Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

"People in power are such pompous asses" Jay declared from her spot on the table with Rinaa. It had barely been a trial when Elliott was a child. It had been a chaotic confusion where nobody really knew what was going on until it was too late. Elliott's scar was a direct consequence of that. But this would be different, Elliott was a legal adult and a force to be reckoned with. She knew Cal and Cliff has people on their side, but that didn't stop either Jay or Rinaa from using their networks of contacts to find out as much as possible about the whole situation.

John smirked darkly at Jay's statement "can't argue with you on that, though I could think of more scathing words." His statement was half a challenge, half a tease. "So could I, but if I did that, I'd probably start plotting murder. Which really wouldn't help matters." Jay always looked utterly serene when dropping murder in as a solution to everyday problems. "Yeah, wise call, how are you on jail breaks?" Cliff asked, raising an eyebrow. "Breaking myself out? Or breaking somebody else out?" "Both I guess." "Well you're in luck, I've done both before, it's a complicated story, but we" she gestured at herself and Rinaa "orchestrated a prison riot and a jail break together." "I'm not saying it'll come to that, but if it goes balls up, we've broken a lot of laws."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smirked at Jay's remark, and the moment John replied in agreement to it, she knew he wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut on the topic. He had his opinions clear several times before so she knew he'd join in. Their whole talk of how they could use more colourful words, she just kept thinking 'and there are children present so please don't' even though she knew the two teenagers were more than old enough to have their grasp of colourful language. It just seemed that with each random topic she'd get a very maternal thought pass through her mind, even if she didn't fully believe such thoughts.

When the question from Cliff came up about jail breaks, she looked at both Cliff and Jay, listening to what was being said and remembered the brief story that was told to her, John and Chas on the ship to get to Attil. "Well let's just hope it won't come to that. At least for now" Kay spoke up. Fia had completely tuned them all out as she looked out the window and down below, before turning her attention back to the group, then to the floor, her arms never wavering from their crossed across her chest position. "how many exactly?" She asked, finally speaking up.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa had no qualms with more offensive names. She already had a large and extensive vocabulary of insults and curses in various languages as they'd heard when the broken rib was being removed and when she was trying to stave off the transformation. She'd have been the first to offer some names had the chance arisen, but it didn't. Cliff hadn't been expecting Fia to ask how many laws they had broken. "We've broken enough to be in serious trouble, I can't give you a number as such, but off the top of my head the list includes breaking and entering, harbouring a known criminal, abuse of power, conspiracy, collaboration of various counts, you guys stole a spaceship and I'm sure you can spin treason into there too" she listed. Nobody had been hurt, killed or bribed in the process, but they'd broken some serious rules, and abuse of power was the most worrying.

"Thats actually not too bad, only abuse of power and treason to really worry about. There's been no murder, assault, bribery, blackmail or the like, so you've done this the clean way. And judging by the show of support back there, people will back you up on that." Jay was saying this mainly for the benefit of Fia and Kay who probably wouldn't have had to deal with criminal trial proceedings in the way she had. "That was the plan all along,dk it clean and do it right. And yes, the others will back us up, they're good people, I've trained with them and patched them up." "And everyone respects the doctor, espescially the junior one that has become the go-to for all serious medical complaints that need to be treated both publically and with discretion."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't intend to ask, but as the topic came up she became interested and curious to know. Especially as the others had been on Attil for just that bit longer than she had. She wasn't there when they stole the ship to get here, but knew that's they had done when she was trying to contact them telepathically. "Not many then" she smirked, but it wasn't her usual happy go lucky type smirk, it was closer but not exactly like John's dark smirk moments ago, when Cliff rattled off a list of some of the laws broken.

When Jay spoke up with her opinion on it, obviously for Kay's and her benefits, she nodded. Neither had fully been involved with law breaking to this extent. Kay hadn't at all, and Fia managed to get away from the law enforcement by the skin of her teeth a couple of times, just by doing the odd hunt that neither of her parents knew she went on. Yet nothing had occurred for either of them in the level that Jay had endured. Fia just nodded at everything said. "so basically..be prepared for the worst but try not to think about it just yet?" she commented.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay nodded at Fia's assumption, it was spot on. It wasn't something to be proud of, her assassin past and her various court dealings, but it was useful experience for this situation. "Pretty much yeah, expect for the best, prepare for the worst." "So a normal Tuesday really" it wasn't Tuesday that day, but it was a running joke that had started between Jay and her brother to describe just how utterly ridiculous their lives could get sometimes. Elliott had been let in on the joke and when Rinaa/Leah came along, it only made sense for her to be involved in it too. "Exactly.... I take it I still say that in your timeline" "You never stop." Rinaa confirmed.

"Well, I'd best go check on the rest of the crew, make sure Deke doesn't blow the place up accidentally or something." Cliff told them. Dan had already gone on ahead to help with the separation as he knew standing around wouldn't help him in any way. "He's crazy" Rinaa defended him, even though she was technically defending the Deke she knew (though he really didn't change very much) "but not that crazy and besides he's got more on his mind." "True, true, feel free to eat whatever is here." Cliff added, having no idea how long they'd be hanging around for.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia had heard the joke be told in her timeline between Jay, Elliott and Rinaa, so it made sense to her. "You say it in my timeline as well, overheard plenty of times" Fia added. She looked up at Cliff when she said about checking on Deke, figuring that someone would be doing that at some point.

Kay smirked at the comments about the average Tuesday. She didn't need to be involved in the in joke to get where they were coming from. She was pretty sure most people had a version of that kind of saying. Her own adoptive father always had one that was similar but he just said 'just your average day ending in Y' if someone asked him how work was if he came home looking stressed out or particularly tired. He always thought it was funny, none of the rest of the family ever did. Though when Fia said about Jay saying in her timeline as well, it made her wonder if her own family's version was ever said or not. As Cliff said about checking on Deke and if anyone got hungry to have anything in the room, she nodded.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It was a simple stupid thing the saying, but to hear that it was in Fia's timeline as well meant a lot to the both of them, it was one of those little quirks that they'd hate to be changed. "Well that's a relief" Rinaa remarked. With Cliff gone it became clear very quickly that they were in for a very long (and potentially boring) wait. Chas had, in the confusion managed to remember to bring his book with him and began reading, picking up from where he'd left off when Fia had started playing. Rinaa had her phone and was untangling her headphones, fully prepared to wile away the time by listening to music. The theory was that by listening to some of her own recordings and the ones of Jay and Elliott, she might be able to forget that this was all happening for a few brief moments.

Jay wanted nothing more than to mindlessly pace the room, making grooves in the carpet with her feet, and continuing until she broke through the floor to the level below. John was contemplating the exact same thing, but both were resisiting, like trapped animals in a cage they just seemed to exude an aura of desperately wanting to do something, anything in order to distract themselves from thinking about Elliott and constantly checking their watches to see what time it was and how long it had been since they'd left Elliott. It only took Chas a few minutes to pick up on this and he sighed. "You two, find something to before you drive the rest of us crazy with your brooding." "Any suggestions then?"

 

[MzHyde]

The fact that Fia was leaning against the wall, she too found it hard to not make herself pace around the room. She leaned against the wall mostly to stop herself from pacing, so she recognised that same temptation in Jay and John instantly. She mostly picked up the pacing habit from John in her timeline. She did have her violin with her as it was also her crossbow, but she didn't want to play right now, she didn't think it was the time or place. So she tried to think of something else to do, but was coming up blank, so she sat herself down on the floor instead, still against the wall.

When Chas told John and Jay to find something to do before they drive all of them crazy, Kay had to smirk at the comment. Once again he said what she was thinking, but she wouldn't dare in a tense moment of time to say anything. That was something that she would always leave to Chas until the day she died... If she ever found herself in that situation where she died for real. "John why don't we continue our list for a bit? I have it in my bag" Kay suggested, it would not only give him something to take his mind off things for a moment, but it would give herself something to do.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The suggestion from Kay was a good one, but John couldn't see the logic in trying to refrain from thinking about one child by thinking about the other. He just knew that wouldn't work and he'd quickly end up thinking about Elliott again. And there was also the fact that he just felt uncomfortable making this list in front of people. Chas could read all that, but he also noticed another point "that would solve him....but not everybody else in this room who is refraining either the urge to pace or the urge to punch something." Rinaa nodded in agreement, if it had been just her and Jay, she would have offered to let Jay listen to some of her recordings. But with the whole group what they needed was something that could distract them all for the duration of the meeting.

"You have a point. If we all keep doing things alone or even in small groups, our thoughts will all just wander back to the three and how it is going. So we have to do something distracting and there's only one thing that really comes to mind." Rinaa was having a hard time believing she was actually suggesting they all do something together, as a family. But she knew it was the right course. "Fia, I don't suppose you ever learned how to play gaijin in your timeline?" She asked, using Fia's name for once. The game she was referring to was a complex card game involving three decks of cards, a long list of rules, strategy and intense concentration.

 

[MzHyde]

When Kay suggested it, she didn't think about the other side's to the suggestion. It was just purely the first thing that came to mind. Now thinking about it, she felt she shouldn't have said anything and realised how selfish it could have come across as, not to mention not thinking about how comfortable John would have felt doing it in front of other people. She mentally kicked herself for even saying it out loud. She took Chas' comment on board to hide her own mental scolding.

When Rinaa spoke up, she listened and noted how for the first time Rinaa actually called her kid by her name and didn't avoid saying it out loud. She glanced over at Fia and saw her look up from her position on the floor, the look of surprise she was even brought into the conversation by name evident to Kay. "I've half watched it be played, but never played it myself" Fia replied, remembering having walked into a room seeing it be played, but never at a point that she could join in, so she just watched whilst waiting for the kettle to boil or similar. "What's gaijin?" Kay asked looking back toward Rinaa.

 

[_gallifrog_]

It had been a fifty-fifty shot, Fia didn't know it in her timeline, but that was because the two weren't exactly willing to sit down at the same table and play cards. John, Chas and Trish in her timeline did know and though the five rarely had a chance to play when they did the games could go on for hours. "You don't know how to play in my timeline, but for different reasons." At Kay's question Jay chose to answer it. "Gaijin is a card game invented by somebody with far too much time on their hands. There's a minimum of three decks of cards used. It's a strategy game and the rules vary depending on how difficult you want the game to be. And one game lasts a ridiculously long time."

"As in with medium difficulty rules it lasts anywhere between one hour and three on average." Chas raised an eyebrow in partial disbelief at that. "There's a reason it's also called 'the card game for very bored people'. It's popular in bars, prisons, schools, pilot lounges, basically any where with people waiting for long periods of time." Rinaa explained as she fished around in her bag and pulling out four decks of cards from some internal pocket. "I say we" she gestured at herself and Jay "attempt to teach you how to play it, and if you don't like it....well at least it's a lesson on culture and customs."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia stood up and walked over, deciding to be closer to everyone else now. She surprisingly though sat next to Chas this time, even after being quite clingy onto John and Kay earlier. It was a subconscious decision as she had had the heart to heart with him at the forge, and she just felt like because of that, Chas knew her current feelings better than any any of the rest in the room. "Not surprising" she replied to the reasons of why the other Fia wouldn't have played it. The versions she really didn't want to be reminded of.

Kay noticed how Fia gravitated toward Chas when the mention of the other Fia came up and found herself curious as to why that was, when she was so in need of her parents not that long ago. However the moment Jay started explaining the game briefly, her thoughts were broken and her concentration was on was being told to her. She listened to what Rinaa added to the description of the game, nodding in understanding. "Sounds like a good enough plan to me. I'm game to learn it if everyone else is" Kay replied. "Yeah, I'm good with playing it" Fia added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I'm definitely in" this was the kind of distraction John could go for. He knew he was a damn good player and possesed an excellent poker face. Strategy was Chas' department, but John could play the long gam when motivated. "Count me in too, this sounds fun." "Right, all in then. Four decks will be enough." Jay took the decks. The backs were almost identical in pattern, but each of the four decks had a different art style on their face. Unboxing the cards she began mixing them together. The cards were worn at the edges, some missing entire corners from years of use. Worn-in cards were best to play with in Jay's opinion, new cards were too slippery, where as well used cards had personality.

Jay decided to go with the baisc set of rules, explaining and demonstrating using the deck. It was complicated at first glance, but after a good explanation and some clarification where necessary everybody seemed to be comfortable with wthe basics. Jay was a surpringly patient teacher, she'd taught people how to play this before, that much was evident. "This isn't a game as such, just a sort of practice round to make sure everybody knows what they are doing" she told them, her grey eyes serious as she dealt out the cards on tha main table.

 

[MzHyde]

With everyone agreeing to play, Kay and Fia listened to the rules being given, whilst watching as Jay shuffled the cards. Kay noted the state of the cards but said nothing about it. Fia had asked a couple of questions just to go over a couple of points until she finally got it. It was more of a case she wanted to make sure she was understanding them all correctly. Kay had done the same thing but it didn't take her long to get it, it was times like this that she was glad to be a fast learner. A trait that Fia had picked up from her.

Both of them let Jay deal out the cards, seeing the seriousness on her face and in her eyes, both kind of glad that it was just a practice round at first for them to get the hang of it. "Fine with me" Fia and Kay both said at the same time, which made them actually chuckle, as it was spoken in the same tone and speed as each other.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay and Rinaa couldn't help but roll their eyes at the unconscious synchronisation of the other two. It was clear in that moment how alike Kay and Fia were when it came it to physical traits like those. John found himself smirking too before taking the cards Jay dealt out, idly running a thumb down the worn, soft edges of the cards. "These aren't marked, are they?" He asked, being the owner of a couple of marked decks himself. Rinaa shook her head, then tipped it to one side and shrugged. "Yes and no, there's no magicians markings on these cards, so I can't guess your hand like that. But these are my cards and I know the wear pattern of quite a few of them by now."

"And you won't buy new cards why?" Chas asked, picking up his deck,sifting through and organising the cards in a way that suited him. "Worn-in decks have more character, and these have good memories assosciated with them. They've passed through the hands of good friends, loyal people and co-workers, the important people in my life. And what's the point of throwing something away when it's only a little broken and still perfectly usable?" She hadn't intended to say as much as she did, to use a deck of cards as such a deep metaphor. "Older decks are better" Jay summarised, setting down the draw pile and making the first move.

 

[MzHyde]

It didn't bother either Fia or Kay that it made Jay and Rinaa roll their eyes. It never went amiss how the two of them still had their hang ups about the two of them, particularly Fia. But seeing John smirk at the accidental moment just made them happier. It just felt like a family thing that was to be the normal for them, and was in Fia's timeline. Kay took her own cards and looked through them, fanning them out in a way that was comfortable for her whilst John asked if they were marked, a question that was so typical of John.

Fia picked up hers and did the same as Chas, reordering them in a way she likes, whilst fanning them out in her grip to look at them all. She listened to the questions that Chas brought up about their wear and year state before listening to the answer that was given by Rinaa. "everyone has their quirks it seems" she remarked, not meaning it in a derogatory manner.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"This particular quirk is more common than you'd think" Rinaa replied, her voice more even now that she was just talking about cards and not making a metaphor for her life. "Gotta agree on that, I've got old decks back home meself." "But none on you?" "No, I've got a deck right here" John pulled out a deck from inside his coat, an old deck with worn edges in a box held together by a lot of sellotape. "They really need to figure out a way to make boxes that don't disintegrate after the first hundred days of use." Rinaa smirked seeing the box was more tape than anything else. "Or make better plastic boxes. They work, but not nearly for long enough."

"Metal ones are even worse, espescially when they get dented." Jay was relaxing, slipping into card player mood, concentrating on the game, which cards had been and what kind of strategy she was going to go for. Every so often either she or Rinaa would point out a move that could have been better, or demonstrated what exactly they were doing and why this was a good strategy. The atmosphere lightened as the family reunion was forgotten about.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't doubt it was more common than people would think. She did live with a dad who had various cards for varying reasons along with many many other things that probably should have been chucked out but weren't. When John said about having old decks at home she smirked and chuckled at it. "That's an understatement" she muttered, leaning into Chas as she said it with the smirk firmly on her face still, as she watched John pull out one deck from his pocket.

Kay just let them get on with the conversation about decks having bad boxes, whilst she concentrated on the game at hand with the odd bit of advice from Jay and Rinaa putting their two cents on strategy and what would be better etc. "Pretty sure if you could, you'd have a damn fridge full of alcohol in that coat" she remarked toward John, only solidifying her comment on his coat being like Mary Poppins bag a few days ago.

 

[_gallifrog_]

There was snorts of laughter at Kay's remark about keeping a fridge of alcohol in the coat. "Who says I don't already have one?" John retorted flashing an enigmatic grin. "I call bullshit on that, we all know you wouldn't get a fridge, you'd just get one of those bottles that can never be emptied no matter how much you drink." Chas smirked, playing his cards, he had grasped the basics of the game and was now trying to develop a strategy and learn by watching the others. "Or just do a Brendan and have a whole subterranian lake that turns from holy water to alcohol at will." "And look how that worked out for him." Chas knew that Brendan was dead and John had been there when it happened- liver failure from a life time of excessive drinking. "Point taken"

"I somehow doubt that, but the sentiment is enough for now." Chas replied, knowing that the point was in John's mind, just not necessarily absorbed or made use of. "And besides there's way better things you could put in a fridge sized space." Rinaa remarked, making her move after some deliberation. "Such as?" "A grappling hook for starters, a portable WiFi router so you're never out of signal, a breach device, a sonic screwdriver, a short sidekick, a portable generator and of course the vacuum cleaner. Need I go on?"

 

[MzHyde]

Kay felt proud of herself when she received snorts if laughter at her comment. She always did when she managed to make everyone laugh. She was about to say it's bullshit when John spoke up but Chas beat her to it. If she had said anything, she would have said he was forgetting the time she wore the coat to protect her dignity and she did put her hands in the pockets at one stage.

She listened to the story about a Brendan and knew the moment John said that the point was taken, it really hadn't been. He still would have tried such a ridiculous feat if given half the chance. She listened to Rinaa's list of better things to store in a fridge sized space and had to admit she had a point on some of those things listed. "even if you did go on, he still wouldn't take the point, even if he says he does" Fia remarked with a smirk. "And to be fair he's had a lot worse in those pockets in my timeline than a battered box of cards" she added.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"I'm not going to deny that I've had some weird things in this coat, and that there were weird things in this coat before I owned it. That just comes with the job. And I'm not going to deny either that Rinaa has a point on some of those things" John answered. Rinaa's did indeed contain some practical things and others that's she'd clearly just thrown in there for fun. But he couldn't resist the chance to make a jab. "I'd definitely steal a grappling gun just to get up Gotham's favourite Bat's hole." Rinaa couldn't resist smirking at that, genuine amusement in her eyes and it was clear she knew something that they didn't. John picked up on it and cast her a look. "Do I even want to know what you've done in your timeline."

She shook her head, the amusement at her internal thoughts still dancing in her eyes. "Believe me, you don't want to know" she shook her head Graveley to emphasise the point, even though it had crossed her mind to say about her double life in her timeline, just to see the faces of sheer shock she'd be given. But that could jeopardise various things in the timeline and foreknowdledge was a dangerous thing and she knew John would overthink it and fret over it, even if he said he wouldn't. "And you'd either be furious or damn impressed if you did find out in my timeline." "Something to look forwards to in the future then." "I guess you'll just have to wait and see."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay just smirked at John not denying any of that Fia said. Not that anyone could deny that if they were in John's shoes. When he added about a grappling gun just to annoy Batman, she found herself rolling her eyes whilst still smirking. "of course you would" she commented, just before he spoke to Rinaa noticing the look in her eyes showing she clearly knew something that the rest of them didn't. It was that same look that Fia gave a few days ago over something. She couldnt remember what it was, but she sure as hell remembered the look Fia gave in reaction to it.

When Rinaa said about him not wanting to know what she's done, Fia kept quiet. Their timelines were different and she knew why Rinaa was keeping quiet. It was no doubt the same reason she'd keep quiet about things in her timeline. Yet when John said it was something to look forward to in the future, she went even quieter, as they still didn't know which future would come out top and any chat of the future just left a slight bad taste in her mouth if it wasn't for amusement sake.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The reference to the future had been a thow away remark, John for once wasn't fretting about the implications for the future. Or the divergence of the timelines. Or the possibility of Elliott's death. It was one of those times where his mouth was working far faster than his brain and he didn't realise the implications of what he said until well after he said it. The weight of the conversation wasn't missed by anybody, but nobody said anything for fear of bringing down the rumbling house of cards. "As long as you don't rob a bank it'll be fine." Jay smirked, saying something before anybody else could get in and screw it up. She was changing the subject, yes, but at the same time diverting it to a better area.

Rinaa took the opening Jay had provided, already regretting having come so close to saying something and jeopardising the whole timeline. She was mentally cursing herself for it, but like Jay she had an excellent poker face and could easily swap topics. "So everything outside of bank robbery is totally fine?" "Yep. Banks robbing is so cliché, if you're going to commit crimes at least do it with style..... And yes, that was some paraphrasing of Doc Brown from Back to The Future." She admitted, having watched the entire trilogy in one night when she needed something to do. "They are good films, but so scientifically inaccurate." Rinaa groaned as if a scientifically inaccurate film hurt her soul. "Give me The Martian any day. The book and the film are both excellent, for once."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia just concentrated on her cards and the game rather than the conversation. Even if it was changed to talking about Jay being fine with any kind of crime except for bank robbery. Kay noticed how quiet Fia had gone yet again, and hoped she was alright, but she was sat just far enough away from her to not be able to give her any kind of silent reassurance.

She smirked at Jay's reasonings for not letting Rinaa Rob a bank, thinking it was a valid point about the being utterly cliché, yet she was still mentally surprised that they'd talk crime so openly with each other. Sure, she wasn't perfect and did pretty crime herself to survive, but it just seemed strange to her. She decided to out it down to her current state finding it easier to blame.nesrly anything she thought on it to ease her mind. She couldn't help but smirk at Rinaa looking and sounding utterly offended at scientifically incorrect films. "Never seen that one..The Martian that is" she commented.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Jay's outlook on crime was completly different to the average person's and her moral compass was tuned differently to everybody else's. There were some rules and laws she chose to ignore because they were stupid or offensive. There were other rules she'd break when they suited her, and a very small, select group of rules that she'd never break. Rinaa had been brought up in that way and was more prone to law breaking than Leah (who grew up with both parents and ended up midway between their attitudes). It didn't surprise Chas in the slightest that Rinaa would be the kind of person to judge films based on their scientific inaccuracies. She was after all both a science student and an alien.

Upon hearing that Kay had never seen The Martian, Rinaa had to refrain from through her hands in the air and declaring 'what have you been doing with your life?' But that remark was really only funny with her friends. "Well the man who wrote it- Andy Weir- is a genius. He put the draft of the book up online and open sourced it for scientists to fact check everything. And they did, space scientists, engineers and people from NASA and ESA. And thus it is extremely accurate for a sci-fi novel. Also the main character is really relatable. His second book- Artemis- is really good too, never quite made it to movie format though, but it's an excellent read."