Fandom Into the fire (1x1 MzHyde/Gallifrog)

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott knew it hadn't been an easy decision for Cal and Cliff and in a way he'd deliberately lumped it on them, saying it was their big day and they should ultimately have the final call. Neither Elliott, Cal nor Zan were sure where exactly they stood with each other, the reunion of the three being beyond awkward. But at least during that talk their father hadn't tried to deny anything and spoke nplainly (something he'd always done with his kids, despite being a politician). John didn't know if the two women had made the right choice inviting him, but so far the man was holding up to his end of the bargain. Glancing back up again the figure was gone, they'd been so busy talking they hadn't noticed him move off. John was definitely with Jay, if he'd been in the brides shoes, he sure as Hells wouldnt have invited him. "Yeah, I 'gree with what Kay said, though that's hardly a surprise."

"So is this some kind of bridge building thing or are there hidden motivations?" Elliott smiled a half smile at Chas' question, the cabbie always had a habit for asking the right questions in situations like this. "I'm not really sure what his motivations are for this. But there's a strange irony in the fact that out ofmy two biological parents, only he made the effort to actually try." If Elliott's father had been rarely spoken about, and almost always in a negative capacity, Elliott's mother was never mentioned, it was as if Elliott had never even had a mother at any point in his life, despite the fact that she'd been the more sympathetic one when he was a child. "Any idea where she is then?" "Not the foggiest. She remarried like ten years ago has a new family now and has made no effort since nine years ago to be involved with Cal's life in any capacity, and she's done nothing to acknowledge I'm back, which is probably a good thing."

 

[MzHyde]

Kay thought if anyone would agree with her it would be John. They had similar but not exactly the same toxic relationship with their fathers so it wasn't of any surprise in the slightest that he would agree with her, and not be nearly as level headed as Cal and Cliff were. Yet the only upside if she could call it that, was that neither of them had to worry about their fathers due to both being in Hell. She listened to Chas ask just the very question that made Elliott smile ever so slightly then listened to the answer that Elliott gave. She had to admit, it was rather ironic that despite everything that happened between them and Zan, he did at least show up.

Fia listened to everything being said, and it made her so thankful that she had both her parents around and neither tried to walk out on her. Kay found it truly sad that Cal and Elliott's mother wouldn't even try to make an effort to attend or make contact with Elliott. New family or not, she shouldn't ignore her first kids in Kay's mind. She technically didn't have Fia yet and she couldn't ever imagine just discarding her like an unwanted item and never staying in contact. Especially bas she was witnessing what an incredible young woman Fia was growing up to be, it was only making her all the protective and in love with her daughter. "I can't imagine ever being like that...it's actually really sad" she commented.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Elliott nodded in agreement with Fia's words. It was sad and it hurt like hell, a dull ache deep within him. This kind of rejection hurt in more ways than he could name. It also made him realise that Chas had the most normal childhood out of their core group, potentially followed by Fia. Both had two biological parents who loved an supported them their whole lives. John only had an abusive father, Jay's birth family wer dead and she was taken in by a clan of namdic warriors, Kay had lost both her parents and been adopted while Rinaa had only had her brother and had been subjected to long term psychological abuse with potentially one or two incidents where it had become physical. They were a right mess of parental issues. "Well this whole core Earth group is basically the club for people with extreme family issues." Rinaa shrugged having also been thinking along the same lines as Elliott.

The conversation was interrupted by Cal yelling for them to get over for the photos and to remember to smile and look good, saying that they could be as ridiculous as they wanted in the candid party ones, but the official ones were special. There were a couple taken of the whole wedding party, everybody lining themselves up and standing on things in order for everybody to fit in. The other photos were various group ones, Cliff with her family, Cal with Dan and Elliott, Cal and Cliff with their crew, the Attili crew on their own, John and co and so on and so forth, covering all possible permutations of arrangements. Surprisingly Rinaa decided to go in for the photos, gesturing at her attire, new haircut (and how it seemed to make her facial structure look different) and her distinctly more wolfish features before saying she looked like a completly different person to who she was normally. Elliott and Jay only agreed when they saw the pictures of Rinaa at the last wedding, realising that she really did look like somebody else entirely.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay knew that not having his mother around, it would be hurting Elliott a lot. It would hurt anyone in his position, if it didn't she would be convinced there was something seriously wrong with them. She nodded at Rinaa's words knowing she was sadly correct and more correct than any of them would ever want to admit to. With their conversation interrupted by Cal, Fia got up and brushed out her dress to make sure it wasn't all crumpled from sitting down so much. Kay used John as an aid to get up, as for the first time in this pregnancy she did feel like she did need it.

She walked over with everyone for the photos, finding she was being slightly more self conscious about angles compared to before. She didn't want to just look like 'that pregnant one' in the group photos, so always made sure to angle herself so most of her baby bump was even more hidden by standing just behind but next to John and anyone else who was by them. Fia managed to find an excuse to not be in the photos by taking some on Kay's phone for her instead. She desperately wanted to be in them, but knew she couldn't. Unlike Rinaa, she couldn't look like a completely different person in the photos and a tinge of sadness and a little jealousy toward Rinaa over it but she pushed those feelings to the back of her mind.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Rinaa's intention for the wedding photos had orgininally been not to be in them, which was why she warned Fia about it all those weeks ago. But things for Rinaa had changed, mainly in the form of a raven haired winged girl named Moya and this had forced her to re-evaluate her plans. She was confident that if John and co agreed to wipe their minds of memories of her, or have them altered so they remembered her as somebody else. That they wouldn't be able to make a connection between the green-blue eyed, spiky haired girl in armour whose grin revealed that all her teeth were now fangs and whatever version of Leah they ended up with.

John understood why Kay was positioning herself the way she was, as did Chas, neither making a comment on it, instead shifting themselves around so that the lines of their suits broke up or blocked the drape of Kay's dress over her bump. The photos took an extraordinarily long amount of time, which prompted Matteo's group to do their own thing. At first it had been selfies of their own group, but before long they'd dragged in the rest of Matteo's siblings, persuaded Rinaa and Moya to get in before completing the ultimate feat of managing to rope the brides in for a few. They naturally obliged and joined in the good natured ridiculous face pulling before having to return to the official ones.

"Looks like selfies aren't just an Earth thing then." John remarked, running a hand through his hair. "Where there is beings intelligent enough to make use cameras there will be people who want to take pictures of themselves. Its one of those unwritten rules of the universe." Jay shrugged. "Ah, let them have their fun, it's not gonna kill them." "Unless it's in a truly cheesy horror movie that nobody actually thinks is worth a toss."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't blame Rinaa for wanting to be in the photos and join in like a normal teenager. She did deserve the happiness she was feeling, Fia did wonder if they'd choose a memory wipe of herself as well, but she still didn't want to just assume that and join in everyone else by being in photos. Kay could tell that John and Chas were getting why she was positioning herself the way she was and was very thankful for the two of them using their suits to help her out. She looked over to see Matteo doing selfies and group shots with his friends and smirked when John remarked on it.

She agreed with Jay's reply, knowing that selfies would indeed be a universal thing. She also agreed with Chas about letting the group just do their own thing. "Agree with Chas, they're having fun that's what matters. And if they're stupid enough to be in a cheesy cliche horror movie then they deserve being caught by the big bad villain in it" she smirked, responding to both points by both Chas and John. Fia joined the group properly and handed back Kay's phone in the process. "Why am I not in the least bit surprised that's your opinion on things?" Fia asked Kay, referring to the horror movie comment. Kay just shrugged unapologetically in reply.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"And if they're stupid enough to be in a horror movie where the villian is somehow a selfie, then just screw them." Jay scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "And whoever made it, that's the worst premise I could ever think of for a horror movie. How would that even work?" "Simple answer, it wouldn't." Elliott replied, not even suprised that this was the conversation they were choosing to have at his sister's wedding. He cast a glance over at the two, who were still managing to smile genuinely in the millionth photo. Even from this distance he could sense their overwhelming happiness. "It'd be one of those movies that's so shite it makes no sense that you only watch either when smashed or because there is nothing else or because the remote won't let you change channels."

"There's another shitty horror movie premise." John smirked, before switching to a voice typical of a trailer voice over. "They never saw it coming, they thought they were safe, untouchable. But it came anyway..... The Haunted Remote, coming to a cinema near you, pre-book your tickets now." "Also coming to a cinema near you" Elliott adopted his own dramatic voice over tone, keeping an utterly straight face while talking. "Shitty Voiceover: The Movie. The hit audio book adapted for the first time for the big screen, an unmissable experience." Jay rolled her eyes, as if such antics were below her, before grinning and hitting back with her own one. "For one night only, an exclusive performance filled with shit talking, trash talk, horrible accents, innappropriate jokes and innuendos as the cast and crew of 'Shite Talking is Our Division' assemble for unmissable night."

The conversation meandered like that for a while before Rinaa broke in to say she was doing a drinks run and that if anybody wanted anything she'd get it en route.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay smirked knowing she was right but she could think of a way it would work bas a premise despite what Elliott said about it wouldn't. "The only way it'd work if it went down the cliché route of the phone being haunted" she commented, remembering. There was a similar film out there but it was about a vintage Polaroid camera that was haunted and whoever took their selfie with that would end up dead. It was bad even for her who didn't do too well with horror films. She then smirked at Elliott's comment about how'd it'd just be one 'those' movies and she didn't disagree in the slightest.

When John did his stupid voiceover accent, she rolled her eyes but like usual, she had a smirk on her face. Fia was just shaking her head putting her head in her hand as it went on. As it went on even more both Kay and Fia were partially starting to wonder why they ever hung out with this group, but they knew the real answer and would never question it seriously. By the time Rinaa came over about doing the drinks run, Kay realised she could definitely go for one. "I could go for a drink" she said. "Same, I don't know what I want just yet so I'll go with you Artemis to help" Fia replied. Kay actually thought it was a good idea that Fia went with her, especially with how many of them there were. She never doubt Rinaa could manage it, but if Fia didn't even know what she wanted until she got to the table of drinks, then it was just the easiest option to go with.

 

[_gallifrog_]

Chas joined in on the ridiculous voice overs and the reactions of Fia and Kay only spurred them on to be even more ridiculous with their accents and topics. They could see Kay and Fia questioning their sanity, which only made them smile more. The proposal of drinks was met with great enthusiasm by John, Chas and Elliott in particular, who had all chosen dark colours to wear. The skies were cloudless and while the sun wasn't splitting the rocks they were feeling the heat standing out in the open. Jay was less affected as she'd had the foresight to keep a water bag (similar to something an astronaut might have on her) which she pulled out and passed to Rinaa. "Mind filing this up for me while you're at it? Along with getting whatever juice they have on offer." "Not at all, I've got one of my own actually. Decking out in mostly leather wasn't the best choice, but it looks damn good and obeys tradition, so hey."

The rest all opted for water, knowing that now wasn't the time to begin drinking alcohol, there was hours to go until sunset and getting drunk too early was just embarrassing. Rinaa nodded at the orders, filing them away in her head, making use of the same memory tricks she used to remember orders at A.J's. When Fia said she'd come along too, Rinaa nodded. "Come on then, a second pair of hands can't go amiss really."
A drinks table had been set up in the shadow of one of the buildings, with all drinks kept in buckets of salt ice made by Cliff. She'd frozen sea water as it took longer to melt than regular ice and it was easier to get salt water at short notice given that they were on an island. Out of earshot of the others Rinaa turned to Fia. "I need to go to the main house and fix myself up with a coffee, so I'll get my half of the drinks there."

 

[MzHyde]

Both Kay and Fia knew it was their reactions that was just sparring them on more, it always was in their experience. Yet neither of them minded in the slightest as both of them just ever wanted them to look and feel happy, which down to their questioning of sanity, was accomplishing exactly that. With the warmth, both of them were also glad that they opted for strappy dresses and although they weren't exactly bright colours, they were floaty enough in fabric choice, being mostly forms of chiffon, that neither of them were feeling too hot. With all the orders discussed and given to Rinaa, Fia nodded at the agreement of help, walking off with her, with no problem walking on the kind of rural ground in such stiletto heels.

Fia walked to the drinks table with Rinaa, noticing how it was all set up and looked around at the options, she nodded at Rinaa's words when they were out of earshot. "I'll grab mine, Kay's, John's and Chas'" she told her, before letting Rinaa go get her coffee. Grabbing herself a fuzzy drink and Kay some water. She would have grabbed her some juice but being a teenager, she had no clue what juice if any was even okay to drink as a pregnant woman and she didn't want to interrupt Cliff and ask her. She grabbed John's and Chas' waters as well as she said she would, before walking back to the group. She handed Chas his water first, then John's then Kay's, "Rinaa is bringing the rest over but she's grabbing a coffee for herself from the house first" she explained, unscrewing the bottle cap of her fizzy drink.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Okay that works perfectly, I'll get mine, Ell's, Jay's and Moya's then. Feel free to tell them while I'm taking so long, not that they think I've just forgotten or something." Thankfully Fia didn't ask awkward questions like why she needed coffee in the middle of the day, the answer being that she was running on about five hours sleep combined between the last few days and eventually would reach a point where she'd simply crash out. Leah did a similar thing, but that was by choice due to her losing track of time while working. She also had an ulterior motive for fetching drinks and going to the house which was to find Zan, who she knew would be slipping away from the whole proceedings to where there was nobody in order to use the tech that allowed him to breach to the planet in the first place.

Jay and Elliott nodded at Fia's explanation understanding that it meant Rinaa would be a while, presuming that she'd chose to drink the coffee away from Kay. "We can wait." Elliott shrugged, loosening his tie slightly as the others took their drinks, John and Chas taking grateful swigs. "So what happens after the six million photos are taken then?" John asked, leaning back against the wall of one of the out buildings. Normally he wouldn't be questioning the order of a wedding, but it was clear that Cal and Cliff were doing things differently. "I belive it's food and speeches next, also an opportunity for anybody who wants to change to slip into something more comfortable for dancing, though Cal and Cliff will be keeping their armour on for the rest of the day and into nightpart of the celebrations. That'll take us into the evening with the dancing, obviously Cal and Cliff get the first dance alone, then it's a free for all, there's rumours Matteo's gonna sing at some point so I suspect that some others might jump on the bandwagon, who knows." He shrugged, thinking back on the conversation where Cliff instantly picked up on something in her youngest brother's body language that told her he'd be singing.

Rinaa returned about fifteen minutes later, smelling slightly of coffee, though she had tried to mask the smell with some kind of juice for Kay's benefit. She passed out the rest of the drinks, giving Jay back the water point which she carefully slid under her armour, adjusting the chain mail until it was unnoticeable against the natural shape of her body.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia didn't think anything of Rinaa needing coffee during the day because she knew in her timeline, Kay would have an afternoon coffee sometimes when she felt like it, even going as far as to go out for iced ones in the summer. She would every now and then have one as well so it didn't really seem strange to her in the slightest, she just nodded before they went their separate ways to grab the drinks.

Back at the group, having handed them out, she stood next to Kay who was just in front of John who was leaning against the wall. Kay gladly drank her water, trying to make it last, despite the fact that the moment the water hit her throat she realised just how thirsty she actually was. Fia took her time with her lemonade, finding the fact it was a fizzy drink, it was much easier to not just gulp down in one hit. Both were curious about what was next on the agenda, Fia only curious so she could guess how much longer she had before she had to sneak off to make sure everything was good to go with her violin, whilst meeting up with everyone else in on the secret plan. With the information from Elliott that it would be food and speeches next, she knew that would be when her, Charlie, Moya, Rinaa and Matteo all agreed to meet back up.
Hearing that they think Matteo was just planning on singing later, she smiled and nodded. Kay looked at Fia, scrutinising her kid's body language and wondered if Fia knew something that didn't. She wanted to say something but had a feeling Fia wouldn't say anything even if she did. "Would be cool to hear him sing if he is, but he's said nothing to me when we were looking through the old family photos" Fia just remarked casually, keeping up the lie.

When Rinaa did make it back, Kay couldn't really smell the coffee on Rinaa which she was thankful for. Yet it always made her miss being able to drink the hot beverage and just hoped when this pregnancy was over she could go back to drinking it.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"Yeah he said nothing about doing that earlier, but he's a really good singer regardless." Rinaa replied, knowing that her praise had nothing to do with anything. "He's got a phenomenal ear for the traditional songs, y'know the ones passed down by ancestors through the oral tradition." The last part was aimed at Elliott and Jay in particular as they'd have an idea about the kinds of songs she meant. They were a step up from Earth's traditional songs as they were far more complex and symbolic, with links spanning across various star systems. "Plus he knows how to work a crowd, potentially better than Benji does, which is a damn useful skill."

John nodded in agreement. "Oh totally, it's not just about having the music, you gotta swing people to your way. Which is easier said than done sometimes." John was speaking from experience, as the lead singer in his own band, it had been him who'd addressed the crowds and riled them up, which was easy enough with a punk crowd who were usually in a right mood already. It was Chas who'd dealt with club managers, security and other high ups at venues, having the manners and temperament for such a job. "So anything good in these photos then?" Elliott asked, aiming the question at Fia, knowing that if John got remisiniscing about his band days with Chas around they could be going for a while.

 

[MzHyde]

Fia was glad that Rinaa backed bee up in a round about way about Matteo not saying anything, and it was technically the truth so they weren't wholly lying about it. There was something being planned, but it wasn't anything that Cliff thought it was and that made Fia rather happy and proud of Rinaa's plan, even if she was still pretending that she didn't know it was Rinaa's doing. She listened though to Rinaa as she said about what Matteo could sing and that he could sing well, feeling like she shouldn't be entirely surprised that Rinaa knows. She did find it impressive deep down that it was possible to hold a crowd better than Benji, especially after what she witnessed at the main ceremony.

When the question about the family photos was aimed at her, she looked at Elliott, not expecting her to be asked the question, "oh! Err..yeah" she started saying, thinking back on the photos she saw, "there were a few of Benji with dyed hot pink hair down to a prank I think it was, and Matteo with his head stuck in a bucket...." She rattled off a couple of examples that stuck with her. The latter still bringing a smirk and slight chuckle to her as she remembered it. "Most of them just showed them all with varying hair colours and cuts, Matteo having cuts and scrapes in like EVERY photo, general embarrassing ones..the usual" she then added. She had never been so glad of having a good memory as she did right now, knowing if she had a crap memory she'd have been in a tight spot with that question and be resorting to Rinaa for help, which she was not prepared to do.

"Sounds like you saw some interesting pics then" Kay smiled. "Yeah, a lot were definitely not like any of my childhood photos I can tell ya that much" Fia replied, making sure to keep her tone as casual as possible to not let on that it wasn't just family photo albums she was looking at up in the attic.

 

[_gallifrog_]

If Fia had spouted a whole load of nonsense Rinaa would have backed it up for the sake of maintaining the illusion and adding in some of the real ones as well. But there was no need, the other girl's excellent memory had it covered, remembering some of the really crazy ones. John and Elliott laughed at the hair story, knowing how hot pink hair really looked good on nobody outside of a comic book. Moya smiled, remembering the bucket photo particularly well. "Yeah the hair thing was a prank, Cliff did it to get back at him for something..... I'm not sure what exactly, though the bucket was an accident, or at least it hasn't been proven otherwise" she added with a wry grin. "There was also Charlie's pictures from military academy, she went there first before realising tha being a cop was a better fit." "Huh, interesting." Jay remarked, the chances of her knowing somebody Charlie had been in military academy with were slim, but not non-existent, she'd have to ask.

"It somehow doesn't surprise me that he'd be covered in bruises and scrapes."
John smirked, knowing enough about Matteo to see that he was the kind of person to do something stupid for fun, then get hurt in the process. "Nor me." Chas agreed. It made sense that Cliff's family's childhood photos would be completly different to Fia's given just how differently they'd grown up. If they were to be like anybody's childhood pictures, Chas would put his money on Jay's or Rinaa's (if the former even had embarrassing childhood pictures and not destroyed them once she realised how they could be used for emotional blackmail).

The photos took forever to be finished, but in reality it was only another half an hour or so. By then the guest had already began drifting towards the tables with seating being in a first come first served basis (bar for the brides and their families).

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded when Rinaa joined in on the conversation about the photos, which only made they're cover story all that more believable. She was glad that Matteo had the smart idea to actually show them the photos as it meant she didn't have lie through her teeth to make things believable. She could lie well when it really needed it, (if she couldn't she wouldn't have snuck out successfully numerous times and have that secret dog), but she also knew, that John and Kay could sniff out her lies very easily if she wasn't convincing enough. Seeming to remember that she got accused of 'being as bad as your mother when you're lying' by John back at Cal and Cliff's apartment one time.

"Wasn't surprising to me either, even if it was every single photo" Fia replied to John when talking about Matteo's state in said photos. She also knew it wouldn't be much of a surprise to anyone that none of their childhood photos would be anything like her own. The closest she'd have got would be the odd one or two that were taken by herself of her cuts and bruises from training days, where she used the photos as time stamps to see if her phoenix healing ability would activate and kick in or not.

Continuing the chat with everyone, for that time, Fia and Kay had managed to finish their drinks and put it in the nearest bin to them, before they both saw other guests heading toward the tables for the food and speeches. "Looks like it's time to grab a seat" Kay commented. Fia glanced over at everyone heading to the tables, before glancing at Moya and Rinaa.

 

[_gallifrog_]

"About time really" Rinaa replied, running a hand across her newly shortened hair. She was genuinely hungry and even if she wasn't actually going to be taking part in the group musical performance she still needed the energy. There was also the fact that weddings were almost always judged on the quality of their food and nothing else. Going by the spread from last night they were going to be in for a feast. "I'm starving and pretty sure those of us who intend to be on the dance floor later are going to need all the energy they can get." "So dancing comes after eating then?" Moya asked, as if for clarification, but really to make sure that she knew when to be getting into position with drums. "Exactly." Rinaa confirmed as the group made their way to their table

The chairs were surprisingly conforbale given that they were an eclectic mix of whatever furniture Cliff's family already had accompanied by chairs borrowed from neighbours and friends. According to Elliott Cal had said that they were considering making it a 'bring your own chair' wedding if they couldn't get enough chairs, but a friend raided their office to come up with the rest. Naturally Matteo's group had managed to bag the table with wheelie office chairs. Rinaa tucked on of her own legs around the chair leg, while John made use of the ample space under the table to stretch out his legs. "If all the speeches are like Benji's patter earlier, then it's safe to say I won't be falling asleep."

 

[MzHyde]

Fia nodded in agreement, she too was very hungry and if she was about to go playing live for people after the speeches and dance the night away afterwards, then she definitely needed to get some food inside her. "Same here" she agreed. There was no way she wasn't going to be dancing after giving Cal and Cliff their surprise 'gift' with Charlie and Moya as she fully intended to make the most of being around people of all ages and she had planned to drag Matteo on the dance floor, she actually planned on dragging as many people as possible and made a mental challenge to herself to see how many she could make dance with her by the end of the night.

Walking with the group to the table, she picked a chair and sat on it, crossing o e leg over the other's knee just like she did during the ceremony. Kay, sitting next to John, as she liked to be, had her feet just flat to the ground but slightly apart about hip width to make it comfortable with the bump. She was particularly glad to be sitting down and actually sighed with relief as she did so. She almost couldn't bare the idea of getting up again to get any food and wondered if she could sweet talk someone on the table to grab her her food for her. She smirked at John's comment about the speeches, "yeah, I think they'll be entertaining to say the least" she agreed.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The first speech of the evening went to Benji, he once again using his powers of being the oldest brother to get his way. "I would say I'm going to keep this quick and that all these speeches will be short. But that'd be bullshit." He waved a ream of what looked like fifty pages of paper as if it was his speech to emphasise his point."So you might as well get comfortable now, you're in for the long haul." "BOO!" came the heckle from the back. Turning in their seats would reveal that the heckler was Matteo, his hands cupped around his mouth to amplify the words. "What could you possibly have to complain about little brother? Given that you yourself turned down the offer of making a speech and all." Benji smirked back, prompting a general response of 'ohhhhh' from the other guests.

"More like you wouldn't let me, saying I'd just talk shit for the whole thing." Matteo's eye roll as he said the next part could be heard from across the whole tables area. "Which is rich coming from you Benji, given that you're going to no doubt work your own sex life into this wedding through some means or another." A glance at where the brides were sitting would reveal that they were trying to suppress laughter. "Well if you'd bothered to proofread my speech like I asked, then you'd know that there's no such mention of that. Now are you going to let me get on with it? Or will you keep dragging out the proceedings until next year?" Benji smirked, to which Matteo threw his hands in the air admitting defeat in this game of verbal tennis.
"Now to get on with the actual speech, which is actually a collaboration" He paused for dramatic effect, giving the audience time to go 'oooooo' in surprise. "with the person whose had to put up with these two" he gestured at Cliff and Cal. "either being oblivious or pining on an almost daily basis- Deke. And our speech is titled 'How Cal and Cliff should have cut the shit and gotten together years ago'." Elliott immediately started snorting with laughter at the title, as prettyuch everybody else in the audience, knowing that this speech was going to be a riot.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay watched on as she saw Benji get up to make the first speech of the evening. She smirked when Benji nwaves the was of paper up to the crowd to show that yes I deed, the speeches were going to be long . She chuckled as the banter began father quickly because of Matteo heckling him. Fia found it funny that Matteo would such a thing, thinking how it was utterly typical of him and she hadn't even known him for long. Both of them could also see just how amused Cal and Cliff were, even if they were holding back their laughter.

With it continuing on, both Kay and Fia listened on until Benji finally managed to get back to the point in hand and give everyone the title of the first speech and explain it was a collaborative effort with Deke. They both chuckled at the chuckle, and the fact they even titled it in the first place and relaxed in their seats as they began to listen to what was going to be said for speech number one. They both wondered how many there would be in total but for now, they were enjoying sitting down. Fia found it particularly funny that Elliott started snorting with laughter, and knew if the title alone on the first speech made that reaction appear, then all of them were going to be highly great to listen to.

 

[_gallifrog_]

John found himself settling comfortably back into his chair as the two siblings bickered with each other. Whether it was scripted bantering or not was another matter, but it was amusing and seeing the effect it was having in Cal and Cliff made the whole thing even better. The concept of a collaborative speech was something he'd never even considered for a wedding, but given the absurd title and the groans it drew from Cal and Cliff promised barassing stories. "First off let's talk about my oldest sister's seduction technique or distinct lack of it. Stalking her and pelting her with snowballs? Really? Were you even thinking there or were all the logical braincells busy with assignments and work, leaving the irrational ones to be come superchargededly gay. Given that you two were paired of against each other to fight since about the age of twelve, how did it take you so bloody long to realise that you could slam each other against various surfaces and get right up in her face using various martial arts moves and contorting yourself into various positions, pinning her to the ground with various appendages was an actual thing you could do? Not to mention its extremely hot."

The rest of the speech continued in a similar manner, Benji and Deke alternating between para garaphs giving their own anecdotes of the years the two spent being idiots and opinions on what they should have done instead. It was blunt, engaging and downright hilarious. Elliott nearly fell out of his chair at points, so much of this being stuff he'd never known about Cal. John, Chas, Rinaa and Jay were more dignified, but found it just as gripping. The speech also paced a huge emphasis on what it was like to be those friends who had to attempt to refrain from locking the two in a closet until they sorted out their feelings.

The second speech was Dan's, which was far more normal and serious than Deke and Benji's. It was also deeply personal, explaining that before he'd lived on Attil he'd been a parent, and lost his kid in a vehicle accident. He'd moved to Attil to get away from the memories and instead ended up adopting Cal. At the same time as he took in Cal, he also became the equivilant of an uncle for Cliff, knowing after seeing her around only a few times that the two were destined to be together. It was Dan who figured out about the driadic bond between the two and had been part of the meddling with Cal and Cliff's friends that finally got them together. Dan's speech showed how Cal was stubborn, hard working, loyal, dedicated and how she'd forged (pun intended) her own path through life, along with just how proud of her she was.

The third speaker was a woman named Ryder, the medical student (now a qualified doctor) who'd persuaded Cliff to get out of her funk after losing her hearing. The same incident that had deafened Cliff had killed thirty four others and left a further twenty injured in hospital. Cliff had been put into a medically induced coma when she was first brought in and they didn't know until she woke up just how bad the damage to her hearing. Her speech centered on how much Cliff had changed over those weeks in hospital, how she'd come back to life, realised her calling and become an incredible person as well as the best doctor in the room. The other speeches were shorter, mainly just anecdotes or embrassing stories. It was right at the end that Elliott exchanged a look with Jay, stood up and gestured for somebody to pass him the microphone.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay and Fia listened to the speeches, laughing in places but being a lot more dignified than Elliott was. The speeches were heartfelt, amusing and in some places truly sweet according to the girls. Each and every one was clear they came from the heart and were meant completely. The love and admiration these people had for the brides was extremely clear. As they came to an end, neither was expecting Elliott to gesture for the microphone, finding it highly curious.

Fia also kept an eye on how long the speeches were going on for, knowing at some point soon she'd have to sneak off toward the stage as she remembered about Rinaa saying it was best to do it when everyone was seated for the speeches. She quickly compiled group chat for herself, Rinaa, Moya and Matteo on her phone under the table. She would have added Charlie but she didn't have her number,

'when should we sneak off because time is running out slightly to set everything up? Do all of us need to sneak off or not? Also, I would add Charlie but don't have her number.
Fia.'

 

[_gallifrog_]

One thing that was blatantly clear to everybody listening was the overwhelming display of unconditional, deep love for the brides. Everything said was meant with every fibre of the speakers being, and their faces made it clear that there was nothing that they'd rather be doing than acknowledging the amazing people that were Cal and Cliff. The speeches were split equally between talking about just how beautiful and strong and pure the love between Cal and Cliff was as well as how special both were as individual people. Elliott listened to everything hanging onto every single word. Asking for the mic was a complete surprise not just for everybody else assembled, but for Elliott himself. He hadn't even thought about doing it, he just did it.

Matteo, Rinaa and Moya both had the foresight to put their phones on silent, both carefully drawing theirs out as the speeches teetered off. They'd mastered the universal skill of texting under a table while appearing to be focused on anything other than their phones

Adding her now- Matteo
What's Qui doing? Was that planned? - C
To my knowledge no, and judging by the genuine shock in John, Chas and Jay's eyes (along with the brides) this wasn't planned, completly impulsive decision on his part. There's no way I'm leaving during whatever speech he's about to make - A
Well obviously (I would be rolling my eyes if this was a physical conversation) -Moya
Well either way, we all need to get up, so let's all just get up after his speech. We'll have only a couple of minutes to set up, but it'll be enough, I can get Benji to stall if needs be - Matteo​

The others stopped texting as soon as Elliott began to speak. The audience had been quiet during all the other speeches (bar reactions and noises of agreement and the occasional wolf whistle). For Elliott it was no exception. As soon as Elliott started speaking, everybody leaned forwards to listen. "I should start by apologising for butting in and ruining whatever meticulously planned thing was going to happen next. But things need to be said. For those who don't know me, I go by Elliott. But that's not the name I was born with. My birth name is Qui'Za'Lott and I'm Cal's kid brother, yes the one that got kicked off Attil and has been presumed dead for the last twelve years or so." Elliott shrugged, running a hand through his hair before continuing.

"Life is a strange old thing. If you'd asked me when I was twelve about who my sister was going to marry, I'd just have shrugged and said 'why does it matter?' and gone right back to whatever I was doing before. If you'd asked me three weeks ago who my sister would marry the answer would have been similar 'why does it matter? I don't even know if she's alive'. But it does matter, it matters more than everybody or anybody could put into words. Cal herself didn't know how to tell me she was engaged, let alone that I was basically screwing up her wedding plans by just showing up. Sorry sis." Elliott shrugged guiltily. "She didn't need my approval, all this was planned. But she wanted it anyway, that's how important Cliff is for her. And I hadn't even known what way she swung before I was exiled. But honestly, it doesn't matter to me. What does matter is the person my sister has found, the person who not only makes her happier than I've ever seen her in her life, but completes and compliments her in a way that nobody else ever could. Over the past few weeks I've had the privilege of getting to know Cliff, who I can safely say is one of the most phenomenal people I've ever met. A doctor, a pliot, a fighter, a plas-ball player, a researcher, the sky is the limit when it comes to her skills. Level headed, calm and collected, even in the face of the intense family drama I've brought with me, determined and loyal, willing to help out a whole group of veritable strangers, kind, caring, witty, smart, an excellent cook when it comes to fish, determined, fierce ... I've only scratched the surface in these last few weeks. But I know this much, there is nobody more suitable for Cal, you both deserve the universe. Coming back to Attil was worth it, to be able to be here, right now, watching you two tie the knot. Truly worth it." Elliott passed back the mic with a smile, before flopping back in his chair, emotionally wrought out.

 

[MzHyde]

Kay was too surprised by Elliott's actions that she didn't even pay attention to Fia texting under the table discreetly. If she had done, she would have been tempted to tell her to stop and put her phone away unless it was to use the camera. She could tell that Elliott really wasnt planning on doing any kind of speech and he was just as surprised by his actions as the rest of them were. She remained quiet as she glanced round at all the surprised faces around her and how everyone was interested in hearing what Elliott wanted to say.

'okay, after Ell's speech it is. F'

Was all Fia replied with quickly and quietly, before she watched Elliott took the mic and began speaking. She was interested in hearing what he had to say as well, as she never took him for the speech type. Not even in her timeline was he the kind to make grand speeches unless very very necessary. Or at least, how it seemed to her at least. As his speech went on, it was obvious to her just how much he truly loved his sister and how much he was glad that he found her again. It was also obvious just how much he approved of Cliff and respected her also. As his little sister, albeit a half sister, she still felt incredibly proud of him for doing what he just did as he sat down, emotional worn out.

She glanced at Rinaa and Moya, with a simple nod she stood up, making Kay look up at her with a questioning look. "Bathroom...be right back" she lied, walking away, making it look like she did indeed need the bathroom before doing a quick subtle dart towards the stage where the group of them agreed to meet. It was now she wished she left her shoes at the table so she could have been even quieter.

 

[_gallifrog_]

The other guests watched on and listened as Elliott made his speech. John had always known Elliott was an astounding public speaker, espescially when it came from the heart and this speech couldn't have come from anywhere else. It was beautiful and personal, conveying so much more than just approval of his sister's new wife. Elliott had the other guests completly under his spell as he spoke, the words coming from some place deep within. Cal's first expression when Elliott gestured for the mic was one of surprise, and as the speech went on, she had to hold back tears of joy, Cliff squeezing her hand under the table for moral support. Both could see that Elliott meant every word in his speech that was essentially an ode to Cliff and his sister.

Once Elliott had finished speaking a big cheer and a round of applause were given, not just for Elliott, but for the other speeches as well as Cliff and Cal. John clapped a hand on Elliott's shoulder "Bloody well done, that was a bloody beautiful speech, and I don't say that often." "Thanks, I really just made that up on the spot." He admitted with a contented smile, knowing that giving his speech had been a good move. "Trust us Ell, it was perfect, I don't think you could have said things any better." "They're both right, that speech was something else entirely." Jay agreed, giving him a small kiss on the cheek before Cal and Cliff came over to drag him into a group hug, providing an ideal opportunity for Moya and Rinaa to slip away.

Charlie and Matteo were already at the stage, pulling out the instruments. It didn't take long to assemble the drum kit to Moya's prefered way. According to Matteo they had about two minutes to get ready and tuned before the rest of the guests would show up. "Well good luck you guys."