Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay just had a quiet little chat with Fia talking about nothing in particular whilst Rinaa was talking to Jay in their native tongue. Mostly it was about how well her little project with Rinaa had gone, to which Fia told her it was going fine and they got on alright, all things considered. It didn't last long but it was still good to just talk with her future kid. Fia had also asked how Kay was getting on and if she was feeling better to which Kay reassured her she was absolutely fine.

They only stopped chatting when Rinaa said her goodbyes to go to her classes and then John commented about not understanding her whatsoever. Kay was pretty sure none of them really understood Rinaa. "Pretty sure no one will ever truly understand her. I've heard of people being like a closed book, but she's more like a locked safe" Kay replied. She didn't mean it in an malicious way, only that she was the most closed off person Kay had ever come across.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"That's practically an understatement in this case." Jay agreed with Kay on that, the only one to vocalise her agreement, the rest just nodded. They knew it wasn't meant in a malicious way,theyd all had similar thought about her themselves. Jay ran a hand through her blue hair. By her standards it was getting long, she was overdue a cut. Cliff was in thought over the little she'd seen of the teenager and Jay could see this. "Cliff, you look like you have thoughts on the matter?" If Cal's ravings about her fiancé were true, then she was the one to ask. The doctor made a shrugging gesture. "I can only guess, she's good at hiding what's going on, but I do have a few theories."

All turned towards her, Cliff's observations about people had always proved true in the short time they'd known her. There was something about Cliff that made them trust her opinions. "Well it goes without saying she's suffering from depression, it's a side affect of dying. There's two sides to her- the quiet, secretive, closed off, angry side that I'm guessing she used around family and the other side that's the adrenaline junkie with some crazy interests. The daredevil side she showed friends and more than likely future Jay. I also think she feels displaced, she's a child of no world, I don't know if there's a place she fully calls home. She's haunted by something too.........And there's somebody in her time that she misses, a lot, it's holding her back. She's torn between whatever it was she came here for, and whatever or whoever she has back in her time that's worth staying for. There's something hanging over her, holding her back. She doesn't want us to get close to her. She doesn't want to be understood and I don't think she's being entirely honest with us either."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both looked to Cliff when the topic turned onto her about Rinaa. Like the others, they listened intently to Cliff had to say, which Fia found matched up with what she experienced when being around the girl. "I think it's someone, there was someone trying to break through her mental barriers when we had that chat last night on the fire escape. Couldn't see them, but I could hear a young bloke's voice begging her to let him in and to stop running from him." Fia commented. She hoped she wouldn't screw anything up by telling them that, but it was something she did make a mental note of.

"Then today there was a video or photo or something involving I'm guessing the same guy because she went passed it on the computer so fast, if I blinked I woulda missed the action. She also started writing a song which I think personally was about one guy in particular, but it could have been about her friends. I just think it was the other thing." Fia added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was various forms of gaping at the information Fia revealed. Nobody had been expecting her to reveal that much, or that if Rinaa had told her anything, she'd be under strict instructions of "if you breathe one word of this I'll put a knife in you." But it had just so happened that with Fia's storm fear, Rinaa had never actually given that warning. Cliff's theories had been just that- theories, but to hear them being being so strongly validated was something the doctor herself hadn't seen coming. Rinaa wasn't an easy read, and Cliff had spent little time around her, except in the mornings, so it had been just guesswork. "Well shit, I didn't think I was that right about it all."

"So there's somebody, a guy, out there with not only the ability to get into her mind, but to do it across years of space and time too?" Chas felt this point needed to be brought up. If Rinaa had any form of mental barriers, there were bound to be damn strong even if she hadn't inherited Elliott's gift. "She writes songs?" was what Jay took from it, along with the fact that there may or may not be a secret boyfriend somewhere in time. Songwriting was hard, and nearly every teenager ever had dabbled in it. Neither she nor Elliott had any talents in that particular department. Rinaa hadn't mentioned it, out of shyness she could only guess.

 

[MzHyde]

"I got a feeling she'd kill me on the spot if she finds out I told you all, but considering Cliff basically guessed it perfectly, I said it anyway. And yeah..it seems she has someone in her life who can break through her barriers and yes, she can song write. And bloody well, I'm actually jealous of it, but you didn't hear that from me" Fia replied to them all in turn. Which was a fair enough point that was started and ended by Fia in Kay's mind.

"I got no reason to say anything" Kay commented back. She really didn't either and she certainly didn't want Rinaa to hurt her future kid. Luckily for her, she was damn good at keeping secrets. She also knew the likes of Chas and John wouldn't say anything to Rinaa if Fia told them not to. They werent exactly the gossip about kids types in this sense, so she had no worries that Fia would need to worry about being found out.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"She more than likely would. I have no doubts as to whether she's capable or not." Jay replied, somberly, she wasn't joking about it. Rinaa was more than capable of doing such a thing, espescially when emotional. "None of you saw her the other day, after your arrival." There was no need to clarify that she was talking about Fia. "But she proceeded to smash seventeen shades of shit out of a punch bag as a way to vent. She's got my speed and skills, so none of us want to get on her her wrong side. And if she doesn't want us to know, then unless this person figures out time travel then we're all staying schtum about it."

There was nods of agreement at the steel in Jay's tone. It was perfectly clear, that if they said anything, it wouldn't be Rinaa they'd have to deal with, it would be Jay as well. "I'm saying nothing, I can keep my mouth shut when needed." "I ain't saying a thing, goes without saying really." "Nothings gonna come from me, spoken or otherwise." "Well we're all agreed on that then." Jay reached over and moved a single counter. "Game"

 

[MzHyde]

If there was one thing that Fia didn't want to hear, it was what Rinaa proceeded to do after she stormed out after Fia's arrival. It wouldn't have surprised her if she even imagined Fia's face on that punch bag. The one reassurance she got out of what Jay said, was purely that it meant none of them were to speak of what they discussed to Rinaa or again in general. Fia then wondered why she was still standing up behind the couch, so she walked round and sat on the floor next to Kay's legs.

Kay just nodded in agreement on the end of the discussion and watched Fia walk round and sit on the floor, wondering why she didn't just sit on the couch. "You alright on the floor kiddo?" She asked. "Yup! Floor doesn't bother me" Fia replied. She had a habit of sitting on the floor a lot in her time when she wasn't on the couch. "Okay, if you're sure" Kay replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John didn't find it strange that Fia chose to sit on the ground instead of the couch. The aprtment floor was made of wooden boards, but it wasn't particularly uncomfortable. It was the same alien wood as in the bedroom Kay and John shared. In fact the same wood stratchied through almost all the rooms. "Fair enough." was John's comment on the matter. He was an average speed reader and had made good progress with the book. The copy was slightly tattered, with scribbled notes in the margin. Elliott's handwriting in first learning English had been atrocious, but his writing in Attili was flawless.

The group turned back to their original activities. They'd been doing the same thing for the most part since morning, with a break a while ago to eat proper food (at Cliff's insistence). They had been all engaged in various activities, reading, working or playing backgammon. Jay had been on the roof, both practicing kata, and taking in the view,but she'd come back down, and nabbed one of the later books from the pile. If the group were undisturbed, they'd say in their own little bubbles of routine for the foreseeable future.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay also didn't find it strange as such that Fia chose to be on the floor. She herself had done it enough times when she was a kid, she just wanted Fia to be comfortable. She had also made a decent progress on her book. She was now only a couple of chapters away from the end, which partly made her sad as it meant she didn't have the next installment to continue on with. She decided not long after the conversation had finished to just read the last two chapters of her book, which only took her a few minutes.

It felt like as soon as she started those last chapters, she had finished them. Closing the book, she took another look at the photo she used as a bookmark, smiling fondly at it before she placed it back in the book. It was the safest place for it in her mind as it kept it flat and stopped it from getting ripped or bent. She then wondered what to do for the rest of the day before the evening fell and Cal was home, for their group movie night.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Evening
Evening came around. The sun dipped below the rings and the horizon. The sunset that day wasn't particularly noteworthy. The storm had blown away all the clouds, leaving the sky bare. It was Dan who arrived first of the lot, his key turning smoothly in the lock. It had been a long, hard day of work, and flopping down to watch a movie with his adoptive daughter, her fiancé and the entourage that came with, seemed like the idea of a good evening to him. Cliff was the first to greet him, with signing from her spot. He signed back, having learned to do so when Cliff started to hang around the forge a lot. Nobody had explicitly asked him to do so, but he'd done so anyway, to make things easier.

Shortly after that Cal arrived with Elliott, to the two teleporting into the hallway outside. Cal was wearing the formal armour, which looked exactly like something out of a fantasy novel. The two strode into the room, Cal clanking slightly as she moved, ceremonial armour could be a pain in the ass at times. "Did you miss us?"

Spoiler: Cal's armour

I did just steal the armour from. The cover of Empire of Ash, but it looks so cool

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia both looked up when Dan arrived first, giving the friendly hello nod as he did so. When Cal walked in with Elliott, she had to admit it did make her think of her book series she was reading. It was uncanny actually to Kay, which made her smile to herself. Fia knew exactly why Kay reacted the way she did but said nothing. She also smirked at the question Cal asked, expecting someone of their group to give some kind of snarky or sassy reply.

Fia just went back to playing a game on her phone that she had downloaded. She was trying to beat a level and she was finding it difficult but she was also determined to beat it. She took a few goes before the frustration was showing on her face. "Stuck on a level?" Kay asked her. "Yeah, it's driving me nuts" Fia replied. Now that the others were back, she was getting close to just giving up for the night, yet she had this habit of going 'just one more attempt' several times over.

(Recognised it instantly lol!)

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was impressive armour, they all had to admit it. And the whole royal guard force wore it to pre-emptively put fear into anybody considering screwing around with them. It worked along the mindset of, if they could be incredibly badass wearng this heavy suit, then who knew what they could do without it on. It was protocol that at a given event half the guards would be armoured, half plaincloths and blending in to the crowds. From her perch Jay was scrutinising the armour, even though she liked Elliott, she had to admit in this get up his sister was insane looking. She decided to forego the sassy remark and instead as the burning question on her mind. "Yep, we did, but more importantly how the hell are you expected to walk around in that gear all day?"

"A lot of training mainly, and it isn't as heavy as it looks. But walking around in this is like cardio, endurance training and weightlifting at once. You get used to it, but you still bitch about it." she finished with a smirk. "It's practically a rule to do so. The two most frequently talked about subjects are bitching about armour and bitching about assignments.....and bitching about those in higher rank than you, actually,.... there is a lot of bitching." "I don't doubt that all, sounds like where I grew up." Cal pulled out her ceremonial sword and with a call of "heads!" threw it to Jay who caught it one handed with needing to properly look.

Elliott came and leaned over the couch behind John, pulling the book out of his hands. "Oi! Cheeky bugger, I was reading' that." John grumbled from his spot on the couch, not meaning it in an offensive way. "I know, and it's a rare occasion you read anything of your own free will that isn't a moulding magic book, a moulding magical scroll, an ancient magical tablet or Wikipedia." He flipped to the cover, a smile of recognition come over his face, as he took in the dystopia city on the cover, and the metal armed protagonist. Flipping through the pages Elliott could see his childish scribblings in the margins. "Foriegn literature John? And the good kind at that? I don't know whether to ashamed or impressed that this place is having that effect on you." He smirked, elbows propped on the couch back.

(it fits the bill for impressive female armour perfectly)

 

[MzHyde]

Kay left Fia to it for a little while, if Fia got too frustrated she'd just attempt it for her or see Fia give up. She wasn't fully surprised that Jay would remark on the armour. It just seemed like the kind of thing she'd want to talk about. Listening to the conversation go on, she smirked at the bitching part of the topic. As Elliott came over, her attention got turned to it and again, a smirk appeared on her lips. She chuckled at Elliott's remark about the choice of reading.

"He's not put it down really, so I'd say impressed is the way to go" she chimed in. Normally she wouldn't interrupt a conversation between people, but this just needed it in her mind. "We've already given him the taunts for reading." she added. "Urgh!! I give up it's too hard!" Fia complained to no one in particular, chucking her phone on her lap out of frustration. "Want one of us to try kiddo?" Kay asked. "If one of you are good at puzzles, go for it" Kay said, holding her phone up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John just rolled his eyes, the comments simply sliding off him. He'd heard it all before. And there was an irony in the whole thing that being on an alien planet made him read more. "There's always room for more mocking." Elliott declared, before gently hitting John on the head with the book. John went to grab it, but Elliott whisked it away. At that point Fia threw her phone, diverting their attention. "Don't look at me, not my area of expertise in the slightest. I'm more suited to saying unhelpful things while somebody else plays." In his mind John thought he would more likely make things worse. "I'm not the best either." Elliott conceeded.

He had been helpfully informed by Cal that this Fia was from a different timeline to Rinaa, one where he was very much alive. Yet another thought to wrap his head around. He may have looked like he was coping during the day, but that was mainly because it hadn't sunk in yet. Instead it had been in the middle of the night when he'd had the whole "fucking Hells what the bollocks was that?" moment of realisation. Jay inspected the sword swinging it around her hand to get a sense of the balence and Wright of it, before tossing it back to Cal. "Very nice piece of kit, is it your own work?" She nodded, catching the blade and slotting it back into the rack. "It is indeed."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smirked and shook her head at Elliott smacking John on the head with the head. It was so good to her to see them that way. When the two of them said they were bad at puzzle solving, Kay actually rolled her eyes. With all the knowledge they had, they couldn't solve a game puzzle? She found it ironic. "Give it here then" she said, holding out her hand for Fia to give her the phone, to which Fia did. Jist from looking at the loaded level, Kay could see exactly what she had to do with the game. One of those standard match 3 strategies, whilst trying to accomplish the particular goal it was telling the player to do. In this case, it was to collect all the collectibles on the board by getting them to the bottom of it, and to do it in a certain number of moves.

Kay methodically worked out the best move by mentally making several different starting moves before making the first move for real. Her theory worked and she continued on. Fia by this point was up onto her knees and looking over intently, which made Kay smirk briefly. Two more moves and the first collectible dropped to the bottom.of the board, being 'collected'. Ten more moves left to collect five more collectibles. Again, she worked it out, and within another three moves she got two more collectibles. She kept going until she managed to complete the level with 3 remaining moves. "How?!" Fia asked. "I'm just good at puzzle solving" Kay replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Puzzle games really weren't John or Elliott's things. John just didn't have the patience or the willingness to try them, preferring to do something else instead. Elliott could do them, but didn't gain too much enjoyment from them. He prefer physical puzzles that he could actually physically manipulate. He handed the book back to John, and the two watched as Kay proceeded to scrutinise the puzzle layout. She was clearly working it out in her mind, meaning this wasn't her first time doing something like this. They let her work, and smirked at Fia's obvious shock at it. Considering how long she'd been at it, it was an impressive achievement on Kay's part.

Cal changed out of the armour, replacing it on the storage frame in the stoarge room (the one Chas had chosen to sleep in). She re-emerged in a regular t-shirt and jeans and headed for the fridge, it had been a long work day and she had no intention of pissing off her future wife by not eating something sensible before the inevitable gorging on junk that would happen while watching the movie. She leant against the wall, one bare foot against the wall surveying the scene in front of her.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was aware that she was being watched by not just Fia, but John and Elliott too when she did the level. Fia took her phone back and was still amazed that Kay managed to do a level she had spent a week trying to solve. "Seriously.. I've been trying for a week to do that level" Fia said, closing the game completely and putting her phone in her pocket. "I never knew you were good at puzzle solving" she added. "Most people dont to be fair. It's not exactly a skill worth shouting to the world about." Kay just shrugged like it was nothing.

Kay was also aware by this point of Cal returning in normal casual clothing after changing out of her royal garb, from the corner of her eye. "Now I know, I'm sooooo coming to you when I'm stuck again now. This time or mine" Fia grinned, causing a smirk and eye roll from Kay. "Sure kid" she replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The interaction between Fia and Kay made both John and Elliott smile. John because the two were getting along, and Elliott because it seemed his half sister?...adoptive sister?....seemed to be a cool person who he could get along well with. He could only hope that in her timeline, things were better, both with regards to him not dying, and with regards to Rinaa. Elliott knew he shouldn't compare the two, espescially considering they were from totally different timelines. But he couldn't help but see the obvious differences between the two, which he could only assume were a by product of their timelines. Rinaa was withdrawn, secretive, and emotionally scarred with some serious shit on her mind. Fia on the other hand seemed to be none of those things, or if she was, they didn't extend to anywhere near the level they did in Rinaa.

"So what are we watching. Ypu said you'd tell me back at the apartment Cal."The others kept their mouths shut, letting Cal take one for the team and answer. If she wanted it to be a surprise, then it was going to stay that way. "Patience brother" Cal slurped up a noodle before continuing her sentence,pointing the fork at her brother. "And besides, not everybody is here yet, the other teenager is stuck in the joys of Attili subway traffic." "It's still that shite?" Elliott asked with surprise in his tone. "Yup, espescially on the student run." "Turns out she's insanely smart and mechanically minded, started a dual honours in mechanics and engineering a year early." "I had no idea." Elliott was genuinely surprised by this, it hadn't come up in conversation before. "Neither did I."

 

[MzHyde]

At some point, Fia knew she'd want to spend some time with Elliott from this time a bit. So he could know her a bit better, mostly so he could see she wasn't as bad as that first impression gave. Fia definitely had her secrets and her concerns in life like she told Rinaa but she wasn't nearly as badly withdrawn as Rinaa was. On the whole she was a happy teenager, who loved to be playful and make jokes which would be something Elliott would soon enough find out.

Just like the others, both Kay and Fia kept quiet about what film they'd be watching later on. Kay knew that if Cal hadn't of told him when she first got him out of prison, then she did for a good reason. She also let Jay explained that his kid was an insanely smart student, something Kay had no doubt would at some point make Elliott and Jay proud of Rinaa for. "She's building a motorbike from scratch at the labs and the framework is looking amazing. Not to mention, she's helping me make a fully functioning crossbow violin. So smart is an understatement!" Fia added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott raised an eyebrow at Fia's list. He'd missed a lot it seemed. It was clear he was impressed with the idea of building a bike form scratch. Jay had known about the bike, she'd seen the plans, and asked her about them. All Rinaa had said was that building a bike from scratch was something she'd wanted to do for a while, and she'd wanted to customise it to suit her frame and her specific needs. "It really is, from the little she's said about her intelligence, she's far, far smarter than she wants us to think she is. And she's been wanting to build her own bike for years, create something customised for specifically for herself and to be able to ride it bkth off world and on world. Something about being able to put her heart and soul into making an idea come to life."

"Like crafting your own engement rings?" Cliff inquired, clearly talking about Cal and their rings. Cla had learned some metalwork alongside regular forging, and had made their rings to match their elements. Cal had the ice ring, while Cliff had the fire. Jay nodded. "Same principle yeah. The personal element of it makes it all the better. Like pilots building their own ships or designing your own tattoos. It just means more when you do it yourself."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia listened to them all chat about the subject of the bike. Fia was glad that she didn't accidentally divulge a secret of Rinaa's, as it was clear that Jay knew about it and had talked with Rinaa about it in some way or another. They could both agree that nothing beats a personal element to whatever was made or created, whether it be a tattoo, a piece of jewelry or a mode of transport of some description.

"She's certainly impressive. I think it's a shame she hides just how smart she is personally." Fia commented, feeling like she could contribute with her thoughts after spending those three hours with her in the lab. She did truly believe what she said as well, she couldn't fathom why someone so smart would want to hide it. She was far from stupid herself, but her IQ wasn't up to the level that Rinaa's clearly was. She certainly didn't have the same knowledge of certain things as Rinaa.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Both Rinaa and Leah hid their intelligence from people outside of family. Neither wanted to be that person who did nothing but harp on about how smart they were. Leah's intelligence was known among her family and friends, but she didn't make a big deal out of it, but every so often she would say something that showed just how many leagues she was ahead of everybody. Rinaa had concealed it just like she'd concealed everything else. It was habit more than anything else at this stage. "If her timeline is a bad as she's portrayed it to be, I can only assume it's an instinct at this stage. Suppress anything that would make her stand out, only showing it or revealing it when there's no other choice. But I can only guess about it."

It was at that moment that door clicked open and the subject matter of the conversation walked in. She had earphones in, but pulled them out and turned of the music with one hand while tossing the key onto the hook where the others were kept with the other. The key hooked perfectly. She swing off the bag and her jacket. "Sorry I'm late, but traffic is blergh out there." She pulled a face to convey her thoughts. "How was the copious amounts of maths kiddo?" Jay asked. Rinaa shrugged slightly. "It's not as bad as I thought it could be, but practice is needed. Kept asking the lecturer questions afterwards, couldn't tell if he was impressed or pissed"

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't doubt for a second about why she hid it, Leah in her timeline was similar in that aspect. It didn't stop Fia thinking it was a shame however. She would have said something else but that was when Rinaa walked back in from her lectures. She still didn't envy her doing the subject topics that Rinaa chose to do, and instead just thought it was impressive she could such lectures.

"If your lecturer is anything like the ones on earth that I've interacted with, then it's probably a little bit of both. Impressed that you paid attention enough to have questions, but pissed there's so many when they want to go home or on break" Kay spoke up, having some kind experience in higher education and lecturers. She certainly had many a time when she was studying art of the past or particular artists, meaning she got so fascinated a.million and one questions flooded her kind and she needed more answers. Her lecturer was impressed she was that passionate about the subject matter, but they did get annoyed many times because Kay wouldn't let them go on break or home until her questions were all answered.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa let out a slight smile at Kay's remark, she was in a good mood, despite her brain being totally fried from the maths. It was visible in her body language and tone, she was more relaxed and calmer. Immersing herself in learning had been good, it had allowed her to cast off the overshadowing darkness that her impending death had on her. She'd given up her course when sh ercwieved her diagnosis, instead focusing on trying to find cures. Looking at her Elliott could see that like Jay her eyes changed depending on her mood. They were a couple of shades lighter than they had been earlier. "I think you're right on that. They probably wanted to get home like the rest of us, as far as I know there wasn't any lectures after mine. And I had a lot of questions, but there's no such thing as too many questions, or at least that's what I was told."

She took the bag and brought it over to the table, removing the books, placing them on the table in orderly piles. "My barins kinda fried though, but I have enough brain power to watch something with violence, sci-fi dystopia and complex character plots." She'd been texted not to tell Elliott what they were watching and to keep him guessing until the last minute. "You people are killing me with the suspense. Are you actually gonna tell me?" "Nope, we'd rather watch you figure it out, it's better that way." Dan replied in Attili.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay noticed that she managed to make Rinaa smile slightly, instead of piss her off which was a small achievement in Kay's eyes. Like the others in their ever growing group, she noticed how Rinaa seemed to be a better mood than previously. Studying and learning was a clear de-stresser for her in a weird way. She nodded in agreement about the whole 'you can never ask too many questions' comment. She thought the same thing as it meant you just learnt more. "Agree there" she simply said as Rinaa put her books down on the table in an orderly manner

She smirked at Elliott getting frustrated by the secrecy of what film they'd all be watching. Rinaa had given enough clues for him to figure it out, but the fact he didn't is what made her smirk. She didn't need to understand Attili to get the just of what Dan could have said to him. "Seeing you get frustrated is much more amusing anyway" she told Elliott. "And it's not like there haven't been clues mentioned" she added.