Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

Kay saw the recognisable looks the two of them exchanged of 'who should speak first' before Elliott spoke up and have her the long and short answers. She nodded at his words and was half expecting most of that answer. She would have been more surprised if he said 'yeah I'm fine with everything' and left it at that. "It was bound to be an intense day for both of you in a roundabout way. So that's not surprising to hear." She replied to them. "Myself and Chas just had the day to ourselves in the apartment, chatting and stuff whilst this one" she said, gesturing towards Fia, "went out for most of the day with Rinaa, finishing her violin crossbow, went to a shooting range apparently to test it out" she finished saying, which made Fia perk up.

"Yup we did and it shoots and plays SO good!" She grinned. "We also took the scenic route back through the mountains on bikes and just hung out which was cool" she added, having a feeling Elliott would know where she was talking about. She took out her phone, brought up the pics she took of the view they had and showed John and Elliott to show where they really were.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay looked up at the mention of Rinaa and Fia actually managing to get along and work together. Also the words 'shooting range' had piqued her interest. She definetely wouldn't say no to offloading a whole load of clips into a target either for fun or as a distraction from life. She could only practice shooting at A.J's place when the whole bunker was clear and was sure she wouldn't hit anything sensitive. Given the amount of equipment they had for tech support, she didn't risk it. There were raised eyebrows from John and Elliott at the two managing to stay near each other and not have Rinaa attempt murder. It wasn't that they didn't belive it couldn't be done, it was the scale of the mental hurdle Rinaa had to jump over in order to do so.

Elliott looked at the pictures and isntantly knew where they went. "That's the third or fourth best view in these particular mountains. I know the exact spot, hasn't changed really since I was there. Cal do they still do paragliding up above the observation post at 'Thysabos'" He gave the Attili name for the place, knowing there wasn't an English version. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure they do" Cal mused. "You wanna go sometime? You did miss out on the school trip there." John took in the image "How is that only the third or fourth best view? That's damn well beyond anything on earth." "There's some insane mountains up there, I've been through a lot of the area, mainly with Cal when she'd ride her bike up there and we'd go to practice somewhere secluded. I wanted to sketch them when I was younger, but I wasn't very good at sketching them at the time." It was probably the most he'd ever said about his past in one go with such a large group listening and he said it with complete confidence.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia noted the raised eyebrows at the idea of the two teenagers spending so much time together and not murdering each other. She listened to Elliott about the views and area, with Cal's input about going paragliding, if Elliott didn't go, she sure did. "I'm now wondering the same thing, it was so amazing up there and peaceful. We had a good ol' chat and stuff up there. We did spend some time apart in the music part of the campus, so she could play her guitar in peace and I string up the violin and tested that. As I said to mum earlier, the uni is so good" Fia spoke more, feeling like she was having a proper conversation with her brother for the first time since she got there. Which was something she was craving so much as she was used to always being able to chat with Elliott in her time.

"Maybe you could try and go up there some time soon and sketch the views now you got the skills? Looking at the pics, wouldn't mind doing that myself to be honest" Kay replied to Elliott, though the idea of riding a bike up a mountain whilst pregnant didn't seem like the best idea she'd ever had. She noticed how much more confident he was when talking about this aspect of his past. She also was letting the realisation hit her that everyone seemed to have a much more productive day than her and Chas, apart from when the two of them had that heart to heart and Chas told her about having to tell John she had been keeping pretty important secrets from him.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal and Cliff looked at the photo too and nodded their agreement with Elliott's ranking of the view. "There's a lot of debate about what the best spot is, the mountains themselves are damn breath taking, even if some of the peaks and crags were formed by explosive blasting. Free-climbing them is amazing. But the best views have the river and the gorge waterfall." Jay came over and looked at the photo of the mountains out of curiosity. "I'd say I could free-climb a good portion of that." She remarked nonchalantly, gesturing at the sheer face to the left hand side of the photo. "I gotta see that if you do." Cal remarked.

Elliott smiled hearing Fia further confirm the two teenagers were getting along. "The uni is awesome, obviously I never attended it, but I was there on campus, mainly at the sports arena to watch some of the student games. Cal assures me their reputation is just as good as it always was." He didn't ask about Rinaa's music, it was one of the first things his daughter had explained once they got over the basic introduction, that she had a severe fear/social anxiety when performing in front of family, and as much as she'd like to demonstrate, she mightn't be able to. Which he'd readily accepted. "I probably will yeah, it's on the list of places to go for fun, now that I can ride myself and not have to rely on a lift. And there's literally nothing to draw in the cell, there's only so many sketches of shadows I can do before I lose my mind. I'd highly recommend seeing it in real life, the photos, as good as they are, don't do it justice."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia willingly let the others all look at the photos, just feeling like she was apart of a massive family meal. There wasn't a single person at the tables who she didn't get on with in either timeline so she was enjoying the whole time with everyone. It just reminded her of her family meals out back in her timeline, and she'd rip up tiny pieces of napkins, roll them up into balls and flick them at Elliott, to which he would return the gesture and it'd end up in a discreet battle across the table. "That's cool! Didn't see too much of the sports section but their music and various shooting ranges were damn impressive to experience. Makes me seriously consider uni when I go back to my time" she replied in a manner that didn't let anything slip about her being not being allowed to attend college or university.

"Well maybe we can go together and have a sketching afternoon or something? If you're up for it that is" Kay suggested when the topic went to the idea of sketching the mountain views. She may be pregnant but she didn't want to cooped up in the apartment for the foreseeable days until the wedding or the day trip for shopping for said wedding. "ooh that reminds me! Mum totally drew you earlier Ell" Fia chimed in. "that's hardly news worthy Fia, Ive drawn most people round this table by now and I got restless" Kay said, thinking nothing of it. Fia just shrugged, "still was a good sketch though of Elliott, dad, Chas and Sam" she just said. Kay just rolled her eyes at her kid.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I was only ever in the amphitheatre, or occasionally the bike course. There wasn't really much for me to do there, I personally prefred being up the mountains or at the construction site" He paused, then corrected himself. "Well the buildings are finished now, Cal's apartment block is one of them. I know in this time my sketch of the view from the roof is hanging up on the wall at John's. I removed the rings, but if you go onto the roof, it'll match exactly bar that. Hope that sketch is still up in the future." He remarked idly. At Kay's offer, he nodded, not having any problems. "I'd give it a go alright, though I'm not sure what my schedules like for the next few days, I'll have to put you over to my social coordinator."

He gestured at Cal who adopted the universal newsreader voice and face, going deadpan serious. "And the next article of news, my brothers social life. Although he spends far too much time languishing in prison I believe there may be a suitable opening within the coming days, keep tuned for more updates on this fascinating story." The last part of her spiel turned sarcastic. Cliff started laughing, as did John while Elliott rolled his eyes. The laughter died down quickly when Jay spoke up addressing Fia. "Uni's really great, although the first few weeks are apparently like being thrown in the deep end. But you get used to it. And the university here? It's renowned across various planets, I actually applied for a place when applied for the Royal guard." Jay remarked.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was desperate to tell him it does still exist in her timeline but she was unsure if she could or not. But it was a tiny little thing she figured, yet it was always the smallest things that made the biggest changes. Whilst she contemplating if she should tell him or not, he replied to Kay's offer about going together and having a sketching bonding session. Just like the others, she laughed at Cal's response and manner of responding to the remark. She then turned to Jay who replied to her about what university was like and she nodded smiling. "I love the challenge of pretty much anything. I just wonder with my current schooling if I'd even be able to get anywhere" she told Jay.

Kay turned back to Elliott after Cal spoke and smiled, "then we'll find the time and do it" she commented, letting Fia talk with Jay, feeling slightly relieved she wasn't being bugged by her kid for a few moments. "I swear that kid hasn't stopped talking all day or if she has she's been eating copious amounts of the brownies I made earlier" she smirked.

 

[_gallifrog_]

At Kay's remark Chas merely chuckled. "Welcome to parenting enjoy your stay. Trish is exactly like that sometimes, so it's just a normal teenage thing." Cal, Elliott and Cliff had all known Jay had applied for a guard position, but none of them knew she'd applied to the university as well. "You never mentioned that you'd applied for university here." Elliott remarked, curious to know what exactly Jay had applied for course wise. "It never came up" Jay shrugged, flicking a part of her hair back over her shoulder "and I didn't get a chance to attend even if I did get a place." That was due to being sentenced to a maximum security prison.

"I might know somebody who can get the records and see if you would have been accepted.....if you are still curious that is?" Cliff just put the offer out there, knowing that she'd damn well be curious to know if it was her in Jay's shoes. "I might take you up on that, since we're doing the whole trip down memory lane, and I can't exactly go home and do the tour." Her eyes betrayed nothing when she spoke, but Elliott's hand came and gripped hers, knowing that the memory she was talking about was a raw one. "So what course did you apply for?" Cal inquired, curious as to what it was that Jay would have chosen to specialise in, given her already impressive skillset. "A joint honours course, advanced mechanical/quantum field mathematics as one as forensic science as the other." Came Rinaa's voice before Jay could answer for herself.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay chuckled at Chas' reply to her words about Fia. She knew it was a typical teenager thing as Sam was just like Fia, whereas she was the quiet one. She found teenagers were either one way or the other. "It's usually one end of the spectrum or the other. Either non stop talking or silent" she agrees with Chas. "Not all of us are the silent and brooding type like you were" Fia quipped back at Kay. "Alright smartass" Kay retorted. Kay and Fia both then listened to the conversation going on about Jay and her application to Attil's university. She was curious to what Jay could have applied for but not nearly as curious as the others.

She was however, surprised to hear Rinaa's voice appear out of nowhere answering the question that Cal asked before Jay could answer for herself. She wasn't expecting Rinaa to be joining them knowing what it was she was planning on doing when she went out. Fia was also surprised to see Rinaa so soon, mostly expecting not to see her until tomorrow.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There were a lot of raised eyebrows at Rinaa's appearance. Being with the group wasn't her forte, she'd never appeared at a full meal of the group. But yet she'd appeared anyway. "I was wondering if you'd come or not." Jay remarked, having informed Rinaa that the meal was happening and the invitation was open if she wanted to come. "Somebody" she narrowed her eyes in the direction of Cliff and Cal who just shrugged in faux innocence "told Deke that family eating was going on, and that it was happening here. So I'm passing by the bookshop when he calls me and says I'm not allowed to go and work in the lab and must go eat here instead. So here I am. Plus the foods amazing here, so it hopefully shouldn't be that bad."

Cal and Cliff made no effort to deny that one of them had told Deke, knowing full well that he'd tell her to prioritise family over the bike. They also knew that crazy haired tech guy was somebody Rinaa respected and listened to. The teeneger flopped down into the only remaining chair, which was between Chas and Jay. "And before you ask how I know your degree courses, you told me. And taught me a hell of a lot of complicated maths." Jay clocked her head from one side to another in place of a shrug. "I was, and pretty much still am a big maths nerd." "Pretty damn sure that's where I got it from." Rinaa replied, slinging her bag over the back of the chair.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay looked from Rinaa to the faux innocence expressions on Cliff and Cal's faces as Rinaa explained what she was doing here and why before Rinaa managed to get herself to the only remaining spare seat going. She figured it was a good thing that they hadn't actually ordered their meals yet. She smiled as the little bit of banter was going on between Jay and Rinaa, feeling like this massive family all had the kind of attitudes that meant they had sassy kids or siblings, making all conversational topics rather interesting.

She also respected anyone who could comprehend mathematics in any shape or form. Maths was her weakest subject and unless it was seriously basic stuff to get through life with, she just couldn't figure out numbers in any shape or form. Which she figured was why she turned to art more than anything else. She was just glad that she didn't take an interest in architectural art as that would have involved so much maths, she was pretty sure her brain would imploded on itself trying to figure everything out.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was at times like these, Elliott could really see Jay in Rinaa's actions and he knew under the 'tough as nails, yet scarred' facade she possesed the good parts of Jay. "Forensic science? Really?" He asked, raising an eyebrow and earing a dig in the ribs from Jay. "Don't be so judgemental on that Elliott." Jay had a defiant edge to her voice, she was going to defend her university choices to the bitter end if it came to it. But there was also a fondness to her tone, that hadn't been there in the morning. Her posture was far more relaxed and the trip had brought her closer to Cal and Cliff and more willing to open up and feel a part of the group. "It's actually a fascinating career, plus I'd been on the dealing end, so I figured it would be a better application of my skills. Either that or just do more advanced piloting stuff, that requires a hell of a lot of maths."

"So that's why Toby was always hanging around with you before any major exam, it makes sense now." Jay just rolled her eyes. "Your brother can be quite dense sometimes." "Oh I know, it's not a recent development." Cal smirked, earning a laugh from Chas and Rinaa. "So what are people ordering? And did we miss anything during the day besides violins, mountains and shooting ranges?" Cliff asked, figuring that it was best to ask now as everybody was here, to save confusion for whatever poor staff member was sent to deal with them.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay noticed the change in Jay at the dinner table, seeing how much more relaxed she was to be a part of the group. She noticed it from the moment she started talking with Fia, noting how it was probably the first proper time she had done that to any of them that wasn't Chas. Now seeing her defend her subject choices like so to Elliott made it more clear. She smiled at the banter going between the two of them, particular more so when Cal got brought into it.

The moment Cliff asked if they missed anything other than what was already spoken about, Fia just smiled and shook her head. Of course there was the whole topic of Rinaa flirting with the girl in the bike hire place and getting her number and such, but it wasn't Fia's place to say anything. "Nope, not really" she replied in a casual tone, that hinted she wasn't exactly telling the full truth but was keeping quiet. She wasn't exactly lying either because there wasn't anything to say that involved her directly. "As for food, I might go for the grilled chicken dish like mum" Fia added, changing her mind yet again since looking at the menu, deciding that Kay's choice sounded good.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cliff knew Fia was holding something back, it was glaringly obvious to her, maybe not to anybody else at the table, but Cliff saw it. She didn't push at the matter, figuring that it more than likely had something to do with time travel and their respective timelines. And even if it wasn't, she truetd that Fia had a good reason for holding it back, in her opinion Fia was a good person who could make the right choices when needed. So she nodded at the choice of dish. "Good choice, though almost everything they do here is amazing." Cliff had eaten at this place for work meals (which consisted of all the doctors griping about work, rounds, their partners, kids if applicable, family drama and passing around general family gossip), even before she knew Cal's connection to it.
"I would say you didn't miss anything on our end, but that'd be a lie. Have you seen the school uniform your brother used to wear?" She asked, knowing that there was a good story in this that nobody would mind her telling.

"Oi! If this wasn't a restraunt I'd challenge you on that." Elliott smirked, not really offended by it. "And I'd kick your ass into next week." Cal smirked confidently, despite having no idea whether that was true or not. The two then gave looks to Cliff, Jay and Rinaa saying 'back me up here'. "I'm just gonna watch, probably with a massive vat of popcorn and throw it at ye when it gets boring." Rinaa smirked, her eyes dancing with life. "I second that excellent plan. Though I'd say we could take both of them in a plas match." "That a challenge?" Cal raised an eyebrow, to which Rinaa responded by leaning forwards and propping her elbows on the table. "Yup, two of us versus the two of you, first to five points plas-ball match. In?" The other three nodded, the idea of a family game had nene swirling for a long time now.

 

[MzHyde]

Out of all of them, Fia knew Cliff would know she was holding back at least one thing from today's little trip round Attil with Rinaa. She held back the whole Rinaa practically getting a date with that Moya because it wasnt her place to say and she was still trying to prove she was trustworthy to Rinaa, compared to the Fia Rinaa knew. Or at least trustworthy enough to get respect in her choice for keeping Rinaa's business solely Rinaa's. If Rinaa wanted the family to know, she figured Rinaa would tell everyone herself.

Fia shook her head at the school uniform question, smirking as the topic kept going and escalated to a challenge of plas-ball. "Two things, no I've not seen it and two I wanna watch that match" she smirked chuckling. Fia felt like she fit in well enough to keep joining in on the conversation and it felt so good for her to be able to converse like this, even if it was who she considered family. She always grabbed these moments with both hands and made the most of it. She just shined and her personality truly showed. It made Kay smile fondly seeing their future kid be like this and not be like her at that age. It seemed there was hope to Kay that Fia wouldn't turn out like her. Though it did make her remember the talk she had with Chas about having to tell John those secrets at some point and think back on her teenage life.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Cal laughed at Fia's statement about wanting to go "this isn't a game you can't not watch. The only one with a legitimate excuse not to would be Elliott and prison, but as he's playing, its mandatory attendance for all." "And besides, nobody in their right mind would want to miss it. Earth sports are utterly boring compared to the kind of sports available off world" Rinaa gave her opinion to which all the aliens at the table nodded. She then lapsed into thought and added "well except for ice hockey, that's awesome." "Ice hockey?" "You can deliberately hit people with heavy metal sticks and do rugby style barges on a really low friction surface. What's not to like?" "Fair point."

Cal passed over her phone to Fia, having located the photo in question. It was a photo of the photo in their apartment, Elliott and Cal in school uniform at the start of the last school year they spent together. Elliott was around twelve, while Cal was sixteen. The uniform consisted of a grey jumper that was always oversized and baggy no matter what size it was bought it, white shirt, dark trousers and a sort of mustard coloured tie. It wasn't completly hideous, but it wouldn't be winning any prizes for beauty. "That's the uniform out school had when we wore it. It's awful, and those jumpers are itchy, too hot or too cold depending on the season." "Don't talk about those jumpers, I still remember them...ugh" Elliott gave a mock shudder. "And as is typical of every school ever they changed hem the year after I left."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded and chuckled at what Cal was saying about the game, with Rinaa joining in. She also had to agree that ice hockey could be quite the game to watch, it also made her roller derby was quite the sport to watch that was pretty violent at times. She had spent a lot of times watching videos on YouTube or on TV of both sports. "Roller derby is damn violent and entertaining to watch too" Fia added whilst she waited for Cal to locate said photo of school age Elliott. When the photo was found, she took Cal's phone to look at the photo, stifling the chuckles of seeing Elliott so young. It was the stereotypical reaction of a little sister really. Seeing such an uniform made her suddenly glad homeschooling meant no uniform. She laughed at what was being said from Cliff and Elliott before handing Cal back her phone. "Suddenly homeschooling has it perks" Fia remarked.

Kay couldn't remember being told that Fia was homeschooled, so it came slightly as a surprise that they would take that route with Fia, yet it wasn't entirely surprising at the same time. She knew in her heart if future her and John resorted to homeschooling then it was for her protection and her own good. Though she did wonder who would have taught her and what. As only John knew about Sam being in their lives again properly, and Kay didn't. Fia was determined to keep that bit of information from her mother as a surprise and in her eyes it was a bit of a major spoiler to give away.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa nodded at the roller derby remark, but let Cal speak for her. "Well if you think roller derby is violent, it's taken to a whole new level when you strap high powered rockets to the skates, put the players in lightweight armour, add in a ball made of literal plasma and a low friction oval arena surrounded by a forcefield and shove in twenty players, letting them do parkour and use the forcefield as a playing field." She the reactions at the description Rinaa chuckled slightly. "That's the two minute introduction to what phas-ball is. It's absaloutly dope to play and can be found on a lot of the major planets, nobodys quite sure where it started, but it's spread and caught on."

"Not all school uniforms are that bad, this one is a particularly awful example, mine back home in junior school was pretty nice actually, but that's probably because it was designed for a waterworld." It was in fact the exact opposite of Cal and Elliott's formal one. It was more like sports gear than anything else. " Prize for best uniform out of us would definetly going to the warrior tribes, they have some damn awesome armour that trainees wear." "Pilots uniforms gotta be a close contender, it's like in The Right Stuff, you actually get given badass aviators as part of it, and they are the kind that stay on during aerial stunts too." "Priorities" Cal replied deadpan serious and solid, as all the pilots at the table nodded their agreement.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia listened to the condensed version of what phasma ball was all about, and smiled, only finding she definitely wanted to see a game of it even more so. She definitely got more of her adrenaline junkie side from the male side of her direct family rather than Kay. Its not that Kay didn't have her moments, of course she had. When Elliott first properly trained her, it was clear she had that streak in her and her love for bikes. It just so happened that as she got older and became a mother, she became less so.

Both Kay and Fia listened to the topic staying on what school uniforms were considered cool back when most of them were of school age. Kay couldn't give any input to that as she had no uniform so to speak due to her schooling happened in the states most of her life. She was barely in school long enough in the UK to remember her school uniform up to age 9, which is when she moved. "I can't even remember what my UK school uniform was like. In the States we didn't have school uniforms, just wore whatever we wanted, as is still the case and always will be" Kay commented. "Though it does have its disadvantages of not having an uniform, the amount of bullying that went on because one kid didn't have the right branded shirt, sneakers or bag was insane." She added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa, Cliff and Jay had all grown up in high octane environments from birth, and being an adrenaline junkie was a mark of pride and a way at becoming the best out of the group. For Cal and Elliott it had been something they'd gotten themselves interested in. It started with rule breaking on Cal's part to train Elliott to keep his magic a secret, but from there is spread for both of them. Cal with racing, thieving and fighting, Elliott with expanding his magical skills, learning parkour and getting involved with John's life. Adrenaline was a staple for them, something that was part of their daily existance.

At that point a waiter arrived, who gave Rinaa a brief nod of recognition and a quick comment about the change of hairstyle. They'd ended up near each other in a maths lecture as the hall was packed and those were the only free seats. The waiter took the order and vanished downstairs. "Who's that?" "Somebody who was at one of the calculus lectures with me, nobody of great interest really." Rinaa shrugged by way of explanation. Not all of them may have experienced the lack fo school uniform, but there was a collective groaning and running of hands through hair when competitiveness and status in relation to branding came up. They'd all experienced it at some point. "Here's me hoping that kidn of shit was only exclusive to this part of the universe, apparently not."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay didn't pay too much attention to Elliott asking Rinaa who the waiter was as it was obvious that she knew the guy. When she just brushed it all off, her attention turned back to the other topic when everyone groaned and clearly understood what she was meaning when she mentioned about the bullying over petty things. As Cliff spoke about thinking it was only exclusive to her part of the universe, Kay shook her head. "Sadly not. Growing up attending school in the States was ruthless. School shootings sadly are a common thing over there as it's a reaction to a kid getting bullied relentlessly day in and out. Kids end up thinking it's a badge of honour to graduate with no harm coming to them" she explained, her voice somber, as she thought back to her own school life.

Kay was no different to some of those poor sods. If it wasn't her hair that drew attention for the bullies, it was her "tattoo", and if it wasn't that it was the fact she wasn't a Seattle native, and people found out she was an out patient in Seattle's mental institute. She got out relatively unscathed but she did have some close calls at making her life more troublesome for herself when it came to Fee. Luckily for her she had Sam to help her get through it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Everybody at the table shook their head in unison with Cliff, Jay and Rinaa most vigorously of all. Cliff had lived on two planets in her lifetime, seen that kind of behaviour on both and knew deep down that it was a universal thing, but she didn't want to accept it. They listened when Kay told her story, reading between the lines they'd all been victims of bullying at some point or another. "It just something that seems to be universal to all places, I'm sure each one of us here has some story of bullying and the kind of relentless treatment that puts you into a downward spiral. For me, it was having Zan as a father, a lot took issues with that in school, but pyrokinesis is a good deterrent. And after Ell was exiled, well it took on a whole new level."

"They didn't have as much of a go at me, age being a big factor in this. But I can see it in some of the guards, they are wary of what I am, and what threat I may pose." Elliott added, knowing that Cal had it rough in the years after he left. At which point Cliff joined in, figuring that if her future wife and brother in law were going to say something, then she sure as hell was too. "In my case being deaf lead to a hell of a lot of social isolation. I was in hospital for moths, and when I came back, it was like being an outcast. So I moved here for a fresh start and on a scholarship. People here were more irked about the scholarship than the deafness." "Where we went to school it was the gangs you had to be wary of, in with the wrong crew and you'd signed your own warrant, but being alone was even more risky, easy bait and all that. Unless you hung around with this shit like I did." Chas gestured at John "Yup, those years were pretty awful, but by that point I could give a nasty uppercut and once you've broken enough noses and arms people live you alone."

"Gotta agree with you on that, give somebody a scar, and they'll never forget you. And one good much deters most from bothering you, plus you get the reputation as a badass and people warn up better that way than being the outcast. Done both, being the badass is definetly better." Jay nodded darkly. "Though the people I grew up with were far more tenacious. Sometimes the only way to get through to somebody was to be beat them into a coma in a back alley. Or to throw a knife at their head and slice off part of their ear." She gestured at the points on her ears. "Plastic surgery didn't quite fix it, but when you don't blink during the whole thing, catch the third knife mid air and throw it back into their shoulder, people leave you alone."
"

 

[MzHyde]

Listening to the stories, Fia was suddenly understanding in an instant why she was made to be home schooled and Kay had Sam be her teacher for normal subjects. She never understood it before and she certainly didn't know about the full extent of Kay's past, not that Kay actually told her story right now, just left it vague. She understood that Kay didn't want any of that possible school life for her daughter, even if she didn't understand the full reason. "Yeah I'm definitely thinking homeschooling wasn't a bad choice now" Fia just said.

"Trust me kiddo, future me did it for a bloody good reason if your timeline's me had the same past I did" Kay told her, after all the stories were told. She certainly knew what Chas and John said about British schools to be true, even if she wasn't at them for long, but she was at a British art university and although the maturity was on the whole a lot better, there were still that small clique of students were called themselves the 'elitists'. Kay certainly wouldn't want Fia's bloodline and gifts to be found out at a normal school either.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas and John's example of their school years was particularly bad, not all school were like that, but they'd grown up in a particularly poverty strike area, and the schools had been one of the first places to see cutbacks. "I'm not gonna lie, a lot of the schools in London are shit holes, real shit holes. But there's some good ones there. This one did his research." John smirked, gesturing at Chas. "Yeah, that was a mammoth task, I was up the walls for weeks trying to figure out which was the best. And even then there's still idiots in them." "Trish can handle herself, I can vouch for that." "You should have seen the other girl." Chas smirked, referencing the day where Trish had gotten into a fight and he'd had to pick her up, and ended up bringing John and Kay with him. It seemed like ages ago.

Cliff on the other hand was fascinated by Jay's story. "Mind if I be the stereotypical doctor whose never off duty and have a look?" She asked, using the opportunity to make both a joke and an explanation for her curiosity. Jay shook her head. "Not at all, give me a second." As Cliff came over, Jay pulled back her hair into a ponytail to give a better view. The doctor looked with interest, her green eyes scrutinising the work. It was excellently done, no doubt about that. Casting an eye at Rinaa, she noticed that she too bore the same pointed ears. "Is it a tradition or a mark of honour or something? You both have it after all." She asked, genuinely curious. "It's kind of like that, it's a testimony to being able to stand stock still and not react to a blade. If you move your head, the deformity is worse. The knife throwers are professionals, as are the surgeons. Isogrii have some weird traditions."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked at John's addition to the topic of schools, especially the London schools. She could easily see why Chas would have spent a lot of time researching the best ones for Trish. The moment he referenced the day they ended up all picking up Trish after the fight, she chuckled. Oh how that day felt so long ago now. "That day feels like forever ago now, Trish is one tough cookie that's for sure" she remarked. Fia just nodded, thinking that Trish sounded like just like the Trish she knew so well.

Fia also glanced across when Cliff just couldn't resist looking at Jay's ears after Jay's story that was told. This kind of thing felt so normal to Fia where she'd have had days when she's walk in on Cliff inspecting one thing or another on someone whenever they visited, or someone else just doing something with someone. Nothing felt out of the ordinary to her too much. She did however pay attention to what Rinaa said about the Isogrii having weird traditions. She personally thought there were some bizarre traditions in every culture, but she didn't say anything, not wanting to interrupt their conversation.