Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Kay wasn't the only one thinking it would be a miracle if Zan pulled through this. Both Chas and John had seen people in comas before, and unfortunately most of them hadn't made it. For Chas this was bringing back memories of those dark few days when they were teenagers and John had been beaten to a pulp by his father so severely that he had slipped into a coma. Neither Chas nor Cheryl (who'd taken the first train back from university when Chas had phoned her up) had left his side during those days John had been unconscious. John had been black and blue with bruises, had strapped ribs and fingers and a limb in a sling, but somehow, in that brief glimpse, Zan looked worse. Maybe it was because John was a stubborn bugger and even at that age would fight death tooth, nail and claw. Zan on the other hand looked like he was just waiting to die. Maybe the man would find some kind of inner strength that made him pull through, but given what they knew about Zan's life, Chas felt they could all say that the man really didn't have much to live for.

Dan just let out a sigh, crossed his arms across his chest and leaned back against the wall, staring at the door as if by sheer willpower he could make it transparent so he could see what on Attil was going on in the room. This was so far into uncharted territory for him and all he could think of was how he didn't want Cal to get hurt again. He'd seen her at her lowest, and never ever wanted to see her like that again. John gave a slight glare at the door as it didn't have any kind of window panel he could use to snoop on what was going on. "Looks like it" he replied with a huff to Fia before taking a step back from the door and repeating his earlier sentiment. "Still doesn't mean I have to like it." Patience at times like these was very much not John's strong suit. The door had only been closed for about two seconds and already John was beginning to feel the urge to start pacing relentlessly up and down the corridor. At times like this he just couldn't stay still, even if you physically strapped him to the chair this restlessness would just manifest in another way, more than likely repetitive finger or foot tapping.

But they didn't have to wait long for something to happen, barely a minute had passed since Elliott, Cal, Jay, Cliff and Cliff's boss (whose name they did not know) entered the room and already somebody was leaving it. It wasn't anybody from their group and given that they were wearing the typical all dark clothes outfit of a photographer or backstage theatre assistant and not light coloured scrubs they clearly weren't a doctor of any sort. He looked to be a similar age to Zan with hair dyed a mixture of blond and silver, sticking out at all angles (clearly bearing the signs of having been pulled at of the past few hours). Initially he didn't see the others staring at him as he took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and sighed, but when he pushed the glassed back up his nose and saw them he gave a slight start of surprise, before the puzzle pieces clicked into place. "You'll be kids' adoptive families then?" It my have been phrased like a question, but it was actually a statement, spoken in Attili by somebody who was clearly too tired to beat about the bush. John's answer was an annoyed and somewhat confused "who the fuck are you?" This clearly wasn't Bec, unless Bec had somehow acquired a sex change in the last day. "Eh.. training former partner in the military, former flatmate, best man at his" he gestured a thumb at the door behind him, to convey he was talking about Zan "wedding, close friend and shoulder to cry on through the through the years, the friend you bring to those social events so you don't get so bored out of your mind that you spontaneously combust. Current emergency contact. And now I suppose partner in crime and co-conspirator in committing treason." He gave a shrug, followed by a yawn which he somewhat stifled with the back of his hand. "Take your pick."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded at John's statement, she had never stated that they had to like it, she knew just as well as everyone else that none of them liked it, but she also knew that at times like this they had to do something they didn't like. "I know, none of us do" she replied to him as she watched him pace, feeling like she was just watching him self destruct like his future self did over Kay. Every part of her wanted to do more for him than she could, but she knew whilst in public for the most part she couldn't let on he was her dad to save any unnecessary drama or tough questions to be asked by people who didn't know who she was. She continued to tap the air with her foot that was crossed over her other foot, deciding to look down so she didn't have to watch her dad pace constantly. In her head she found the only way she could cope with the nervous waiting was to come up with melodies in her head which she would attempt to remember so she could write it all down or at least record it on her phone so she wouldn't forget it. Whereas Kay remained pretty silent as she waited, just making silent notes of how everyone else was reacting, the foot that was tilted upward and her heel on the ground, she found herself rocking it side to side.

Even though it was only about a minute before the door to Zan's room opened again, that minute felt like the longest one Kay and Fia had experienced whilst it made them both look up and saw someone they were not expecting to see walk out of the room. They didn't know why, but for some reason they erre only expecting the four members of their group and Bex to be in the room, so when this new person came out it was a surprise. They watched as the person didn't even acknowledge the lot of them until after they wiped their eyes and put their glasses back on, making a very correct educated guess as to who they were, knowing that they couldn't really be anyone else considering where they were. Kay was about to ask who this person as when John beat them all to it, asking in a very abrupt manner. She and Fia both listened to the answer they were given, or more accurately, a list of answers. Fia wanted to ask so many questions but she just didn't know how to word them in Attili, finding her mind wording a question then mentally erasing it before she could even start speaking.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the sound of the door opening Chas head snapped right up, expecting it to be one of the four from their group storming out in anger (which could definitely be some kind of record in how quickly somebody could get Cal/Elliott riled up). But it wasn't any of their group, nor was it anybody Chas had seen before. When the man (correctly) assumed who they were, Chas gave a slight nod to indicate he was right. Even before John had demanded what his connection was to Zan, Chas knew there was one and it had to be fairly major one. Zan's name had been kept out of the press and the only people called had been those on Zan's files. So this tired man with glasses was somebody important to Zan. John was expecting a monosyllabic defensive answer or the kind of vague answers Zan had given them, so to be confronted with a whole list of them was a pleasant change. His eyebrow raised slightly and he let out a slight "huh" of surprise at just how far back this man went in Zan's life. He'd known Zan before he was a spook, which meant out of everybody there he knew Zan the longest. John wanted to let out a smirk at the idea of being so bored at a posh function that you's spontaneously combust, but he was still wary of this guy, even though he clearly had every right to be there and had admitted to being the emergency contact alluded to earlier.

It was Dan who spoke first, the blacksmith's eyebrows scrunching in confusion at the sight of this new arrival. He'd given the man a brief scan with his empathic powers and had quickly come to the conclusion that this stranger wasn't a threat. The overwhelming emotion coming off him was tiredness, accompanied by crushing worry and nervousness. There was however something about the man's face that rang a bell, but as Dan was still feeling somewhat sluggish from lack of sleep his brain just refused to make the necessary connection. "Have we met before? You look familiar." The man gave a slight shake of his head. "I don't think so, I've got a good memory for faces. You might have seen my work though. I'm a photographer, I specialise in the arts scene mainly- theatre, music, drama, performance art, street art all that sort of stuff. Though I also sideline in commission portraits as well as black and white pieces which are for my own enjoyment." As he spoke he'd been rooting around in his pocket for a business card, which he eventually found and passed over to the person closest which happened to be Chas. Printed on one side was his name- Dexter Lough'Ley- followed by photographer and photojournalist. On the back was a phone number, email address and the address of his studio. "So if yer all the this to him" John indicated with his chin in the direction of the door to Zan's room "why've you been exiled to this corridor?" "Bec's idea. She thinks this initial meeting would be even more awkward if I was hanging around there like some kind of 'sleep deprived crazy person'. which is rich coming from the woman whose spent the past four and a half days travelling and is so jet-lagged she's practically in another dimension." Despite his evident tiredness Dexter managed to smirk slightly at his own joke.

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing John get taken aback by how straight forward this mysterious person was didn't go amiss on Kay or Fia, even if Kay coudln't understand what was being said, Fia understood enough of it, to know that he was being straight with them all, unlike how Zan ever was with them. The fact that no one knew about Zan's whereabouts or thought he to be dead, they both knew deep down that this person had to be alright, especially if Cliff's boss told them that they passed every check they could throw at them to make sure Zan remained safe. They both couldn't help but look at Dan as he spoke up, FIa finding his question highly interesting and curious, before looking back at this person to hear the answer, seeing him pull out a business card as he spoke and handing it to Chas. As Fia was close enough to Chas, she couldn't resist making the extra two steps to look over him to see the name on the card was Dexter and he was indeed as he said, a photographer. Though she did always think business cards were one form 'ID' that could quite frankly say just about anything, didn't need to be truthful. For now though, she just knew she had to take this Dexter's word for it that this was utterly truthful, whilst John found himself asking more questions. To her it was a valid question, but it also felt like it could only have an obvious answer. He wasn't family as such to Zan or Bec it seemed, only a lifelong friend, not that different to how Chas was with John she thought, so when Dexter replied with that Bec thought it would be best if he left the room and not make things even more awkward by being there, it did indeed make a lot of sense.

"Makes sense" She couldn't help but remark in Attili, knowing if she was to keep up her new language learning skill, she needed to use it as much as possible, even if it was just for the odd couple of words here and there. She did notice the tired smirk that Dexter gave, which told her even without seeing Bec for herself that there could be no way he was lying about the state she was in. She could only imagine how much the jet lag must have been setting in for someone, considering how tired she got after time travelling back and forth and with three other people on two journeys. Though it was no where near the same thing, but it was still a use of magic in such a careful round about manner to get passed Attil's wards against magic use, that it did take it out of her, more than she actually let on at the time, only letting herself fully crash and cave to her lethargic feelings when she got given a room to crash in in the evening. Kay could only just work out get the jist of what was being said, finding that she was only finding herself pick up on certain words since her time being here, but it certainly wasn't enough to be able to hold a conversation or understand a conversation fully. She instead, just found herself looking back toward the door hoping that whatever was being said in the room, was something that wasn't making things even more awkward or bitter between the remaining awake beings in there. She could easily imagine how it must be just as awkward and difficult to get through for Bec as it was for the others, after all they didn't know if Bec knew any more or less about Cal and Elliott, than the siblings knew about her. She also wouldn't have put it passed Zan to have kept as much as his kids from Bec as possible, especially after he made the attack on Elliott when he was a mere child, and exiling him. She certainly wouldn't expect Bec to have known where Elliott had been all this time as she didn't see Zan the type to have admitted to her that Elliott had found his way to Earth and was adopted by John before finding himself back on Attil.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John knew that his question may seem like one with an obvious answer, but at the same time he wanted it answered and not for them to fall into the trap of once again assuming things that weren't necessarily there. So far this Dexter's words had rung true with him, mainly because the man looked far too tired (both emotionally and mentally) to string together a coherent cover story. His outfit also matched up with his story, while his clothes were all dark, plain and unbranded they were made of materials that would leave fibres everywhere. If he was some kind of contract killer currently here on a hit to kill Zan, then he wasn't a good one at all. That blond and silver hair dye job (which John thought the guy pulled off surprisingly well) would stand out a mile amongst all the blacks and dark brown of the Devra. When the card came to John he took his time scrutinising it, flipping it over and reading both sides carefully. It certainly matched up with this guys- Dexter's- story, but John was still somewhat wary, all too aware at how easily a business card could be faked. He'd had a couple of fake ones made as well in his time (as well as being the proud of owner of a wide selection of other IDs, some faked, others stolen). The hospital may have thrown all the checks they had at him, but John believed no system was ever truly foolproof. As he went to pass the card back to Dexter he took note of the man's hands, there were no weapons callouses, and for John that was the clincher. Everybody in their group who used weapons on a regular basis had distinctive callouses, but this guy had none.

Chas gave a slight smirk at the man's description of Bec's current mental state. He could see why she wouldn't want a nosy parker hanging around for what was both a momentous and incredibly awkward moment in her life. There was something about the way he said it in a teasing tone that reminded him of how John spoke about Cheryl, an insight into the kind of relationship between Dexter and Bec perhaps? "Four days of travelling? I thought Bec only told your friend the other day that she was setting off?" Chas asked curiously. Instinct was telling him to believe Dexter, but he couldn't let this discrepancy pass. "It is a four day journey, she lives ages away from here, a couple of galaxial quadrants away and even with jump-gates it takes days to cross that kind of distance. I think she deliberately picked the furthest away place that spoke Attili and Darriluxi as a major language to work in after relations between her and her family imploded, but that's neither here nor there. It was supposed to be a surprise visit, the two of us had arranged it that way, it's been far too long since we've all been together, and now that...." his voice quavered then cut off as he removed his glasses to brush away the tears at the corner of his eye. "Now that's Mara's dead, it's only right that we get together to mourn her properly. But then you guys showed up, demanding answers with and I quote 'righteous fury' and we canned the idea of making it a surprise thing." He finished with a sad shrug

 

[MzHyde]

Fia could just tell from the way John was scrutinising the business card and Dexter's appearance that he was still incredibly wary of the man in front of him. She really couldn't blame him either as she all too aware how easy it is to fake a business card, Hell's, she done it herself to get her in places she most certainly shouldn't have gone to and definitely would have had her in big trouble with her parents. She still doesn't know how she got away with what John and Kay along with Elliott and Chas saw in that mind walk of hers. She too thought the guy's hair was quite something, but then she always noticed people's hair colour as she would always make mental notes of what styles and colours to change hers to with the appearance rune she had, if she ever needed it.

As Chas questioned his remark about how it had taken Bex four days to travel here but it didn't seem to match up eith what they heard from Zan before all this chaos, she couldn't help but think 'shit, you're right! That doesn't match up' before listening to what Dexter's answer would be. Hearing that it started off as a surprise visit for Zan and she was already on her way when she messaged him, she found herself thinking over the answer before coming to the conclusion that yes, it did indeed make sense. She scrutinised his reaction when talking about Mara, seeing how much it was clearly raw for him as a friend of the couple which gave her more evidence he was who he said he was. Hearing that Zan described their ambush onto him as 'righteous fury' actually made her smirk, almost smugly which probably wasn't a good thing but she couldn't help but feel proud that they're family could still have that kind of description given to them. "can't deny that.. We did ambush him pretty riled up" she replied, a tone that just matched her smirk.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas nodded slowly, mulling over the explanation, it did make sense to him. Jay had attempted to educate them on how big galaxial quadrants were when compared to the distance one could go through a jump gate (the father you travelled via jump-gate the more dangerous it was for your body) and Zan had said in his typical vague way that she lived far away, hence why they rarely met up. What interested him more was the way he spoke about- or more precisely got choked up over- Mara. The hurt and sadness in his eyes were soul deep and raw, the kind of grief one could fake easily, let alone fake when they were running on fumes like this guy was. For the first time since they'd met him Chas could really feel pity for the guy. Not only had he lost somebody who was clearly a close friend (he'd been the best man at Zan and Mara's wedding for Hells' sake), but his best friend was now in a coma, with a bullet hole through his head, fighting for his life. He gave what he hoped was a look conveying that he was sorry for the man's loss.

John, like Fia, was far more focused on the fact that they'd been described as descending on Zan with righteous fury, adopting a smirk identical to Fia's. "Well that's a glowin' endorsement of us if I ever heard one" he replied. Dexter's response was a tired sigh. "Yeah, I heard the story. Zan told me, in detail not long after you parted ways at the place he stores the furniture he never uses." Dexter gave them a sharp eyes look to convey that he was referring to the safehouse, while at the same time making a sly joke about the fact that there were next to no places to sit in the safe house, but didn't know if the corridors were a safe place to talk about spook related things. "He doesn't tend to exaggerate about things like this, so the fact he said that particular set of words....." Dexter gave a shrug, clearly deciding against saying what it was he was actually thinking. "He also said that you lot were justified in your anger, that he very much gets after....." another shrug and another thought left unsaid"but at the same time he's sick of being public enemy number one for everybody." The disapproving edge of 'you've hurt my best mate, so that's a serious problem' in his tone lost it's clout as it was followed by a massive yawn. "Sorry, I'm wiped. I've been covering the opening week of the Psycoria Opera and sleep hasn't exactly been a priority when you have full backstage access."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia did feel sorry for the man when it came to Mara, but the moment they were described the way they were, she really couldn't help but only focus on that little bit and judging by John's identical smirk (which Fia blatantly got from him) to the snippet of information, he also thought the same way as she did. She nodded in agreement at John's words, the smirk not leaving her face which she knew was probably a dangerous thing to do as it would no doubt start to really show the parts of her features that were just like John's, giving the hints she was related to him. Not even Dexter's tired sigh at their reactions were enough to stop her feeling smug about it. She listened to what dexter saying to them, explaining that he had indeed been told the story of what they did.

She also noted how he carefully chose his words, always keeping in mind of where they were and not taking any risks or certainties that it was a safe place to speak about spook related things. She also noted how he trailed his words off a couple of times, clearly showing that he wasn't going to risk I'll choice of words and his fatigue really getting to him also. When he said about Zan being sick of being everyone's numbe rone enemy, the smirk THEN faded from Fia's lips. It wasn't because his tone of protective best friend had any effect on her, but because it was similar to what her mother in her timeline said to her once. 'Fia I know you're angry with being brought up in The House and the apartment, but I am not going to tolerate being your number one enemy here. I'm your mother and I'm terrified we will lose you if you're out there too much!' being her mother's exact words. She remembered it clearly as happening after yet another argument with her and Fia had lost her temper once too many times as she had quite literally thrown one of Kay's canvases at her in frustration.

"Psycoria Opera?" she couldn't help but ask after snapping out of her memory in her head. It wasn't one of her proudest moments and that was one time she truly did hurt her mother emotionally and physically which got her into a massive amount of trouble.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John couldn't help but feel like he swelling with pride when Dexter told them that he'd been told the details of them cornering Zan and demanding answers. It was finally proof that all their anger hadn't simply flowed off the politician like water from a duck's back. He desperately wanted to push, find out what it was that Dexter was going to say but didn't, wondering if it could possibly be Zan's real thoughts about the Earth group (which he really did want to know, if only to find out if it the man had the same opinion of them that John had of Zan). But then came Dexter's cryptic phrasing, which made John's eyebrow raised briefly before his brain kicked into gear and translated the Attili properly and the with it came the understanding of the hidden message of 'these corridors might have ears'. He gave the slightest of nods to make it clear that he understood the double meaning of the sentence. It figured that this guy would know all about Zan's other life and would have spent years perfecting the art of talking about it without directly talking at it. Zan had just been shot because somebody had found about his double life as a spy and there was no telling who else knew and was waiting for an opportunity to take any one of them out. So it was just as well that Fia steered the topic of conversation to less dangerous one of opera.

"Yep." Dexter nodded, a confirmation that a) Fia had heard right and b) Fia had repeated his words correctly. The blank expressions/look of confusion on everybody except Dan's faces told him that they were all from somewhere far, far away from Attil, to anybody with even the vaguest interest in drama in the quadrants surrounding Attil knew of the reputation of the 'Pyscoria Opera'."They're the best operas possibly ever created. And that's not just my highly biased opinion, anybody with the vaguest interest in opera says so. And so do the ticket sales, people would kill for a ticket, that's how popular they are- I know I would." He gave an unashamed shrug before continuing. As Dexter spoke his golden eyes lit up and the tiredness vanished from them, his tone filling with the passion of somebody talking about their one true love in life. "They've been performed for hundreds of years, and it's a deep part of the heritage and culture of Attil as well as the conquered planets it grew from, got independence from and the colony planets the civilisations later gained. They're timeless, the stories that mixture of family drama, violence and plot twists that never goes out of fashion and to this day still manage to just utterly astound, enthral and amaze. Costumes, lighting, stage effects, acting, story telling, stage dressing..... they're always phenomenal- absolute photographer's paradise. But it's the music that really draws the crowds in. Oh the music! The soundtrack! The singing! You have to actually be there, experience it for yourself, feel the music pass through your body and seep right into your bones to truly understand that it isn't all hype."

"He's telling the truth." Dan told the others. "I was there once when I was in my twenties, so years before I even came to Attil. One of the major troupes was touring and my brother somehow got his hands on tickets for us and our parents to go. Words really don't do it justice." He shook his head. "It was an experience never to be forgotten, I still get goosebumps just thinking about it." Dexter couldn't resist gesturing at Dan with a 'this man is now my favourite, he speaks the truth' look on his face. "Which one did you see?" he asked. Dan replied with a name and judging by the grin on Dexter's face, it was one the photographer had also seen. The two then lapsed into a face-paced discussion and dissection of the opera in question, which Chas and John quickly lost the train of. But they did understood when Dexter gave a grin equal parts smug and mischievous and said "I probably telling you this but..." and both couldn't help but lean forwards in curiosity. "The three of us used to sneak in illegally to performances as it became a sort of tradition which continued into our adult lives."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that Dexter confirmed her question and felt glad also that she had not only understood it correctly, but also repeated it correctly. Though she was proving to be a quick learner, just with anything she was taught, she was still rusty at times but that didn't mean she was going to give up speaking Attili when and where she could. LIke everyone her and Kay both looked at him with blank expression about the mention of the opera, because it was far from anything that had been ever mentioned before and discussed with people, since their time on this planet. Fia continued to listen to him and she could see that universal look of admiration and genuine love for something in his eyes as it outweighed the tiredness that was there just moments before. She wasn't a fan of opera, but she could always respect the sheer amount of work and training that went into bring a opera singer, along with always respecting the costume work that usually went into it. Being a violinist herself, some people (namely Sam) always found it strange that she didn't find much interest into the more classical music genres, but it was just who she was and sure, she picked the odd little piece of more classic music to first learn the instrument, but it was always a case of she didn't give up because she wanted to competant at it, but she didn't enjoy it. It was only when she started learning music starting at pop punk to then more heavier stuff (and was even trying to make one her dad's old tracks work on violin secretly) that she truly found her own niche music style that was a mix of rock, punk, dance and techno and anything else. So seeing Dexter be this passionate about this opera was all too familiar, as she no doubt always had that same brightness in her eyes when she spoke of her love of playing her violin and dancing.

She didn't understand absolutely every word but she got enough of the words to understand the overall gist of what he wa saying, along with his expressions helping to tell her absolutely everything. She looked at Dan when he confirmed what Dexter was saying, knowing that if Dan said it was surely something to truly experience, then it really must be. Dexter's look of 'this guy gets it' brought a smirk to her face before she just got utterly lost on what was being spoken about, just like John and Chas had. The next time she understood anything being said was when Dexter told them he, Zan and she guessed Mara would sneak in as kids to watch it for free and very much illegally. "sounds incredible if it makes you want to sneak in" she simply replied. She would have said something along the lines of 'as a violinist myself, i can respect anyone who respects the work and skill of classical instrument players' but she didn't want to come across as anymore self absorbed than she probably did when she looked smug about what Zan said about their group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Needless to say John wasn't a fan of opera, he'd always thought the form to be completely pretentious stuck up and invented purely for the pleasure of rich people who had far, far more money than they did sense. So when Dexter went on a passionate spiel about it's wonders from a photographer's point of view he had to hold back a sigh and eyeroll. If they hadn't all been convinced by now that this guy was who he said he was, this would be the proof. Nobody in John's mind could possibly have their tired eyes light up with so much enthusiasm when talking about bloody opera without having a genuine interest in it. There was only one exception John would make to his 'all opera is shit' rule, and that was for the piece 'O Fortuna' from Carmina Burana (or more precisely the opening minute or so). The opening was probably the most Gothic piece of music he'd ever heard and he could all too easily imagine the opening as the soundtrack for his life when making a dramatic entrance or striding dynamically down a dark alley, beating the shit out of demons without even breaking a sweat or giving them a second glance.

The first time he'd heard it had been in The Hall of Justice of all places. One of the tech guys on Team Flash had, in either a moment of absolute boredom or complete madness, decided to hack the systems so that the opening to Carmina Burana played whenever Batman walked into a room. The outraging emanating from under the cowl had been enough to set John off snickering and when it happened for the second time and he could actually see the man's face, the Hellblazer was reduced to full on laughter, before yelling at the ceiling in the hopes that whatever legend had done this was listening "Oi mate! D'you do requests? Cos I've got a loada good songs that this lot would hate to have matched with them." There may have been no direct reply, but judging by the way Flash groaned and looked like he wanted to sink into the ground and die, the culprit responsible had made some witty reply over comms. John had vowed if he ever did find the person who did it, he'd buy them a beer (even if they were a complete arse, than kind of trolling of Bruce deserved to be rewarded). eventually Cyborg had removed the programme, but not before John had managed to get a video.

John did let out that sigh when Dan and Dexter headed off on a tangent of talking passionately about opera. He hadn't pegged Dan as the opera type, so to hear that it had been a one off thing made him relieved that he wasn't losing his touch when it came to judging people. When the conversation finally slowed down enough that John could understand it, he couldn't help but scoff disbelievingly at Dexter's words. "Him sneaking into opera? That I don't believe at all." Zan may have been a spy, but John really couldn't see the man as the type to sneak into opera illegally. "Well you don't know the man at all." Dexter retorted, before adding as a side remark a reply to Fia's comment. "Oh it's more than incredible" before turning back to John. "It was my idea to sneak them in the first time, we were broke and feeling reckless- the amount of people you can sneak with you when you're a photographer by claiming they're your assistants and their presence is vital is impressive. But it only works when you have the ID, portfolio and reputation to back it up. As broke students we only tried it with plays in the local theatre. It was Zan's idea to keep doing it and it was his idea to sneak into the Psycoria Opera once my reputation had grown enough that I'd be offered a backstage pass. I only found out years later from Bec that he had other motivations besides thrill seeking and sticking it to the establishment."

Spoiler: a side note on 'O Fortuna' from Carmina Burana

I had to study this piece back when I did music as a school subject, hence why it's one of two opera pieces I know anything about.
The opening section is phenomenally Gothic in my opinion

The Batman bit is just this a random headcanon I've had floating around for a while

 

[MzHyde]

It was of no surprise that John wasn't a fan of opera at all, Kay could just tell that he would hate it, and Fia grew up knowing it, even before he declared it to her once. The fact he was in his own punk band, told her everything about her father's music taste before he ever spoke a word about music to her. Kay was no fan of the genre eitherm but like Fia, she could appreciate how much work went into mastering it or playing it. But that was as far as it went with her, other than if any famous piece came on on tv or film, she may recognise it but she wouldn't be able to tell anyone the name or writer of said pieces. She too just found the genre far too abnoxious for her taste, and much prefered any kind of rock or as it was turning out, liking what her kid was capable of coming up with. So seeing John sigh and roll his eyes at the ramblings of Dexter and Dan of how good the particular opera they were talking about was of absolutely no shock or surprise to either of them. If anything, the moment the word left Fia's mouth (albeit in Attili), she just knew John would be thinking many of his negative thoughts about the genre, which in any other situation she would have found amusing, as she'd have been curious how well he'd compose himself and resist going off on one of his rants about why he hated it. Fia had to admitk, it did seem very unlike Zan when John pointed out how unbelievable it sounded, but she knew all too well that they really didn't know Zan at all. Their distain for the man clouded everything they thought of him, which then meant it clouded their ability to even learn anything about him. She nodded when Dexter acknowledged what she said before turning back to John and continuing on about that particular memorable day for him.

On the basis that Dexter was talking about it with such love and passion, it didn't come as surprising that it would have been his idea to sneak them in illegally that time, whilst the rest of his spiel sounded like something that easily happened on Earth as well. it wasn't an entirely strange concept that a photographer with any clout behind them would be able to achieve the goal of sneaking people in under the guise of 'they're my assisitants'. She had heard of such stories back on Earth also, though it didn't always work and certainly didn't work on high end events that she was aware of. She may not have had much of an social life whatsoever, but that didn't mean she hadn't stories of such events and people's experiences online, to get a real idea of what it was like. That also wasn't to say she hadn't gone to a gig at all, as she had done, but only because she begged her parents to take her as she knew it would only be with family that she would get a 'yes' for going. Yet before the night she went out with Rinaa alone, she hadn't ever experienced a proper night out as a normal teenager. Hearing that Zan was the main culprit to keep sneaking into events was a surprise to her, feeling like they really were learning about Zan properly for the first time, and hearing about what felt like a completely different man than they knew of. "That last bit is the one bit I could easily believe about Zan" She couldn't help but say. "Certainly wouldn't catch any of us doing it for opera though, for a rock gig or more precisely a punk night, yeah, but not opera." She then added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John raised an eyebrow when Dexter off-offhandedly mentioned that he could sneak in a surprising amount of people to places they shouldn't be under the guise of them being his assistants. John didn't know any photographers personally, but it was the kind of nugget of information that could (and probably would) become useful at some unspecified point in the future so he made a mental note of it. Seemed like this Dexter didn't entirely talk shit and, compared to Zan, he was a bloody open book (a nice change from all the vague hintings and allusions they'd been bombarded with these days). Fia wasn't the only one surprised by the fact that it was Zan's idea to sneak into somewhere so clearly high-profile, both Chas and John were surprised and it showed (moreso on Chas than on John). Even knowing that he was spy, both had thought of Zan as somebody very straight-laced who'd followed the rules to the letter, and bend the rules as opposed to blatantly breaking them. Dexter was right about one thing, they really knew nothing about Zan.

John nodded vigorously in agreement with Fia's statement, he'd spent a good chunk of his teenage years at punk gigs, and almost all of them he'd snuck into. Money wasn't exactly something plentiful in the Constantine household what with John's father drinking away his unemployment paychecks and John not wanting to get a job. Dexter merely gave a nonchalant shrug, before dropping a bombshell that left the others truly flabbergasted, in the form of the one sentence John never would have expected in a million years to be used when talking about Zan. "Oh he'd do that as well." "What?!" John very nearly shouted. This had to be a lie, there was no way in John's opinion hat this could be true, Dexter had to be messing with them, trying to get some kind of reaction out of them. Maybe he was deliberately seeing how far he could take lying to their faces until somebody noticed. That would certainly explain a lot. Or maybe John was hearing things, it ahd been a very long time since he last properly slept. "Say that again, I must have bloody heard that wrong."

Dexter smirked at the shock and disbelief on the others' faces. "Zan's a massive punk fan, he doesn't look the type, but he is. He used to be a pretty full-on punk type back in the day and snuck into all kinds of gigs. Still listens to whatever is just emerging on the scene these days. He may have stopped listening to the genre entirely for a couple of years after...." Dexter trailed off. "Well that's a story you'd have to get from Bec, but he got back into it again after being hospitalised and his love for the genre is apparently back to the level it was at when he was a teenager."

 

[MzHyde]

The fact that Dexter was being an open book to them was one of the biggest things that was striking a chord with both Kay and Fia. They couldn't help but make such comparisons to how he was a lot more willing to talk compared to Zan was determined to be as vague and closed off as possible. So when Dexter said certain things, Fia couldn't help but try and get more out of him by casually throwing out comments or questions in such a way that came across as general casual chit chat whilst using them to learn more about Zan through his best friend. It was a tactic she used often on when on secret jobs or even jobs when she was with her dad, finding that no one ever suspected a teenage girl to be the one seeking answers or secrets from someone. A tactic that never has failed her yet. Yet when she threw out her casual comment about the only sneaking in members of their crazy ass family did was at such things like rock and punk gigs, she was not expecting the reply it got.

The vigorous nodding by John wasn't surprising at all, she had been told enough of those stories growing up, to the point she just assumed it was just John out of her parents that did such things, and not her mother. Dexter's reply of Zan having done that also was the shock. Her eyes went wide and if she didn't control herself she would have dropped her mouth to the ground at the same time. John just seemed vocalise exactly what she was thinking and what her face was conveying. As Dexter smirked, she listened to the stories, feeling absolutely shocked to her core that Zan was such a punk fan and never once would she have taken him for such a person. "well bloody hells! I did NOT see that coming!" she replied. Kay was also incredibly shocked but she managed to hold her composure a lot better than John and Fia, instead thinking 'well there's another like father like daughter moment of themooking alike' to herself. She also mentally noted that this was a prime example of you really couldn't judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a person by the outside person's they give off for first impressions.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Even after Dexter said it a second time and went into more detail on the matter John still couldn't make any kind of mental link between the people of the punk scene he grew up in and the kind of person Zan was currently. To say his mind was boggled was an understatement of epic proportions. The identical expressions of shock on Fia and John's faces would have been hilarious for Chas, had he not been sporting a similar look of disbelief. While Chas hadn't spent as much time in the punk scene as John had (John had never really left it), he had been a member of Mucous Membrane and had been very familiar with the scene as a teenager. He couldn't see Zan currently as the type of person to sneak into such gigs as a teenager, but then again, to an outsider family man, hard-working Chas didn't come across as the kind of person with a punk past. So the cabbie could keep his mind open on the matter.

The smirk didn't leave Dexter's face, it may even have grown slightly at Fia's outburst of surprise. "Well I still don't believe it." John declared. "You'd better have some bloody good proof to back this claim up, it's not like we can just ask the man himself." As soon as Zan woke up and after John had asked the all important question of 'did you throw yourself in front of that bullet because you're suicidal or because you care?' and thanked the man, he was going to demand answers about whether this punk past was true or not. If he was going to have to change his entire opinion of the man, John was going to have to re-examine everything he knew (or thought he knew) about Zan. "I doubt he'd admit it to you lot even if he was conscious." Dexter replied with a sad shrug. "He doesn't talk about his teenage days in the music scene. That doesn't mean there isn't proof though." He added before anybody (most likely John) could make any further remarks about not believing his words without proof. "There's proof alright, but you'd have to ask Bec for it. I first met him in the military and by that point he wasn't on his homeworld. Bec does have the photos, though whether she'll show them is another thing. She may be ten years younger but she's really protective of anything related to his past. Can't say I blame her, given that their parents essentially tried to get rid of all proof he'd ever existed."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay couldn't help but watch on with amusement at the expressions Chas, Fia and John were particularly expressing and how after Dexter went into more details, it just seemed to grow and get even more animated. She may not have understood every word being said, but everyone's shock and body language told her everything she needed to know of what was going on. She could easily make some very educated guesses that none of the three in partiuclar believed anything that Dexter was saying when it came to Zan and his past. Fia just couldn't believe it either, and wasn't surprised that her father would be demanding some kind of proof of said history for him to remotely believe what he was hearing. She herself still found it incredibly hard to believe, even if there was proof of the whole 'unlikely people who would be into that scene' in her own family with the likes of Chas, as she remembered when she was told Chas was the drummer of Mucous Membrane, she thought both of them were pulling her leg for a short while, until she did indeed end up beliving it by seeing old photos of him behind a drumkit. She listened to Dexter againas he explained that he didn't have proof himself but it did exist, it was just a case of asking Bec for it and that could be difficult to do, due to her protectiveness. With that, she thought of a loop hole which involved Elliott and Cal, if they could get on good enough terms with Bec, maybe they could do the whole 'you got any teenage photos of our dad' question in one set of wording or the other, which would give them the opportunity to either snap a photo of the photos or somehow show them in some other way.

She was yet made surprised for a split second at the mention of his parents trying to wipe any record of his existance until she remembered a very vague moment where they found out his parents became highly estranged after the gang war and shootings that Zan himself survived. So it didn't seem as much of a stretch that his parents would that far if they went to great lengths to not be involved with him after such a traumatic moment in his life that resulted him going into witness protection. "That's a job for Ell and Cal then" She said, more to John and Chas than Dexter. Being a sibling herself, she could understand why Bec would be highly protective of her big brother, as she herself was insanely protective of Elliott and she was much much younger than him, but that didn't stop her wanting to do her part in keeping him safe, just as he always kept her safe in her timeline. So on that part alone, she could understand it, as she was certain if she ended up in a situation remotely anywhere near Zan's or even far from Zan's but it meant she was in a lot of trouble, Elliott would come to her aid if she was able to ask for it in some way, and vise versa. "Now the protectiveness part I can understand and believe" she said to Dexter.

 

[_gallifrog_]

In a classic 'speak of the devil way' no sooner had Fia mentioned the siblings than the sound of their laughter leaked onto the corridor. Up until now they'd been talking in hushed tones. Bec had known who they were before they even introduced themselves. Both Cal and Elliott had Zan's high cheekbones, a feature Bec herself hadn't inherited. She did however have the same rich brown coloured hair and turquoisey eyes as her brother. The initial introduction had been incredibly awkward, so much so that Cliff, Jay and even Cliff's boss were trying not to die of second hand embarrassment. But with that initial hurdle bypassed they slowly began to become more in tune with one another. Bec was incredibly jet-lagged and far from functioning at full capacity, letting out a number of monster yawns as they spoke. They kept their voices low out of respect for the other staff working (neither of the three wanted to cause an incident), but what she'd just told was too funny for them to just hold in the laughter, so they let it out.

John, Chas, Dan and Dexter's heads all turned towards the room. Dan who'd stayed silent ever since his impassioned talk about opera, couldn't help but smile at the sound. Things had to be going well if there was that kind of laughter emanating from the room. In his mind, if this Bec could make Cal laugh in a way he knew to convey genuine happiness then she couldn't be all that bad. "Seems like it's going well enough in there." Dexter remarked, with a look of visible relief on his face. "I have to agree, that's happy laughter from Cal." After a slight pause he added "I'm the one that took in Cal" uncertain as to whether or not Dexter knew who he was in relation to the kids. "I figured." The photographer nodded slowly, before giving his reasoning. "You speak Attili fluently and I know enough to know that she stayed on world here." His words were chosen carefully, not wanting to make any comments that could be received as racist- close-up John, Fia, Chas and Kay were very clearly not Devra and he was also uncertain as to which name to refer to Elliott by. So he avoided the issue completely by focusing on accents.

 

[MzHyde]

The moment the laughter could be heard by Elliott and Cal from inside the room, Fia and Kay also couldn't help but turn their heads and look at the door to the room it was coming from. Both had heard the siblings laugh out of genuine happiness and amusement to know that that laughter they were hearing was indeed genuine and whatever it was that was either said or done, it made them highly amused which both took as a very good sign. Both noticed the smile that crept onto Dan's face before glancing at Dexter as he spoke up and visibly sighed with relief with his words, Fia nodding her agreement. They then looked at Dan, as he spoke to Dexter more since the last little bit of talking about the opera earlier. Fia took effort to really figure out what Dexter was saying back to Dan about Cal, noticing his words being spoken with great thought being put into them so not to come across as an utter asshole. She knew from his choice of wording that the rest of them didn't even need to say that John was the one who brought up Elliott and they were from Earth, their features alone made it rather obvious that they were from anywhere but Attil, especially herself and Kay. She had gotten used to the constant looks toward them because of their hair alone, so it was beginning to be water of a duck's back now, but the careful choosing of words from Dexter was appreciated all the same.

"We don't even need to say we're off worlders, it's damn obvious" she said with a smirk to convey that she was poking fun almost at the whole conversation so Dexter didn't have to feel awkward about the whole subject. She figured if someone said something about it in a light hearted manner it wouldn't make things so awkward, whilst also acknowledging the small elephant in the room that it might have felt like at the same time. What she was always curious about but would never bring up for the sake of keeping the ruse up was what conclusions people such as Dexter would come to when it came to the relations between each of them and how they all fit with Elliott. Sure, they came up with the whole story of Fia being Kay's little sister who was being brought up by her and John for Cliff's siblings and parents, but that didn't mean she wasn't always curious what conclusions or assumptions others came up with. She would just never come out with it as she didn't want to risk anything being debunked or questioned in the process. Kay, like with most of what being said didn't understand much at all, just went along with body languages from everyone and reactions to get her ideas. This moment was no different, and she was getting to the point where she had to take up one of the seats next to them to get off her feet for a moment.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the sound of laughter john let his shoulders slump slightly in relief. If this meeting had gone badly and pushed Elliott back into a negative frame of mind again, John had no idea what he'd do. Yelling at this sister of Zan's may make him feel better, but would ultimately result in them getting kicked out of the hospital and Cliff being mortified in front of her coworkers) which normally wouldn't be a problem, John would make as much of a scene as bloody well pleased, but this wasn't earth and if they lost the ally they had in Cliff they were well and truly fucked. "Bout bloody time something went right these days." John replied, leaning back against the wall, putting one foot flat against it. He noticed that Dexter was choosing his words carefully, but it didn't register with him as to why the man felt he needed to do this until Fai made her 'we don't even need to say we're off worlders, it's damn obvious' comment.

Chas gave a slight smirk at that comment "we probably couldn't look more out of place if we tried." Dexter gave a light shrug "oh you could, believe me. If you were insectoids or a formless" he made a gestured to indicate a sort of blobby body type "they're basically a living land jellyfish, but without the massive tentacle-you would stick out massively, there's not many of those 'round these parts, the climate isn't right for 'em." Chas made a small 'huh' noise "You learn something new everyday I guess." John raised an eyebrow at the explanation, now that sounded both fascinating and hilarious in equal measure. "Now that I gotta see some time" he very nearly chuckled. "But I gotta ask, what's with the crazy hair?" The way John said crazy, it was clear it was a compliment as opposed to an insult. "Oh this" Dexter ran a hand through his locks, mussing them up further. "Started as a joke of sorts after I got out of the army. Sort of celebrating that I could actually have long hair again. It just stuck after that and became like a trademark look. Plus since I'm always wearing black, it acts as an interesting contrast aesthetically."

 

[MzHyde]

Seeing John slump back against the wall with relief at hearing Elliott and Cal laughing brought some relief to Kay, knowing that now he had can relax just the tiniest amount, enough to not be so worked up and tense. She knew as well as Chas and Fia did that he would cause a ruckus if given the opportunity and they really couldn't afford to risk that happening, especially as this was Cliff's place of work, and she really didn't want anyone to risk pissing off Cliff when she felt like she so desperately needed her during her pregnancy for the comfort of having someone in the medical field around, even if it wasn't her department. At his words, she nodded in agreement, as did Fia. It honestly had felt like nothing had gone right for them just lately, and if it could go wrong then it most probbaly has in some way, making the good moments fade out slightly and a tad difficult to truly think of and remember. Fia didn't even think when she made the remark she did that no one else would have thought of the connotations and meanings behind Dexter's original comment about everyone's ethnicity and where they came from as to her it seemed so obvious, but maybe that because she really read into what people say (which was always why she really got hurt by Rinaa's words when they butted heads).

At Chas' chuckle at her remark and his own little addition, she couldn't help but smile slightly at it, nodding in agreement, thinking his words were accurate at this moment in time. So when Dexter shrugged and corrected him on his comment, saying that they were far from the strangest looking people and most out of place looking people on Attil, she couldn't resist raising her eyebrow ever so slightly as she heard Dexter's reasons for his remark. The idea that were 'land jellyfish' in existance was quite frankly one of the strangest things she had ever heard and for a while did think the man was having them all on, was going to burst out laughing and go 'you should see your faces! I'm pulling ya legs', but he didn't and it was extremely clear that he really was dead pan serious over it. John wasn't the only one thinking he really had to see that at some point for himself, she was also, "you're not the only one" she told John. Neither her or Kay had for one moment thought about Dexter's hair colouring, just thought it was cool and that was that. Fia put more thought into it to that extent, only becuase it was interesting and it'd be an cool idea to try out with her appearance changing rune, but those thoughts had all quickly dissapeared as the talking went on earlier. So it didn;t occur to her that John or any of the rest of them would have been putting any kind of thought into Dexter's hair to the point it would be asked about. "Well whatever the reason, it's a cool colour combo" she spoke up. It was incredibly different, as she had known of people who would go either blonde or silver, but not both and for some reason in her head it really shouldn't have worked, but it was for this guy, and like he said it really did stand out against his black clothing. Yet she too figured people were always taking a second glance at her and her mother for their hair, probably thought a similar thing or thought it was a dye job when it truly wasn't.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Most of John's reasons for asking were related to his own vanity. If he did go grey at some point in the future, he wanted to make sure he'd look damn good with grey hair and not be the but of a whole heap of 'old man' jokes either from his friends or, horror of all horrors, for the League of Super-idiots to use it as an excuse to take the piss out of him even more. John had seen a lot of bad blond dye jobs in his time, and a fair few people whose hair had turned silver because they'd used the wrong type of hair dye and then went swimming in chlorinated water. Dexter's hair however, even in it's current state of disarray gave him a certain air and John figured he could pull off a similar dye job. Had it been anybody else using the term 'interesting contrast aesthetically' John would have snorted loudly and called them a pretentious prat, but this guy was a photographer, so John could let it slide. He wasn't surprised that the first thing Dexter had done upon leaving the army was dye his hair and grow it out, Cal, Cliff and Jay had mentioned that it was a tradition of sorts, as well as an unofficial sign of rank. Cadets chose to have short hair as it made their lives much easier during training and growing their hair out was a way of showing that they'd graduated from basic training.

Dexter gave a smile followed by a nod of thanks at the compliment. He was used to comments on his hair, it was an ice-breaker of sorts and put the people he was photographing at ease. But today his day had turned so spectacularly shit that this one positive compliment from a teenager who barely knew was enough to lift his mood significantly. The group fell silent again, only for it to be broken by Dexter yawning loudly. He cast a somewhat annoyed glance at the door of Zan's room. "As important and significant as the meeting going on in there is, I wish they'd hurry it the hell along. I'll fall asleep if I don't get coffee soon and there's no way I'm settling for hospital sludge after smelling the contents of that flask."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just couldn't imagine John going grey for some reason. The idea of her father looking anything other what he did now or I'm her timeline, which wasn't much different, just a little older but still very much blonde. Just as her mother wasn't much different, apart from having the signs of being older, her hair was still the iconic ombre hair, which some of them saw for themselves that one time. She presumed because of her bloodline she would grow old the same way, but it was something she didn't want to think about anytime soon. Her thoughts didn't go into it too much as Dexter gave his nod of thanks and thanks to her compliment, to which she just gave him a nod back as if to say 'you're welcome'. She couldn't tell if he was being polite by giving her the smile with the thanks or if he was genuinely felt lifted by it or not. Either way she meant what she said and she wouldn't take it back.

During the silence she gave a brief look toward Kay to see if she was alright, knowing that out all of them it was Dan and Kay were the most silent for different reasons, but silent none the less. Kay gave her the reassuring smile and nod to say 'I'm fine Fia' which seemed to satisfy her as she turned back and found herself just glancing around randomly, wondering what or who was going to speak again. In the end it was Dexter again and what he said felt like such a typical comment that wouldn't have gone amiss from either of her parents in her mind, and did make her smirk and snigger slightly. "sounds like her" she said, pointing at Kay, deciding that 'her' was the best choice of wording as she didn't want to risk saying 'my mum'. "well, when she wasn't pregnant anyway" she added. Kay just rolled her eyes at Fia, knowing whatever she said about her, it was quite possibly some smart ass remark.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John never would go grey, he never figured out why exactly it was, Chas did go grey, as did a whole pile of people he'd grown up with, not to mention his sister (but she opted to dye her hair to disguise the fact). The main theory chucked around was that it was something to do with John's demons blood. Demons aged in a completely different way to humans, with lifespans of hundreds of thousands of years, so maybe there was some biological thing in the blood preventing him from ageing like a 'normal' human would. Whatever the reason, John was bloody grateful for it as he kept his iconic look and he didn't suffer from aches and pains of ageing either.

John had to hold back a laugh at Dexter's frustrated comment, it sounded like a far politer version of what he was thinking. He knew it was important for both Cal and Elliott that they had this moment, and while talking to Dexter had been enlightening, John had still been keeping one eye on the door, not altogether comfortable with Elliott being let out of his sight. "Yer not the only one thinkin' that- on either count." John agreed, resisting the urge to run his hand through his hair. There was some light smirking at Fia's remark, Dan didn't know whether it was true or not, he had no knowledge of what Kay had been like before she was pregnant, but he did know who Fia really was and could conceded that she would know Kay best out of all of them, despite their rocky relationship in the future as she'd known the woman the longest. The remark was funny regardless.

Dexter gave a nod in response, deciding not to tell an anecdote about when Mara was pregnant with Cal or Elliott. He knew that none of them had ever met the woman, (except maybe Dan) and the loss was still too raw, he suspected he wouldn't make it through without bursting into tears. Thankfully he was prevented from having to actually say something by the door of the room opening and Elliott sticking his head out. "Hey, you're all going to have cram in here in a moment, there's something you lot need to see." He then turned to look at Dexter, his eyes widening in recognition. "You're the Dexter Lough'Ley, right?" he asked in a tone that made it quite clear he would be freaking out fanboy style if it wasn't for the serious of the situation. "You know my work?" Dexter couldn't help but ask curiously. "I was aware of it as a kid, how could I not be given that there were a number of prints of your work hanging in the house. But since I got back to Attil and started getting a better interest in the art form..." Elliott gave a shrug and a somewhat sheepish 'I know this isn't the time nor the place, but I'm saying it anyway' kind of grin"yeah, I know your work."

 

[MzHyde]

At the looks of light smirking at Fia's comment, she looked quite proud of herself, especially as it had gotten an eye roll from her mother. She also could tell that John wasn't comfortable with not being able to see Elliott, no matter how important it was for his adoptive son and her half brother to see his aunt for the first time with his sister. She also knew deep down that no one could really know what Kay was like pore pregnancy, like she could, but the fact it still brought light smirks was enough for her. Even if it wasn't true, she still would have made some smart ass comment about either Kay or John in response to what Dexter said, but she figured she had chosen John to make digs at a few times during this trip, and thought that it'd make a change to pick on Kay instead. Shw figured the only ones who would have maybe had an inkling on what her mother was like without coffee when fatigued, it would be John and Chas possibly as she knew John knew what a bad morning person Kay was currently. Yet she also was glad that she managed to word it in such a way that kept it pretty open to interpretation, as she knew even though Dan knew who she really was, Dexter most certainly didn't.

As the door opened and Elliott's head poked out, both her and Kay looked up and raised their eyebrows when he said about they needing all to cram inside. They were about to ask him what it was they needed to go inside and see when Elliott clearly was trying to not have a full blown fanboy moment in public at who Dexter was. neither even thought for a second that Elliott would know who he was, even after Dexter said who he was, and hinted at how big his status in the photography world was by the kinds of places he could sneak people into. "Maybe we should see what we need to see before Ell has a full blown fan boy meltdown" FIa teased in her suggestion, as she outstretched her arm to offer her hand to Kay, to help her stand up from the chair she wassat on, an offer that Kay very much apreciated and took, taking Fia's hand and using it to help herself stand up, even though it wasn't strictly neccessary, but as the offer was made, she was going to take it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At the sound of the door opening, John's head snapped up so quickly he could hear the bones of his neck click loudly. He looked Elliott up and down, trying to read from his adoptive son's body language any clues about how the meeting had gone. Elliott looked fine physically, the same, or if John was taking an optimistic outlook, somewhat better than when he'd went into the room. He'd lost the 'I'm shitting myself with nerves' look and the way he was leaning against the door suggested relief, not tiredness. John raised one eyebrow when Elliott issued what could only be described as a summons and another eyebrow at the expression Elliott's face adopted when he properly capped eyes on Dexter. If John had a third eyebrow it would have raised right up his forehead when without any introduction Elliott was able to name the man and know he was a photographer. Had Dexter not asked how he knew, John damn well would have. The answer made sense, John was aware there had been black and white prints in Zan's actual apartment, but hadn't spent that much effort examining them. It also confirmed Dexter's story in a roundabout way if Elliott could remember growing up with prints of Dexter's work around the house.

Elliott straight up rolled his eyes at Fia's fanboy comment. Sure he was freaking out, but he felt completely justified in it. Ever since that time at Cliff's family's place where John had rallied everybody to drill it into Elliott's head that he did actually possess some talent with a camera, Elliott had been unable to let the thought go. He'd done a fair bit of research into Attili photographers (it was an excellent distraction from fretting about the trial) and had rediscovered Dexter and his work in the process and had been blown away by it. The man had a real flair for black and white composition, but it was his people shots that truly stunned Elliott. The man had a way of capturing not just the visible beauty of a person, but something of their essence too. Elliott's main use of photography up until now had been spur of the moment shots of interesting people (some of which he was secretly very proud of) but Dexter's were in a whole different league. "Look at the guy's work first, then tell me not to be freaking out about it." Elliott told Fia, a slight teasing edge in his voice, before moving out of the way to let them all in.

Fitting all of them in the room was a squeeze, a significant chunk of the room was taken up with the bed and the various medical monitoring equipment keeping an eye on as many aspects of Zan current condition as possible. One corner of the room had been used as a bag drop off point. Some had traveller tags on them, while the others were clearly Dexter's equipment bags. "I'll stay out on the corridor, make sure nobody barges in on you." "Thanks boss." Cliff replied with a smile, to which her boss gave a weary nod. "Officially I should tell you not to do anything illegal in here, but unofficially and in accordance with my own personal ethical and moral principles? Those bastards in government deserve it. Give them hell." The last part was directed at somebody who could only be Bec, who nodded determinedly. "Believe me, I'm going to make them pay for ruining his life." The woman was surprisingly short, Cal, Elliott and Zan were all taller than average, both by Devra and human standards, but Bec was a good head shorter than her brother. Her hair was the same as Zan's natural colour- a rich brown, with slightly auburn colour at the tips- and tied back in a spectacularly messy ponytail. Her eyes were a piercing turquoisey colour and while she didn't have the high cheekbones, the set of the jaw was identical, as was the shape of her nose. Her body was tired, but her eyes were sharp, and angry. They had a fire and a fury in them, the intensity same they'd seen in Zan's when he'd lost it at John for accusing him of conspiring with Dexter to traumatise an underage candidate during recruitment. Resting on the end of Zan's bed was what John assumed to be the reason they were all called in, a heavy duty laptop, connected to Zan's phone, the screen shoving reams of files, folders and an upload status bar.