Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[MzHyde]

The walk back

Kay listened to his theory on the matter of Fia and the food, hearing in his tone he didn't agree with the whole 'showing maturity and restraint' line he spouted off and laughed. She decided she must have been that weird teenager that wasn't like that, she just picked food whenever but not just for the sake of it. She spent too many years being used to just grabbing that one slice of toast off the kitchen worktop and running to school or wherever she felt like and surviving most of the day on just that one slice.

She thought for a moment that the theory and explanation was over, and then came the teasing remark about her and Elliott's pancakes which made her give him a jab in the side. "Cheeky bloody sod! But touché" she laughed back at him. "Not my fault your son is a good pancake maker and pregnancy makes me appreciate them all that more" she then retorted back in a round about way of defending her actions. It was lame, but she said it and would stand by what she said nonetheless.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The walk back
John had been the kind of teenager who ate pretty much everything he was offered (and that had included garbage can pizza on one memorable occasion). It was mainly because of the fact that there was never enough food in his house and he always had a kind of low level gnawing hunger eating away at him. He smiled slightly when Kay laughed at his criticism of adults having to be mature and show restraint. He saw no point in being an adult if you you couldn't be childish and immature at times. When Kay jabbed him in the ribs John just chuckled harder, there was no denying he was right. "Yep, that's me alright."

He smirked at the next sentence, then realised that this was the first time he could remember Kay actually calling Elliott his son. Usually they just went with his name or 'your kid'. Maybe this was some side effect of becoming a parent for herself? But the confirmation that Elliott was his meant a lot. "His pancakes are damn amazing though, probably the best thing he ever learned to make and he's surprisingly versatile with them. You wouldn't think there were so many things that could be done with a pancake, but it seems like he's doing some kind of witchcraft on them." John smirked broadly. "Pun very much intended."

 

[MzHyde]

The walk back

Having this kind of banter with John is one of the things that Kay loved the most. They make jabs at each other and knew neither would take offence, just jab back. There was also always something that made Kay feel great about making him laugh about her calling him a sod. When it came to calling Elliott his son, she didn't even think twice about it, he was in her eyes, that's how he was introduced to her and that's how she always saw him, even if she rarely said it.

She had expressed before that because of Elliott was his family, she saw him as her family as well, so it didn't seem strange to her to refer Elliott as anything but John's son. She listened to him agreeing that Ell's pancakes were amazing. Anyone with taste buds in their mouths would be able to say the same thing in Kay's opinion. She chuckled at the use of the word witchcraft when describing the food talent and noticed how broadly he was smirking over it. "Whatever he does, I wholeheartedly approve and still stand by my claim of gladly eating them every day for breakfast during my time of carrying another being inside me" she said smirking, even if saying it like that did also make her feel utterly weird. "and now I never wanna say it like that ever again..too weird" she chuckled.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The walk back
John enjoyed this kind of banter as he could just make whatever snarky remark was on his mind without any repercussions or proper consequences. Plus it felt good to genuinely laugh and relax a bit, Hells, Heaven and everywhere in between knew that relaxation was something he needed (but very rarely got). He hadn't intended the pub, but he realised what he had said as soon as it had come out of his mouth and was determined to milk the most out of it. "Well if you do sign up for that, I suspect if you ask him very nicely he'd be able to do something more exciting than just the standard batter and toppings. He has quite a few tricks up his sleeve."

At the description of pregnancy John had to smother a laugh. It was weird, yet endearing in a way. He managed to smother the laugh pretty successfully, but it escaped when Kay grimaced and declared she'd never say it like that again. "Sure....it's weird, but there are worse options out there such as.. " He thought for a moment then spoke again "being a combination of a life support system and a green house or.... a flesh growth chamber..... or a microwave, but for living beings."

 

[MzHyde]

The walk back

Hearing John say about asking Elliott very nicely just made her stifle a chuckle as it reminded her of when people say to kids 'if you ask nicely you might get what you want' except this time it was a case of asking the kid to get what an adult wanted. "I'll keep that in mind" she smirked, knowing she knew many nice ways of asking for things, and knowing how she was craving the mint chocolate milkshake (which she was just about finishing by this point), she imagined she'd get some weird cravings to have with pancakes for Elliott to experiment with.

She noticed how he was holding back the laughter from her description of pregnancy, but when she declared to never say it like that again, seeing him lose it made her grin and laugh herself. She kept laughing but also grimmaced at his weird ways of describing her pregnancy. "Okay yeah. Those are way more gross" she replied. "I don't wanna think of myself as a microwave or growth chamber for another tiny person" she chuckled. "I hope you end up appreciating all the brutal beatings I'll endure from the inside at some point, to bring her into the world" she smirked. Which then made her wonder if the bond would make him share any of that kind of side of this whole thing. It'd make for an interesting time if it did, and no doubt would entertain Chas and Elliott to no end.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The walk back
John couldn't help but chuckle when Jay repeated his weirder descriptions of pregnancy. How he'd even come up with those was beyond him, they'd sort of just popped into his head. It was his turn to grimace at the description of childbirth. He'd never considered the bind letting him share in the pain, but he figured he might know how to cope with it based on the times he'd had literal demons inside him attempting to claw their way out. "I will, and if its anything like having a demon tear it's way out of your stomach, like the scene in Alien where it bursts out of John Hurts chest, then I know what that feels like." He couldn't resist making the reference, as it was the only way to properly explain.

They were nearing the forge now and the four roof figures could be seen, the hair standing out- purple, blue, red ish with blond hues. Cal's black was the only one blending in. They appeared to be playing some kind of card game, using the decks from the kitchen. It was a traditional game that Jay had grown up playing and she, Cla and Cliff were getting extremely competitive over. "I can see the others up on the roof, evidently they've finished cleaning for now."

 

[MzHyde]

The walk back

Kay listened to him compare it to the scene in Alien which made her grimace once more. She did not want to think of baby Fia trying to bust out if her stomach like some slimy alien. "And now I'm back to feeling horrified and hope you get to feel it just like I will. Thanks doll" she smirked. She didn't even take much notice that for the second ever time in their relationship she even used a nickname on him. The first being that stop over to Attil and like now, she was being sassy with it. It always brought back a reminder of her being half an American.

As they neared the forge, she suddenly realised how the time back, despite being a longer route didn't seem all that bad in that last half of the walk. She put it down to constantly talking and having banter with John making it feel like the form went faster, even though it really didn't. She saw the bright coloured hair of three of the four women on the roof and smiled. She was surprised to see Fia up there, having thought she was with Rinaa all day. "So it seems! Surprised to see Fia up there though" she replied.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Near the forge
"Well if that does happen, then it's not my first rodeo dealing with this kind of pain." He smirked making his way down from the outer base wall and down to street level. The nickname didn't phase him, it was like how British people often used the word 'luv' to refer to a person regardless of whether they had a romantic attatchment to them or not. John used to use it a lot, but it had vanished from his vocabulary. Which he was thankful for, as it would have really made things awkward with Kay when they were still sussing each other out. He had a feeling that that choice of nickname would have been at first irritating, then a source of utter confusion when the whole bond thing started to develop.

At the next comment he nodded, not really having thought much of the fact that Fia was with them and the other teenager clearly wasn't. "Yeah" he drew out the word in a way that gave a suspicious edge to his voice. "The other one isn't there, which gets me wondering. From what Rinaa was saying it sounded like quite the job, an all day kinda thing, even with two people. Though she also said that if Fia put a foot wrong or annoyed her in some way that she'd be sending her right back to Attil. But since Jay is on the same rooftop as her it's safe to assume that didn't happen, or if it did, she didn't tell the assassin." A smart decision, but ultimately futile as he had no doubt that Jay would find out such a misstep eventually.

 

[MzHyde]

Near the forge

Kay just rolled her eyes at the comment. She should have guessed he would have said such a thing, but the smirk didn't leave her face, as they reached the street level to reach the forge. "Well that makes one of us prepared for it" she said.

When he agreed about finding it surprising Fia was back with them but not Rinaa. Like him, she was under the impression that it would have taken an entire day even with two of them to get done what Rinaa was saying in the morning. She really hoped nothing had happened between the two of them and that's why she was back with the others so early. "Hmm.. I hope that's the case and nothing bad happened. I'd rather not have the day ruined dealing with their teenage drama" She replied. Of course she naturally would if it came to it, she wasn't going to stand back and let shit happen to her daughter, even if it was the wrong way round of doing it.

"Guess we'll find out soon enough what brought her back early" she added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Near the forge
"I'm a man of many talents" John smirked, his cocky streak showing prominently. He nodded at Kay's remark, he really didn't want to deal with another day of the two being at odds with each other. Though for the most part Rinaa's tactic was pretty good, just remove herself from the situation and the source of annoyance for as long as possible. The only really bad times were when Rinaa was at the opposite end of the room doing thousand yard death states with her eyes changed to the cold glacier colour that had given her the nickname of 'Wolf'. "So do I, tiptoeing around the two isn't fun in the slightest."

They made their way towards the Forge, cutting through an alley and onto one of the main streets. He then sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "But I can't blame Rinaa for the way she acts either, now matter how much I think I can, it's not that simple. She's grown up in this twisted reality for all her life. The norms of her timeline are the ones she knows and has lived by her whole life. She has to re-evaluate everything she's ever known, with the knowledge that there is at least one reality out there where she has a father. And I bet that since she's dying she can't tell if changing is worth it, if there's even time for it, if there's actually any real point in doing it. None of us can understand her situation, yet we all seem to think she's capable of some miraculous full mind and personality transplant over night. With more time maybe she could become the person we all think she should be, but for now this is the version of her that we've got and that's that."

 

[MzHyde]

Near the forge

Kay just rolled her eyes at his comment and cocky personality coming through. As for the other topic, she hoped it was a case of just Fia not being needed for something and she came home early but she had to mentally prepare for the discovery of things went south fast and Fia got brought back to Attil to separate the two of them. She did have to give the two teenagers credit as that did seem to be the tactic they both chose. "Definitely, tiptoeing around anyone whose pissed off isn't fun, but especially two teenagers" she agreed.

Staying beside John as they cut through an alley to get to the forge, she listened to what John had to say about Rinaa. She agreed wholeheartedly with everything he said. They could try and convince themselves that they knew what the girl was going through, but truth was they really didn't. None of them could truly put themselves in the kid's shoes. "Agreed, we can't ever understand what she's going through, even though we all try to make out we can. I wouldn't wish what she's going through on my worst enemy" she said. "I just hope Fia didn't put her foot in it again because of everything going on in Rinaa's life" she added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Near the forge
John hadn't quite expected to say as much as what he said, it was only as he spoke that he realised just how much of a psycho-analysis of Rinaa he was doing. In a way he knew it was because he could see so much of himself in her, the trauma, the uncertainty, the trust issues, the potential and the struggle with coping with everything and everyone. He could understand some of it in a way that nobody else could. Maybe that was why the two had managed to become close in her timeline. And given the speech he had just created on the fly, maybe if he said things like that in her timeline trying to explain why, he supposed it could be interpreted as taking a side against Kay and Fia.

"Yeah, we all claim we'd be acting differently in her situation, but we really wouldn't. I certainly wouldn't, I'd be just as prickly and withdrawn. And I've seen Elliott in that state, refusing to open up and let people fully in and understand. It took years to get his full trust, years which, lets be honest here, she probabaly doesn't have." John honestly couldn't say which was worse, knowing exactly how long you had left to live, or knowing that at some point in the near(ish) future, exact time unknown your body would just give up and you'd die. Both were equally awful options. "Yeah same here, and since they went back to her timeline, I really don't want anything to have gone wring there with regards to our sleeves in that timeline as that could only trigger a relapse."

 

[MzHyde]

Near the forge

Kay didn't mind that John was saying as much as he was on the matter. In fact she actually welcomed it, as she knew he wasn't one for talking so much in this manner. She didn't however give it a thought that it could be this way of thinking and talking that maybe became the catalyst for the toxicity between the other her and Fia in Rinaa's timeline.

She nodded as he spoke about what they say and how they all actually would be. She knew she'd be the same as Rinaa. Like John, she had been the same way, and she now knew that John knew that. That she was no different to any of the rest of them when it came to emotions and dealing with trauma. It was that secret she finally admitted to John and before then, Chas, that made her find it difficult to accept that she would become such a monster toward to Rinaa in the girls' timeline. "Same here, let's just hope it was just a case of Fia did all she could to help and wasn't needed for anything else" she said.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Near the forge
John nodded, he really hoped that what Kay said was the case, and besides, there were probably some things Rinaa wanted to do alone anyway. John knew that if he was in the same position there would be things that would have to be done alone, things he wouldn't others to see, even though they were almost guaranteed to come to light after the death. "Yeah, let's presume it's something like that."

As soon as they were in sight and shouting range of the people on the roof Cal yelled down at them. "Have you guys spent all the money I gave you already?" The smirk in her tone could be heard easily. "Not exactly, spent a load of it then gambled away the rest in a shady casino." John smirked as they drew closer enough to the roof to see the card game in progress and the fact that they were all covered in dirt and Ash smears. "What about the roof people? I presume ye didn't spend the entire day playing cards?" "Sadly not, we managed to actually be productive and went as far as to clean the chimney flue of all its crap. The two responsible adult males are dropping off the scrap materials, but they'll be back soon." Cliff explained, suspecting that 'Where's Chas?' might be one of the next ones on the list.

 

[MzHyde]

Near the forge

The moment they got within earshot and shouting range of the forge and heard what Cal called down to them, Kay had to smirk at it as she could see how it would look like such a thing. Then came the typical John response to such a remark which just made her smirk, roll her eyes and shake her head slightly. She saw the state of the four of them on the roof, sensing they got a hell of a lot done if they were that covered. She listened to Cliff answer John's question whilst answering the one that hadn't even left his lips but no doubt would have done.

"Teenager no.2 not been trouble for you?" She called up, meaning Fia. She would have called her teen number 1 but she arrived in their lives second, making that be her reasoning for the nickname. "I'll have you know I've been helpful thank you very much!" Fia called down, feigning a pout and dagger eyes down at Kay, making Kay laugh. "How's been date day? Better have behaved yourselves!" Fia smirked with a teasing tone that was typical of a teenager trying to get back at her parents. Kay was so tempted to use Fia's full name but then she realised she wasn't fully sure whose surname Fia took or if she double barrelled it. So she refrained of trying to sound like a scolding mother, and just rolled her eyes.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The forge
At Fia's remark, John couldn't help but roll his eyes, judging by the grime she had been covered in, she'd certainly be in the same room as the work. Cal and Cliff nodded to back up the statement that she had indeed been working hard. "We made use of the extra pair of hands, and she didn't complain about it either." "There's always a use for willing and unwilling hands here." At Fia's next remark John just shook his head gravely. "Not in the slightest, there was drunken debauchery, thieving, three...maybe four barfights, some joy-riding, jumping on the high speed mag-levs to get away, grand theft auto and copious amounts of bribing officials. That's where the money went."

John rattled off the list of crimes completly deadpan serious, but yet at the same time it was obvious he was joking and the others on the roof stated laughing and Jay smirked in amusement. "Where's teenager letter B?" He asked aimg the question at Jay and Fia. His response to Kay's nickname for Fia ensured there was no preferential treatment being shown. Both teenagers were represented by the second symbol in their respective ordering systems. "Still in her timeline, apparently sorting out a will according to this one." She gestured at Fia with one of her playing cards. "No known return time, but that's pretty standard and I'd guess there's other things that need tying up on that end too."

 

[MzHyde]

The forge

Kay smiled and nodded at the statement that Fia had indeed been helpful and willingly so. She was glad that Fia was fitting in as much as she could and things were seeming to be good natured all round. When Fia asked if they had been behaving themselves back, and John listed off a load of crimes straight faced and deadpanned, she had to hold in a laugh, but it didn't last long as the moment the others started laughing, she did too. Fia laughed but rolled her eyes this time, "couuuurrrrse ya did!" She said sarcastically, purposely lengthening out the first word.

When the question about Rinaa's whereabouts came up, Fia nodded in agreement to what Jay said. "What she said. Rinaa let me come back as she needed to sort out her will and we'd done everything for the container that we could" she replied casually, keeping up the partial lie about why she came back earlier than Rinaa did. She hoped as the others believed her word on the matter, that both John and Kay would too. "Sounds fair enough" Kay replied, but did notice how Fia ever so quickly glanced away as she spoke before looking back at her and John. It was so quick, if anyone blinked they would have missed it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The forge
John smirked at the reaction to his list of crimes, it was exactly how he expected it to be. At Jay, then Fia's explanation of where Rinaa was he nodded. He could see why Fia wouldn't be needed when Rinaa was doing her will. Due to his angle he couldn't see Fia glancing away, but if he had he'd have taken it as a sure sign of lying or concealing something. "Fair enough. I'd say there's other stuff that goes along with a will that she'd rather sort out alone." Just as Jay had said the lack of an estimated return time for Rinaa was pretty standard, she kept strange hours in this time, in her timeline and in Fia's timeline. There had been many times where she'd receive an urgent call and have to either up and vanish or take it privately.

"Here, catch" Cal threw a small object at John which caught easily. It was a set of keys to the apartment she and Cliff shared. "Keys to the apartment, top lock, bottom lock, balcony window, other window and the fire escape door on the building" Cliff explained as John flicked through the keys, she named each one as he held it up. "For now we're only giving the keys to people who speak Attili and are from this timeline, as the non speakers will always be with somebody who speaks the language. And we'll have no doubt changed the locks in the future, so this key would be rendered obsolete for time travellers. It's just easier for now in these weird times." Cal explained. If it had been under different circumstances that they were meeting, they would have easily given everybody a key.

 

[MzHyde]

the forge

Fia nodded at John's reply, knowing there were other things like seeing her family and friends, saying her goodbyes, giving out those letters she saw Rinaa typed up among other things. She noticed how Kay noticed her looking away briefly but said nothing or did anything. She did not want to get a conversation about what she was holding back as she promised Rinaa she wouldn't discuss anything that happened at the container.

Kay looked up when Cal threw John a set of keys to which she guessed was to the apartment, then had Cliff confirmed her suspicions. When Cal explained who gets keys to the apartment it made sense to her and agreed it was the best course of action. "Makes sense" she remarked. "If he gets anymore stuff to out in that coat though I'll be calling him Mary Poppins!" She smirked, making Fia chuckle. "Wouldn't be the first time" she retorted between giggles.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The Forge
John commited the various keys to memory. The window keys were the smallest, almost identical bar their teeth. The fire escape key was the largest, a thicker, heavier key that he supposed would be easy to identify in the blind panic of being trapped in a fire. The top and bottom door locks were of different brands and colours. "So..... Top lock, bottom lock, fire escape, balcony window and other window" He repeated, just to be sure he had them all right. The two women nodded, as did Jay, who (along with Chas) had gotten their set of keys earlier in the day.

At the coat comment John just rolled his eyes, his coat wasn't exactly the normal battered trench coat it looked to be. The pockets were far bigger than they had any right to be, and the material was far more durable and resistant than that of any other coat. All those years of being on John (and on its previous owner) had meant that it had absorbed all kinds of excess magic during the years and had become in a sense a coat+. He tucked the keys away on on eof the pockets. "On a far more important note, is anybody able to explain why some of the trees here blue?"

 

[MzHyde]

The forge

Kay only half listened to the keys topic. She observed them and the order he mentioned them in, but she knew she wouldn't really need a reason to use them herself so she didn't see the point in properly making a note of which one was which. As for his coat she knew it wasn't your average trenchcoat, she figured that out when he pulled out the ball of yarn to show her before, and that time he let her wear it when she came back from the dead and she was stark naked from the rebirth. Still, it had a been a little while since she last made a pop culture reference and she felt it was the perfect opppunity to do so.

Then came the question about the blue trees and she couldn't stop the laughter that came from her lips. "Seriously, this one was like a child in a candy store over them. He couldn't stop feeling the leaves to check they were even real. It was quite the thing to watch" she laughed. She used her free hand to lean on him a bit as she was feeling the need for another rest. She hoped all these feelings wouldnt be starting so soon, but her feet and legs ached a lot after the walk and just in general was feeling tired.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The Forge
It didn't surprise anybody that John had been curious about the blue trees as they all knew it wasn't a thing on Earth. And what John didn't understand he liked to question, even if people thought him stupid for it. He wasn't a learner in the conventional sense, and only learned in subjects he felt motivated to learn in, which meant his spread of knowledge was unusual. "It's a legitimate question" Jay replied, setting down the cards on the roof and putting her focus on John. "The short answer is that it's complicated science involving light absorbtion." "And the long answer?" John asked, eyebrow raised.

"In green leaved plants there's two photosynthesis systems, A and B. One only absorbs all the red light from the white light from the sun. The other system only absorbs the blue light. The resulting light that is reflected away from the leaves is green, thus meaning the leaves appear green. But with certain trees here, they evolved a more efficient photosynthesis system which only needs to absorb red light in order to make food. Which gives you trees with spectacular blue leaves." Jay explained, she'd asked the exact same question as John when she was younger and had recieved a similar explanation. The science was actually slightly more complicated, but the bare bones explanation sufficed.

 

[MzHyde]

The forge

Even though Kay said what she did about John and the blue trees, she was too curious to why they were blue. She didnt blame him for curious about it either, she just jested with him because she could and it was her weird way of being loving toward him. If she didn't jest with someone, then there was valid reasons for it. She listened to both the short and long versions of the answer and actually found it incredibly interesting, even if she was a bit too tired to fully take it in.

"Interesting" she commented simply, lifting her feet up one at a time to get the pressure and weight off of them. Fia listened to the description and explanation also, and instantly now wanted to these blue trees for herself. "Sounds cool!" She spoke up, putting the cards down as well. "Don't mean to be rude or changing the subject, but can we take the talking elsewhere where I can sit down?" Kay then said. "My feet are killing me" she added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The Forge
At Kay's comment Cal nodded. "Yep, kitchen is best, there should be enough room for everybody". She jumped off the roof to lead the way while Jay gathered up the cards again and Cliff collected the mugs and coffee pot, managing to dismount from the roof without breaking anything. (She'd had practice after all). There wasnt enough chairs for everybody to sit down, so they either leant against the wall or sat on the countertop. Out of force of habit Cliff began doing the wash ups, making sure to firmly wash down the dregs of coffee, lest they trigger a side effect for Kay. "So Jay, did you learn that tree stuff as a hobby or part of formal education?" Cal asked, an expression of great interest on her face.

"I studied xeno-biology as a mandatory module. Since Isogrii are nomadic, we get a grounding in all kinds of things, but eventually specialise. I wasn't the greatest xeno-biology student, I prefered and still do prefer physics, maths, and some parts of chemistry. I maintained a B average in the subject and picked up some stuff along the way. That plant thing was just one of them." Jay shrugged. "So what other stuff did you get grounded in?" "Well....if you're talking about stuff you'd learn in a normal education system it would be....basically everything."

 

[MzHyde]

The forge

Kay felt relieved, and pushed herself off John's shoulder where she had been leaning for the last few minutes as they all chatted and walked into the kitchen. Taking up a chair, she sighed with contentment, glad to be off her feet. She noticed how Cliff went straight to doing the washing up and going out of her way to get rid of anything coffee related so she didn't get any side effects from it. She put the bag she was carrying down by her side and gently instinctively rubbed her stomach. As the days went on, she found it stranger and stranger that she had her daughter twice over in her presence. Kay listened to the chatter about how Jay learned about the science behind the tree's blue hue, finding Jay was full of surprises.

Fia leaned against the wall near Kay, but out the way of nearly everyone. She glanced down seeing what her mother was doing which made her smile to herself. It reminded her of stories she was told growing up about how Kay was caught singing to her before she was born to calm her infant self down. At first she was a bit put out she wasn't allowed to go with them on their explore Attil, but after getting involved in helping everyone else, and seeing what a good mood both Kay and John were in coming back, she was glad they had some alone time together. "So..what did you really get up to?" She asked Kay. "Just found a couple of shops that we went in and had some lunch, then walked back. Got some new art supplies and clothing that will actually fit" she smirked, giving Fia that look of 'because you're making me fat' but there was no malice in it. Fia just chuckled. "Good to know dad looked after you and didn't keep you out too late" she smirked, her tone making it sound like their roles were reversed.