Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay nodded in agreement once more at what John was saying before Elliott added his agreement more verbally and with more clout to it. She and Fia then both looked at Chas when he started to speak, Kay understanding where he coming from straight away, whereas Fia listened to him talk more before fully understanding. Both then looked back at Joh. As he spoke up once more about what they could do about it because talking amongst themselves was achieving nothing. Fia had to agree that they could talk about it for days but it was getting them absolutely nowhere.

Fia didn't know about the time Rinaa broke down and confided sort of to Kay crying about not wanting to die, but Kay instantly knew what John was referring to. "to be honest I don't think there is anything we can do to really help. If we try too hard to do anything it could backfire on us in a major way. The only thing I can think of is to just try all of our best to keep Rinaa in relatively good spirits. Even if that means sometimes tip toeing around what we say and carefully choosing our words." Kay replied. "it's a sucky option but it's all we got. She's clearly happier when she's around Ell and Moya, and we should support her in her decisions and choices. Show her in our actions that's its okay to be happy" Fia suggested whilst agreeing with Kay. It was a majorly mature opinion to come from her but she did truly think it. "unless.. Ya know... Anyone has any better ideas" she then shrugged like the typical teenager she was.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Chas, John and Elliott found themselves surprised at just how mature Fia's suggested course of action was. Fia had been on the receiving end of some pretty major shit from Rinaa/Sykes, yet somehow she managed to keep her personal biases and experiences away from something as serious as this. John wouldn't have blamed her if she'd been more along the lines of 'just fuck the two of them, it's clearly not worth it' with her thoughts on the matter. It felt to him like they spent so much of their time making excuses and giving the teenager second chances, while not actually doing anything to try and fix the root problem (assuming it could even be fixed) and that frustrated John. He knew that if Rinaa wasn't dying the situation could be dealt with more easily, her impending death was a adding a myriad of problems to what was already a mess. He desperately wanted there to be something he could actually do about the whole thing, and he knew Elliott felt the same way as did Chas.

"I've got nothin', I would say get her to spend less time with us and more time out there livin' whatever's left o' her life, but she's basically got that covered already." John sighed, running a hand through his hair before putting both hands back in his trouser pockets and leaning against the fence. "Unfortunately you are right on that, there's nothing we can do to help. It's all beyond our control and that majorly sucks. Trying to keep her in some way happy like you said might help, I'm sure we've all seen that her mood changes dramatically towards the positive after she's spent the day at the university or a chunk of the night with Moya, the street racers and wherever it is she performs. Encouraging her to do those things is a safe option and will help keep the chronic depression at bay as well." "And I suppose not to take anything the wolf says to heart, or believe it. She's out to hurt us, seemingly by whatever means she can. We have no way of knowing whether we can actually trust this Sykes anyway, Rinaa clearly doesn't if she has to use a forfeit in order to control her. Clearly she has something to hold over Sykes that we don't in order to get her to agree to the bond." Chas had no idea what the forfeit was and to his knowledge, none of the others did ether.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia would have been lying if she said there wasn't a tiny part of her that did think to say 'fuck her' but different timeline or not, she was family still and she didn't want to come across as the unreasonable teenager. She noticed the looks of surprise on all of their faces which made her just make the second comment, shrugging it off like she didn't say anything of the sort. Kay was actually damn proud of Fia for taking the high ground on this situation, finding their kid was proving to be a much better person than herself or John would be if they were her age and receiving the brunt of the hostility. She was also in the same thought process as John in the sense that they were spending so much time trying to make excuses for Rinaa and Sykes but finding it was getting them nowhere. Yet with her impending death, it stopped Kay from giving up. She also was still on a personal mental mission to proof to Rinaa that she wasn't the monster she knew from her timeline.

Both girls nodded in agreement at Elliott and Chas' words. Fia thought what Chas suggested was easier said than done but she was willing to continue trying to not take things personally or to heart. She proved to herself she could not fall for Sykes' bait in the woods when she was with Matteo and the dogs, she just needed to continue proving to herself that it wasn't a one off moment and she could keep not taking the bait. "agreed" they both said in unison. Neither of them knew what Rinaa had over on Sykes and they both were pretty certain they wouldn't ever know what Rinaa had on Sykes. If anyone of their group could find that out it'd be Jay they guessed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Well whatever it is, I haven't got the slightest clue as to what it could be." John replied with a deep sigh. He didn't know what would possibly be able to make Sykes back down and into a deal, but it had to be something substantial. This wasn't a wolf who backed down easily, or at all. He didn't doubt that what Sykes was really doing was being as aggressive, abrasive and hurtful as she could be within the boundaries of the bond. "I don't know either, and I was there she created the bloody bond. I know the basics of Jay's tongue, but she was using the ancient tongue, and as for the symbols, I can't read those at all." A part of Elliott suspected that Rinaa had done it deliberately so he wouldn't understand.

"What about Jay? Does she know what it is?" Chas asked quietly, checking the assassin wasn't within earshot. Jay wasn't she migrated into the kitchen and ended up on washing up duty. Elliott shook his head. "No, she doesn't know, Rinaa's been avoiding her since she made the bond and kept the tattoo covered last night, which I can only interpret as her knowing that Jay wouldn't approve in any way of whatever this forfeit is." "And given Jay's attitude to pretty much everything, that really says something." John finished Elliott's sentence at which Elliott gave a grim nod. "My thoughts exactly. And I have no doubt Jay will find out sooner or later."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia just listened as they had been doing all this time. For Elliott not to have a clue when he was there told them both quite a lot about Rinaa's motives. It told them that like Elliott assumed, it had to have been a deliberate act on her behalf. Espe oally as all Rinaa has wanted to do is get to know her father and be close to him, so the whole blocking him out of this isogrii bond was quite a statement in their minds. It was only a matter of time before one of them brought up Jay and her possible opinion son this whole subject, if she even knew about it so it didn't come as a shock that it was Chas who brought her up.

Hearing that Jay didn't know what it was due to Rinaa purposely avoiding her and hiding the tattoo from Jay, really did speak volumes. They'd both nodded at John's remark, having thought the same thing themselves. Jay had spent so much time not being phased or upset about anything that Rinaa had chosen to do in her life, but seeing she was kept out of this bond situation really did show that Rinaa knew Jay would be more than disappointed in her over it. "Jay's not an idiot, like you say Ell, she'll find out soon enough and I think deep down Rinaa knows she can't hide it from Jay for long. But it really speak volumes that Rinaa is trying to avoid her because of it" Kay said.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"She full well knows she can't hide it for long, but it not going to stop her from trying anyway." John added, nodding at what Kay said. "If we've found out anything about Rinaa in the time she's been here is that she'll hide things until they are forced out." He could think of at least three examples of Rinaa doing such a thing since she'd first showed up. There was hiding her identity with a mask, which was only removed as she was dying and would have drowned in her own blood otherwise. There was what had happened in her timeline that made her so wary about Kay and later Fia. And most recently there was her double identity as a vigilante. And those, he knew, were only the tip of the iceberg. "Jay will find out, but whether she'll tell any of us is another thing." At that Elliott nodded, knowing that John was completely right on that. "I can't say either way on that. She's not exactly known for being open with most people, comes with the job, or the ex-job I suppose."

The conversation after that slowly changed to more positive topics, before working it's way around to the fact they'd all be heading home the next day. The others had drifted away from the porch, Matteo's friends going to pack their, Moya going with them. The winged girl knew that her Artemis had a second consciousness that was abrasive, bitchy and didn't seem to like people as a general rule. Rinaa didn't want Moya anywhere near Sykes, as she was convinced that the wolf would say or do something to drive away what was probably the best thing in her life, so she'd made the conscious decision to split herself from Moya for the duration of Sykes being in control and whatever emotional aftermath followed. As a result Sykes/Rinaa didn't go near the house, staying instead in the woods.

 

[MzHyde]

Both Kay and Fia nodded in agreement once more at the last words spoken about the topic. They both highly doubted that they'd get told what was going on with Rinaa and the isogrii bond. When the topic changed to mor eight hearted conversation, both girls were glad about it. Fia more so than Kay because she felt like she had spent her entire morning doing nothing but talking about Rinaa. With the topic leading its way to the last that they'll all be leaving the next day, Fia was getting more realisation that it meant she wouldn't see the dogs again which inside did make her a little sad.

Kay was aware of everyone else drifint faway from the house as well as the fact that Rinaa/Sykes hadn't returned from the woods yet. "can't believe its already our last day here" Fia commented, feeling like the time had gone by so quickly. "I agree, feels like the time has flown by so quickly" Kay agreed, knowing she'd miss the fresh air and the smell of sea nearby. She'd also miss seeing the pure and utter joy on Fia's face when she was around the dogs. Yet she also knew they couldn't remain here and pretend they don't have more important things to deal with on Attil before going home back to Earth.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The time really had flown for the others. When Cliff and Cal had first said they'd be spending a week on the island they had wondered what they'd do to fill the time besides attending weddings and eating. There was also the fact that they'd be the group of outsiders to almost all the other wedding guests. On Elliott's part there had been quite a bit of apprehension, he was meeting the people who were about to become his in-laws. He'd spent the past elevenish years growing up with John, Chas, Trish and Renee as his only proper family. But now not only was his biological sister back in his life, he was acquiring two sisters-in-law, three brothers-in-law and two parents-in-law almost overnight. Elliott was worried about what kind of first impression he'd be making on the people who'd be his extended family for life. he had no idea what to expect upon arriving on the island, and just found himself blown away by just how open, accepting and warm Cliff's family were. They'd taken in and put up with rag-tag band of his own extended family and made them feel truly welcome and like a valid part of the whole process. By the end of the trip he found himself realising just how much he loved Cliff's family and having his beliefs further cemented that Cal was marrying the right woman (not that he ever had any doubt about that).

"This whole thing has been amazing, I was worrying that maybe we'd be all climbing the walls with no idea of what to do by the end of this trip or that we'd be some kind of social outcasts here." "You weren't the only one thinkin' along those lines." John added, many of his worries about the trip had been along a similar set of lines to Elliott's. But like all the others he'd been blown away the whole experience. On the island he'd seen everybody in their group (not just Fia, even though her happiness was ranked by him above the happiness of many of the others in terms of importance) at their happiest. He'd seen more smiles and laughter from Jay in one day on the island than in all the other days they hadn't been on the island. "But I've clearly been proved wrong, Cliff's family, and by the same token the dogs, couldn't have been any more accepting and welcoming of us and the baggage we bring with us. They're amazing people, and meeting them just confirms that Cal made the right choice. This island is special and beautiful and I'll miss it back on Attil, good thing I don't have to go back to a cell after this. I'd have gone mental. We definitely have to go back here at some point." "Damn right we do." "Well I'm gonna bring my family here for a holiday, at some point."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay agreed with Elliott with how welcoming Cliff's family had been to them all and just accepted them all with open arms. She also glad that Elliott was welcomed with open arms as they were now his in laws. She also agreed that Elliott wasn't the only one who had worried they'd be stuck for things to do the whole trip, but was pleasantly surprised at what they did ma age to accomplish. They all got the much needed relaxation and happiness boost they needed. "agreed on every point. Cliff's family are incredible people and you can really tell where Cliff gets her amazing personality from. I certainly wouldn't ever complain about coming back here, especially after this one is born" she patted her bump, "so I can enjoy the sea properly and actually explore the woods for example" she chuckled.

Fia smiled, she knew her mother would love the woods and what is in there. "you'd love it, especially where the waterfall is. Actually I reckon even Trish would like that area too" she commented, to which Kay nodded not doubting that for a second. Fia wouldn't complain about coming back either, deciding that at some point she'd love to climb the waterfall and dive off of it. She thought it the first time she saw it, just imagining what it'd be like to soar off of it. Not only that, she found the whole area was so inspirational musically speaking and would love to spend proper time there writing and playing.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas nodded when Fia mentioned about how his daughter would like the waterfall. He'd seen it himself when he ended up out walking with the triplets and Nat (who had always gotten on really well with the three brothers) and it was certainly impressive. It was exactly the place Trish would enjoy swimming in, climbing along the slick rocks and generally jumping off into the plunge pool. If he was being truly honest, Chas wouldn't mind doing those things himself. "Oh yeah, I know she would. There's apparently a tiered waterfall further inland, I don't know if any of the others mentioned it to you guys?" John shook his head, as did Elliott, neither having heard about it before this. "Anyway, it's up in the heights of the mountains over there" he gestured at the mountainy outcrop in the centre of the island "but it's a full day's trek to get up there, it's a long hard hike up so they turn it into an overnight stay camping scenario, hence why none of us ended up there."

"That sounds right up my alley, definitely put it on the ever-expanding list for the next time. And thankfully this place doesn't have the same warding that Attil does, otherwise we'd have to wait until that one" he gestured at Kay's bump "Is properly able to deal with long haul space flight. Take it from one who knows, you think babies and toddlers are bad on a plane?" John and Chas pulled faces at that, both having their fair share of horrible experiences on planes with really young children, and could see where Elliott was going with his spiel. "You haven't seen or heard them on a spaceship. It's even worse, all the problems that you get on a plane just get cranked up to the max, take off is a nightmare. Plus zero-g tends to freak them out, even the winged ones or kids born with flying abilities. Taking a small kid of a spaceship is a guaranteed ticket tpo being the most unpopular person on the whole thing." Elliott shook his head, not having intended to go into such rant, but had gone into one anyway.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that Chas managed to get out into the woods to the places she got taken to and took photos of for him. When he brought up the other one Kay shook her head and Fia nodded but in the manner of only being mentioned there was a bigger waterfall than the one she was at. They both listened to what Chas was told about it and it definitely sounded up Fia's alley. She was about to say as much when Elliott continued mentioning about its a good job this place can be accessed magically and why it was a good thing. There was no way she liked the idea of Kay or John taking her baby self on a space flight, the very idea making her grimace.

"if there's one thing I would never accept, its taking a baby or toddler on any kind of flight. Normal or space. It was bad enough doing an earth long haul flight when I was 10 from London to Seattle. Absolutely hated it and all the ear popping side affects, just to name one thing." Kay commented. "but back to the main topic, the idea of camping in that kind of area does actually sound pretty good. And I can be very so so with camping" she added. Hearing Kay say that, Fia found it difficult to divulge a spoiler from her timeline about the stories Sam would tell her of their camping trips.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John shuddered at the idea of a London to Seattle flight, most of the shuddering was a a joke, but there was a part of him that was genuinely horrified by the prospect of that. "The worst long haul has to be London direct to San Francisco. I did that once. And I'm never doing it again" he stated firmly "thirteen hours of hell, with turbulence, because of course there would be and then to cap it off we got stuck in a bloody holding pattern in order to land. Give me a stopover in JFK, Chicago or Iceland any day. Hanging around in airports id definitely the better choice." Mainly because in John's opinion airports had decent enough booze and air that didn't come from a can and stink of sweat.

At the camping comment Chas spoke up "I believe this would be where I say that I've never actually been camping before." He hadn't travelled much as a kid and most of his family lived in or around London so there was no reason for him to go anywhere with campsite. And as an adult, he'd spent far too many nights roughing it wit John that if there was a hotel room on offer (no matter how shitty and dirty) you could guarantee he'd take it. "And stakeouts with John in me cab or in the middle of nowhere don't count." "I have actually been camping, but I was young at the time and it was with some of my cousins. I remember it as being pretty fun, though we really just talked about shit and ate junk food by a campfire." Elliott's tone had a slight edge of fondness in it. He hadn't been close to his cousins as such, but they'd had a good time regardless. "Well I obviously didn't as a kid, buuuut I basically went camping with the League, or more precisely the so called 'Justice League Dark'. We were in this jungle somewhere in South America trackin' down an ancient tomb full of artefacts and we ended up having to camp together. Spent most of the time takin' the piss out of Bobbo while Orchid looked on questioning her life choices, somethin' she did a lot of around us come ta think of it."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay seemed to remember that London to Seattle was around an nine hour flight but she couldn't remember completely. She knew it could be longer but it did depend on whether there was a stop over and the like. She listened to John say how London to San Francisco was a thirteen hour flight and she suddenly didn't think her flight to Seattle was all that bad. "yeah, stop overs are good if you get them. But only when it's a decent length of a stop over. The short ones that give you like half hour to switch flights are a pain the bloody arse." she agreed.

With the camping topic, both Kay and Fia listened to the men giving their stories of camping or in Chas' case, not ever camping at all. Elliott's story seemed rather typical of a camping story to Kay, then as per usual John's proved to be both not typical and typical all at the same time. It was these stories that Fia always found interesting hearing from him in her timeline as well. Of the stupid antics and ways he got under people's skin during a job. She honestly could sit with him and listen to those stories for hours on end and never get bored. "only times I've been camping is with the adoptive family. The one good thing about Seattle is that although it's like London in a lot of ways, there's plenty of places that get you out of the city and into more rural places. It's my dad taught me to shoot with a bow and general survival skills. But there are of course plenty of times when I went out with Sam and did the usual stories by the campfire and such." Kay shared. One thing she didn't say due to Fia being around, but it was during a camping trip that she lost her virginity and eat arsed drunk for the first time.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott found himself not at all surprised by John's story of camping, it seemed to him that for everything their group had memories of doing normally, John had almost certainly done it in completely different way. Like Fia he never tired of hearing the stories of the strange and bizarre things John had done with his life either before Elliott crashed to Earth or when Elliott wasn't there. It gave a strange insight into John's life and mind and showed a different idle to the arrogant arsehole persona that the rest of the world had the pleasure of seeing. He smirked

The others listened as Kay talked about her times camping on the Seattle outskirts. Chas and Elliott had never been there and John had only seen a small part of the urban area and harbour front, so they took Kay's word that there was indeed more rural areas in it that London. It also explained to those who didn't already know where Kay's bow skills and love of archery had come from, a liking that had been clearly passed onto Fia. "So that's how the archery skills came into being then." The fondness in Kay's tone was audible to them all as she reminisced on the camping days. "Sounds like you had a good time then." Elliott remarked with a smile, he liked hearing stories of other people's childhoods and teenage years, even if, sometimes they just reminded him of what he'd never had. But if he was being honest with himself, he wouldn't trade the years he'd spent growing up with John as a father for anything.

It was then that Jay walked out the main kitchen door carrying Charlie's surfboard under one arm. Jay's skin had always had a light tan on it while they were on Earth, but the past week in the sun had considerably darkened her complexion. She had the kind of skin that tanned easily and had been taking advantage of the sun by wearing almost exclusively cut off shorts and tank tops. She didn't mind the minor scars on her legs being seen, but the crisscrossed mess of scars that was her back was something she kept covered. She gave a mock salute at the others. "If you need me, I'll be at the beach, and if the teenager or Sykes does show her face, which I highly doubt, tell 'em where I am, yeah?"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at Chas' comment nodding. "yeah, he thought it'd do me good mentally to learn how to shoot. Thought it was bullshit but turned out he was right. I'm no where near at Cliff's level but I'm not awful either. He also was a massive medieval nut so if there ever a chance he could push any of that onto me or Sam, he did" she told Chas. She then nodded at Elliott's words, "had one or two and some did not exclude drunken debauchery with people we took along.. Or should I say, Sam brought along" she chuckled, feeling like only John wouldn't be surprised she would have such a streak in her considering their own antics.

Fia was about to protest that reply in a typical teenage manner, begging not to hear it when Jay came out with the surf board. She had noticed how tanned Jay had gotten over the week they had all been there and envied the fact she could tan, when Fia remained fair skinned. It was rare for her to get any colour and even when she did, she still looked pale. She gave a single sharp nod to the request, knowing that Elliott would no doubt have that under control and probably end up being the one who said anything to Rinaa if the girl showed her face.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John had to refrain from making a smart alec comment questioning why Americans always made such a big deal out of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance (a word which, like aluminium, they somehow managed to pronounce wrong) eras. His theory was that it was a way of compensating for not having any actual history in their country. There was smirking at what Kay was insinuating, which only grew at Fia's reaction to the whole situation, No mater how mature she acted, when it came to things like this her more childish side shone through brightly.

Jay wasn't the only one to have caught the sun, but her tan was the most prominent out of all of them, she tanned extremely easily on planets that weren't Earth (she suspected it was a combination of frequent clouds and the pollutants in the air blocking the light). Both Chas and John were a couple of shades darker than when they started out, but not so dark as to have noticeable tan lines. Elliott's home star emitted light in different parts of the UV spectrum to the sun Earth orbited and as a result he needed a far longer exposure than all of them to actually tan on Earth, but here on Cliff's home world the UV balance was closer to that of his home star so he was also sporting an impressive tan. Rinaa had taken after Jay, tanning easily.

Elliott and Chas nodded at what Jay said. "Will do, anything of interest going on inside?" The blue haired woman shook her head. "Not really no, just the usual packing drama, people not being able to find shit. Charlie's been roped in as designated driver and teenager herder for the spaceport run, but I suspect she'd have gone anyway to see Alex and Quin off anyway. Hence why I'm nicking the board now. And it seems that Fia'll be in charge of the dogs for the rest of the day if I overheard Matteo right." Jay had been eavesdropping on all the various conversation while doing the dishes, a trick she'd learned years ago, people tended to forget about the person cleaning after a while, thus becoming relaxed enough to let out some more sensitive information.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay never understood the fascination he had either, yet that was because she was British before she was American, and if it wasn't for the adoption she wouldn't even considered American on any level. She too figured it was down to the fact that British history was so full in comparison to American history. She could tell that John was refraining from making such a remark and gave him the side ye that said 'yes I know exactly what you're thinking and I do agree'. When she Fia react the way she did to what she was insinuating she had to laugh, knowing that if Jay didn't walk out at that precise moment Fia would have said something. Though she did get it as a lot of kids didn't like imagining their parents in such situations. She wondered how it was in Fia's timeline and how much either herself or John teased and taunted the crap out of Fia with similar topics just to get a reaction out of her.

When the comment about Fia being on dog duty whilst Matteo was gone came up, Fia smiled and nodded, happy to do so. "I am not complaining at that in the slightest" she spoke up smiling broadly. "of course you're not. If the dogs are involved you're one happy girl" Kay had to smirk, Fia just giving that look to say 'yeah.. So?'. She was more than happy to be in charge of the dogs whilst she still could be, knowing that after tomorrow morning when they all say their goodbyes, she won't ever see them again. A thought that she tried to not dwell on as it would get her down if she did.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott found himself pitying Charlie when Jay said it was her who was lumped with the responsibility of getting Matteo's friends to the port in one piece, but that pity lessened as Jay explained further, making it clear that Charlie would have been going anyway to see off Alex. Earlier in the morning Elliott had had quite an extensive chat with Alex, finding they had plenty in common when it came to having an assassin as a close friend/more than friend. He'd also found out that the friendship between Charlie and Alex had only ever been platonic, they made a good team when it game to sports, gaming, racing and working (Alex with his contacts and knowledge of law and Charlie with her contacts and knowledge in the world of policing), which was why their friendship had lasted so long. Matteo and Chris were going to be the subject or relentless teasing and questioning from them both and Elliott did find himself kind of pitying them.

Seeing Fia's face light up at the mention of the dogs was something that made John smile slightly. It was clear that Fia was really going to miss them when she left and would also, he suspected, have a hard time dealing with fact that these three dogs would more than likely have died before she could meet them again. It was one of the downsides of time travel. Just like how the next time she saw Matteo there would be a seventeen year age gap between the two and a lot of questions. In a strange way Rinaa had already solved that problem by outing herself as terminally ill and looking so radically different to the Rinaa they'd seen in the select photos and videos she'd shared with them.

"Doesn't surprise me at all that Fia gets that job" John smirked, to which Elliott and Chas nodded. "Well they want the dogs in good hands and clearly out of all of us she's the best for the job." "That I don't doubt, and it's the same reason why either me or Rinaa get stable duty." Jay added, the words were meant as a compliment but delivered in a 'blink and you miss it casual' kind of way. "So does that make you the horsy girls then?" Elliott replied with a teasing (some could describe as flirty) smirk and a slight glint in his eyes. To which the assassin responded by rolling her own eyes in a good natured way. "Doesn't like that, I'm an 'all animals' kind of person and she used to be like that but is now all 'animals except felines' from what I understand."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay noticed how seeing Fia sme so broadly about being the one to take care of the dogs made John smile even just a little bit. It showed a side of him toward Fia that she thought, in her mind, suited him well, an almost fatherly side of him that to anyone else wouldn't have really been noticed. She could tell that ever since he went up onto the roof to check on Fia, that the two just seemed all that more closer. She also knew the next time she saw Matteo there'd be a lot of questions no doubt but that was something they could tackle when that day eventually arrives in the future.

She even smirked when John chimed in about Fia's sheer joy of being trusted with the three dogs, noticing Fia's smile just broaden more when Chas said she was clearly the best one for the task. They both got what Jay was then trying to convey in her statement, with Fia sniggering at what Elliott responded with. Once Jay said her reply, Fia couldn't hold back the comeback that came to her mind, and before she could refrain from saying anything, she let it out anyway, "Ell does that mean you'll be 'horsing around' with Jay later?" she sniggered. The very comeback came out so slick and smoothly, that it made Kay almost choke when she heard her kid say it before laughing. It was then that Kay really saw just how quick Fia could be with her remarks when she wanted to be. For a teenager who hated imagining her mother getting up to who knows what in the woods, sure had a dirty mind when it came to teasing her half brother.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas knew it wouldn't just be Matteo who had questions when they next showed up with baby Fia, though he was the one (out of all the siblings bar Cliff) that Fia had become closest to in their time on the island. No doubt there would be questions from Cliff's parents as well, though from what Chas had seen of them he suspected that it wouldn't phase them very much, given everything weird and wonderful their own kids had managed to do in their lives. It would be a shock at first, but they'd get over it far quicker than their children would he suspected.

The throw away remark that Rinaa and cats didn't mix was something that had come up briefly and Rinaa bore a set claw scars on her forearm from when a domestic cat went nuts and attacked her. But it was Fia's sly quip and the expression on her face as she said it that made him start laughing while Chas sniggered. The fact that she was delighted to insinuate things about her adoptive brother, but couldn't stand her own parents doing the same thing when it came to their own past sex lives spoke volumes. Elliott predictably started blushing at that, his ears going a particularly attractive shade of red, while his face stayed normal. Jay showed no real reaction to the remark aside from raising a single eyebrow.

Elliott went to respond, but Jay gave him look that said 'I got this'. "To answer your question, yes." She said, staring Fia staring her down as she delivered her next lines. "In the literal sense of complaining about having to deal with the sheer volume of shit produced by a bunch of creatures you like. And in the literal sense of doing things to each other that if I went into any kind of detail about would definitely make your head explode and after that you'd STILL have to bleach your brain to remove the images from your mind. Good day." And before anybody else could say anything or properly react, she turned and walked off, somehow managing to look dignified while holding a surfboard under one arm. Behind John's group the other assassin could be seen, leaning in the doorway, smirking at the comeback and thinking Jay hadn't lost her touch in that regard.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia felt proud of herself that she managed to make John, Kay and Chas laugh whilst making Elliott blush greatly. It made her feel like she still had it when it came to successfully being that teasing little sister, especially as a few of her latest comebacks fell flat instantly. She was curious to what he was going to come back at her with when Jay decided to do the honours of coming back at her. Listening, she had to give Jay major props for how she perfectly delivered the come back whilst not once denying that she and Elliott could easily be quite a force in bed. Fia then smirked as Jay walked off, whilst looking at Elliott chuckling, seeing his blushing state.

"and that's why she's awesome. Never missing a beat, whilst in her own way humouring my quips" she remarked with the smirk never leaving her lips. "I have to admit, that was pretty smooth from both of you, especially as you made Ell blush greatly" Kay laughed, still finding the whole thing highly entertaining. She figured that Fia's quick wit must have come from all of them as she grew up, knowing that they all managed to have their moments at times. Though knowing she would have grown up with Elliott around and Chas, whilst training with Jay, it wasn't much of a shock to think Fia would have also picked up on their quick witted humour in the process. "I actually tried to refrain from saying it but it came out anyway" Fia admitted chuckling.

 

[_gallifrog_]

As soon as Jay opened her mouth to give a comeback, the glint in her eyes told both John and Elliott that it was going to be just as sharp as Fia's original comment. And she didn't disappoint, Elliott finding himself both blushing more and laughing harder at what Jay was suggesting. Though he certainly wouldn't be found complaining about that particular suggestion as there was a note in her voice that made it sound like a promise for later. Sometimes walking off after giving a comeback made it seem like the person was admitting defeat, but in Jay's case she was making it quite clear that nothing Fia said next was worth listening to as it couldn't beat Jay's comeback.

Elliott knew he blushed far too easily when it came to remarks about him and Jay, at first it had been blushing in denial, but now he was genuinely embarrassed because the whole relationship was so new to him. "Well it was a good 'un, worth saying, but I think the point goes to Jay on that one. Any comeback to that would just fall short." John smirked. He knew that everybody in their group had a their own form of quick wit and also had a joint love of sarcasm, but Jay's was different. She combined her comeback humour with being far too brutally honest, which in a way made it even funnier. It was Jay's comment that tipped Chas over the edge into proper laughter. "I don't think there was ever any doubt that she's awesome, if you haven't heard her shit talk in a fight, you're missing out." He knew John Kay and Chas wouldn't have seen the verbal knives Jay could create in the heat of a battle, but given that Jay had had some role in training Fia he suspected she would have seen it."But aside from that, surely what's far more impressive is that she can saunter off with a surfboard attached to one leg and still look dignified doing it." "She's just always had a flair for drama." The other assassin commented from the doorway with a casual shrug, having been listening in silence up until then.

 

[MzHyde]

"losing to Jay is a worthy loss. I know I can never get one over on her verbally, still worth the initial shot to be fired!" Fia chuckled and grinned, to everyone including Quincenti. She looked at Elliott when he spoke about how Jay had a real knack for shit talking in battle, nodding agreement knowing he was right. She had only heard some toned down things but she still shit talked her when in training, to show her that the enemy would throw anything and everything at her to try and throw her off guard. She just wished all that training would have given her thicker skin for Sykes' remarks. Her and Kay had to agree that sauntering off with a surf board like she never even opened her mouth was damn impressive and made it all the more amusing to witness, which made Fia's statement about considering it a worthy loss all the more accurate.

"I mean.. I COULD have said something along the lines of her being a horse girl and implying you're Loki with the whole fucking horses thing, but I'll settle for the choice I went with" Fia smirked mischievously. Kay then lost it at Fia's next remark, feeling that would have been one epic snipe and she kind of wished Fia did say that to see how Jay would have reacted to that. "of course you'd know about that mythology and stories" Kay laughed. "seriously, Marvel's loki has nothing on the real Loki" Fia grinned.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas was standing closest to the kitchen door and was slightly startled by another voice coming out of nowhere and joining the conversation. He hadn't heard the assassin move into the doorway, but then again if Jay had been trained to walk without making the slightest sound, then it would make sense that anybody else who had been trained alongside her could do the same thing. Elliott couldn't deny that Quincenti was right, Jay was a dramatic person, and her close quarters fighting showed just that, with her fluidly switching between various martial arts and acrobatics. One of Jay's signature moves was a flip combined with an explosive kick under the jaw that would sent a person flying upwards and backwards and another firm favourite was wrapping her legs around somebody's neck in such a way that she could easily break the neck. "You can get lucky once or twice with a really good quip, but it takes a rare kind of person to consistently get one over her verbally." The other assassin added, thinking of one person in particular who could do such a thing.

Elliott just rolled his eyes at Fia's comment, somehow that one wasn't actually as bad as the other in his mind, but maybe it was because he too knew the mythological basis of Loki (whether Jay did or not was something he didn't know). "The other one was better" John chipped in, secretly delighted that Fia would know all the real mythology stories that those involved with the world of magic (and some very specialised academics) knew as opposed to the toned down versions the general public saw. "Using mythology for those kinds of quips will just fall flat if the others don't understand the context of it. It's like if I started talking about some of the Attili High Pantheon you'd have no clue what I'd be talking about." Attil had mythology of it's own, but it was different to Earth mythology in the way that magic didn't exist in it and the gods were people with incredibly potent powers who had lived millions of years ago.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia knew that after what Quincenti said it was best to just act like she was taking her words on board, instead of trying to make how she knows that already plausible without giving away Jay was her trainer in most combat situations and she knew all that already. That wasn't to say that she wasn't slightly surprised to hear another voice chip into their conversation though, because she hadn't really noticed Quincenti there at all a d was more focused on her chat with her family. She just smirked at Elliott's eye roll and nodded at his and John's comments about how her original quip was the better of the two.

"agreed that's why I didn't go down that road. Though I wouldnt mind learning about it for something to do sometime." she replied to Elliott, knowing that in her timeline he had only mentioned Attil had their own mythology but he hadn't actally told her any, or at least, got round to it despite her asking him many times to tell her. She couldn't tell that John was delighted about her knowledge of the real mythology of Loki, but she had a feeling he would be happy about knowing that, she also guessed that he'd be even more delighted if he knew that she did the reading and research in her own time as 'light reading' as she'd put it, and not out of anything he went out of his way to teach her.