them you need a blessed weapon or to make a conduit to a holy source and draw energy from that. We can do both" As he spoke another door creaked open, revealing the selection of blessed weapons John stored in The House. All glowed with a pale light. Nat's eyes lit up at the sight "Now that's more like it!" The detective stared, then shook his head in disbelief "magic house, of course it has a weapons room. Why wouldn't it?" Magic really wasn't his area of expertise, give him human criminals and gang disputes any day. Nat removed her arm from around John and limped towards it. John meanwhile pulled a thick stick of chalk from one of his coat pockets and began to draw on the wooden floor.

 

[MzHyde]

When the detective spun round and pointed his curved blade toward her, she held her hands up in a defensive manner to say 'im not a threat' without actually saying anything and it seemed he got the message pretty quickly as the blade seemed to be lowered as quickly as it aimed at her. She got his mumbled apology and gave him a nod to say 'it's okay', understanding why they would be on edge at this time. John making no obvious reaction to her appearing was something Kay was almost getting used to, but it still put her on edge ever so slightly as she hated not knowing what he was thinking, especially now when she could hear the demon spawn slamming into The House's door and walls, trying to break in through the shield. She knew if they got in, Noah wouldn't be the only one they would be coming for, it would be her and unbeknownst to Nat and the detective, she wasn't the only one who would know this. She looked at Nat as she got given a look of suspicion thrown her way, a look she couldn't blame Nat for giving out after what they had seemingly been going through.

The fact that John was refusing to talk about this now awkward situation that had occurred because of her appearance. She too didn't say anything, knowing that John wasn't going to let them get into this conversational topic that was herself, whilst they got demon spawn slamming into The House. A very justified opinion in her eyes as she didn't particularly want them to break through even if she did trust John when he said nothing would get in without his permission. With the topic agreed to be dropped for the time being, she decided she would get a first aid kit for them to help Noah even if she didn't know it would be of any help, and because Nat mentioned it, she would bring a bottle of vodka to them as a peace offering of sorts. She walked off toward the kitchen, to get the group what Nat was wanting, knowing they had to deal with the problem at hand first, but she figured she may as well make herself somewhat useful.

As the group spoke about special weapons needed and talks of a conduit for a holy source, she was glad she was pregnant and therefore pretty much out of action as she wouldn't have put it passed John to use her phoenix abilities to their advantage. In the last few days, it wasn't just fictional books she was reading, it was the book about her kind and just what she could be capable of, and knowing how her particularly tribe/group/flock or whatever they were to be once called were linked to the biblical times of Eve, she was certain if John thought she would be of great use, he would use her.reaching the kitchen, she looked all round for the alcohol stash and managed to find some that hadn't been mostly drunk by John himself, before looking for the first aid kit, knowing they'd need it at leat afterwards as they all looked pretty rough.

As she hobbled back to where the group was, she was careful not to get in the way of John drawing on the floor with his chalk and put the supplies down near the detective, "here, for after at least" she said to him, seeing the poor state of Noah. A pang of maternal worry flushed through her but only very slightly. "I can keep an eye on Noah if that helps?" She offered.

 

[_gallifrog_]

By the time Kay came back John's ritual circle was almost complete. Nat was standing watching as John began to carefully add the runes around the outermost edge. She was using her chosen blessed weapon like a cane, leaning on it for support. It was a baseball bat with large nasty-looking iron nails driven into it. John had 'acquired' it when he'd been Stateside, taking it right from ARGUS' Black Archives. As soon as Nat had seen it in the weapons room, she knew it was the one for her. Nat wasn't the most dexterous person in a fight, her physical strength was her greatest asset. She was a bruiser, a tank, a 'hit 'em first and hit 'em so hard they don't get up' kind of girl. It was why she worked as a bouncer and why she'd taken the cricket bat to the demon's nest.

The bloodied bat in question was now leaning against the edge of the couch where Noah lay. The detective stood next to it, he'd been more traditional in his choice of weapon, a straight-bladed sword. He'd never used one before, but it something about it just felt right in his hands. The detective had also taken off his jacket and laid it over the young man like a blanket. He looked up, considering Kay's offer. It made sense logically, being that heavily pregnant he couldn't see her being useful in any way in a fight, not to mention it would endanger the unborn child- something he couldn't in good conscience allow. But emotionally..... Noah meant a lot to him, he'd made promises to keep the boy safe and handing him over to the care of some woman he'd just met and whose name he didn't know? It didn't sit well with him.

The detective's flicked between Noah and Kay before moving on to John. "John." The mage looked up, saw the unspoken question on the detective's face (can she be trusted with Noah?) and gave a curt nod in reply (yes you can trust her). "That would help a lot, thank you" he replied. Nat meanwhile picked up the bottle of booze, unscrewed the cap and took a large swig of it- liquid courage before the real battle. "Ta" she said to Kay, then straightened her shoulders and turned once again to face the horde.

With the circle finished, John stood up, dusted off his hands, closed his eyes and began to chant in an ancient tongue, quietly at first, but gradually getting louder. The runes around the circle's edge began to glow. The walls of The House began to shake and rattle in time with John's words and it felt like the moisture was being sucked from the air. At the climax of the ritual, John was almost screaming the words. Energy surged into his body and when he turned to face the others, his eyes were glowing faintly. "Let's go get these bastards"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had noticed the iron nails sticking out of the baseball bat that Nat was leaning on for support and yet again, the sight of iron left Kay feeling uneasy, but she wasn't going to say anything or give any outward sign that it made her uneasy. She just told herself that as long as she kept her distance from the bat enough so it wouldn't react to her, she would be just fine. She didn't want to have to explain to these new people that iron is the only thing that could permanently kill her if they knew what the sight of iron did to her emotionally, especially as she was full of pregnant hormones. It would be a lot to deal with when this was over and they all had to talk and herself and John have to explain who and possibly what she was, who she was to John and that he was a a dad to be to her unborn child.

She could understand why the detective would be hesitant to let her watch over Noah, she would have felt exactly the same way with her own kid of the roles were reversed and she had to leave her kid with someone she didn't know. So when he seemed to wordlessly ask John if she was trustworthy, a look she didn't need to recognise to know exactly what was being exchanged, she was in the least bit surprised. In fact, having John give a curt and firm nod to say she was trustworthy with Noah was actually rather reassuring even to herself. Just to have that backup from John meant a lot to her, despite how little they had actually seen of each other the last few days. "You're welcome" she replied, giving a soft but genuine reassuring smile to him, as she noticed out the corner of her eye Nat thanking her for the vodka and taking a swig out the bottle. She perched herself on the arm rest at the bottom of the couch that Noah was on when all the short exchanges of words were given, then looked toward John as he stood up after doing what he needed to do on the floor.

She watched on as he began his chant what he needed to, seeing the runes on the ground begin to react and glow and glimmer in response to his words. She looked all around as the walls began to shake and rattle, wondering what it was John was actually doing properly, as she didn't fully understand the whole premise of being a conduit to holy power. The feeling of all moisture being sucked out of the room was a strange feeling for her, she almost felt like she just wanted to replenish all that moisture somehow. Then with the chant done, and him looking at them all with eyes glowing, it reminded her of how her own eyes must look when Fee takes charge of her body. "Good luck" she told them all, "I won't leave Noah's side, I promise" she told the detective, knowing that if it really came to it, Fee would help her keep him shielded and safe. She just didn't need to tell him that just yet, she may be pregnant and unable to fight but she could damn well protect someone to the best of her ability.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Now all powered up John strode out of The House. Nat didn't hesitate to follow him, she wanted payback and beating the shit out of demons seemed like an excellent way to do it. The detective more reluctant to follow them. They'd narrowly escaped being slaughtered while rescuing Noah and leaving the safety of this place, despite John's assurances they'd be protected it seemed to him like suicide. But he didn't have the luxury of sitting this one out. His eyes flicked towards Noah's unconscious form one more time, the boy was worth it. Detective Singh murmured prayer for luck and protection, gripped the sword tightly and followed the others out of The House, letting the door shut behind him.

Outside the wind had picked up and the sky had darkened ominously. The horde of demonspawn hissed and howled, but made no move to attack instead parting down the middle creating a gauntlet leading to the main demon which towered over them all. "CONSTANTINE" it boomed, face splitting into a sort of grin, exposing stained and crooked teeth. "The one and only" John replied cockily. The demon laughed, a joyless, nasty sound that set John's teeth on edge. Behind the trio the gap in the demonspawn horde had closed, cutting John, Nat and the DI off from The House. The demonspawn were slowly circling them now, moving like a pack of predators. With each pass the centre circle grew smaller. Both Nat and the detective tightened their grips on their weapons, shifting in unease and wrinkling their noses at the stench of blood and acrid hellfire. John's face remained impassive.

A pair of the demonspawn lunged, forwards, claws extended. Nat pivoted on her ankle (the good one) and slammed the bat right into it's face, caving in it's skull. "Away wiv ye ye bastard!" The demonspawn's flesh blistered and bubbled on contact with the blessed weapon and the creature let out a shriek of agony. She pulled the bat backwards, yanking it roughly out of the demonspawn's face, the nails ripping through the flesh before the body crumpled to the ground. The detective swung his sword, the first swipe missed by a hair's breadth, but the second swipe- a cut upwards- by some miracle managed to slice the demonspawn in half.

The head demon spoke again, voice filled with mocking glee. "YOU AND YOUR LITTLE... COMPANIONS HAVE NO HOPE AGAINST US. YOUR SPARKLY WEAPONS CANNOT KILL ME. WE WILL SLAUGHTER THEM. THEN WE WILL BREAK THE WOMAN'S BODY, AFTER THAT HER SPIRIT. ALL WHILE YOU WATCH, BOUND IN BLOOD AND BONES, UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING.". The demon tipped it's head to one side as if considering something. "WE SHALL KEEP THOSE THAT SHARE YOUR BLOOD FOR LAST I THINK. TOY WITH THE CHILD, THEN RUIN IT!" It sounded particularly delighted at the prospect and John clenched his jaw, trying to maintain an outwards appearance of being unaffected by the threat. The demon's words chilled him to the bone, he had no doubt they'd do exactly that and enjoy every sick moment of it.

Nat cocked her head to one side and spat, a petty act to show her disapproval and hatred, but it made her feel slightly better. "Arsehole!". John reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. "You got one thing wrong with that plan!" he yelled up at the demon. "AND WHAT COULD THAT POSSIBLY BE?". "Sure, those weapons cannot kill you but this one can!" He hurled the phone with all his might towards the demon. ["Vestibulan I release you!"] he called out in Latin and a with a blinding flash a demon erupted out of the phone. This one was skeletal, spotted skin drawn tight over long, skinny limbs with a grey beard, the burned remains of what used to be wings (he'd once been an angel and the destruction beyond any use of his wings had been but one step of his punishment when he'd been turfed out of Heaven). Growing out of his body were long, whip-like growths covered in spines and barbs "VENGEANCE!" it howled as it's spines tore shreds out of it's unsuspecting rival.

With a cry the horde launched themselves at Nat, John and the detective.

Spoiler: Vestibulon in the comics

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing the group leave The House to fight the horde that was outside still made Kay nervous. She worried for all of them, especially John and whether they'd come back alive, but she also had trust in John and knew he knew what he was doing, that he wouldn't go into something if he thought he couldn't win. She didn't need to be told that to know that's the kind of person John was and with the added motivation to not lose anymore people, especially Noah after Elliott, she knew he'd be more determined than ever. Hearing The House shut the door behind the group, whilst she stayed with Noah was of a great relief to her as she it meant The House kept its barrier between Noah, herself and the horde outside. She didn't see what was going on outside but she did hear the echoes of what the large demon was saying and hearing them boom John's surname out sent shivers down her spine.

To try and distract herself from what chaos was unravelling outside, she looked Noah over to make sure he was still okay and stable. "You're gonna be okay Noah" she said, even though she had a feeling he probably couldn't hear her or know who she was. She almost could let herself not think about what was happening outside when the demon's booming loud voice echoed once more and it made her freeze in her spot. It's words unnerved her to her core and when it mentioned about a woman and breaking her body before her spirit, she looked toward the direction of the front door. "Please don't be talking about me" she muttered in almost an prayer under her breath when she heard the next line that made her blood run cold....it knows about their unborn child. "...no..how?" She gasped breathlessly. The idea of Hell and demons already knowing they were about to have a child scared her shitless, making her fear bringing an innocent soul into this world all the more. Her hand instantly went to her bump and her thumb ran up and down over it. "I'm gonna keep you both safe, I swear it and if that means keeping you little flame inside at all times, I'll do it" she told her child, then glanced at Noah as well. Looking back at her unborn child, she could only imagine how those words would have hit John deep down and prayed that it didn't stop him from being professional and ending this demon.

With her free hand she then checked his pulse by placing her fingers and thumb on his wrist and counted in her head, "good...still steady" she said, glad that at least one thing was remaining positive, or at least as positive as it could get in this tense situation. She refrained for as long as she could to not look out the windows of The House at the battle outside for the longest time that she could, but when things couldn't be heard fully again, her curiosity got the better of her. She made sure Noah would be safe, "Fee, please use that protection barrier round him that you do me sometimes" she asked, "it's not that simple Kay" "please! I have to see what's going on out there" "fine, it'll be weaker than on you because I'm not connected to this boy" Fee warned, using Kay's body to place a barrier over Noah by hovering her hand over him and running it from his feet to his head. "I place protection on this soul, heed my word" Fee spoke, then let Kay take back full control. "Thank you" she said as she saw a golden shield over Noah, then headed to a window peeking out through it just as John unleashed another demon out of his phone. She gasped at the sight of it, it looked horrific but not as horrific as the others attacking them, at least this one seemed to be on John's side.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When the horde lunged at them, a wall of teeth, claws and sharp limbs the DI couldn't stop himself from screaming in terror, the wall of teeth, claws and black leathery limbs bearing down on them was like something of a nightmare. Panic surged through his veins and he swung the sword wildly at anything within reach. He had no technique, no finesse, just the panicked energy of somebody who really didn't want to die. Luck was on his side. Any flesh the blessed weapon hit, it sliced straight through and his own momentum combined with the tight packing of the horde meant he'd slash through more than one monster. The wounds turned to dust at the edges and anything cut off disintegrated.

Nat wielded the baseball bat like a madwoman, swinging at any arm, leg, claw or head that lunged in her direction. Each blow was accompanied by a screamed insult and the expression on her face was one of pure savagery. She was in a killing frenzy. The demon's words had hit her hard, believing it to be her body and soul the demon was promising to break and was having none of it. She was Natalie Stirling and nobody, especially not some demon with a taste for torturing kids fucked with her. Or for that matter her friends. Hatred surged through her body and the red rage rose. If she had to lose, she was damn well going to take as many of the fuckers as possible down with her. She smashed open heads, broke bones and where possible simply punched the demonspawn straight in the face with a vicious hook. Around her finger was a spiked knuckle duster carved from what John claimed to be the horn of a unicorn and so while not a blessed weapon, it still packed a fair punch and left the unholy skin of the demonspawn sizzling.

John drew on the well of divine power he'd absorbed into his body earlier. He'd soaked up as much of the energy as he could without destroying himself. Human bodies could only cope with so much divine energy and the addition of demon's blood in his veins made things more complicated. He'd drawn energy in until he felt the blood begin to boil and bubble within him. have demon's blood running through his veins. Now he unleashed it, blasting it out in bolts and waves at the horde. The energy slammed them, burning their bodies to ash.

Slowly but surely the trio were beating back the demonspawn. In the background Vestibulan and the other demon fought, it was a coming together of titans. Both were powerful, the demon had physical strength and size while Vestibulan had rage and a desire for blood- he'd spent eons being rejected by both Heaven and Hell and being trapped in a phone these past few years had only intensified his hatred. The two demons were grappling, pounding each other into the ground, slashing with claws and vines. The demon attempted to use his horns to spear Vestibulan, but the second demon with a surge of strength managed to snape it off and was now using it as a blade. As he ran forwards towards the opening John summoned forth a ball of energy and flung it with all his might towards the demon. It struck it right in the back. The demon roared in pain and a shudder passed through the demonspawn. Vestibulan lunged forwards, and plunged the blade into his opponent's chest. The demon screamed again, an unearthly sound with intensified in volume as Vestubulan plunged his viney-limbs into the opening and ripped out the demon's heart- a filthy black lump of pulsing flesh that spewing out dark blood. Vestibulan let out a roar of triumph and the demonspawn cowered as they watched the newcomer eat their former master's heart.

With no master to bind them, the demonspawn fled. "Cowards!" Nat screamed after them. John merely smirked and yelled "OI! Vestibulan! Clean up the leftovers will ya?" gesturing at the retreating demonspawn. The demon cackled and shot out it's viny arms. The sight and sound of it feasting- the cracking of bones and unnatural squelching sound of mutilated bodies bursting- turned the detective's stomach. John began to walk towards The House. "Wait, you're just going to leave that thing there?" the detective protested "What if it gets sick of those things and wants human instead?" "Relax Singh." John waved a hand dismissively "me and him" he indicated Vestibulan "we got an understanding. I'll put him back in the phone in a few minutes once he's had his fill. 'e's not very murdery after a big meal. Be easy to trap him again"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay watched on in utter horror at the sights before her. If she thought the mere sight of what the demons looked like was horrifying enough, the fighting was more horrifying. She hated what she was witnessing, she saw how the DI was fighting absolutely with no skill whatsoever with the sword, yet somehow was still managing to hit his targets. She saw how Nat had a lot more skill than the DI even if it was more raw and brutal, she had to admit the woman was quite the foe to come into contact with and could see why John trusted her in a fight to have his back. Then her eyes went onto John, seeing how the devine power and energy was being used by him, but couldn't see how it must have been either uncomfortable or downright painful for him considering the demon blood in his veins. When the demon foe finally started to get down, she couldn't pull her eyes away from the battle, understanding now why John always kept Vestibulan in that phone of his and didn't want her poking around it too much.

She sighed with relief when the demon spawn seemed to screech and realise that it was a losing fight after what felt like forever watching the fight unfold. Seeing Vestibulan eat the demon's heart made her retch and turn her head away and cover her mouth to stop herself from vomiting. She did turn back round a few moments later as John started headed back to The House and Nat was calling the demon spawn cowards. She headed back to Noah on the couch and got Fee to remove the barrier, satisfied that nothing would break through The House and take him, though that wasn't to say she didn't The House from keeping them safe. She felt incredibly safe in The House but she wanted to make sure every bit of cover was given to Noah. She also hoped the protection barrier would have been able to start Noah's healing process, though she wasn't sure it did as Fee did warn her the power of it on Noah would be a lot less powerful than it ever could be on herself. It came down before the group got back inside so they would be none the wiser of anything she did. She sat back down on the armrest by Noah's feet, just as she was when they left The House to face the horde.

"I never wanna witness that again" she muttered, "it's possible you may do in this life Kay, but I too hope it won't be for a while to come, now you and John will have a lot of explaining to do" Fee replied to her, making Kay sigh realising she was indeed correct. Nat and Singh really did want answers about who she was to John and why she was in The House, and that conversation she had a feeling was going to be quite the tale to tell. Not to mention, she too was curious a out who Nat and Singh were, completely forgetting that Nat was the bar owner he had previously told her about.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John's words weren't very reassuring to the detective, who eyed the feasting Vestibulan with unease. He couldn't imagine that..... thing going back into captivity now that it had had a proper taste of freedom. He'd seen it in human criminals and lowlifes countless times before. Not to mention that John was hardly the most responsible of men, in Singh's mind there was no doubt that somehow, in one way or another this mess was John's fault. The DI let out a tired sigh and grumbled "it better not be my ass on the line if this goes badly sideways." John's reply was a smirk, he did enjoy winding up the straight-laced DI. "Relax mate, I got this all under control." The DI gave another sigh "that's what I feared" he replied, a response that Nat couldn't help but be amused by.

John was the last into The House and left the door open behind them so he could keep an eye on Vestibulan. Despite his earlier confident he didn't actually trust the demon either. Vestibulan was a wily one and detested the phone prison. John was counting on the demon gorging itself to the point of stupefaction, a sated demon was much easier to deal with.

A collective ripple of relief ran through the group at the sight of Noah lying on the couch. His position hadn't changed since they'd left him and even from across the room they could see the steady up and down rise of his chest. Kay on the other hand had moved from one side of the couch to the other- the side closer to The House's windows. John couldn't help but wonder how much of the demon's speech she'd heard and taken to heart, to what extent the demon's threats had stirred up those older unpleasant memories of her time spent captive in Hell, being tortured.

Before John had a chance to say anything, Nat turned on him, raising the spiked bat to under his chin. "Ye owe use some bleedin' answers John!" she told him angrily. "Actually, ye owe me some bleedin' answers!" She'd let him get out of an explanation earlier, she wasn't going to do the same now. "'oo the Hell is she?" she gestured with her free hand at Kay. "An' what is she doin' here?" A brief pause, then "what did that bleedin' demon mean aboot 'the one with yer' blood? Which kid was it talkin' about?" Her eyes narrowed in suspicion and she leaned closer. "For that matter, why the bleedin' fuck did ye put me doon as Noah's next o' kin slash emergency contact on every possible document? That's his job" she gestured at the DI "or yer bleedin' responsibility! Ye were the one to pull 'im out of K'Mag's gang. Yer the one insisting he go study an' make somethin' of himself! An' why John, did ye help buy out the pub and set up the agency if ye were just gonna turn tail and leave wi' oot any warnin' or explanation?"

There was a hurt edge to Nat's tone, her desire for answers came from more than just curiosity about who Kay was and why she was in The House. This.. whatever this was, was personal. The detective winced, he'd really rather not be present for the inevitable blow-up. "I think I'm going to find another room, I've had quite enough of you two arguing back when you were partners." John nodded. "Don't stray too far, this place is a maze." He turned towards Kay "Kay, I'd recommend going with him, this might take more than one cigarette to explain." It wasn't quite an order, but there was a forcefulness in his tone.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was glad that she managed to get back to the couch before everyone got into The House, and she didn't fully realise that she was perched on the opposite end of the couch, but something made her realise, and that was the way John was looking over at the scenario in front of him. Something told her that he just knew she must have either watched what went on out there or at least heard what went on. When it came to what the demon said in his threats did hit home far too closely and more than Kay would be willing to admit out loud easily. It did remind her of the time she was tortured by those demons, one of which wearing her old room mate's body for extra emotional pain. She thought that with everything that went on on Attil, she had forgotten the torture, but the demon had brought it all back up. She didn't want to broken either mentally or physically again, especially now she had a young one to look after and she found security with John. She just didn't know if she would ever get made to talk about what she heard with him, or if she would willingly talk about it if John made her tell him. Yet despite all of that bringing brought back to the surface, it was the threat of harming his child that put the fear in her the most. The idea of any demon taking their child scared her to her core, especially after Elliott died. The two of them may be still getting used to the idea of having a child together, but she wasn't prepared to let any demon or demonspawn get their claws on their baby. She would protect the child with everything she could and never let them out of her sight or out of The House if it came to it.

She snapped out of her thoughts when Nat got angry at John and sanded he explained himself and who she was and why she was here. The anger made her flinch the tiniest amount and she couldn't help but wonder just how close the two of them used to be, a thought that only gave her a pang of worry and almost jealousy when Singh used the word 'partners' to describe the history between Nat and John. The fa t that Singh wanted to leave the room when this conversation was had instead of getting the answers himself also had concerned Kay. She looked up at John again when he told her his suggestion of also leaving. Noting the forcefulness in his tone she gave him a nod and stood up, "I'll make sure he don't get lost" she told him, walking away, giving him the look that said 'good luck', just having a feeling that he would need it to a certain extent. Leaving the area, she caught up with the DI, "wait up, John isn't kidding when he says this place is a maze" she calmly called out to him. "I should probably introduce myself, I'm Kay" she said to Singh, realising that she never did say her name to either him or Nat. She didn't know what else to possibly say to the man, she felt awkward and still had forgotten that she was covered in various paint colours still due to everything unravelling so quickly. She wanted to know the links between Singh, May and John but a large part of her felt she had no right to ask...at least just yet anyway.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The detective turned at the sound of Kay's voice, then stopped to let her catch up. He hadn't intended to stary too far, just far enough away that he was out of earshot. But now that the adrenaline of the battle was wearing off, exhaustion was catching up with him and he found himself leaning against the corridor wall. Up close Kay would be able to see the dark circles around his eyes- the result of himself and his team working overtime and running themeslves ragged the past two weeks trying to solve the chain of grisly murders.

"Nice to meet you" the detective replied, holding out his hand, which he was surprised to see had survived the battle unbloodied. He was softly spoken with a faint hint of an accent "I'm DI Marek Singh, but please, call me Singh, everybody does." The awkward silence dragged on for a few moments after the handshake, the DI was also at a loss for what to say. In the end his manners got the better of him "thanks for keeping an eye on Noah back there. After everything, it wouldn't have been good for him to be alone if he woke up.... 'specially not in this magic maze house place." Another slight pause then, "and don't take it personally that you got kicked out back there. John and Nat... it's just how those two operate, neither is great at emotions or explaining with an audience. From experience, it's just easier not to get in the way of those two."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was glad that Singh did stop when he heard her voice. After being on her own these last few stressful and painful days, it was nice to have the hope that someone would actually willingly talk to her. It was almost overwhelming in a lot of ways as she hadn't even been able to speak to Chas on the phone and the only other voice she ever heard was Fee's inside her head which just made those old teenage feelings of feeling crazy mildly pop back for her. She didn't blame him for wanting to lean against the nearest wall and just stop from the exhaustion that was evident to her that he was feeling. She saw the dark circles round his eyes and knew he had clearly been through a lot even outside of the battle they just went through.

When he held out his one clean hand, she took it and shook it. Her own hand splattered with dried paint of various colours still. She then let go after the shake soon after he introduced himself, "nice to meet you Singh" she replied before the awkward silence of neither knowing what to say next kicked in. She actually didn't know how she was able to not just burst into tears at having human interaction after being so secluded away from others. She looked down, not that she could really see much of her feet nowadays during the silence until he spoke up, making her look back up at him to listen to what he had to say. "The thanks is unnecessary, I was happy to help by watching over him. I know what it's like to wake up somewhere alone, and well...I guess the maternal side kicked in" she smirked slightly, making light of her condition. "As for John and Nat? I'm not surprised John asked me to leave. I'm used to him expressing emotions in private with people, and the last few days we've not really been in sight of each other anyway, so this is nothing new" she shrugged, but there was an edge of slight hurt in her tone when she mentioned the last few days. But it was hurt that she totally understood and didn't complain about. "It's not like I don't know what the subject matter is gonna be anyway.. Nat has already made it clear she wants to know the story of who I am to John, and why I'm here and such...to be honest I'm glad to be out the room as like John said, it's a more than one cigarette conversation to be had and he's been great with not smoking close to me" she explained.

"So with that in mind, if he's gonna tell Nat everything, I'm an open book too to a certain extent. If you've got questions don't hesitate to ask them" she said to him honestly, as she figured he'd get the answers somehow anyway, no doubt from Nat when they eventually left The House. Yet she also made sure to say 'to a certain extent' as she wasn't going to fully explain everything, not wanting the information of what she was to get out to this guy, even if John did consider him trustworthy to know. If John considered him trustworthy to know her full identity then it would be up to him to disclose that information, but for now she did not want to say incase she said too much.