Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

As bad and as shocking as the update has been, it allowed Elliott's mind to relax slightly and focus on the outing planned. Ever since he'd woken up the time he hadn't spent spacing out imagining himself in Zan's position, he'd looking his phone, as if by staring at it hard enough he could will into existence an update from the blacksite. It didn't matter how many times Jay told him that all non-emergency communication in and out was carefully monitored and Dexter/Bec would only be given a small communication window each day and their window could be in the evening, it didn't stop him from staring at his phone, willing it to ring. With his more renewed focus now on the people in the apartment he noticed that the bag Kay had slung over her shoulder contained art supplies. Doing some pencil sketches of his own sounded like a pretty good way to try to relax (the others may have persuaded him to take a more serious look at developing his photography skills, but Elliott really didn't think there was anything in the arboretum he could photograph that hadn't been done to death by every other visitor). Pencil sketching was his first great art love and he'd done so little of it recently, devoting most of his efforts to working with paints, pastels and the odd blendable colouring pencil on the belated wedding present art for Cal and Cliff.

While he gathered up his art supplies, the others collected up what they wanted to bring for the day. A deck of cards was grabbed on a whim along with a random assortment of food- nobody really knew what they'd be craving when their appetite returned, so Cal and Cliff tried to cover as many bases as possible. Whether or not to bring the instruments along was heavily debated, ending with both guitars being left behind. John refused to bring his his on the grounds that playing outdoors in such a setting would make him look like 'some kind of flower-fucking tree-hugging hippy' (a remark which had Elliott snorting with laughter and Chas desperately trying to keep a fit of giggles in). Jay decided against bringing her brother's guitar, claiming she wanted to prevent it from being marked by the ink and pencil smidges that would inevitably end up all over Elliott's hands. (Though Elliott suspected this reason wasn't the whole truth and that Jay's reluctance to bring it was to do with the fact that when she'd been around it had mainly been Rinaa who used the instrument). There was however a large number of books being taken, including a massive tome by Jay, almost half as thick as it was tall, which John was convinced could also double up as a murder weapon to bludgeon somebody to death with.

With everything gathered the final thing to do was to finish disguise Elliott. The eyes were easy, at some point in the past week or so Elliott's eyes had switched permanently back to their natural gold colour, no trace of the pale, sky blue he wore on Earth. Chas took it as a positive sign, as Elliott coming more to terms with his Attilian heritage and feeling more comfortable displaying it so visibly around his new extended family and he hoped that this would continue when they were back on Earth with Elliott choosing to display the gold eyes in private. The distinctive scar was carefully covered up with some kind of foundation and a promised, with the help of some other make-up products Elliott couldn't name, changed the shape of his cheekbones. The effect was extremely disconcerting- all resemblance to Zan (and by extent to Cal) simply vanished- and Elliott wasn't the only one doing a double take at the reflection. Jay took advantage of his distraction to win the 'wig or no wig' debate by pulling out a wig from a box and put it on him. For the fun of it she chose a messy blond wig in a shade not entirely dissimilar to John's hair (and the one blond streak in Fia's hair), but a longer length than John's.

 

[MzHyde]

With Elliott deciding that Kay's idea of sketching whilst at their chosen destination for a day out, Kay let him know what she already had packed so if he didn't want to duplicate anything and they shared the supplies to make it less stuff to bring, he could. She figured they'd end up sitting close enough together to borrow supplies off each other anyway, so in her mind it seemed logical to take what they needed but with no unnecessary duplicating of supplies. Especially as it turned out as both of them liked using the same mediums for drawing and sketching for the most part. Fia couldn't help but smile to herself at the two artistic people in her life talking art and such as it felt so familiar to her from her timeline. Fia also helped here and there packing some things into bags like the food choices to take and such, so she felt of use and not just standing around completely useless or being in the way.

When it came to the instrument discussion, Fia was partly sad that no one else wanted to bring anything, even if John's reasoning did make her laugh quite a lot to the point she hiccuped mid-laugh, much to the great amusement of Kay as she had never noticed Fia hiccup in her laughing fits before now. Jay's reasoning not to bring it was completely valid and was the reason that actually stopped rhe laughing fit of Fia's. However that didn't stop her from deciding her violin was going with her, 'where I go, the violin goes, just like mum and her sketching pad' was her excuse when it came to more relaxed days. She just knew that deep down the place they were going could possibly inspire her and help her finish a piece she had in her head but couldn't quite get it complete. There was also just something about playing the instrument outside, where she could truly let go and be herself unashamedly. Kay secretly thought to herself that if she saw Fia truly playing and dancing, it would no doubt spur some creative ideas for drawing.

During Elliott's disguise makeover, Fia being Fia couldn't help but watch with great intrigue like she did before, finding it so bizarre but fascinating that he could look so different with just a bit of makeup. When Jay managed to get the wig on him during his lapse of distraction Elliott too was having, she couldn't help but feel weirded out seeing him with blonde hair so similar to her natural blonde streaks and their father's hair. She was always so used to seeing him with his iconic black and dyed tips hair that seeing him with blonde hair was a lot to get used to. Kay also for a brief moment felt taken aback seeing Elliott with blonde hair not that different from John's hair. "well you're definitely not gonna be recognised" Kay couldn't help but remark. "I'd say if it wasn't for the golden eyes, we'd look even more related" Fia agreed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When the blond wig went on, John's jaw dropped for the second time that morning. Startling didn't even begin to describe Elliott's changed look. By making Elliott's cheekbones appear lower, Jay's make-up gave the illusion that Elliott's jaw was squarer than it was. This, combined with the messy blond wig, and John was looking pointedly at Chas, seeking confirmation that he wasn't the only one who found Elliott's face to be an almost dead ringer for John's at that age (the highest days of John's punk career, the time just before the Newcastle distaste that had torn his life apart and brought him so low that the only way out he could conceive of was suicide). Chas gave a single stunned nod in return, the eyes were different, but the rest of the face was incredibly evocative of a younger John. "Aside from the eyes... Ell... you really look damn like John did at that age- minus the punk spikes and eye make-up." Chas told him, nodding in agreement with Fia and Kay's words.

"Bloody Hells." John looked Elliott over again, still stunned at the transformation. It wasn't an exact match, but it would more than fool a casual observer. "Chas is damn right could pass off as a younger me, as is Fia, you look like you're family by blood to me" that particular line of thought didn't sit entirely well with John, he'd never given much thought to having kids, but the few vague times his mind had wandered down that route, the image his mind had conjured up of what his son might look like... well it was almost identical to how Elliott looked now. "Hells, you could probably even pass off as my brother." The words were out of John's mouth before he even realised the depth of what he was saying. Chas' reaction was once again to be stunned into silence. There were no photos of John's twin brother, no images to base guesses on what the child unborn John had strangled in the womb could have grown up to look like, but privately, John liked to imagine the twin was an identical one. Maybe if his twin had lived he might have at some point looked like Elliott did now?

Elliott gave a half-smirk, half-smile and adjusted the wig in the mirror, peering in earnest at his transformed reflection. He wasn't offended by John's 'family by blood comment', knowing it wasn't meant as a slur against him for being adopted, merely an observation delivered in John's typically blunt way. "You did this deliberately didn't you?" he aimed the direction at jay who nodded, twirling the make-up brush between her fingers in the way she usually did with a knife. "Yeah, I did" she replied, a proud smile spreading on her face. "Seems it worked then, and got more than the intended reaction." "That it did. Certainly makes a change from using this stuff to hide injuries, or to disguise somebody whose job went so badly wrong that their photos are being circulated with a capture-kill order and bounty attached, or the worst horror of them all, being forced to do up my brother when he went out with the intention of getting laid."

 

[MzHyde]

John's and Chas' reactions to Elliott's transformation was highly noticble by both Kay and Fia which it would have been to everyone in the room, but those two particularly noticed it and the fact John reacted the way he did in particular was seeming to be more promiment to both of them than anyone else. The fact that even the two men were agreeing with them both said a lot, and Kay had to admit that if how Elliott looked right now was how John looked at that age, if she had known him back then she still would have double took a glance for him and no doubt would have approached him even back then. or even more accurately Sam would have insisted she approach John. Which in a way was of a great relief to her as it told her that her feelings for John were indeed true. Even if it was proven in the most weird and awkward way imaginable. Hearing John however say that Elliott could have passed as his brother also shocked Fia and Kay as neither thought that would come out of the man's mouth ever. Seeing Chas just as stunned into silence as they were meant that their shock was very much valid. Kay also knew that John never thought about kids being a viable option for him, hell it wasn't for her until Fia was conceived and making them both realise a massive change in reality for them both was happening.

Kay still couldn't help going back in her mind to her hopes that John would never regret having Fia even if she wasn't planned by either of them, just like it seemed to be the case in Fia's case where she was incredibly close to her father, hinting that there was definitely no regret. Yet they both also kenw John well enough to know that everything he told his adopted son, it was purely out of admiration at both how different and good Elliott looked, which in turn meant it was admiration to Jay's expert work. Both women saw the proud look on Jay's face when Elliott guessed correctly that that was precisely the reason for her choices. They listened to the chatter between the two of them, unable to not smile at listening to them. The mention of Jay being made to put this skill of hers to use in making her brother at the time more attractive so he could laid brought a smirk and snigger out of the two of them. "Well no one can question your skills that's for sure!" Fia smirked to Jay.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The mock shudder of horror Jay gave when quipping about how she used to do her brother's make-up on a night out elicited a round of smirks from the room, particularly from John and Elliott, both of whom could tell there was a great story to this. Jay's expression grew slightly prouder at Fia's praise, not going as far as to visibly preen under it, but the teenager's words clearly meant something to her. "So how'd that come about them, you helpin' him get laid?" John asked curiously as Jay began packing away the make-up supplies. "My brother had many talents, applying make-up on himself- or anybody else for that matter- was NOT one of them." Elliott couldn't help but give a slight chuckle at that, he may not know much about Jay's brother, but people failing at applying make-up was always funny.

"It's not like he even NEEDED the make-up, that was just my brother being an asshole and trying to annoy me by forcing me to help him" Jay rolled her eyes fondly. "Usually some form of sibling blackmail, you know how it is- do this for me now and I'll owe you one later." "Oh yeah, I know the type." John nodded. "Me sister was like that, Hells what am I saying? She still is when she's feeling stubborn." "That logic applies to almost ALL my siblings, except Nat, he's the one you ask, not the one doing the asking." Cliff added with a slight smile, the thought of her siblings, lifting her depressive mood slightly. "Anyway, my brother had the looks, the confidence, the silver tongue and more than enough roguish charm to successfully seduce pretty much any guy or girl. A serial flirter when he wanted to be." She shook her head in fond exasperation. This side of her brother annoyed the heck out of her, but she wouldn't have changed it for the world, he was who he was and she loved Jack for that. "No prizes for guessing which one of us was the bad-cop when we needed to do the good-cop/bad-cop routine for information."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia could see just how much her praise meant to Jay, even though she only showed it a little bit, she knew her well enough from her timeline to know when something really did mean a great deal to the woman and when something didn't mean a lot, but she feigned the gratitude anyway. This was definitely a moment of the former rather than the latter which made Fia just give the woman her usual kind 'i mean every word' smiles that was common for her and had given Rinaa a few times when they actually got on, particularly during her sneaking away and helping with the heist moment. She and Kay both listened as John beat them both to the punch when it came to asking for the story behind helping her brother get laid by applying his makeup for him. Elliott wasn't the only one who gave a small chuckle at Jay's starting remark as her reply, finding that just the way Jay said it was amusing enough. As the story unfolded Kay nodded her agreement on the next state, knowing the type all too well. Sam was very much like it, just as Cliff's siblings were to her and Cheryl was to John. "Sam is the same" she added just before Jay continued her story telling as she packed away the makeup supplies.

Kay and Fia both knew that if Jay's looks were anything to go by then it was more than believable that her brother wouldn't ever need makeup but used it anyway just because he quite frankly could. Hearing he was a serial flirt made them both smirk at the mental image of it all, easily being able to imagine it even though neither ever knew her brother for obvious reasons. Despite the head shaking, they could see it was meant incredibly fondly and both knew how much she still loved her brother even though he wasn't around anymore, both knowing that kind of tight bond just doesn't disappear because one sibling isn't around. Kay missed Sam greatly even though she was the one having the done disappearing act, but she knew it was for Sam's protection more than anything, and in Fia's case she knew she would be absolutely devastated if she ever lost Elliott, especially now she knows that she was the favourite in at least one timeline. The last line made Fia chuckle slightly, "You the bad cop, he the good and sometimes possibly flirtatious one?" she took a wild educated guess. After seeing the whole other side to Jay in Rinaa's timeline, she knew well enough that Jay was more than capable of being the bad cop compared to whoever she worked with, an idea and knowledge that quite frankly terrified her deep inside.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Like Kay and Fia, Elliott could easily believe Jay when she said her brother was naturally good looking. It was obvious from the few photos Jay had felt comfortable enough to share with them that Jack and Jay were identical twins- sharing the same blue hair, liquid silver eyes, facial structure and athletic build. Even their smirks were the same (if the photos were to anything to go by). In fact, the first time Elliott had seen a photo Jay's twin he'd had the realisation that all the physical features he found attractive in Jay, he also found attractive in her brother. So when he nodded along with Jay's explanation of his charmer personality he was in effect admitting 'yeah that would have worked on me'. This sentiment was only further cemented when Jay described Jack as 'a serial flirter when he wanted to be'. Elliott was faced with the quite uncomfortable realisation that if it had been Jack who'd crash landed on Earth and not Jay, the first meeting would not have ended with them trying to kill each other and he'd have made another move on the Isogrii a Hells of a lot faster. Elliott tried not to let any of this thought pattern show on his face (Jack was dead after all and Jay still grieving. Surely his current line of thoughts were crossing the border into necrophilia!), grateful for the fact that Jay was looking at the others, and not at him while she spoke.

John couldn't resist adding his own quip in response to Fia's educated guess. "Him as the good using flirting as an interrogation tool, you as the bad cop terrifying the utter shit out of whatever poor bugger you wanted answers from with threats and/or acts of violence?" Jay gave a smirk, slinging her backpack onto her shoulders as she answered. "Something like both your answers, yeah. He was played the role of the outgoing, diplomatic one, the twin you could reason with. I was the quieter, violent one, who made the threats and always carried them out- the one you couldn't reason with no matter what you tried. That doesn't mean he couldn't perform the role of the scary twin, make no mistake" for a brief moment her tone dipped lower, into a much more threatening register, not entirely dissimilar to the one the Jay in Rinaa's timeline used when threatening Fia. She clearly didn't want any of them to get the idea that her brother had been 'softer' than her in any way. "He was MORE than capable of that and we did swap roles on a couple of occasions, mainly when dealing with more patriarchal, misogynistic societies."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia had grabbed her bag that was now her violin carrier, which she also used to put a couple of basic things inside, namely was usually her knives but since being on Attil, she had them kept stashed away in the room she was borrowing whilst staying here, instead her bag had her usual stash of snacks that she had gotten Rinaa to get her that time she needed the airhorn to prank John. It surprised her that she still had anything left over but she knew it would no doubt be all eaten during their little day out, and if not by her then probably one of the others who would nick some of her candy snacks just because they could. by others she most definitely thought of John and Elliott. She was still listening to Jay speak as she did so, knowing she ought to grab her bag before she ended up leaving without it and then regretting not having what she now dubbed as her 'precious child' on her. The fact that even John came to the same educated guess as herself told her a lot by a) how clear it was to guess from what they knew of Jay and b) how alike they both thought.

With Jay's reply and further explanation of the way it was always done, Fia nodded in belief of what she was saying as she knew more than anyone what kind of scary persona Jay could put on when it came to threatening people. She guessed that if anyone sort of ever saw that side of Jay it would possibly be Elliott but she couldn't say for sure in this current moment in time. In her timeline she may have had a better guess but in this timeline she really couldn't say for sure. "The nice ones always seem to have a darker streak in them, it's just whether the friends or aquaintances ever see it or not" Kay commented, almost not wanting to say it in a way as when the words left her mouth, she remembered how angry and ready for fighting Fia had gotten on a couple of occasions when they were around her. She remembered thinking as did John that if Fia didn't calm down she could have set down the unsteady road of the alternate Fia of Rinaa's timeline at Zan, or even toward Rinaa, or more precisely Sykes. Luckily for them, Fia had more control on her anger and emotions than the kid most definitely thought she did. Fia, for as observant she was, didn't twig that Kay's comment could have been linked to her, and took it as a general statement but she did wonder just briefly if her mother had ever come across someone who fit the bill to have known or thought of such a statement.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Like Fia in that moment, John didn't link Kay's words to the teenager, instead his thoughts were on people from his past who'd seemed genuine or nice at first glance, but in reality had just as much darkness in them as he did. It was why he found it easier to deal with those who were morally grey or morally dark- they were at least consistent. The so-called 'good guys' like the heroes of the main Justice League (bar Batman, his darkness was very much, visible, even to the other League members), they were much more tricky as in John's experience you could never tell when they'd let their darkness replace the righteous anger. Jay gave a sort of nod at Kay's words as they began to leave the apartment. "That's one way of putting it." "What's the other?" Cal asked as she locked up. "Everybody's got darkness in them, it's just that the 'good' and the 'nice' ones are better at hiding and suppressing it." Jay replied with a shrug and some carefully placed airquotes as they began to make their way downstairs.

On the ground floor Cal briefly pondered stopping by the pigeon hole to see if there was any mail, only for Cliff to say (with surprising energy) "oh FUCK the post, it can wait." Out of the two women, Cal was by far the one the one who swore more often- she blamed it on the hot-headedness that came with being a strong pyrokinetic- while Cliff tended to remain level headed and cool, the emotional embodiment of ice. But the doctor could (literally) swear like a sailor- a hangover from those times in her childhood spent labouring over a never ending catch of fish or being out on the fishing boat in horrifically stormy seas, battling to keep the trawler from capsizing. "Well when you put it so eloquently, how could I possibly refuse?" Cal smirked fondly, wrapping an arm around her wife.

Getting to the arboretum was a more complicated route than getting to the main city, there was no direct connection between the military base and the arboretum unless you fancied hiking up and over the mountain range. Instead they had to walk to the other side of the military base, passing by the forge as they did so. The smoke coming out of the chimney and the sounds of metal hitting metal told them that other Simeon's command everything was in full swing. For a change they took the bus, size-wise there wasn't much difference between it and an Earth bus, but it was cleaner and as John couldn't help but remark 'the seats were in much better nick and actually had a proper, comfortable stuffin' in them'. The journey took about forty minutes and they were dropped right on the outskirts of the arboretum by a large bank of different blue-leafed trees- these ones were significantly taller with slender needle-like leaves.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew in that moment that no one thought for a moment she was implying it to even Fia, which when she started saying it, wasn't her intention in the slightest, it was only after her memory kicked in and made her internally cringe and feel bad for saying what she did. Yet luckily no one's minds went the same route as hers and she didn't have to apologise for putting her foot utterly in it accidentally. She also knew from what Rinaa said of her timeline, that her statement could easily apply to herself and if she really thought about her own past, it was accurate to herself. She did have past actions she wasn't proud of but it was all out of utter survival, whether it be how she reacted to surviving the forced therapy onto her and how her therapistv utterly abused his power over her as a minor, or when she was out to survive demons chasing her. As Jay sort of agreed with her, only for Cal to ask for the other way of looking at it, Kay had to nod her agreement, no matter how much she wanted to shake her head in disagreement, she knew she couldn't as it was true. Whether someone hid it well or just didn't know what or how much darkness was inside them until it rises to the surface, it was true that it was there in everyone. It was how someone used that darkness or expressed that was the question.

She walked out of the apartment and down with everyone else before smirking at hearing Cliff actually swear over something. She could tell the woman clearly had the ability to not be so proper around people, she just had that aura about her, Needless to say though Kay still found it amusing when she heard an f-bomb escape Cliff's mouth. Cal's response to her, just made it all the more amusing.

Passing by the forge both Kay and Fia weren't surprised to see the smoke coming out of the chimney, indicating that Simon was already hard at work. On the bus Kay made sure to sit down to be off her feet and yet again seeing just how different people's attitudes were here than on Earth, anywhere in the world. As it always was, no matter the mode of transport, it was a pleasant surprise that she was very grateful for. At John's remark, she nodded in agreement firmly as she too noticed it and it was even more true when comparing it to the cold plastic non padded seats on Seattle's buses. If there was anything she did not miss about her adopted home city, it was the bus journeys. The cold hard plastic mostly dark orange seating was something that she always swore if she ever got back on one of those it would be far too soon. She considered John lucky for not experiencing the buses when she took him to her neck of those city.

At the arboretum she looked aroind and sighed as she took in the fresh air and the colours of the nature around her. She knew instantly that this place was going to be perfect for sketching landscapes in and actually couldn't wait to get started. "this place is actually beautiful" she commented.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Neither Elliott nor Chas could refrain from rolling their eyes at John's comment about the bus seats. While his words might have sounded like praise to the uninitiated, both knew that the John wasn't praising the condition of Attil's buses, he was slamming the state of London's. John's hatred of public transport was something they knew all too well- out of all the elements of the normal, non-magical part of his life the public transport system of London (or wherever he happened to be at the time) was the one John complained about the most. Anytime he was forced to catch a bus, or worse, the underground and he'd be guaranteed to spend the bones of at least and hour complaining at whichever of the two was nearest to him about his experience. It was this hatred of London's public transport system that had lead to John taking complete and utter advantage of Chas' cab to the point where Renee had started complaining that if John was going to treat her husband like he was a personal chauffeur then John should, at the very bloody least, pay a hell of a lot more than the standard cab rate.

Hopping off the bus John couldn't help but smirk at the sight of more blue trees. Just like the first time he saw one he had the urge to reach out and poke it to prove it was actually real, but he resisted the urge by shoving his hands into his trench coat pockets instead. Cal gave a smile at Kay's words "that it is" she nodded as the group began walking forwards along the path "but you haven't seen the real beauty of it yet- this is only the very outer boundary. Wait til you see the park itself, that will take your breath away." The blue conifer forest had been planted so it ran around the edge of the whole arboretum acting as a boundary wall. Walking through the forest took a little under ten minutes, but it was an easy walk- the terrain was flat and the path's surface smooth and well maintained. The tall trees also acted as a sound-absorber, the sound of traffic on the bypass road quickly faded away, replaced by the sound of rustling trees and faint alien birdsong.

The path opened out to reveal a jaw dropping view across a section of the arboretum (the whole thing extended far beyond what their eyes could see). Stretched out in front of them was a visual feast of trees, shrubs, flowering plants and bushes, all in colours ranging from the typical plant greens to blues to vivid oranges and reddish-brown tones of bark and branches. The arboretum was a mixture of landscapes- forest trails, areas of low shrubs, grassy open spaces, areas where wildflowers had been left to grow as they please, areas where the flowers had been meticulously maintained and cared for. Just like an arboretum of Earth the trees, flowers and shrub-plants from one particular region had been planted together. In the near distance was a large lake and the river that fed it could be seen winding off into the distance. There were plenty of people around- most walking leisurely along the paths occasionally stopping to peer closer at something particularly captivating. Others were sitting and eating on benches while appreciating the sights. In the distance on one of the open fields was a group of studenty-types, playing some kind of ball sport.

 

[MzHyde]

John's smirk didn't go unnoticed by Kay when John looked and saw the blue trees which made her smirk slightly, remembering how he reacted when they had that normal date day out together. Seeing him refrain from touching them in front of everyone by shoving his hands in his trenchcoat pockets just made her smirk all the more to herself but refrained from chuckling fondly, no matter how much she wanted to. She instead, glanced at Cal as she responded to her comment about how beautiful the place was proving to be, now feeling all the more excited to see what this palce had in store for them all. The ten minute walk was very much welcomed to both Fia and Kay, despite Kay usually tiring easily on walks and Fia was still slightly tired from the night's escapade that none of them knew about. Which still surprised Fia in some ways as she was so used to her family always seeming to know when she snuck out, no matter the hour, though she was glad it surprised her. Both became hyper aware of how quickly the main traffic sounds disappear and were replaced with faint birdsong of varying kinds which seemed to naturally relax both Kay and Fia instantly.

When the path opened out and showed the full view of the arboretum, revealing lush colours and nature all around them, both women couldn't stop the small gasp of amazement escaping their lips as their jaws did indeed drop. The colours were breath-taking, making Kay wanting to draw them to try and recreate them as best she could, not to mention photograph them on her phone so she could always have the images on her at all times for inspiration. It honestly felt like to her like they had just stepped into a priceless oil painting or something similar, her artist brain exploding at what she was experiencing. Looking around, they both saw the lake in the near distance and Fia just wanted to be that kid again and run over to it to put her figners in the water, but she refrained from doing so, at least for the time being. Fia also couldn't stop the smile from being broadly painted across her face as she took in the sight before her. "Cal you were totally under selling this place! This is amazing!" She remarked. "She's right, this is....wow. I don't think I have words to describe it" Kay agreed straight after. "Guess we should find somewhere to congregate!" Fia smiled, looking around trying to find a space where they could all sit and hang together without encroaching on any other group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas' jaw also dropped slightly at the sight spread out below him, briefly stunned wordless by the beautiful sight below him. There were green spaces (small parks and the like) in the main city centre and the occasional green spot of a balcony garden in the military base town, but nothing remotely close in magnitude or in colour to the scene in front of him now. He couldn't help but turn slowly in a circle to take in the entirety of the view. "Oh wow!" he gasped in an awed tone"look at all this. It's.... it's...... incredible! I would never have imagined there was somewhere like this so near the city." John and Jay's reactions were more subdued than the others, neither saying anything, just taking it in. (John wasn't the type to usually verbally gush over nature while Jay always preferred to do her initial appreciation of a landscape in contemplative silence).

Even though Elliott had seen it all before, he was also taken aback by the beauty of the arboretum, an expression of awed wonder coming over his face. One look was enough to tell him that nothing had changed since he'd last visited. For a few moments he felt like he was eleven years old again, visiting the arboretum with his school or his parents, with no thoughts on his mind other than to first run down the hill as fast as possible while letting out a joyous whoop and second to spend as much of the day as possible exploring the place. He couldn't help but smile at the mental image- him with short hair and trousers, racing along after his sister (her four additional years meant she was always the faster runner, but Elliott as the younger sibling never stopped trying to beat her) while his parents watched on with fond smiles, keeping any thoughts of 'be careful for gods' sake' to themselves, instead calling out 'have fun'. It was a callback to a much simpler time, a time where, although things hadn't been perfect (Zan's attitude towards magic), they'd been good and for the most part, they'd been happy. He'd been happy. That thought sent a pang of sadness through him, he could never return, never go back to being that innocent kid again, too much had happened and he had too many scars, both mental and physical. The only hope he had was to move forwards as the person he was now, get the closure he so desperately needed and maybe, in time rebuild some kind of life on Attil.

While Elliott's thoughts turned to melancholy views of the past and the future, there was a broad smile on his sister's face. She wasn't even bothering to hide the 'I told you so' expression written all over her face. "I had a similar expression when I first came here." Cliff remarked with a fond smile. "I didn't." Dan replied and when the others turned to look at him in utter shock he gave an amused chuckle, then added the punchline "I first came here at night. The views of the star sky are unbelievably beautiful. I was more stunned and awed than any of you are now." "Bold claim" Cal smirked "but you're probably right. As for where to go? I say we go down to the lake and take it from there."

 

[MzHyde]

The fact that it was only Chas who also gushed verbally over the sights before them all wasn't surprising to either Kay or Fia. Neither expected John or Jay to be as open with their impressed thoughts as both knew it wasn't their style to do so. Kay definitely knew that this place beat anything that Earth had and she thought Earth had some pretty damn incredible parks and wildlife areas. They both also noted how even Elliott reacted with awe which just drove home how long it had been for him since he last visited this place. Fia also couldn't help but notice how Elliott seemed to go deep into his thoughts of memory lane and her smile briefly vanished. In that moment she decided shhe had to put a smile back on his face the first opportunity she would get. With Cal's shit eating grin on her face that oozed smugness, Kay couldn't help but chuckle at how incredibly proud she was at being proven right and eliciting such a reaction out of the majority of them.

What did take them by surprise was Dan's remark making them both look at him with raised eyebrows as the others also looked surprised. As he gave his explanation of his comment, both gave a nod as it suddenly made sense before they both glanced round all around them and just imagining the place at nighttime. If the mental image their imagination was conjuring up was anything to go by, they could certainly imagine easily enough how Dan's words would be proven correct. They both nodded at the comments and suggestion about heading down to the lake and that's when Fia instantly got her idea and opening to make her beloved big brother smile again, she just hoped he would indeed take the bait. Shoving her violin bag onto John with a innocent look of "please and thank you!" whilst giving him the look of 'operation make Ell smile is being initiated' also. She gave her dad a moment to cotton on why she wanted him to hold her violin bag, then when it was okay to do so, she nudged Elliott in that typical younger sibling manner, "race ya to the lake! Last one there buys ice cream!" she grinned, fully intending on cheating just to win. To jogged ahead only a couple of steps and turned to him giving him the cheeky grin she knew always worked on her time line's Elliott, whilst it also said 'and I'm not taking no for an answer!'.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When Fia unexpectedly thrust her bag and violin at John he was about to push them right back at her with some kind of remark along the line of 'OI! Carry your own crap, I'm not a bleedin' cart-horse!', but he then caught sight of the look on her face and in her eyes. Glancing towards Elliott he saw that his adoptive son's eyes were slightly unfocused, a sure sign he was drifting off into memories of the past. The slight downturn growing at the edge of Elliott's lips told John that Elliott was already starting to let himself get dragged down into the depressive funk he's spent the morning in. Fia's intent was now perfectly clear and John gave her a nod of understanding which also served as a sign that she should go ahead with whatever plan was brewing in her head.

The nudge of Fia's elbow into Elliott's side jolted him right out of his thoughts. He looked at her, both surprised and slightly embarrassed at having been caught out drifting so quickly. Her words surprised him, but as Fia suspected he was more than willing to rise to the bait and race her. He quickly unslung the messenger bag he'd packed his art supplies in and tossed it lightly in Jay's direction. The assassin shot out a hand and grabbed the shoulder strap, pulling the bag towards her and over her own shoulder in a fluid motion. Now bag-less Elliott wasted no time in running down the hill after Fia. The path down to the lake started as a downhill stretch, which curved sharply around the edge of the forest section then flattened out into a grassy plain.

Normally when Elliott ran in a footrace with somebody he'd always be trying to overtake them, so that once ahead of them he could put all his energy into gunning it in the final sprint it to the finish line, but with this race he took a different tactic. He was still running fast, but he was making no effort to overtake Fia. At about the halfway point he took a sharp turn away from her, increasing his speed veering into the forest. "Where the bleedin' Hells is Ell goin'? Is he trying to run around the lake instead of towards it?" John asked, seeing his adoptive son veer away from Fia. "No, he's trying to win the race" Cal replied with a grin. "He knows something Fia doesn't. There's an unofficial shortcut through the woods that takes you right to the lakeside."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that John agreed to hold her stuff for her when he got her unspoken reason for doing it. She would have given it all to Kay but 1) Kay wasn't right next to her and 2) Kay had enough to hold with her art bag and she didn't want to overload her pregnant mother to be. So as John was closest, he was her pick to hold her two things. It was also pure habit from her timeline to do such things and give him the most innocent hard to say no to face she could muster until he agreed, or anyone she was with for that matter. It just so happened that John was one person she had to work just that little bit harder on sometimes.

Her cheeky grin only grew when Elliott rose to the bait with a single action of handing his bag to Jay. "aww yeah" she remarked rubbing her hands together and gave herself a head start by turning her back to him once more and instantly running for the lake. As it went downhill she focused on keeping her body balanced so she could keep a fast pace without tumbling face over first and rolling down the hill before she made the sharp turn and saw out the corner of her eye Elliott veering off into the forest. "oh playing dirty huh?!" she called out to him, "well if that's the way we're playing..." she then muttered to herself, letting her phoenix wings come out behind her and leaping up into the air as the rest of the group behind them spoke about Elliott's secret plans. She fully planned on doing this anyway but she was going to so soon, yet Elliott had unknowingly twisted her arm and made her do it early. High in the air she glanced down to see Elliott and saw the route he was taking which made her stretch her legs straight out to practically turn herself into a flying bullet and soared on ahead, seeing the lake in view.

Kay listened to what Cal was saying as John questioned Elliott's motives and she couldn't help but smile and laugh at how both Elliott and Fia were wanting to cheat their way to the lake. The fact that Fia was now deciding to use her phoenix side to try and win told her she made a habit of cheating when going against her brother which was just highly amusing and heartwarming to watch. "looks like that isn't going to stop her though!" she laughed. Watching the two half siblings be like this really did made Kay's heart almost feel warm as to her it almost gave her a small insight to what her and John would be witnessing in the near future. She couldn't take her eyes off Fia in the air, expertly showing she knew how to work the speeds when airborne before Kay saw Fia dive toward the ground on the otherside of the forest, doing a forward flip just to show off for the sake of it and land nimbly on her feet without pausing for a second, she was sprinting to the lake the last few yards, determined to win.

 

[_gallifrog_]

When Fia's wings burst out and she used them to launch herself into the air Cal and Cliff smirked while John just shook his head, not at all surprised that Fia had decided to cheat. He mightn't have the years of experience and knowledge of Fia that the John in her timeline had gained, but he knew enough about himself and his attitude towards kids and towards cheating for the right reasons (and the wrong ones) to say without a doubt that since they were on a planet where superhuman abilities were normal Fia would not hesitate to use her extra skills to win. And judging by the way she was swooping through the air like it was her second home (which in fairness it probably was) she more than knew what she was doing.

"It's a typical move for people who can fly" Cal remarked "whenever there is a race, they always start flying half-way through it." She gave a mock glare at Cliff who immediately adopted an over the top 'who me?' expression as she replied "I have no idea what you could possibly be talking about" in a tone suggesting the exact opposite was true. "Personally I think it's cos they're too scared of being beaten in a fair fight and they can't deal with losing so they cheat." Cal continued, only to let out a slight yelp as Cliff elbowed her in the side. "All this coming from the woman who'd cheat at cards by stuffing them up her sleeves!" "That was one time!" Cliff let out a snort. "Sure, sure, keep telling yourself that Callie." The two continued their lighthearted bickering as the group set off down towards the lake.

"Just taking the scenic route!" Elliott shot back before disappearing into the forest. A very brief glance over his shoulder confirmed his suspicions that the woosh of air he'd heard had been Fia opening her wings and using them to launch herself into the air. Like John he wasn't surprised by this move, just annoyed that he wouldn't have as much time where they were evenly matched. Gritting his teeth he swerved off the main path and began streaking cross-country through the forest trail, the thick tree canopy overhead mostly hiding him from sight. As he ran he jumped over tree roots and rocks, his feet following a path they'd ran many times in his childhood when taking part in a similar race towards the lake. His path took him to what was regular park-goers called 'the gorge'-a deep gouge in the hillside where some small river or stream had once flowed. Now it was simply a steep, dusty track leading directly down to the lake. Elliott practically jumped into the gorge and began sliding down it, one leg extended outwards in front of him as he slid down towards the lake. He shot out of the en of the gorge along, a cloud of fine dirt particles rising up into the air as he did so. He rolled up and onto his feet, sprinting the last few metres and literally colliding with Fia, bringing them both sprawling to the ground.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay chuckled at Cal's remark and the mock glare toward Cliff as she said as such. The bantering between the married couple was amusing to witness, as amusing as seeing Elliott and Fia cheat their way through their race in their own ways and seeing John utterly shake his head at such actions. Due to her need to hide who she was and not even know what she was for most of her life, she couldn't claim to agree or disagree with what Cal said, as it wasn't like she ever had a moment to explore what she was capable of on Earth. If she had a completely different upbringing and not on Earth it might very well have been different, but sadly she didn't have the luxury to know what she was like Fia did. "everyone cheats at something at some point and is it really cheating with those two if no rules were disclosed before the race began? Other than whoever loses buys ice cream?" Kay pointed out after Cal and Cliff ended their bickering. She may not have cheated and flown her way to victory in a race, but she had cheated at bar games to win cash to survive and even in her university days, cheated at games like Monopoly to win. To her she also was making a valid point as she was sure Fia would use that counter if Elliott called her a cheater for flying part way, because Fia didn't specify any rules such as they could only go straight on, no diverting, no flying, no foul play and so forth so technically Kay figured, there was no cheating in this race. Anything was fair game.

At Elliott's quip back Fia could be heard laughing at it before she went into her choice of actions which resulted in her reaching her point in the race. She didn't need to look back to know she was just about in the lead when she heard Elliott creeping up on her fast and she knew if she didn't try and speed up she would lose the race and she was far too competitive to lose. "Yes I'm gonna win!" she beamed to herself and just as she went to speed up she felt him crash into her and with a yelp escaping her lips she went crashing and tumbling onto the ground getting utterly tangled up and pinned under him. The very collision and outcome right at the 'finishing line' caused her to burst out laughing happily as for once it wasn't her clumsiness that caused the collision, but her brother's. "oh my god! Ger'off me!! Blooming brothers!" she laughed trying to untangle herself from Elliott to no avail. She didn't mind calling him her brother in public as with his disguise he really did look like her biological brother as that as Jay's plan. She just hoped that the fact he got her giggling from her playful idea, that it also cheered him up.

Seeing the collision happen in front of them made Kay laugh lightly and fondly especially as it was clear neither were actually hurt judging by Fia laughing. "Those two are something else... I swear" Kay chuckled. "not to mention I think that's what we call a stale mate and draw" she smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John couldn't help but let out a snort of amusement of his own at the idea of Cal cheating by showing cards up her sleeves. It was such a juvenile way to cheat and he certainly didn't expect it of somebody like her who was clearly a professional. The fact that she'd been caught made it even funnier. He nodded with a smirk at Kay's words, agreeing fully with her. No rules had been set out, so flying really was fair game for Fia. He knew he'd have done the exact same thing if he could fly. Looking for loopholes was one of his specialities, particularly when it involved deals with demons, Downworlders or the League. There was nothing more satisfying to John than being able to turn the tables on somebody by using the very contract they'd tried to bind him with. It was this ability to cheat his way out of deals that had helped him earn his reputation as a silver tongued conman. "She" by which he meant Kay "makes a valid point."

Seeing the plume of dust that accompanied Elliott followed by him literally barrelling into Fia had Chas, John and Cal all laughing. Even from quite a distance away they could see that Fia and Elliott were laughing and not having some kind of cat-fight. "Very elegant." Jay remarked drily, a fond expression on her face as she watched on (fondness that was entirely directed at Elliott). "It's a draw alright" Cal agreed. "Looks like we'll be the ones buying the ice-cream, so good thing we've got all this food." She tapped the carrier bag she had slung over one shoulder. John shook his head again before rhetorically remarking to himself "These two are gonna be such a nightmare for me aren't they?"

Elliott's slide down the gorge had resulted in him being almost entirely covered in fine dust. His shoes were coated in the stuff as was his left trouser leg and both his palms. Zan's jacket had fared somewhat better, receiving a much lighter dusting of dirt, though the sleeve had caught on a branch on the way down, causing a slight tear in the fabric. His run into Fia was deliberate, if she was going to fly then him half rugby-tackling, half-pushing her to the ground was fair game in his mind! As they tussled on the ground "no you get off me! Stop wiggling around!" he ended up smearing Fia in dust the most noticeable being a large streak across her face and up into her hair. Fia's laughter proved infectious and as Elliott finally separated from her and rolled onto his back he began laughing heartily too, the first proper laugh he'd let out since his uproarious laughter at Bec's story of how a teenaged Zan had crashed a motorbike into a tree while attempting to jump a wall. "Do you know what makes this even stupider?" he asked rhetorically between laughs. "They don't even sell ice-cream here!"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia finding and abusing the loophole was most definitely something she had picked up from her father and made her very much like him in that regard. Kay sniggered at Jay sarcastically calling the tussle elegant after she nodded proudly that John was agreeing with her so openly. Cal's agreement that it was a draw in the siblings' race and comment about it meaning they'll be buying the ice cream whenever those two wanted it just made Kay continue to smirk. "most definitely is." she agreed with Cal, before hearing John's rhetorically coming to the conclusion he had out loud. "oh they sure are if left alone together. But it's clear he's gonna be a great older brother, best case scenario? We need her out of our hair? Call Ell" she told him back, saying the last bit just loud enough for him to hear with a clear amused but playfully devious tone to her voice. She of course wouldn't ever abuse the close bond that Fia and Elliott would no doubt gain if this current relationship they were witnessing was anything to go by, but the idea of them being close enough to make Fia go to Elliott's place so they could get a break from her antics was inviting.

Fia kept laughing and grimacing as she tried to stop him from rubbing dirt on her face and hair but it was to no avail. The smears still happened, and it made her continue wriggling about trying to get free from him. As he finally separated from her and actually burst into his pure genuine laughter with her she tried to regain her breath, but the giggles kept threatening to escape her which continued as Elliott said they didn't even do ice cream in this place. The very fact being told just made her laugh more, she now having to hold her stomach as her laughter was tightening her stomach muscles. Her eyes scrunching tightly shut as she giggled before opening them and looking across at him whilst she remained on the floor. "well that's just criminal! And is it bad that ice cream was the first thing came to my head for the bet?!" she replied between laughter. For her it was either that or calling the loser a rotten egg and that felt far too childish and cliche even for her. She glanced out to over to the others slowly catching them up before looking back at Elliott and tried to not laugh but lighter chuckles still escaping her as she then looked up at the sky. "man... I know you haven't experienced these stupid moments with me yet technically, but I've seriously missed it. It's been a little while. So I can't wait for the other me to have these moments with you" she told him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John smirked at Cal's comment "rather you than me. The kid" by which he meant Fia as opposed to Elliott "will probably want to eat her body weight in the stuff after the spectacle we've just seen." "Somehow I don't doubt that." Cliff agreed before smirking at John's muttered comment to himself. She could already tell the bond forming between this Fia and Elliott wasn't just a strong one, but a formidable one. They would be the kind of pair you wouldn't want to mess with and she couldn't help but have sympathy for the future John who was going to have deal with them, discipline them and try and make them calm down. "There was never any doubt about whether Ell would be a good older sibling or not. He and Trish are like blood and he and Gemma- John's niece-" he added for Cal, Cliff and Dan's benefit, uncertain as to whether or not Gemma had been brought up before "are already showing signs that they'll be unholy terrors together when she properly gets into her teenage years." John gave a smirk at Kay's quieter addition, making Fia somebody else's problem for a while? That sounded like a plan he could very much get behind.

Even though Elliott had been the one to say the punchline he couldn't help but start laughing at it, rolling around on the ground as he did so. When he eventually calmed down again he gave a sort of shrug in response to Fia's ice-cream query "Maybe?" he replied, before grinning broadly. "But it's a bloody nice day out, ice-cream doesn't sound like a half bad idea to be honest." Elliott was about to sit up and start to dust himself off when Fia spoke again. Her words caught him off-guard and the surprise showed clearly on his face. The fact that there was another Elliott in her life had been completely forgotten. He couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy towards this other Elliott, having Fia as a fixture in his life. "Well, it's all ahead of us isn't it?" he replied. "And if the future has moments like this one in it? Then it's all going to be worth it."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay couldn't help but chuckle at John's comment about Fia eating her body weight in ice cream which she could easily see happening, the girl had proven a few times to them all now that when she got truly hungry, she had a bottomless pit of a stomach. She also was aware of how it seemed everyone was noticing the bond that was firmly forming between both Fia and Elliott, not just herself and John. She nodded at Chas' words as she too never doubted that Elliott would be a fantastic older brother to Fia as she could see quite early on that they just seem to naturally gravitate toward each other and really get along. It quite honestly gave her a lot of hope for the future when Fia's unborn self would be born and grow up around him. If she really thought about it, their bond that was already forming did give her moments of seeing the similarities of herself growing up with Sam and how they were a real force to not be reckoned with and their parents really had their work cut out for them sometimes to the point they got separated quie a few times, which was the start of each of them being introduced into other hobbies and Kay finding her real gift for drawing. Seeing her comment to John making him smirk, she felt rather proud of herself and happy that they clearly could be on the same page about this.

Fia feigned a gasp of hurt when he said it was maybe a bad thing that her first train of thought was food when making the bet, but she couldn't keep it up for long as she just chcukled more whilst listening to him agree that ice cream did sound like a good idea on a day like today. When she said what she did about his other self, she didn't mean to take him off guard but seeing the surprise on his face showed her she did exactly that and that he had almost forgotten that she wasn't from this timeline and thus her Elliott was a different one. Truth was, she had to remind herself of that fact nearly every single day when she woke up because she bonded with this Elliott so quickly and grown incredibly attached to him. She nodded at his words, smiling now she could control her laughter, "The future definitely has these kinds of moments" she told him. What she didn't say was 'that other me over there is gonna be the luckiest kid in the universe having you as a big brother' but she damn well did think it. She sat upright at this point and saw the others pretty much near them at this stage, fully aware that she still had dirt on her face and going into her hair. "Ell I'm so glad you're my brother" she told him whilst she still could.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott's grin spread wider when Fia confirmed that there would indeed be these kinds of moments in their future. "Bloody good to hear that." He genuinely liked having Fia around, she was funny and feisty and in many ways so very different from the personalities he'd grown up with. Chas was a rock, John was a father and a mentor/teacher in the ways of magic and the related mystic arts, AJ's crew were the loyal-til-the-end group of tight-knit friends and Jay was.... a complicated wild-card and was now turning into something else entirely. Fia was a lighter personality and character in his life, something he didn't even realise he was missing. (He wasn't however naïve enough to believe there would never be darkness along his sister's path). To know that if survived into the new timeline there would be these kinds of light-hearted moments of fun.... well it gave him hope. "And I'm glad you're gonna be in my life kid" he replied before pushing himself into sitting position and starting to wipe the dust from his hands.

"Took you lot long enough!" he called out as they finally got close. John's response was to roll his eyes and smirk. "We've got all the food, and the money, which for me means we can take as long as we like. You'd have been forced to come find us eventually once you got hungry." Cliff replied with a smirk, tapping a carrier bag with one hand. "And this is PRECISELY why bringing the guitar along was a bad idea." Jay remarked drily, an amused expression on her face as she gestured at the dirt coating Elliott and Fia. "You may have a point" Elliott agreed with a grin, flipping his hands around so Jay (and a lesser extent the others) could see the dirt that had ended up caked underneath his fingernails.

 

[MzHyde]

To say that Fia was over the moon that her words of hope made Elliott grin even wider and he was glad to hear and look forward to these kinds of bonding moments together was quite frankly a massive understatement. Her plan to make him happy again worked better than she could ever have imagined it would and as much as it gave him hope, it also gave her a moment of familiarity and made her not feel homesick for her versions of her family. It also helped her to get passed her stresses of being in Rinaa's timeline and being quite literally kicked back to this timeline and arguing with that version of Scott. The fact that Elliott really did enjoy having her around him meant the utter world to her, even in this timeline as it also made her realise how much her unborn self was going to be okay with him in her life. She knew there was still a risk of him dying but she also knew that Rinaa's team were doing everything in their power to not let his death happen, her helping with that plan just gave her that little bit more confidence for it working. His next comment to her made her now grin widely and happily as she lifted her right hand to try and wipe the dirt off her face and out of her hair as the others reached them.

Fia couldn't get the smile off her face as Cliff and Jay spoke back at Elliott's quip about them taking their time reaching them before chuckling at Jay gesturing at the dirt on them both whilst also mentioning why it was a bad idea to bring the guitars, despite her having still brought her violin anyway. "touche Jay" she quipped back as she kept trying to get the dirt off one part of her forehead that was but just ended up smearing it a bit more, further up into her hairline and just flat out failing miserably. "You're making things worse kiddo" Kay couldn't help but chuckle watching Fia. Kay pulled her backpack off her back and had a little look for some tissues but didn't find any which made her sigh. "Anyone got anything to help her out? I don't seem to have anything left in the bag" She asked around the group. "Blame Ell, he smeared it on me to begin with. I'm all for playing dirty but he took it literally" Fia quipped back, shooting his brother a smirk and a snigger.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was undeniable amusement in the others' expressions as Fia attempted to rub off the dust. Elliott had by some small miracle managed not to get any on his face, though there was some in the tips of the blond wig. When Kay's search for tissues turned up none Cliff began to look through her own backpack whose front section seemed to contain an inordinate amount of seemingly miscellaneous items. Cliff always insisted that a) it was good to be prepared and b) there was actually a system in this bag. Cal could agree with the first statement (back in their school and university days Cliff's supply of spares pens, pencils, notebooks etc had proved a lifesaver on many occasions), but had doubts about the truth of the second. "Well so far I've found plasters, bandages and anti-bacterial wipes.... but no tissues." John waved off Cliff's search with one hand. "No need to go rootin' through everything. I say just chuck her in the lake, problem solved."

There were snorts of laughter at that, it was such a typically John remark and hilariously easy to visualise. Cal and Elliott's laughter lasted longer than the others', when their eyes met they only laughed harder. "Oh that was a good day." Cal remarked as she got her breath back. "It really was." Elliott agreed as he stood up again. "For the un-initiated, what's so funny you're not laughing at my quite frankly brilliant joke?" John asked, though with a smirk that suggested he was taking the piss out of his own joke. "Our school used to bring us here as kids, we were supposed to be appreciating nature and getting a better understanding of it, but really we'd just spend the day playing ball sports and climbing trees when the teachers weren't looking. On one of these trips the supervising teacher.... well she was..." "A bitch, no other word for it." Cal interjected before her brother could find whatever child-friendly word he was looking for. "She was the mean type who could suck the fun out of anything to be precise about it. See that cliff bit over there?" Cal indicated a point along the edge of the lake where there forested land around the edge rose up leaving a roughly sheer cliff face. "One of the older students, nobody's quite sure who, but we all have our theories, used some kind of psychokinesis or similar power to fling the teacher off that cliff and into the lake." "Most of us kids were there at the lake at the time and saw the massive splash- one kid even filmed it. Then when she re-emerged completely soaked and with some a massive lump of plant weed on her head? It was beyond hilarious." Elliott added, clearly trying not to laugh at the memory.