Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Jay couldn't help but smile when Rinaa said that her timeline's Jay had said the exact same thing finding it good to know that no matter what the timeline she stayed consistent in that regard. She also took from it that future Jay was kept well informed of her daughters vigilante activities, while everybody else in the extended family group remained oblivious to what was going on. To hear that she was trusted with information about (and seemingly supported) her daughter's illegal activities made her feel strangely honoured. Rinaa was a private person when it came to discussing anything she did with family (be it in this timeline or in her own one) so to hear that her future self was trusted with this was a strange sort of reassurance that even in the shitty war torn world of Rinaa's life, future Jay had managed to do something right.

John wasn't surprised by the whole 'vigilantes liaising with the police thing', he knew from Sara that Ollie The Arrow did just that on a regular basis. The idea of recruiting the labs on certain cases also made sense, scientists were experts in their fields for a reason, it would be stupid to waste such a resource in Jay's opinion. The undertones of anger, outrage and disgust at what had happened to those metas in the container went amiss on nobody. It was clear Rinaa cared about what happened on a level beyond casual involvement. The fire in her eyes said this was personal and that getting justice for the dead metas was something that had been extremely important to her at the time (and clearly still was). Once again the reason behind the passion turned out to be her friends. "That makes sense now that I think about it." Chas replied, as Rinaa pushed off the countertop. "As much as I'd love to keep chatting about all this, the ones in the oven look ready to be pulled out and I should get cracking on the rest of the tarabree. Can't stand here telling tales of my near death experiences and brushes with the law ALL day."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia during the chat and glancing at all the reactions from the conversation topic, had not only just leaned on the counter top but had pushed herself up and sat on it as if she would at her own home. She did it without really thinking and she certainly wouldn't have made a habit out of it in someone else's home normally, but she got so engrossed in the chatter that she just did it. She nodded in agreement at what Chas said about it now making sense why she took it upon herself to agree to taking this guy, before remembering about the tarabree when Rinaa said the ones from the oven were now ready to come out.

"sometimes good food takes priority... And this is one of those moments!" Fia grinned. Her playful tone making it come across as if she was dead serious about that statement (which wasn't entirely far from the truth). The teenager could have a bottomless pit for a stomach at times, to the point that in her timeline if she ever said she wasn't hungry or barely ate what she was given/took from the kitchen her parents would question if everything was alright with her or wonder if she was sick. At which point she'd either give an eye roll and a smart mouth answer or on the rare occasion she would reply with yes, she was in fact feeling like shit, throwing off her parents completely off guard in the process.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay had temporarily forgotten about the tarabree in the oven, much more interested in the fragments of Rinaa's life that were coming to light. A quick glance at the oven confirmed what the teenager said, they were ready to come out, one was even looking a bit burnt around the edges. Jay grabbed an oven mitt and a plate, quickly transferring the piping hot tarabree from the oven to the plate. "Surely good food always takes priority." Elliott declared in response to Fia' statement, taking the plate from Jay and heading back into the kitchen with it. "Agreed." Jay nodded "that's why you always take a bag lied with greaseproof paper to a fancy function, they always make too much food and simply throw it away when it's over, so nobody will really notice if you nick twenty cocktail sausages, some hors d'oeuvres and half a desert table." "Or a bag of holding, bigger on the inside as well as magically lighter than a normal bag would be when fillled with so much stuff." John smirked, following the others back into the living room.

Rinaa turned back to the frying pan and hob, adding some more oil and cooking butter. Even after being caught out dancing and getting far too into it, she felt no shame, happy at the way she'd handled the situation and the fact that Sykes hadn't made any appearance in her mind since the morning's hunt. Either the wolf was actually asleep or had been sated by the hunt and felt no need to act out and lash out at those near Rinaa. The teenager turned the volume back up again (she'd muted the playlist after spotting that the whole group was watching her) and began humming along quietly to the next song as she mixed the batter, before ladling it out for the next tarabree.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia smirked when Elliott agreed and elaborated on her little statement, only to have Jay and John elaborate even further by saying its always good to take a lined bag to stuff it with the spare food, to which Fia smirked more nodding in agreement. She had done that plenty of times for herself and Max. "couldn't agree more, done it plenty of times" she said as she followed everyone back into the living room, noticing Kay opening her eyes at the sound of them walking back.

Kay did indeed reopen her eyes when she heard the lot talking and walking back into the living room, and noticed how Meyer looked up when Fia returned and tried to sit back where she was, despite her spot being hijacked by the dog. "Meyer please let me sit down" Fia commented. Kay smiled at Fia all but begging Meyer to give her her seat back. "think she's pretty comfortable beside me" Kay teased making Fia roll her eyes.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The others took up their various spots in the living room, John had already figured that Meyer wouldn't be getting off the couch anytime soon and plopped himself down into one of the armchairs, smirking as Fia asked the dog to move, the addition of 'please' making no difference whatsoever. Meyer gave Fia a look of 'this is my seat now, sit somewhere else' before proceeding to stretch out her body even further, taking up the rest of the couch, her tail flopping over the armrest so Fia couldn't sit there either. Chas sat himself down in the other armchair, Koso curling up near his feet, while Jay and Elliott sat on the other couch. "Doesn't look like she's gonna listen to you this time Fia." John smirked. "That is the face of a dog who doesn't want to move and won't move, believe me, I'd know." Jay added, plucking one of the still hot tarabree from the plate.

Rhys had chosen to stay in the kitchen with Rinaa for the time being and the teenager had no problem with that. The dog was smart enough to know that it couldn't have any of the tarabree. She reached down to stroke him properly, shoving the fish-slice behind her ear like it was an oversized pencil. The dog flopped onto his side after a few minutes of petting, exposing his stomach, which Rinaa willingly stroked. Rhys had no problem with the teenager needing to jump back up to attend to the cooking so long as she came back quickly. "You really are the smart one hmmm? Meyer wouldn't be happy at all with me jumping back and forth, but you get it don't you Rhys? You good boy."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia looked at Meyer giving her the look of 'no' and sighed as she looked at John when he told her it was a pointless effort to try and get her seat back on the couch next to Kay, as Meyer was making it perfectly clear it was her turn to sit next to Kay, her head on Kay's lap. She then looked at Jay who agreed with John, and glanced around to see where she could sit, deciding to sit on the arm rest of John's seat instead. "I'll just sit with dad instead" she remarked, then leaned forward to grab a tarabree, the heat of it not bothering her in the slightest, as she started to eat it, still very much enjoying it like she did the first time.

Kay just smiled seeing her daughter taking it in her stride and just gravitating to John instead, something she presumed happened a lot in her timeline, especially before Fia started to bond with her in this timeline. She petted Kay as she had been doing during the time the others were in the kitchen, finding it highly relaxing running her fingers through Meyer's fur. "like you ever need an excuse to sit near John" Kay teased with a smirk. "yeah yeah... Whatever" Fia retorted back once again, with her mouth full of tarabree.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Meyer made an appreciative noise when Kay began running her hand through the dog's fur again. While Meyer really liked Fia in general, at this moment in time her favourite person was the one giving her attention and cuddles. John smirked, knowing Kay had a point, Fia didn't really need an excuse to sit beside him or just be near him in general, the teenager tended to naturally gravitate towards him when he was around, just as Rinaa would either be near Jay or have her whole body language facing towards Jay when she was in the same room as the assassin. "Looks like you've been replaced." John smirked, kicking his feet up on the table.

It would take Rinaa about ten minutes or so to cook up the remaining tarabree, the process taking longer than normal thanks to the presence of Rhys. Having the dog around was really raising Rinaa up emotionally. Rhys may have a complex personality like she did, but at this moment, his desires were simple, for some affection and attention. Rinaa also got the feeling that Rhys might just be staying close to her as he could sense the underlying sadness and low level worry she felt all day, every day, whatever the reason, she liked having the dog around. It gave her the comforting feeling of being at her apartment with her own dogs, without bringing on a crippling bout of homesickness.

Once the rest of the tarabree were made she plated them up and headed into the living room, depositing them on the table. She couldn't help but smirk at just how much of the sofa Meyer was managing to take up, running her free hand across the dog's back as she passed. The fact that the tarabree were piping hot didn't stop her from grabbing one off the plate, in some weird way, feeling the burn of the warm food reminded her she was still alive. Rinaa chose to sit on the floor so that Rhys could curl up around her side.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay couldn't help but chuckle at Meyer making an appreciative and happy noise from the attention she was getting. She could tell this was one big reason why Meyer refused to move in this instance and if Kay was honest, she wasn't complaining in the slightest it was nice to have an animal just be so affectionate, but it wasn't enough to make her cave into peer pressure if she got begged to have a pet. Even if she did think dogs could be useful as alarms for danger. She couldn't help but chuckle at John telling Fia it seemed she had been replaced.

Fia leaned back on the arm rest against the back of the chair, using one foot (not in a boot) to balance herself by propping it on the arm rest edge. "it's only temporary because mum is giving her the attention right now. That attention stops? She'll come back to me. Mark my words. Especially If I take them for a second w a l k before Matteo and Co come back" she said, spelling out the word 'walk' so not to make the dogs jump up and demand the walk straight away. She glanced across when Rinaa made it back with Rhys and put the plate down of the second lot of tarabree she made.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia spelling out the word 'walk' in English was a good tactic when it came to the dogs, they didn't understand what she was implying at all. All three dogs were well versed in sign language commands, hand signals and whistled commands (Along with a wide and varied range of vocal ones) however Rhys was the only one of the three who could interpret certain words when they were spelled out letter by letter. The others didn't doubt that the dogs would go right back to Fia when she declared it time for a second walk. "I'm not doubting you on that, those three will love that."

Sitting down on the floor Rinaa neatly crossed her legs, tucking her feet under her legs and out of sight so Rhys could drape his head in her lap. Shortly after arriving on the island she had dispensed with shoes altogether (apart from the wedding ceremony and after party). The soles of her feet were hard and had a thick layer of calloused skin. Hard feet were something Jay had made her maintain from day one, her reasoning being that you never could know when you needed to run or climb barefoot and it was better to have suitable feet and never use them then to need them, not have them and end up having to get your foot stitched. "Good call, they won't be back for another few hours anyway, I know they'll have stopped for food and maybe to see the sights since Moya is with them." The winged girl had volunteered to go and see the others off, Rinaa had warned her that she could potentially be in a funk for the whole day due to Sykes, and had admitted she would feel happier if she knew her girlfriend was somewhere where Sykes couldn't do or say anything to hurt Moya.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just smiled in that manner said 'I know' that wasn't fully smug, but there was an essence of it. She knew the dogs wouldn't be able to figure out what she was on about if she spelled out the word in English, after spending so much time with them, she got to learn what they could and couldn't understand when it came to the spoken word, amongst the other signals as well. She had noticed how Rinaa didn't wear anything on her feet the whole time she had been there but Fia just couldn't do that. It was also habit to wear footwear, especially with the kinds of walls she had been on with Matteo and the dogs. Yet since she made it back into the house after today's walk, she had kicked off her boots at some point and were on the floor in front of the couch where she was sitting before Meyer took residence.

She nodded at Rinaa's words, knowing that she was no doubt right. "yeah, I figured that's what they'd all do as well, the eating bit anyway. So already had it in my head to do you know what with these three at some point later. If you feel like joining considering how much Rhys is being attached to you, you're welcome to" she replied casually with a smile. Using the offer as a way to be equally polite (and show she was willing still to keep the peace) after Rinaa offered to have Fia join her and the others in the evening of the wedding. She also figured if there was at least two of them, they could keep the dogs clean easier than if it was just her.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa hadn't been expecting Fia to ask her along on this walk, thinking that the other teenager would prefer to go it alone, or that if Fia did indeed want company she'd ask somebody who wasn't Rinaa to go with her. On instinct one part of her brain started screaming 'it's a trick! It's a trick! She's got ulterior motives', but Rinaa ignored that part. She could see that the offer was genuine in the open and honest look in the smile on Fia's face. "I might take you up on that" she replied evenly, a very slight upturn at the corners of her lips. Rinaa didn't want to commit herself fully just in case something happened that meant she couldn't do it."And yeah, we've kind of grown on each other." She agreed, giving a rub to Rhys' head, the dogs tail wagging lazily in appreciation.

Fia's invitation was seen as an olive branch of sort by the others in the room. It was true that Rinaa had asked Fia (albeit over text or while Matteo's group was present) if she wanted to join in with whatever they were doing, but a invite for a group activity was very different from an invite for a one-on-one thing. There was a far greater likelihood of something going wrong if it was just the two of them, but on the reverse side of that same coin, there was a far greater chance of things working out if it was just the two of them. And it wasn't like they hadn't proved they couldn't get along when alone before, they'd manage it on Attil during the trips to Deke's lab when making and perfecting the violin. It was a mature move, and John did wonder if it had anything to do with what he'd said about Fia being the only one of them who could remind Rinaa of the person she had been when she was Leah, the person she should be.

"Well it is the dog that chooses the person" Jay shrugged, prompting Chas to ask about something that had been nagging at him for a while. "I'm guessing you grew up with dogs then, given how well you seem understand them and how they listen to your commands more than any of ours." "Yeah I did, the Isogriii tribe I grew up with had various hunting and tracking dogs, so dogs were always a constant presence in my life, even if neither I nor my brother owned one ourselves."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia simply nodded when Rinaa said she might take her up on the offer. She knew it'd be a 50/50 chance on whether Rinaa will or not but she figured she would put the offer out there anyway, especially with how attached Rhys had gotten with the girl. As much of an olive branch to Rinaa it was, it was also a way to keep Rhys happy. She did want to offer it to everyone, and she would have loved nothing more than to go on the hike with the dogs and John, just to have that father daughter moment, but she knew deep down keeping things positive and good with Rinaa was so much more important.

It was also a lot of John's words that helped her come to that decision mentally, and if it went well she would tell John that it was down to his words that made her have the courage to ask Rinaa. She just didn't want to jinx anything just yet or say anything in front of everyone whilst they were all present. That was for a moment when no one else was around or at most, only Kay was around. She looked across at Chas and Jay when he asked if his assumption about Jay and dogs was correct, listening to the answer that Jay gave them all. She figured it would be something like that, and she certainly knew Jay knew how to control dogs from what she witnessed in Rinaa's timeline at the shipment container. "it just have been nice though..to have them around even if they weren't technically yours?" Fia said back.

 

[_gallifrog_]

What Fia had seen on the island and at the shipping container were only a tiny portion of the things Jay knew how to do with dogs. She's passed down all her knowledge in that area to her daughter when Rinaa began training her own three dogs. These dogs were partially the reason 'Artemis' had become her code name and alias after the Greek goddess of the hunt who also had dogs by her side. At Fia's question she initially nodded, before going into more detail. She had no idea if Fia was ever going to use what she said as a way to persuade John and Kay to let her have her own dog and Jay would rather not be misquoted or have her words twisted around to mean something else entirely. "Yes and no would be the short answer to that."

"And the long answer?" "I grew up in a huge tribe of people, an everybody knows everybody and everybody else's business sort of thing. Sometimes I'd just want to get away from people for a while and volunteering to help train, groom or walk the dogs was the easiest way to do that. Dogs sometimes are better than people, and easier to deal with too. And it is fun to be a part time dog carer as Fia can attest to with these three. Training the dogs themselves is a challenge mentally, physically and socially. We took training beyond the level that Cliff's family have gone with these guys, and we all know how well trained they are. A good dog trainer has to earn a dogs respect and loyalty, a bully can force a dog to do something with more ease, but when it comes down to a fight or a rescue, it'll be the good trainer that wins out in the end."

"On the other hand there were negatives, once you start training it is a commitment you have to see through with it. You can't just quit. The dogs wren't pets, they were fighters and it is CRUSHING to see a dog you spent hours bonding with, training with and working with bleeding out and dying in front of you, though in a way it desensitises you to death, which is a pretty useful skill in my line of work. And then there's the dog owners themselves, some acted like superior assholes and their traits rubbed off on their dogs. There was one person I knew who trained their dogs to all but attack their bitter exes, and this guy had a lot of those. And then there was the whole punishment of having to be the live target for the attack dog training, you get armour head to toe and have to run an escape course while they chase after you in a pack trying to bring you down and bite you. Again, it does have benefits for my line of work, you very quickly learn parkour so you can jump places the dogs can't, but there's no denying how terrifying it is to be chased or how easily it can go wrong. That answer your question?"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia wouldn't think to use whatever Jay was about to say in response to her question as a way to get her own way about convincing her timeline's John and Kay to let her keep Max in the house officially. Yeah, she wished she could be open to them both about it but she wouldn't go so far as to twist Jay's words to try it. She wasn't that bad despite what some people might think of her and she also didn't want to piss Jay off by twisting anything she said, she saw a snippet of her pissed off side in Rinaa's timeline, and it did make her scared of Jay for a while. So no way was she going to risk it again, and she other options in her mind anyway.

She listened to the short answer Jay gave before Elliott asked for the long answer. It was this answer that made Fia listen more intently, always having enjoyed the snippets of information Jay would let them know about her Isogrii days. She hated the fact that there were bully trainers even in other planetary systems and worlds, as those kinds of 'trainers' always annoyed Fia. She hated how some people treated animals, and always hoped one day they'd get their karma for such cruelty. She continued to listen, nodding every now and then at the words, and finding similarities in police training dogs to what she witnessed or was apart of. "reminds me of the police and military train their dogs some of that. But yeah, I'd say it answers the question" she remarked with a smile.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia wasn't the only one fascinated by the stories Jay had about days with the Isogrii or running with a crew of space criminals, both Elliott and Rinaa were gripped by these stories. Rinaa knew the most out of everybody in the room about jay's assassin life having lived with the Isogrii and experienced some of it first hand. Elliott didn't know anywhere near as much as Rinaa did, it had taken years for him (or anybody else in AJ's crew) to gain enough of Jay's trust that she would willingly tell them stories and anecdotes from her past life. More often than not they came out as a sort of explanation by Jay after she did something spectacular that they didn't know she could do. While not as personally invested in Jay's backstory as Elliott, Fia or Rinaa, both Chas and John always found themselves drawn in whenever Jay told stories of her former life, she had a knack for telling stories, and they were always interesting, revealing another layer or aspect to Jay that they mightn't have guessed was there before.

John couldn't help but smirk at the person who had trained dogs to all but attack their exes. "Really? Somebody actually did that, training dogs to go at their bitter exes I mean." Jay nodded, oblivious to the fact that it was this person's strategy of dealing with their exes that had become the inspiration for using dogs to deal with the Fia in Rinaa's timeline. They knew the teenager wouldn't hurt the dogs, but that the dogs would damn well go for Fia if she tried anything with Rinaa. "Yup, he really did. It's quite a smart way of dealing with it given that they weren't going to stop sleeping around and pissing people off. It was a pretty good way of figuring out who he'd fucked recently." Jay nodded at Fia's comment about the training being similar to that of the police or military. "It was exactly like that, keep in mind these dogs weren't pets even if they did have owners. They worked to earn their keep. Some of the dogs started off as strays that were adopted along the way, a bit like me and my brother I guess."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was also surprised that someone would go so far as to train dogs to go after their exes. She couldn't imagine putting that much effort to do such a thing toward an ex, but then she had never been in a relationship before so she couldn't say if she would have done the same thing. If the dogs when she visited Rinaa's timeline had been more on attack than just staring at her, she would have wondered if Rinaa had done the same thing toward her other self, but they didn't give her any inclination that Rinaa had done the same thing. She listened to Jay say how it was pretty smart, which made her listen more to the reasonings for why Jay thought that and decided she needed to be a lot more open minded for such a case.

She nodded when Jay confirmed it was exactly like those dogs in the military or the police force, glad that her observation was correct. "I can get that. They were work dogs rather than pets. Just like on Earth when you see either the force or military with dogs and they tell you to stay back coz they're working dogs. So makes sense that the Isogrii would treat them the same way." she replied, she didn't know nearly as much about her time with the Isogrii as say Rinaa, but she knew a little from the training days she did with Jay. She noted how Jay said it was a bit like her and her twin brother, and she wanted to say 'I hope you're not comparing yourself to a stray dog' but decided against it as she wasn't sure how Jay would take it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay was indeed comparing herself and Jack to stray dogs. She didn't mean it in a derogatory way, but it was the easiest metaphor to convey their situation before they'd been taken in by the Isogrii tribe. When they'd been taken in by the Isogrii they were not only orphaned, but homeless and planetless too. The siblings had only been accepted into the tribe because they fulfilled the most important entrance criteria- both had abilities related to the reading, understanding and manipulation of timelines. It was customary for the Isogrii to take in orphaned children with such abilities, as well as the occasional non orphaned ones (with the permission of families). The kids were raised as part of the tribe from day one, and no matter how harsh life could get there, how hard the training was, how many broken bones and bruises she'd received, looking back Jay wouldn't change it for anything. She had a few hazy memories of her life before the Isogrii, but her real childhood experience came from growing up as a nomadic assassin warrior.

She nodded again at Fia relating it to what she knew, the teenager was entirely right with what she said. "Exactly like that" Jay agreed, before Rinaa spoke up for the first time on that topic. "The Isogrii dogs have just as fearsome a reputation as those of the warriors themselves, I didn't realise that when I was with them, it was only when I got my own dogs and saw how people were reacting to them, that I realised." "You grew up with the Isogrii?" Jay asked, a slight twinge of surprise in her voice. Rinaa had mentioned them before, but she'd also made it clear that jay had been a constant presence in her life. "Yeah, you went back to the tribe after..... well..... after Elliott died and later when things got too bad on Earth. I spent somewhere between half and two thirds of my life growing up with them. The rest was a mix of here, Attil and Earth, the latter mainly being when I moved back properly for studying and interning there. Being a part of the tribe helped both of us deal with....." Rinaa trailed off before waving her hand in the air to convey 'everything'"shit."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia found it quite sad in many ways that Jay would just think of herself like a stray dog in that time of her life, but knowing how she and her twin brother were orphaned, she also understood why she would compare herself in such a manner. It didn't make it any less somber a thought process in Fia's mind. When Jay continued to confirm that Fia was right on the money with her comparison, she nodded glad that she was understanding it so well. She then listened to Rinaa as she spoke up for the first time during this topic, nodding, somehow not finding it entirely surprising that she would have grown up with the isogrii at some point considering the rest of her life that she had previously divulged to them all.

Yet she could get why Jay was surprised by such a thing when she really thought about it, and continued to listen to how it came about that Rinaa loved with the isogrii for a while. She could tell the teenager still hated speaking of Elliott's death when it had to come up, and she understood that hatred more than everything she spoke of. She could also see that Rinaa was picking her words carefully at the end of her sentence before resorting to the word 'shit'. She actually didn't know what else to say to that, the somber thought that it was still a possibility that Elliott could die always playing on her mind.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay had had no idea up until then just how large a role the Isogrii played in Rinaa's life. It had been surprising enough to find out that Quin was in both their lives and not as an enemy, but she supposed it made a sort of sense now that she knew future Jay had returned to the tribe. If Quin had also come back to the tribe it would stand to reason that she and Jay would have to work through their issues and patch things up if they were going to spend so much time in close proximity. The bitterness and sadness in Rinaa's tone showed when she spoke of the circumstances that had led to her growing up with the Isogrii. The scars left by Elliott's death were very much an open wound for the teenager and Jay believed that future Jay never fully made her peace with it either (just like how she hadn't made her peace with losing her twin). But there was also a fondness in Rinaa's tone and eyes, she'd clearly enjoyed growing up with the Isogrii and being a part of that lifestyle. Her life hadn't been all bad, but her unstable, negative-biased mind meant that Rinaa couldn't help but focus on the negatives of her life.

"And you enjoyed growing up with them?" Elliott asked, there was no judgement in his tone when he asked, he knew Jay had a surprisingly happy childhood and teenage years growing up with the tribe. In a way what he really wanted was for Rinaa to say that her life hadn't been completely shit, that what had happened with the family had been the worst bits and that she had been happy. And more importantly he wanted her to mean it. And one some level Rinaa understood that that was what he wanted and replied honestly with "I really did. It's not as bad a life as it may seem at first glance, being raised with a bunch of nomadic assassins. You see places and people and spectacles that you would never have a chance to otherwise as well as learning and doing all kinds of crazy things and skills. It wasn't conventional or easy, then again none of our lives were, but I wouldn't change that part of my life."

 

[MzHyde]

Out if the two of them, it was Kay who got why Elliott was asking what he did. If the roles were reversed, she would want to know the same answer to that very question as a soon to be parent. She would want to know that despite things going completely upturned and to hell, that at some point in their life that they hated so much, there was good times that she could look back on fondly and not her entire childhood was crap. So when Rinaa replied truthfully saying she did really enjoy her time with isogrii, she could imagine how much relief that must bring Elliott, because she knew if it was Fia saying such things, she would be relieved.

Fia thought it was pretty admirable that Rinaa could still turn round and say she wouldn't change that part of her life. She wasn't sure she could say the same thing if she was her, then again she wasn't fully able to really imagine herself in the situation that Rinaa was growing up. In a way, it was always hearing how Rinaa's unconventional upbringing was, that helped her to see passed future Kay's decisions with her own upbringing and draw closer to this Kay in the process. Not that she would ever tell Rinaa such a thing, but it was there inside her. She nodded at the remark about how none of them ever had a conventional upbringing, knowing that was never a truer word spoken.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The other three all knew why Elliott was asking that question, particularly Jay, as the same question was on the tip of her tongue. It brought relief to both of them to hear the answer Rinaa gave and the fondness in her voice, Elliott because he needed some form of reassurance that even without him around any child of his that Jay did have would be able to live a life where she/he was happy, loved and cared for. It brought relief to Jay because it proved that somehow a grief stricken assassin could be a good parent and that the Isogrii would always be people she could rely on in her life. The statement that made them nod and smile in unison was her last one, the firm statement that living with Isogrii was something about her life she wouldn't change. It was no secret that Rinaa wanted her life to be different, to have grown up not only with Elliott around, but with the whole extended family.

John couldn't help but smirk at the 'none of us had a normal upbringing' remark. "Can't deny you have a point with that, none of us really do normal." The others nodded in agreement, Rinaa reaching out and taking one of the two remaining tarabree from the plate and taking a big bite out of it. She knew what she'd said was quite heavy emotionally and she probably shouldn't have given so much away about what happened to her, but it was clear to Rinaa that both Jay and Elliott needed some kind of reassurance about the future if Elliott was to die (she wasn't denying that the others needed such reassurance too, but in this context it was Jay and Elliott who needed it the most). "And despite growing up eating tarabree with every second meal, I'm still not sick of them" she smirked.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both saw the relief was clear in both Elliott and Jay's faces hearing that there was a point in Rinaa's life she didn't regret and wouldn't change. The smirk on John's face didn't go amiss on either of them, both nodding in agreement with what he said, just like everyone else did. Fia for once didn't grab one of the two last remaining tarabree like Rinaa did, finding she had for once had enough to eat. She decided she'd let someone else have the last one, after having eaten her fair share of the delicacy. She did have to smirk and chuckle though when Rinaa said she could still very much enjoy tarabree no matter how much she had eaten in her time.

"I can see why, I think these are now my new favourite thing ever" Fia grinned. "why am I not surprised to hear that? Let me guess you'll be asking for this constantly now?" Kay smirked, Fia nodding in reply. "most probably, yeah" Fia just shrugged in a non apologetic manner. She really would ask for it properly, especially if she knew Jay was coming over in her timeline. She shifted ever so slightly on the arm rest to readjust her comfort as she spoke then rested back again, making sure not to accidentally hit John in the process.

After a short while, she figured she'd take the dogs for a walk again as she said so earlier. She felt she could do with stretching her legs for a bit, so she sat back up and perched on the very edge of the arm rest. "might go and take the dogs for another walk, you wanna come Rinaa?" she asked, leaning down to grab her boots and yanking them on without undoing the laces. The edges of the leather cracking from years of wear and putting on lazily.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I did say you'd love them, once again, I'm proven right." Jay smirked, she had no doubts that Fia would lobe the tarabree, firstly because of all the spices used in it and Fia's phoenix connection to spices and secondly because tarabree were a sort of comfort food for both Isogrii kids and teenagers guaranteed to bring their mood up. They were surprisingly versatile, working as a snack, a side, a desert or a wrap for a main course. John smirked when Fia confirmed that she'd be bugging everybody in her timeline to make her tarabree or at least give her the recipe, he wouldn't expect any less from her."Though you'll have to ask your Jay for the recipe, otherwise it'd look weird that you just somehow have it."

Rinaa looked up at the mention of her name, when the group had lapsed into comfortable silence she'd ended up grabbing ones of the novels from her backpack and started to read it. It had been a gift and the message scrawled in sharpie on the inside cover never failed to make her smirk. She closed the book with a shrug "might as well, I've nothing else on my social calendar until the others get back." Rinaa didn't bother with shoes as she got up, putting the book back into her backpack again. She took in the well worn state of Fia's boots, which reminded her of her own motorbike boots which she wore all the time around campus. She whistled at the dogs, who all stood up and made their way to the back door of the house. Meyer obeyed the whistle without question, knowing that Rinaa wasn't one to be messed with.

 

[MzHyde]

"I never doubt your guesses Jay. And yeah, that's what I fully plan to do." she smiled noticing how John smirked not expecting anything less from his teenager daughter. She didn't want to risk possibly getting into trouble for the sneaky time travelling hike she's done with her version of her parents by slipping up with something like a tarabree recipe. If anything was going to give her antics away, she didn't want it to be something as trivial as a recipe.

If Fia had noticed that Rinaa was planning on reading, she might not have asked if she wanted to tag along and instead let her read happily. She nodded however when Rinaa agreed to come walk the dogs, pushing herself off the arm rest properly, noticing how Rinaa was taking in the worn state of her boots. She pulled her jacket on that was on the back of the couch as she watched Meyer and the other two respond to Rinaa's whistle. "we'll be back soon, I don't plan on a very long walk for them this time" she let everyone in the room know, before she followed Rinaa and the dogs out the back door.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Have fun, don't do anything stupid" were Jay's parting words, they were delivered in a light tone, but Rinaa knew it was a threat aimed at Sykes, Jay hadn't had a chance to confront the wolf part of the teenager and Rinaa was fully expecting Jay to go full on 'If you hurt my daughter I will hunt you down when you regenerate into a new body and kill you and keep doing it for the rest of my life' when she did. "What she said." Jay's word perfectly encompassed the parting message Elliott wanted to give and did so in less words than he was originally going to use. "Enjoy yourselves." Chas said simply. "Doubt we'll move from here in the mean time, but if you can't find us, we're probably in The House." John told them with a wave. "Understood, I'll give a text if I hear the others coming back." Rinaa called over her shoulder giving a wave over her shoulder, shutting the door after Fia had passed through.

The dogs waited outside looking between the two teenagers, uncertain as to which one they were following and which of the two was in charge of the walk. It had been Rinaa who called them up, signalling that it was walking time, but Fia was the one their master Matteo had specified was in charge. With her sensitive hearing Rinaa could hear the sound of chattering coming from the fields and knew that Benji, Dan and Nat were there. After making sure she was in good hands and that the cut had been properly dealt with, Benji had gone back to the boat to get the chisel in order to clean it of any blood and check for damage. "So which way then?" Rinaa asked, tapping her toes against the ground, a tic that sometimes appeared when she was uneasy.