Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

At the sound of the growl from Sykes everybody visibly tensed. A fight was the last thing anybody wanted, especially not between a psychotic wolf and muscle-bound, armour clad lizardkin. Both could deal fatal damage to the other. If this spook died in their apartment Cal and Cliff had no doubts that they'd be the ones to feel the full wrath of every spook that came after those who killed their colleague (not to mention that it would be their flat that was destroyed). But if Rinaa died, Jay would probably kill Dakkon personally. With Sykes things had an awful habit of getting out control very quickly. So when the lizardkin stood his his ground and growled back his own warning, it was as much a relief as it was terrifying. There was something ancient and terrifying about the sound, it was like nothing any of them had heard before, but it screamed danger. Both were clearly alphas in their respective species, but in that moment it was blatantly clear that Dakkon was The Alpha. Seeing the wolf turn submissive and bow out had them all on the verge of gaping. John had to bite back some remark of either 'very well done mate' or 'can you teach us how to make Sykes back off like that? That's wolf's a right bloody nuisance'.

With the tension in the air now gone all attention turned to what the lizardkin had to say for himself. His voice suited him, matching his scaly, muscular frame and hard eyes. The fact he spoke English with such fluency was a shock to them all. There was nods, but as agreed they let Jay do the talking. "So the people in these files are being consulted?" "Yes, it's been going on ever since it was clear he'd be returning to Attil. It's not just by your opposition, but by those side on his his" he inclined his head in the direction of Elliott "side too. All the credentials of said people check out, a tier 2 check was performed. Every name you gave me is top of their respective areas, though I'd recommend these six in particular" from his bag he pulled out the list of names and indicated six names at the top which had been highlighted in yellow ink "not only is their track record is exemplary, they genuinely believe in their causes and more importantly they can't be intimidated by the Attili government without sparking a diplomatic incident. These ones" he indicated another group of people highlighted in different ink "are on the opposition's side and these ones, I wouldn't bother with, they can be too easily intimidated or have no real personal investment in the whole matter." Jay asked a number of technical clarification questions which the lizardkin answered with professional ease, his tone giving nothing away aside from the fact that he'd really done his homework.

"What about the spook in the Attili government, what can you tell us about them?" Jay asked once she was satisfied with Dakkon's answers. "Nowhere near as much as you'd all want to know. And I can't give you the file, which is heavily redacted" "no surprise there" Jay interjected with a slight smirk. The lizardkin nodded with a brief smirk of amusement "for very long either. And it'll have to be destroyed afterwards. Standard protocol." "I remember." Jay replied solemnly taking the file from his outstretched hand. As Jay flipped through the file (which was heavily redacted to the point that neither the agent's name nor gender were able to be made out) Dakkon gave the bare bones summary. "We recruited this agent years ago while they were in university. They had a partner who was also recruited. Neither were orphans, but their families were so poor that it made no difference, they were willing to leave. The agent in question showed a particular flair for politics so we trained them with the express purpose that they would climb to the highest rankings of the Attili government." "But it went balls ups." Jay stated, one eyebrow raised. "Yes and no, it's more nuanced than that." "Isn't it always?" Jay deadpanned, to which they both smirked, showing for the first time something other than professionalism towards each other.

"They got reasonably high in the Attili government alright and began to uncover all kinds of corruption, no doubt you're already starting to see there's something more going on." Rinaa nodded at that, the first input of any kind that she'd made to the conversation since Sykes had submitted. "Their identities as spooks weren't uncovered, but somebody twigged something and both our agents ended up....." he paused, for the first time searching for the right word "well... brainwashed. By the time we found out and planned an extraction, it was too late, the damage had been done. We took them out anyway and had them deprogrammed. The partner retired, unable to cope with the grief and guilt, they were put on S-watch for a number of years. But this agent" he tapped the corner of the file Jay was reading "stayed on, more determined to get to get justice" the choice of word was deliberate, a definite reference to the murals.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia couldn't help but glance at John when Sykes bowed out of the growling match, somehow just feeling like he would want to congratulate the bloke for achieving such a task, knowing none of them could when Sykes went on her warpath in some form or another. Even she wished she could say something but knew if she did it wouldn't end well in the slightest, despite the bond and agreement that Rinaa and Sykes came up with. She and Kay both then looked toward Dakkon as he continued to speak whilst Jay looked over at the file he brought out and asked the questions they all wanted answers for. Both were amazed at how professional Jay was being, having not seen her in a situation quite like this before.

When it came to the Attili spook in the government, they both listened with full interest at the information, finding it highly interesting that said spook got brainwashed when he seemingly got close to something incredibly corrupt. However, it was the mention of the word justice at the end of the story that made tlboth their ears perk up, finding it curious and interesting that he used such a word. Fia had the strong feeling that it was a deliberate move on Dakkon's side, which got her wondering if it was this spook that was responsible for the murals they had been seeing an documenting the locations, or if it was someone they personally knew doing it. It felt like too much of a coincidence to actually be such a thing to Fia and Kay, but both bit their tongues to stop them asking questions.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The professional side of Jay in action was quite something to witness. She wasn't usually one to faff around with words unless talking about something incredibly awkward and personal (like the time in the forge when she'd been called out by pretty much everyone on her feelings for Elliott), but now she'd taken it to a whole new level- every question she asked was specifically phrased with next to no wiggle room for Dakkon to misinterpret it (she knew full well how spooks were trained to avoid giving straight answers, and it was a testament to the friendship between them that he didn't just say 'no comment' or 'classified' to everything she asked like other spooks might). She spoke clinically, her tone detached and neutral. This was the kind of world she thrived in, a world she'd spent most of her life living in, where information and sources were just as important as the skills of killing and torture. Seeing her in her element like this was something both Rinaa and Elliott loved, for different reasons. For Rinaa it was a skill she admired and felt inspired by and hoped that one day she would be able to be just as proficient as her mother at it, where as for Elliott it was something that drove home just how talented and capable Jay was and how lucky he was that she was doing this for him, and not working against him. (Also this level of terrifying competence was kind of a turn on if he was being truly honest with himself).

All listened closely when Dakkon started speaking. To hear that the anonymously delivered files were the real deal brought up a torrent of emotions. To hear that they could use the information was both a great relief and something that brought hope. It seemed that even within the government there was division on the matter of magic users like Elliott. And where there was division there was people willing to fight for their side, people who had passed the background checks Dakkon and his people had completed. It was obvious to jay why they'd been given the files of the opposition, 'know your enemy' was one of the cardinal principles that spooks worked by, and one Jay one hundred percent agreed with. Dakkon giving his personal and professional opinion on which ones to trust But there was also confusion, bemusion and surprise being felt. They were 90% sure that these files had come from Cal and Elliott's birth father and his motivations were completely unknown, the one time the siblings had been with him, Zan had giving nothing away as to what side (or even involvement) he was taking in the upcoming proceedings. Nobody trusted him, after what he'd done it would take a major miracle (or two) to change anybody's mind.

The story of the spook was fascinating. Hearing this person had been recruited at such a young age came as a surprise to most. They'd all been expecting that this spook had already been fairly high in the government before being recruited. But the idea of a climbing agent playing the long game made a scary amount of sense tactically. John kept waiting for Dakkon to slip and reveal a gender, but the lizardkin never did, far too well trained to let such classified information out. Like Jay he chose his words carefully and the use of the word 'justice' could only be deliberate in their minds. This spook had some connection to the murals, and Dakkon was telling them this covertly. Jay knew that Dakkon was being far more accommodating and far more forthcoming with his answers than he would be for anybody else and she was touched by the fact that even after she had been MIA for years, he was still willing to stick his neck out like this for her. Not just in hinting at their involvement with the murals, but also in showing her the file of the spook. It was heavily redacted, but by rights, she shouldn't even be allowed to know of it's existence at all.

"How do we know they're trustworthy?" She asked. "You mean, how do we know they haven't been brainwashed again?" Dakkon corrected, the part of his scales where the others had eyebrows raising, a very subtle edge coming into his voice, daring Jay to challenge what he saw to be the real meaning of her words. A very slight smirk appeared at the corner of Jay's mouth, almost identical to the half expressions Rinaa used to show. "Just answer the question, yeah?" She replied, but there was no malice or demand in her tone. "Rude." The lizardkin shot back before answering the question. "You can trust this one. The deprogramming was successful, specialists did a full purge of their mind. If there was any traces left the MindWalkers or the psychics would find something. Now that we know what the government are doing, we have the agent checked out regularly for signs of more brainwashing. there's been nothing, evidently they believe the person in question is a loyal This isn't the first time, nor the last time, that we've encountered this kind brainwashing." At the mention of Mindwalkers Elliott's interest was piqued. He could see why his gift could be useful for deprogramming, with sufficient training and practice, there was nothing a MindWalker couldn't root out of somebody's mind. "And the files, do you or your people know who delivered them to us in the first place? And can we trust them?" "The theory you proposed, as far as and the agent in question know, is right. But anything beyond, for instance, their motivations.... that is either classified information or affairs too personal to dig further into. Take all information as solid, but make no attempts to contact either the information source or the agent. It's better for all if their identity remains classified."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia just carried on watching as Jay continued to ask questions that Dakkon could continue answering. Both could see that the mention of mind walking piqued Elliott's interest, as it did to the two of them also. Fia was particularly curious about the whole mention of brainwashing, having always found it a curious subject to hear or read about anyway, but hearing it in this instance was in that very moment all the more intriguing. Despite her curiosity and want to know more, she remained silent knowing full well that that topic can be learned about at any time.

When Jay asked the question about the agent in question being trustworthy, both was also wanting to know the answer to that very question. They noticed how Dakkon did the equivalent of raising an eyebrow which to Fia, looked really weird when there were only scales in the place of where eyebrows would or should be. Yet hearing that the agent was indeed worthy of their trust, even if they couldn't contact them at all was of some relief to the both of them. Kay was glad that for once they were given something vital from someone they could trust and not have to worry about it being a trick, trap or a move to be utterly betrayed. It was also highly interesting to her that without saying it directly, it was this agent who was the mural artist. Fia was also glad of everything Kay was, but also glad that the idea of hope being on their side to save her brother was in fact a tangible bit of truth.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The way Dakkon so casually called Jay out on the real meaning of her words was an amusing sight, the way his facial scales rose like a normal eyebrow would was disconcerting to Chas- he hadn't even considered that somebody could be expressive like that when covered in scales. It also spoke of a deeper bond between the two, that Dakkon knew her well enough to be able to call her out on her bullshit and that Jay didn't bite of his head for doing so. The two had remained professional throughout, but every so often there'd been a moment like this where the true closeness they had could be seen. There was a story and a history there, one Elliott was dying to know about (not because he was jealous of their closeness, but because there was still so much about jay that was a mystery to him and Dakkon was one piece in a very large puzzle that was her past). Compared to the vagueness and refusal they'd been met with before, Dakkon was proving to be a mine of information. This spook could be trusted, despite the brainwashing process. To hear that they were being regularly monitored was a relief to Cliff, ever the doctor, even if she hadn't met the person in question.

Hearing it confirmed that Dakkon and the spook believed it to be Zan who had given them the files was a relief of sorts to Jay. Dakkon wasn't infallible and there was a chance he could be wrong, but in all of Jay's experience working with him, he and his people were very good at finding out the truth. Elliott wasn't surprised that Dakkon didn't know his birth father's motivations, nobody seemed to know what was going on in Zan's head. He had no intention of trying to find out who this spook was, nor did he have any intentions to contact his birth father, but hearing Dakkon advise this came as a relief. He certainly didn't want to be responsible for the spook's presence being discovered by the Attili government, especially not after learning that this had been an operation lasting for years.

Jay's next set of questions once again were clarifications and probing for more information, though this time there were far fewer Dakkon could answer. In some cases all he could say in response was 'classified' or 'above my clearance level'. With Jay satisfied with all information, she handed the file back to the lizardkin, having committed certain bits to memory. She cast a look around at the others assembled around the table, trying to read any questions that might be visible on the others' faces. She knew Elliott's burning question was about the facial scar (how could it not be) and that Cliff, Cal, John and Elliott all wanted to know something more about Zan's motivations. She didn't ask either question, the former she knew the answer to, the latter Dakkon himself didn't know the answer to (he'd clearly stated as much, or more precisely, stated it as clearly as he could without giving anything else away). "Well that's all, thanks for doing this, really appreciate it" she told him sincerely, to which the lizardkin shrugged "I owed you one, now you owe me one. Nothing new there." "True" the assassin nodded. "Should I ask what you're doing after this or is it classified?" "It's classified, though if anything crops up, I'll get it to you. If any more information comes your way from your previous source" by that he clearly meant Zan "take it as truth, but if things start getting murky, you know what to do." The lizardkin got up and made his way to the door. Jay rolled her eyes ever so slightly while smirking following after him. "You're still a broken record I see." "And you still can't give a good insult unless it's at your ex" Dakkon replied "yes I heard about that debacle, she does work for us, as you no doubt figured out." "Well obviously given who she's babysitting." Just as he exited the door and vanished down the hallway Dakkon added "your job offer still stands by the way."

 

[MzHyde]

As the time went by, neither Kay or Fia was surprised that they were getting less and less answers, but in their opinions they got the important ones that would be helpful and keep them in the loop unknowing to the Attili government. They felt like they were actually getting somewhere at last with building up enough information ammo for them to have. With Dakkon leaving and Jay seeing him out, Fia couldn't help but hear the ex comments and look right at John in reaction remembering the photos they had previously seen without anyone knowing. She gave him the look that said 'seems we weren't that far off with our assumption', before just relaxing bsck in the couch after having been sat up so tense listening to everything that they had been told.

Kay noticed Fia look at John in a particular manner that seemed to her that she was mentally telling something to John but said nothing on it, just letting her get on with it as she readjusted the cushion behind her back to get comfortable again. All she did note was when Fia did the glsncce at John and figured something was said that the two of them had spoken about when they had their bonding time the previous day. When it was perfectly safe to do so, Kay finally spoke up, "well that was insightful" she commented. "understatement" Fia replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John had also come to the same conclusion as Fia upon hearing the teasing banter between Jay and Dakkon. It was clear they were talking about Quinn and John found himself mildly impressed that the spook had heard about their perpetual quarrelling and glaring competitions while on the island before he realised that if Dakkon was Quin's boss and if Quin and Dakkon were anywhere near as close as Jay and Dakkon were, then it was highly likely he'd have been told about it personally as opposed through back channels and rumours. He gave a nod and a look of 'seems like it to me' in response to Fia's unspoken words. Elliott's interest had also been piqued by the casual teasing between the two, though his attention was taken more by the fact that Jay had been offered a job as a spook at some point than the fact she had an ex.

Jay waited a few minutes before indicating that it was safe to speak again. "I can't BELIEVE we didn't twig he was lizardkin." Cliff groaned,dropping her forehead onto Cal's shoulder clearly annoyed at herself. "Same here, it was pretty bloody obvious, if we just used logic." Elliott sighed. "Why do you all say that?" Chas asked, intrigued. "If you're lizardkin, calling yourself Dakkon is like being a white male and calling yourself 'John Smith' on Earth." Elliott explained to which Rinaa and Jay both smirked and chuckled softly for a moment before Jay responded to Fia and Kay's thoughts. "That was far more than I was expecting to get in such a short space of time. Definitely far more than he would have given us if we were all strangers to him, or if I wasn't present. The fact we can trust the files is a relief and the fact that the spook in the government is trustworthy and seemingly personally invested too helps a hell of a lot." "Not to mention that we seem to have some kind of answer on who started the justice graffiti." Chas chimed in. "That too, he all but said the spook is in the thick of it, not necessarily the artist, but certainly involved." "Dakkon's awesome, just saying. Even if he'd given us jack shit he can make Sykes back the fuck off, so that's a win in my book." Rinaa added, flopping down so her body was stretched across two kitchen chairs. "Well he is incredibly high on the alpha scale" Jay replied "hence why he's a) in charge and b) very good at frightening the shit out of newbies and freelancers. You don't fuck with lizardkin in general, but especially not ones like Dak. He could, and has, seriously messed people up."

 

[MzHyde]

When Cliff and Elliott groaned their disbelief at not realising that Dakkon was lizardkin, Chas wasn't the only one who raised his eyebrow and wondered what Elliott meant by it was blatantly obvious. Fia and Kay also wondered how it was blatantly obvious, curious to what Elliott had to say to answer Chas' question. Hearing that it was equivalent of someone on Earth calling themselves John Smith, the two girls nodded in understanding at the explanation as they noticed Jay and Rinaa smirk and chuckle softly at the whole realisation dawning on those who should have known. Kay then looked at Jay when she replied to her about what they were told, half surprised that Jay thought they got more than she was expecting and not surprised that they wouldn't have got nearly half of said information if Jay wasn't in the room.

When Rinaa chimed in with her added quips about how he could put Sykes in her place and she had absolutely no qualms about it, Fia had to smirk slightly at it. "not gonna lie, I'm sure most of us were thinking the same sort of things when he made Sykes back down" she commented to Rinaa and faster Jay said her bit. "he certainly exudes that alpha vive that's for sure, so it's not surprising he's high on the alpha scale to be honest" Kay remarked back to Jay, deciding to be a bit more diplomatic than Fia was about the whole Dakkon and Sykes stand off moment.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Nobody found themselves surprised to hear the delight in Rinaa's tone that somebody had made Sykes back off. They knew that as Rinaa's body degraded, Sykes became more and more powerful, and there would be a point when the teenager couldn't keep the wolf at bay. They'd all been gripped with fear at the sound of the animal growl Dakkon made, so when Jay said he terrified new recruits and freelancers, they could well believe it. "Understatement" John replied."He doesn't just give off those vibes, he's the lizard equivalent of that one hulking, heavily bearded fisherman who sits in the corner of the pub in every out of the way fishing village, never says a word, downing pint after pint, is well over six and half feet and is rumoured to have killed twelve people and looks like he could take on the whole bar without breaking too much of a sweat." "That's a very specific reference." Elliott commented wryly, arching an eyebrow. "But a true one." John shot back with a smirk. "It did look too much like Sykes wanted to go for his throat." Cal added. "If Sykes HAD lunged at his throat, I'd have been thrown out a window or against a wall with enough force to break a fuck ton of bones." Rinaa remarked from her reclined position, far too casually given what she was talking about. Seeing the looks she was being given- shock, disapproval, pity, sadness- she shrugged "what? There's no point in sugar coating it. I've seen how lizardkin fight wolves before, or more precisely, Sykes has. They can't bite wolves or slash 'em easily, so brute force is the better option."

"But more importantly" Elliott interjected "how'd he get that scar?" tracing his own scar to illustrate the point (even though he knew the action was completely unnecessary, there was only scar he could be talking about). "I was wondering how long it would take you to break and ask that." Jay replied, flopping down onto the free armchair. "And luckily I do know the answer. It was the first thing I asked when we first met." Elliott raised an eyebrow in clear surprise, Jay wasn't usually one for blurting out the first question that came into her mind at the time. "I was TEN at the time" Jay rolled her eyes "and had an unfortunate habit of speaking before my brain caught up.... Anyway does anybody here know the parasitic worm?" Jay gave what could only be the scientific name as it didn't sound like any words John had ever heard before. Cal and Cliff were the only ones to recognise the name. "Well they're found in super hot tropical regions and start off tiny about" she held her thumb and forefinger a small distance apart "yay long and get into bodies through either open wounds or your mouth. Once inside they burrow through your body and head for the brain. And then they hijack it and consume your body from the inside out. Nasty shits all together. Anyway on some mission or another, one of these worms managed to get under Dakkon's hide. So his partner at the time had to cut open his face and remove the worm before it reached his brain. And since lizard hide is incredibly hard to cut through, a serrated knife was used, so when the hide healed, it left the scar in question."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had to look at John when he too told her what she said was an understatement, just like Fia did only moments ago. She had to raise an eyebrow and smirk at how alike the two of them were, even if he couldn't see it most of the time. She also found it incredibly curious at how specific his comparison was to Dakkon's alpha level. If Elliott didn't state it, she certainly would have, instead she just gave the look of 'what he said'. As she always did, she glanced across to the next person who spoke and the next which happened to be Cal and Rinaa, finding herself shocked at Rinaa's words, or more to the point at how casually she spoke her words. Whereas Fia was one of those who gave a look of sadness and pity at how casually Rinaa stated what she did before Rinaa spoke again to her reasons why she said what she did and how she did.

When Elliott brought up the facial scar, Fia had to admit she had almost forgotten about that curiosity due to having spent her all focus on what they were being told and processing all the information to the very best of her ability, which was high. She had to smirk, as did Kay when Jay remarked about the time he spent before asking the question then proceeding to tell the story of how he got it. At the mention of a parasitic worm, Fia thought they were just of imaginations of writers and TV/film makers, not actually a real thing. But then she remembered baout the game The Last of Us and how the infection was based on a very real fungi virus which really did turn insects into a zombie-esque state and figured if that could be real, why not a worm that eats people from the inside.

That didn't mean the story didn't sound any less insane to her or Kay and glad that they had never ever come into contact with such a species and probably never would. Demons, downworlders of varying kinds and Devra was more than enough for the two of them. "dayum...glad I've never heard of them or come into contact with such a thing, it sounds horrific to say the least" Fia remarked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John's knowledge of parasitic worms was a little broader, he'd been to a couple of jungle temples in South American and Asian jungle and had heard stories of similar parasites that fed on other animals. (There was also a similar sort of thing he remembered from a Star Trek movie he'd half watched where some kind of insect-eel thing was inserted in the ear canal. It made it's way to the brain, wrapped itself around the cerebral cortex and eventually drove the victim mad before they died). So believing that there were parasitic space worms wasn't a massive leap from. If this trip of Earth was proving anything, it was showing them that life was far more than just having two legs, two arms, no scales and no tail. It was a cliché to say that life was more varied and crazy than they could imagine, but that didn't make it any less true in John's mind. "How lovely" he drawled sarcastically once Jay had finished telling the story.

Cliff visibly winced at Jay's description of how the worm ha to be cut out of Dakkon's hide, though it wasn't because she was squeamish, but because the unhygienic state of the situation appalled her. She doubted the knife was cleaned in any way (a cursory rub with alcohol if Dakkon had been lucky) and the risk of infection from such a procedure was incredibly high, particularly with all the novel diseases present in the hot tropical climates in question. "He was incredibly lucky not to lose his eye in the process." She remarked. Elliott was intrigued and disgusted in equal measure. He'd been expecting a story more like his, a blade to the face that he'd narrowly dodged, not a parasitic worm. He couldn't imagine what it must have been like to have your face sliced open and a living, squirming worm pulled out. It would have hurt incredibly, hide like Dakkon's had to be hacked through. "Well I didn't see that coming." "Neither did I, that's both disgusting and terrifying to hear about."

"Yeah, it's not pretty. ten year old me had a similar reaction of tactless disgust and morbid horror and awe." Jay agreed "And yes Cliff, he was lucky, the wound did become infected, but luckily they found somebody who could treat such wounds and he didn't lose the eye. But it's one of those things you get used to." "Hence why you never even looked vaguely phased at this one." Elliott gestured at his own face. "Exactly, and besides, you get sort of desensitised to such scars in my line of work. A lot of the time when you meet up with a bunch of spook, spy, soldier and assassin types you end up comparing scars like that scene in Jaws." "Or just having competitions on how can make up the most outlandish bullshit that everybody will believe." Rinaa added with a 'don't even try and deny it' look on her face.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both found themselves just listening to everyone's reactions to the story, not surprised in the slightest at how each of them reacted, finding it was so perfectly matched to their personalities. It also made sense to Fia to hear why Jay was never phased by Elliott's own scar, not to mention Rinaa's little added quip had to make her smirk. She knew all too well that what Rinaa said was indeed true, having been in the facinity too many times when stories were greatly exaggerated of how one got an injury or scar or even down to mundane things like getting drunk. She knew it was all down to wanting to come out on top over everyone else, and as amusing it was to witness, it did make her roll her eyes many a time and just let everyone get on with it.

"pretty sure there's very little in life that people won't compete on who can come up with the most outlandish story. Especially you motley lot" Kay countered with a playful smirk. "who you calling a motley lot? You're included in that too!" Fia said playfully defensive back with a smirk. Kay just rolled her eyes and waved her daughter's word off, even if they were truer than Kay would admit. She may not have any scars left from injuries she had gotten from being on the run or living rough, but she did get some some drastic injuries from those days, not to mention she had gotten some even before those days that she had to try and disguise so she could heal up without anyone seeing her. It was bad enough when Ethan caught her sleeping with her wings wrapped round her, she didn't need anyone seeing her heal from broken glass piercing through her skin, or a nasty gash from a drunken stumble.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa smirked at Jay's Jaws reference, in her timeline, she'd seen Jay do exactly that with other Isogrii, with a few of her coworkers on Earth and with Quin (though for the two women it had been a way of bonding of refamiliarising themselves with each other and learning what had happened to the other in the time they'd been apart/wanting to kill each other). Fia's words, in Rinaa's opinion hit the nail on it's head perfectly. Jay didn't bothered to deny Fia's words and nor did John who knew all too well just how fitting they were for him. It wasn't just scars he boasted about, depending on the crowd he was with, and who he wanted to impress/piss off, he'd boast about pretty much anything. A lot of it was true, but he'd also done as Rinaa alluded to and made up believable bullshit. "Guilty as charged" he shrugged with a proud smirk, deciding to own it.

"Though there's no denying that we're a weird bunch of odds and sods." Chas added. There group really was a crazy selection of people, species and occupations amongst their group- the doctor (who was also a fighter), the pyrokinetic blacksmith, the assassin (who once had ambitions to be a forensic pathologist), the cabbie who lived a double life, the laughing magician (and professional bullshitter), the alien outcast who was still looking for his place in the world and some closure, the phoenix, the half-phoenix half-mage time traveller and the mash-up of talent and self loathing that was the other time travelling teenager. And every single one of them never failed to surprise the others in one way or another. "That was actually a band name we considered." Rinaa remarked idly, still sprawled across the two chairs. "Really?" Jay raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, they're a weird and unconventional bunch too. We spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to come up with a proper name when it became clear that people were interested in us beyond just doing couple of songs at Dead Drop that entertained for a night then forgetting about us after a day or two."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew when she said her remark, that no one in their group could possibly deny that what she said was true. Even if Fia did try and protest it by saying Kay was part of that description as well. She smirked and half chuckled when John just owned the truth by admitting to it, unlike Fia's initial comment. She also nodded and gave Fia the 'see, I'm not wrong here' look when Chas expressed his agreement that yes, they were one hell of a group that no one could have envisioned ever being a reality or even working together, let alone become a weird but valid form of a family. When Rinaa said her band even considered the tag name 'motley lot' as a band name, Kay had to smirk and chuckle thinking it was probably a good thing they didn't go with that name, considering how close it was to Motley Crue, an already well established iconic band.

"probably a good thing, it's ridiculously close to Motley Crue and no one needs that confusion in their lives." Kay said to Rinaa, "not to mention its not highly original because of that point. Seems to me your band found a name that was perfectly suited to you lot as well as unique to you" she added straight after. She just couldn't imagine hearing another band with the word Motley in it and not think of the original band who really made that word their own. That and she entirely biased because she did absolutely adore the band, and she would never be apologetic for liking said band, even if over the years she was told she should be sorry for liking them. Fia couldn't resist make the typical teenage dramatic eye roll and groan when Kay said what she did, "urgh! You and bloody motley crue" she groaned, earning her a dig in the ribs.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia's reaction was so typical of a teenager that it brought smirks to the other's faces, in particular Chas' as his own daughter had a similar reaction when he mentioned certain things. Though it was clear that the sigh came from a place of love as opposed to spite. Rinaa had vaguely heard of the band in question, but it was because an acquaintance had made the same point as Kay, that the name 'motley lot' was too close close to that of an actual, established band. "Yeah, somebody else made that point, but we were getting desperate. We actually considered 'fuck this shit, we don't care any more' as a name out of utter desperation, only to find out that there's a song with that name." Rinaa shrugged in a 'it does what it says on the tin so I can't really complain' shrug and expression. "A decent enough song actually" she added almost as an afterthought. "And we got a good name in the end, with not one, but TWO puns in the name." "And is that a good or a bad thing?" Cal asked, unable to tell from Rinaa's tone whether she was happy or annoyed at the presence of the puns. The teenager considered her answer. "A bit of both I think, one pun is appalling and always picked up on, the other is pretty clever, a sort of subversion of another phrase. And besides we could all do with a bit of laugh sometimes."

"Fair enough." Cliff nodded in understanding, good or bad, puns always elicited some kind of reaction. In a timeline where things were descending into interplanetary war she could understand why something that brought even the tiniest quirk of positivity would be a little boost. John decided not to question the band name any further as a) that could easily lead to questions as to why he named his band what he did (a story he didn't particularly want to get into) and b) because he was fairly sure he knew the names of most of the music venues and bars in the parts of London he suspected Rinaa's band could have frequented, given their musical genres of choice, but he'd never once heard of 'Dead Drop' outside of an espionage sense. "Dead Drop?" "Drop Dead Coffee, to give it it's full name, not that anybody except utter wankers use the full name." She scoffed disapprovingly at the notion of somebody using the proper name before continuing. "It's not around yet in this timeline, which is an absolute travesty in my opinion as they do the BEST hot chocolate in London, yes I don't COMPLETELY live on coffee. It's also a good place to start out as a musician when you're a student or just want some anonymity."

 

[MzHyde]

With the conversations continuing on, sniggers and chuckles were had as the topics went from where the best places were to get hot chocolate, music and whatever else came to everyone's minds at the time. It was nice to yet again have a moment or two where one conversation just lead into another with such ease that it was difficult almost to even remember how it all came to each topic but no one particularly minded. That wasn't to say there wasn't any comfortable silences because there was but they were few and far between, and for Kay it felt like how it should have been for her all along.

By the time evening came round Kay did indeed insist she cooked for everyone to make herself useful, so with the help from either Cliff or Cal to let her know what the unknown ingredients were so she didn't accidentally mix something that shouldn't be mixed together, or to ask how some things should be properly prepared usually. Truth was, she was happy to be doing something as simple as cooking again, it was always enjoyable for her and it was something she was used to doing with her group when she was at university in the dorms. In the end she came up with a mixed seafood and vegetable spicy gumbo with homemade flatbread rather than rice for a change. She wanted to do something that was a bit different to what she usually ended up making whilst mixing the traditional essences of Attil and Earth together. It all came together really well and if she had to admit to herself, it was probably the best thing she had cooked for a long time. It was perfectly balanced with the lightness of the seafood and the hit of the strong spices.

Eventually around a good 40 minutes later it was done, the pride evident on her face as she put the big pot of gumbo and the plate of flatbread in the middle of the kitchen table, with plates and forks, the smell of the gumbo filling the apartment. "okay! The food is done!" she declared happily. "whatever it is it smells bloody amazing mum!!" Fia said excitedly jumping up from where she was sat.

Spoiler: The dish minus the rice

 

[_gallifrog_]

When it came to where had the best coffee in London, there was no unanimous decision, even when they added in criteria besides how good the coffee was. They were all too stubborn to budge from their favourite places, though one thing they could agree on was that the coffee machine at AJ's was a temperamental bastard and not to be trusted to give something drinkable. Rinaa had tried a couple of times to fix it, but failed, remaining to this day mystified as to what it could be. Rinaa herself vanished into the utility room after about an hour of chit chat saying she had work to do, which actually meant that she was organising something both illegal and treasonous in order to get more information that would help Elliott's case. When pressed for more details by Jay (the only one who could ever challenge her with success) all the teenager revealed was that she was working with two spooks and what she was doing had been cleared by Dakkon, who, ever since Jay had contacted him, had taken charge of the operation based in this section of Attil.

Jay alternated between continuing compiling data points on her laptop (Dakkon had also sent her a long list of locations that other spooks had seen these murals, along with the computer code for the modelling system they were trying to get working) and chatting with the others. As the hours stretched on she began yawning more frequently. The first few she'd manage to stifle, but it was become clearer that she was going to crash soon. "How long since you last slept?" Cliff eventually asked after about the seventh yawn. "Full eight hours, or just any length of sleeping?" "Either." The doctor replied, already getting slightly worried by the fact she had to specify. "Two and half days ago at the furthest space port I got a few hours of kip, but apart from that, I haven't slept since the night before I left and I left fairly late that evening." The look of disapproval on Cliff's face could have melted metal. "I'm staying up since I don't want to be jetlagged." Jay reasoned, trying to make Cliff feel better. "And don't bother suggesting sleeping pills, they really fuck with my head."

Cal and Cliff were perfectly happy to let Kay cook, both knowing that it would make the other woman happy and make her feel useful and like less of a mooch (which wasn't the case as they were family, but people thought strange things regardless of whether they were pregnant or not). And everything she'd made so far had been amazing, so they had every faith in her ability to produce something delectable. They weren't disappointed. The smells emanating from the kitchen were simply divine. Upon seeing the food a look of recognition flitted across Jay's face, followed by a really weird expression that nobody could accurately describe, it wasn't confusion and it wasn't disbelief, but both those emotions were present in it.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was glad that her meal she did for everyone was seemingly smelling absolutely amazing to everyone, and no one was giving off the vibes that they really didn't like the look or smell of what she produced. It was very much a learning curve for her to use so many new unusual ingredients but she loved every single minute of it. When Fia expressed her excitement to it she had to chuckle a bit, "thanks kiddo, it's my own take on a seafood gumbo. Call it an Attili and New Orleans hybrid of a classic dish" she replied. "just a case of helping yourselves to however juch you want and the home made flatbread and enjoy really! I've probably made way more than necessary as per usual for me but if there's too much it'll reheat easily enough for the next day" she explained, figuring if there was too much and it went down well, at least Cal or Cliff could use it as a lunch at work if they wanted.

She noticed Jay's facial expressions when they all came up to get the food as she saw it and wondered what she made to get such a reaction. It wasn't one she was expecting at all, especially after Fia's outburst. "everything alright Jay?" she asked curiously, whilst wondering if anyone would get Rinaa for dinner or not at the same time. Fia didn't waste any time in grabbing hold of the serving spoon and a plate, serving herself up three big spoonfuls before grabbing a flatbread, seeing the steam coming off of it to see just how fresh it was. She then sat down at the kitchen table, grabbing her fork.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott was just about to go out and retrieve Rinaa from the utility room, but stopped when he saw Jay's reaction to the food. It couldn't be Kay's cooking in general that evoked this reaction, she'd eaten (and enjoyed it) before, so it must be something about this particular dish. In his opinion it smelled utterly incredible and he couldn't wait to try it. "Yeah, I'm okay" jay shrugged in response, scratching the side of her neck with her hand before giving a proper explanation as two why she'd reacted like she did. "It's just this dish looks and smells EXACTLY like something I used to eat as a kid at home." "And by home you mean...?" Elliott trailed off, knowing he wouldn't have to finish the sentence for Jay to know what he meant. "Planet that got destroyed when I was seven." "Ahhh." Elliott said awkwardly in understanding. Jay had very few memories of that part of her life, so to see the dish again must have been one hell of a trigger.

With that 'mystery' sorted and everybody sitting down, Elliott went to get Rinaa, figuring it was a) his parental duty to do so and b) that Jay could use a break. The door wasn't locked, but he knocked anyway before entering to give her some form of warning. There was something about the sight of Rinaa perched on top of a washing machine, laptop on her knees, headphones around her neck, notebook and pencils to one side that made Elliott smile fondly, it looked right somehow. "Food's ready I take it?" She asked, placing the laptop to one side. "Yup, c'mon I'm starving and that lot'll have eaten it all if we hang around any longer." Rinaa's face cracked into a smirk at the joke before following her father back to the kitchen, where the others, as they predicted were already eating. Rinaa wasted no time in taking the largest portion she could possibly fit on the plate

 

[MzHyde]

When Jay said she was okay but it reminded her exactly of a dish from her childhood, Kay was slightly taken aback having no idea that her dish she was just winging along the entire time, could have ended up so alike to something Jay had as a kid. She didn't know how to take it and if was smelling that alike for Jay, she just hoped it would live up to what she remembered. She let Elliott go grab Rinaa as she let everyone else get what they wanted first before putting a portion on her own plate and sitting with everyone else. By the time Elliott and Rinaa came back, they had all started eating but luckily was more than enough for both of them, even with Rinaa's hyper metabolism.

The dish in Kay's mind was just as she hoped, she just hoped everyone thought the same thing, but considering everyone wasn't hesitating in grabbing for it, she had no real worries they would hate it. Fia could barely talk as she was started eating, the look of satisfaction and happiness on her face as she ate. The gumbo in her mind was the perfect amount of spicy whilst not losing any of the flavour and the flatbread was so light and fluffy inside that it just ripped up smoothly, whilst complementing the gumbo. "this is amazing!" she said with a mouthful of food, even the different seafood was tasty to yer and she wasn't a big lover of fish like her parents, yet it was like the seafood just pealed away like pulled pork does and melted in her mouth. Kay smiled, tempted to tell her daughter not to speak with her mouth full, but refrained from doing so.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay watched her daughter's face carefully, half expecting Rinaa to have the same kind of reaction to the food that she had. It wasn't completely inconceivable In Jay's mind that Rinaa could have had it, Rinaa had hopped through various points in the past, so maybe she'd also managed to fit in a trip to the old planet before it was destroyed. But there was no such reaction, which was a relief in a way, Jay wasn't sure how she'd feel if her daughter had better and more numerous memory of Jay's home planet. Everybody tucked in, and from the first mouthful it was expressions of bliss, enjoyment and appreciative compliments from everyone. The unanimous consensus was that Kay had really outdone herself with this dish and it was clear it was now the new favourite thing that she'd made for them. Jay was the last to comment and compliment, saying that it was exactly like the childhood dish in question.

After deliberating with herself for a good five minutes Cliff's resolve eventually broke. "I'm sorry, I've got ask this or it'll really nag at me otherwise." Jay made a 'go ahead' gesture with her fork at the doctor. "Since this is a fish dish, does that mean you also came from a fishing settlement?" The assassin nodded and it was clear that up until that point she hadn't made the connection between her early childhood and Cliff's upbringing. "It does actually, the planet wasn't a water world like yours though, but my family lived near the coast, I remember that much. Can't say for sure, but I think there was both a fishing and a naval tradition in my family." She shook her head, smiling slightly in disbelief "I probably would have had a very similar upbringing to yours had the planet not exploded, guess that's why I've always liked fish dishes so much." "Well you were eating nearly as much as this one on the island." Cliff gestured in the direction of Rinaa who was all but hoovering up the food, it was disappearing at an astounding rate and if John didn't know why and how she could eat so much, he would have made a 'teenagers are bottomless pits' quip. "It WAS excellent food, you know your mother recruited me and Quin for fish-gutting duty one day?" "I didn't, but it doesn't surprise me AT ALL" the doctor laughed, before continuing in a more thoughtful tone "whether it was genius or insanity to have you two in close proximity with sharp knives is another thing altogether."

 

[MzHyde]

As they ate and everyone gave their conpliments whilst declaring that it was probably the best dish she's made them all so far and it's become now a favourite, she actually blushed ever so slightly as she smiled and thanked them all. She was always one of these people who though would accept a compliment, would never know how to compute it. She always had faith in her skills, but when it came to others opinions, never thought much of it, so it always got her slightly sheepish when she received such high praise. Not to mention, it had been such a long time since she got such praise from another person, let alone this many all at once. It also made her see that no matter what she would be good at feeding her daughter and John in the future.

As they ate, she listened to Cliff ask Jay about her home planet before listening to the answer and the story Jay proceeded to willingly tell them all. She found it interesting to hear that Jay grew up near a coast, and did find like Cliff, ilthat it all made sense now why Jay was so at ease on Cliff's home planet and enjoyed the food so much. She couldn't help but smirk at Cliff's very last remark about leaving Jay and Rinaa with very sharp knives, as she just generally just enjoyed what she perceived to be a normal family dinner with everyone around. She continued to eat before she found she just couldn't quite finish her plate, having put a little too much on despite being absolutely starving and ready for the food at the time.

The moment she put her fork down she could see Fia eyeing up her plate and the leftovers which made her smirk all the more. She wasn't going to offer it up to her, I stead she was just going to wait to see how long Fia could last before asking if she was done or if someone else would beat her to it. Unowing to her, this was an unspoken game Fia and her future self would play regularly at dinner times if a big dinner was made up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott hadn't know that Jay lived near the coast as kid, but hearing that she did made a lot of sense. She'd seamlessly adapted to life on the island, something he'd first put down to Isogrii, but looking back it ran deeper than that. She was completely at home in the water as a swimmer and on a boat, most noticeably the moment where the whale had submerged their capsule with the water displaced by it's tail. The only ones who remained completely calm were Cliff and Jay. And she had eaten an incredible amount of fish, knowing the names of most dishes. He had seen her in the kitchen chatting with Cliff's mother and Charlie (both of whom she really seemed to have bonded with) on a number of occasions. To hear that Cliff's mother had recruited not one but both assassins to work in the kitchen came as a shock and their respect for the woman instantly ratcheted up. Neither had killed the other in the process, which was quite an incredible testament to the kind of person Cliff's mother way. Rinaa was also listening closely, clearly fascinated. She was the only one who had known Jay had grown up on the coast, but her mother spoke even less about her birth planet than she did about Elliott (which was quite an achievement).

"Definitely insanity" Elliott declared. "I agree with him." John added. They'd seen Rinaa and Jay sparring with knives and both were highly proficient, though Jay had the edge (and far more years of training than her daughter). Quin's power had only been mentioned once, but she was a precognitive fighter able to see her opponents attack before they made it. And when fighting somebody as close as Jay had been, there bond and shared experiences would have made it even easier to anticipate the next move. "Your mother got a good deal out of it though" Jay smirked "she got the fish gutted and didn't have to do any of it herself or force any of your siblings into doing it." "Benji wouldn't stop bitching about the amount of fish he had to prepare." Cliff smirked, clearly not feeling in the slightest bit sorry for her older brother. "But he's the only one of us who still lives on the planet on a regular basis, so it's kinda his fault really." Rinaa smirked at that "very true."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't last long before she found herself not so sneakily, reaching her hand across to Kay's plate and stealing it as everyone spoke and carried on chatting. Kay noticed but instead decided to play 'I'm not seeing anything' game by discreetly just moving her elbow out of the way so Fia didn't drop the plate everywhere getting it to herself. Fia felt proud of herself for getting the left over food off her mother's plate which she happily tucked into. She listened to everyone chat, smirking with a mouthful of food as Elliott and John decided it was insanity that both Rinaa and Jay were trusted with sharp knives to gut fish. She didn't take long polishing off Kay's remaining food, before she sneakily but not sneakily enough in the slightest putting Kay's plate back in front of her on the table.

Kay glanced at Fia when the plate came back to her and gave her a smirk that Fia read as 'I saw that whole thing', to which she gave the sheepish shrug and smile back at her to show she didn't care that she got caught or was very surprised by the look she got given. Kay then focused back on everyone else, finding it amusing that they were talking about Benji and his grudging against gutting fish. "he can't find it all too troublesome or surely he'd move home?" Kay pointed out in a half serious and half joking manner. She was just glad that she didn't have to do any gutting of fish for tonight's dish if she was perfectly honest as it was all ready prepared seafood, it was just a case of actually cooking it. If she had thought, she would have baked something for dessert as well but it just didn't cross her mind which as unlike her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

While Fia took what remained of Kay's portion, Rinaa went back for a second portion, she hadn't eaten since well before Dakkon arrived and was ravenous. Cliff shook her head and smiled at Kay's question "nah, he doesn't mind NEARLY as much as he pretends he does. Sure, he went through that rebellious teenage phase we all did where he refused to do any of the fishing work, ESPECIALLY fish gutting. So instead my parents lumped with all the awful hunting related jobs and stable cleaning duty. After a couple of weeks, cos he's a stubborn ass when he wants to be, Benji relented and went back to fish duty. I'm the only one who really managed to rebel successfully because I was living off world and due to travel costs and school pressures could come home only rarely." "But you still love fish dishes, so I'd say your parents won this round even WITH you living on Attil." Cal remarked with a fond smile. "True, true" she replied, before answering the second part of Kay's question.

"As for Benji moving? That's incredibly UNlikely to happen. He loves living back home, he loves the lifestyle, the people and of course the abundance of boats, fishing gear and aqua craft that need fixing mean he'll never really be out of a job. And living back home gives him a hell of a lot of freedom in his life. Unlike how I'm completely controlled by the overlords of the hospital and chief medical doctors, he can pick his own hours AND his own clients, and as much as he bitches about our parents when we talk" Cal's expression told them that she was well aware of the habit of Benji's "he's really close to both of them and suffers crippling homesickness when he's away for too long. So unless he can find somebody or something he cares about more than our parents, he's not gonna move out."