Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Fia could see the surprise in John's face about the tidbit of information she let on. She thought it was only fair giving them the warning so when the clues appeared for them, they'd know instantly what it was and would know how to help. Unlike in her timeline when they didn't know for a while as Fia would have temper tantrums out of frustration to hide the real fact she couldn't get to grips with a lot of words. She remembered the worries about it being dyslexia but luckily for her, her determination to figure reading out paid off. She also recognised what he was conveying with his simple nod, not finding shame in having told them all. She turned to Rinaa as she said she wasn't sure if her Fia had the same issues or not, but she found it wouldn't have been all surprising if that other Fia did have such problems at one stage.

She then smirked when Rinaa spoke of her trouble walking due to being all limbs. "Leah was the same. She'd joke about it regularly for a while" Fia confirmed, purposely leaving out the information that they'd then use it to joke about how Leah was just that tiny bit taller than her, making them both chuckle. She didn't think hearing about how her Leah got on and would joke together would be appreciated by Rinaa, when her relationship with her Fia was so toxic.

 

[_gallifrog_]

What Rinaa didn't say was just how stressed out of her mind Jay had been during that period of time. If she took her eyes off the four year old for even a couple of minutes she'd have bumped into something or fallen over. Jay was convinced it was something permanent and that Rinaa might never be able to walk, which was why she'd had Cliff run a myriad of tests, the two of them staying up all night for weeks on end scanning the DNA structure for the hallmarks of any genetic disorder. A task which was only made more different by the fact that Rinaa's DNA wasn't the regular double helix, but two double helices wrapped around one another. It had been an immense relief to all involved when the brain scan gave the result it did.

Jay listened gravelly to what Rinaa said, taking it on board. She had no idea if she'd actually want a kid four years in the future, she really didn't see herself as the parenting type and hearing that there were problems from day one in both timelines wasn't a good omen in her mind. Elliott was also listening carefully, he knew very little about chimera development, but as Rinaa explained it, it made sense. Four year old Rinaa had been a baby's mind in a four year old's body, and even with regular babies, leaning to walk took at least a year. Rinaa nodded at Fia's comment, she also made jokes about that stage of her life. "In a way, I'm not surprised, it was pretty hilarious looking to an outsider. We've all seen youtube videos of small kids falling over and laughed hysterically at them." "So what did happen in the end, how did you end up walking properly?" "I just kept trying at it really, same as Fia and the reading." Rinaa shrugged. "I was too stubborn to give up and in the end the persistence paid off and I got there, my brain wired up properly and since then, no motor problems.... well except for the time I broke my leg and was relying on a mix of wheelchair and crutches to get around, but that a whole other story not worth getting into."

 

[MzHyde]

Hearing that Rinaa tackled her walking problems the same way Fia did her reading, Kay and Fia both saw how with situations like that, both teenagers were the same. They were both as stubborn as each other and deep down didn't want the set back to be something they couldn't get passed. Both saw it as a challenge to accomplish and beat until said situation was accomplished. It was a trait that they could see why and how it could create tension between the two of them, along with everything else. That similarity in personality could always cause tensions but Kay was seeing how they both could get passed that and get along.

"Seems we're both the same in that instance. Both refuse to give up just because something isn't going our way" Fia commented. Kay nodded as she saw how Fia was thinking the same thing she was at the story. She also found it curious that Rinaa had a moment where she was stuck between a wheelchair and crutches but as she hinted with her last words, knew it was something not to question her on. She felt the movements of Fia and in return shifted in her seat and rubbed her thumb over her bump instinctively, in the hopes that it would stop unborn Fia from wriggling.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Like Kay, John was also thinking of the stubbornness of the two teenagers and how it gave the both of them potential to do great things, but at the same time was the main trait that caused them to butt heads so regularly. Both were stuck in their way and mindsets, which was great when it came to moral decisions and planning, but not so great when it came to arguments, with both wanting their point of view to be the one that won out. The two couldn't be forced to get along, locking them in a room together wouldn't solve any of their problems (both teenagers could easily escape and/or pick the lock), it would just make it worse. The only people who could ever get the two together and form a proper friendship, before it was too late, was Rinaa and Fia themselves.

When Rinaa mentioned about the broken leg it made Elliott think back to the times he'd MindWalked with Rinaa. She always had the same form, her twelve/thirteen-year-old self, with one arm in a cast as it was broken. It shouldn't have been surprising that she'd broken two limbs, given the life she led and the fact that in her timeline the whole of the Earth was rapidly becoming a warzone, but for some reason it did surprise him. Her voice made it quite clear that she didn't want to talk about what had caused it, but that there was indeed more to it than met the eye.

"Pretty sure that describes everybody in this room" Rinaa replied, putting down the now empty bowl on the table in front of her, still wearing the ridiculous bobble hat. "But yes, you're right, it does apply to both of us. Giving up is the easy way out after all and I'd rather take the hard way and lose than the easy way and succeed. In the words of a wise woman in my timeline 'If something's worth living for, then it's worth fighting for. And if it's worth fighting for, then you bloody well fight for it with everything you got. And you do NOT give up until you've succeeded or are lying dead on the floor. Either way, you'll have lived it right.'."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia most certainly would be able to pick a lock or find another imaginative way of getting out of the locked room if she told not to leave. She would have always take such a warning as a challenge and do all she could to stubbornly get out of the room. She also knew, especially after the chat with John on the roof that the only people that fix the tensions between her and Rinaa was her and Rinaa. It all depended on whether both of them wanted that, which she did but still was incredibly unsure if Rinaa did.

She had agree that the whole too stubborn for their own good for so many things didn't just apply to herself and Rinaa, but to the whole group around them. Each and every one of them had their ability to be so infuriatingly stubborn at times that she was convinced during those times people would get more sense out of a brick wall. She listened to the saying that Rinaa reiterated to them all, finding it ever so true. "agree with that completely, it's so true" she replied. "it's a great way of thinking and saying that's for sure" Kay agreed, as she used her free hand to massage the dip in her back.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Sounds like part of a motivational speech" Elliott commented, before hurriedly adding "which I'm not saying is a bad thing." If anybody in their group needed a motivational speech it was Rinaa. He knew Fia had her own trials and tribulations that couldn't be ignored, but looking at the bigger picture, Rinaa's problems were not only worse, but had been persistent throughout her whole life. "That's probably because it was actually from a motivational speech and yeah, the speaker was pretty damn amazing. It's a way that seems to have worked so far."

Looking down at the t-shirt Rinaa caught sight of the bloodstain for the first time and let out a sigh of annoyance. "I love this shirt!" she exclaimed in a grumbly sort of way, annoyed in the childish sense of the word"absolutely typical that the one time I accidentally slit my arm open and bleed everywhere I'm wearing a t-shirt that isn't even mine!" Elliott couldn't resist teasing the teenager, knowing that she'd take it in the right way. "Is there any clothing here that you actually own? First the woolly hat isn't yours, and now the t-shirt? D'you just raid your mates wardrobes all the time or something." He questioned with a smirk. "Oi! That's not completely true." Rinaa retorted back. "The balaclava is mine, as is THIS t-shirt." She grabbed the balaclava and the spare t-shirt from the table, waving it at Elliott to indicate her point. The t-shirt had the Hawkeye chevron on the front (though it was a more stylised version than the classic comic version). Although her words were blunt, she wasn't taking offence and was clearly quite enjoying being teased this way. "But you DO raid your mates wardrobe?" Jay added, noting that Rinaa hadn't denied that part of Elliott's accusation and judging by the baggy fit of the shirt, it was clearly made for a male about her height."Well yeah. He has an excellent taste in nerdy shirts and doesn't mind me borrowing. Also this is the gay friend before start making suggestive jokes." She gave a pointed look at John who had a 'me? Doing such a thing? Never!' expression on his face that wouldn't looke out of place on Meyer the dog.

Spoiler: Hawkeye shirt

https://www.teepublic.com/t-shirt/5939892-hawk

 

[MzHyde]

Now that Elliott mentioned it, Kay did think it sounded like a lot like an motivational speech, so when Rinaa confirmed it was one, or at least part of one, she wasn't in the least shocked to hear it. When Rinaa looked down at her shirt and complained about the blood stain, she had to smirk slightly at just how childlike she sounded in that brief moment. She found it amusing how Elliott picked up on the point that she said even the shirt wasn't hers, jus glike the hat wasn't technically hers. She just watched on amused at the teasing and banter going back and forth between the three of them on the other couch, noting the hawkeye shirt that Rinaa did pull out of her bag.

As the conversation continued and Rinaa gave a pointed and accusing look at John over her last remark to stop him from insinuating anything, she looked across next to her at John and chuckled. Fia laughed at the look he gave Rinaa in response to the unspoken accusation, before looking briefly at Meyer and then back at John. "and in that one brief moment John and Meyer look like twins!" Fia laughed, whilst keeping herself firmly on the arm rest so she didn't tip off the edge from her laughter. Kay had to laugh at the comment made by Fia, feeling only she could get away with calling her father a dog. "did you just call him a dog?" "yeah, so? I got you between us so I'm relatively safe to do so!" "dangerous assumption kiddo, as all it'd take is me switching places with John and you'd be screwed" Kay smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay found it both amusing and suspicious that as soon as Rinaa admitted to wearing her guy friend's clothes, she found it necessary to emphasise the fact that there was nothing going on between them. She actually found it strangely adorable just how defensive the teenager managed to be in just a few sentences, though she'd never ever confess to having used the word 'adorable' in her life, it so wasn't her. "Relax we'e just screwing with you" Jay smirked. "And besides, it really doesn't matter to me whose clothes you wear, so long as you actually wear clothes in the first place. Anyway, some of the stuff I wore growing up was my brother's or Quin's or some of the other assassins I lived with." "Really? You two were that close back then?" Elliott asked, very surprised at this new sliver of Jay's past that was coming to life. Sharing clothes with her brother made sense, they were twins, and extremely close ones at that. "Yeah, we were that close, practically sisters."

At the mention of her name Meyer's ears pricked up and her head turned towards Fia. The others in the room (including John himself) also laughed at the comment, knowing Fia had a point, they'd seen the looks the dog could give when she was pretending she was the most innocent, harmless little creature on the planet when in reality she was a right terror and could wrap people right around her paws. "Ah, but you're forgetting something here, it's the exact opposite of an insult. Fia looks at that dog like Rinaa looked at that complex algebraic calculus last week, eyes blown wide full of wonder as if you've just discovered the meaning of life." They'd all been there one day in Cal's apartment when Rinaa had finally, after a good forty minutes of work, made the equation work perfectly which had prompted her to just stare at it in wonder before declaring she would totally frame it for her apartment wall if she was back in her timeline. "And we all know Meyer's her favourite being in this room." "Flawless logic as usual." Chas smirked, a sarcastic edge to his tone.

 

[MzHyde]

Like Elliott Kay was momentarily surprised to hear that Jay shared clothes with Quincenti at one point. They seemed to hate each other so much, it was almost difficult to imagine them being that close to the point of clothes sharing. Hearing that they were as close as sister, she could only imagine just how bad something must have been to make them go from close friends to wanting to kill each other at the wedding. She soon turned her attention back to everyone else though when the conversation was about John's sudden likeness to Meyer and she saw how the dog perked up hearing her name being mentioned.

She listened to John's strange logic at why he found it so funny and for the first part, she knew he was actually correct. Both teenagers had that admiration look and glimmer in their eyes when seeing something that they like greatly. Fia was surprised that he didn't take it as an insult and genuinely thought she'd get a cushion thrown at her or similar for making such a comparison, yet here he was proving her wrong. She also figured she would have try harder next time. Both girls let him continue talking, about how much Meyer is Fia's favourite being in the room right now, both laughing at Chas' sarcastic reply. "just because Meyer may be one of my favourite beings in the room doesn't mean that by that logic you are" Fia teased back, even though everyone knew how much she loved her dad. "it just proves my loyalty to the actual dog" she smirked. Kay couldn't help but laugh at Fia's comeback, having a feeling this was pretty normal in her timeline, having the two of them banter like so and just generally being amusing to watch.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Unlike the others in the room, Rinaa wasn't surprised at how close Jay and Quincenti had once been, she'd heard the full story, with all the grisly details left in, from both of them. As she'd explained to Jay earlier, the two assassins had patched things up again in her timeline, it wasn't an easy journey, both had loved hard and lost even harder, they were emotionally closed off, suspicious and would rather rub each other up the wrong way than sit down and talk about their feelings rationally. But they'd worked through it in their own way, healing old wounds and reforming their friendship, though it wasn't the same as when they'd been kids. Rinaa nodded at Jay's words. "Yeah it's true Elliott, they were once that close, I heard the full story in my timeline, from both of them." She emphasised the fact it had been both women who'd explained it, that this wasn't just Jay's personal biases talking. "It's kind of the same with me and the friend I borrow clothes from, he used to be my mentor at the lab, but just turned into the older brother I never had." She smiled fondly as she spoke, meaning every word.

"Sure, sure, keep tellin' yerself that. And besides, it's not loyalty you got to her, it's slavery, you're doin' her biding, not the other way around." John replied, rolling his eyes in response to Fia's words. Everybody in the room knew he was her favourite, she'd made no secret of that. Throwing a cushion at her for such a remark had crossed his mind, but he noticed that it wound Fia up far more when he reacted in a way she wasn't expecting to her taunts and jibes. He got much more of a kick out of playing by his own rules, than playing by hers. "And now that you've mentioned the dog, I think she wants some attention." Chas called over, gesturing at Meyer who was now looking hopefully at Fia.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked when John wasn't buying any of what Fia was saying, not even she was buying it. Trying to pretend she wasn't an utter daddy's girl was a fruitless effort in her mind, because everyone knew Fia was exactly that. Fia tried to come back with something about how it wasn't slavery in her mind but she actually couldn't think of a valid answer to back that statement up. Then she thought of something and smirked as she gave Meyer a scratch in her aweetnspot behind the ears, as Chas pointed out Meyer was looking desperately at her "yeah well... You're gonna be my slave soon enough when I'm born and I inevitably shit and puke everywhere because I'll be a helpless baby so if we're still going by the logic of your a dog like Meyer, you'll be my bitch" she said incredibly casually, as the words just rolled off her tongue.

Fia's comeback made Kay almost choke from the laughter that escaped her, feeling suddenly glad that she wasn't actually drinking or eating anything in that very moment or she would have been in serious trouble of choking on whatever it was she consuming. "bloody hell Fia!" she spoke through the laughter. Shhe had to admit, her kid came out with a good comeback for this jibing banter between her and John, and she knew they were going to have to be on their toes with her as she grew up. From the way Fia said that, it also gave Kay a lot of reassurance that neither her or John made it a one person task for everything and they did work together to do the dirty work.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Hearing the fondness in Rinaa's tone and the seeing slight smile on her face when she spoke of her friend and how she considered him the brother she never had, Elliott and Jay couldn't help but smile themselves. It was praise of the highest degree coming from Rinaa. Elliott was about to say something along the lines of 'he sounds like a really good guy, and if he's got any sense in his head he thinks of you the same way', but he never got the chance as Fia came out with the mother of all comebacks and the room descended into uncontrollable laughter, John and Rinaa joining in slightly later than everybody else. The teenager ended up burying her face in Jay's shoulder to muffle the laughter.

It was so completely true that there was nothing john could say to deny it, babies really were that much of a nightmare to deal with. If given a choice in the matter by the universe, he wouldn't have had a kid at all, or at the very least deferred the conception another couple of years so he could figure his life out (as well as what exactly Kay was to him) first. But it seemed that both his kids were destined to come into his life by way of serendipitous accidents. Hearing what Fia had to say made both Jay and Elliott feel strangely grateful that the Omega inhibitor had so thoroughly destroyed Jay's reproductive system, there was no way they could ever have a child the regular way and chimeras were always acceleratedly grown to four or five years old in order to stabilise the DNA. Any younger and the process risked back firing. "A completely cruel and unsual punishment from the universe if you think about it." John said when they finally stopped laughing. His words weren't meant in a malicious way, it was just his usual facade of snarky, edgy humour to divert from the fact he was shitting himself terrified about what was to come. Adopting a teenager was one thing, a baby was something else entirely.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay felt the same way as John did whilst completely being unknown to it. If she had a choice in the matter, she would have waited a couple of years at least, but the universe wanted different and thus they were at the mercy of it. She was terrified of having a young life in her hands and knowing that young life was going to be completely dependant on her and John for a few years before she grew independant. Yet she also knew they had no choice but to take it in their stride and just go along with it. It took her a good while to stop laughing as she found everyone else laughing highly contagious to make her continue laughing.

Fia even felt proud that she made Rinaa laugh genuinely and greatly, to the point she felt she had hide her face into Jay's shoulder. So she sat there looking very smug that she got one over on John finally. His comeback wasn't on par with her remark in her mind, and Fia found herself waving his words off with her free hand. "yeah yeah, a cruel punishment, heard it allllllll before and I know you don't mean it. I'm too awesome for you to mean it" she smirked. Yet despite her saying such about herself she didn't actually think that highly of herself. She was never one to be that self absorbed, so when she said it, it was always in jest. Kay found herself just shaking her head at the two of them but there was that fond smile on her face the entire time. "I'm starting to really question my life choices with you two" she joked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John just rolled his eyes, but Fia was right, he really didn't mean it. Sure he would have rathered that babies weren't pooping, wriggling, eating machines with no concept of a proper sleeping schedule who would cry at the drop of a hat and act like an absolute terrors given any opportunity. He didn't see babies as cute and adorable, he saw them as creatures whose job it was to be as annoying as possible. Even Fia's birth didn't change that, never once declaring that the baby Fia was in any way cute, instead firmly maintaining that she looked like a miniature redheaded Winston Churchill. But once he got past the baby and toddlers years he had nothing against kids, in a way they had always been his weak spot. It started with not being able to save Astra, then becoming a godfather and an uncle in short succession, then there was the time with Legends where he used too much of his life force healing a kid and nearly died himself, there was Elliott and most recently of all Noah. His weak point for kids stemmed from his own childhood (or more precisely the lack of a normal one). Instead of replying to Fia's remark, he replied to Kay's instead. "It's far too late for questioning all this now, there's no gettin' out of whatever it is exactly the universe wants, and that applies to everybody in the room. Good life choices or bad life choices, it doesn't matter for me, the Laughing Magician bloodline isn't' an ability you can't turn off ever. So I go wjhere the universe wants me to, got no choice in the matter."

Rinaa's laughter became interspersed with small noises of pain just before the group died down and while John, Fia and Kay exchanged their words, she began carefully feeling her rib cage, or more specifically the lower ribs on the right hand side. She had no memory of the hunt Sykes was on, but while grappling with the deer, Sykes had received a brutal kick to the ribs, resulting in a particularly impressive hoof-shaped bruise that Rinaa had found when checking herself over after Sykes let her have control again. There had been no broken ribs at the time, Rinaa had checked thoroughly, but she was pretty sure she'd felt a snap while laughing and she suspected that during her laughter an already damaged rib had given in and broken.

Jay noticed the teenager wince when she ran her fingers ran over her rib cage. "You okay scrub?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper and completely inaudible to anybody further away than Rinaa and Elliott. "I think I broke a rib laughing, and not in the metaphorical sense." the teenager whispered back, indicating the painful spot in question. Jay's eyes narrowed in concentration as she felt the bones through the fabric of the shirt. The rib in question was indeed broken, and as she knew all too well a broken rib could easily rupture other organs and lead to all kinds of problems if left untreated. Jay didn't even have to think about what she did next, in her mind there was no other option. The assassin placed her palm against Rinaa's side and concentrated, using her healing powers to knit the broken rib back together. Her palm grew colder as she used her powers, the clear ink in her sub-dermal tracks swirling underneath her tanned skin. The process took about half a minute, thanks to the break being both clean and recent, which it easier for Jay to heal.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay wouldn't ever realistically question her life choices when it came to John and Fia. Of course there were times when she questioned about the speed at which the universe decided this was a good idea but she was determined to take it in her stride even if she was frightened about the whole thing. She was someone who didn't find every baby cute, but she wasn't so devoid of maternal emotional that she found some cute. She did however hate the horrible sleepless nights idea that came with them, the very fact of them vomiting and crying at all hours amongst other things. Which meant she knew this was going to be a learning curve for both herself and John. In the future she was someone who did find Fia cute, but she knew that was part of the whole maternal emotions that overwhelmed her after she gave birth. She spent many a day and night walking baby Fia round The House singing to her to get her to sleep again and she was found many a time fast asleep on a couch with Fia in her arms.

She just smirked at John's reply to her comment before rolling her eyes. "I know I know, still... Having two of you will make me question my sanity at times, I can just tell" she smiled. "nothing new there then, when have you ever not questioned your sanity?" Fia quipped back, not as a jibe but as an actual point to be made. "good point" Kay simply said back.

Neither girl really took notice of what was happening with Rinaa and Jay as they were too involved in their own conversation with John at the time.
Yet if Fia had noticed and known that through making Rinaa laugh so much, she broke an already weak rib, she would have felt bad and impressed that she could cause such a thing. Impressed because she didn't think it would be literally possible and bad because it happened.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Due to the position he was sitting in, Rinaa was in John's blind spot and he missed what had happened with regards to the broken rib and simply carried right on with the conversation he was having with Fia and Kay. Had he noticed his reaction would have been identical to Fia's, most of him being impressed and amused that such a thing was possible and a smaller part of him feeling bad that it had happened and sympathy for the teenager. "In other words we're all nut cases and question our sanity constantly, but that's just life really as Chas is so fond of saying" He gestured for the cabbie to give one of his well worn words of wisdom, which he willing said "I doubt therefore I am [insert name of applicable race here]" The original phrase was 'I think, therefore I am', but it had been modified many, many times until it had reached the current version. Chas nd John referenced it so often that they'd developed a hand signal similar to that of airquotes, but instead meant 'square brackets'.

Jay gave that little bit extra to her healing, not only fixing the bone, but healing up the broken blood vessels making the bruise vanish. Rinaa knew exactly what Jay was doing and couldn't help but smile. It was the same in her timeline, she'd only ask Jay to heal the serious injuries, like broken bones or internal bleeding (knowing how notoriously unreliable her powers could be), but Jay would always heal whatever bruises she had. "Better?" Jay asked, removing her hand, which was now icy to the touch. "Much better, thanks." Rinaa replied, curling back up against Jay again, resting her head on the assassin's shoulder, a position she'd been hesitant to do until now, being uncertain as to whether Jay would let her do such a thing. Rinaa was all to aware that the woman next to her wasn't her mother and couldn't be expected to behave like the Jay she knew. Elliott took Jay's now cold hand in his own, linking their fingers together, not just to give it warmth back, but to convey how amazing he thought it was that jay had acted on instinct and healed Rinaa.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay gave the nod and head tilt that said 'can't argue with that' when John said they were all nutcases in their group before gesturing toward Chas to give one of his many wise words of wisdom. Both Kay and Fia listened to what Chas said, smirking at the last bit and the air square brackets notion. "all too true" Kay replied nodding. "and we're never gonna change, not for anyone, or any reason. We're chaotic and I love us all for it" Fia added with a smile, meaning her words. She wouldn't change her family for anything, even after the rocky start of her childhood with Kay. "I wouldn't either kiddo" Kay agreed, briefly noticing how Rinaa curled up onto Jay's shoulder and smiled to herself at the action.

It was only when Elliott linked his fingers with Jay's that Fia caught any kind of motion from the other three out the corner of her eye. She was so wrapped up in her conversation with her parents and godfather that she wasn't aware of anything the other three were doing. She was also very much giving Meyer fuss out of a subconscious action by this point, she hadn't heard from the others about their arrival so she knew not too much time could have passed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay found the weight of Rinaa's head on her shoulders surprisingly comforting. Ever since she'd cut herself they'd seen the more vulnerable, childlike side of Rinaa, she took it as a sign that the teenager was finally relaxing around them and felt she could actually seek comfort from them as opposed to dealing with it on her own (or just suppressing and ignoring whatever was going on in her head). While not as good at reading people as Cliff was, jay was usually able to get a pretty good idea of what was going on in somebody's head by watching them, but with Rinaa it was different. The teenager wasn't just closed off, she was complicated, contradictory and playing her cards close to her chest. But right now it was clear that the girl beside her was just that, a kid in way over her head who needed comfort but wouldn't ask for it.

John just gave a nod to convey that he agreed with the statement, though if he was being honest there were things he would change if given the choice, certainly some things regarding how Fia was brought up and making sure that Elliott survived whatever it was that killed him in Rinaa's timeline. "There's no point dwelling on the what ifs and what could have been, never ends well. We're all amazing and that's that." Chas declared and at the same time all their phones (except Jay's, she hadn't given the number to anybody outside of the core group, Cal, Cliff and Dan) pinged with an incoming message that had been forwarded on by Matteo (it had originally come from Chris). It contained various links to artists forums that had details on the 'Justice Graffiti' campaign and a photo that had been taken at the departures terminal, showing that the piece had been sprayed onto the outside of one of the airlocks on the jump gate station.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both nodded at what Chas said, smiling at the 'we're all awesome' remark. They were both just relaxing enjoying the momentary quiet moment and relaxing moment when all their phone beeped with a notification, making both Kay and Fia both grab their phones and open up the forwarded text. Fia was half expecting it to be something else but when she saw the list of online forums, she knew it would be about the justice campaign graffiti even before she looked at the other painting he found."interesting, seems information on that graffiti piece has been found" Fia remarked. She clicked on one of the links and started to scroll through it, reading what was discussed on it.

Kay did the same thing, and scrolled through the texts, checking out the photo firstly before going back and picking a rand link about four links down to read it. She was impressed at how many links were found involving the piece, whilst paying attention to the one she clicked on. "I know Chris said there were a few discussions on it online but I didn't think there'd be this many" Kay commented as she read, finding some of the discussions interesting to read whilst it really sunk in just how many people were behind Elliott and want for justice for him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa had completely missed the discussion about the graffiti earlier, but one read of the main message 'Teo, I've done some digging (as promised) on the graffiti from earlier, I think these places are worth looking into. There's far more than I was expecting, once I started digging I found all kinds of stuff. I'm also chasing up a rumours on a dark web/deep net site where the artists and randomers geotag the pieces. If it's real, it might help them to see where it started and how far it's spreading. Also the attached photo is of one of the main airlocks on the jump gate' and a look at the attached photo told her all she needed to know about what was going on. There was a low whistle from Elliott as he took it all in. The airlock piece was far bigger than any of the others they'd seen and painting it would take serious balls and organisation. "Wow, this is....." Elliott was left genuinely speechless that all this was because of him. Jay squeezed their linked hands, knowing he needed a grounding influence right them. "So much bigger than I thought it could possibly be."

"Yeah, this is quite something Ell, looks like there's a whole load out there who think you're worth it, not that there was ever any doubt on that front." John remarked, clicking into one of the links and scanning through it. Jay had been reading over Elliott's shoulder the whole time. "If the geotag thing is true, then I might be able to use that data to do up some computer models, find the source, see what way it's spreading and how fast, see if there's clusters, that sort of thing." Elliott could see the cogs turning in Jay's head and the fire in her eyes she began thinking and plotting. Jay had a very mathematical mind and derived great pleasure from mathematics and doing simulations. Rinaa knew Jay's scheming face well and grinned. "At if there isn't a geotag site, you'll damn well make one yourself." Jay nodded, it was pointless to deny she'd do such a thing givene taht the thought had already crossed her mind. "I'll help either way, I'm not quite as sim savvy as you, but you did teach me, so I think that qualifies me." She then gave a chuckle of amusement, re reading the message. "Also it needs mentioning that Christopher Sanches is literally the only person EVER who would decide not to use somebody's given or chosen nickname and instead shorten it to form a new one only he uses."

 

[MzHyde]

Both Kay and Fia could tell that Elliott was completely blown away, even if he didn't say anything, they could see it written all over his face as he read the forwarded text. They both knew there was no doubt in it that he had such a large following aswell as the fact people could see just how wronged he was and quite possibly others like him. They also noticed how Jay read over Elliott's shoulder whilst explaining she could tap into the geotag if it existed and do some serious digging, moving them all forward greatly. Neither of them doubted that Jay would be able to achieve such a thing either, especially after seeing how she built the computer on Cal and Cliff's table, so anything else technical based they didn't doubt her capabilities in the slightest.

They also figured that if Jay was a capable of it, then Rinaa would be able to help out as well, even if she did declare she wasn't as sim savvy as Jay. "if anyone can manage it it's you two" Fia remarked toward Jay and Rinaa. She truly believed what she said as she continued to read, "also anyone found anything that particularly stands out in any of these links?" she then asked, having only found chatter so far about the word of Elliott's arrival/arrest and how the pieces needed to go up more and be more prominent now more than ever.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was no doubt in anyone's minds that Jay and Rinaa were terrifyingly competent duo when it came to data and computers, not just in terms of the making the devices themselves, but programming them and hacking with them as well. It was Jay who answered Fia's question first, having flicked through all the links forwarded. Her phone had software on it that could decrypt alien languages she didn't know, as did Rinaa's, while John had given Chas a rune that translated writen words. "At just a brief read through, nothing jumps out at me, apart from the fact that these sites, threads and artists aren't exclusively Attili speakers. The majority of the ones he's sent us are, which would make sense given that out current theory is Attil was the originating point, but four of these aren't. If we really wanted to find something more I'd say a more detailed analysis is the way to go, read every message out there, going down rabbit holes, that sort of thing."

Rinaa nodded her agreement. "I'm with Jay, just skimming through them it's all the same kinda, there were updates a while back when he arrived and constant chatter/ speculation as to when the court date is, along with pleas to spread the word and get more murals up, maybe make a more public site for this movement........" as she'd been speaking she'd been scrolling through one of the sites, her eyes widening and voice trailing off as she saw something that looked more promising"though wait, there's something here about a potential second phase, something to do with life imitating art?" She tried to keep her tone relatively even as she spoke, even though it felt like her heart was trying to beat it's way out of her chest with anticipation.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to Jay's reply finding it was similar to her train of thoughts. She thought the same thing about just diving down every link and rabbit hole until something was found, yet Rinaa spoke up which made her pause what she was doing and look at the other teenager as she spoke. As Rinaa stopped midsentence her curiosity got piqued as did Kay's. They both looked at Rinaa and listened as she explained what she just saw that made her get distracted from what she was originally saying.

Both of them could hear how Rinaa was trying to remain calm but inside was clearly excited about something. "Life imitating art? Interesting choice of words" Kay remarked. "Very interesting choice of words. Sounds like whatever is being planned these people are really wanting to step up their game" Fia agreed, really getting the citizens of Attil really have had enough of the prejudice that has been going on, despite how welcoming they are with everything and everyone else. Kay was thinking along similar lines to Fia, even if it wasn't openly spoken.

 

[_gallifrog_]

'Life imitating art' was a strange, but very deliberate phrase, which was why it had caught Rinaa's attention. Even though it was just three words it carried a weight with it, an almost threatening weight that made it sound like there was more to it than met the eye. There was more to the whole campaign that met the eye. Cal and Cliff had no idea who was behind it, and nobody in their crew was owning up to it, so John could only assume that it was somebody independent of them who had empathised with Elliott's situation and set the ball rolling. "A second phase? Are you sure on that?" Elliott asked, surprised. He hadn't given any thought to what, if anything, would come after the art pieces, but evidently there were people willing to do more and go further, it was inspiring and strangely humbling to hear.

"Yep, one hundred percent, that's what it says." Rinaa replied, angling the screen towards him so he could see the post in question. "Don't suppose it helpfully tells us what this phase two involves?" John asked, a slight sarcastic edge to his tone as he already knew the answer to his question was no. "Nope, nothing. Not surprising really, this is a relatively new movement and only just gaining momentum. But it does give an encrypted link further down to another site, one specifically for this movement...." she showed the link to Jay."But I need to go dark web to access it and I can't do that from this phone." "Yeah, you'd need a laptop or a proper tower minimum. The Deep Space Dark Net is far more impressive than the Earth based one, it connects thousands of planets and stations, there's serious encryption on everything, some places are invite only. The dark web sites always have the juicy bits and more accurate info, that's probably where the geotags are, if they exist. We could do some preliminary exploring now, but the proper searching and analysis by me will have to wait until we're back on Attil from one of the ship computers, it'll take a lot of computer storage and power to run sims on the info."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia and Kay both thought that Rinaa wouldn't read it out as a second phase coming if she wasn't sure, but they both listened on as the conversation continued on, as Rinaa showed Elliott the exact wording was as she said. Kay glanced at John when he sarcastically asked about that the second phase entailed, before looking back at Rinaa and Jay as they said it didn't but there was a link to a place to the dark web that would no doubt have more information. Kay and Fia found it interesting about how different this dark web was to Earth's version of it, along with how much more requirements it needed to be able to access it.

Fia had once or twice accessed the dark web in her timeline for information that she needed, but she didn't find that many uses for it when she had what felt like to her, an endless supply of accurate books att her disposal. She mostly used it to clarify something that was slightly more modern or for phoenix artefact heist that they now knew she did. She was never sure how her parents would react to her accessing such a part of the Internet so she always kept quiet about it. "so I guess we're at a stale mate until we're back on Attil" Kay said.