Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

The walk to the apartment

Kay was glad she got it right, knowing her luck she could have pointed out an obvious thing and it would have been no where the correct thing. She was intrigued by the other thing that she didn't know and when Cal literally spelled it out to her, it all fell into place. "Clever sod. He reversed his name" she commented with a smile.

The Apartment

Fia nodded, "exactly, which is why I go to them for advice and stuff. It's Cal actually that gave me help with the blades I used today." Fia said. She noticed him write on his wrist, and it seemed old habits die hard in Fia's mind, as she knew he still did that in the future. Even she had picked up the habit of doing similar, she wrote on her hand a lot to make mental notes. It actually made her smile. "I do the same thing" she remarked.

She tried to think of what else she could tell him without giving too many spoilers away for what's to come.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Near the apartment
"I don't know whether to be proud of him for doing that, and twisting it so much, or to lambast him for being such a basic bitch with his name choices." Cal admitted, dismissing the fire letters with a wave of her hand. "But either name suits him, and he didn't call himself something ridiculous so that's a good thing." She was still calling him by his birth name, and probably always would, he'd said it was okay after all. Though she knew that if anybody else did that, it would be like rubbing salt in the wound. She ascended the inside staircase, making her way up to the top floor of the building, stopping to pick up the mail along the way. There were two envelopes and one post card.

The apartment
"Yeah, they're cool, not my style, but cool none the less. Wonder if she'd recognise her own work?" John mused idly. It was said that all artists recognised their work, and blacksmithing surely counted as an art form. He noticed Fia watching write the note to self, and when she fessed up to the same habit, he guessed she'd copied him doing it. "It's the only way to remember anything for a long time. In this case it's something I want to ask Cal about a particular weapon and it's whereabouts." He wanted to know what happened to the sword that scarred Elliott as a kid, and figured with her blacksmith connections she would have the best idea out of them all.

Cliff descended from the upper floor "Heads up, Cal and Kay are heading back, they'll be here in less than a minute." "How'd you know?" "We got a driadic bond, I pretty much always know where she is." "You're shitting me, a driadic bond? An elemental driadic bond?" John knew the significance of this fact.

 

[MzHyde]

Near the apartment

Kay laughed lightly at Cal's comment about Elliott's choice of name change. "A bit of both probably would work" she said in an amused tone. She had noticed how Cal still called him by his birth name, but she also kind of understood why. It's what she had always known him as, so it would be a lot to get used to calling him a different name. She followed Cal up the stairs to the apartment, letting her grab the mail as she went up.

The Apartment

"You said the exact same thing when I first got them and I do wonder the same thing" she chuckled, she had wondered if Cal would recognise her handwork or not. Fia then just nodded when he said about its the only way to remember something for a long time and she agreed whole heartedly. "it's why I do it too. I can be forgetful sometimes, and it helps. There's usually a lot of music notes noted down in my case" she said smiling. She would always get an idea for a tune in her head to play on the violin, and would not it down musically so she'd remember it.

When she heard Cliff call down that her mum and Cal were practically back, she wondered how she knew and as soon as she wondered, Cliff had answered the question that John asked. "That's like a rare bond that's stronger than yours and mum's right?" She questioned.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The apartment
John took note of the fact Fia took down music notes. He'd have to keep an eye out for that. He would have commented, were it not for Cliff's revelation. Fia's assumption was the vaguest of outlines. "In essence yes, but it's a lot more than that. Driadic bonds are common enough, binding two opposite powers together, but a bond in pure elementals is rare. Most elementals have control over at least two if not more of the fundamental forces. But a pure elemental is rare, they have the potential to harness every aspect of their chosen element. And it's always between elementals of opposite powers, acting as an amplification of both, making the bonded pair stronger together than apart. The opposite pairing is what makes it such an insanely strong connection."

Cliff nodded in agreement, confirming what John said. "It's not strictly speaking a romantic bond, but when it is, it becomes even stronger. There's no physical sigil like you and Kay have, it's just there. But one of the benefits menas that I know where my partner is at all times, when she's in the same timeline as me of course. Takes practice to interpret exactly what the bond is telling me, but they're pretty much at the door."

No sooner had the words been spoken, then the key sounded in the lock and the door clicked open. Cal walked in, followed by Kay. The two immediately started rapidly signing back and forth. Cal passed over the postcard. While Cliff read it, Cal wrapped an arm around her, reading over her shoulder. Cliff read, rolling her eyes at what was written, before laughing and passing it to Cal.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to John's explanation about the bond that Cal and off have. She hadn't read up on many bonds in the magical world or non magical world's, but she had done some reading. So she was still open to learning more, and she loved learning about these sort of topics. She nodded, showing she was understanding what he was saying, and her face clearly showed she found it interesting. She looked up when Cliff added to the conversation, explaining in further detail. "So cool" she just commented, just before Cal and Kay walked back indoors.

Kay took the spare raincoat off and walked over to the couch where John and Fia were. She noted how Fia had already made herself at home in the apartment. As Cal and Cliff read the postcard, she sat next to John on his other side, so not to be in-between him and Fia. "Everything go okay?" Kay asked, having not known what happened. "Yeah, you're safe to live another day in the future" Fia smirked. "Good to know" Kay replied, leaning on John, to sit in a comfortable position. "So..have I missed anything since you been back?" Kay asked again.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cliff could see Fia's obvious fascination with her bond. It made her smile, feeling that at some point or another they'd have to demonstrate just why their bond was so formidable. When the two fought isde by side, they were a force to be reckoned with, and people thought twice before pissing one of them off. Cool was an understatement of epic proportions, but she appreciated the sentiment none the less.

"Yep, we suceeded." John replied at the same time as Fia. He didn't give details on what had happened, all that matter was that future Kay was safe to go about her life. "Jay and Rinaa went to get fake ID so they can roam around the city without chance of being arrested and slammed into prison." He added, not exactly vital information, but worth taking a note of. "It's mainly been random talk, but there's been one bombshell......our two time travellers are from alternate timelines. In Fia's timeline Elliott survived, and Rinaa isn't dying,along with other differences we didn't get to. Hence the error of judgement with the nickname."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to John speak at the same time as Fia and she couldn't resist the smile that appeared on her lips. They in that moment, definitely came across as father and daughter in her mind. She then listened to John's news on what had gone down whilst she was in the forge with Cal. Somehow the idea of Jay and Rinaa going to do illegal things in a sneaky manner wasn't surprising, considering they both met in prison. What did surprise her was the bombshell news John gave about Fia and Rinaa.

It certainly did explain the error in judgement about the nickname toward Rinaa, that was for sure. "Uh...huh. I see, that is one hell of a bombshell, but explains so much like you say..with the nickname." She replied, wondering what other mind blowing bombshells would dawn on them in the day. "Other than that, just been talking about random stuff about each other and showing dad a pic of my violin" Fia added. "Nice! You picked up a more classical instrument like me" Kay replied, feeling quite happy about that. "Yeah, but I don't play classical at all" Fia explained. "Neither did I on the piano" Kay clarified. Sure, she could play the classical pieces but she preferred original pieces.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John could see the shock on Kay's face at the explanation, and that it was quickly followed by a look of realisation that this all made perfect sense. As he had said, it explained why there had been such a massive error of judgement with the nickname. That issue would have to be resolved at some point or another, before it caused a massive schism between the two newly formed families. Rinaa hadn't taken it well, and justifiably so and John didn't know she was going to react when she came to find Fia still there. Rinaa already knew and ha made herself scarce whether it was by design or coincidence. "Still gotta figure how to deal with it."

So none of them were classical musicians (Elliott included in this). It seemed fitting that they'd all have that it common. John had never learned classical guitar, or even learned guitar the traditional way, he was self taught, with the input of a couple of mates. "Same here, never really saw the point." In the background Cliff and Cal were doing their own thing, signing back and forth.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was in agreement with John, it did need to get sorted out...somehow. "I guess we'll have to try and explain to Rinaa later why Fia made the mistake and try and keep other information as locked shut as possible" Kay replied. She didn't want to know how Rinaa would feel about the idea of Elliott still being alive in Fia's timeline and the such. She knew Rinaa wouldn't take the apology from Fia, after seeing how she yelled at her earlier.

"I can play the classical stuff, but don't like to. That's only because my birth mother taught me by teaching me through the more classical stuff, I stopped the moment I got the hang out of and did my own thing" Kay replied when talking about music. "I got videos on my phone of me playing if you're interested?" Fia then said, she was never as shy about showing people she could play, like Rinaa was. "Go on then" Kay said in response, she was intrigued to see what her daughter grew up being able to do. She watched as Fia pulled her phone out again and scrolled through a few videos before deciding on one. She handed it over, and Kay took it before pressing play. It was a basic video but it was obvious she was up on the roof of John's apartment around sunset. Something Kay could only imagine was a deliberate choice on Fia's behalf. Fia was seen able to not only play her violin that was custom made with a crossbow (something Kay would have seen for the first time), but she ability to dance around the roof whilst playing.

John would have been able to seen the similarities in not just how Fia danced like Kay did that night on the ship, but in Fia's fighting style as well.

( the piece)

 

[_gallifrog_]

Fia clearly had no shyness about her abilities when it came to music and was totally willing to share. John could only hope in the future they were both encouraging of her talents, both having a music talents themselves. John adjusted his seating position to see the phone screen better. He instantly recognised the setting, how could he not? He'd spent many hours on that rooftop, either smoking or cheating with Elliott and Chas when the weather was suitable, and sometimes when it wasn't. It was just one of those places to hang out. He recognised the violin from the photos, it was certainly striking.

And he was impressed by her talents...... very impressed in fact. He could see the parellels between her fighting style and dancing skills, along with the fact that the latter were clearly inherited from Kay. He wasn't a violin fan or hater by nature he was neutral on the instrument. But seeing Fia's talent was making him reconsider it in his rankings.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia grew up with the attitude of if you find a talent for something don't be shy about showing it, but instead of be proud of it. She wouldn't know it yet, but it was Kay that always told her that and it was something that always struck a chord with Fia and she took to heart. It was one of the things that made her and Rinaa so different and clash. Fia also always preferred the roof of the apartment to play, she found it freeing, though if she wasn't up there, she was sometimes seen dancing and playing around The House if she needed a break from studying or researching.

Kay was blown away by her kid's talent. It was haunting to her, and like John she could take or leave it when it came to the violin, as she found very few people who could play it well. But here Fia was showing serious talent and giving new life to the term violinist. She couldn't stop watching the entire time as she recognised the dance style as her own. She also could have sworn it was like what she kept hearing in her head when on the ship or on the roof of the forge. When it ended, she handed the phone back to Fia. "You got skills. I'm really REALLY impressed!" Kay praised her. "thanks, I was telling dad earlier that I did a cool guitar and violin duo with Ell that we recorded the audio of. It's probably my favourite piece I've done because we burst into laughter at the end and the recording caught it." Fia replied with a smile, the praise meaning a lot.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Rinaa's had hidden their musical talents, and for similar reasons. They both used music as a way to vent their emotions about everything in life, even if they could talk about it, they could express it in other ways. The Rinaa on Attil had hidden them as they'd proved to stark reminder of the Elliott in her once, and she had no intention of giving more ammunition, so she stuck to gigging in secret with her friends, or messing around on rooftops somewhere off world with friends. The Leah in Fia's timeline simply lacked the confidence in her musical abilities to show it to the others of her own accord. She saw no point, considering two of the people she knew were direct descendants of a literal mythical being known for her musical talent. They had found out about her guitar skills eventually, but the only family to ever hear her sing were Jay and Elliott. She'd refused to let anybody else hear her, and never practiced at John's or Elliott's or The House.

"Same here kiddo, you've definitly got talent." John wasn't as outgoing in his praise, it had to be earned and worked for. But when it was given, it was meant sincerely.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia always cherished John's praise the most, only because of how rarely he gave it, and she knew how much your have to work for it from him. She knew she already had it from his future self, but it still meant a lot that he could give it in this time as well. "Thanks. Means a lot" Fia replied truthfully. Kay could tell that Fia really did mean it when she said it meant a lot to her and she just hoped that her pride and praise for Fia remained as she grew up.

Kay then took her boots off, and adjusted her position slightly to get comfortable. Fia couldn't help but glance over and she was noticing how Kay hadn't changed that much in her time, but at the same time had changed a lot. In her time Kay wasn't so much about curling up into John, and it was rare to see for her. She took it as a sign of getting older, but she did like seeing her parents sit more casually and not be afraid to sit close to each other when she was nearby. She wanted to find ask both of them more things, but she just didn't know what. Kay just enjoyed relaxing on the couch with her family, resting her head on John's shoulder, pulling her feet up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John knew his praise would mean a lot, it was obvious from Fia's expression that he didn't change at all in that regard in the future. John couldn't think of anything to say either, so he, like the rest of them lapsed into silence. Picking the right questions was hard, as doing three questions that morning had proved. It seemed like ages ago to him that they'd sat on that roof and Rinaa had explained some pretty awful things about her future, which was only made worse by knowing that out there was another timeline where everything was different. He wondered how the two timelines could still exist at the same time, and which one would win out in the end. Would they even know when the divergence occurred and why? What was the event that caused the divergence and when would it happen.

He shook that train of thought out of his mind. Worrying about future time lines never went well, and now was really not the time. Looking down at his hand he saw the note to self scribbled across his wrist. Now seemed as good a time as any. He leaned back over the sofa back and directed it at Cal. "Hey weird question, but it's been bugging me since I got here." Cal looked up. "Try me, I might know." "What happened to the sword?"

 

[MzHyde]

Having Fia here with them, and hearing there was another way their lives could go did make Kay feel a little more hopeful that she wouldn't turn into this monster Rinaa saw her as, and there was still a chance Elliott would survive. After the roof chat with Rinaa, she really needed this dose of hope and positivity that having Fia around was giving her. She knew Fia wouldn't be around forever with them at the age she is now, but it meant she'd make the most of it whilst she could.

The moment John leaned over and asked about the whereabouts of the sword, she knew instantly which one he was referring to, but not sure if Fia would know. She glanced at Fia and as her daughter looked at her back, she knew Fia did know. "Was told the story, so yeah, I know what sword is being mentioned" Fia confirmed Kay's internal question, which was received with a nod from Kay. "Okay, was just curious" Kay replied to her, making sure not to interrupt Cal and John's part of the topic.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Ah yes, the one my father used to attempt to kill my brother with? Yeah, I know exactly where it is." Her voice portrayed both her hatred for her father, and the fact she'd been expecting the question to come up at some point. John nodded at her answer, there was no other way to put the question. "That's the one, like I said, it's been on my mind since I got here whether it's still in possession of the arsehole or not." He had been wondering if Elliott's father still had it, or if it was somewhere else entirely. He didn't take notice of Kay checking if Fia knew what he was talking about, being more focused on Cal's answer.

"No he doesn't, and if he did, I'd have stolen it when I left home, or stabbed him with it myself." And she would have. Ever since Elliott had been back, she'd been contemplating giving her father a matching scar, but decided against it, as it would only show the familiar resmeblence more. Cliff squeezed one of Cal's shoulders, knowing exactly how she was feeling. "But by that point it had already been taken. The blacksmith who made it had already taken the blade from the site as soon as he heard what it was used for. Its practically a crime to use such a beautiful ceremonial sword to do such an awful thing. He put the sword under the extreme left flagstone in the forge it was made...... and it's still there in Dan's forge to this day."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay had heard that anger from Cal about her father earlier on when they had their chat. She listened in on the conversation because it was a bit difficult to not hear it. She was also slightly curious herself for the answer if she was truly honest with herself. She was glad to hear the sword was taken from their fathers when it happened, but she wasn't expecting to hear it was Dan's forge that held it. Not that she knew if there was more than one forge on Attil or not.

She wondered how Cal felt about the sword being in the very forge she grew up in mostly and worked in. "How do you feel about it being there?" She asked Cal, unable to lean her head back enough to look at her and she felt too comfortable to move yet again. "Must be hard some days surely? To know the thing that hurt your brother is where you work?" She couldn't imagine being near a weapon that hurt her family. She was pretty sure she'd want to either not work near it or destroy the item just to make herself feel better.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John read through the lines of what Cal was saying to the hidden meaning beneath. He was going to ask for confirmation on his thoughts, but Kay got there first, asking the more sympathetic questions. Cal took a moment before answering the question. It had been a shock to find out where the blade was residing, but there was more to the story. "Saying its weird is an understatement. It's a beautiful blade, the balence the form and the engravings just above the hilt. But it's been forever marred by it's misuse. I didn't know that my brother had been scarred by the blade. I only found out when I saw the blade, and the blood on it for the first time."

"And before you ask, it wasn't kept a secret from me. It was the exact opposite in fact. It was the first thing that Dan told me, before he even offered me the job. He wanted the fact out in the open. It was Dan who made the blade, and he wasn't just offering me this job out of guilt." Seeing the expressions on the others faces, she added "Karma's a bitch sometimes."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to the answer that Cal gave them. She figured John would want to ask more, but she felt it needed a tactful and more sympathetic way of continuing the conversation. Not that she doubted John's ability to be tactful, it just so happened she beat him to it and had a knack of asking the sensitive questions. She thought that Cal might find it weird, so to hear her say it wasn't too much of a shock to Kay.

Hearing she praise the blade itself, it was obvious to her that if it wasn't misused so horribly, she'd love the object greatly. It saddened her that Cal didn't even know the blade had scarred Elliott until she saw the blood on it. She had to hand it to Dan for being completely upfront with Cal when he offered her the job. That couldn't have been an easy thing to admit to Cal, so it was an admirable action in Kay's mind. It was also admirable that Cal would still agree to work in the place after finding it out.

"It may be a bitch sometimes Cal, but it's admirable you held yourself above all and still agreed to work there in my opinion. Proves what a great person you are, not many would be able to do it" Kay replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal had appreciated the upfrontness too, though it had been a shock when Dan had lifted aside the flagstone, and pulled out the sword, still wrapped in an old off cut of leather and handed it to her. She didn't need an explanation to know what she was holding, or how it had gotten there. But Dan had explained anyway. From that gesture, she'd learned all she needed to about what kind of person he was. It was a hard stance to take, espescially considering just how wrong it could have gone. She respected him for making the call to tell her before anything else, not having her find out by accident and have things turn nasty. If she didn't want to work at the forge then he understood.

"It'd be ridiculous for me to hold a grudge over something he had no influence over. It's like when you get in a car crash. You hold the grudge against the other driver, not against the people who made the car in the first place. Its just stupid. I can't control what people do with the weapons I make, and neither could Dan. But he still knew what this meant, and would rather I know, and turn down the offer, than accept and live an illusion. That action told me he was a solid guy. And he gave me two weeks to make a call. It took less than two days. It took a bit of getting used to, knowing it was lurking under the floor as a constant reminder, for both of us. We tend to avoided that corner like the plague. It was also the first thing he told Elliott yesterday."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to what she said back, finding what Cal said made a lot of sense and proved what an open minded and rational person Cal actually was, even under those situations. After hearing that it was the first thing Dan did to Cal, it wasn't a shock to hear it's be the first thing he'd do for Elliott as well. It was only fair in Kay's mind.

"Says a lot about your mindset that. A lot of people on earth wouldn't think that rationally, and just let their emotions carry their attitudes, instead of their minds." Kay pointed out. She had heard many stories where people blamed the wrong person for an incident or crime, and refused to back down from their hatred for the wrong person. It just created more victims and more hate in the world, and solved nothing. It was a horrible cycle that never ended, and just created more and more idiots.

"Mum's right. It's easier to hate anyone and everyone whether they're involved in the initial thing that created it, and not focus that hatred on the right person or better still just let that hatred go and move on" Fia added, showing her more mature side.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Asking if Elliott knew would have been John's next question, but Cal beat him to that. Taking the moral high ground in the situation was inspiring and showed a lot about her character. "Props for doing it, and actually thinking about it, not just taking the easy way out. It's far easier to lump the blame on any thing nearby and then just bugger off. Elliott always said you were a solid. And Dan really sounds like he was made from the same mould as Chas." John himself wasn't exactly good at thinking things through and putting the blame on the right person, all to often putting it on himself, or somebody unrelated.

Both Cal and Cliff smiled at the words of the three on the matter, knowing they all sincerely meant it. Cliff had been lip reading the whole conversation, Cal having moved to let her future wife see her talking properly. "I'm not the only one who can think things through, Cal had her moments of great thoughts in among the absaloutly shite illogical ones." "Thanks for the vote of confidence" Cal sniped back with a loving smile. "Any time."

"I'm not one for taking the easy route in general, I like a challenge. But at that time I was still living in a storage locker and resorting to thievery to survive. So I'd learned to make decisions rationally, not just spur of the moment, but thinking long term too. I guess this was a second chance, for both of us. And it worked out perfectly for the both of us.

 

[MzHyde]

Both Fia and Kay nodded in agreement at John's words that echoed their own. Both of them knew how self destructive John could be, so hearing him praise someone for doing it the right way was quite a big deal in both their eyes. Like with many people, they saw what John does as the easy way out, even if they know it's the wrong way out. Kay always noted every time John pointed out how other people did it differently to him and him showing admiration to that person. She mostly did it, as she knew if he ever got in a bad place or just slightly low mood, she'd be able to remind him of what he tells other people.

She also smirked at Cliff's little retort about Cal and let out a little chuckle, seeing their little interaction as nothing but love for each other. "and a second chance to better than no chance. I can totally agree with that one, I don't regret taking my offer of a second chance that's for sure" she replied, having always seen John and Chas' offer to stay with them to get answers as her second chance, and glancing at John with her own loving smile before back at the group.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John knew that most of the advice that came out of his mouth was totally hypocritical and the exact opposite of what he'd do in most situations. He wasn't going to lie to himself and say he'd have acted like everybody else, knowing full well he'd have done the opposite. He knew exactly what Kay meant about her second chance, agreeing to stay with him and Chas (and later Elliott) to let them try and help and figure out what was going on. Nobody could have predicted what had happened next. Finding out about her being a pheonix seemed the least of the things, Elliott's hidden life had come to light, as had a whole load of other crap. And now the whole time travelling daughter and granddaughter situation. If anybody had told him what was going to happen in his future, he'd have laughed them off, told them they were totally of their scone and making crap up.

Even if her life story was vastly different to all of theirs, Cliff could understood exactly what was being said about second chances. Her story wasnt like theirs and her second chance was more of a new start than anything else. "I don't think any of us ever do when looking back. There's always doubt at some point, but in hindsight it was the right choice." It was obvious that like the rest of them, she was speaking from experience. Seeing the expressions of interests, she continued the story. "My second chance was the medical student that got me talking again after the bomb blast left me deaf at eleven. You probably wouldn't know, but the one of the common reactions to going deaf is to go mute too. Communication seems to have little or no point, espescially when you grew up with four noisy siblings like I did. It lasted about four months and in the end it was one of the junior medical students who snapped me out of it, and taught me signing and lip reading, despite not being deaf theselves. And that's part of the reason I became a doctor, to help people in the same situation I was, which sounds kinda cheesy, but it's true."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay listened to Cliff when she added to the conversation, and like the others, listened with interest. When Cliff said about the common side effects to going deaf is to go mute, she did actually know that. She had no idea where she learned it from, but she did know that. Back on earth, there were many deaf people who were mute, so he information wasn't something new to her. As the story went on, she could see instantly how that'd be a second chance for Cliff. To have someone who was determined to pull a kid out of themselves and find a way to continue living their life around their disability was an incredible thing to do. The ultimate act of kindness in her eyes.

"A lot of people find their calling because of similar to situations like yours Cliff. It's not cheesy." Kay replied with a smile. She truly did think that as well, she'd always hear stories of people being in trouble and someone comes along and inspired them to take the same job of their saviour. She found the stories inspiring not cheesy, in her eyes the universe needed more people willing to help others and not hurt others.